Marta Pedro Varanda

Participatory analysis for adaptation to climate change in Mediterranean agricultural systems: possible choices in process design

There is an increasing call for local measures to adapt to climate change, based on foresight analyses in collaboration with actors. However, such analyses involve many challenges, particularly because the actors concerned may not consider climate change to be an urgent concern. This paper examines the methodological choices made by three research teams in the design and implementation of participatory foresight analyses to explore agricultural and water management options for adaptation to climate change. Case studies were conducted in coastal areas of France, Morocco, and Portugal where the groundwater is intensively used for irrigation, the aquifers are at risk or are currently overexploited, and a serious agricultural crisis is underway. When designing the participatory processes, the researchers had to address four main issues: whether to avoid or prepare dialogue between actors whose relations may be limited or tense; how to select participants and get them involved; how to facilitate discussion of issues that the actors may not initially consider to be of great concern; and finally, how to design and use scenarios. In each case, most of the invited actors responded and met to discuss and evaluate a series of scenarios. Strategies were discussed at different levels, from farming practices to aquifer management. It was shown that such participatory analyses can be implemented in situations which may initially appear to be unfavourable. This was made possible by the flexibility in the methodological choices, in particular the possibility of framing the climate change issue in a broader agenda for discussion with the actors.

Public participation for bulk water charge: Paraíba River Basin Committee (Brazil) and Alentejo Hydrographic Region Council (Portugal) cases study

This paper proposes to assess the knowledge and dynamics of Committees/Councils in the discussions and deliberations on the raw water charges in Brazil and in Portugal. The comparison is limited to the evaluation of a Committee and Council and not necessarily reflect the operation of other CBHs, in Brazil, or Councils, in Portugal. It was analyzed the minutes of the meetings of the Paraiba River Basin Committee (CBH-PB) and the Alentejo River Basin Council Region (CRH-Alentejo) as well as interviews with members of the two collective bodies. For the Brazilian case, it appears that CBH-PB members discussed and deliberated on the values and mechanisms for raw water charges. In Portugal, the definition of values and the way of application of the raw water charge (TRH) was held at the central level, without the CRH-Alentejo having the opportunity to argue, not fulfilling its role as a consultative body water management. Water Resources Policies have to gain strength by promoting public participation through discussion formats and being able to engage key stakeholders as well as creating conditions for the development of cooperative relations.

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: Finding the common ground of multi-faceted concepts

Inter- and transdisciplinarity are increasingly relevant concepts and research practices within academia. Although there is a consensus about the need to apply these practices, there is no agreement over definitions. Building on the outcomes of the first year of the COST Action TD1408 “Interdisciplinarity in research programming and funding cycles” (INTREPID), this paper describes the similarities and differences between interpretations of inter- and transdisciplinarity. Drawing on literature review and empirical results from participatory workshops involving INTREPID Network members from 27 different countries, the paper shows that diverse definitions of inter-and transdisciplinarity coexist within scientific literature and are reproduced by researchers and practitioners within the network. The recognition of this diversity did not hinder the definition of basic requirements for inter- and transdisciplinarity. We present five basic units considered as building blocks for this type of research. These building blocks are: (1) creation of collective glossaries, (2) definition of boundary objects, (3) use of combined problem- and solution-oriented approaches, (4) inclusion of a facilitator of inter-and transdisciplinary research within the team and (5) promotion of reflexivity by accompanying research. These were considered five basic units for effective inter- and transdisciplinary research although the 4th building block was also considered as “matrix” that holds all the others together.

Information Transmission of a Policy Program: Models for the Optimal Detection of Key Players

The underlying motivation for this work stems from the observation that there was weak participation in a policy program to modernize the commerce of a city center. This was due in part to a poor performance from the trade association board in the transmission of information. Using the tools of social network analysis and combinatorial optimization, we search for new sets of key players that are better positioned to disseminate information in the collective. We detect 2 new sets of key players and compare them with the trade association board. The comparison shows that social network analysis and combinatorial optimization can be useful tools in making policy implementation processes more effective.