A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America
Environment quality indicators can be inadequate when measuring the short-term impacts of projects and actions within an integrated watershed management approach. Quantifiable changes in environmental indicators often take long periods of time –often at the decade level- and are costly in terms of...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
2016
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| Online Access: | https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/8283 |
| _version_ | 1855487692258672640 |
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| author | Musálem Castillejos, Karim Jiménez-Otárola, Francisco McDonald, Morag |
| author_browse | Jiménez-Otárola, Francisco McDonald, Morag Musálem Castillejos, Karim |
| author_facet | Musálem Castillejos, Karim Jiménez-Otárola, Francisco McDonald, Morag |
| author_sort | Musálem Castillejos, Karim |
| collection | Repositorio CATIE |
| description | Environment quality indicators can be inadequate when measuring the short-term impacts of projects and actions within
an integrated watershed management approach. Quantifiable changes in environmental indicators often take long periods
of time –often at the decade level- and are costly in terms of data collection. The subsequent analysis and interpretation
seldom reflect the outcomes of work carried out at organizational, inter-institutional and social levels in the short-term. To
address this constraint, an Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) assessment methodology based on data collected
through key-informants was trialed in sub basins of the La Plata River in South America, and compared to a similar case
study carried out in Central America. We applied the assessment tool to the mboi cae/quiteria watershed in Paraguay, and determined progress towards IWM to be 35 % (seen as a global average). We also conducted a detailed evaluation of environmental quality indicators. Comparison with the Central American case study from 2005 allowed a discussion of the methodology and its suitability in different Latin-American contexts. We propose the use of this assessment methodology, based on key-informants and data triangulation, whenever possible to obtain understanding on how projects within an IWM approach can be evaluated in a standardized manner; in a short time; and with low costs. Not substituting, our proposed rapid assessment is not a replacement for ‘proper’ complementary environmental assessment, but offers a rapid and preliminary appraisal of how projects or processes progress with an IWM approach, especially in rural areas. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | RepoCATIE8283 |
| institution | Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | RepoCATIE82832021-12-22T19:22:53Z A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America Aplicación de una herramienta rápida de evaluación del manejo integrado de cuencas: estudio de caso desde la cuenca del Plata en Sur América Musálem Castillejos, Karim Jiménez-Otárola, Francisco McDonald, Morag Environment quality indicators can be inadequate when measuring the short-term impacts of projects and actions within an integrated watershed management approach. Quantifiable changes in environmental indicators often take long periods of time –often at the decade level- and are costly in terms of data collection. The subsequent analysis and interpretation seldom reflect the outcomes of work carried out at organizational, inter-institutional and social levels in the short-term. To address this constraint, an Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) assessment methodology based on data collected through key-informants was trialed in sub basins of the La Plata River in South America, and compared to a similar case study carried out in Central America. We applied the assessment tool to the mboi cae/quiteria watershed in Paraguay, and determined progress towards IWM to be 35 % (seen as a global average). We also conducted a detailed evaluation of environmental quality indicators. Comparison with the Central American case study from 2005 allowed a discussion of the methodology and its suitability in different Latin-American contexts. We propose the use of this assessment methodology, based on key-informants and data triangulation, whenever possible to obtain understanding on how projects within an IWM approach can be evaluated in a standardized manner; in a short time; and with low costs. Not substituting, our proposed rapid assessment is not a replacement for ‘proper’ complementary environmental assessment, but offers a rapid and preliminary appraisal of how projects or processes progress with an IWM approach, especially in rural areas. 2016-05-17T16:27:12Z 2016-05-17T16:27:12Z 2013 Artículo https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/8283 en Aqua-LAC - Volumen 5, Número 1 (Marzo 2013) application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Musálem Castillejos, Karim Jiménez-Otárola, Francisco McDonald, Morag A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title | A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title_full | A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title_fullStr | A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title_full_unstemmed | A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title_short | A rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management: a case study from La Plata river in South America |
| title_sort | rapid assessment tool for integrated watershed management a case study from la plata river in south america |
| url | https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/8283 |
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