Your search found 8 records
1 Kirschke, S.; Avellan, T.; Barlund, I.; Bogardi, J. J.; Carvalho, L.; Chapman, D.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Irvine, K.; Lee, S.; Mehner, T.; Warner, S. 2020. Capacity challenges in water quality monitoring: understanding the role of human development. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(5):298. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8224-3]
Water quality ; Monitoring ; Capacity building ; Human resources ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation ; Indicators ; Decision making ; Strategies ; Technology ; Financing ; Environmental effects ; Surveys
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049662)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10661-020-8224-3.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049662.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049662.pdf
(0.81 MB) (828 KB)
Monitoring the qualitative status of freshwaters is an important goal of the international community, as stated in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) indicator 6.3.2 on good ambient water quality. Monitoring data are, however, lacking in many countries, allegedly because of capacity challenges of less-developed countries. So far, however, the relationship between human development and capacity challenges for water quality monitoring have not been analysed systematically. This hinders the implementation of fine-tuned capacity development programmes for water quality monitoring. Against this background, this study takes a global perspective in analysing the link between human development and the capacity challenges countries face in their national water quality monitoring programmes. The analysis is based on the latest data on the human development index and an international online survey amongst experts from science and practice. Results provide evidence of a negative relationship between human development and the capacity challenges to meet SDG 6.3.2 monitoring requirements. This negative relationship increases along the course of the monitoring process, from defining the enabling environment, choosing parameters for the collection of field data, to the analytics and analysis of five commonly used parameters (DO, EC, pH, TP and TN). Our assessment can be used to help practitioners improve technical capacity development activities and to identify and target investment in capacity development for monitoring.
2 O’Brien, G. C.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Mor, C.; England, M. I. 2021. Towards good e-flows practices in the small-scale hydropower sector in Uganda. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9:579878. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.579878]
Hydropower ; Small scale systems ; Environmental flows ; Sustainability ; Water resources ; Water management ; Rivers ; Ecosystem services / Uganda
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050614)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.579878/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050614.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050614.pdf
(2.72 MB) (2.72 MB)
Stakeholders of the small-scale (<50 MW generation capacity) hydropower sector in Uganda recognise the importance of sustainable development of the resources that have social and ecological importance. Uganda is experiencing a boom in hydropower projects resulting in over generation of electricity and its exportation to neighbouring nations. Limited policies are currently available in Uganda to direct the sustainable development of this sector. Environmental flows (e-flows) practices established for the Nile Basin region and international good e-flows practices can contribute to sustainable management of hydropower developments in Uganda. The paper defines and explains e-flows, identifies water resource attributes of importance for e-flows determination associated with hydropower and threat associated with this activity in Uganda, and provides good e-flows determination and management practices based on regional and international information. The determination and management of e-flows in the hydropower sector in Uganda is largely dependent on the availability of and quality of hydrology, hydraulic and flow-ecosystem and flow-ecosystem service relationship information. This review of good-practice e-flows practice for the small hydropower sector in Uganda provides guidance to support multiple stakeholders of water resources in Uganda for a better future for all of its vulnerable communities and the environments they depend on.
3 Arthington, A. H.; Tickner, D.; McClain, M. E.; Acreman, M. C.; Anderson, E. P.; Babu, S.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Horne, A. C.; Kaushal, N.; Monk, W. A.; O’Brien, G. C.; Olden, J. D.; Opperman, J. J.; Owusu, Afua G.; Poff, N. L.; Richter, B. D.; Salinas-Rodríguez, S. A.; Shamboko Mbale, B.; Tharme, R. E.; Yarnell, S. M. 2023. Accelerating environmental flow implementation to bend the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss. Environmental Reviews, 27p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2022-0126]
Environmental flows ; Freshwater ; Biodiversity ; Ecosystem services ; Resilience ; Rivers ; Water availability ; Water users ; Stakeholders ; Climate change ; Constraints ; Legislation ; Regulations ; Monitoring ; Funding ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Ecological factors ; Infrastructure ; Human resources ; Capacity development ; Training ; Case studies / USA / Guatemala / Mexico / Canada / UK / South Africa / Zambia / India / China / Australia / Putah Creek Tributary / Usumacinta River / Peace-Athabasca Delta / Savannah River / Roanoke River / Great Brak River Estuary / Olifants River / Luangwa River / Nile River Basin / Ramganga River / Yangtze River / Lower Goulburn River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052092)
(1.91 MB) (1.91 MB)
Environmental flows (e-flows) aim to mitigate the threat of altered hydrological regimes in river systems and connected waterbodies and are an important component of integrated strategies to address multiple threats to freshwater biodiversity. Expanding and accelerating implementation of e-flows can support river conservation and help to restore the biodiversity and resilience of hydrologically altered and water-stressed rivers and connected freshwater ecosystems. While there have been significant developments in e-flow science, assessment, and societal acceptance, implementation of e-flows within water resource management has been slower than required and geographically uneven. This review explores critical factors that enable successful e-flow implementation and biodiversity outcomes in particular, drawing on 13 case studies and the literature. It presents e-flow implementation as an adaptive management cycle enabled by 10 factors: legislation and governance, financial and human resourcing, stakeholder engagement and co-production of knowledge, collaborative monitoring of ecological and social-economic outcomes, capacity training and research, exploration of trade-offs among water users, removing or retrofitting water infrastructure to facilitate e-flows and connectivity, and adaptation to climate change. Recognising that there may be barriers and limitations to the full and effective enablement of each factor, the authors have identified corresponding options and generalizable recommendations for actions to overcome prominent constraints, drawing on the case studies and wider literature. The urgency of addressing flow-related freshwater biodiversity loss demands collaborative networks to train and empower a new generation of e-flow practitioners equipped with the latest tools and insights to lead adaptive environmental water management globally. Mainstreaming e-flows within conservation planning, integrated water resource management, river restoration strategies, and adaptations to climate change is imperative. The policy drivers and associated funding commitments of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework offer crucial opportunities to achieve the human benefits contributed by e-flows as nature-based solutions, such as flood risk management, floodplain fisheries restoration, and increased river resilience to climate change.
4 Pattinson, N. B.; Russell, C.; Taylor, J.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Koen, R. C. J.; Koen, F. J.; Graham, P. M. 2023. Digital innovation with miniSASS, a citizen science biomonitoring tool. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation. 11p.
Digital technology ; Citizen science ; Biomonitoring ; Rivers ; Water quality ; Macroinvertebrates ; Mobile applications ; Machine learning ; Algorithms ; Databases ; Training ; Sustainable Development Goals / South Africa / Mooi River / uMgeni River / Karkloof River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052345)
(1.32 MB)
The mini stream assessment scoring system (miniSASS) was developed as a citizen science biomonitoring tool for assessing the water quality and health of stream and river systems. A miniSASS survey involves sampling the aquatic macroinvertebrate community in a stream or river reach and using the known sensitivities and tolerances of the taxa present to infer information about the water quality and health of the stream or river. The quality of the outcomes of a miniSASS survey is dependent on good sampling technique and accurate identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates by low-skilled citizen scientists. As such, there is potential for errors in sampling and identification which may impact the accuracy of results. In response, we aimed to 1) develop a smartphone application (miniSASS mobile app with built-in machine learning (ML) algorithm for the automatic, real-time identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates) to assist in miniSASS surveys, 2) modernise and upgrade the miniSASS website to handle new data submissions (including photographs) and improve the user interface (UI), and 3) develop an online miniSASS training course. This report presents the methodology and preliminary results pertaining to these objectives.
5 Pattinson, N. B.; Taylor, J.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Graham, P. M. 2023. Digital innovation in citizen science to enhance water quality monitoring in developing countries. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 37p. (IWMI Working Paper 210) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2024.201]
Digital innovation ; Citizen science ; Water quality ; Monitoring ; Developing countries ; Freshwater ecosystems ; Water resources ; Water management ; Decision support ; Community involvement ; Data collection ; Digital technology ; Sensors ; Databases ; Smartphones ; Mobile applications ; Innovation adoption ; Big data ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation ; Parameters ; Mitigation
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H052509)
(1.02 MB)
Freshwater systems are disproportionately adversely affected by the ongoing, global environmental crisis. The effective and efficient water resource conservation and management necessary to mitigate the crisis requires monitoring data, especially on water quality. This is recognized by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, particularly indicator 6.3.2., which requires all UN member states to measure and report the ‘proportion of water bodies with good ambient water quality’. However, gathering sufficient data on water quality is reliant on data collection at spatial and temporal scales that are generally outside the capacity of institutions using conventional methods. Digital technologies, such as wireless sensor networks and remote sensing, have come to the fore as promising avenues to increase the scope of data collection and reporting. Citizen science (which goes by many names, e.g., participatory science or community-based monitoring) has also been earmarked as a powerful mechanism to improve monitoring. However, both avenues have drawbacks and limitations. The synergy between the strengths of modern technologies and citizen science presents an opportunity to use the best features of each to mitigate the shortcomings of the other. This paper briefly synthesizes recent research illustrating how smartphones, sometimes in conjunction with other sensors, present a nexus point method for citizen scientists to engage with and use sophisticated modern technology for water quality monitoring. This paper also presents a brief, non-exhaustive research synthesis of some examples of current technological upgrades or innovations regarding smartphones in citizen science water quality monitoring in developing countries and how these can assist in objective, comprehensive, and improved data collection, management and reporting. While digital innovations are being rapidly developed worldwide, there remains a paucity of scientific and socioeconomic validation of their suitability and usefulness within citizen science. This perhaps contributes to the fact that the uptake and upscaling of smartphone-assisted citizen science continues to underperform compared to its potential within water resource management and SDG reporting. Ultimately, we recommend that more rigorous scientific research efforts be dedicated to exploring the suitability of digital innovations in citizen science in the context of developing countries and SDG reporting.
6 Koen, R. C. J.; Koen, F. J.; Pattinson, N. B.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Graham, P. M. 2023. Digitally improving the identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates for indices used in biomonitoring. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation. 10p.
Citizen science ; Data collection ; Community involvement ; Biomonitoring ; Macroinvertebrates ; Sustainable development ; Digital innovation ; Machine learning
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052512)
(602 KB)
This report provides an overview of the mini Stream Assessment Scoring System (miniSASS) and South African Scoring System Version 5 (SASS5) as biomonitoring techniques for assessing the ecological condition of streams and rivers based on the identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates. While miniSASS relies on minimally trained citizen scientists to identify macroinvertebrates at the Order-level, SASS5 utilizes expertly accredited practitioners for finer resolution, even up to the family-level. However, the reliance on citizen scientists for miniSASS identification introduces limitations in terms of precision, accuracy, and reliability. To address these limitations, ongoing developments within the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation include the creation of a miniSASS smartphone application, an upgraded website, an interactive online course, and a machine-learning identification algorithm to assist with photo identification. Additionally, a revised dichotomous key has been developed to improve operator identification during miniSASS surveys. Furthermore, the potential for upscaling the machine-learning identification algorithm to assist in identifying the 91 family-level taxa used in SASS5 assessments has been explored. The outcomes of these developments and explorations presented in this paper aim to enhance the overall effectiveness and reliability of both the miniSASS and SASS5 techniques. By leveraging digital innovation and incorporating machine-learning technology, we anticipate the efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility of biomonitoring assessments will significantly improve, ultimately contributing to a better understanding and management of our aquatic ecosystems.
7 Pattinson, N. B.; Taylor, J.; Lepheana, A. T.; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Graham, P. M. 2023. The enviro-champs: establishing a framework for a technologically upgraded environmental monitoring network at community scale. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation. 19p.
Citizen science ; Data collection ; Community involvement ; Environmental monitoring ; Frameworks ; Digital innovation ; Mobile applications ; Sustainability / South Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052516)
(17.6 MB)
The Enviro-Champs initiative was developed as a community driven, citizen science initiative in Mpophomeni township in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), South Africa. Over time, the scope of work done and data collected by the Enviro-Champs has expanded. There is now recognition both locally and globally that the Enviro-Champs initiative shows great promise for national and global upscaling. However, several areas within the initiative remain where it could be improved, especially technologically. GroundTruth, in conjunction with technical and funding support from CGIAR Research Initiative on Digital Innovation and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), engaged in a project which aimed to i) establish recruitment, training, and education tools to support establishment of a technologically integrated and upgraded Enviro-Champs initiative, ii) develop an outline for a training and education workshop for Enviro-Champs once they are hired, iii) improve data collection and reporting capacity and efficiency with a sustainable system (in collaboration with CGIAR and FormShare), and iv) pilot test technological improvements to the Enviro-Champs initiative within the Mpophomeni Enviro-Champs in conjunction with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and Umgeni Water. The overarching aim was to develop a technologically innovative and upgraded best-practice framework for the Enviro-Champs, from recruitment, through training and data collection, to data management and reporting. The primary outcome was to have a fully functional, digitally improved Enviro-Champs system in Mpophomeni, that could serve as a working template for upscaling the Enviro-Champs initiative elsewhere in Southern Africa or the world. This report reflects the process and outcomes of this project to date.
8 Messager, M. L; Dickens, Chris W. S.; Eriyagama, Nishadi; Tharme, R. E. 2024. Limited comparability of global and local estimates of environmental flow requirements to sustain river ecosystems. Environmental Research Letters, 19(2):024012. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad1cb5]
Environmental flows ; Water resources ; Water management ; Hydrological modelling ; Freshwater ecosystems ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Water scarcity
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052567)
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad1cb5/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052567.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052567.pdf
(4.46 MB) (4.46 MB)
Environmental flows (e-flows) are a central element of sustainable water resource management to mitigate the detrimental impacts of hydrological alteration on freshwater ecosystems and their benefits to people. Many nations strive to protect e-flows through policy, and thousands of local-scale e-flows assessments have been conducted globally, leveraging data and knowledge to quantify how much water must be provided to river ecosystems, and when, to keep them healthy. However, e-flows assessments and implementation are geographically uneven and cover a small fraction of rivers worldwide. This hinders globally consistent target-setting, monitoring and evaluation for international agreements to curb water scarcity and biodiversity loss. Therefore, dozens of models have been developed over the past two decades to estimate the e-flows requirements of rivers seamlessly across basins and administrative boundaries at a global scale. There has been little effort, however, to benchmark these models against locally derived e-flows estimates, which may limit confidence in the relevance of global estimates. The aim of this study was to assess whether current global methods reflect e-flows estimates used on the ground, by comparing global and local estimates for 1194 sites across 25 countries. We found that while global approaches broadly approximate the bulk volume of water that should be precautionarily provided to sustain aquatic ecosystems at the scale of large basins or countries, they explain a remarkably negligible 0%–1% of the global variability in locally derived estimates of the percentage of river flow that must be protected at a given site. Even when comparing assessments for individual countries, thus controlling for differences in local assessment methods among jurisdictions, global e-flows estimates only marginally compared (R 2 0.31) to local estimates. Such a disconnect between global and local assessments of e-flows requirements limits the credibility of global estimates and associated targets for water use. To accelerate the global implementation of e-flows requires further concerted effort to compile and draw from the thousands of existing local e-flows assessments worldwide for developing a new generation of global models and bridging the gap from local to global scales.
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