Looking Around, Looking Ahead
Asynchronous Session
A Socio-ecological Systems Approach to Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kristin Drexler
Climate change has exacerbated food and livelihood insecurity for Mayan milpa farmers in Central America. For centuries, milpa farming has been sustainable for subsistence; however, in the last 50 years, milpas have become less reliable due to accelerating climate change, resource degradation, declining markets, poverty, and other factors. Using interviews with extension leaders and milpa farmers in Belize, this qualitative study examines the capacity for increasing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aspects of existing traditional milpa practices, specifically no-burn mulching, soil enrichment, and the use of cover plants. Applying Community Capitals and Socio-ecological Systems frameworks, this study finds four key capitals were perceived by farmers and agriculture extension leaders as barriers for increasing CSA practices: (1) Human-Capacity, (2) Financial, (3) Infrastructure, and (4) Governance-Justice Capitals. The key barriers include a lack of CSA technology and pest management knowledge-sharing (Human-Capacity), unreliable roads and utility services (Infrastructure), the closure of small markets and crop-buying programs in Belize (Financial), and constraints on extension services and exacerbating a sense of marginalization in Maya communities (Governance-Justice). Recommendations are presented for government action to reduce barriers and facilitate an increase in milpa crop productivity, promote food and livelihood security, and enable climate resilience of Mayan milpa communities in Belize.
Valorization of Marine Invasive Species a Pathway Towards the Protection of Mediterranean Marine Biodiversity: From Destructive Invaders to a Source of Wealth View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sofia Papadaki
Towards sustainability, the valorization of underexploit marine sources such as invasive species is crucial. The invasion of these species induces negative effects both in socioeconomic aspects and in the marine ecosystem making their exploitation vital as a measure towards the management of their population. The present study considers alternative ways to valorize in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industry three important invasive alien species of the Mediterranean basin, the Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789), the Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) and the Fistularia commersonii (Rüppell, 1838). In this study, it is proposed to carry out an evaluation on substances with high commercial interest of particular species, such as collagen, omega-3 fatty acids, aminoacids and toxins as well as the indication of methods of their processing and utilization in added value applications. The present study can turn the current problem of invasive alien species into a "Win-Win” solution for Mediterranean fisheries and cosmetology, food and pharmaceutical companies. In addition to the innovation brought to the cosmetics sector due to the opening of a new market of innovative formulations based on unique products origin, the invasive species’ exploitation is expected to create a new type of fishery that will bring economic benefits to professional fishermen themselves. In addition, it will contribute to the reduction of invasive fish stocks in the Mediterranean and consequently in the control of the ecological and economic impact on marine life, fisheries, human well-being and health.
Utilizing Relational Values to Investigate a Federally Administered Soil Conservation Program in the US Northwest View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Timothy Pape
Federal conservation programs compensate property owners and farmers for sustained land use practices which generate ecosystem services, yet enrolling participants can be a challenge. This paper studies that challenge in order to understand what values drive enrollment patterns in the Columbia River Basin in the US Northwest, a region designated as a Critical Conservation Area by the United State Department of Agriculture. Utilizing a relational values framework, the dynamics of the federally administered Conservation Reserve Program are explored. Findings are revealed through qualitative coding and analysis of semi-structured interviews and visual artifacts from program participants, government employees, and university affiliated extension knowledge holders. This study concludes there to be five key relational values that inform enrollment in this region beyond monetary reasons: stewardship, care, kinship, responsibility, and identity. This paper posits that integrating information regarding relational values into federally administered conservation programs may lead to more resilient and sustainable social-ecological systems.
The Compounding Effects of Agriculture on the Water Quality Crisis in the State of Iowa, USA : A Local and Global Ecological Crisis View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session John Pauley, Brody Crouse, Katie Pantzar, Kyle Werner, Trenity Rosenberg, Dayton Gatewood, Aswati Subramanian
Recent research has questioned if Iowa’s streams and rivers are recoverable from pollution damage. Stormwater run-off already poses a serious threat to water quality across the U.S.. Additionally the agricultural industry’s presence in Iowa compounds the issues that other states face. Evidenced by Iowa’s disproportionate contribution to the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia “dead-zone,” as well as the decrepit state of Iowa’s natural waterways, agriculture creates a multi-faceted water quality issue that must be addressed on many fronts. Run-off from row-crop fields and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) into nearby streams and rivers presents a source of pollution that is unique to rural-industrial farming societies and thus must be uniquely confronted. Other toxic pollutants that the agricultural industry presents to the crisis of water quality include antibiotics, growth hormones, forever chemicals, biosolids, herbicides, pesticides, and animal waste. In this paper we analyze the consequences of Iowa’s water pollution as it currently stands, both known and unknown, and weigh inductive possibilities for the future of Iowa’s waters. Seeking solutions to Iowa’s local problems is ecologically synonymous to seeking solutions to national and global problems.
Implementing and Evaluating Slow Farms in Cuba: A Focus on Community-level Potential View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Laura Beatriz Montes De Oca Vázquez, Maria Navarro
The current pandemic situation reveals a crisis scenario in Cuba, but it also offers strategic opportunities to design and implement a transformed and improved agri-food model. Some important challenges to food security in Cuba include shrinking quality arable land, decline in soil fertility, high oil prices, increasingly limited supplies of water, climate change, and the economic uncertainty that characterizes this Antillean Island. One proposed solution is the implementation of Slow Farms in Cuba, an agroecologically-focused network of farms that cooperate to achieve food security along with the necessary social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The Slow Cuban Farms idea arose in 2015 to protect Cuban ecosystems and preserve the cultural heritage, traditions, local ecologies, knowledge, and values. Founding experts and leaders of agroecology and Slow Food in Cuba, proposed in 2015 a methodology to evaluate the agri-food system model. In 2018, they used it to assess several farms in the country. In this work we (1) describe the first Slow Cuban Farms: Finca del Medio, Finca Vista Hermosa, Finca La China, and Finca Tungasuk using interviews, a panel of experts, and existing documents; (2) describe the evaluation methodology proposed by Slow Food Cuba and use it to assess Slow Farms in Cuba; (3) propose new indicators for the framework, and (4) determine the contributions and perspectives of the farms at the community level. Early results suggest that his growing network of resilient farms with agroecological values can serve as an example for Cuba and the rest of the world.
