80
Keywords Maneadero Valley · Public participation · Coupled human–water system
Introduction
Soils and freshwater are being rapidly degraded, due to climatic variations that put
even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with
disasters, droughts and floods (UN 2015). Therefore, population growth, economic
development, water scarcity and pollution, land-use change, land degradation and
desertification are some of the real challenges drylands face and in reaching an integrated and sustainable natural resources management. In order to contribute to the
drylands science, in this chapter we use the social-ecological systems (SES) approach
that considers the link between social (human) and ecological (water) systems (Berkes
and Folke 1998), regarding elements such as a resource system (e.g., an agricultural
valley), resource units (aquifer, groundwater), users (farmers) and governance systems
(Ostrom 2009; Rica et al. 2018), creating a drylands SES (DSES) approach.
DSES can take into account systems-based, intercultural and governance implications to support policy decisions within a framework of stewardship (HuberSannwald et al. 2012). Moreover, DSES offers a compelling approach to improve
natural resources management through public participation, collaborative processes
and transdisciplinarity in a framework that includes public participation (Virapongse
et al. 2016; Bautista et al. 2017). The SES approach is a way to understand that the
social and ecological dimensions of the groundwater management problem rest in
combining analysis of data on the ecological function of the coupled human–water
system with the perspectives of land and water users concerning the observed
changes and future management options (King and Salem 2012). Social (e.g., gender, education, institutions) and local ecological (e.g., land-use and climate) characteristics play roles in influencing people's perceptions of which water services and
coastal aquifers (Herrera-Franco et al. 2018) are important. In this regard, it is relevant to inquire the role played by the local communities’ engagement and how the
coupled human–water system works in an agricultural dryland.
We selected Baja California, a dryland ecosystem that is located in one of the
most arid regions in Mexico (average rainfall of 168 mm a
−1
and temperature of
20 °C) (CONAGUA 2018), where despite receiving water from the binational basin
of the Colorado River, groundwater is the main water supply for agriculture in the
coastal zone. Likewise, extreme drought events have occurred in 2016 that have
limited social welfare and economic development of agricultural drylands. This is
the case of Maneadero Valley, in the municipality of Ensenada, where little is known
about the farmers’ perception, the social, economic and political context, institutions and policies that govern groundwater use.
Based on the DSES approach, in this chapter we investigate how the human subsystem in the coupled human–water system works to reach integrated groundwater
management in Maneadero Valley. We examine the perception of the main water
users (farmers), regarding socioeconomic attributes, attitudes towards public participation and agricultural and water management practices. Then, we propose a particiM. Villada-Canela et al.
Keywords Maneadero Valley · Public participation · Coupled human–water system
Introduction
Soils and freshwater are being rapidly degraded, due to climatic variations that put
even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with
disasters, droughts and floods (UN 2015). Therefore, population growth, economic
development, water scarcity and pollution, land-use change, land degradation and
desertification are some of the real challenges drylands face and in reaching an integrated and sustainable natural resources management. In order to contribute to the
drylands science, in this chapter we use the social-ecological systems (SES) approach
that considers the link between social (human) and ecological (water) systems (Berkes
and Folke 1998), regarding elements such as a resource system (e.g., an agricultural
valley), resource units (aquifer, groundwater), users (farmers) and governance systems
(Ostrom 2009; Rica et al. 2018), creating a drylands SES (DSES) approach.
DSES can take into account systems-based, intercultural and governance implications to support policy decisions within a framework of stewardship (HuberSannwald et al. 2012). Moreover, DSES offers a compelling approach to improve
natural resources management through public participation, collaborative processes
and transdisciplinarity in a framework that includes public participation (Virapongse
et al. 2016; Bautista et al. 2017). The SES approach is a way to understand that the
social and ecological dimensions of the groundwater management problem rest in
combining analysis of data on the ecological function of the coupled human–water
system with the perspectives of land and water users concerning the observed
changes and future management options (King and Salem 2012). Social (e.g., gender, education, institutions) and local ecological (e.g., land-use and climate) characteristics play roles in influencing people's perceptions of which water services and
coastal aquifers (Herrera-Franco et al. 2018) are important. In this regard, it is relevant to inquire the role played by the local communities’ engagement and how the
coupled human–water system works in an agricultural dryland.
We selected Baja California, a dryland ecosystem that is located in one of the
most arid regions in Mexico (average rainfall of 168 mm a
−1
and temperature of
20 °C) (CONAGUA 2018), where despite receiving water from the binational basin
of the Colorado River, groundwater is the main water supply for agriculture in the
coastal zone. Likewise, extreme drought events have occurred in 2016 that have
limited social welfare and economic development of agricultural drylands. This is
the case of Maneadero Valley, in the municipality of Ensenada, where little is known
about the farmers’ perception, the social, economic and political context, institutions and policies that govern groundwater use.
Based on the DSES approach, in this chapter we investigate how the human subsystem in the coupled human–water system works to reach integrated groundwater
management in Maneadero Valley. We examine the perception of the main water
users (farmers), regarding socioeconomic attributes, attitudes towards public participation and agricultural and water management practices. Then, we propose a particiM. Villada-Canela et al.