subsidies. Similar to the study by Jaghdani and
Kvartiuk (2021), the authors found that current
economic tools (energy subsidies) promote
groundwater depletion. They conclude that
shifting from energy subsidy to groundwater
resources optimization for agricultural irrigation
could be a viable policy option for sustainable
groundwater management.
Also the following chapters focus on rural
areas, seizing opportunities and challenges for
the implementation of integrated resources
management. In the chapter “Rural Resources
(Including Forestry) in the Local Development of
Low Carbon Economy: A Case Study of Poland
”, Wiśniewski (2021) evaluated the rural
resources in an integrated manner to achieve the
development of a low carbon economy in
Poland. To achieve this, in rural areas carbon
sequestration should be enhanced, while GHG
emissions need to be reduced. The author systematically reviews the strengths and weaknesses
as well as opportunities and threats (SWOT
analysis) towards this end. He concludes that a
number of measures would need to be implemented for a transition towards a low-carbon
economy. These include, amongst others,
increasing the use of manure and organic waste
both for fertilization (see chapter by Gebrezgabher et al. 2021) and energy (biogas) production, preventing soil erosion (addressed also in
Sang and Maina 2021; Ngondjeb and Ayuk
2021; Tesfahunegn and Ayuk 2021), increased
use of intercropping, growing energy crops on
marginal lands, liming of acid soils, afforestation
and increased implementation of agroforestry. In
addition, policies targeting the development of
rural areas need to be reviewed for their potential
to facilitate a low carbon economy and good
practice examples in the agroforestry sector need
to be promoted, in line with the recommendations by Bouma (2021).
Tesfahunegn and Ayuk (2021) analyzed
“Opportunities and Challenges to Adopting
Sustainable Watershed Management Interventions…” based on experiences from Ethiopia.
The authors review problems in resources management and provide a list of performance indicators to evaluate nexus-oriented watershed
management interventions. In some watersheds,
these interventions were highly successful,
resulting in e. g., increased food security, income
of farmers and water resources, restoration of soil
fertility and reduced soil loss. A number of
opportunities were identified, which facilitate the
implementation of a nexus approach. However,
there has been limited uptake at a larger scale due
to challenges that could be categorized as being
related to traditional practices and climate related
challenges; the large area of degraded land; and
socio-economic and institutional challenges. In
order to address these challenges and support the
implementation of nexus-oriented watershed
management, a general research strategy is proposed. Similar to other nexus-oriented research
strategies (Mannschatz et al. 2015; Benavides
et al. 2019), it highlights the importance of
baseline data, decision making, implementation
and monitoring and evaluation. These steps need
to be done in a participatory approach. Governance should provide an enabling environment to
support opportunities and decrease the challenges
of nexus implementation for sustainable
development.
In the chapter “The Potential Contribution of
Cultural Ecological Knowledge to Resources
Management in a Volcanic River Basin”,
Ariyanti et al. (2021) point out a rather unexplored aspect of the nexus: its relation to cultural
ecological knowledge (CEK). Particularly in
ancient societies, it is the embeddedness of
resources management practices in the overall
culture, including myths, rituals, symbols and
“five senses wisdom”, which is important for the
implementation of natural resources management. CEK encompasses written and orally
transmitted knowledge based on observations of
the human-nature relationship, in this particular
case from a volcanic river basin in Indonesia,
including the volcano, the debris flow stemming
from it, the water cycle and land use. The authors
emphasize the importance of a legitimation process via institutionalized structures and dynamics
to transform historical experiences into CEK. In
the examined case, CEK was found to be of great
importance for conservation practice, cropping
patterns, fishing, etc. It can be argued that
8
S. Hülsmann and M. Jampani
Kvartiuk (2021), the authors found that current
economic tools (energy subsidies) promote
groundwater depletion. They conclude that
shifting from energy subsidy to groundwater
resources optimization for agricultural irrigation
could be a viable policy option for sustainable
groundwater management.
Also the following chapters focus on rural
areas, seizing opportunities and challenges for
the implementation of integrated resources
management. In the chapter “Rural Resources
(Including Forestry) in the Local Development of
Low Carbon Economy: A Case Study of Poland
”, Wiśniewski (2021) evaluated the rural
resources in an integrated manner to achieve the
development of a low carbon economy in
Poland. To achieve this, in rural areas carbon
sequestration should be enhanced, while GHG
emissions need to be reduced. The author systematically reviews the strengths and weaknesses
as well as opportunities and threats (SWOT
analysis) towards this end. He concludes that a
number of measures would need to be implemented for a transition towards a low-carbon
economy. These include, amongst others,
increasing the use of manure and organic waste
both for fertilization (see chapter by Gebrezgabher et al. 2021) and energy (biogas) production, preventing soil erosion (addressed also in
Sang and Maina 2021; Ngondjeb and Ayuk
2021; Tesfahunegn and Ayuk 2021), increased
use of intercropping, growing energy crops on
marginal lands, liming of acid soils, afforestation
and increased implementation of agroforestry. In
addition, policies targeting the development of
rural areas need to be reviewed for their potential
to facilitate a low carbon economy and good
practice examples in the agroforestry sector need
to be promoted, in line with the recommendations by Bouma (2021).
Tesfahunegn and Ayuk (2021) analyzed
“Opportunities and Challenges to Adopting
Sustainable Watershed Management Interventions…” based on experiences from Ethiopia.
The authors review problems in resources management and provide a list of performance indicators to evaluate nexus-oriented watershed
management interventions. In some watersheds,
these interventions were highly successful,
resulting in e. g., increased food security, income
of farmers and water resources, restoration of soil
fertility and reduced soil loss. A number of
opportunities were identified, which facilitate the
implementation of a nexus approach. However,
there has been limited uptake at a larger scale due
to challenges that could be categorized as being
related to traditional practices and climate related
challenges; the large area of degraded land; and
socio-economic and institutional challenges. In
order to address these challenges and support the
implementation of nexus-oriented watershed
management, a general research strategy is proposed. Similar to other nexus-oriented research
strategies (Mannschatz et al. 2015; Benavides
et al. 2019), it highlights the importance of
baseline data, decision making, implementation
and monitoring and evaluation. These steps need
to be done in a participatory approach. Governance should provide an enabling environment to
support opportunities and decrease the challenges
of nexus implementation for sustainable
development.
In the chapter “The Potential Contribution of
Cultural Ecological Knowledge to Resources
Management in a Volcanic River Basin”,
Ariyanti et al. (2021) point out a rather unexplored aspect of the nexus: its relation to cultural
ecological knowledge (CEK). Particularly in
ancient societies, it is the embeddedness of
resources management practices in the overall
culture, including myths, rituals, symbols and
“five senses wisdom”, which is important for the
implementation of natural resources management. CEK encompasses written and orally
transmitted knowledge based on observations of
the human-nature relationship, in this particular
case from a volcanic river basin in Indonesia,
including the volcano, the debris flow stemming
from it, the water cycle and land use. The authors
emphasize the importance of a legitimation process via institutionalized structures and dynamics
to transform historical experiences into CEK. In
the examined case, CEK was found to be of great
importance for conservation practice, cropping
patterns, fishing, etc. It can be argued that
8
S. Hülsmann and M. Jampani