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Mercado-Garcia D, Block T, Horna Cotrina JT, Deza Arroyo N, Forio MAE, Wyseure G, Goethals P. Freshwater Management Discourses in the Northern Peruvian Andes: The Watershed-Scale Complexity for Integrating Mining, Rural, and Urban Stakeholders. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:4682. [PMID: 36981591 PMCID: PMC10048230 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20064682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The Peruvian environmental action plan seeks headwaters protection as one of its integrated watershed management objectives. However, heterogeneous social and environmental conditions shape this freshwater management challenge at subnational scales. We have noticed different interpretations of this challenge. To map the debate, understand the diverse interpretations, and frame political choices, we conducted semi-structured interviews with institutional and non-institutional stakeholders for performing discourse analysis in an Andean watershed where mountaintop gold mining, midstream farmers, and the downstream Cajamarca city coexist. One discourse dominates the debate on protecting the freshwater supply and argues the importance of river impoundment, municipal storage capacity, and institutional leadership. The other two discourses revolve around protecting the mountain aquifer. The second discourse does so with a fatalistic view of headwaters protection and rural support. The third discourse partially shifts the debate towards the need for improving rural capacity building and (ground)water inventories. To understand evolutions in society, it is crucial to understand these three discourses, including the types of knowledge that actors present as legitimate, the attributed roles to all stakeholders, and the kinds of worldviews informing each discourse. The interaction among discourses could hinder integrated watershed management at worst or, at best, help inspire multi-stakeholder collaboration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mercado-Garcia
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO), Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Thomas Block
- Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Political Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Nilton Deza Arroyo
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca, Cajamarca 06003, Peru
| | - Marie Anne Eurie Forio
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO), Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Guido Wyseure
- Division of Soil and Water Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peter Goethals
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO), Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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Paul MADE, Villafañe JP. Spatial structure and composition of invertebrates in high altitude rivers of the central Andes (Olaroz Salar, Argentina). AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2023; 95:e20210651. [PMID: 36946804 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202320210651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the spatial variation in sets of micro and macroinvertebrates and to detect how physicochemical and environmental variables affect community structures in high Andean rivers. Six sites were sampled in three rivers of the Argentinian plateau, in altitudes between 3900-4400 masl during the dry season (May-October 2017). The variables that affected the structure of the micro and macroinvertebrate communities were: altitude, conductivity, turbidity, water temperature, hardness, oxygen, and lead. Sites with high levels of arsenic, lead and boron were identified. Assemblages of species common to high Andean courses were recorded on a north-south axis. The registered community structure has similarities with High Andean streams of Bolivia and rivers of the Catamarca plateau, increasing the differences in composition and assemblages towards the south (Mendoza and Patagonian Andes). Diptera was the best represented with Orthocladiinae and Podonominae, reaching better representativeness at higher altitudes. Together with them, Austrelmis, Hydracarina, Hirudinea, Nais, Hyalella constitute the dominant group. There is a trend towards a decrease in the richness of species with respect to altitude, related to the proximity of the Salar and the increase in conductivity, carbonates and hardness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela A DE Paul
- Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios de Calidad de Agua de Ambientes de Altura (CEICAAL), Cátedra de Limnología, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Alberdi 47, 4600 San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Juan P Villafañe
- Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios de Calidad de Agua de Ambientes de Altura (CEICAAL), Cátedra de Limnología, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Alberdi 47, 4600 San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina
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Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM): Management and Socioenvironmental Impacts in the Northern Amazon of Ecuador. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14116854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Mining is one of the oldest economic activities of mankind. Within this activity, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is one of the most studied sectors due to its high level of environmental contamination and the social problems it causes. In recent years, ASGM in the northern Amazon of Ecuador has increased significantly, and studies that describe its current situation and impact are scarce. In this sense, the present study aimed to analyze the current status and socioenvironmental impacts caused by ASGM gold mining activities in the Cascales canton in the province of Sucumbíos in northeastern Ecuador. The methodological tools used in the present study were a literature review of scientific and gray literature, field visits to assess perceived impacts and an expert judgment to discuss the results and establish challenges. The main results indicate that illegal and informal activities continue to be carried out in the upper zone of the Cascales and Duvino rivers; 90% of local miners still use mercury in this activity, although it is legally prohibited. Among the main impacts evidenced are the contamination of water bodies, soil and atmosphere due to the use of mercury and disturbance to flora and fauna due to the use of machinery in the exploration process. Finally, the government should focus efforts on strengthening public policies to socialize the importance of good environmental practices in ASGM and the effects of the impacts on human health and environmental issues, all this with the support of social actors, such as ministries, universities, NGOs, ASGM associations and private enterprise.
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Mercado‐Garcia D, Beeckman E, Van Butsel J, Deza Arroyo N, Sanchez Peña M, Forio MAE, De Schamphelaere K, Wyseure G, Goethals P. Freshwater macroinvertebrate traits assessment as complementary to taxonomic information for mining impact detection in the northern Peruvian Andes. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mercado‐Garcia
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Eveline Beeckman
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Jana Van Butsel
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Nilton Deza Arroyo
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca Cajamarca Perú
| | - Marco Sanchez Peña
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca Cajamarca Perú
- Carrera de Ingeniería Ambiental Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad Privada del Norte Cajamarca Perú
| | - Marie Anne Eurie Forio
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Karel A. C. De Schamphelaere
- Environmental Toxicology Research Unit (GhEnToxLab) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Guido Wyseure
- Division of Soil and Water Management Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Peter Goethals
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit (AECO) Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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Forio MAE, Burdon FJ, De Troyer N, Lock K, Witing F, Baert L, De Saeyer N, Rîșnoveanu G, Popescu C, Kupilas B, Friberg N, Boets P, Johnson RK, Volk M, McKie BG, Goethals PLM. A Bayesian Belief Network learning tool integrates multi-scale effects of riparian buffers on stream invertebrates. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 810:152146. [PMID: 34864036 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Riparian forest buffers have multiple benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services in both freshwater and terrestrial habitats but are rarely implemented in water ecosystem management, partly reflecting the lack of information on the effectiveness of this measure. In this context, social learning is valuable to inform stakeholders of the efficacy of riparian vegetation in mitigating stream degradation. We aim to develop a Bayesian belief network (BBN) model for application as a learning tool to simulate and assess the reach- and segment-scale effects of riparian vegetation properties and land use on instream invertebrates. We surveyed reach-scale riparian conditions, extracted segment-scale riparian and subcatchment land use information from geographic information system data, and collected macroinvertebrate samples from four catchments in Europe (Belgium, Norway, Romania, and Sweden). We modelled the ecological condition based on the Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) index, a macroinvertebrate-based index widely used in European bioassessment, as a function of different riparian variables using the BBN modelling approach. The results of the model simulations provided insights into the usefulness of riparian vegetation attributes in enhancing the ecological condition, with reach-scale riparian vegetation quality associated with the strongest improvements in ecological status. Specifically, reach-scale buffer vegetation of score 3 (i.e. moderate quality) generally results in the highest probability of a good ASPT score (99-100%). In contrast, a site with a narrow width of riparian trees and a small area of trees with reach-scale buffer vegetation of score 1 (i.e. low quality) predicts a high probability of a bad ASPT score (74%). The strengths of the BBN model are the ease of interpretation, fast simulation, ability to explicitly indicate uncertainty in model outcomes, and interactivity. These merits point to the potential use of the BBN model in workshop activities to stimulate key learning processes that help inform the management of riparian zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Anne Eurie Forio
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Francis J Burdon
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; Te Aka Mātuatua - School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
| | - Niels De Troyer
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Koen Lock
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Felix Witing
- Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Lotte Baert
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Nancy De Saeyer
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Geta Rîșnoveanu
- Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania; Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, 050663 Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Cristina Popescu
- Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Benjamin Kupilas
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), 0349 Oslo, Norway; Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Nikolai Friberg
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), 0349 Oslo, Norway; Freshwater Biological Section, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 4, 3rd floor, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; water@leeds, School of Geography, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
| | - Pieter Boets
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Provincial Centre of Environmental Research, Godshuizenlaan 95, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Richard K Johnson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Martin Volk
- Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Brendan G McKie
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Peter L M Goethals
- Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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Aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in rivers influenced by mining activities. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3209. [PMID: 35217691 PMCID: PMC8881590 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06869-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Mining is one of the major pollution sources worldwide, causing huge disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in 15 study sites in two different seasons (dry and wet) along two rivers running across the Central Plateau of Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions associated with different MAs. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of several families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates. These factors were found to influence structural changes in MAs, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture and presence of villages in the basin, exert adverse effects on macroinvertebrate assemblages. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched both the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed high alkalinity and hardness levels, which can reduce the availability of metals and cause adverse effects on periphyton by inhibiting photosynthesis and damaging MAs. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.
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Evaluation of the Effect of Gold Mining on the Water Quality in Monterrey, Bolívar (Colombia). WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12092523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Gold mining uses chemicals that are discharged into rivers without any control when there are no good mining practices, generating environmental and public health problems, especially for downstream inhabitants who use the water for consumption, as is the case in Monterrey township, where the Boque River water is consumed. In this study, we evaluate Boque River water quality analyzing some physicochemical parameters such as pH, heavy metals, Hg, and cyanide; bioassays (Lactuca sativa, Hydra attenuata, and Daphnia magna), mutagenicity (Ames test), and microbiological assays. The results show that some physicochemical parameters exceed permitted concentrations (Hg, Cd, and cyanide). D. magna showed sensitivity and L. sativa showed inhibition and excessive growth in the analyzed water. Mutagenic values were obtained for all of the sample stations. The presence of bacteria and somatic coliphages in the water show a health risk to inhabitants. In conclusion, the presence of Cd, Hg, and cyanide in the waters for domestic consumption was evidenced in concentrations that can affect the environment and the health of the Monterrey inhabitants. The mutagenic index indicates the possibility of mutations in the population that consumes this type of water. Bioassays stand out as an alert system when concentrations of chemical contaminants cannot be analytically detected.
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