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a Acequia de careo without water to carry out repair works. b Members of Bérchules' irrigation community cleaning an acequia de careo. c Aliviadero on the side. d Aliviadero overflow and flow limiter. e Partidor of acequia de careo of the Poqueira ravine. f Water catchment for an acequia de careo. g Acequia de careo of Bérchules
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Local ecological knowledge systems have been the basis of Sierra Nevada’sSierra Nevadasocial-ecological systemSocial-ecological system, which has co-evolved over more than ten centuries until nowadays, based on the knowledge, practices, and innovations deriving from the relationship between people and the ecosystems on which they depend. In Sierra...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... Landscapes of the Sierra Nevada", Civantos and colleagues describe how, for centuries, human interventions have modified Sierra Nevada through the development of diverse water infrastructures like acequias de careo, partidores, aliviaderos, and cimbras, minas or qanats, to channel, guide, and harvest water running down the slopes of the mountain (Fig. 1). This complex water management system has sculpted unique cultural landscape structures around water management. Local water management systems made possible the permanent occupation of the territory because water distribution allowed the development of agriculture and livestock maintenance (Martos-Rosillo et al. ...
Context 2
... manage water, irrigation communities engage in collective action, including a multiplicity of activities that involve social interactions as much as interactions with the environment, such as cleaning, maintaining, and restoring water channels (Fig. 1b). All these interactions raise conflicts related to irrigation water and the consequent emergence of rules for water distribution (Gálvez-García 2015). These rules, refined over time, are usually very precise and consider both biophysical factors (e.g., water evapotranspiration at different times of the year, or the time that takes the ...
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Citations
... Estos elementos son considerados muy importantes en este ámbito debido a que ha proporcionado protección tanto a especies individuales como hábitats completos. Esto se debe a la importante implicación a nivel cultural que tiene el conocimiento tradicional, asociado a consideraciones sagradas y creencias o tabúes religiosos, y que hoy en día gracias a esto actúan como reservorios de biodiversidad local (García del Amo et al. 2022). ...
La diversidad biocultural describe la variabilidad de todas las formas de vida, abarcando simultáneamente aspectos biológicos, culturales y lingüísticos, y reconociendo como estos están interconectados dentro de los sistemas socio-ecológicos. La diversidad biocultural reconoce la relación singular entre los seres humanos y su entorno natural; y pone en valor los conocimientos locales, creencias, prácticas y valores culturales que la definen. Los enfoques bioculturales persiguen superar las divisiones disciplinarias entre ciencias sociales y naturales para así abordar conjuntamente los desafíos de sostenibilidad en un mundo en evolución constante. Para lograr esto es necesario aclarar qué conocimiento científico existe entorno al concepto de diversidad biocultural. Con el objetivo de comprender mejor este concepto y su conocimiento asociado en una región tan rica bioculturalmente como es la cuenca Mediterránea, este estudio realiza una revisión sistemática de la literatura desde 1990 hasta 2021. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron identificar los sistemas socio-ecológicos y los componentes de la diversidad biocultural más estudiados. Los resultados revelaron que una gran cantidad de los estudios se realizaron en ecosistemas rurales y agroecosistemas, abarcando una amplia diversidad de paisajes, y centrándose en los usos de distintas especies de plantas y sus nombres vernáculos. Sin embargo, pese al incremento de atención por parte de la comunidad científica hacia la diversidad biocultural en los últimos años, sigue siendo necesario estudiar en mayor profundidad las dinámicas socio-ecológicas que promueven su conservación y fomentar las oportunidades para su aplicación en la mitigación del abandono rural.
... Finally, questions arise as to how this traditional NbS for water management could survive pressing issues such as the intensification and modernization of farming practices, and the rural exodus and the lack of generational replacement as observed by García-del-Amo et al. (2022) in Sierra Nevada. The case of traditional aquifer recharge practices in Peru may inspire solutions to these problems. ...
Study region: Sierra Nevada, Spain. Study focus: The local communities of the Sierra Nevada mountain range adapted to recurrent dry periods by spreading water along hillslopes with unlined channels that deviate surface runoff from headstreams during high flow periods. However, the impact of the so-called careo practice on river regimes in Sierra Nevada remains mostly unquantified. This work aimed to fill this gap by monitoring and analyzing streamflow in a major careo channel and river during three consecutive years (2021-2023) in the Mecina watershed (51 km 2 , Las Alpujarras). New hydrological insights for the region: This study reveals unexpectedly high proportions of groundwater and human influence in total basin runoff within the hard rock environment of the Sierra Nevada. The data shows consistent streamflow gains between controlled river sections despite experiencing three years of below average precipitation, most remarkably below high infiltration channel stretches. The relationship between careo recharge and river flow kept constant even during the driest of the observed years. The influence from careo recharge was most noticeable during the low flow period (summer) when it represented between 40 % and 60 % of river streamflow. In addition, about 32 % of the total recharge to the aquifer in the basin comes from water transported and infiltrated by just one of the basin's careo channels, which means that such a careo recharge channel increases the natural infiltration of meteoric water by 47 %.
... Modernization made the traditional mountain agricultural system nonprofitable economically. This fact triggered the abandonment of lands and the rural exodus during the second half of the 20th century (García-del-Amo et al. 2022). The declaration of the area as Natural and later as National Park resulted in further land use changes, as these conservation measures restricted local uses (Zamora et al. 2016). ...
Formed over centuries and adapted to local cultures and environments, the term “Traditional Knowledge” refers to the knowledge, practices, and behaviours of indigenous and local communities all around the world.
In the context of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Traditional Knowledge lies in the accumulated experience that comes with the close relationship of Indigenous communities to their environment, formed through successive trials and errors over generations.
The Words into Action: Using Traditional and Indigenous Knowledges for Disaster Risk Reduction guide argues that we need the space for traditional and scientific knowledge to co-exist. It gives guidance in translating the Sendai Framework into credible and implementable actions for DRR with a focus on the application of Traditional and Indigenous Knowledges. It outlines possible ways in which this knowledge can be used to reduce, prepare for and respond to disasters and provides a methodology to include aspects of Traditional Knowledge in decision-making.
It is also filled with practical guidance for stakeholders in the DRR community, including administrative bodies, disaster risk management professionals, local people and indigenous communities, among many others.
Unlabelled:
While we know that climate change is having different impacts on various ecosystems and regions of the world, we know less how the perception of such impacts varies within a population. In this study, we examine patterns of individual variation in climate change impacts reports using data from a sample (n = 238) drawn from 33 mountainous municipalities of Sierra Nevada, Spain. Sierra Nevada inhabitants report multiple climate change impacts, being the most frequently reported changes in snowfall and snow cover, abundance of terrestrial fauna, freshwater availability, and extreme temperatures. Reports of climate change impacts vary according to informants' sociodemographic characteristics and geographical location. People with life-long bonds with the environment and higher connection and dependence upon ecosystem services report more climate change impacts than other informants, as do people with lower level of schooling. We also found that reports of climate change impacts vary according to geographic areas, which reinforces the idea that climate change generates differentiated impacts even at small geographical scales. Understanding intracultural variation in reports of climate change impacts not only gives an enriched picture of the human dimensions of climate change but might also help design more targeted mitigation and adaptation responses.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-022-01981-5.
Human cultural diversity is reflected in many different ways of knowing, being, and doing, each with specific histories, positionalities, and connections to ecosystems, landscapes, and the world. Such diversity results in plural knowledge systems. This white paper describes the characteristics and complexity of knowledge systems in the context of climate change. It notes the deficiencies of action to date on climate change, which has largely rested on scientific knowledge, and discusses the importance of drawing on other knowledge systems, particularly Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge. This paper synthesises evidence highlighting that Indigenous knowledge systems and local knowledge systems are dynamic, contemporary, and actively applied worldwide. Although Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge systems continue to be politically marginalised, the recognition of their role in climate governance is essential. We consider plural knowledge systems and the interactions and potential collaborations between them, with a goal of informing how they can most constructively, equitably, and inclusively be conceptualised and addressed when discussing and generating knowledge about and responses to climate change.
