Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Reef resources assessment and management'

Throughout the Pacific, many species of echinoderms and molluscs have cultural value and are harvested extensively in subsistence fisheries. Many of these species are sedentary and often associated with distinct reef-top habitats. Despite the significance of reef habitats and their fauna for fisheries and biodiversity etc, little information has been available on the distribution of habitats and their influence on the reef-top fauna in the Cook Islands. This thesis developed a novel approach to assess the status of the shallow-water reef-tops of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, to provide critical information to fisheries and conservation managers. The approach used remote sensing (aerial photography with ground truthing) to map the spatial arrangement and extent of the entire reef-top habitats accurately, and historical wind data and coastline shape to determine the windward and leeward sides of the island. The benthic habitat maps and degree of wind exposure were used to design and undertake a stratified sampling programme to assess the distribution and abundance of the epibenthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the reef-top. I quantified the distribution and abundance of the epibenthic macroinvertebrates and how they varied with habitat, assessed the effectiveness of a traditional ra�ui (marine protected area) for conserving stocks of Trochus niloticus and other invertebrates, and investigated the reproductive biology and impacts of traditional gonad harvesting on Holothuria leucospilota. There were four major habitat types (rubble/rock, sand/coral matrix, algal rim and sand) identified, the most extensive being rubble/rock (45%) and sand/coral matrix (35%). The degree of exposure to winds was found to correlate with the reef development and habitat distribution. The assemblage composition of each major habitat type differed significantly from every other habitat. The rubble/rock habitat had the greatest substratum heterogeneity and structural complexity, and the highest number of species and individuals. The overall abundance of the fauna was dominated by holothurians (68%) and echinoids (30%), while Trochus niloticus and Tridacna maxima accounted for the remaining 2% of the total invertebrate assemblage. Clear habitat partitioning was also found for adult and juvenile Trochus niloticus and Tridacna maxima. In the traditional fishery for Holothuria leucospilota, the mature gonads of males are harvested by making an incision in the body-wall of the animal, removing the gonads and then returning the animal to the reef to allow regeneration. Monthly collections of H. leucospilota were used to describe the reproductive biology of this species. Gametogenesis and spawning were synchronous between the sexes and spawning occurred annually during summer, when water temperature and photoperiod were at their highest. Although the incision in the body-wall and gonad removal had no impact on the survival of H.leucospilota in experimental cages, their body weight, and general sheltering and feeding behaviors were affected. Gonads took at least 41 days to start regenerating, suggesting a considerable delay in the spawning of fished individuals. In 1998, five Rarotongan communities re-introduced the traditional ra�ui system of resource management, prohibiting all fishing and gathering from their reefs. The performance of the Nikao ra�ui, which had been put in place to allow trochus stocks to increase, was investigated. Comparisons of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition and species density were made between three fishing treatments, i.e. fished areas adjacent to the ra�ui, within the ra�ui after two years of protection, and in the ra�ui after it had been lifted for three weeks to allow a commercial trochus harvest. Analysis of variance on the count data for the twelve most abundant species, and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling indicated that there were no differences in the microhabitat or the invertebrate assemblage composition between the three fishing treatments. However, there were significant differences between the rubble/rock and sand/coral matrix habitat types. The results on the effectiveness of the Nikao ra�ui are equivocal, due to the small sample size, and the variability between samples which was highlighted by the wide confidence intervals. This study highlights the importance of habitat to the macroinvertebrate fauna of the reef-top and the need for accurate habitat maps to increase the cost-effectiveness of future resource surveys, to provide information to management, and for the design of Marine Protected Areas. The mapping and survey methods must be reliable and repeatable in terms of the limitations of time, and the availability of expertise, funding and resources. The results provide important information for fisheries and conservation managers of Rarotonga and other Pacific Islands to better design rigorous sampling programmes for monitoring the status of reef-top resources, and for evaluating and planning Marine Protected Areas.

Fisheries managers have the potential to significantly improve reef fish management in the Gulf of Mexico through the use of ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management. Ecosystem-based approaches are needed to address the effects of fishing on trophodynamic interactions, to better account for ecosystem-scale processes in model projections, and to recognize the short and long-term biomass tradeoffs associated with making regulatory choices. My research was concentrated around three objectives: (1) characterizing the trophodynamic interactions between Gulf of Mexico fishes, in order to construct an invaluable tool (a Gulf of Mexico Atlantis model) to be used in ecological hypothesis testing and policy performance evaluation for years to come; (2) predicting ecological indicators for the Gulf of Mexico that both respond to fishing pressure and are robust to observational error, and; (3) evaluating the performance of an ecosystem-based policy options for managing reef fish species in the Gulf of Mexico. To accomplish these objectives, a spatial, trophodynamic ecosystem model- Atlantis, was employed to represent the Gulf of Mexico marine ecosystem. To characterize trophic interactions between modeled species, I applied a maximum likelihood estimation procedure to produce Dirichlet probability distributions representing the likely contribution of prey species to predators’ diets. This provided mode values (the peak of the distribution) and associated error ranges, which describe the likely contribution of a prey item in a predator’s diet. The mode values were used to parameterize the availabilities (diet) matrix of the Gulf of Mexico Atlantis model. Investigating trophic interactions was useful for determining which species within the Atlantis model were data rich, and justified the emphasis on reef fish species and their prey items in subsequent analyses. Once parameterized and calibrated, I used the Atlantis model to project ecological indicators over a 50 year time horizon (2010-2060) under varying levels of fishing mortality. Principal component analysis was used to evaluate ecological indicator trajectories in multivariate space, to rank indicators according to how well they describe variability in ecosystem structure (termed ‘importance’), to reveal redundancies in the information conveyed, to quantify interannual noise and to determine how robust indicators are to observational error. Reef fish catch, Red snapper biomass, King mackerel biomass and Species richness indicators ranked the highest in terms of importance and robustness to error and in having low levels of interannual noise (i.e., requiring less frequent monitoring). I then used a management strategy evaluation (MSE) framework in Atlantis to evaluate some of these same indicators under an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management – using robust harvest control rules to manage reef fishes. I found that this ecosystem-based policy option was able to maintain higher reef fish biomass, catch and ecosystem-wide biodiversity under any given level of fishing mortality when compared to a status quo management approach. These results suggest that harvesting under the HCRs encourages an alternative ecosystem state with a more Pareto-efficient tradeoff frontier than the status-quo policy. A potentially reduced extinction risk for reef fish is plausible under this ecosystem-based policy option. This research provides a quantitative look at the fishery performance and ecological tradeoffs associated with various policy options. MSE methodology using ecosystem-based policy performance metrics is also demonstrated. Tool development and findings from this research should aid in the development of ecosystem-based policies for this region.

This study presents a detailed investigation into size, density and community structure of temperate marine reef fish in the medium-sized Goukamma Marine Protected Area (Goukamma MPA) and adjacent fishing grounds on the south coast of South Africa. The oceanographic conditions, the spatial distribution of the benthic community and the prevailing fishing effort are also described. Life history traits and per-recruit (PR) models for the principle target species, roman (Crysoblephus laticeps) are compared between the protected and exploited area. From the study results, various strategies are proposed for the use of MPAs in the conservation and management of linefish species along South Africa’s south coast. The distribution and topography of reefs in the protected and exploited sections of the study area were found to be comparable. Atmospheric pressure ranged from 992 to 1,032 mb, being significantly lower in summer. Wind speeds ranged from 0.7 to 71.3 km/h. Water temperatures ranged between 9.0 and 22.2 ºC and turbidity between 0.3 and 45.8 NTU. Water temperature and clarity were uniformly low in winter. In summer the water was generally warm, clear and stratified, with a thermocline at around 20 m, although intermittent upwelling events caused water temperature to decrease and clarity to deteriorate. Current speeds ranged between 0.11 and 2.59 km/h and were significantly higher in spring and autumn. Easterly currents prevailed in spring, summer and autumn and westerly and southerly currents in winter. Hake (Merluccius capensis), various resident reef fish and kob (Argyrosomus japonicus) were most frequently targeted by the local linefishery. A significant amount of illegal fishing was found to occur in the protected area. Fishing effort was found to be highest around the border of the MPA (2.7 boats/km²) and lowest in the core of the MPA (0.2 boats/km²). If law enforcement remains poor it may be necessary to adapt the management strategy to extend the reserve, thereby mitigating against illegal fishing and ensuring a core area of no exploitation. Various other alternatives were investigated and it was demonstrated that the amount of fish caught of legal size could be increased by about 23% and post-release mortality of undersized fish reduced by 50% through the introduction of a suit of restrictive measures. Randomly stratified underwater visual census (UVC) and controlled fishing were used to investigate the ichthyofauna and benthic community at protected and exploited sites in the study area. Resulting density and size data from 273 fishing sites and 177 point counts were analyzed using generalized linear models (GLMs). Fish communities were found to vary significantly, depending on the level of exploitation. Roman, the principle reef fish species targeted by the fishery had significantly higher densities within the protected parts of the study area (CPUE: 4.3 fish/anglerhour; UVC: 2.2 fish/point-count) as compared to the exploited part (CPUE: 3.4 fish/anglerhour; UVC: 1.8 fish/point-count), correlating strongly with the observed fishing effort. Also mean sizes were significantly higher in the protected area (299 mm from fishing survey and 233 mm from diving estimates) as compared to the exploited section (283 mm from fishing survey and 198 mm from diving estimates). Although other fish species also had significantly higher mean sizes at protected sites in most cases their densities were significantly lower. This suggests a top-down control of the fish community by the dominant predator (roman). The results of the UVC showed the diversity of the ichthyofauna to be significantly higher inside the protected area. Interestingly this did not apply to the results of the controlled fishing experiment where the diversity of fish in the catch was lower in the protected area - a result that may be explained by the selectivity of fishing for the most aggressive species – and a reminder of the limitations of controlled fishing experiments. Possibly the most important finding of the study revolved around the benthic community. These were significantly different at exploited and protected sites, with algae and crinoids more abundant at exploited sites. Crinoids are the principle food of roman and were low in abundance where roman abundances were high, suggesting that the dominant top predator reduced crinoids. Furthermore, it substantiates the correlation of roman abundance with fishing effort, since habitat preferences can be ruled out by the observed causal predator-prey distribution pattern. Low algae abundances at protected sites correlated with high strepie (Sarpa salpa) frequencies within the fish communities encountered there. Strepie, a shoaling and abundant benthic grazer, does not compete for food with roman, suggesting a high potential for coexistence of the two species. As expected, and found by other studies, life history traits of roman differed between protected and exploited sample-sites. With a significantly lower age-at-maturity and age-atsex- change, the exploited population showed a typical response to fishing effort. The sex ratio of this protogynous hermaphrodite was found to be sustained at healthy levels by phenotypic plasticity. However, one important additional factor was highlighted by the study; the average condition factor of the protected population was significantly lower (0.0283 g/cm³) compared to the exploited population (0.0295 g/cm³). This was probably due to the higher intra-specific competition for lower food abundance in the protected area. Interestingly the diving and fishing survey methods yielded similar mortality results for roman. Total mortality rate estimates derived from length frequency analysis from the diving and fishing survey were not different (0.32 and 0.29 y⁻¹, respectively) as were natural mortality rate estimates (0.24 and 0.19 y⁻¹, respectively). Natural mortality rate (M) estimates indicated by Pauly’s and Hoenig’s relationship were similar (0.25 and 0.23 y⁻¹, respectively). Detailed yield-per-recruit (Y/R) and spawner biomass-per-recruit (SB/R) analyses were presented for different levels of M, varying age-at-recruitment (tR) and fishing mortality (F). Current tR (7.60 y) and F (0.16 and 0.25 y⁻¹, from the diving and fishing dataset, respectively) suggests an optimal exploitation of the population in the exploited part of the study area. However, a separate SB/R analysis of the male part of the population showed their vulnerability to over-exploitation, even at reduced age-at-sex-change from fishing. There therefore remains a high risk of recruitment failure for the roman population. Of course MPAs can be used to measure stock status directly if the influence of factors such as cachability, habitat and sampling method on CPUE assessments can be limited or reduced. The experimental design in this study allowed for contemporary CPUE comparisons across the border of the Goukamma MPA. Results were similar to those obtained by the SB/R analyses. CPUE extrapolations therefore, using small MPAs, can provide reliable and consistent estimates, and offer a practical alternative to conventional assessment strategies. This study has highlighted the importance of ensuring a well structured and comprehensive survey design when undertaking a comparison of protected and exploited marine areas. The results provide a comprehensive framework for future management of the Goukamma MPA and other protected areas along the temperate coastline of South Africa.

Under the growing demand for marine fish resources, and the apparent and expected impacts of global climate change, there is a need to conduct long-term monitoring (LTM) to ensure effective management of resources and conservation of biodiversity. However LTM programmes often suffer from design deficiencies and fail to achieve their objectives. These deficiencies stem from the fact that insufficient consideration is afforded to the design phase, with programmes selecting methods that are not suitable to address the objectives, or are not cost-efficient, compromising the sustainability of the LTM. To facilitate the establishment of LTM programmes along the southern coast of South Africa, background research needed to be conducted to identify which methods were most appropriate for LTM of reef fish. This study presents a detailed field-based assessment of the suitability and cost-efficiency of monitoring methods for long-term monitoring of reef fish in the Agulhas Ecoregion of South Africa. The approach adopted to identify the method, or suite of methods most suited for LTM, involved (i) the selection of methods considered suitable for LTM, (ii) the individual assessment and optimisation of method performance, and (iii) the comparative assessment of the fish community sampled by the different methods. The most suited method(s) were then identified as those that provide the most comprehensive assessment of the fish community and had the highest cost-efficiency. The research was conducted between January 2008 and 2011 in the Tsitsikamma and Table Mountain National Park (TNP and TMNP, respectively) marine protected areas (MPAs) within the Agulhas Ecoregion. The methods selected included fish traps (FT), controlled angling (CA), underwater visual census (UVC), remote underwater video (RUV), baited RUV (BRUV) and remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The individual assessment and optimisation was conducted with the FT, UVC, RUV and BRUV methods. The assessment of the FT method aimed to identify the optimal soak time, and whether or not the size of the funnel entrance to the trap affected the catch. The results identified that larger funnel entrances caught more fish and soak times of 80 minutes produced the highest catches per unit effort. However the data were highly variable and the method detected few of the species typical of the region. Fish traps were also associated with high levels of mortality of fish post-release. The assessment of UVC strip transect method involved directly comparing the precision of data collected by researchers and volunteers using a novel double-observer technique (paired-transects). The results showed considerable error in both the volunteers and researchers data, however the researchers produced significantly higher precision data, compared to the volunteers. The distinction between researchers and volunteers was not evident in the data for the dominant species of fish. For all observers, the abundance of a species in the sample had a significant influence on its detectability, with locally scarce or rare species poorly detected. UVC was able to sample the majority of species typical of reefs in the region, however it appeared plagued by observer and detectability biases. The assessments of RUV and BRUV were conducted simultaneously which enabled the assessment of the effect of bait on the observed fish community. In addition the optimal deployment time for both methods to maximise species richness and abundance was determined. The results showed that BRUV, and to a lesser degree RUV, were able to effectively survey the reef fish community for the region with a 50 minute and 35 minute deployment time, respectively. Baited remote underwater video was especially good at detecting the invertebrate and generalist carnivores, and cartilaginous species. On the other hand, RUV was more effective at surveying the microinvertebrate carnivores. Remote underwater video was characterised by higher data variability, compared to BRUV, and was ultimately considered a less cost-efficient monitoring method. Comparative methods assessments were conducted during two field experiments with the FT, UVC and BRUV methods in the TMNP MPA, and the FT, CA, UVC, RUV, BRUV and ROV methods compared in the TNP MPA. The objectives of the comparison were to investigate differences in the fish communities observed with the different methods, and to determine the power of the data to detect an annual 10% growth in the fish populations over a period of five years. The results from the method comparison were in turn used to conduct the cost-benefit analysis to determine the efficiency of the different methods at achieving monitoring objectives requiring population data from multiple trophic and functional groups with the community, and from species of fisheries importance. The results indicated that FT, CA and ROV were ineffective at monitoring the reef fish community, although CA appeared to provide valuable data for the dominant fisheries species. Both CA and FT required minimal initial investment however, the variability in the data translated into high annual monitoring costs, as the required sampling effort was great. The ROV required the highest initial investment and was identified as the least cost-efficient method. Underwater visual census was able to adequately survey the bony fish within the community, however it did not detect the cartilaginous species. Underwater visual census required a large initial investment and was not cost-efficient, as a many samples were required to account for the variability in the data. Remote underwater video provided a comprehensive assessment of the reef fish community, however it too was associated with high levels of variability in the data, compared to BRUV, reducing its cost-efficiency. BRUV provided the most comprehensive assessment of the reef fish community and was associated with the highest cost-efficiency to address the community and fisheries species monitoring objectives. During the course of this research stereo-BRUV has gained considerable support as an effective reef fish monitoring method. Although not tested during this research, stereo-BRUV is preferred to BRUV as it provides accurate data on the size of fish. However, the initial investment of stereo-BRUV is over three times that required for the BRUV. Although it is recommended that a baited video technique be used for LTM in the Agulhas Ecoregion, the choice between BRUV and stereo-BRUV will depend on the specific objectives of the programme and the available budget at the implementing agency.

The need for a broader geographical and functional perspective in managing natural resources of the Belize barrier reef system was examined. The small country of Belize in Central America is struggling to increase its economic development and growth. It has an excellent natural resource base, the most dramatic component being the extensive barrier reef system just offshore. The research identified key economic and environmental issues relative to Belize’s reef complex, and analyzed resource management policies and actions taken to date. Development and conservation needs suggest a multiple use strategy aimed at economic and environmental sustainability. Due to areal extent and ecological complexity, the present reactive, small-scale and piecemeal approach is not adequate to realize sustainable utilization of the area’s resources. This research shows the need for a broad spatial and interdisciplinary “coastal zone" perspective, leading to a comprehensive and integrated strategy upon which to base resource planning and management. A strategy for the reef system must be accomplished within the broader context of a national resource management strategy, integrating concerns of economic development and environmental protection. As a component of this national policy, the proposed strategy for the barrier reef system is based on principles of multiple use of resources, coastal zone scope, and sustainability. The research supports a reef system-wide protected area, using a biosphere reserve framework and a customized model planning process to implement the strategy.
Master of Science

This dissertation investigates social and ecological factors that facilitate effective management of coral reefs as social-ecological systems. Meta-analytical and field-based methods were employed to examine current management challenges and identify strategies that improve management effectiveness and coral reef health. A meta-analysis was used to evaluate biological indicators of reef health in relation to the types of fishing regulations in place (no-take areas, gear restriction areas, and periodic closures) and the actor groups (community-based, co-management, state, private) involved in management efforts for coral reef fisheries throughout the world. Other than enhancement of fish biomass within no-take areas that was significantly greater than in gear restriction areas, most biological indicators benefitted similarly from management techniques of no-take areas and gear restriction areas. Community-based and co-management were the best performing management arrangements for some biological outcomes but require further case studies to verify findings. Investigation of management effects by region indicated that previously degraded reefs received fewer benefits from management implementation than did relatively healthier reefs. For field investigations, the Comoros islands in the Western Indian Ocean served as a model for tropical coral reefs with challenging socioeconomic contexts, high biodiversity, and high vulnerability to coral reef degradation. Empirical study at 21 sites was used to identify the relative effects of natural and anthropogenic threats to coral reefs of the Comoros. Most previous studies of reef health focus on primarily natural factors or a single anthropogenic threat. This study examined suites of natural factors and human activities to identify the relative importance of each on reef health. Human activities including fishing, sand extraction, and beachfront housing and development were the best predictors of reef health status. Most notably, human population and fishing predicted fish richness, abundance, and biomass with seasonal variation in the effects, while site orientation strongly predicted benthic cover. Field studies in the Comoros were also used to investigate the roles of community and state actors in co-management and compare effectiveness of comanagement across sites with varying levels of actor participation. Effective management was found to occur with community or `meta-community' (in this case, a Marine Protected Area in which the efforts of several communities were organized) participation in governance and support of state or external agents, while resilient management that overcame considerable challenges was found to occur only with strong community participation and leadership in governance. External agents were found to contribute to development of meta-community governance structure and initiation of community participation through education and capacity building. The findings from these studies reveal that coral reef management can be improved through context appropriate regulations that address detrimental human activities and through wide acceptance and participation in governance with cooperation among states, communities, and external agents.

Real-world problems especially the ones that involve natural systems are complex and they are composed of many non-deterministic components. Uncertainties associated with these non-deterministic components may originate from randomness or from imprecision due to lack of information. Until recently, uncertainty, regardless of its nature or source has been treated by probability concepts. However, uncertainties associated with real-world systems are not limited to randomness. Imprecise, vague or incomplete information may better be represented by other mathematical tools, such as fuzzy set theory, possibility theory, belief functions, etc. New approaches which allow utilization of probability theory in combination with these new mathematical tools found applications in various engineering fields. Uncertainty modeling in human health risk assessment and groundwater resources management areas are investigated in this thesis. In the first part of this thesis two new approaches which utilize both probability theory and fuzzy set theory concepts to treat parameter uncertainties in carcinogenic risk assessment are proposed. As a result of these approaches fuzzy health risks are generated. For the fuzzy risk to be useful for practical purposes its acceptability with respect to compliance guideline has to be evaluated. A new fuzzy measure, the risk tolerance measure, is proposed for this purpose. The risk tolerance measure is a weighed average of the possibility and the necessity measures which are currently used for decision making purposes. In the second part of this thesis two decision making frameworks are proposed to determine the best groundwater resources management strategy in the Savannah region, Georgia. Groundwater resources management problems, especially ones in the coastal areas are complex and require treatment of various uncertain inputs. The first decision making framework proposed in this study is composed of a coupled simulation-optimization model followed by a fuzzy multi-objective decision making approach while the second framework includes a groundwater flow model in which the parameters of the flow equation are characterized by fuzzy numbers and a decision making approach which utilizes the risk tolerance measure proposed in the first part of this thesis.

This study was carried out with the purpose of discovering what factors are predictive of money management behavior; Plan, Implement, and Evaluative Feedback. The data used in this study was subset data collected during 1988, under the NC-167 project entitled "Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well Being of Rural Families". Three hundred and seven financial managers in families from Arizona completed and returned the questionnaire used in this study. It was found that (1) the power money attitude, the inadequacy money attitude, and gender were predictor variables of plan behavior; (2) the inadequacy money attitude and age were predictor variables of evaluative feedback.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate tourism capacity, the effectiveness of the management plan and the visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for increased conservation effort in the Buccoo Reef Marine Park (BRMP) in Tobago. Non-market contingent valuation was applied to estimate tourists’ WTP, using the data from a survey of 164 tourists. Local residents and government agencies were consulted to evaluate the management plan and the tourism capacity. Eighty-eight percent of local residents stated that the park was not well managed and that they lacked trust in the park agency. The density of tourists was 67-97% more than socially acceptable crowding norm. The tourists were willing to pay an additional entry fee of US$11.72 per person, which would generate additional revenue for the park management. In conclusion, the BRMP management needs modification in order to increase stakeholders’ trust, reduce tourists crowding intensity, and generate additional user-based revenue.

The Veracruz Reef System (VRS) is located in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. It is comprised of 28 coral reefs in various stages of development and conservation. They are protected under the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park created in 1992. There are many threats to the reefs of the VRS, including the Port and city of Veracruz, which hosts half a million inhabitants and Mexico’s oldest active port. The inhabitants of Veracruz have used reef resources for thousands of years, as evidenced in archaeological sites on Sacrificios island, and constructions throughout the city, most notably in the San Juan de Ulúa Fort which was built entirely of coral skeletons. Despite the usage and protection given under the National Park, there is relatively little known about the health and condition of the stony corals in the System. There has only been one large scale study of 21 reefs conducted in the VRS in the late 1980’s. Since then, the National Park was created and 28 reefs are now recognized. This study performed point-intercept transects on 24 of these reefs including five reefs added to the official list in 2012. Point-intercept transects were surveyed at 63 sites between 2007 and 2014. Percent cover was calculated for seven functional groups. Additionally, demographic data of a subset of individual stony coral colonies were assessed on each transect. The functional group with the greatest cover in the VRS was crustose coralline algae (mean ± S.E.: 28.9% ± 1.97), stony corals had the second highest cover (21.5% ± 1.24). The Jamapa river divides the VRS into two groups the Veracruz group to the North and the Anton Lizardo group to the south of the river mouth. The Veracruz group had lower crustose coralline algae cover (28.1% ± 2.71) and coral cover (17.8% ± 1.55) than the Anton Lizardo group (29.6% ± 2.87 CCA and 25.3% ± 1.86 coral cover). The highest average coral cover on a reef was recorded at Ahogado Chico (45.5% ± 5.58), and the highest cover recorded on a single transect was 70% at Santiaguillo reef. The lowest coral cover was recorded at the fringing reefs on the north of the VRS, Punta Gorda and Punta Brava which had less than 1% coral cover. Coral colonies averaged 69.1 cm ± 3.10 in length at the VRS, 56.8 cm ± 2.98 in the Veracruz group and 81.7 cm ± 5.11 in the Antón Lizardo group. Old partial mortality was 25% ± 1.05 overall and similar between groups, recent partial mortality was 1.2% ± 0.21 and 1% at both groups. Disease prevalence was 3.9% for the VRS, 2.9% ± 0.88 in the Veracruz group and 4.9% ± 1.11 in the Antón Lizardo group. Overall, these reefs are faring slightly better than other reefs in the Caribbean having higher coral cover and larger colonies. However, the great variability in the health and condition of these reefs demands added attention and clear management goals to ensure their persistence in the face of ever growing threats. It is important to decrease the sources of stress, such as construction and poor waste water management in the area, better regulate fishing and approach a watershed wide management plan which takes into account upstream effects from the rivers that discharge into the Veracruz Reef System.

Thesis (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research study assessed records management practices in the Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA), with the focus being on human resources records. Human resources records management practices were assessed in four key performance areas, namely: policy and regulatory framework, storage requirements, integrity of paper-based and electronic records, and efficiency and effectiveness of the registry system. The assessment tool, as prescribed in the Best Practice Model for Keeping and Managing Paper-Based Employee Records, was used. Research findings showed that LDA's performance in terms of records management practices do not comply with the set policies and regulatory framework and that the storage conditions are insecure. Research findings were evaluated and possible strategies for improving the management of human resources records are recommended. The adoption of awareness campaigns for staff, a coordinated training programme as well as the provision of support of top management, are some of the strategies recommended.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie navorsingstudie is rekords van bestuurpraktyke in die Limpopo Departement van Landbou (LDL) geassesseer, met die fokus op menslikehulpbronrekords. Die menslikehulpbronrekords is geassesseer op grond van vier kernprestasie-areas, naamlik die beleids- en regulatoriese raamwerk, bergingsvereistes, integriteit van papiergebaseerde en elektroniese rekords, en doeltreffendheid en effektiwiteit van die registerstelsel. Die assesseringstelsel soos voorgeskryf deur die Best Practice Model for Keeping and Managing Paper-Based Employee Records is gebruik. Navorsingsbevindings het getoon dat die LDL se prestasie ten opsigte van rekordbestuurpraktyke nie voldoen aan beleide nie en dat ‟n regulatoriese raamwerk en veilige bergingstoestande nie bestaan nie. Navorsingsbevindings is geëvalueer en moontlike strategieë om die bestuur van menslikehulpbronrekords te verbeter, is aanbeveel. Die ingebruikneming van bewusmakingsveldtogte vir personeel, 'n gekoördineerde opleidingsprogrm en ook die verskaffing van steun deur topbestuur is van die strategieë wat aanbeveel word.

Recently, approaches to natural resource management emphasize the importance of involving communities and institutions to build capacity, limit costs, and achieve environmental sustainability. Many developing countries have policy reforms and devolution programs allowing greater involvement of local communities to manage natural resources. However, implementation of these policies has many challenges which include unaccountable representatives, limited transfer of power and benefits. This study investigates how Local Forest Organizations (LFO) uses their devolved powers and responsibilities to manage resources on behalf of the people they represent. The principal focus of this thesis is an examination of the nature of institutional decision making at the communal level of forest management in Malawi. The conceptual frameworks and theoretical underpinnings used were the common pool resource theory, institutions, and governance concepts. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used in this study. Results show that 'bottom-up' approaches are an effective way to manage forest resources. 67% of the sampled LFOs manage and protect forest resources on customary land effectively and sustainably. Effective and sustainable LFOs are inclusive in their operations, have appropriate governance structures and receive support from traditional leaders. A number of Village Forest Areas (VFAs) have been established to promote regeneration and conservation of a variety oftree species which when managed properly will provide future livelihood security. The study observed that Indigenous Forest Management (IFM) has diffused to new members through community interactions and incentives for VF A Management. However, the mechanisms of transferring decision making powers as stated in the forestry policy are prohibitive in the sense that developed forest management plans (FMPs) have to go through a long approval process to become a Forest Management Agreement (FMA) hence, no FMA has been signed in the study area. The, LFOs could be supported to formulate FMP and enter FMA to effectively manage the VF As. Secondly, forestry based enterprises did not materialize as anticipated due to limited partnership between Non-Governmental Organizations and VNRMCs/LFOs. Absence of NGOs to support the effort of LFOs in the VF A management threatens the long-term sustainability of LFOs. The Forestry Department and NGOs need to adequately support community initiatives in capacity building, finance and provision of incentives. Forestry extension workers could be provided with the necessary skills and financial support to facilitate forestry activities.

The study presented in this thesis discusses the topic of ASRs through the use of a specific case study constructed at Boscombe, UK. With the main aim to provide an impartial and independent study into the environmental, social and economic impacts of an ASR. The research presented is therefore multidisciplinary in nature, the separate components utilise key techniques from the geophysical, numerical modelling and socio-economic disciplines are combined to present a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding of ASRs. Whilst previous studies have focused on one of these disciplines, there are no independent detailed studies of a constructed ASR utilising an multidisciplinary approach. The ASR concept and structures are still in their development infancy, the subject has received cursory independent review in the literature. There have been few successful projects, those that have survived structurally in the ocean are not being used primarily for surfing. The Boscombe ASR is an example of high overspend, poor management and construction, loss of geotextile SFC and users deem the project a failure. The consequences of not correctly planning, managing and overseeing the construction has resulted in a poorly viewed project of limited success. All stages of this project could have benefited from thoughtful planning, thereby avoiding this outcome. If lessons are to be learnt from this project then the planning and management are key areas of the process that need addressing. Ensuring that any future ASR projects are securely integrated with the coastal zone management plan will provide sustainability and success. The DPSIR framework approach can be used to highlight and address the causes of problems in the project. This framework enables the various disciplines to be discussed in relation to each other; links can be identified between the environmental, social and economic impacts of the ASR construction. Strict protocols will increase the success of any ASR project. The final crest height of the Boscombe ASR was 0.5 m higher than the final design height, this is a fundamental design flaw that should not be occurring in modern coastal engineering practice. It is suggested that guidelines are written based on this research for the design and construction process of an ASR. The recommendations and guidelines for ASR monitoring are provided by this research. The emphasis for future projects should lie in the final design and in monitoring, baseline field data should be collected to understand the environmental state change and socio-economic impacts. Planning and government proposals should be accompanied by extensive stakeholder engagement ensuring transparency for the project and ownership within the coastal community. The exclusion of stakeholders at key decision points created distrust and misunderstanding towards the Boscombe ASR project. Avoiding unrealistic expectations within the surfing community and wider coastal community was discussed throughout this research, and by others in the literature. This research agrees with these statements, the issue of poor surfability would be improved by a greater area to manipulate the bathymetry. However this would come at a greatly increased cost in geotextile SFCs, which the current construction method is certainly not capable of delivering successfully. It would be recommended in this case that an alternative construction material was used that is resilient to the marine environment and readily adaptable given poor performance. Further testing of materials, both geotextile SFCs and alternatives, are required for the successful advancement of ASR technology.

Madagascar, a country whose extraordinary levels of endemism and biodiversity are celebrated globally by scientists and laymen alike, yet historically has received surprisingly little research attention, is the setting of the present dissertation. Here, I contribute to the need for applied research by: 1) focusing on the most intensely fished section of the Toliara Barrier Reef, the Bay of Ranobe; 2) characterizing the marine environment, the human population, and the fisheries; and 3) collecting the longest known time-series of data on fisheries of Madagascar, thereby providing a useful baseline for future analyses. In Chapter 1, the bathymetry of the Bay was characterized following a unique application of the boosted regression tree classifier to the RGB bands of IKONOS imagery. Derivation of water depths, based on DOS-corrected images, following a generic, log-transformed multiple linear regression approach produced a predictive accuracy of 1.28 m, whereas model fitting performed using the boosted regression tree classifier, allowing for interaction effects (tree complexity= 2), provided increased accuracy (RMSE= 1.01 m). Estimates of human population abundance, distribution, and dynamics were obtained following a dwelling-unit enumeration approach, using IKONOS Panchromatic and Google Earth images. Results indicated, in 2016, 31,850 people lived within 1 km of the shore, and 28,046 people lived within the 12 coastal villages of the Bay. Localized population growth rates within the villages, where birth rates and migration are combined, ranged from 2.96% - 6.83%, greatly exceeding official estimates of 2.78%. Annual pirogue counts demonstrated a shift in fishing effort from south to the north. Gear and boat (pirogue) profiles were developed, and the theoretical maximum number of fishermen predicted (n= 4,820), in 2013, from a regression model based on pirogue lengths (R2= 0.49). Spatial fishing effort distribution was mapped following a satellite-based enumeration of fishers-at-sea, resulting in a bay-wide estimate of intensity equaling 33.3 pirogue-meters km-2. Landings and CPUE were characterized, with respect to finfish, by family, species, gear, and village. Expansion of landings to bay-wide fisheries yields indicated 1,885.8 mt year-1 of mixed fisheries productivity, with an estimated wholesale value of 1.64 million USD per annum.

This study investigates the status of Abalone fishery (Haflotis mariae) in the southern region of Oman. This fishery has been an important and valuable resource to both the population in this region as well as for the country. The fishery began around 1970 and produces annually between 29-56 t of fresh meat with the highest production during 2003 valued at 8.4 million US$, (but most of the landing during the last few years is below the minimum legal size of 90 mm shell length). This extraordinarily value has resulted in intensive fishing operations and the fishery today faces a serious decline in stock density and availability of large individuals. This study aims to assess the reasons for the decline, and provide information on the status of the fishery to develop a management plan. The study was carried out over two years including monthly sampling from three selected permanent stations: Mirbat, Hadbin and Sharbithat, following by an intensive survey along the whole coastline. It covers aspects of the ecology and dynamics of this fishery and presents information on the abalone distribution, abundance, morphometry and size composition structures, habitat, competitors, predators, commercial production and marketing, biochemical composition, environment parameters, preservation, genetics, biology including growth, reproduction, spawning season, sex distribution, maturity stages and size at first maturity. The fishery is restricted to the southern coastline, which is strongly influenced by the monsoon winds, which result in major changes in the environmental conditions and the upwelling of deep-cold nutrient-rich water. This could regulate the limited distribution of this fishery between Ras Mirbat and Suqrah. They occurred at more exposed shores at depths up to 20 m, but most of the populations are found between 5-10 m. Abalone habitats were mostly destroyed and showed signs of degradation in algal cover. Sea urchin is the main competitor present at 25 times the number of abalone. Sea star also abundant and shows sign of predation on abalone. Abalone population density was 0.07 individuals/m², which is inadequate to support a good reproductive level and maintain a sustainable fishery. The remaining stock was calculated at 707000 pieces (54.5 t of flesh wet weight). This fishery is regulated through a fishing season for two months a year combined with a MLS of 90 mm SL, but 50% of the divers catch is below this limit. Most of remain populations are of small and medium sizes. In addition, females are larger than males resulting in fishing selectivity; therefore, fewer females remain in the population, which has an impact on reproduction and recruitment. The species sexually matured at sizes over 60 mm SL. Spawning occurs from November to March/April at all the three sites. Growth is faster in the first year and decrease with age. Fishing mortality is high and egg production very low. Populations of Haliotis mariae found in all the three study areas of Oman were genetically linked. The H mariae stock is considered seriously compromised and the remaining population seems unsustainable under current fishing pressure combined by environment destruction and other biological failures. Reduction of exploitation rate by 50%, increasing the size at capture, relocating the fishing season, adequate monitoring, controlling and surveillance with strong enforcement of existing legislation are necessary to conserve and protect the fishery. The resource user groups need to be involved in management process of this fishery and education programmes and awareness campaign should be introduced to highlight the need for divers to change attitudes and practices to make the fishery more sustainable. Research and further studies on more aspects of this fishery are recommended.

The main problem of this study was to assess the communication strategies used by GIRSS to achieve organisational goals. To address this problem, a theoretical study was undertaken to identify the communication strategies used in organisations. The theoretical guidelines for effective communication were integrated into a communication model, which consisted of the following components: · The establishment of organisational communication structures; · The selection of appropriate communication media; IV · The management of communication barriers; and · Addressing the challenges in organisational communication. Based on the model, a survey questionnaire was developed to assess the extent to which GIRSS made use of these strategies. The questionnaire was administered to both managers and non-managers in the organisation. Due to the distance between South Africa and China, the questionnaire was administered via e-mail. The empirical results revealed that some of the theoretical guidelines were followed, but there was room for improvement in terms of communication strategies used at GIRSS. Specifically it was found that many barriers existed as a result of status and other differences, which influenced communication in the organisation. Communication in organisations is very important as it contributes to goal attainment, satisfaction, cooperation and problem-solving. Communication is a skill that can be learned, and managers as well as employees should consider the results of the study to initiate changes to the communication strategies used in the organization.

Water is an essential resource from an environmental, biological, economic or social point of view. In basin management, the irregular distribution in time and in space of this resource is well known. This issue is worsened by extreme climate conditions, generating drought periods or flood events. For both situations, optimal management is necessary. In one case, different water uses should be supplied efficiently using the available surface and groundwater resources. In another case, the most important goal is to avoid damages in flood areas, including the loss of human lives, but also to optimize the revenue of energy production in hydropower plants, or in other uses. The approach presented in this thesis proposes to obtain optimal management rules in water resource systems. With this aim, evolutionary algorithms were combined with simulation models. The first ones, as optimization tools, are responsible for guiding the process iterations. In each iteration, a new management rule is defined in the simulation model, which is computed to comprehend the situation of the system after applying this new management. For testing the proposed methodology, four evolutionary algorithms were assessed combining them with two simulation models. The methodology was implemented in four real case studies. This thesis is presented as a compendium of five manuscripts: three scientific papers published in journals (which are indexed in the Journal Citation Report), another under review, and the last manuscript from Conference Proceedings. In the first manuscript, the Pikaia optimization algorithm was combined with the network flow SIMGES simulation model for obtaining four different types of optimal management rules in the Júcar River Basin. In addition, the parameters of the Pikaia algorithm were also analyzed to identify the best combination of them to use in the optimization process. In the second scientific paper, the multi-objective NSGA-II algorithm was assessed to obtain a parametric management rule in the Mijares River basin. In this case, the same simulation model was linked with the evolutionary algorithm. In the Conference manuscript, an in-depth analysis of the Tirso-Flumendosa-Campidano (TFM) system using different scenarios and comparing three water simulation models for water resources management was developed. The third published manuscript presented the assessment and comparison of two evolutionary algorithms for obtaining optimal rules in the TFM system using SIMGES model. The algorithms assessed were the SCE-UA and the Scatter Search. In this research paper, the parameters of both algorithms were also analyzed as it was done with the Pikaia algorithm. The management rules in the three first manuscripts were focused to avoid or minimize deficits in urban and agrarian demands and, in some case studies, also to minimize the water pumped. Finally, in the last document, two of the algorithms used in previous manuscripts were assessed, the mono-objective SCE-UA and the multi-objective NSGA-II. For this research, the algorithms were combined with RS MINERVE software to manage flood events in Visp River basin minimizing damages in risk areas and losses in hydropower plants. Results reached in the five manuscripts demonstrate the validity of the approach. In all the case studies and with the different evolutionary algorithms assessed, the obtained management rules achieved a better system management than the base scenario of each case. These results usually mean a decrease of the economic costs in the management of water resources. However, comparing the four algorithms assessed, SCE-UA algorithm proved to be the most efficient due to the different stop/convergence criteria and its formulation. Nevertheless, NSGA-II is the most recommended due to its multi-objective search focus on the enhancement of different objectives with the same importance where the decision makers can make the best decision for the management of the system.
El agua es un recurso esencial desde el punto de vista ambiental, biológico, económico o social. En la gestión de cuencas, es bien conocido que la distribución del recurso en el tiempo y el espacio es irregular. Este problema se agrava debido a condiciones climáticas extremas, generando períodos de sequía o inundaciones. Para ambas situaciones, una gestión óptima es necesaria. En un caso, el suministro de agua a los diferentes usos del sistema debe realizarte eficientemente empleando los recursos disponibles, tanto superficiales como subterráneos. En el otro caso, el objetivo más importante es evitar daños en las zonas de inundación, incluyendo la pérdida de vidas humanas, pero al mismo tiempo, optimizar los beneficios de centrales hidroeléctricas, o de otros usos. El enfoque presentado en esta tesis propone la obtención de reglas de gestión óptimas en sistemas reales de recursos hídricos. Con este objetivo, se combinaron algoritmos evolutivos con modelos de simulación. Los primeros, como herramientas de optimización, encargados de guiar las iteraciones del proceso. En cada iteración se define una nueva regla de gestión en el modelo de simulación, que se evalúa para conocer la situación del sistema después de aplicar esta nueva gestión. Para probar la metodología propuesta, se evaluaron cuatro algoritmos evolutivos combinándolos con dos modelos de simulación. La metodología se implementó en cuatro casos de estudio reales. Esta tesis se presenta como un compendio de cinco publicaciones: tres de ellas en revistas indexadas en el Journal Citation Report, otra en revisión y la última como publicación de un congreso. En el primer manuscrito, el algoritmo de optimización Pikaia se combinó con el modelo de simulación SIMGES para obtener reglas de gestión óptimas en la cuenca del río Júcar. Además, se analizaron los parámetros del algoritmo para identificar la mejor combinación de los mismos en el proceso de optimización. El segundo artículo evaluó el algoritmo multi-objetivo NSGA-II para obtener una regla de gestión paramétrica en la cuenca del río Mijares. En el trabajo presentado en el congreso se desarrolló un análisis en profundidad del sistema Tirso-Flumendosa-Campidano utilizando diferentes escenarios y comparando tres modelos de simulación para la gestión de los recursos hídricos. En el tercer manuscrito publicado se evaluó y comparó dos algoritmos evolutivos (SCE-UA y Scatter Search) para obtener reglas de gestión óptimas en el sistema Tirso-Flumendosa-Campidano. En dicha investigación también se analizaron los parámetros de ambos algoritmos. Las reglas de gestión de estas cuatro publicaciones se enfocaron en evitar o minimizar los déficits de las demandas urbanas y agrarias y, en ciertos casos, también en minimizar el caudal bombeado, utilizando para ello el modelo de simulación SIMGES. Finalmente, en la última publicación se evaluó el algoritmo mono-objetivo SCE-UA y el multi-objetivo NSGA-II. Para esta investigación, los algoritmos se combinaron con el software RS MINERVE para gestionar los eventos de inundación en la cuenca del río Visp minimizando los daños en las zonas de riesgo y las pérdidas en las centrales hidroeléctricas. Los resultados obtenidos en las cinco publicaciones demuestran la validez del enfoque. En todos los casos de estudio y, con los diferentes algoritmos evolutivos evaluados, las reglas de gestión obtenidas lograron una mejor gestión del sistema que el escenario base de cada caso. Estos resultados suelen representar una disminución de los costes económicos en la gestión de los recursos hídricos. Comparando los cuatro algoritmos, el SCE-UA demostró ser el más eficiente debido a los diferentes criterios de convergencia. No obstante, el NSGA-II es el más recomendado debido a su búsqueda multi-objetivo enfocada en la mejora, con la misma importancia, de diferentes objetivos, donde los tomadores de decisiones pueden sel
L'aigua és un recurs essencial des del punt de vista ambiental, biològic, econòmic o social. En la gestió de conques, és ben conegut que la distribució del recurs en el temps i l'espai és irregular. Este problema s'agreuja a causa de condicions climàtiques extremes, generant períodes de sequera o inundacions. Per a ambdúes situacions, una gestió òptima és necessària. En un cas, el subministrament d'aigua als diferents usos del sistema ha de realitzar-se eficientment utilitzant els recursos disponibles, tant superficials com subterranis. En l'altre cas, l'objectiu més important és evitar danys en les zones d'inundació, incloent la pèrdua de vides humanes, però al mateix temps, optimitzar els beneficis de centrals hidroelèctriques, o d'altres usos. La proposta d'esta tesi és l'obtenció de regles de gestió òptimes en sistemes reals de recursos hídrics. Amb este objectiu, es van combinar algoritmes evolutius amb models de simulació. Els primers, com a ferramentes d'optimització, encarregats de guiar les iteracions del procés. En cada iteració es definix una nova regla de gestió en el model de simulació, que s'avalua per a conéixer la situació del sistema després d'aplicar esta nova gestió. Per a provar la metodologia proposada, es van avaluar quatre algoritmes evolutius combinant-los amb dos models de simulació. La metodologia es va implementar en quatre casos d'estudi reals. Esta tesi es presenta com un compendi de cinc publicacions: tres d'elles en revistes indexades en el Journal Citation Report, una altra en revisió i l'última com a publicació d'un congrés. En el primer manuscrit, l'algoritme d'optimització Pikaia es va combinar amb el model de simulació SIMGES per a obtindre regles de gestió òptimes en la conca del riu Xúquer. A més, es van analitzar els paràmetres de l'algoritme per a identificar la millor combinació dels mateixos en el procés d'optimització. El segon article va avaluar l'algoritme multi-objectiu NSGA-II per a obtindre una regla de gestió paramètrica en la conca del riu Millars. En el treball presentat en el congrés es va desenvolupar una anàlisi en profunditat del sistema Tirso-Flumendosa-Campidano utilitzant diferents escenaris i comparant tres models de simulació per a la gestió dels recursos hídrics. En el tercer manuscrit publicat es va avaluar i va comparar dos algoritmes evolutius (SCE-UA i Scatter Search) per a obtindre regles de gestió òptimes en el sistema Tirso-Flumendosa-Campidano. En dita investigació també es van analitzar els paràmetres d'ambdós algoritmes. Les regles de gestió d'estes quatre publicacions es van enfocar a evitar o minimitzar els dèficits de les demandes urbanes i agràries i, en certs casos, també a minimitzar el cabal bombejat, utilitzant per a això el model de simulació SIMGES. Finalment, en l'última publicació es va avaluar l'algoritme mono-objectiu SCE-UA i el multi-objetiu NSGA-II. Per a esta investigació, els algoritmes es van combinar amb el programa RS MINERVE per a gestionar els esdeveniments d'inundació en la conca del riu Visp minimitzant els danys en les zones de risc i les pèrdues en les centrals hidroelèctriques. Els resultats obtinguts en les cinc publicacions demostren la validesa de la metodología. En tots els casos d'estudi i, amb els diferents algoritmes evolutius avaluats, les regles de gestió obtingudes van aconseguir una millor gestió del sistema que l'escenari base de cada cas. Estos resultats solen representar una disminució dels costos econòmics en la gestió dels recursos hídrics. Comparant els quatre algoritmes, el SCE-UA va demostrar ser el més eficient a causa dels diferents criteris de convergència. No obstant això, el NSGA-II és el més recomanat a causa de la seua cerca multi-objectiu enfocada en la millora, amb la mateixa importància, de diferents objectius, on els decisors poden seleccionar la millor opció per a la gestió del sistema.
Lerma Elvira, N. (2017). Assessment and implementation of evolutionary algorithms for optimal management rules design in water resources systems [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/90547
TESIS

The Ili-Balkhash basin (IB basin) is a large freshwater system, covering 413 000 km2 in Kazakhstan, China and Kyrgyzstan. The main part of the watershed is situated in Kazakstan (85%) and a smaller part in northwestern China (15 %). The Kazakhstan's part of the IB basin embraces the territory of the Almaty region and Xinijang region. The water of the western lake Balkhash is slightly salty (1,2 %), while the eastern part has a considerably higher salt contamination (3,9 %). The lake has a surface area of over 16 000 km2 and a length of 600 km. The average depth of the lake is six metres and its maximum depth reaches 26 metres. There are three main rivers flowing into the lake: Ili River, with a large delta, the Karatal River, with a smaller delta, and the Aqsu River. The biggest of them being the Ili river - already influenced by a reservoir created upstream and heavy agricultural use - which flows from China. Chinese authorities intend to make an increased use of the Ili river and thus China will come to have a strong influence on the Balkhash lake. The Xinijang region is highly populated and the population rate is increasing significantly through the combination of natural population increase and internal migration from the eastern part of China. The lake is very shallow and very sensitive to changes in water transport. Current development poses a severe threat to the watershed and specifically to lake Balkhash, since more and more water is diverted from the rivers for societal use, mainly agricultural irrigation. At the moment, the lake and the whole watershed suffer from ecological problems that mostly have been created artificially, by human hands. The Kapchagai reservoir, built along the middle reaches of the Ili River in 1966, and used for water storage since 1970, allowed the development of irrigation agriculture along the lower reaches of the river. The reservoir serves for hydroelectric power generation and for irrigation water supply. Since its inauguration, water use has increased along the lower reaches of the Ili River. In addition, increasing pollution emissions and an increased salinity of the lake water have seriously affected the fishing industry and diminished the surrounding habitats. So far, no action has been taken to reverse the ecological damage that the lake has suffered. In a worst scenario, a development similar to that for the Aral Sea can be foreseen. Future water management in the region will require improved water management policies, improved planning of water resources management, improved monitoring of different activities and their impact and an increased regional international cooperation, mainly between Kazakhstan and China. The Thesis is a compilation of information on the past and present situation of the IB basin, ending in a discussion of the sustainability of three future scenarios developed: (i) a business as usual scenario where there is a possibility that the lake will be divided into two separated small lakes, (ii) a non-conscious development with rapid economic growth scenario, where we risk the same ecological disaster as that happened to the Aral Sea and (iii) a sustainable development scenario, where the Balkhash lake can be saved. The discussion ends in the conclusion that there is a risk that a non-conscious development based on a rapid economic growth will result in severe long-term impacts and non-sustainable development in the IB basin
www.ima.kth.se

Lake Victoria contributes more than 60% of the total fish yield in each of the respective riparian countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Nile perch Lates niloticus contributed more than 60% to the total yield from the lake. Although accused of causing ecological instability of the ecosystem due to its predatory effects, the fishing industry became socially and economically dependable on the Nile perch. In the mid 1990s signs of overfishing were observed and concerns for the sustainability of the fishery were raised. To properly manage a fishery, knowledge of the factors that regulate the dynamics of the stock(s), their abundance and distribution is essential. Unfortunately data on the status of the Nile perch stocks are inadequate. This study was conducted on the Tanzanian part of Lake Victoria from 1997 to 2001 to address this problem. Reference is also made to the Kenyan and Ugandan national waters for comparison. Bottom trawl and catch assessment surveys were conducted to assess the status of the stocks. Abundance estimates and distribution patterns were determined. Current exploitation levels and practises were analysed and linked to growth and mortality, feeding and reproductive characteristics of the stock to determine status. Key environmental parameters were investigated and linked to the variations in the biological aspects and distribution patterns observed. There was an indication of reduced anoxic problems in the offshore deep waters and signs of improvement in the eutrophic state of the lake. Mean oxygen concentrations in the waters sampled varied from 8.02±0.73 mg L⁻¹ in the surface waters to 3.2±4.36 mg L⁻¹ in the bottom waters of 68 m deep, while Secchi disk readings at stations of 5-10 m depth ranged from 0.84±0.3 m in November to 1.9±1.02 m in August/September and in offshore waters of 50-6Om depth the readings were 3.08±0.62 m in February to 5.52±1.7 m in August/September. Distribution patterns of fish were highly aggregated but variable and were greatly influenced by seasonal patterns of oxygen and temperature, while reproduction and recruitment were related to rainfall patterns. Using the swept area method, biomass was estimated at 306,000 t for the Tanzanian waters and around 620,000 t for the whole lake, with a mean density of 9.87 t km⁻² and 10.56 t km⁻² respectively. Very high fishing mortality (1.55 yr⁻¹) and exploitation rates (0.84) were estimated using an L∞ of 218 em TL and a growth constant (K) of 0.16 estimated during the study. Excessively high fishing effort was observed in the 2000 frame survey while catch compositions reveal high dependence on juveniles for the Nile perch fishery. The size at first maturity was at 54.3 cm TL (1.6-yr.) and 76.7 em TL (2.5 yr.) for males and females respectively. About 83% of the catch survey data were below size at first maturity for males and 99% for females. Bottom trawl data (88% juveniles) suggested high recruitment in the stock. However the models indicated unsustainable exploitation of the fishery. A reduction of exploitation rate by 50% and increase of size at capture for optimum yield is recommended. The dominance of juveniles in the catch with the current yields (estimated at 138 323.85±6 229.14 t) higher than the sustainable yield (calculated at 108941.9 t yr⁻¹, using Cadima's formula) demands immediate management initiatives. Co-management is singled out as the most effective option for a functional system to implement control, monitoring and surveillance strategies within management process. With dynamic systems within the stocks, the environment as well as socioeconomic influences, and with continuous monitoring, adaptive and precautionary management strategies are recommended. Without reliable catch trend data it is difficult to confidently make predictions. The need to have a well-structured catch assessment survey system for reliable catch statistics is recommended. Priority areas to further research are also identified.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries management (EAF) and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) have been identified as possible alternatives to traditional linefish management measures, which have largely failed. Monitoring and assessment of fish communities on a long-term basis is necessary, and will provide a means to evaluate the effectiveness of such management measures. Therefore, standardised protocols and optimal sampling methods for long-term monitoring (LTM) and assessment of coastal fish communities are essential. This study aimed to identify suitable methods and develop a protocol for assessment of inshore reef fish communities. A suitable location for evaluation of proposed methods was identified in the warm temperate biogeographical region of South Africa, encompassing the well-established Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park MPA and an adjacent exploited area. Chrysoblephus laticeps (roman) was identified as an indicator species for the study, as it has been well-studied and is well represented in the area. Underwater visual census (UVC) and controlled fishing were identified as suitable methods. UVC transects were found to be superior to point counts, in terms of sampling efficiency, variability, bias and required sample size. An effort of two angler hours per fishing station was shown to provide low catch variability, while at the same time a representative catch and low overall cost and required time. The methods were incorporated in a proposed sampling protocol, and evaluated. The methods were able to detect known differences between protected and exploited communities. It is recommended that LTM within protected areas, for detection of natural change, be focused on community-level indicators, while LTM in exploited areas, aimed at detection of anthropogenic change, be focused on species-level indicators. The proposed protocol with standardised methods will allow for comparisons across a network of LTM sites and provide the opportunity for a broad-scale assessment of the effects of environmental variables on reef fish stocks. The protocol developed in this study has application in other biogeographical regions in South Africa, and other parts of the world. Shift in the focus of much marine research, in South Africa and elsewhere, to LTM, highlights the relevance and timeous nature of this study.

The precipitation data of the El Alto, Tambillo and Comanche stations are homogenous and consistent. The meteorological data from Irpa Chico, Collana and Viacha are consistent, but heterogeneous. The monthly precipitation in Viacha in December, January, March and April are better examples of a normal distribution in comparison to the months of October, November and February. The average annual precipitation in Viacha, in a thirty-four year time period, is 559 mm. Some 76% of this precipitation occurs in November to March. The minimum precipitation in Viacha, with an 80% probability of absence for the vegetative period, from October to April is 269mm. January is the month with the most precipitation (75 mm). The estimated potential of evaporation-transpiration with the Penmen-Monteith method is 1,168 mm a year. October constitutes the month with the greatest value of ETP (116mm). The maximum volume of food storage in the Calacalani Lagoon is 137,000 m3, with annual losses of 48,218 m3. 82% of these losses are due to evaporation and 18% due to infiltration. The usable water volume, taking into account the conservation of 30% of the total volume in order to maintain the aquatic fauna and flora, is 47,740 m3. With some exceptions, the quality of the water is suitable for livestock consumption and with an estimated irrigation capacity of 7-11 hectares per year. The Jacha Jahuira River- Pallina transports an average volume of 38.5x106 m3 annually. This presents serious restrictions for water use in agricultural irrigation and human consumption. The use of the River's water for agricultural purposes has been conditioned for special handling operations, which can reach an irrigational surface of 5,199-8,665 hectares/year. The ground water level may vary from 3,867-3,843 m over that of the ocean level. This presents a fluctuation of 1.2 m in the deep valley receptors of the Letanias hill country and 0.1 m in the community presented an average flow of 0.13 l/s, which represents a volume of 4,100 m3/year. The artesian or subterranean water represents an interesting potential for its quality as well as its availability of 788,000 m3/year of volume. With 12 hours of daily pumping of this water, some 53-88 hectares/year are suitable for irrigation. This is in spite of the fact that the lack of infrastructure has provoked the abandonment of deeply excavated wells, estimating an annual lose of 145,00 m3. Artesian water has no restriction in quality, for animal and human consumption or for irrigation purposes. Some ground water wells have been restricted for human use, due to bacterial contamination. The Choquenaira Community is located in the middle valley of the Jacha Jahuira-Pallina. In the high valley the reduction of vegetation coverage is being observed, that when combined with seasonal rains, provokes water erosion and the transportation of sediment through drainage; Estimating an average transportation of 104 TM of sediments in suspension, especially during the rainy seasons (December-March). In the lower valley severe biological contamination (for human consumption) has been detected. This is due to the discharge of service water from the Viacha City sewer system and the Laja population; and so the sediment accumulation, increasing the risk of overflow and flooding. Extreme events, such as flooding that exceed 50 million m3 of annual drainage, have happened four times in 52 years; which is approximately every 13 years. There is an annual 76% probability that a major event will not occur. The micro-region of the Choquenaria covers a total area of 2,126 hectares. Some 12% (262 hectares) are covered with pastures in a humid environment and temporarily or permanently flooded areas (bofedales, and fertile plains); 19% (401 hectares) are covered steeps, shrubs, and rocky outcrops with strong inclines; 69% (1,463 hectares) correspond to dry land cultivations, pastures, and or bushes that lack distinction. The highest quality springs are used for human consumption, which is estimated to be 10 liters/inhabitant/day, representing an overall community consumption of 594 m3/year (148 inhabitants). This level of consumption is low in comparison to that of the Bolivian, 30-50 l/habitant/day, which is due to the difficulty in accessing the water source. With an average cattle possession in a family being five bovines and 40 ovine, the average consumption is from 450 l/possession/day. This represents an annual consumption of 10,374 m3 used for livestock water in the Choquenaira Community. The surface that undergoes irrigation in the winter does not exceed 600 m2, which is a surface that needs 440 m3/year. The requirement or unitary demand for a cultivation system, consisting of barley (57%), potato (28.6%), and alfalfa (14.4%) in the Choquenaira Community is about 4,443 m3/hectares/year, assuming an irrigation efficiency of 100% and 7,405 m3/hectares/year with a 60% efficiency using a surface irrigation system. The inhabitants of the community use an operational strategy of national resources (ground, water, cultivations, etc.) on the basis of availability and incidence of climatic resources, with the use of local ecological indicators to predict the climate. The commoners seek the reduction of agricultural risk, through specialization in hydric cultivation (dry farming) crops, the spatial operations (epochs), water conservation (water gathering) and the diversification of fountains/springs. There are oftentimes-distinct gender roles in the community. Agriculture is considered a productive activity, in which men play the dominant role. Whereas the women play a fundamental role in obtaining water, especially that which is used in human and animal consumption. The overall offering of the local hydraulic system, composed of the contribution of the Jacha Jahuira River, Calacalani Lagoon, the ground water, and artesian wells, is 39.3 million meters cubed per year. The actual demand of the community, that includes human and animal consumption as well as the irrigation in winter pastures, reaches 11,381m3/year. The potential demand, that includes both human and animal consumption, irrigation in winter pastures and the supplementary irrigation of dry farming, reaches 3.2 million meters cubed per year. The local hydraulic system offers volumes of water, sufficient enough to meet the community's actual and potential demand. However, its contamination and difficulty to access has caused the inhabitants to develop spatial and temporary strategies in order to access the water. The commoners consider the developments of these hydric resources, especially that of human consumption, as a short and long term necessity.

This was the final statement in a report, prepared for the Namibian Programme to Combat Desertification (NAPCOD), which researched the process, praxis and environmental impacts of borehole provision in communal areas in Namibia (ENGEO, 1997).¹ This dissertation is a response to this concluding statement. It presents a theoretical model which provides a comprehensive yet simple environmental assessment and management framework to inform, guide and manage the provision of boreholes in communal areas in Namibia. The model has been designed to be cost effective, appropriate for its context and 'user-friendly'. Most importantly, the model aims to present a system which would promote principles of sustainability and, consequently, sustainable development in terms of borehole provision in communal areas in Namibia.

The main aim of this interdisciplinary research is to develop a socio-technical and institutional framework for implementing the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) paradigm by analysing how water resources can be managed in response to anthropogenic drivers (e.g. population/economic growth) and environmental pressures (e.g. climate change) within an evolving institutional set-up. Implementation of the Framework has focussed on Iran, and Lake Urmia basin as a case study, which involved a significant element of action research based upon stakeholder participation. Lack of implementation of concepts such as IWRM has been attributed to the gap between technical outcomes and policy decisions. To achieve an integrated synthesis for this interdisciplinary study, the integrated methodological framework has used four analytical components based on the IWRM concept: (1) Driver-Pressure-State-Impact Response (DPSIR); (2) Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD); (3) Integrated Socio-technical Assessment (ISTA) using modelling and Multi criteria Decision-Making (MCDA) tools; and (4) Ethics to assess water allocation decision outcomes in multitier Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs). Results from the case study show that the non-structural responses (legislations, new administrations etc.) adopted since 2003 have not guaranteed the implementation of sustainable water allocation outcomes in river basins including Lake Urmia basin. Water allocation has become highly political and caused polarisation in opinions and multiple perspectives among stakeholders underlined by diverging discourses on climate change, water and land development and irrigation water use efficiency. The participatory water allocation decision reached for Lake Urmia Basin, which included an allocation to sustain the hydrological and ecological functions of the Lake, has been re-evaluated by analysing historical climatic and hydrologic data. The outcome suggests that water availability in the basin is less than that adopted by the stakeholders based on trend analysis within the existing discourse. Therefore, the thesis demonstrates a mechanism for adaptive water allocation and demand management under an uncertain future climate which is represented through rainfall scenarios generated using a stochastic rainfall model. It is concluded that the participatory process has enhanced the efficacy of the water governance system, but the effectiveness of water allocation will be compromised unless an adaptive water allocation approach is implemented, and basin-wide water use efficiency measures are taken. It is recommended that modern day water and land governance has to take into account the ethical and cultural aspects of the community to form an alliance for sustainable resource use; thus, an Ethical legal framework for community-based land and water governance has been proposed. The overall integrated methodological approach provides an innovative analytical framework to understand the discursive deliberations in a complex Social-Ecological system heightened by (1) scientific uncertainty over climate variability and change; and (2) dynamic institutional transformation and evolution.

For data-limited fisheries, length-based mortality estimators are attractive as alternatives to age-structured models due to the simpler data requirements and ease of use of the former. This dissertation develops new extensions of mean length-based mortality estimators and applies them to federally-managed stocks in the southeastern U.S. and U.S. Caribbean. Chapter 1 presents a review of length-based methods from the literature. Common themes regarding the methodology, assumptions, and diagnostics in these length-based methods are discussed. In Chapter 2, a simulation study evaluates the performance of the length-converted catch curve (LCCC), Beverton-Holt equation (BHE), and Length Based-Spawner Potential Ratio (LB-SPR) over a range of scenarios. Although the LCCC and BHE are older methods than LB-SPR, the former outperformed LB-SPR in many scenarios in the simulation. Overall, it was found that the three length-based mortality estimators are less likely to perform well for low M/K stocks (M/K is the ratio of the natural mortality rate and the von Bertalanffy growth parameter; this ratio describes different life history strategies of exploited fish and invertebrate populations), while various decision rules for truncating the length data for the LCCC and BHE were less influential. In Chapter 3, a multi-stock model is developed for the non-equilibrium mean length-based mortality estimator and then applied to the deepwater snapper complex in Puerto Rico. The multispecies estimator evaluates synchrony in changes to the mean length of multiple species in a complex. Synchrony in mortality can reduce the number of estimated parameters and borrows information from more informative species to lesser sampled species in the model. In Chapter 4, a new method is developed to estimate mortality from both mean lengths and catch rates (MLCR), which is an extension of the mean length-only (ML) model. to do so, the corresponding behavior for the catch rate following step-wise changes in mortality is derived. Application of both models to Puerto Rico mutton snapper shows that the MLCR model can provide more information to support a more complex mortality history with the two data types compared to the ML model. In Chapter 5, a suite of mean length-based mortality estimators is applied to six stocks (four in the Gulf of Mexico and two in the U.S. Atlantic) recently assessed with age-structured models. There was general agreement in historical mortality trends between the age-structured models and the mean length-based methods, although there were some discrepancies which are discussed. All models also agreed on the overfishing status in the terminal year of the assessment of the six stocks considered here when the mortality rates were compared relative to reference points. This dissertation develops new length-based assessment methods which consider multiple sources of data. The review guides prospective users on potential choices for assessment with length-based methods. Issues and diagnostics associated with the methods are also discussed in the review and highlighted in the example applications.

Even though practical water resources planning and management has evolved greatly, there is still a mismatch between it and Integrated Water Resources Management. In light of the European Water Framework Directive and other European Policies related to water and sustainability, the Ecosystem Services assessment and Water Accounting methodologies have been identified as tools that can help approaching Integrated Water Resources Management. However, the existing methodologies are disconnected from the real requirements of water resources planning and management in complex river basins such as the ones suffering from water scarcity. The Water Accounting frameworks adopt a financial accounting perspective that is too exhaustive for the purpose of transmitting the relevant water stocks and flows for water managers and users in a river basin, and that entail less accuracy in the global water balance. Also, the analysed Ecosystem Assessment Tools overlook the influence of water management as well as the temporal and spatial variability of water resources and demands. This Thesis proposes methodologies for Water Accounting and Ecosystem Services Assessment which overcome the identified limitations and are especially adapted to be implemented in water scarce river basins. The Australian Water Accounting Standards are simplified to avoid exhaustive accounting for the sake of accuracy and transparency of water management information. An improved version is fully designed, and some criteria are proposed to guide its implementation at river basin scale with the purpose of improving public information and governance. A set of Integrated Water Resources Management Tools embedded in the Decision Support System AQUATOOL is tailored with economic information in order to obtain the benefits of three Freshwater Ecosystem Services considering the influence of water management with a detailed time step. The application of the resulting methodologies to different cases of study show the relevance of adopting a water management perspective in order to capture all the complexity of water scarce river basins in the results, so that they are useful for informed decision making. The Water Accounting results disclose synthesised and relevant information for water users and other stakeholders about the state of water resources and their allocation and supply during the analysed period. The Freshwater Ecosystem Services assessment results reveal helpful to classify water bodies or watersheds according to their capacity to provide environmental benefits, and to analyse the tradeoffs between the traditional water demands and the Ecosystem Services beneficiaries. Finally, the methodologies are put into context inside the Integrated Water Resources Management process that covers the target variables to consider, the tools that allow analysing the influence of management actions on them, the indicators that are more informative to water managers, and the ways to transmit the information to the general public. Furthermore, the types of analyses which can be conducted with the proposed methodologies are detailed, and illustrated with examples in scientific literature. The presented research is based on published work, which is expanded or detailed, and includes other non published material. The result is a Thesis that provides improved results and conclusions with respect to the stand-alone papers.
A pesar de que la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos ha evolucionado enormemente, existe todavía discordancia entre la misma y la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. A la luz de la Directiva Europea Marco del Agua y otras Políticas Europeas relacionadas con el agua y la sostenibilidad, la Contabilidad del Agua y la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas se han identificado como herramientas que pueden ayudar a aproximarse a la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. Sin embargo, las metodologías existentes actualmente están desconectadas de los requisitos reales de la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos en cuencas hidrográficas complejas como las que sufren de escasez hídrica. Los marcos de Contabilidad del Agua adoptan una perspectiva de contabilidad financiera que es demasiado exhaustiva para el propósito de transmitir información relevante sobre las reservas y flujos a los gestores y usuarios del agua en una cuenca, y conllevan menos precisión en el balance global de agua. Además, las herramientas analizadas para la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas pasan por alto la influencia de la gestión del agua así como la variabilidad temporal y espacial de los recursos hídricos y las demandas. Esta Tesis propone metodologías para la Contabilidad del Agua y la Evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas que superan estas limitaciones y que están especialmente adaptadas para su implementación en cuencas con escasez de agua. Los Estándares Australianos de Contabilidad del Agua se simplifican para evitar la contabilidad exhaustiva a favor de la precisión y la transparencia en la información sobre la gestión del agua. Se diseña una versión mejorada y se proponen algunos criterios para guiar su implementación a escala de cuenca con el propósito de mejorar la información pública y la gobernanza. Un conjunto de herramientas para la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que forman parte del Sistema Soporte a la Decisión AQUATOOL se une con información económica para obtener los beneficios generados por tres Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce considerando la influencia de la gestión del agua a una escala temporal detallada. La aplicación de las metodologías resultantes a distintos casos de estudio muestra la relevancia de adoptar una perspectiva de gestión del agua para capturar en los resultados la complejidad de las cuencas con escasez de agua, de modo que sean útiles para la toma de decisiones informadas. Los resultados de Contabilidad del Agua muestran información sintética y relevante para los usuarios del agua y otros actores interesados sobre el estado de los recursos hídricos, y su asignación y suministro durante el periodo analizado. Los resultados de la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce se revelan útiles para clasificar las masas de agua o subcuencas de acuerdo con su capacidad para proporcionar beneficios ambientales y para analizar el equilibrio entre las demandas de agua tradicionales y los beneficiarios de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas. Finalmente, las metodologías se ponen en contexto dentro del proceso de Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que abarca las variables objetivo a considerar, las herramientas que permiten analizar la influencia de las acciones de gestión sobre ellas, los indicadores más informativos para los gestores del agua, y los modos de transmitir la información al público en general. Además, se detallan e ilustran con ejemplos en la literatura científica los tipos de análisis que pueden llevarse a cabo mediante las metodologías propuestas. La investigación que se presenta está basada en trabajos publicados, que se expanden o detallan, e incluye material no publicado. El resultado es una Tesis que proporciona resultados y conclusiones mejorados respecto a los artículos independientes.
A pesar que la planificació i la gestió dels recursos hídrics ha evolucionat enormement, existeix encara discordancia entre aquesta i la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics. A la llum de la Directiva Europea Marc de l'Aigua i altres Polítiques Europees relacionades amb l'aigua i la sostenibilidad, la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes s'han identificat com a ferramentes que poden ajudar a aproximar-se a la Gestió Integrada de Recusos Hídrics. No obstant això, les metodologies existents actualment estan desconnectades dels requeriments reals de la planificació i gestió dels recursos hídricos en conques hidrogràfiques complexes com les que pateixen d'escassesa hídrica. Els marcs de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua adopten una perspectiva de Comptabilitat financera que és massa exhaustiva per al propòsit de transmetre informacó relevant sobre les reserves i fluxes als gestors i usuaris de l'aigua en una conca, i comporten menys precisió al balanç global de l'aigua. A més, les ferramentes analitzades per a l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes passen per alt la influència de la gestió de l'aigua així com la variabilitat temporal i espacial dels recursos hídrics i les demandes. Aquesta Tesi proposa metodologies per a la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'Avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes que superen aquestes limitacions i que estan especialment adaptades per a la seua implementació en conques amb escassesa d'aigua. Els Estàndards Australians de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua es simplifiquen per evitar la comptabilitat exhaustiva a favor de la precisió i la transparència en la informació sobre la gestió de l'aigua. Es dissenya una versió millorada i es proposen alguns criteris per guiar la seua implementació a escala de conca amb el propòsit de millorar la informació pública i la governança. Un conjunt de ferramentes per a la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que formen part del Sistema Suport a la Decisió AQUATOOL s'uneix amb informació econòmica per obtindre els beneficis generats per tres Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça considerant la influència de la gestió de l'aigua a una escala temporal detallada. L'aplicació de les metodologies resultants als distints casos d'estudi mostren la rellevància d'adoptar una perspectiva de gestió de l'aigua per capturar als resultats la complexitat de les conques amb escassesa d'aigua, de manera que siguen útils per a la presa de decisions informades. Els resultats de la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua mostren informació sintètica i rellevant per als usuaris i altres actors interessats sobre l'estat dels recursos hídric, i la seua assignació i subministrament al llarg del període analitzat. Els resultats de l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça es revelen útils per classificar les masses d'aigua o subconques d'acord amb la seua capacitat per proporcionar beneficis ambientals i per analitzar l'equilibri entre les demandes d'aigua tradicionals i els beneficiaris dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes. Finalment, les metodologies es posen en context dins del procés de Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que abarca les variables objectiu a considerar, les ferramentes que permeten analitzar la influència de les accions de gestió sobre elles, els indicadors més informatius per als gestors de l'aigua, i les maneres de transmetre la informació al públic en general. A més, es detallen i il¿lustren amb exemples en la literatura científica els tipus d'anàlisis que es poden portar a terme mitjançant les metodologies propostes. La investigació que es presenta està basada en treballs publicats, que s'expandeixen o detallen, i inclou material no publicat. El resultat és una Tesis que proporciona resultats i conclusions millorades respecte als articles independents.
Momblanch Benavent, A. (2016). Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Water Accounting Methodologies for Integrated Water Resources Management in water scarce basins [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/75523
TESIS

Overexploitation of many fish stocks underlines the need for more effort directed towards stock management so that the sustainability of resources is assured. To avert the tragic consequences of overfishing in coastal waters, a growing body of theoretical and empirical research provides evidence in support of cooperation among resource users to manage their commons. This study aimed to investigate the factors that contribute to the emergence and evolution of collective action in fishermen's communities to manage their coastal fish resources in South Al-Batinah, Sultanate of Oman. The study emphasises the importance of a collective action approach to fish resource management with examples from three fishing towns.In order to understand why fishermen choose to participate (or not to participate) in local collective action to manage fish resources, the researcher focuses on six main sets of issues that influence fishermen's decisions: economic factors; awareness of resource exploitation problems; institutional rules in use; social identity, group size and heterogeneity among resource users. Social and demographic factors as well as vessel configuration were also considered.Data collection for the study was carried out using three methods: questionnaire, semi-structured interview and observations of fishermen's activities. Statistical reports and other research papers carried out in Oman were also reviewed. The study found that there is a management institution that governs the fishing activities of the fishermen in the study area. Fishermen in the area inherited an indigenous management institution, which was established hundreds of years ago. It was also found that fishermen were very aware of the resource exploitation problems. High awareness of the resource exploitation problems coupled with high interdependence among users might induce them to work collectively to mitigate harm to their long-term welfare.The results of testing a number of hypotheses indicated that among the reasons which may influence collective action, are high economic dependence on the fishery,individuals' social identity as fishermen, awareness of the resources exploitation problems, risk aversion and heterogeneity (differences in objectives and interests).The study findings indicated that individuals using common resources are faced by various "assurance" and "chicken" problems. In both the PD game and the Assurance game, the preferred outcome is mutual cooperation. Whereas the predicted outcome of the former is defection, the latter suggests the possibility that the preferred outcome (i.e., cooperation) will occur, because individuals' decisions in the commons are influenced by a complex set of factors, rather than strictly materialistic self-interest. The analysis presented in this study examined several of those factors for their influence on individual behaviour. The findings of this study strongly suggest that the presence of local management institutions to coordinate the fishermen's activities in the study area is the key factor in avoiding the worst outcome (universal defection). The game structure has been changed from a Prisoner's dilemma to a Privileged game or a game of Chicken where the benefits from cooperation are maximized. It is the role of the institutions to determine how the cost of providing the public goods might be shared among participants.

Un sistema de gestión de sequías apropiado requiere de la anticipación de los posibles efectos que un episodio de este tipo tenga sobre el sistema de recursos hídricos. Esta tarea sin embargo resulta más complicada de lo que parece. En primer lugar, debido al alto grado de incertidumbre existente en la predicción de variables hidrológicas futuras. Y en segundo, debido al riesgo de sobrerreacción en la activación de medidas de mitigación generando falsa sensación de escasez, o sequía artificial. A este respecto, los planes especiales de sequía proveen de herramientas para la gestión eficiente de situaciones con escasez de recursos y la preparación de cara a futuros eventos. De todos modos, las diferentes estrategias de operación seguidas en cada sistema de recursos hídricos hacen que las herramientas que en algunos casos resultaron altamente útiles no lo sean tanto cuando se aplican en sistemas distintos. Debido a la falta de tiempo y/o al exceso de confianza en los trabajos realizados por terceros, con excelentes resultados en sus respectivos casos, a veces se cae en el error de implementar metodologías no del todo apropiadas en sistemas con requisitos completamente distintos. El desarrollo y utilización de metodologías generalizadas aplicables a diferentes sistemas y capaces de proporcionar resultados adaptados a cada caso es, por tanto, muy deseable. Este es el caso de las herramientas de modelación de sistemas de recursos hídricos generalizadas. Estas permiten homogeneizar los procesos mientras siguen siendo los suficientemente adaptables para proporcionar resultados apropiados para cada caso de estudio. Esta tesis presenta una serie de herramientas destinadas a avanzar en el análisis y comprensión de los sistemas de recursos hídricos, haciendo énfasis en la prevención de sequías y la gestión de riesgos. Las herramientas desarrolladas incluyen: un modelo de optimización generalizado para esquemas de recursos hídricos, con capacidad para la representación detallada de cualquier sistema de recursos hídricos, y una metodología de análisis de riesgo basada en la optimización de Monte Carlo con múltiples series sintéticas. Con estas herramientas es posible incluir tanto la componente superficial como la subterránea del sistema estudiado dentro del proceso de optimización. La optimización está basada en la resolución iterativa de redes de flujo. Se probó la consistencia y eficiencia de diferentes algoritmos de resolución para encontrar un balance entre la velocidad de cálculo, el número de iteraciones, y la consistencia de los resultados, aportando recomendaciones para el uso de cada algoritmo dadas las diferencias entre los mismos. Las herramientas desarrolladas se aplican en dos casos de estudio reales en la evaluación y posibilidad de complementación de los sistemas de monitorización y alerta temprana de sequías existentes en los mismos. En el primer caso, se propone un enfoque alternativo para la monitorización de la sequía en el sistema de operación anual del río Órbigo (España), complementándolo con la utilización de la metodología de análisis de riesgo. En el segundo caso, las herramientas se emplean en un sistema con una estrategia de operación completamente distinta. Se estudia como el análisis de riesgo de la gestión óptima puede ayudar a la activación anticipada de los escenarios de sequía en los sistemas de los ríos Júcar y Turia, cuya operación es hiperanual. En esta ocasión, el sistema de indicadores existente goza de una gran confianza por parte de los usuarios. La metodología de análisis de riesgo es, sin embargo, capaz de anticipar los eventos de sequía con mayor alarma, aspecto que es deseable si se quiere evitar que los episodios en desarrollo vayan a más. En ambos casos se muestra como la evaluación anticipada de las posibles situaciones futuras del sistema permiten una definición confiable de los escenarios de sequía con suficiente antelación para la activación efectiva de medidas de prevención y/o mitigación en caso de ser necesarias. La utilización de indicadores provenientes de modelos frente a indicadores basados en datos observados es complementaria y ambos deberían utilizarse de forma conjunta para mejorar la gestión preventiva de los sistemas de recursos hídricos. El empleo de modelos de optimización en situaciones de incertidumbre hidrológica es muy apropiado gracias a la no necesidad de definir reglas de gestión para obtener los mejores resultados del sistema, y teniendo en cuenta que las reglas de operación habituales pueden no ser completamente adecuadas en estas ocasiones.
Haro Monteagudo, D. (2014). Methodology for the optimal management design of water resources system under hydrologic uncertainty [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/45996
TESIS

Water resources managers are required to develop comprehensive water resource plans based on severely uncertain information of the effects of climate change on local hydrology and future socio-economic changes to localised demand. In England and Wales, current water resource planning methodologies include a headroom estimation process separate from water resources simulation modelling. This process quantifies uncertainty based on only one point of an assumed range of deviations from the expected climate and projected demand 25 years into the future. The research presented herein addresses this problem by developing an integrated the Water Resources Planning Robustness Assessment (WRP-RA) method based on Information-Gap Decision Theory (IGDT) to quantitatively assess the robustness of various supply side and demand side management options over a broad range of plausible futures. Findings show that beyond the uncertainty range explored with the headroom method, a preference reversal can occur, i.e. some management strategies that underperform at lower uncertainties, outperform at higher levels of uncertainty. Also, some management strategies that perform relatively well within the headroom range of uncertainty, fail just beyond this range. Additionally, this thesis demonstrates that when 50% or more of the population adopts demand side management in the form of efficiency related measures and/or innovative options such as rainwater collection and/or greywater reuse, the robustness of a management strategy can be greatly improved as can its ability to recover after a drought episode. The use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis shifts the focus away from reservoir expansion options and large-scale river abstractions that perform best in regards to water availability, to strategies that include innovative demand side management actions of rainwater collection and greywater reuse as well efficiency measures along with more traditional supply-side schemes. Therefore, this thesis illustrates how the WRP-RA can offer a comprehensive picture of the relative robustness of management strategies to more extreme supply/demand futures. The knowledge of which options and collections of options perform better in response to higher demands and lower supplies offers insight into more secure long term investment strategies.

Significant challenges in water resources management arise because of the ever-increasing pressure on the world’s heavily exploited and limited water resources. These stressors include demographic growth, intensification of agriculture, climate variability, and climate change. These challenges to water resources are usually tackled using a top-down approach, which suffers from many limitations including the use of a limited set of climate change scenarios, the lack of methodology to rank these scenarios, and the lack of credibility, particularly on extremes. The bottom-up approach, the recently introduced approach, reverses the process by assessing vulnerabilities of water resources systems to variations in future climates and determining the prospects of such wide range of changes. While it solves some issues of the top-down approach, several issues remain unaddressed. The current project seeks to provide end-users and the research community with an improved version of the bottom-up framework for streamlining climate variability into water resources management decisions. The improvement issues that are tackled are a) the generation of a sufficient number of climate projections that provide better coverage of the risk space; b) a methodology to quantitatively estimate the plausibility of a future desired or undesired outcome and c) the optimization of the size of the projections pool to achieve the desired precision with the minimum time and computing resources. The results will hopefully help to cope with the present-day and future challenges induced mainly by climate. In the first part of the study, the adequacy of stochastically generated climate time series for water resources systems risk and performance assessment is investigated. A number of stochastic weather generators (SWGs) are first used to generate a large number of realizations (i.e. an ensemble of climate outputs) of precipitation and temperature time series. Each realization of the generated climate time series is then used individually as an input to a hydrological model to obtain streamflow time series. The usefulness of weather generators is evaluated by assessing how the statistical properties of simulated precipitation, temperatures, and streamflow deviate from those of observations. This is achieved by plotting a large ensemble of (1) synthetic precipitation and temperature time series in a Climate Statistics Space (CSS), and (2) hydrological indices using simulated streamflow data in a Risk and Performance Indicators Space (RPIS). The performance of the weather generator is assessed using visual inspection and the Mahalanobis distance between statistics derived from observations and simulations. A case study was carried out using five different weather generators: two versions of WeaGETS, two versions of MulGETS and the k-nearest neighbor weather generator (knn). In the second part of the thesis, the impacts of climate change, on the other hand, was evaluated by generating a large number of representative climate projections. Large ensembles of future series are created by perturbing downscaled regional climate models’ outputs with a stochastic weather generator, then used as inputs to a hydrological model that was calibrated using observed data. Risk indices calculated with the simulated streamflow data are converted into probability distributions using Kernel Density Estimations. The results are dimensional joint probability distributions of risk-relevant indices that provide estimates of the likelihood of unwanted events under a given watershed configuration and management policy. The proposed approach offers a more complete vision of the impacts of climate change and opens the door to a more objective assessment of adaptation strategies. The third part of the thesis deals with the estimation of the optimal size of SWG realizations needed to calculate risk and performance indices. The number of realizations required to reach is investigated utilizing Relative Root Mean Square Error and Relative Error. While results indicate that a single realization is not enough to adequately represent a given stochastic weather generator, results generally indicate that there is no major benefit of generating more than 100 realizations as they are not notably different from results obtained using 1000 realizations. Adopting a smaller but carefully chosen number of realizations can significantly reduce the computational time and resources and therefore benefit a larger audience particularly where high-performance machines are not easily accessible. The application was done in one pilot watershed, the South Nation Watershed in Eastern Ontario, yet the methodology will be of interest for Canada and beyond. Overall, the results contribute to making the bottom-up more objective and less computationally intensive, hence more attractive to practitioners and researchers.

Evidence of mineral disequilibrium is presented for the Merensky Reef at Winnaarshoek in the eastern Bushveld Complex. Petrographic disequilibrium textures, disequilibrium in orthopyroxene, plagioclase and clinopyroxene mineral compositions as well as disequilibrium in Sm-Nd isotopic compositions of whole rock samples and coexisting plagioclase and orthopyroxene are presented. Disequilibrium textures presented include clinopyroxene exsolution lamellae in orthopyroxene; resorbed plagioclase in orthopyroxene or relict plagioclase; various inclusions such as orthopyroxene, plagioclase or clinopyroxene in larger oikocrysts of clinopyroxene or orthopyroxene; discontinuous rims of clinopyroxene surrounding orthopyroxene; resorbed orthopyroxene in clinopyroxene; and corona textures associated with olivine. These textures were used to derive a possible mineral crystallization sequence. At least two sequences of crystallization took place, both of which crystallized plagioclase first. One sequence then crystallized olivine which was then consumed to produce orthopyroxene which crystallized prior to late clinopyroxene. The other sequence indicates orthopyroxene crystallization after plagioclase crystallization, followed by crystallization of clinopyroxene. These sequences indicate at least two magmas were responsible for the genesis of the Merensky Reef and its hanging wall and footwall units. Compositionally, disequilibrium is evident in the range of compositions found in coexisting orthopyroxene, plagioclase and clinopyroxene with stratigraphic height, with particular reference to the change in mineral composition in each of the hanging wall, Reef and footwall units. Orthopyroxene compositions range in Mg numbers between 74.6 and 82.9 (77.4) in the hanging wall, 78.5 and 87.0 (avg. 81.1) in the Reef, and 77.9 and 84.1 (avg. 81.3) in the footwall. Plagioclase compositions range in An content between An64.9 and An82.3 (avg. An75.1) in the hanging wall, An56.8 to An70.8 (avg. An62.7) in the Reef, and An54.2 to An86.3 (avg. An73.2) in the footwall. In terms of Sm-Nd isotopic compositions, disequilibrium is evident between both whole rock samples and coexisting plagioclase and orthopyroxenes. Bulk rock Sm-Nd isotopic compositions show a range in ԐNd values between ԐNd (2.06 Ga) = -4.8 to -6.4 in the hangingwall, ԐNd (2.06 Ga) = -6.3 to -8.5 in the Reef, and ԐNd (2.06 Ga) = -4.5 to -6.3 in the footwall. Similar ԐNd values are present in the hanging wall and footwall units, with a clear “spike” in the Merensky Reef. ԐNd values in plagioclase are between ԐNd (2.06 Ga) = -5.8 and -7.8, while orthopyroxene isotopic Sm-Nd values are between ԐNd (2.06 Ga = -7.1 and -9.1. The mineral disequilibrium features presented within this study help elucidate the crystallization sequence of the magma as well as to constrain the contamination of the magma upon ascension and emplacement of the Merensky Reef. The results of this study favour a model where a mantle plume resulted in the ascent of a new magma which was contaminated by the assimilation of old, lower crust. Contamination took place prior to the possible lateral emplacement of the Merensky reef as a density current. 5-10% contamination of depleted mantle or a B2-“like” source by Archaean TTGs is modeled to achieve the contamination “spike” of ԐNd = -8.5 in the Merensky Reef.

Section 13 of the Eastern Cape Provincial Archives and Records Act, 2003 requires the Amathole District Municipality to manage its records in a well-structured record-keeping system, and to put the necessary policies and procedures in place to ensure that record- keeping and records management practices comply with the requirements of the Act. The study investigated the interventions that can be made to improve and promote the best system (centralised versus a decentralised records system) in terms of space resources through greater co-ordination of information management and storage systems with reference to the Amathole District Municipality. A quantitative research methodology was employed to collect data. The empirical component of the treatise utilised self-administered questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used to identify the target population at the ADM. The researcher specifically selected the users of records, namely; senior manager, mid-managers, supervisors and administration assistants. The need for training, workshops and awareness were identified as the main challenges to records management and to the employees’ understanding of the system in place at the ADM. The findings recommended that the municipality should select the records management system that best supports the conduct of business in an orderly, efficient, and accountable manner. The system should ensure that documents provide evidence of business and contribute to the cultural identity and collective memory of the ADM. Further research on the existing records management system is recommended for the Amathole District Municipality.

Au Chili, l’une des principales ressources exploitées par les pêcheries artisanales benthiques est le gastéropode marin Concholepas concholepas, plus communément appelé « loco ». Des signes de surexploitation de cette espèce sont apparus à la fin des années 1980 et différents modes de gestion ont été appliqués. Le plan de gestion actuel correspond à la mise en place de droits d’usage territoriaux pour une multitude de petites zones distinctes gérées de manière indépendante. L’un des points clés permettant d’étudier l’efficacité de ce mode de gestion est d’estimer les échelles auxquelles ces zones sont connectées par la dispersion larvaire. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’évaluer ces échelles et les patrons de connectivité du loco le long du Chili. J’ai d’abord mis en évidence des manques dans la connaissance des facteurs influençant potentiellement la connectivité larvaire du loco. J’ai participé à combler ces manques par des expériences en laboratoire montrant un comportement migratoire vertical nocturne des larves de premier stade du loco. Par la suite, j’ai développé un modèle biophysique de dispersion larvaire appliqué au loco en intégrant les effets de plusieurs facteurs hétérogènes le long de la côte chilienne : habitat disponible, fécondité, transport, croissance, migration verticale, et mortalité larvaires. J’ai utilisé ce modèle pour établir des matrices de connectivité entre zones le long du Chili. A partir de ces matrices, j’ai utilisé un algorithme de partitionnement pour définir des sous-populations de loco indépendantes afin d’orienter le mode de gestion actuel du loco vers une échelle plus régionale, en meilleure adéquation avec l’écologie de l’espèce
In Chile, one of the commercial species targeted by benthic fisheries is Concholepas concholepas, commonly named “loco”. It was a highly valuable benthic fishery until the end of the 80’s. Then the resource became over-exploited and different management plans were applied to ensure the sustainability of the fishery. The current management plan is the establishment of territorial users’ rights in distinct areas managed independently. One of the main challenges to ensure the efficiency of this management plan is to estimate the scales at which these areas are connected by larval dispersal. The main objective of the thesis is to evaluate loco connectivity patterns and scales along the Chilean coast. I first highlighted gaps in knowledge of factors potentially influencing larval connectivity of loco. I helped fill these gaps by laboratory experiments showing a nocturnal vertical migration behavior for first stage loco larvae. Subsequently, I developed a biophysical larval dispersal model integrating the effects of several heterogeneous factors along the Chilean coast: available habitat, fecundity, larval transport, growth, vertical migration, and mortality. I used this model to establish connectivity matrices between areas along Chile. From these matrices, I used a clustering algorithm to identify independent loco subpopulations in order to propose a regional management plan, in line with the ecology of the species

The institution of the civil service is of much contemporary interest here in Britain and elsewhere. The phenomenon of civil service reform forms a significant part of the wider movement to remould public services or in the now legendary phrase, to ‘reinvent government’ on what could be perceived as a global scale, ranging from the more sophisticated democracies such as in the USA, Britain, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, to the newly emerging ones such as Eastern Europe and South Africa. The apparent trend of globalisation is arguably not only confined to the field of public service reform; it can also be seen in other contexts such as the growth of the intergovernmental cooperations within Europe and the Far-East, as well as the proliferation of the Information Superhighway which facilitates an electronic exchange of ideas across geographical frontiers. The reasons for this apparent global convergence fall outside the immediate province of this chapter. This thesis questions one of the enigmas of the modern British constitution, which is that the civil service does not have a statutory footing. So, it is the Executive rather than Parliament which has the prerogative power of regulating the civil service. The enigma is encapsulated in the position where the Executive regulates the civil service, which in turn serves the Executive qua their historical status as 'servants of the Crown'. The thesis is concerned with the cumulative impact of managerial reforms within the British civil service during the Conservative administration from 1979 - 1997 on the idea of civil servants as 'servants of the Crown'. It argues that the key managerial initiatives introduced into the civil service by the Conservative government during this period, illustrate the dangers of the notion of 'servant of the Crown' being captured by the Executive for their short-term political ends. The thesis shows that the managerial transformation collides not only with established constitutional doctrines relating to the civil service but also with the broader norm or theory of constitutionalism embedded in British constitutional history.

There is no single resource so essential to sustaining life and livelihoods than water (UNDP, 2005). Water is furthermore a strategic resource that not only gives life, but is also a catalyst for development; therefore water has to and must be at the centre of all development plans (Buyelwa, 2009). Water can be the limiting factor for economic growth, upliftment and social development due to its scarcity and uneven distribution. Strategic spatial interface and relationship with water resource planning and management is fundamental to development and realisation of spatial potential. Strategic spatial planning has many components of which the Spatial Development Framework forms the key regulation to guide development and inform investment opportunities. The goal of this study is to determine the degree to which water resource management and planning is incorporated in Spatial Development Frameworks in context of strategic spatial planning. Concurrently international strategic spatial planning procedures and water resource management principles are investigated to correlate the local situation with international trends. A Goal Achievement Matrix (GAM) with ten assessment principles is developed as a tool for evaluation of strategic spatial planning and water resource management documents in terms of the local municipal level. This GAM may be used and implemented as a comparative evaluation tool to compare the degree of integration and implementation of water resource management and strategic spatial planning of local municipal authorities internationally. The percentage score as achieved in evaluation of the GAM indicates the degree of integration of water resource management and planning with strategic spatial planning. The cumulative result of the GAM scored 68% which can be used as a degree of comparison in future studies with other local municipalities, even on an international level. Measured in terms of the different authority levels the local level performed the worst with a 50% GAM score whilst the national level has a high GAM score of 86%. The low local level score indicates that exceptional legislation and policies on national level are not sufficient to eradicate poverty, provide water for all and provide for long-term sustainability if the implementation at local level falters. The low local level score may also be attributed to a lack of institutional capacity and lack of appropriate skills. It is concluded that Spatial Development Frameworks (as a component of strategic spatial planning) and water resource management and planning on a local level are not effectively integrated and it is recommended that water resources and planned future development must be effectively managed and integrated in order to ensure sustainable communities at local level. As a planning recommendation, the Guidelines for the Development of Spatial Development Frameworks developed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform must be extended to incorporate the integrative approach between strategic spatial planning and water resource management as a fundamental aspect. The effective integration of water resource management and planning in strategic spatial planning is key to sustainable, equitable and viable communities.
Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Water problems prevalent in the Nyando River Basin are due to an ineffective water allocation system and lack of adequate conditions for implementation of sustainable integrated water resources management (IWRM) strategies. The basin is bedevilled by poor water resources management, inequitable allocation of water among consumers, physical infrastructural deficiencies, inefficient water utilisation, illegal water abstractions, natural resource mismanagement, conflicting and weak institutional roles and lack of stakeholder involvement in water resource management. The results of the study reveal sufficient per capita annual water availability with the potential to realise both Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Kenyan Vision 2030. However, analyses from flow duration curves (FDCs) and the water evaluation and planning (WEAP) model show that monthly water demands including environmental flow requirements (EFRs) are met only between 43% and 94% of the time. While the Water Act (2002) upholds the principles of IWRM on equitable and sustainable water resources allocation, in practice the current water allocation system falls short of implementing these strategies due to lack of a water allocation plan (WAP), inadequate water demand management (WDM), low infrastructural development and lack of community participation in WRM. For example, the total revenue generated in water supply schemes is only about 25 to 30% of their operational costs, which means that in the absence of subsidies the schemes cannot operate. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of the current water allocation system on water resources management in the Nyando River Basin by comparing the various sectoral water demands in the basin with the available water resources in order to improve understanding of how water allocation systems work in practice. The analyses further revealed that irrigation uses up to 72% of the available water, which is mainly drawn from the regular low flow contrary to the permit order. For example, the Ahero National Irrigation Scheme is permitted to draw 47 m3/day of water from regular flow and 13,500 m3/day from flood flow, but draws the whole amount from the regular flow; hence irrigation is the main cause of water deficits in the basin. Projections show that the irrigation sector will experience 300% increase in an unmet demand of 92.4 Mm3 by 2030 up from the current annual deficit of 2.9 Mm3. In light of the above challenges, both improvement of WDM and infrastructural provision have complementary roles in contributing to sustainable water availability, socioeconomic growth and poverty eradication in the basin and help achieve SDGs at the local scale. The results of the study will facilitate an understanding of the influence of water allocation systems on regional hydrology and form the basis of improving water allocation systems, and inform policy formulations to ensure sustained water availability and environmental sustainability in river basins. In that regard, this study contributes to the on-going global debate on Sustainable Development Goals by exploring ways of realising and improving IWRM strategies and the National targets.

This thesis develops and validates a comprehensive methodology for measuring sustainability of a large river basin by using a tailored indicator set. The concept of river sustainability concerns not only the ecological condition of the river course, but also socioeconomic activities in the river basin. River sustainability is defined from five perspectives: sufficient resource, resilience to water-related risks, access to water supply and other services, productive use of water, and fairness between different users and generations. The Process Analysis Method (PAM) is employed as the guideline for developing sustainability assessment framework. As a participatory approach, PAM engages stakeholders to identify emerging issues and impacts on sustainability. Through a systematic process, a tailored indicator set is selected and categorized under three domains, namely, environmental performance, social wellbeing, and economic development. Two case studies have been undertaken, examining the underlying sustainability of the Lower Yellow River basin (LYR) and Upper Ganges River basin (UGR). Extensive fieldwork was carried out in China and India, in order to conduct stakeholder interviews and to collect multivariate data. 18 indicators are selected for LYR and 12 for UGR. The LYR assessment is conducted over the period from 1950 to 2010, whilst UGR features a 10-year period from 2001 to 2010. By processing raw hydrological data and socio-economic statistics, a normalized score is calculated for each indicator in a given year, the value ranging between 0 and 1, where 0 represents poor performance and 1 refers to a fully sustainable status. The results show that, although social wellbeing and economic status for LYR have progressively improved since 1950, environmental quality declined in the latter half of 20th century, with the lowest point in 1997 when extreme drought occurred. The Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC), the government authority responsible for the LYR, implemented measures to improve the river health by multifunctional infrastructure projects and water allocation regulation. This effort proved to be effective as the general sustainability performance subsequently improved. The UGR study also identifies the trade-off between environmental capital and socioeconomic capital. With vast expansion of hydropower projects and new settlement in flood-prone areas, communities along the UGR are increasingly vulnerable to extreme events. However, the Ganges river basin authority lacks the capacity for integrated planning which would enable projects like flood defence schemes to be undertaken in a proper framework. It is likely that the environmental performance of the UGR will continue to decline, particularly with increasing uncertainty in climate, as the UGR basin management is not improving resilience sufficiently. By performing this comparative analysis, it has been shown that integrated river basin management should incorporate institutional capacity, stakeholder engagement, resilience and transparency. This research also contributes to underpinning policies for Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). The assessment provides policy-makers and river managers with a holistic view of the river basin; the framework can be used to track progress towards sustainable development and identify priorities for multi-criteria decision-making.

Under the guidance of the new coastal management policies within South Africa this thesis advocates a more integrated, co-operative approach to local coastal management. The project aimed to acquire baseline information on the local nearshore fishery and resource state and to propose a set of indicators that could be incorporated into the new management strategy. To gather the required information the project was split into two parts: 1) An assessment of the local linefisheries and 2) A comparative study of the reef fish community structure between exploited and unexploited reefs. The local linefisheries were assessed through the use of launch records, commercial catch records, access point and boat based surveys. A questionnaire was used to gather data on catch and effort, fisher demographics, fisher attitudes towards and knowledge of the current management regulations, assess the efficacy of the fisheries inspectorate and highlight spatial areas of fishing pressure. A total of 252 interviews and catch inspections were conducted. Total effort for the ski-boat fishery estimated from the access point survey was 890 boat days.year⁻¹ or 3560 fisher days. year⁻¹ compared to 736 boat days.year⁻¹ or 2944 fisher days. year⁻¹ recorded in the launch records. Effort was seasonal with greater pressure occurring over the summer holiday period. Analysis of the catch showed that Merluccius capensis, Argyrozona argyrozona, Argyrosomus inodorus, Chrysoblephus laticeps and Atractoscion aequidens were the most frequently caught species. The overall CPUE was 3.00±5.54kg.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ or 4.71±4.117 fish.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹. Estimated targeted CPUE was 0.91±0.67kg.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ or 0.97±0.77 fish.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ for C. laticeps, 8.47±8.57kg.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ or 1.24±1.16 fish.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ for A. aequidens and 2.05±3.78kg.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ or 1.10±1.80 fish.fisher⁻¹.day⁻¹ for A. inodorus. Issues identified included poor fisher knowledge regarding linefish regulations, the low occurrence of fishery inspections and a limited degree of noncompliance. Although most fishers supported the current linefish management regulations, when tested on the size limits, bag limits and closed seasons of their target species a high proportion of fishers did not know the regulations (recreational 64%, charter 53%, commercial 42%). Furthermore only 27% of fishers had had their catch inspected whilst fishing in Plettenberg Bay and the majority of these had only been inspected once. Just over half the interviewees (60%) indicated that fishing had deteriorated within Plettenberg Bay with fewer and smaller fish being caught. The most common causes cited for this decline were commercial and recreational overfishing respectively. Underwater point counts and experimental angling were used to rapidly assess the state of the reef fish resource in Plettenberg Bay through a comparative study of the community structure between two exploited sites in Plettenberg Bay and two protected sites within the Tsitsikamma National Park. Generalized linear modeling showed that relative density of certain species was significantly different between the protected reefs inside the TNP and those exploited reefs within Plettenberg Bay. Both P. rupestris and C. laticeps had greater densities within the protected area whilst Chisquared tests showed that the size frequency distributions were significantly different with larger size-classes and the maximum size of fish greater within the reserve. These trends were noted with both the underwater visual surveys and the experimental angling. Multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis showed that there was an overall difference in the community structure between the study sites. It is hypothesised that through removal of key reef species and larger individuals that fishing has directly and indirectly affected the overall community structure. Within a simple framework based on ecological, institutional and social sustainability domains along with the results of the study area, a set of indicators is proposed and the sustainability of the local fishery scored within a rapid assessment matrix. The socio-economic domain scored the highest (83%) whilst the institutional domain scored the lowest (8.3%) and the ecological domain scored 25%, giving a total sustainability score of 38.8%. The results of this matrix show that at present the local fishery is non-sustainable and in need of greater management. By synthesizing papers dealing with and based on the concepts involved in Integrated Coastal Management, a structured approach is proposed to developing and implementing more holistic local coastal governance. It is envisaged that the framework to implement such an approach should be through the development of a local Coastal Management Plan and a subsidiary Bay Management Plan. Although stakeholder participation and representation is an essential component in the development of these plans, it is recommended that the local municipality should be the lead agent and incorporate the plans into the local Integrated Development and Spatial Plans thereby gaining long term local government support.