A Decision Framework for Integrated Wetland-River Basin Management in a Tropical and Data Scarce Environment

Abstract

All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publishers. Although all care is taken to ensure integrity and the quality of this publication and the information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any damage to the property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or the information contained herein.Published by: CRC Press/Balkema PO Box 447, 2300 AK Leiden, the Netherlands e-mail: Pub.NL@taylorandfrancis.com www.crcpress.com -www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk -www.ba.balkema.nl Guillermo. I miss them, but hélas! C'est la vie and we must go on. List of TablesLast but not least, my greatest feelings go to my dear wife, Nina. She has been an endless source of love, inspiration, patience and support, especially when I was far away from home. Along with our beloved daughter, Valeria Alexandra, both make every day a living dream. Мои любви, я вас люблю всем сердцем: сильно, сильно, крепко, крепко! Я вернусь и сейчас мы будем вместе и навсегда! Delft, the Netherlands, 17 December 2012 SummaryWetlands are probably one of the most astonishing ecosystems across the Earth. They are present in almost every latitude zone, from the arctic tundra's to the tropical wetlands near the equator. Being important parts of watershed ecosystems, wetlands often play a key role in fauna-flora conservation, habitat preservation and attracting recreation. But they also provide important ecosystem services related to water buffering, flood flow regulation water pollution control and water quality improvement.Although traditionally wetlands were often considered separately from riverine systems, nowadays an integrated approach is becoming common practice in wetland-riverine watershed analysis and management. Such overall environmental approach implies not only an adequate representation of relevant bio-physical parameters, but also of socio-political and economic indicators. This is where computer-based modeling and decision support becomes extremely helpful. Currently, there are several complex simulation tools available that try to represent the different processes taking place in river catchments including wetland systems. However, more complexity may also lead to more uncertainty and can become too much for a particular need, in particular in multi-criteria evaluation. Therefore, a balance has to be established between simplicity and sophistication before building any model for decision support.Based on these considerations, the primary goal of this research is to elaborate a simple but useful integrated framework or methodology for a coupled wetlandcatchment environment, containing (i) both quantitative and qualitative approaches; (ii) incorporating stakeholders' feedback; (iii) taking into consideration the pressures on the system; and (iv) ...

Threshold Responses of Macroinvertebrate Communities to Stream Velocity in Relation to Hydropower Dam: A Case Study from The Guayas River Basin (Ecuador)

“…The Guayas River basin, with a total area of 34,000 km 2 , is located in the central western part of Ecuador and is the largest watershed in the Guayas province [14]. The basin covers nine provinces with a total population of 4.8 million [14]. The eastern catchment boundary of the basin is the Andes.…”

“…The Guayas river basin is one of the most important river systems in Ecuador [14] and provides a high contribution to Ecuador's gross domestic income [15]. The Guayas basin is facing many water resource problems such as increasing modification of the natural flows by dams and water extractions for agriculture and urban water supply [16].…”

Modelling Tools to Analyze and Assess the Ecological Impact of Hydropower Dams

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Experiences in using the TMPA-3B42R satellite data to complement rain gauge measurements in the Ecuadorian coastal foothills

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