Practices and perceptions on water resource sustainability in ecovillages

Abstract

In many areas of the world, groups of people have attempted to create urban landscapes that follow the principles of environmental sustainability. To this end, groups have devised alternative models, such as ecovillages, where low-impact handling is used and a way of life different from that of large population centers is adopted. Although these villages exist, their efficiency in the conservation of natural resources has not been effectively evaluated. This study evaluated the practices used by two Brazilian ecovillages to conserve water resources to assess whether this new concept of living is indeed successful in meeting sustainability goals. We selected 25 indicators of water sustainability, and using the compromise programming method, we quantified the distance between those landscapes self-referenced as sustainable and an ideal hypothetical scenario. We also interpreted the communities perceptions using the distance between the current situations and the envisioned scenario. We concluded that both ecovillage are far from technically ideal scenario, but the communities have a strong sense of their limitations in implementing water resources conservation. The communities attributed this fact primarily to deficiencies in the shared management. Key Points:We evaluated the practices used by two Brazilian ecovillages to conserve water resources We selected 25 indicators of water sustainability We quantified the distance from an ideal sustainable hypothetical scenario Supporting Information:Supporting Information S1

Ecovillagers’ Assessment of Sustainability: Differing Perceptions of Technology as a Differing Account of Modernism

“…Many ecovillages have embraced alternative designs and successfully reduced their ecological footprint by a significant margin compared to peer citizens [19][20][21]. Recent studies in ecovillage-style communities like Cloughjordan in Ireland [20], Findhorn in Scotland [22], Sieben Linden in Germany [23], and Piracaia and Porongaba in Brazil [24], among others, show that this form is relatively widespread and successful in reducing the ecological footprints of members when compared to their compatriots. They also show that ecovillages have developed "narratives of change" in service to countering the neoliberal narrative that positive change must come through social innovation [25].…”

Evaluating Sustainability of Regional Water Resources Based on Improved Generalized Entropy Method

“…When the grade of RWRS exceeds a certain threshold, it will seriously restrict regional sustainable development [11]. Therefore, it is important to accurately evaluate and diagnose regional water Entropy 2018, 20, 715 2 of 12 resources [12].…”

Oferta de serviços ecossistêmicos hídricos diante da conversão de paisagens savânicas em campos antrópicos

“…Embora as questões ambientais e sobre desenvolvimento sustentável tenham ganhado destaque nos mais diversos meios de comunicação em escala global (SCBD, 2010;WWAP, 2016), e que esta aparente preocupação pudesse significar uma mudança de mentalidade, tem-se que, na realidade, muitas vezes o discurso não representa a ação real (DE MOURA LEITE et al, 2016) e que a chamada governança mundial da sustentabilidade é, na prática, uma falácia (VEIGA, 2013).…”