For my first case, I selected a Land Care System that arrived in the Philippines in the late 1990s. In order to make a more sustainable environment, the new Philippine constitution of 1987 added specific provisions for the management of natural resources and the environment. This case specifically focuses on Barangay Ned in the province of South Cotabato. For Barangay Ned, erosion was an issue to due logging and cultivation. The Land Care System helped to create groups of farmers who could learn from each other in order to manage their lands, but over time, has decreased in popularity due to a decrease in training. For those who used the program, they did learn a lot about erosion and ways to prevent it. The conclusion of this case is that a program must take the time to understand the livelihoods of the people involved, otherwise it will fail to achieve its goals. This case study relates to a sustainable development because Barangay Ned was in need of having a sustainable environment that they can continue to harvest from. Link: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/Smith.htm
My second case study is of a smaller scale, but still important. A company called Lafarge built a new river crossing at one of its quarries on Reunion Island (off the coast of Madagascar). The crossing in question was rebuilt to use better pipes, which aided any species such as migratory fish and crustaceans (even some endangered ones) move along through the river. What makes this river crossing even more effective is the continuation of monitoring it. The monitoring efforts involve a number of engineers, local fishermen, and stakeholders. The monitoring has shown that the new river crossing is proving to be effective for the species that live in the area. As I said before, this is smaller in size, but is still important to contributing to a sustainable environment. In this case, the local aquatic species. Link: http://www.lafarge.com/en/reunion-innovative-project-protect-unique-local-biodiversity
To relate these cases back to where I live, relatively close to my house there is a small “dam” as we call it (no more than 15 feet wide) with a small bridge to walk over. A few years ago, the “dam” was in need of repair. Behind this dam was a small lake that many fish and other creatures occupy. On the front end of the damn, a small stream that makes its way down to an even bigger lake. If this dam were to have been allowed to crumble away, the creatures that rely on the lake would be in trouble. In addition, erosion would occur along all of the stream as well as flooding due to the high amount of water being added to the stream. Just like the other two case studies, this dam helped to keep the environment more sustainable for the people that live near it as well as any species that occupy the lake.
Hi i’m Natalie and was really intrigued by your blog. I like that you took a global approach, because i focused on American communities. That aspect helped me see issues on a bigger scale. I think there is hope for the communities in the Philippines community described in your first paragraph, because it seems like they has a process that worked it just needs to be restored. I also like how you chose one community in need of change, and one that has made a positive, successful one. However, this tied in nicely to your hometown because you addressed the positives and negatives of the dam. Here’s a link to my blog if you want to check it out:http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/24/natalie-hall-case-studies-m05/
Also, my blog is about environmental racism and justice mostly focusing on issues with unrenewable energy like coal 🙂
Hi! My name is Maura McGonigal. Here is a link to my blog-http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/24/drinking-water-crisis/. My blog this week focused on the drinking water crisis. Specifically I focused on access to as well as safety of drinking water throughout the world. I enjoyed your blog and how you related erosion and sustainability of ecosystems to your hometown. In your first case you mentioned the importance of understanding the society before implementing training. Similarly, in my first case study it was important to ensure the African people would be able to utilize water purification techniques being developed.
What’s up Tim, its Garrett Webster, I am a junior at Penn State University, University park. Looking over your entry and I’m glad of your comclusion statement in your first case study, that “a program must take the time to understand the livelihoods of the people involved, otherwise it will fail to achieve its goals.” I agree with this 100%, not only will it discourage the farmers because they feel their livelihoods are being taken for granted, but also you lose respect as an organization to fail at this simple task, and respect goes a long way in a foreign country. Also with your final paragraph I understand what its like to have a dam in your neighborhood, we have a much larger dam that needed repair and it took the contracting company three years to fix the dam, and actually the lake is still refilling itself as I type this message. If the dam somehow eroded to the point of collapse then thousands of lives would have been lost due to the flooding downhill from the dam. Great job!
Also check out my case studies where I talk about wastewater being used to grow high value crops in a community in Afghanistan, and how Indonesia destroyed their environment all for the sake of becoming self sufficient in rice production.
http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/24/garrett-webster-model-5-case-study/