Sesión sobre políticas para el manejo del suelo para minimizar los riegos hidrológicos

Invitamos a participar en la sesion sobre políticas del manejo de suelos para minimizar los riesgos hidrológicos de la Asamblea de la Unión Americana de Geofísica, a realizarse en Acapulco - México del 22 al 25 de mayo del 2007.

Tenemos especial interés en esta sesión (H10) porque muchos de nuestros paises latinoamericanos son amenazados por peligros hidrológicos asociados a inundaciones, erosión de los suelos, contaminación, entre otros productos, en cierto grado, del calentamiento global. Esta será una oportunidad para compartir y discutir sobre la problemática.

Pueden enviar sus contribuciones para esta sesión hasta el 1 de marzo del 2007, fecha final para presentar resúmenes.

Joint Assembly of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/?content=home Acapulco - Mexico 22-25 May 2007 Abstract Submissions Deadline: 1 March 2007 23:59 UT

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Session Abstract

http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/?content=search&show=detail&sessid=259

Integrated Science and Policy: Science-based Land Management Policies for Minimizing Hydrological Risk

Details of the Hydrological Sciences sessions are at http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/?content=search&show=session&section=12&cosection=0&
category=&keysearch=&title=1&desc=1&searchBy=sponsor

and full details of the AGU meeting (including how to submit an abstract) are at http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/?content=program.

Many Latin American countries are subject to severe hydrological risks associated with floods, soil erosion, droughts and groundwater depletion and pollution, are undergoing rapid land use change, resource development and population growth and are faced with the consequences of global warming.

However, they lack integrated and consistent policies for the management of water, forest and other resources, taking into account also natural hazards such as floods and landslides. The result is inefficiency and a lack of long term sustainability in management and investment. Current policies may be based on misperception of hydrological responses and scientific research may itself have not been conducted with policy requirements as an objective. For example, it is commonly assumed that forests reduce floods and, as a consequence, expensive afforestation programmes are carried out and logging bans and land use controls are imposed on the (typically poor) populations of the affected areas. However, for extreme rainfall events such as hurricanes, there is little evidence to suggest that forests provide any moderating influence on floods. Policy-makers and development agencies therefore need to guard against the implementation of regulatory and project approaches that are of questionable scientific validity and that put already poor communities at risk of further impoverishment. There is thus considerable scope for research which challenges the basis of current water and land resource management policies and for the development of policies based upon the best available science. Papers are therefore requested which concern scientific evidence for the development of consistent policies, impact assessment procedures and disaster planning, which support capacity building programmes through improved knowledge of river basin response and hazard mechanisms, which integrate water and other sector resource management to promote the practice of sustainable use and which consider the management of natural ecosystems to achieve harmony between economic, social and environmental objectives. Examples may include, but are not limited to, the science basis for policies concerning floods, droughts, deforestation, soil conservation, landslides and aquifer depletion and pollution. Although the session focus is the Americas, illustrative research from elsewhere in the world is also welcome.