Jonathan Smith's List: MILM_use

Land use information for integrated natural resources management—a coordinated national mapping program for Australia

Building capacity for Integrated Natural Resources Management/Competitive Agricultural Systems and Enterprises in Ghana

Current Definition of INRM

INRM is an approach to research that aims at improving livelihoods, agroecosystem resilience, agricultural productivity and environmental services. In other words, it aims to augment social, physical, human, natural and financial capital. It does this by helping solve complex real-world problems affecting natural resources in agroecosystems. Its efficiency in dealing with these problems comes from its ability to:

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empower relevant stakeholders
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resolve conflicting interests of stakeholders
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foster adaptive management capacity
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focus on key causal elements (and thereby deal with complexity)
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integrate levels of analysis
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merge disciplinary perspectives
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make use of a wide range of available technologies
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guide research on component technologies
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generate policy, technological and institutional alternatives

Integrated Natural Resources Management to Enhance Food Security

The Case for Community-Based Approaches in Ethiopia

Towards integrated natural resources management (INRM) in dry areas subject to land degradation: the example of the Khanasser valley in Syria

Using the Khanasser Valley in Syria as an example, this paper looks at Integrated Natural Resource management (INRM) as an approach to tackle land degradation. The authors argue that INRM is a better approach because of its comprehensive nature and simplification of the inherently complex socio-ecological systems.

There seemed to be a consensus that INRM involves the management of the impact of people on natural resources in a way that is:

1. holistic in that it includes all elements of rural landscapes
2. systematic in that it considers the interactions between these elements
3. comprehensive in that it embraces the range of values attached to rural landscapes.

On another level, participants agreed that INRM required:

1. whole of government responses (agencies, jurisdictions)
2. engagement of the range of stakeholders
3. inclusion of the range of knowledge systems (local, scientific, Indigenous etc)
4. operation at a variety of scales, but the landscape or regional scale seemed particularly suited to integration
5. a coherent mix of policy options.

The Center for Integrated Natural Resources & Agricultural Management (CINRAM) is a partner-based organization that catalyzes the development and adoption of integrated land use systems. CINRAM links the expertise of the University of Minnesota with the experience and insights of people and organizations who work with, and have an understanding of, opportunities and issues across the landscape.

The need to plan for and manage native vegetation with other natural resource management issues within an integrated framework is critical for achieving effective on-ground results. Native vegetation and biodiversity is arguably different as an environmental and economic resource because the causes of species and ecosystem losses are extremely diffuse and involve many different sectors. That is, it is pervasive to the economic system, being affected by land and water use decisions, by pollution and by economic activity generally. Capturing the interactions between, and impacts of these different sectors is a major challenge. Integrated decision-making is an area of research and implementation needing significant further development. Until our understanding of each element of regional health and their interactions is well understood, progress in this area remains hampered. Alignment of native vegetation management with broader decision-making processes on water yield and quality, salinity management and carbon sequestration requires greater attention.

Integrated Natural Resources Management: Linking Productivity, the Environment and Development

A Dam Shame

Date: 26-04-2009
Producer: Nguni Productions
Presenter: John Webb
Genre: Environment and Conservation
In May 2008, a deadly earthquake was triggered by the rapid damming of the Zipingpu Dam in China. The disaster was caused when a nearby fault, just a mile away, gave way to pressure exerted by 300-million cubic metres of water. That's 300-million tonnes. 80 000 people lost their lives.

[File footage] Man: "The roads there have all cracked up and the cracks can be seen as deep as three or four meters high."

Southern Africa is no stranger to earthquakes either.

[2006 Mozambique earthquake] Man: "Suddenly it seemed like the house was moving right and left."

In 2006, an earthquake measuring 7,5 on the Richter Scale, hit Mozambique, a country that lies below two huge dams - Cahora Bassa and Kariba.
Luckily the quake happened in a rural area and only two people died. The Zipingpu earthquake, which measured marginally stronger at 7.9, brought down buildings.

Anabela Lemos (Justiça Ambiental): "It's something that scares the hell out of me."

Anabela Lemos is a dedicated member of the Mozambican environmental group Justiça Ambiental or JA! - which means "Environmental Action Now!"
They've been fighting the construction of a new hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River. Desperate to feed the electrical demands of a developing nation, South Africa is expected to siphon 1200 to 1500 megawatts of electricity from the project.

But, at whose expense?


John Webb (Carte Blanche presenter): "The building of this new dam in Mozambique could see South Africa embroiled in a project that destroys a major wetland, violates the rights of thousands of people who rely on the Zambezi River for their survival, and possibly triggers a disaster on a scale not yet seen in southern Africa."

Experts warn that earthquakes anywhere along the Zambezi could see both the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams give way.

For the past six years Anabela and her team have cautioned that if the Mphanda Nkuwa dam project goes ahead, the go