Título del proyecto

Funding proposal for the advancing development and Climate Change resilience in the Central American Dry Corridor: translating science into policy in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, an interdisciplinary, international collaboration

Coordinador

Dr. Hugo Hidalgo León – Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI), UCR

Investigadores UCR

Nombre Institución
Dr. Eric Alfaro UCR

Investigadores extranjeros

Nombre Departamento País
 Dr. Yosef Gotlieb College of Education Jerusalem, Israel Israel
 Dr. Aliza Fleischer Department of Environmental Economics and Management Israel

Sitio oficial

http://cigefi.ucr.ac.cr/ucrea-picsc/

Actividades de divulgación social

Reconociendo comunidades del Corredor Seco Centroamericano

Del 13 al 15 de abril 2018 se llevó acabo la primera investigación de campo del proyecto UCREA-PICSC. Simultáneamente se visitaron dos comunidades, la primera ubicada Cerro Negro en el distrito Nicoya (cantón Nicoya) y la segunda Cuajiniquil, que pertenece al distrito Santa Elena de La Cruz; ambas comunidades dentro de la provincia Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Se contó con la valiosa participación y compromiso de 28 estudiantes del curso Ordenamiento del Espacio Agrícola del programa de licenciatura de la Escuela de Geografía de la Universidad de Costa Rica. El equipo de investigadores estuvo conformado por el profesor de este curso, Dr. Víctor Ml. Cortés Granados; Dr. Hugo Hidalgo, Dr. Eric Alfaro del Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI), Rafael Arce Mesén de la Escuela de Geografía y Paula M. Pérez Briceño, quien pertenece al CIGEFI y la Escuela de Geografía. Además, se contó con apoyo internacional, la Dra. Laura Suazo de la Universidad Zamorano en Honduras y Dr. Yosef Gotlieb de Israel. Durante la visita técnicos del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) y del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER) facilitaron los procesos y contactos.

El recurso humano se distribuyó en dos equipos, uno enfocado en aspectos físicos (recursos naturales y sistemas de producción) y el otro en sistemas humanos (sociales, económicos y seguridad alimentaria). Se desarrolló un Diagnóstico Rural Participativo, el cual cuenta con una variedad de técnicas para recoger información primaria. El equipo de investigación logró construir un análisis multi-dimensional de la historia y situación actual en estas comunidades, gracias al aporte de actores claves de la comunidad como grupos de mujeres, agricultures y dueños de fincas, así como del equipo técnico que participó.

El objetivo del trabajo de campo es obtener información primaria y que sirva de insumo para evaluar las opciones de desarrollo sostenible de frente al cambio climático en comunidades del Corredor Seco Centroamericano (CSC). Se formularán modelos de impactos climáticos e hidrológicos en esos territorios utilizando el diagnóstico para definir las potenciales acciones de desarrollo y opciones para mejorar los sistemas de producción y socioeconómicos para ayudar a las comunidades puedan seguir aprovechando sus tierras y que se adapten a la variabilidad y cambio climático.

Este trabajo de campo fue el primero del Programa Integral del Corredor Seco Centroamericano (PCSC), financiado por UCREA. La experiencia de esta actividad será tomada en cuneta en áreas representativas del CSC en el futuro.

El Proyecto UCREA-PICSC está apoyado por el Espacio Universitario de Estudios Avanzados de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

Artículos

Alfaro E.J., H.G. Hidalgo, T. Maldonado, P. M. Pérez-Briceño, N. Mora. 2018. A Tri- dimensional Approach to Climate Sciences. Caribbean Quarterly. 64: 26-56. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00086495.2018.1435333?journalCode=rcbq20

Alfaro E.J., H.G. Hidalgo, P.M. Pérez-Briceño. 2018. Mapping Environmental and Socioeconomic impacts of hydrometeorological hazards accross Central America, Study case: Honduras. Revista de Política Económica y Desarrollo Sostenible. 3(1): 20-43. http://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/politicaeconomica/article/view/10303

Alfaro, E., & H. Hidalgo, 2017. Propuesta metodológica para la predicción climática estacional del veranillo en la cuenca del río Tempisque, Costa Rica, América Central. Tópicos Meteorológicos y Oceanográficos. 16(1). 62-74. http://cglobal.imn.ac.cr/documentos/revista/topicosmet20171/html5/index.html?page=1&noflash

Moreno-Díaz, M., & Alfaro, E. 2018. Valoración socioeconómica del impacto de la variabilidad climática sobre la pesca artesanal en Costa Rica. Uniciencia, 32(1), 18-31. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15359/ru.32-1.2
http://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/uniciencia/article/download/10169/12452

Maldonado T., Alfaro E.J. y Hidalgo H.G. 2018. Revision of the main drivers and variability of Central America Climate and seasonal forecast systems. Revista de Biología Tropical, 66(Suppl. 1): S153-S175. https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/33294

Maldonado T., Alfaro E.J., Amador J.A. y Rutgersson, A. 2018. Regional precipitation estimations in Central America, using the Weather Research and Forecast model. Revista de Biología Tropical, 66(Suppl. 1): S231-S254. https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/33303

Alfaro, E. J., Chourio, X., Muñoz, Á. G. and Mason, S. J. (2018), Improved seasonal prediction skill of rainfall for the Primera season in Central America. Int. J. Climatol., e255-e268. doi:10.1002/joc.5366 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/joc.5366

Medios de prensa

Colaboración con la nota periodística “Ojo al Clima Variabilidad climática atiza incendios forestales en el país”. Alcance: Interpretación de que las sequías severas pueden intensificar la magnitud de los grandes incendios.

Colaboración con entrevista programa ConCiencia de Canal 15 sobre el proyecto. Alcance: se dio a conocer en qué consiste el proyecto y sus objetivos.

Colaboración con entrevista en el programa “En la Academia”. Alcance: se dio a conocer en qué consiste el proyecto y sus objetivos.

Colaboración con la nota periodística Costa Rica no es un país sostenible. Tormenta Nate deja al descubierto debilidades estructurales que requieren atención. Periodistas Tatiana Carmona, Patricia Blanco, Jennifer Jiménez, Rebeca Madrigal, Andrea Marín, Gabriela Mayorga, Andrea Méndez y Otto Salas. Noticias de la Oficina de Información y Divulgación de la Universidad de Costa Rica. 15 de diciembre de 2017. (https://www.ucr.ac.cr/noticias/2017/12/15/costa-rica-no-es-un-pais-sostenible.html?platform=hootsuite, última visita 08/01/2018).

Colaboración con la nota periodística Tormenta Nate: El problema está en la tierra, no en el cielo. Periodista Daniel Salazar Murillo. Suplemento de Cambio Climático Ojo al Clima. Semanario Universidad, 11 de octubre de 2017. (https://semanariouniversidad.com/pais/tormenta-nate-problema-esta-la-tierra-no-cielo/, última visita 12/10/2017).

Objetivos (EN)

General
To evaluate the physical and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of Guanacaste, in order to suggest solutions that would improve quality of life in this province
Specific 1
To assess regional trends relating to climate and water, natural resources, environment and ecology, and human (socioeconomic) development
Specific 2
To formulate a Natural Resource-Based Poverty Map that disaggregates relative areas of poverty in the region
Specific 3
To provide a multi-dimensional picture of the whole reality latent in the field through the inclusion of meaningful synthesis of data for natural systems and human
development. This includes the formation of a database that can be used in the future by
researchers working on related subjects
To discern regional development patterns spatially-disaggregated and mapped data for the UN’s Human Development Indicators (with particular emphasis on the Sustainable and Millennium Development Indicators) that can assist policymakers in prioritizing resource allocation and projects
Specific 4
To highlight the region as representative of the future challenges that global warming brings to the interface between society and nature and, hopefully, to develop solutions that can be emulated elsewhere.

Resumen (EN)

The Central American Dry Corridor (CADC), a transborder region along the Pacific littoral, is an area that is especially susceptible to both the geophysical and socioeconomic stresses of climate variability (CV) and change (CC). Ten million people live in this region where food insecurity and other manifestations of entrenched poverty are evident. The region also experiences recurrent droughts and other hydro-climatic hazards as a result of natural climate variability, and in some locations the trends in drought indexes toward drier conditions are significant, apparently as a result of global warming. The inhabitants, mainly smallholder families, encounter threats to their livelihoods and ways of life. Rural outmigration to urban areas and across national and regional borders have resulted in social instability with growing food insecurity, the possibility of a refugee crisis and social conflict being of concern.The Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica is geographically, ecologically and climatically part of the CADC and is subject to the same environmental stresses characteristic of it. Costa Rica is at the top end of the Central American socioeconomic gradient and is distinguished by unparalleled achievements in vital development indicators such as education and health relative to the rest of the region. However, as a whole, Guanacaste is at a low level of development, including four cantons at the lowest level according to the national Social Development Index (Mideplan 2013).

These socioeconomic gaps are problematic in themselves and all the more so at a time when the region is facing natural resource challenges (water scarcity, land degradation) that may worsen as the climate changes. These environmental challenges threaten both the land-based livelihoods (agriculture, ranching) and the touristic sector, which is a leading source of revenue in the region.

The proposed project is based on the assessment that the problems of uneven development in Guanacaste and the CADC of which it is a part cannot be addressed without taking the effects of CV and CC into account. Similarly, efforts to build enhanced capacity to withstand the prospective impacts of environmental change must be consistent with the sustainable development of the region. In order to conform to these imperatives, a knowledge-rich, scientifically-rooted understanding of the physical, social and institutional challenges in the region is indispensable. Providing this knowledge base in order to guide policy toward effective action is the overall goal of the proposed Collaboration.

Given that physical, socioeconomic and institutional dimensions are involved, an interdisciplinary approach is indispensable. Tools from the natural sciences, the social sciences, agricultural sciences, resource management, public administration and the humanities — specifically those dealing with institution-building, policy and regional cooperation — are necessary to this enterprise. This Collaboration is inter-institutional and specialists therefrom three universities are involved.

The challenges encountered in Guanacaste are an extension of a cross-border, regional condition and the latter, which requires international cooperation. Israel, a Middle Eastern country that is subject to any of the same stressors that the CADC faces as a result of CC, has developed innovative land and water management systems to contend with these challenges. The allocation of resources it shares with its neighbors, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, especially water, has resulted in cooperative agreements on the levels of both government and civil society. Accordingly, there are lessons to be learned from the Israel experience and the partnership of a Tel Aviv University environmental institute in this Collaboration renders the latter international in character.

As detailed below, the Collaboration will 1) Conduct field research to profile of air-water-land dynamics in Guanacaste and simulate possible impacts that such changes might have the future, 2) Map the natural-resource basis for uneven development in the region, 3) Review the prevailing rural activity (agriculture, ranching, tourism) in Guanacaste and explore possibilities for improving conditions (physical, organizational, economic) that enhances development opportunities in a climate-resilient manner, 4) Formulate guidelines for ameliorating projected CV and CC-impacts and interventions needed to reduce development disparities in the region by improving the conditions of smallholders and expanding employment (MIDEPLAN 2014 ) and, 5) Propose and test consultative frameworks for bottom-up/top-down dialog (between government and local stakeholders) aimed to promote the proposed policy.

By achieving these objectives the Collaboration hopes to break new ground in the articulation of mitigating and adaptive strategies needed to contend with the impacts of global warming and related changes on the interface of society and nature.

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