Facilitation of paradigm shift in urban biodiversity and water management – bridging LTER Europe (LTSER) and EU FP6 SWITCH experiences
Cities are specific environments for testing paradigms related to water, biodiversity and resource management. Permanent interaction of a number of factors: anthropogenic, natural, social and economic, imposing pressures on environment and raising quality expectations, makes development and effective implementation of new theories and foundings a real challenge. Another challenge is general lack of paradigm linking water management and biodiversity management in urban areas. Although a role of green areas in regulation of ecological processes, improving quality of life and building economic potential of cities, thus their sustainability, is well recognized, increasing interest in biodiversity protection and recovery of habitats, left urban areas beyond the biodiversity-related action plans and policy scope.
Water management in cities is dominated by paradigms indicating water as a resource for inhabitants and industry on the one hand and source of hazards on the other. Integrated Water Management paradigm is widely accepted and adopted by policies at different levels, however it is rarely applied in case of urban rivers, which are still managed according to sectoral approach. What is more, although both biodiversity and water issues (their allocation, accessibility and management) generate a number of political, economic and social interactions in the cities, there are not many studies devoted to understanding the socio-political mechanisms impacting water and biodiversity management.
The poster presents attempts to re-defining of the Integrated Water Resource and Allocation Management paradigm in the City of Lodz. It also provides an insight into the process of linking EU FP6 SWITCH approach with concepts developed by LTER Europe (European Long-Term Ecosystem Research Network) targeted at establishing an LTSER Platform (Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research).
