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Component 2: SJRB Information System
The objective of this Component is to enhance the
capabilities of existing infrastructure in the decision-making process at
all levels of government, and to encourage technical cooperation at the
national level, by contributing and disseminating information among
stakeholders, while, in the first instance, specifically facilitate data
acquisition and sharing through an improved system. The PDF-B activities
identified specific and serious gaps in the availability of information
needed to quantify, assess, and address priority transboundary problems
and issues of concern (comprised both scientific data and institutional
capacity including human capacity to collect, analyze and interpret such
data) necessary to formulate an SAP. Acquisition of data is vital to the
successful preparation of an effective SAP. Creation of the institutional
and human capacities to obtain and use these data is also critical to the
long-term success of the SAP. Thus, as part of the SAP formulation,
studies will be conducted to measure the region’s vulnerability to
erosion, sedimentation and its effects on the dynamics of the river system
and the coastal zone, and natural disasters. One key area is lack of
comprehensive knowledge of physical information across the entire basin on
rainfall and runoff, water quality, and erosion and sedimentation.
Recognizing the difficulty in extrapolation from short
time-series, the study will initially evaluate alternative strategies for
data collection in order to optimize the amount and minimize the cost of
useful and reliable data that are available for SAP formulation. An
outcome will be a quantitative evaluation of the region’s vulnerability to
erosion, sedimentation and its effects on the dynamics of the river system
and the coastal zone and linkage to natural disasters, and on water
quality so that appropriate measures for point and non-point source
mitigation can be identified in the SAP. Another major gap is information
on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of Lake Nicaragua
and how these will respond to increases in human impacts. Because one
aspect of the SAP will focus on future management of Lake Nicaragua, there
will be a targeted set of activities focusing on physico-chemical data
that will be essential for formulating those specific actions that will be
recommended in the SAP that pertain to lake basin carrying capacity and
eutrophication, contamination, and ecological functions. Critical areas
within the SJRB will be identified and ecosystem deterioration will be
described on the basis of agreed-upon objectives for water and land use
and basic data on aquatic biodiversity, specially, but not exclusively, in
the coastal zone. Other specific studies will include socioeconomic
research, particularly on migration patterns, eco-tourism, and job
creation, and also research into the natural history and the distribution,
structure, and functions of the major ecosystems within the SJRB, in order
to elucidate and compile the types of information required in these
various sectoral activities. As part of these activities, attention will
be given to cost-effective and sustainable methods for capturing, storing,
analyzing and disseminating the data from these various activities within
the framework of an environmental information system(s). This will include
existing components such as GIS, plus other functionalities within a
systems and communications architecture that will be sustainable beyond
this project. The design of the information system will include mechanisms
for institutionalizing it after the SAP is completed.
The execution of these activities will be undertaken
by the relevant national institutions and organizations such as MARENA,
MINAE, SINAC, INETER, and academic institutions and research centers. The
coordination and supervision will be ensured by the Technical Units at
MINAE and MARENA. Specific detailed Terms of Reference will be prepared by
the Technical Coordinators in close consultation with UNEP and GS/OAS,
during the first quarter of the project period.
Each of the following Component of the SAP
formulation, relates to specific data or experiential needs necessary to
identify, quantify and refine strategic actions necessary to sustainably
manage the San Juan River Basin. The activities within the Components
relate directly to recommendations contained within the Transboundary
Diagnostic Analysis (TDA), supported by stakeholder initiatives. Together
with existing information, gathered during the PDF-B phase, this
information will allow formulation of an SAP consistent with current
scientific and technical principals for integrated watershed management.
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