Integrating ecosystem benefits for sustainable water allocation in hydroeconomic modeling.

The increasing concern about the degradation of water-dependent ecosystems calls for considering ecosystems benefits in water management decision-making. Sustainable water management requires adequate economic and biophysical information on water systems supporting both human activities and natural ecosystems. This information is essential for assessing the impact on social welfare of water allocation options. This paper evaluates various alternative water management policies by including the spatial and sectoral interrelationships between the economic and environmental uses of water. A hydroeconomic model is developed to analyze water management policies for adaptation to reduced water availability in the Ebro Basin of Spain. The originality in our contribution is the integration of environmental benefits across the basin, by using endemic biophysical information that relates stream flows and ecosystem status in the Ebro Basin. The results show the enhancement of social welfare that can be achieved by protecting environmental flows, and the tradeoffs between economic and environmental benefits under alternative adaptation strategies. The introduction of water markets is a policy that maximizes the private benefits of economic activities, but disregards environmental benefits. The results show that the current institutional policy where stakeholders cooperate inside the water authority, provides lower private benefits but higher environmental benefits compared to those obtained under water markets, especially under severe droughts. However, the water authority is not allocating enough environmental flows to optimize social welfare. This study informs strategies for protection of environmental flows in the Ebro Basin, which is a compelling decision under the imminent climate change impacts on water availability in coming decades.

We lose ground: Global assessment of land subsidence impact extent.

Depletion of groundwater aquifers along with all of the associated quality and quantity problems which affect profitability of direct agricultural and urban users and linked groundwater-ecosystems have been recognized globally. During recent years, attention has been devoted to land subsidence-the loss of land elevation that occurs in areas with certain geological characteristics associated with aquifer exploitation. Despite the large socioeconomic impacts of land subsidence most of these effects are still not well analyzed and not properly recognized and quantified globally. In this paper we developed a land subsidence impact extent (LSIE) index that is based on 10 land subsidence attributes, and applied it to 113 sites located around the world with reported land subsidence effects. We used statistical means to map physical, human, and policy variables to the regions affected by land subsidence and quantified their impact on the index. Our main findings suggest that LSIE increases between 0.1 and 6.5% by changes in natural processes, regulatory policy interventions, and groundwater usage, while holding all other variables unchanged. Effectiveness of regulatory policy interventions varies depending on the lithology of the aquifer system, in particular its stiffness. Our findings suggest also that developing countries are more prone to land subsidence due to lower performance of their existing water governance and institutions.

Forest bioeconomy in the media discourse in Spain.

Media can play a key role in shaping public opinion and setting a policy agenda by conveying and influencing public discourse. This article evaluates how the Spanish media has covered the topic of the forest bioeconomy and what kind of discourse it has produced and reproduced around it. For this purpose, we analysed the content of 204 national and regional newspaper articles. The results reveal the scarce penetration of the forest bioeconomy in media and some weaknesses in the narrative production and communicative dimension. The discourse is mainly constructed by governments with a limited presence of multiple stakeholders and an absence of conflict and divergent or alternative views. In addition, the discourse only addresses regional or local problems within the framework of an extended and dominant paradigm of economic growth considering the forest bioeconomy as an opportunity to combat fire, rural abandonment, smallholdings, and poor forest management. We conclude that media is not using its strategic potential and capacity as a public space. To become agents of change, the media should reflect a forest bioeconomy based on successful experiences of innovation and valorization, and adopt a transformative social vision that gives relevance to the interconnection between multiple stakeholders, forest multifunctionality and rural development.

Modeling sustainable groundwater management: packaging and sequencing of policy interventions.

Of the many studies estimating effectiveness of policy reforms most have been considering various types of policy reforms in isolation from each other. Such pattern has also been the case in water resource regulations. In the case of groundwater almost all policy interventions considered in the literature have been implemented individually, without taking into account the possible interactions and impacts among them. In this paper, we focus on two policy instruments: water quota and uniform water tax. The paper demonstrates how packaging and sequencing sets of policy interventions, with possible triggers to initiate their time of implementation, may be more effective in achieving a sustainable groundwater management than single policies when environmental externalities exist. The policy instruments are applied to the Western la Mancha aquifer in Southeast Spain, a major aquifer that is managed by a command and control approach.

Afectació pericàrdica i infecció per Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Podem establir una relació causal? / Afectación pericárdica e infección por mycoplasma pneumoniae. ¿Podemos establecer una relación causal? / Pericarditis and mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, can we stablish a causal (causative) relationship?

Introducció. L’afectació pericàrdica per M. pneumoniae (MP) és una entitat poc freqüent en pediatria, però amb conseqüències que poden ser greus si no s’instaura un tractament adequat i precoç. Arran de dos casos viscuts al nostre centre es revisa aquesta entitat i se n’emfatitza el diagnòstic. Casos clínics. Cas clínic 1: nena de 7 anys d’edat amb clínica prèvia de vies altes, que presenta dispnea per la qual cosa se li fa una radiografia de tòrax, que mostra cardiomegàlia, i una ecocardiografia compatible amb taponament cardíac que requereix pericardiocentesi evacuadora. Va rebre tractament amb ibuprofè i azitromicina orals. Les proves serològiques fetes van ser compatibles amb infecció recent per M. pneumoniae. Cas clínic 2: noi de 15 anys intervingut als dos mesos de vida de coartació d’aorta, que presenta clínica compatible amb pericarditis i radiografia que mostra cardiomegàlia i vessament pleural esquerre. Se li fa un ecocardiograma compatible amb vessament pericàrdic per la qual cosa rep tractament amb aspirina via oral i azitromicina, per serologies MP compatibles amb infecció recent per aquest germen. L’evolució posterior va ser favorable en tots dos casos. Comentari. S’ha de considerar la possibilitat d’infecció per MP i el seu tractament empíric en casos d’afectació cardíaca aguda, sobretot si va acompanyada o precedida de símptomes respiratoris, miàlgies, febre, anèmia normocí- tica o eosinofília, però tenint molt en compte una valoració diagnòstica acurada. Un diagnòstic precoç i un tractament instaurat a les primeres fases de la malaltia determinaran una evolució clínica favorable lliure de seqüeles (AU)

Introducción. La afectación pericárdica por M. pneumoniae (MP) es una entidad poco frecuente en pediatría pero con consecuencias que pueden ser graves si no se instaura un tratamiento adecuado y precoz. A partir de dos casos vividos en nuestro centro se revisa esta entidad enfatizando en su diagnóstico. Casos clínicos. Caso clínico 1: niña de 7 años de edad con clínica previa de vías altas, que presenta disnea motivo por el que se realiza radiografía de tórax que muestra cardiomegalia y ecocardiografía compatible con taponamiento cardíaco que requiere pericardiocentesis evacuadora. Recibió tratamiento con ibuprofeno y azitromicina orales. Las pruebas serológicas realizadas fueron compatibles con infección reciente por M. pneumoniae. Caso clínico 2: chico de 15 años intervenido a los dos mesos de vida de coartación de aorta, que presenta clínica compatible com pericarditis y radiografia que muestra cardiomegalia y derrame pleural izquierdo. Se realiza ecocardiograma que muestra derrame pericárdico recibiendo tratamiento con aspirina vía oral y azitromicina por serologías a MP compatibles con infección reciente por este germen. La evolución posterior fue favorable en ambos casos. Comentario. Se debe considerar la posibilidad de infección por MP y su tratamiento empírico en caso de afectación cardíaca aguda, sobre todo si se acompaña o va precedida de síntomas respiratorios, mialgias, fiebre, anemia normocítica o eosinofilia, pero siendo cautelosos en su valoración diagnóstica. Un diagnóstico precoz y un tratamiento instaurado en las primeras fases de la enfermedad determinaran una evolución clínica favorable libre de secuelas (AU)

Introduction. Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated pericarditis is rarely described in the pediatric population, although it can result in severe consequences if an early diagnosis is not performed and the appropriate terament administered. We describe two cases of pericardial effusion associated with M. pneumoniae infection and emphasize the key diagnostic elements. Case Reports. Case 1: A chest X-ray performed on a 7 yo girl with dyspnea and prior history of flu-like symptoms revealed cardiomegaly. An echocardiogram showed cardiac tamponade. A pericardiocentesis was performed, with good clinical response, and treatment with azithromycin and ibuprofen was started. Serological tests for Mycoplasma pneumoniae indicated acute infection. Case 2: A 15 yo boy diagnosed and treated for aortic coarctation at 2 months of age presented with symptoms of pericarditis. A chest X-ray revealed cardiomegaly and a left pleural effusion. An echocardiogram was performed showing pericardial effusion. Treatment with acetylsalicylic acid was started, and azithromycin was added after serological confirmation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. The patient recovered uneventfully. Comment. The diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniaeassociated pericarditis must be considered, and empirical treatment given, when a patient presents with acute pericarditis, particularly if fever, flu-like symptoms, normocytic anemia or eosinophilia, are present. However, we must be cautious when interpreting diagnostic tests. Early diagnosis and treatment will result in a good clinical outcome (AU)