econf2_backgroundpaper_madaleno.doc

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NEW METHODOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURERESEARCH IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: THE CHILEAN PROJECT

Isabel Maria Ma ale!"#Gla $s Ar%i&"##

ABSTRACT

State of the art projections from the International Food Policy Research Institute(IFPRI), The Urban A riculture !et"or# (TUA!), the Research $entre on UrbanA riculture and Forestry (RUAF), the International %e&elopment Research $entre(I%R$), the $anada's ffice of Urban A riculture ($ity Farmer), to name just a fe",sho" that far too many de&elopin "orld urbanites "ill o hun ry in the near future if appropriate solutions are not found in order to prioritise actions that can ha&e impact onimpro&in food security in urban settin s Inno&ati&e scientific and technolo icalstudies on the inte ration of small*scale a ricultural practises into the urban and peri*

urban en&ironment, city food production dia nosis, e&aluation of urban land uses, andthe desi n of sustainable urbani+ation systems can only contribute to multiply localsuccesses and educate the people

INTRODUCTION

Sustainable intensification of the "orld's food and a riculture productionsystems is a must In fact, there are an increasin number of hollo" stomachs, for

some"hat li#e -- million people in the de&elopin "orld don't ha&e enou h to eate&ery day The continuous impo&erishment of the de&elopin countries, to ether "iththe raisin urbani+ation re istered ha&e turned a riculture, pre&iously considered a ruralacti&ity into an appropriate, efficient, e&en aesthetically acceptable urban function

In our opinion urban a riculture (UA) can be one possible solution for de&elopin "orld cities famine Instead of perpetuatin an increasin demand for e.ternal food aid, de&elopin countries should be assisted as to urban land culti&ation,usin sustainable methods !e" policies de&oted to the or ani+ation of community

ardeners, priority support i&en to cooperati&es, seeds distribution, and public landoccupation policies are "ays to enhance food security

ESSA' ON NEW METHODOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES IN A PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT

In spite of /uite interestin recent research on urban a riculture and forestry, theincreasin number of conferences and "or#shops on the subject and hi h /uality currentliterature production, only little has been discussed about appropriate methodolo iesand techni/ues for UA research 0o"e&er, the importance of plant ro"th, li&estoc# andforestry in peri*urban areas is bein "idely reported, usually usin mar#et analysis,

empirical food and nutrition assessment, and samples on plant ro"th and microli&estoc# breedin in cities, to"ns and metropolis 1ut "e still face a lac# of data and

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#no"led e concernin the e.tent, the present de&elopment and the output of the peri*urban farms dominant in se&eral countries, namely $hile, one of the least researched inSouth America And America is the lon est continent, e.posin to our mar&elled eyesthe richest biodi&ersity, and bein , in spite of all, the land "here the en&ironment is lessspoiled, as it is in 3urope, so nature conser&ation techni/ues are more li#ely to succeed,

"hile current accelerated urbani+ation trends sho" us that research on sustainableurbani+ation acti&ities and techni/ues are a matter of ur ency, in order to pro&ide toolsfor a more efficient urban and peri*urban en&ironmental systems modellin andmana ement in the near future

In the year 4--2 a joint $hilean and Portu uese team proposed to start aninno&ati&e research project on UA and Forestry in and around the capital city of Santia o, meanin in the 5etropolitan Re ion (population 6 million) As to the selectedmethodolo y and techni/ues, the research project besides and to ether "ith empiricaldata atherin , li#e semi*structured and structured inter&ie"s to a fe" selected actors,in/uiries to urban a riculture practitioners, to food street traders, biolo ical and non*

biolo ical factors study (for they condition plant ro"th in the area), and also a political, social, cultural limitations or stimulus sur&ey to a ro*forestry e.istin practises, "ill use eo raphic information systems in order to impro&e our ste"ardshipof resources, that include food production and natural spaces e.tent and mana ement,"ith the aim of promotin en&ironmental protection, the ultimate concern of sustainableurbani+ation strate ies

7isbon Tropical Institute lon term project objecti&es are8 2 To create ne"methodolo ies and techni/ues for research on a ro*forestry production andmana ement, in urban settin s9 4 To de&elop standard land*use maps and :eo raphicInformation (:I) on natural and culti&ated spaces e.istent in de&elopin "orld cities9; To install a :I infrastructure li#ely to be a #ey initiati&e to"ards an InternationalInformation $entre on UA and forestry, "ithin the United !ations and<or the 3uropeanUnion, one of many subse/uent ones9 = To instil in the scientific community and peoplein eneral a sense of ur ency and need to ta#e action to ensure the future protection of

reen spaces in de&elopin "orld cities9 6 To promote in "orld forums, and throu hscientific proof in se&eral publications the theory that UA is an en&ironmental, socialand economically sustainable acti&ity, "hich should be protected and supported in thecities of the future

TAS( DESCRIPTION AND E)PECTED RESULTS

For years both authors ha&e been researchin urban and peri*urban a ricultureusin an empirical type of focus, mainly based on field samples 3&en thou h se&eralinterestin results ha&e been reported to the scientific community "e ha&e identifiedsome "ea#nesses brin in us, eo raphers, to ether no" "ith other specialists, to

propose impro&ements in our approach8 First, as de&elopin countries ha&e becomeincreasin ly urbani+ed, efforts to search for alternati&e land*use systems should be

prioritised, combinin economic, social and ecolo ical sustainability, li#e a ro*forestry projects9 second, urban a riculture and forestry research should be interdisciplinary9third, tools and instruments li#e :IS soft"are, remote sensin , aerial photo raphy anddi ital carto raphy, includin e.istin land*use maps, should be used and inter*

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connected in order to impro&e the appropriateness of methodolo ies in this scientificfield

Follo"in the trend initiated in 5aputo by a joint Portu uese*5o+ambicanteam, "here these methods are already bein tested, "e no" list up to tas#s necessaryfor UA and natural spaces dia nosis, culminatin on a ro*en&ironmental mappin of the

study area82 5ore than one sin le tas#, the first research phase consists on se&eral interconnectedtas#s, li#e8 i) 1iblio raphy, "ritten documents, carto raphy (either analo ical anddi ital * soil, &e etation, precipitation and topo raphic maps), census > thematicstatistics ac/uisition about the country and its capital*city9 ii) The first e.ploratory &isitsto intra*urban culti&ated and reen spaces, to peripheral Santia o farms and naturalspaces, come ne.t9 iii) Photo raphic record ima es "ill be ta#en, durin these &isits9iiii) Inter&ie"s to ?communal@ 2 authorities are part of this phase too, for they areessential to direct the team to the correct institutions and offices, as "ell as to the mostsi nificant e.ploration sites A eo rapher shall perform this e.ploratory mission, "hichis essential for subse/uent tas#s, for the aim is to ather information ready to be used byother team members durin the research process4 Selection of satellite ima ery to be ac/uired, 7andsat or Spot, spatial resolution&aryin from ;- to 2- metres, "ill be a &ery important tas#, and the :IS specialistassi ned for this second phase shall preferably et one ima e for the summer andanother for the "inter season, e&en thou h a third one for sprin and a fourth one for autumn "ould be the ideal choice, so that all possible &e etable crops, either the

permanent or the annuals, and all reen spaces species, perennials or not, could beincluded in the di ital maps to de&ise Aerial photo raphy analysis, datin from 2 , at28B- --- scale, "ith possible amplification 4, "ill be a &alue*added in order to et

preciser class limits, more accurate area boundaries e&en eo raphic features clear discrimination; In&entory of trees, ardens, urban and peri*urban par#s, forests, bushes and e&enisolated plants e.istent in the 5etropolitan re ion "hich could also be used as fuel"ood shall be done by a forest scientist and<or a biolo ist This third tas# "as desi nedta#in into account the final objecti&e, meanin the inte ration of the information on a:IS and land*use mappin process= 3&aluation of UA contribution for food security to Santia o less "ealthy families,identification of plant and animal species tended, raised and collected as a source of income or for self*supply systems, plot si+es and culti&ation methods, farmin systems,as "ell as urban ardeners and peri*urban farmers social, economic, professional,cultural characteri+ation is e.pected to result from a sample to be e.tracted in the most

representati&e communes under eo raphers, a ronomists or sociolo ists super&ision6 After satellite and aerial photo raphy analysis and interpretation, to ether "itheorrefrenced results from the sur&ey to UA spaces and its production, the in&entory of

fuel "ood procurement and other uses, the natural spaces list and current e.tensione&aluation, all combined "ith field "or# to chec# on the limits of less "ell defined classareas identified in the di ital sources of data, the clima. "ill be the di itisation process,a &ery time consumin tas# to be performed under a :IS specialist close monitorisationC A sample of food informal commercialisation throu h the capital*city is a must, inorder to establish its lin# "ith small cattle raisers and &e etable ardeners e.istent2 Santia o is di&ided into ?communes@, each one "ith its elected mana ement offices and leaders andtheir o"n policies The peri*urban a riculture area accounts for about 2 million inhabitants and has minor

cities, namely 5elipilla, Duilicura, Tala ante and $olina, "here small producers are bein compelled tosell their land for urban de&elopment projects4 There are also urban photos and topo raphic maps, 284- --- scaled, a&ailable

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"ithin and in the outs#irts of the bi metropolis, "hich acti&ity is usually underreportedand "ith no connection to formal mar#et and supermar#et distribution systems usedonly by "ealthier peri*urban $hilean farmers This tas# shall be assi ned to asociolo ist or an economist (the ideal specialist "ould be an a ro*economist)B Some plant specimens are supposed to ha&e been collected in the sur&eyed culti&ated

plots, especially related to annual crops, food or non*food species Additionally, tree photo raphs can be ta#en, "hene&er considered ad&isable to subject those species to amore careful e.amination 5ost specimens shall be dried up for 0erbaria preparation,tar et of comparisons "ith e.istin samples from $hilean collections in order to permitthe botanist to perform a ta.onomical study on the basis of plant's morpholo icalcharacteristics, not"ithstandin the resource to chemical analysis in specific cases,

particularly concernin medicinal herbs The e.pected results are not only botanicalidentification of the most commonly planted species but also a report on its usa e for culinary purposes or in domestic, popular medicine, seen as an alternati&e to thecon&entional one, for financial and cultural considerations, particularly re ardin theless "ealthy families

To de&ise or perfection e.istin soil and surface "ater carto raphy is justified, for bestsoils in $hile are said to be found "ithin the metropolitan re ion, "hile lar e portions of this lon country are deserts or semi*desert areas 1esides, en&ironmental impactmodels, considerin soil erosion ris#s can only be concei&ed after e.tensi&e e&aluationof local cultural habits and farmin systems, in close relation to the plant speciesculti&ated in the researched soil units $ollection, systematisation and e&aluation of soil

profiles throu h hole di in and further lab analysis can only be a job for soilscientists

In synthesis, the project is oin to be de&eloped throu h inno&ati&emethodolo ies and techni/ues by about scientists, each one in its o"n field, but in aninterdisciplinary approach, ha&in se&eral e.pected outputs8 2 A ro*en&ironmental mapof the metropolis at an ade/uate eo raphical scale9 4 3n&ironmental impact modeldesi n on Santia o 5etropolitan Re ion9 ; Plant collection for 0erbaria destination9 =In&entory of urban ardeners, peri*urban farmers and culti&ated spaces9 6 !aturale.istin spaces e&aluation in Santia o and chan in patterns prediction9 C Informalcommercialisation correlation "ith food and non*food household production "ithin the5etropolis9 B %etailed di ital report on current a ro*forestry spaces and practises, easyto actualise in the future, an urban land*use plannin sectoral database and policy tool9

Inte ration of UA in urban de&elopment, in a metropolis "here 2<; of the country's population li&es

CONCLUSIONS

The $hilean project intends to re&ie" recent findin s "ith reference to ; #eyelements * urban a riculture, nature conser&ation, :eo raphic Information Systems *and proposes to brin a &alue*added as to8 2 or ani+ational arran ements that are beinmade for a better coordination of UA and forestry research, namely RUAFinstitutionalisation, to ether "ith the urban a riculture net"or#s9 4 the emer ency tocreate core datasets and inno&ati&e methodolo ies and techni/ues for a better e&aluationof e.istin urban en&ironmental systems and the eneration of information andmechanisms for ne" mana ement policies9 ; the ad&ancement of :I infrastructures andthe "ider a&ailability of shareable data at the national and international le&el,

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not"ithstandin one inno&ati&e project objecti&e to be the impro&ement of #no"*ho"on land*use maps de&ision at a "ide eo raphical scale

The contribution of our South American project objecti&es and tas#s for thead&ancement of methodolo ies for dia nosis on urban a riculture practises and future

plannin are8 2 The ori inality of the study, for so far research institutions ha&e not been

de&elopin such complete urban and peri*urban en&ironmental studies at consistenteo raphical scales, li#e 286- ---, 284- --- or 2846 ---9 4 The compilation of

information in di ital format that can constitute an inno&ati&e case*study on UA andforestry production and mana ement, throu h testin remote sensin ima es potentialand e.plorin :IS as a tool and its incredible analysis po"er in an ade/uate manner9; The creation of a database "ithin the U! or 3U that "ill pro&ide $hilean decision*ma#ers some comprehensi&e tools for land*use plannin , and open up ne" trends onen&ironmental science and urban a riculture research for us all

REFERENCES

1a##er, ! 9 %ubbelin , 5 9 :undel, S 9 Sabel*Eoschella, U9 eeu", 0 (eds ) (4---)Growing Cities, Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda . Feldalfin 8%S3* 37, SI%A, $TA, :T , A$PA, 15 , 3T$, G00

:arrett, H 7 and Ruel, 5 T (eds ) (4---) Achieving Urban Food and Nutrition Security in the Developing orld * Gashin ton8 International Food Policy ResearchInstitute (Focus ;)

5adaleno, I 5 > al (4--2) !owards a Sustainable Urbani"ation # agro$%orestry production and &anage&ent in developing world countries cities * 7isbon8 F $ T(project)

U!%P (2 C) Urban Agriculture: Food, 'obs and Sustainable Cities . !e" or#8United !ations %e&elopment Pro ramme

JTropical Institute, 7isbon, Portu al

Isabel*5adalenoKcli. ptJJ$hile Uni&ersity, Santia o, $hile

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econf2_backgroundpaper_madaleno.doc

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