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Titel / Topic

Kurzbeschreibung / Description

Betreuer*in / Supervisor

geeignet für / for

Several rural regions and communities in Europe and Japan (as in other parts of the world) are now dealing with global crises or have to prepare to face them. These crises include global pandemics, political threats, refugee-related migration, economy-related rural depopulation, and environment-related climate change. To face them, communities in rural regions urgently require strategies to tackle those challenges. Resilience strategies are scattered and often based only on tangible and visible symptoms and indicators, whereby a lot of intangible yet crucial aspects are neglected. Also, those strategies tend to deal based on “one threat at a time”. Different organizations have provided resilient tools to deal with specific catastrophes or some specific dimensions (environment, socio-economic development, infrastructure, etc.). However, the few instruments allow looking at the vulnerability and vitality of rural communities holistically. Finally, when it comes to community resilience, many would not disagree with the statement that a significant focus has been put in recent years on larger cities and agglomeration. Without being ignored, rural communities still deserve some more attention while knowing that rural challenges are quite diverse from one region to another. For instance, rural communities in Japan sometimes seem different from those in Germany, and rural towns in Spain often deal with different priorities than those in Poland. Those differences are sometimes even significant between rural communities of the same region.

Aim / Purpose

The aim of 3VRUT is to develop a methodology to evaluate, quantify, and classify the risks and threats that exist at the junction of cyberspace and physical space in rural settings in the developed world. For this, understanding the 3Vs (Vitality, Vulnerability and Versatility) of rural societies is critical. The evaluation of the 3Vs will be done through a combination of approaches to study the population trends, aging, transportation and commuting, agriculture and food availability, urban morphology and landscape transition, electricity, water, and digital connectivity in two rural towns per country in Japan, Germany, Poland and Spain. The direct objective of the study is to combine remote sensing technologies with machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in order to spot and predict changes in socio-economic behavior and opportunities in the rural setting.

Outcomes

·       An integrated conceptualization, methodology, and set of indicators to verify and validate the degree of vitality, vulnerability and versatility (3Vs) of rural towns using remote sensing, socio-economic data, telecommunication and mobile data, ground interviews and ethnography.

·       A digital report for the local governments (in the local language) that integrates the 3Vs in the diagnosis of the selected rural towns, for them to make the necessary action plans to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

·       A series of statements about the vitality and vulnerability conditions of rural communities through the Publication publication of results in three leading journals and international conferences.

·       A policy brief for discussions at the United Nations SDG Forum.

·       A start-up of transnational collaboration on land management and geospatial sciences.

Objective: This research topic aims to explore and compare the land use dynamics within the Amazon Hydrographic Basin, with a specific focus on the Amazonian Aquatic Ecosystems (AAE) versus Terra Firme regions. The study will delve into the patterns of land abandonment, the transition of deforested old growth to secondary forests, and the residence time of secondary forests before they are potentially cleared again. This investigation will provide insights into the cyclical use of lands by the local communities, particularly the ribeirinhos, and hypothesize on the impact of soil fertility, influenced by inundation pulses, on the duration cleared lands remain fallow in the AAE.

Key Areas of Investigation:
1. Deforestation and Secondary Forests: Calculate the percentage of old growth forests that have been deforested and subsequently transitioned into secondary forests within both the AAE and Terra Firme areas. This will provide a quantitative basis to understand reforestation dynamics and the prevalence of secondary growth.
2. Residence Time of Secondary Forests: Assess the average duration that secondary forests persist before being cleared again. This metric will help evaluate the sustainability of land use practices and the regenerative capacity of the forest ecosystems in different regions of the Amazon.
3. Comparative Dynamics between AAE and Terra Firme: By comparing these dynamics between the AAE and Terra Firme, the study aims to uncover distinct patterns of land use and management. The hypothesis that cleared lands may persist longer in AAE due to enhanced soil fertility from inundation will be critically examined.
4. Implications for Land Management Policies: The findings from this study are expected to inform more sustainable land management policies by understanding the nuances of land use dynamics in these regions. It will particularly focus on the unique challenges and opportunities presented by the AAE in the context of the broader Amazon basin.

This research topic encourages a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing, soil science, and social sciences to provide a comprehensive understanding of the land use dynamics in one of the world's most vital ecological regions. Through this comparative study, we aim to contribute to the development of sustainable land management strategies that consider the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of the Amazon.