Abstract
The expansion of cities is an emerging and critical issue for the future of the planet. Water is one of the most important resources provided by urban and peri-urban landscapes, as it is directly or indirectly connected with the quality of the environment and life. Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the leading city in Bolivia (and the second in Latin America) in regard to population growth and soil sealing. Water is available to the city mostly from the Piraí River basin, and is expected to be totally inadequate to support such powerful urban development. The project Aguacruz, which is financed by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, aimed to (1) restructure and harmonize existing data on the landscape ecology, hydrological features, and functional aspects of the Piraí River; (2) build hydrological scenarios for the future of the basin by introducing a landscape ecology approach, and (3) involve stakeholders and local actors in decision-making processes oriented to increase the resilience of the urban–rural landscape of the Piraì River and the city of Santa Cruz. SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tools) tested five scenarios through simulating different landscape settings, from the current previsions for urban expansion to a sound implementation of green infrastructures, agroforestry, and regreening. The results indicate that integrated actions in rural–urban systems can lead to a substantial reversal of the trend toward a decline in water supply for the city. From a governance and planning perspective, the proposed actions have been configured as to induce (i) integrated waterscape ecological planning; and (ii) the preparation and approval of departmental regulations for the incorporation of green infrastructures in the municipalities.
Highlights
Cities and their residents depend on peri-urban and rural landscapes for ecosystem services, economic and social benefits, and health and quality of life [1,2,3]
The project Aguacruz, financed by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, is an action research project oriented to investigate the current state of landscape conservation of the Piraì River basin, and how the latest changes are affecting the availability of water intended as an ecosystem service for the city of Santa Cruz
Hydrological and landscape ecology modeling have been elaborated on the Piraí River basin (Figure 1), which is the main water source for the almost three million people living in Santa Cruz
Summary
Cities and their residents depend on peri-urban and rural landscapes for ecosystem services, economic and social benefits, and health and quality of life [1,2,3]. The project Aguacruz, financed by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, is an action research project oriented to investigate the current state of landscape conservation of the Piraì River basin, and how the latest changes are affecting the availability of water intended as an ecosystem service for the city of Santa Cruz. The objectives of Aguacruz project, which is part of the Support Program for the natural area of integrated management of Rio Grande, Santa Cruz, Bolivia (ANGIRG)funding of the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development (AICS), were selected through a collaborative process between the government of Santa Cruz, the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Institute de Capacitacion de Oriente (ICO) based in Bolivia, and Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria (ICU), based in Italy, the local municipalities, and the University of Florence.
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