Download to read offline
Uploaded byAbundance (www.abundanceworldwide.org)
Climate Change Adaptation Technologies
This document summarizes a presentation on environmentally sound technologies for climate change adaptation in Eswatini. It discusses definitions of adaptation and adaptation technologies, including hardware, software, and orgware technologies. It outlines key technologies prioritized in Eswatini's Technology Needs Assessment, including rooftop rainwater harvesting, micro and drip irrigation, wetland restoration, and alien invasive species management. Challenges and opportunities for implementing these technologies are described. The importance of traditional indigenous knowledge and avoiding maladaptation are also emphasized.
More Related Content
Similar to Climate Change Adaptation Technologies
Climate Change Adaptation Technologies
- 1. Environmentally Sound Technologies forClimate Change Adaptation: Building Adaptive Capacity for Resilience Deepa Pullanikkatil (PhD) CANGO Eswatini d.Pullanikkatil@gmail.com 25 Sept 2019, Royal Swazi Spa, Ezulwini “Towards Environmental Sustainability: Unlocking Climate Finance Opportunities for Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Investments through CSO engagement”
- 2. “Adaptation -actions takento help communities and ecosystems cope with changing climate condition (UNFCCC) Adaptation- an adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities (IPCC) 2
- 3. Definition: Adaptation Technologies ▰ ‘Theapplication of technology in order to reduce the vulnerability, or enhance the resilience, of a natural or human system to the impacts of climate change’ (UNFCCC 2010). ▰ Technologies for adaptation: ‘All technologies that can be applied in the process of adapting to climatic variability and climate change’. (UNDP 2010)
- 4. Types of technologies ▰Hardware ▰ ‘hard’ technologies for adaptation, such as equipment and infrastructure, ▰ Software ▰ softer types of technologies for adaptation, including, for instance, management practices and training ▰ Orgware ▰ Organization, policies, enabling frameworks
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 10. Technology Needs Assessment for ClimateChange Adaptation
- 12. July 2015 –Sector Prioritization w/s (Mbabane, SZ) June 2015 – Methodology Training (Arusha, TZ) TNA Project – May 2015 Inception Workshop (Mbabane, SZ) Feb 2016 – Barrier analysis training (Capetown, RSA) Aug 2016 W/s on barrier analysis (Piggs Peak, SZ) June 2018 Final workshop Political approval for TAPs Apr 2016- TNA Validation w/s (Ezulwini, SZ) Aug 2015- Technology Prioritization w/s (Simunye, SZ) Nov 2017 Technology Action Plans (TAP) Sept 2016 Global knowledge sharing in Nairobi March 2017 Market mapping BAEF w/s Sept 2016 BAEF Workshop 2015 2016 2017 2018
- 15. Technologies prioritized for Adaptation ▰Water Sector: ▰ Rooftop rainwater harvesting ▰ Wetland restoration ▰ Integrated River Basin Management ▰ Agriculture: ▰ Conservation Agriculture ▰ Micro and Drip Irrigation ▰ Livestock and Poultry Selective Breeding ▰ Forestry & Biodiversity ▰ Agroforestry ▰ Conservation of Genetic Resources ▰ Alien Invasive Species Management
- 16. Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting ▰ (1)diversification of household water supply; and ▰ (2) increased resilience to water quality degradation. ▰ Harvesting rainwater helps reduce the pressure on surface and groundwater resources by decreasing household demand. ▰ Decentralised solution ▰ Upscalable
- 17. RWH helps learners ▰The GEF Special Climate Change Fund -The project which started in 2012 has facilitated installation of 43 tanks in 10 rural schools. ▰ USAID funded project – 200 systems in 120 schools – 2010-13. ▰ Approx E 8000- 11,000 per system (tank, gutters, base, roof rehab) ▰ Maintenance annual- E1000- 2000
- 19. Micro and DripIrrigation ▰ Many farmers dependent on rainfed cropping ▰ Irrigation can help farmers in Swaziland to adapt to changing climate and substantially improve food production. ▰ The goal of micro and drip irrigation is to supply each plant with just the right amount of water it needs, thereby reducing wastage of water. ▰ Micro irrigation systems target roots of field crops ▰ Water efficiency for sprinklers is 50-70%, while for drip irrigation it is up to 90% (Climatetechwiki) and can also be used in greenhouses, nurseries, orchards and plants in containers. Both systems can be gravity fed or pressurized.
- 20. Micro and DripIrrigation Cultivated land accounts for 191 500 ha or 11% of the total land area of Swaziland. Irrigated land is 47% of the total cultivated land (90,000ha). Actual irrigated area stood at 67 000 ha which is 74% of the potential and just below 35% of the total cultivated land. Most of the irrigated land in Swaziland is under sugarcane. 10% of the area is now under the responsibility of people who are farming in different communities as Farmers Associations, or individuals.
- 21. Micro and DripIrrigation • How can we move from 67,000ha to 90,000ha under micro irrigation? (23,000ha more!) • Indicative costs drip: E.70,000 to over 100,000 depending on size and type • Imported from RSA through local dealers(DRIP AND SPRINKLER). Some servicing available locally.
- 22. Alien Invasive Species Management GreenWarttle Mauritius thorn Lantana Guava Coffee weed Rag weed/ Parthenium/demonia (cyclone in 1984) Bugweed Black warttle
- 23. Alien Invasive Species Management ▰Alien (non-native) species have been introduced both accidentally and intentionally in Swaziland. ▰ Intentional introductions are, and have been, motivated by economic, environmental and social considerations. ▰ Seeds blown by wind, carried by fauna and deliberately planted by humans. ▰ It is important to control invasive species as their impacts are immense, insidious and usually irreversible, and they may be as damaging to native species and ecosystems through loss and degradation of habitats. ▰ Swaziland declared a national emergency on proliferation of invasive species in year 2005, as they were said to threaten food security and thus the economy of the country.
- 24. Alien Invasive Species Management ▰A number of programmes and projects in Eswatini has already included elements of invasive species control ▰ SNTC, SEA, Eswatini Livestock Technical Services, All out Africa, Natural History Society of Swaziland and others have been actively involved in collecting data, studying and undertaking programmes to control growth of invasive species. ▰ Inadequate funds
- 25.
- 26. Community concerns? Is anythingmissing?
- 27. What is Bilharzia? ▰Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia) is caused by flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. ▰ In Africa three species ▰ Schistosoma mansoni (Intestinal)
- 28. Transmission Through contact with schistosome infestedwater Carrier- Water snails
- 29.
- 30. Infection ▰ People areinfected during routine agricultural, domestic, occupational and recreational activities which expose them to infested water. ▰ hygiene (open defecation-S. Mansoni, urinating in waterbodies- S. haematobium) ▰ Swimming ▰ Fishing in infested water
- 31. Signs & Symptoms ▰Pain on passing urine ▰ Haematuria (blood in urine) –S.Haematobium ▰ Persistent Abdominal pain ▰ Blood stained stool –S.Mansoni ▰ Mild anemia and malnutrition ▰ Diarrhoea ▰ Eosinophilia — extremely high white blood cell count. ▰ Fever ▰ Fatigue ▰ Hepatosplenomegaly — the enlargement of both the liver and the spleen ▰ Internal organs failure, cancer of liver and even death
- 34.
- 35.
- 36.
- 37. Why high prevalenceat Mukhweya and Lamusi? ▰ Scooping snails at study sites ▰ Turbidity of water (high at Lake, less at Mukhweya and Lamusi) Freshwater snail species found at this location included Pulmonates Bulinus globosus, Bulinus forskalii, and Prosobranchs (Photo credit: J. Russell Stothard).
- 38. A survey ofliterature shows a few prominent examples on the African continent. Increase in the abundance of snail hosts of bilharzia following the construction of irrigation projects in the Nile Delta (Garfield, 1986), dams in Senegal (Ernould, Ba, & Sellin, 1999; Talla et al., 1990) Increase or introduction of new areas of urinary schistosomiasis following the construction of dams and irrigation projects meant to improve water security in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, and Sudan (see Elias, Daffala, Lassen, Madsen, & Christensen, 1994; Hunter, Rey, Chu, Adekolu-John, & Mott, 1993; Southgate, 1997). Other related examples are highlighted in studies by Wilmott (1987) in Egypt. Dams and Irrigation projects and Bilharzia
- 39.
- 40. Climate change adaptationand Bilharzia ▰ Well intentioned adaptation techniques such as Irrigation near endemic areas cause increase in schistosomiasis infections due to increased water contact ▰ Therefore Climate change projects have to include Bilharzia control aspects in endemic areas- starting with our project!
- 41. Lesson learnt: The mostwell intentioned development projects can have unintended consequences if its not “locally specific”
- 42.
- 43. Decisions for farmingby predictors of weather/climate ▰ Delayed shedding of leaves -interpreted as a sign of a delayed onset of rainfall. ▰ Direction of leaves falling – indication of rainfall pattern ▰ Other signals such as wind directions, positions of birds’ nests, sounds of animals and insects and appearances of certain species of insects and animals ▰ A minimum of three signals before arriving at a conclusion. ▰ Whether to dry plant the seeds, to use fast maturing seeds, to delay planting and also about what type of crop to be planted (whether it is maize or cassava for instance).
- 44. “When the leavesshed from the tree and fall south it indicates that the rains will not be good that year and farmers plant fast maturing crops, such as the Red variety of maize that matures in 95 days. When leaves fall in all directions, it will be good rains”. Local farmer.
- 46. Place your screenshothere Adaptation for Nature Desktop project Show and explain your web, app or software projects using these gadget templates. 46 Wetlands protection
- 47. Luve Wetland anddonga rehabilitation project ▰ Its aim was to protect the wetland at Luve ▰ Was done through an NGO called Citizen Empowerment (CEC) ▰ A contract was signed between SEA and CEC ▰ Fencing of the wetland is 100% completed in partnership with MTN
- 48. Women taking thelead to protect the wetlands at Lawuba
- 50. Impacts of theproject ▰ Was successfully implemented in 2014 ▰ Fauna has developed ▰ Woman have started harvesting handcraft raw material. ▰ The spongy effect of the wetland has been observed during the rainy season ▰ Has become a major source of water in the whole area for domestic , livestock and agriculture ▰ Several vegetable gardens have sprung up around the wetland for income .
- 51.
- 52. 52 Solar Pump Elwandle area,3.5ha , 10,000 coffee trees, organic farming
- 53.
- 54. 54 Climate change isglobal, adaptation is local.
- 55. Thoughts to takehome 1. Adaptation technology – Hardware, Software and Orgware 2. TNA priorities 3. Avoid MALadaptation 4. Where possible accrue co-benefits to mitigation Finally…. 4. Adaptation is everyone’s business! 55
- 56. Thanks! ▰ Any questions? ▰You can find me at: ▰ @DeepaPullani ▰ d.pullanikkatil@gmail.com 56 ▰ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival #EswatiniClimateFinance #ClimateResilientEswatini
Editor's Notes
- #2 Thank you to the Climate Change Unit for inviting me, Its my pleasure to be here and participate in this workshop. Climate change is not just about reducing carbon emissions, because even if we were to stop carbon emissions today, climate change impacts would still be felt due to the past emissions we globally have emitted. As you know climate change is affecting rainfall patterns and causing extreme weather events including floods and droughts and cyclones. Such events which used to happen every 100 years, may now increase in frequency to say every 30 years or every 25 years. While its important to cut our emissions to mitigate against climate change, we need to urgently adapt too. That’s why we must do both mitigation and adaptation. Adaptation- what does it means. Lets have a look.
- #3 There are quite a few definitions of adaptation, I like these from UNFCCC and IPCC. Adaptation -actions taken to help communities and ecosystems cope with changing climate condition … Adaptation responds to the risk, while at the same time building future resilience. One important aspect of adaptation is technology.
- #4 Now what is “Adaptation Technology”? It is applying “technology” to reduce our vulnerability to climate change. So all technologies that you apply for adapting is useful, however, we need to make sure they are environment friendly tech and not causing more emissions.
- #5 When you talk of Technology- its not just the hardware part, its also software and orgware. So while the hard technology part includes equipments and infrastructure, the softer types of technologies include training and management practices and the “orgware” part is having in place enabling policies, enabling frameworks and organizations are also equally important as the hard technology.
- #6 To give you a sense of the nuances of hardware, software and orgware- lets take agriculture sector – the hardware can be crop switching, or using drip irrigation or post harvest loss reduction silos and the software can be training on farming practices and the orgware could be setting up local institutions that can provide services to farmers, better extension services, or maintenance of these tech etc. Take the water sector- the hardware could be building sand dams or rainwater harvesting systems and the software could be trainings and awareness on water efficiency and recycling of water and the orgware could be setting up water user associations and water pricing in communities- if you ignore the software and orgware aspects- you may find vandalism and misuse of equipment and damage to the tech Take infrastructure- you can build flood resistant structures which is the hardware, supported with software of sharing knowledge and know-how of the technologies so that communities can manage these structures on their own and having the orgware, enabling policy and frameworks such as building codes and standards to assure that what we build can have minimum levels of performance and we build structures that can last long. So, software and orgware, are important, as important as the hardware for adaptation technology to work well.
- #7 While there are so many technologies that can aid adaptation, such as Green roofs, which some countries are trying to make compulsory- which cool buildings during hot days and keep it warm in cold days. Green roofs bring many benefits to urban developments in addition to providing natural areas, amongst an otherwise harsh urban landscape of glass and concrete structures. I’ve seen green roof at Guba Swaziland a permaculture center in Malkerns.
- #8 To fog harvesting, which has been successfully used in Kenya, Morocco and other countries to get water for areas which have less surface or ground water sources
- #9 To landslide monitoring systems…where small motion in ground are detected with sensors and warning is provided….. So there are many technologies that exist for adaptation…..But lets come closer to home and discuss some technologies prioritized by stakeholders in Eswatini.
- #10 To solar dryers…..a simple inexpensive technology for food drying. I was part of a project in Malawi’s Lake Chilwa Basin where we supported women fish processors with solar fish drying. Set up solar fish dryers, where previously women who process fish (men go for fishing, and women process and seel fish) , women used to dry fish in the open, prone to contamination by flies and dust. Using solar dryers they can efficiently and more hygienically dry fish. With that income they could start savings schemes and send children to secondary school. Here we learnt that using local knowledge is important- initially the solar dryers were built entirely with plastic sheets, then we found goats eating the plastic and the women told us to build brick walls up to a certain height and have plastic sheets above that, so that goats won’t chew on the plastic.
- #11 In 2015 until 2018, Eswatini undertook a Technology Needs Assessment for climate change adaptation. It was an assessment of what technologies need to be prioritized for Eswatini in adaptation.
- #12 We did this with 25 other countries, funded through UN Envrionment
- #13 It was a participatory process with a number of national stakeholder consultations and regional meetings to share lessons. Hlobsile Skhosana the Chief Environmental Coordinator and Minky Groenewald from the Climate Change Unit were the team leaders for this project.
- #14 Here are some images of the workshops we held with stakeholders from various sectors
- #15 We also did field visits to sites where adaptation technologies were being used- drip irrigation, post harvest loss reduction, permaculture, water saving technologies, hydroponics, conservation agriculture and so on.
- #16 These 9 technologies were prioritized for the three sectors of water, agriculture and Forestry and Biodiversity. Under the water sector- rooftop rainwater harvesting, wetland restoration and integrated river basin management were prioritized. Under agriculture, conservation agriculture, micro and drip irrigation and livestock and poultry selective breeding were prioritized. Under forestry and biodiversity, agroforestry, conservation of genetic resources and alien invasive species management were prioritized. Let me take one tech from each sector and discuss a bit in detail bringing out the links to adaptation.
- #17 Here there is adaptation benefit not only for the household due to having more water available, which can improve sanitation and health and even use of water for household gardens which can contribute to improved food security and nutrition. But there is also adaptation benefits for the ecosystem- as it reduced demand from groundwater and piped water supply, where our aquifers and surface water sources are rapidly getting depleted. It is a simple, decentralized solution which can be upscaled easily.
- #18 Through a GEF funded project and a few others funded by development partners in Eswatini- many RWH systems were built around the country,
- #19 Moss foundation built similar RWH systems around the country in schools. Here is a simple technology helping students- positively impacting education too in addition to health and hygiene. We all know the benefits, but why is it not upscaled all over the country?
- #20 Next is micro and drip irrigation for the agriculture sector. Water efficiency for sprinklers is 50-70%, while for drip irrigation it is up to 90% We know irrigation helps farmers adapt to the changing rainfall patterns, if they are dependent on rainfed agriculture, their adaptive capacity is reduced.
- #21 In Eswatini we have potential to upscale this tech to several hectares which are still not under irrigation. It is water efficient- allows them to grow crops with less water- better yields provide better incomes and hence adaptive capacity increased. Also it is good for the environment This tech also saves water and reduced wastage of water compared to normal sprinklers.
- #22 To upscale this technology and increase its use, we still have quite a few barriers- the cost being one, services and skills for maintenance being another. So we need to improve on our software part for this technology. While the orgware may be available in terms of policies – many policies support efficient water use particularly for irrigation, but projects funds that provide subsidized irrigation kits which help farmers afford this TECH.
- #23 At a point, Eswatini had declared alien invasive species proliferation as a national disaster. 2005? It affects our farm lands, grazing lands and wetlands and uncontrollably grows requiring repeated efforts every year over several years to just get it under control.
- #24 Alien (non-native) species have been introduced both accidentally and intentionally in Eswatini Intentional introductions are, and have been, motivated by economic, environmental and social considerations. Unintensional are Seeds blown by wind, carried by fauna and in the past some weeds have come in through a storm event and cyclonic event It is important to control invasive species as their impacts are immense, insidious and usually irreversible, and they may be as damaging to native species and ecosystems through loss and degradation of habitats.
- #25 Controlling these alien species requires cutting them down by trained people. Assessing the spread of these alien species also is part of this. This technology supports the country as a whole in many ways- not only would we manage our grazing and farm lands better when alien species are under control, but also our wetlands and non-farmed lands. Alien species take over indigenous vegetation, affect wetland function and draw out a lot of water. Managing them cannot just be done at household level but at a higher level and needs to be done continuously for longer term. Some work has been done, but we know its not enough, more needs to be done and this requires collective efforts.
- #26 I want to bring in another concept : MALADAPTATION is poor or inadequate adaptation Short-term solutions should be consistent with long-term adaptation needs, also on wholistic needs of a community- if not, MALADAPTATION happens “Maladaptation that occurs as the unintended negative effect of policies on vulnerability and the environment may result in fewer options in the future. It may also have negative effects on other communities or sectors, leading to further environmental deterioration, increased vulnerability or decreased welfare”.
- #27 As we worked closely with the community, we would ask them if our interventions made sense, whether we missed anything
- #28 So we, a group of mostly environmental officers, had to learn about bilharzia. My boss at the time, was a medical parasitologist turned broader environmental scienctist and he mentored us.
- #29 We learnt about the vectors of the schistosome, how bilharzia is transmitted
- #30 We learnt about the life cycle of shistosome- how through unbroken skin the schistosome can enter your blood vessels and migrate to your urinary tract and liver and mature into adult there and release eggs, which can come out as your urinate.
- #31 So if you are exposed to infested water, as a fisherman, as a farmer or a child swimming, you can contract this disease
- #32 The symptoms- in the extreme case would be blood stained urine. Heamatobium.
- #33 And our observation showed that there could be many places in the basin where shistosomiasis could be transmitted and spread
- #34 The basin has canals and rivers and of course the lake…water borne diseases such as bilharzia could indeed be a problem we REALISED that we need to address in our project
- #35 Testing was done on the field with equipments from DHO
- #36 And the community was right, there were many cases with heamaturia, blood in urine which is a symptom of schistosoma heamatobium
- #37 We assumed villages close to the lake as a water body, snails could be found there. We assumed those villages would have higher prevalence. But we were surpriced. The village Mukhweya, furthest away from the lake had the highest prevalence of 49%, which according to WHO standards indicate that the whole village and its surroundings must be given treatment for bilharzia. The second highest prevalence was in Lamusi, 40%, but low prevalence in Chisi Island which is right inside the lake. Initially we thought, we must have made a mistake. Because snails are found in waterbodies, so highest prevalence should have been in chisi island.
- #38 So we turned to experts, academics. We shared our findings with Prof. Butterworth at College of Medicine in Malawi. He shared it with Prof. Russell from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. They were both curious and came over to Zomba. Together we went to all the sites in the basin and showed them some of the villages where we surveyed. They scopped for snails and found some freshwater snail species. Then we explored the two villages with highest prevalence some more and found one commonality- they both had irrigation schemes. So The finding was that snails preferred freshwater and the Lake Chilwa water was saline as its an endorheic lake, no outlet.
- #39 We ALSO found similar evidence in literature from Nile delta, Senegal, Cameroon, Egypt, where dams, canals were built, previously there were no cases of Bilharzia, but after the irrigation projects were set up, Bilharzia prevalence increased.
- #40 Field observations confirmed that Mukhweya and Lamusi had irrigation systems with canals set up. When we asked the community, particularly at Mukhweya, they said that yes, before the irrigation canals came, there was almost no incidences of bilharzia, but after the canals came incidences increased. So we were lucky we used random sampling, otherwise we would have only sampled along the lake shore villages and missed out this important finding.
- #41 So we learnt that well intentioned adaptation technologies such as increasing irrigation coverage in area where vector and water borne diseases are endemic, should consider health in such situations
- #43 This morning a presenter touched on the need to I just want to bring in here a small note of Indigenous knowledge. I also learnt that using indigenous knowledge helps communities adapt to climate change. These are Faidherbia albida trees in Malawi. Its known as a fertilizer tree and exhibits reverse phenology, so it sheds its leaves when its growing season for crops, so it does not compete with crops.
- #46 I was at a village last year where the Chief made the decision to grow a drought tolerant maize based on their observation of nature and indigenous knowledge.
- #47 Coming back to Eswatini, Adaptation is not just for us humans, nature needs adaptation too. Ecosystems need adaptation too. And managing IAPs is one way to help ecosystems. Another would be Wetlands protection as a technology can be a good example of helping nature and ecosystem adapt.
- #48 An “Environment Fund” funded project rehabilitated a few wetlands successfully. The project involved community meetings, community led demarcation of the wetlands, fencing and sustainable use of fibre.
- #49 It was a participatory project with involvement of women, who are the major users of the wetlands
- #50 Here you can see the fencing that was done.
- #51 Many benefits were accrued to both humans and nature from this project. Flora and fauna improved, animals were not trampling in the wetlands, but were controlled through the fencing, women sustainably harvested fibre for basketry and the wetland function as a sponge holding water improved
- #52 That’s a newspaper article explaining how the women from the community surrounding this wetland generated income from sustainable use of the wetland. When the wetland is used sustainably it provides habitats for biodiversity to thrive and it sequesters carbon, which provides benefits for mitigation too.
- #53 Finally, one last local example: Here is my friend Eddie, a young Swazi farmer, in Elwandle area about 10km from Manzini, who is actually an NGO officer here in Mbabane who does farming too. He set up in his land of 3.5ha a coffee plantation using organic farming methods- he used dung instead of chemical fertilizers, So he is conscious of using environment friendly farming method He used drip irrigation because he knows that rainfall patterns are changing and that water saving measures are needed. So he is conscious of the changing climate and chose a technology that will help him adapt. He uses a solar pump to irrigate. His choice of a solar pump instead of a diesel or electric pump provides co-benefits for mitigation. And- He provides jobs to the community contributing to development of his community. So here at this micro scale, the right choice of technologies give a good mix of adaptation and mitigation and development.
- #54 A young farmer in Eswatini Gcina Dlamini produced organic Strawberries, using drip irrigation, conservation agriculture, low tillage, grain seeders, rain water harvesting and packages the products in Biodegradable packaging to export to the UK
- #55 Climate Change is Global, Adaptation is local. Determining which adaptation measure to take depends very very much by the specific circumstances and the impacts that each community, each city and each family and each farmer is experiencing. Adaptation is broad- should consider disasters, risk reduction, and where possible -we should share best practices, share lessons, respect indigenous knowledge, use locally driven solutions. At country levels- we have what is National Adaptation Plans- Eswatini is in the process of developing its NAP. There are many ways to adapt and communities need to decide what works best for them.
- #56 So to conclude- here are some take home thoughts- we discussed what is adaptation, what is adaptation technology- that it is not only the hard tech but also software and orgware. We also talked about the TNA process and techs prioritized under TNA. where possible to try to have mitigation co-benefits. Finally, Adaptation is not something only to be thought of at policy level, high level technical people or scientists- it is a very local action and is everyone’s business, including YOURS!. Thank you!