Browsing by Author "Melo, Oscar"

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    Collective Actions and Leadership Attributes: A Cluster Analysis of Water User Associations in Chile
    (2022) Bopp, Carlos; Engler, Alejandra; Jara-Rojas, Roberto; Hunecke, Claudia; Melo, Oscar
    Good leaders can greatly influence the effective governance of water resources, however, how their attributes relate to group cooperation in Water User Associations (WUAs) remains an open question. Using the case of Chile, we explore the factors of three non-cooperative behaviors in WUAs by performing a two-stage cluster analysis. The results describe four clusters that differ in structural and human characteristics, where highly cooperative WUAs are characterized by having presidents who dedicate more time to their duties, are more active in applying for governmental subsidies, are embedded in social organizations, have high levels of bridging social capital, and have a positive attitude toward the presidency. Our results add to the limited empirical knowledge about the role of leadership in fostering cooperation in the use of common-pool resources. This article sheds light on this matter as the results suggest that policy interventions should aim at strengthening social capital and providing incentives to increase the time dedication of presidents to the WUAs duties.
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    Flexible Instruments to Address Water Security in the Context of Climate Uncertainty: A Case Study of Option Contracts in a Chilean River Basin
    (ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS, 2025) Ávila, Antonia; Vicuña, Sebastián; Gironás, Jorge; Melo, Oscar; Rivera, Daniela; Molinos, María
    Climate change is causing widespread extreme weather events around the world, affecting food and water security. One example is Chile, which is facing the longest drought in its history. To cope with this situation, adaptation measures such as option contracts have been explored. This type of contract allows the temporary transfer of water from one user to another, depending on weather conditions, with monetary compensation for the users who give up the water. Using the Aconcagua River basin as a case study, it was possible to evaluate the effectiveness of these contracts to mitigate the impact of drought on human consumption in a context of climatic uncertainty. The results indicate that the contract is activated between 0 and 49 times depending on the scenario and that the water supply of the water utility is increased. In conclusion, it is found that option contracts allow mitigating future water scarcity, reducing unsatisfied demand, and improving the water security of the affected populations.
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    Participation determinants and impact assessment of the Institute of Agricultural Development (INDAP) credit program
    (2010) Donoso, Guillermo; Melo, Oscar; Negrete, Eduardo
    G. Donoso, O. Melo, and E. Negrete. 2010. Participation determinants and impact assessment of the Institute of Agricultural Development (INDAP) credit program. Cien. Inv. Agr. 37(2): 87-99. This research estimates the impact of INDAP's Credit Program on the per hectare agricultural income of small agricultural producers. To accomplish this, a Treatment Effects Model (TEM) is employed to simultaneously estimate producer incomes and program participation functions, correcting for the potential presence of selectivity bias through the correlation between the errors of both functions. The results indicate that farmers of greater age present a higher disposition to participate in the program, but their interest decreases as their age increases. Additionally, producers who are acquainted with and evaluate the financial cost of credits as well as those producers whose income comes mainly from their land, who are landowners, present a greater family size and work greater land surfaces, present a greater disposition to participate. The results also indicate the existence of selection bias due to the nonrandom participation of farmers in the program. A negative correlation between the error terms of the per hectare agricultural income and participation function is observed. This implies that Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) underestimates the true effect of the program, because it omits the different initial situations between the treated and control group, situation corrected by the TEM estimation. In addition, the results indicate that there exists a positive and significant difference in the per hectare agricultural income between both groups in favor of the participants of the Credit Programs of INDAP, thus the Credit Program presents a positive impact on producer income levels.
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    The 2022 South America report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: trust the science. Now that we know, we must act
    (2023) Hartinger, Stella M.; Yglesias-Gonzalez, Marisol; Blanco-Villafuerte, Luciana; Palmeiro-Silva, Yasna K.; Lescano, Andres G.; Stewart-Ibarra, Anna; Rojas-Rueda, David; Melo, Oscar; Takahashi, Bruno; Buss, Daniel; Callaghan, Max; Chesini, Francisco; Flores, Elaine C.; Posse, Carolina Gil; Gouveia, Nelson; Jankin, Slava; Miranda-Chacon, Zaray; Mohajeri, Nahid; Helo, Juliana; Ortiz, Laura; Pantoja, Chrissie; Salas, Maria Fernanda; Santiago, Raquel; Sergeeva, Milena; de Camargo, Tatiana Souza; Valdes-Velasquez, Armando; Walawender, Maria; Romanello, Marina
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    The Lancet Countdown South America: increasing health opportunities by identifying the gaps in health and climate change research
    (2023) Palmeiro-Silva, Yasna K.; Yglesias-Gonzalez, Marisol; Blanco-Villafuerte, Luciana; Canal-Solis, Katya; Neyra, Ricardo Castillo; Fernandez-Guzman, Daniel; Sarmiento, Juliana Helo; Lavarello, Romina; Lescano, Andres G.; Melo, Oscar; Soldan, Valerie A. Paz; Rojas-Rueda, David; Romanello, Marina; Salas, Maria Fernanda; Takahashi, Bruno; Valcarcel, Ariana; Buss, Daniel; Hartinger, Stella
    South America is experiencing the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. These effects interact with existing social vulnerabilities, exacerbating their impact on the health and wellbeing of populations. This viewpoint highlights four main messages from the series, which presented key gaps from five different perspectives of health and climate. First, there is an overall need for local analyses of priority topics to inform public policy, which include national and sub-national evidence to adequately strengthen responses and preparedness for climate change hazards and address relevant social vulnerabilities in South American countries. Second, research in health and climate is done in silos and the intersection is not clear in terms of responsibility and leadership; therefore, transdisciplinary research and action are key. Third, climate research, policies, and action need to be reflected in effective funding schemes, which until now are very limited. For adaptation and mitigation policies to be effective, they need a robust and long-term funding scheme. Finally, climate action is a big opportunity for healthier and more prosperous societies in South America, taking the advantage of strategic climate policies to face the challenges of climate change and tackle existing social inequities.
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    Towards Sustainable Agriculture in Chile, Reflections on the Role of Public Policy
    (PONTIFICIA UNIV CATOLICA CHILE, FAC AGRONOMIA INGENIERIA FORESTAL, 2021) Melo, Oscar; Baez Quinones, Nadia; Acuna, Daniela
    Given the increasing demand for agricultural products and the environmental degradation that current agricultural practices generate, there is an urgent need to change the activity. Sustainable agriculture emerges as an attractive alternative to mitigate the adverse effects of the activity on the environment, increase its resilience to global change, and increase the current population's quality of life without sacrificing that of future generations. However, identifying effective policies that can achieve these goals remains elusive. In Chile, this sector has been one of the drivers of growth and poverty reduction but still faces many environmental and social challenges, and there is a growing public demand for achieving sustainability from an economic, environmental, and social perspective. Public and private institutions have made relevant efforts to increase Chilean agriculture sustainability. However, the need to transition towards sustainable agriculture is still not recognized by all stakeholders. In this article, we review current challenges and policies to achieve a more sustainable agriculture in Chile