Showing papers in "Environment, Development and Sustainability in 2015"

The paradox of the sustainable city: definitions and examples

Abstract: It is well known that sustainability has become a much needed target, especially considering the recent rapid urban sprawl and the subsequent exacerbation of social, environmental, and economic problems. Thus, many studies have been conducted to define sustainability and the sustainable city. However, many of these definitions suggest a range of contradictions, implying that the achievement of sustainability is elusive. The problem lies in setting unreasonable definitions of sustainability and in the various contradictions to these definitions, making sustainability seemingly unattainable. Hence, some models of cities are emerging that are labeled as sustainable cities; among these are the “zero-carbon city” and the “ubiquitous eco-city” (“U-eco-city”). This study reviews the history and definitions of sustainability, in order to acknowledge the contradictions inherent in these concepts. It also briefly presents the compact city, the zero-carbon eco-city, and the U-eco-city by determining their individual pros and cons and highlighting where there are any conflicts with the principles of sustainability. The aim of the study was to adjust the use of sustainability as a terminology in the field of urban sustainable development and to demonstrate the extent to which we use marketing names for eco-cities without compliance with sustainable dimensions. The study will also discuss the key sustainability pillar required for a project to be kept sustainable. The study concludes that the use of the term “sustainable city” may limit the potential for further enhancing sustainability in future projects; using the term “transition toward the sustainable city” may be more accurate and more effective. The results show that reducing energy consumption through efficient use, and relying on renewable energies, will be the keys to reaching urban sustainability. The study also finds that recent tyranny in the name of ecology will not result in real sustainability. Although the free eco-city and the u-eco-city are considered advanced models, their limitations are related more to the economic and social aspects than to the compact city, which clearly reflected the pillars of sustainability, despite its being an outdated model.

Degradation of polyethylene by Penicillium simplicissimum isolated from local dumpsite of Shivamogga district

Abstract: Penicillium simplicissimum was isolated from a local dumpsite of Shivamogga district for use in the biodegradation of polyethylene. Degradation was carried out using autoclaved, UV-treated and surface-sterilized polyethylene. Degradation was monitored by observing weight loss and changes in physical structure by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. P. simplicissimum was able to degrade treated polyethylene (38 %) more efficiently than autoclaved (16 %) and surface-sterilized polyethylene (7.7 %). Enzymes responsible for polyethylene degradation were screened from P. simplicissimum. Enzymes were identified as laccase and manganese peroxidase. These enzymes were produced in large amount, enzyme activity was calculated using spectrophotometric method, and crude extraction of enzymes was carried out. Molecular weight of laccase was determined as 66 kDa and that of manganese peroxidase was 60 kDa. Capacity of crude enzymes to degrade polyethylene was also determined. By observing these results, we can conclude that P. simplicissimum may act as solution for the problem caused by polyethylene in nature.

Adoption and intensity of integrated pest management (IPM) vegetable farming in Bangladesh: an approach to sustainable agricultural development

Abstract: The common use of pesticide is a major challenge in trying to accomplish sustainable agriculture. Farming systems based on integrated pest management (IPM) technologies can reduce the use of pesticides to a great extent without causing harm to the yield. Therefore, Bangladesh, like many developing countries, launched IPM technologies to reduce the adverse effects of pesticides in social, economic and environmental aspects. This study made an attempt to analyze the level of IPM adoption and the intensity of IPM practices by vegetable farmers of Narsingdi district, Bangladesh. A total of 331 vegetable producers were sampled. The results revealed that less than one-third of the farmers (30 %) adopted IPM and they varied in terms of the number or type of practices. The use of logistic regression model in this study was to identify the significant factors of IPM adoption, explore several factors, including farmer field school, land ownership status, perception toward IPM, use of improved varieties and extension contact. Furthermore, the linear regression model showed that vegetable cultivation area, farmers’ age, household size, land ownership status and perception toward IPM are necessary in the adoption intensity of IPM practices. This study also made an attempt to clarify the role of these factors in the adoption behavior of IPM practices in vegetable farming. The findings could be used to formulate better policies toward increasing the adoption of this sustainable approach.

Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia: current status and future potentials

Abstract: The energy future must be accessible, affordable and mainly sustainable. Actually, there is an increased demand for energy worldwide, and 80 % of the present energy use is based on fossil fuels. Not only are oil prices increasing but also pollution continues to rise due to the burning of fossil fuels, and the probability of oil supply depletion remains. A critical part of the solution will lie in promoting renewable energy technologies in order to address concerns about energy security, economic growth in the face of high prices of crude oil, competitiveness, health costs and environmental degradation. All of these issues encourage the investigation of using renewable energy, which has several unique advantages that should be considered when making comparison with oil-based alternatives. Besides, achieving sustainable development is a target that is now widely recognized as important to humankind. In this context, the utilization of renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy appears to be one of the most efficient and effective ways of achieving this goal since renewable energy is abundant universally and holds huge ecological and economic promise. Although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the world’s major producer and exporter of fuel, and represents one of the biggest consumers of petroleum in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia should be interested in taking an active part in the development and exploitation of renewable energy technologies. In fact, the unsustainable use of fossil fuels and the activities which are mainly responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions are consistently in the upslope. That is why Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to contribute in renewable energy research through major joint international cooperation programs, despite the fact that it occupies a very advanced rank in the world in terms of huge proven oil and gas reserves. This paper describes the current status of energy and focuses on renewable and energy-efficient technologies, major achievements, and current government policies and challenges.

Education for sustainable society: attainments and good practices in Sweden during the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD)

Abstract: Education is an indispensable social component and a powerful tool to develop a peaceful and sustainable society. Global policy frameworks are coupled with national policy frameworks to facilitate strategic use of education to promote sustainability. Sweden is one of the countries that has actively aligned with the global framework and has been successful in introducing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into formal education through its inclusion in the curricula and through new approaches toward learning and teaching. This article is based on document analysis attempting to review ESD policy implementation and to highlight Sweden’s contribution to the global framework of ESD. It provides a comprehensive review of ESD discourse and its international policy framework, followed by an analysis of evolution of environmental education then ESD in Sweden. Three initiatives at the primary school level that promote ESD are presented as distinctive examples from Sweden demonstrating instrumental use of education toward sustainable development of the society while assessing the challenges and future prospects. As the United Nations Decade for Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals comes to an end in November 2014 and 2015, respectively, it is imperative that the concept of is revisited and good practices in the realm of ESD are identified and shared. Research of this nature locates effective practices of ESD and broadens our understanding of how ESD is implemented and adopted hybridizing with local socio-cultural tradition.

Scenario-based evaluation of urban development sustainability: an integrative modeling approach to compromise between urbanization suitability index and landscape pattern

Abstract: Sustainability analysis of urban complex systems, as an interdisciplinary study, necessitates integrative modeling approaches for analyzing relationships between land parameters and landscape patterns. The present paper emphasizes applicability of dynamic and scenario-based investigation of urban environments for understanding the interactions between urbanization suitability and landscape pattern. Combining parameter modification and model integration approaches for introducing growth alternatives, a basis was established for detailed assessment of the Karaj urban context, Iran. SLEUTH’s probabilistic images of future urbanized lands of two growth scenarios (historical trend-based urban growth and compact urban growth) were simultaneously employed as dynamic factors for urbanization suitability mapping and landscape pattern analysis of the years 2011, 2020, 2030 and 2040. Findings of the present studies showed while historical trend-based urban expansion occupied more land resources, this growth option resulted in a more manageable pattern of urban landscape in terms of its connectivity and compactness as well as possessing higher urbanization suitability index across the study time frame. This study addresses utility of scenario-based analysis of urban areas that furnishes urban planners with insights into cumulative impacts of an ongoing urbanization process under different environmental circumstances.

Measuring sustainability at universities by means of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS): early findings from STARS data

Abstract: This paper focuses on findings from an analysis of data submitted through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). STARS has addressed the demand for standard metrics to measure sustainability progress at US and Canadian colleges and universities, with expanding access to institutions in other countries gained through the launch of an International Pilot and release of STARS 2.0. Since its release in 2009, STARS has emerged as a reputable source of data that can provide a broad overview of the state of campus sustainability. The release of STARS Version 2.0 in 2013 improved upon the original reporting framework and also expanded accessibility of STARS to all higher education institutions worldwide. The findings in this paper tell the story of a campus sustainability movement that is quite young. As STARS matures along with this movement, STARS data will hopefully show a trend of continuous improvement at participating institutions. By participating in STARS and learning from examples set by other institutions, colleges and universities from across the world can be on the leading edge of moving toward a more just and sustainable world.

Households’ perception and livelihood vulnerability to climate change in a coastal area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract: This study examines households’ perception and livelihood vulnerability to climate change in a coastal area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It employed multistage sampling procedure, selected a total of 101 households from three coastal communities in Ibeno local government area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and obtained primary data on several indicators through interviews guided by a structured questionnaire. From the data obtained, the study examined households’ perception and developed a livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) to assess livelihood vulnerability. The result showed that households in the study area generally perceive that all the climate variables considered in the study, especially timing and length of the average rainy season, have changed over time. These are in line with meteorological data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. In addition, the LVI shows that households are vulnerable to changes in climate variables. Households in the study area are striving to adapt to these changes but facing many challenges of which lack of adequate finance is the most important. Although these challenges are multifarious, they can be reduced through adequate support of government and non-governmental organizations. Consequently, policy recommendations are discussed.

Implications of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for informal gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: from global policy debates to grassroots implementation?

Abstract: In October 2013, after years of negotiation, governments from 92 countries signed a historic agreement called the Minamata Convention on Mercury, establishing mandatory measures to curb mercury use and pollution. Article 7 of the Convention stipulates that governments must create National Action Plans to reduce and where feasible eliminate mercury use in artisanal gold mining, a rapidly growing informal sector in much of Africa, with strategies to be monitored by the Convention Secretariat. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the implications of the Minamata Convention for the artisanal mining sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, which currently depends upon mercury amalgamation for gold extraction. Our analysis draws on examples from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, countries with divergent political challenges but both with expanding artisanal mining sectors. We argue that a paradigm shift is needed to address intertwined technological, political and socio-economic challenges facing marginalized populations in mining communities. We highlight why meeting the Convention targets requires that international donors and national policymakers proactively engage—rather than vilify—artisanal miners who use mercury, prioritizing local knowledge and collaborative community-based decision making to develop effective pollution abatement initiatives in gold mining regions. We further argue that gender-sensitive grassroots empowerment initiatives including microfinance programs are vital to facilitate adopting cleaner technology, as required by Article 7. Finally, the analysis underscores the need for fundamentally reforming national mining policy priorities, recognizing marginalized mining communities’ resource rights and tackling livelihood insecurity as part of efforts to implement the Minamata Convention. In considering what ‘grassroots’ implementation could mean, the article contributes to a growing body of scholarship calling attention to fairness and equity concerns in order to achieve the aims of global environmental agreements.

Influence of hydrogeochemical processes and assessment of suitability for groundwater uses in Busan City, Korea

Abstract: This study was carried out to understand the hydrogeochemical processes of groundwater quality and groundwater use in the Suyeong District of Busan city, Korea. Groundwater samples were collected from 40 wells in February, 2010. The abundance of major cations concentration in groundwater is Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+> K+, while that of anions is Cl− > HCO3 − > SO4 2− > NO3 − > F−. According to hydrogeochemical facies, Ca (HCO3)2, Ca Cl2 and NaCl are the dominant groundwater types in this study area. Mechanism controlling the water chemistry (Gibbs) indicates that most of groundwater samples fall at rock-weathering dominance zone. The geochemical processes and temporal variation in groundwater in this area are influenced by evaporation processes, ion exchange and dissolution of minerals. According to water quality index (WQI) of the study area exhibits 8 % of the groundwater samples fall at the unsuitable zone for drinking purpose. The spatial distribution map of WQI shows the poor quality of the water decrease toward the southern part of the study area. The results of SAR, Na%, PI, RSC and MH show that majority of groundwater samples are suitable for domestic and agricultural purposes. By the hydrogeochemical analysis, aquifer rock weathering, seawater intrusion, sewer leakage are the dominant factors that determine the major ionic composition. The proper management plan is necessary to preserve valuable groundwater resources.

Sustainability in environmental education: new strategic thinking

Abstract: Recently environmental education (EE) literature has been supportive of pluralistic rather than goal-oriented learning. Researchers argue that sustainability is not fixed but socially constructed and that sustainability issues should not be represented as indisputable targets. Countering this trend in environmental education research, this article argues that unsustainability should be treated as a concrete challenge that requires concrete solutions. The author will argue that there is a need for clear articulation of (1) what (un)sustainability is; (2) what are the key challenges of (un)sustainability; and (3) how the sustainability challenges can be meaningfully addressed. This article will outline a number of helpful frameworks that address obstacles to sustainability, ranging from population growth to unsustainable production and consumption practices. Solutions include investment in family planning to counter the effects of overpopulation, and alternative production frameworks, such as Cradle to Cradle that differs from the conventional frameworks. This article will conclude with the broader reflection that without goal-oriented critical learning explicitly providing sound models of sustainability, open learning may never permit transcendence from unsustainability. This article will develop a number of comprehensive frameworks targeted at solutions to sustainability issues both from ethical and practical perspectives.

Remittances in the face of disasters: a case study of rural Samoa

Abstract: In Samoa, like in most Small Island Developing States, remittances are important to sustain people’s daily livelihood and become even more significant in the face of disasters. This study investigates the role of remittances in households’ response to disasters. The focus is on Samoa, where participatory activities and interviews were carried out in coastal communities affected by the tsunami of 2009, and some of which were further hit by cyclone Evan in 2012. It is found that remittances are very fast in reaching those affected and remain high in the long term in order to cope with and recover from disaster. Moreover, remittances interact with external aid since remittances increase when external aid is low and decrease when external aid is higher. Households receiving remittances were able to deal more easily with immediate security needs and recovered more quickly than those with no or limited access to this resource. However, remittances also benefit the wider community, economically, socially, and culturally, for example in perpetuating local tradition. We conclude that governments and aid agencies should take into account remittances in their relief actions and recovery programs.

Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation in local government: evidence from the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract: Ecosystem-based adaptation can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards and can be more sustainable in the long term than hard technical solutions to adaptation. Thus, it can provide a strong argument for the conservation of natural ecosystems. As the entities most directly responsible for local-level planning and management, municipalities represent a potentially key site for implementing ecosystem-based climate adaptation. This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the extent of eight local municipalities’ knowledge and mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation issues in the Western Cape, South Africa. Most municipalities had little understanding of ecosystem-based adaptation issues and limited implementation of relevant actions. Our findings suggest that ecosystem-based adaptation mainstreaming in local governments will be assisted by increasing learning and networking opportunities for municipalities and by increasing the “profile” of the concept of ecosystem-based adaptation, as well as by conducting research on barriers and enablers to collaborative governance.

Risk-return and Volatility analysis of Sustainability Index in India

Abstract: Companies screened for their superior performance in environmental, social and governance (ESG) parameters comprise the sustainability index introduced at global as well as national stock exchanges. This study not only compares the performance of the sustainability index of India—the S&P ESG India Index with two broad market indexes, viz., the Nifty and the S&P CNX 500 using daily index data—but also analyses the inherent conditional volatility using generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models. The results indicate that though the daily compounded returns to the ESG India Index are not statistically different from those of the Nifty or those of the CNX 500, annualised returns of the ESG India Index have been better than the returns of the other two indexes. Thus, focussing on environmental and social sustainability is a win–win situation for companies, investors and the society at large. There is significant volatility clustering in all the three indexes. The ESG India Index has been less volatile compared with the Nifty during the period. These results have corporate implications to focus on ESG parameters seriously in order to benefit from its sensitivity in the stock markets. It also reflects upon investor acceptance and potential for growth of socially responsible investments in India.

Environmental resources reduce income inequality and the prevalence, depth and severity of poverty in rural Nepal

Abstract: This paper investigates the economic importance of environmental income to rural households in Nepal and how environmental income influences poverty and inequality measures. Qualitative contextual information was collected from two village development committees in middle Gorkha District followed by a structured survey of 303 randomly selected households; income data were collected quarterly throughout 2008. Average environmental income was 15.7 % of total household income, ranging from 11.0 to 29.5 %. Environmental reliance decreased with rising income while absolute environmental income increased. Ordinary least square regression analysis indicated that households having large areas of crop and other lands, many livestock, larger amount of bank saving and having at least one migrating household member generate significantly larger amount of total household income. Households having a larger household size and the Dalit households generate significantly lower amount of total household income. Poverty indices and Gini decomposition showed that excluding environmental income from total household income has a large negative impact on the proportion of households below poverty lines, the income shortfall as a proportion of poverty lines and the variation in income distribution among households below the poverty lines.

An analysis of Canadian STARS-rated higher education sustainability policies

Abstract: Uptake of sustainability into campus administration has been identified as important for establishing and maintaining campus sustainability initiatives because of its ability to institutionalize sustainability on campuses. This paper explores how higher education institutions (HEIs) are defining and enacting sustainability in campus administration, using policy documents as a tool to achieve this. This paper analyzes the sustainability policies of 21 Canadian HEIs that have used the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The policies were coded thematically with a focus on the conceptualizations of sustainability, conceptualizations of campus sustainability, and how the documents address the dominant themes found in the sustainability in higher education scholarly literature. This paper finds that most policies conceptualized sustainable development using the Brundtland definition, with aspects of environment, society, and economy. Policies conceptualized campus sustainability as including teaching, research, operations, and community outreach, with policy goals that emphasize facilities initiatives. This paper contributes to our understanding of the challenges and priorities associated with integrating sustainability into the administration of Canadian HEI institutions at the end of the DESD.

Progress and prospect in the integrated development of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) sector in Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya

Abstract: Conservation, sustainable utilization and cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have received much attention in the recent years. MAPs are important ecosystem service, and dependence on MAPs for sustaining livelihood in the developing regions is still high. Despite, the tradition of trade, priorities and practices for integrated development of MAPs sector in developing regions, including the entire Indian Himalayan Region are inadequate. Uttarakhand (India—Western Himalaya), is pioneer in categorizing potential MAPs, determining priorities and developing practices for integrated development of MAPs. On the basis of regional agro-climatic conditions, available MAPs resources and prospect, a total of 132 indigenous and exotic species of MAPs in the Uttarakhand are categorized as substantial. In addition, a total of 28 plans for integrated development of MAPs sector through four prioritized areas (6 plans for coordination, 5 for research, education and documentation, 3 for conservation and sustainable development and 14 for cultivation and marketing) are introduced in past 10–12 years. Recent facilitations in the sustainable harvesting, cultivation and marketing have enabled to achieve the considerable progress in production of planting materials, promotional cultivation and sustainable harvesting and marketing. MAPs produce from cultivation-associated sources, having an economic value of Rs. 93.90 lakhs to 294.60 lakhs (cf. to US $ 147,479.19–462,698.29.00) from 2007–08 to 2012–13, and produce obtained through sustainable harvesting with the value of Rs. 321.54 lakhs to 1,791.00 lakhs (cf. to US $ 505,010.21–2,812,941.73) from 2003–04 to 2012–13 was marketed from Uttarakhand. Even though, the facilitation-driven progress in MAPs sector is encouraging; however, considering some key aspects for ascertaining sustainability and competence in the MAPs sector are still required. An attempt is made to describe decadal progress in the MAPs sector in Uttarakhand with associated and expected prospect.

Dynamic impact of household consumption on its CO 2 emissions in Malaysia

Abstract: This article aims to measure the dynamic impact of household consumption (final household consumption expenditure, LHC) on CO2 emission from household’s energy consumption in Malaysia from 1971 to 2010. The estimation of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test confirms a non-monotonic relationship between LHC and residential CO2 emission. In the long run, there is a positive relationship between LHC and CO2 emission as well as a negative relationship between quadratic forms of LHC and CO2 emission which indicates the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between these two variables. The analysis also found a similar relationship in both the short and long run. To confirm the non-monotonous relationship, the U test of Sasabuchi–Lind–Mehlum (2010) approach has followed to obtain the sufficient conditions for the existence of inverted U relationship. Moreover, the U test of Sasabuchi–Lind–Mehlum (2010) found that CO2 emission increases with increasing LHC up to 6.5 units, but it declines with an additional increase of LHC which is also found by the ARDL model. However, the existence of environmental Kuznets curve implies that in the long run, household CO2 emission declines with the additional increase of household consumption in the Malaysian economy.

A review on composting of oil palm biomass.

Abstract: Nowadays, the biomass produced in oil palm industry, such as oil palm fronds, palm pressed fibers, palm kernel shells, empty fruit bunch, and liquid waste discharged from the palm oil mill effluent and others, may lead to significant environmental concerns. The quantity of produced wastes by oil palm industry is increasing with the growth of this industry day by day. Therefore, the use of these wastes as compost is considered by researchers to overcome their negative impacts and recycle them to produce a useful byproduct for agriculture. This review analyzes the recent composting studies on palm oil biomass and provides useful information about the potential uses of these biomass in composting as an alternative method for enhanced and sustainable use of biomass pro- duced from oil palm industry. In addition, environmental impacts of composting are dis- cussed. This knowledge could build a platform for researchers in this area to understand the recent developments in palm oil biomass composting by means of addressing the envi- ronmental pollution concerns as well.

A critical analysis of building sustainability assessment methods for healthcare buildings

Abstract: The healthcare building project contains different aspects from the most common projects. Designing a healthcare environment is based on a number of criteria related to the satisfaction and well-being of the professional working teams, patients and administrators. Mostly due to various design requirements, these buildings are rarely designed and operated in a sustainable way. Therefore, the sustainable development is a concept whose importance has grown significantly in the last decade in this sector. The worldwide economic crisis reinforces the growing environmental concerns as well as raising awareness among people to a necessary and inevitable shift in the values of their society. To support sustainable building design, several building sustainability assessment (BSA) methods are being developed worldwide. Since healthcare buildings are rather complex systems than other buildings, so specific methods were developed for them. These methods are aimed to support decision-making towards the introduction of the best sustainability practices during the design and operation phases of a healthcare environment. However, the comparison between the results of different methods is difficult, if not impossible, since they address different environmental, societal and economic criteria, and they emphasize different phases of the life cycle. Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the differences between the main BSA methods for healthcare buildings by analysing and categorizing them. Furthermore, the benefits of these methods in promoting a more sustainable environment will be analysed, and the current situation of them within the context of standardization of the concept sustainable construction will be discussed.

Energy consumption and GDP in Italy: cointegration and causality analysis

Abstract: The aim of this article was to assess the empirical evidence of the nexus between GDP and energy consumption for Italy during the period 1970–2009, using a time series approach. After a brief introduction, a survey of the economic literature on this issue is shown, before discussing the data and introducing some econometric techniques. Stationarity tests reveal that both series are nonstationary, or I(1). Moreover, a cointegration relationship is found between the two variables. The short-run dynamics of the variables show that the flow of causality runs from energy use to GDP, and there is a long-run bidirectional causal relationship (or feedback effect) between the two series. Consequently, we conclude that energy is a limiting factor to GDP growth in Italy and that energy conservation policy should be formulated and implemented wisely.

Service life of concrete structures considering the effects of temperature and relative humidity on chloride transport

Abstract: Chloride is one of the main factors responsible for damages related to the corrosion of the concrete reinforcement in marine environments. It is known that this mechanism of degradation is directly related to environmental variables. Within this context, it can be inserted the global climate change. This paper deals with the effects of temperature and relative humidity changes on the service life of concrete structures affected by chloride attack. This way, three situations of environmental aggressiveness were simulated: past, current, and future. Then, models for predicting the chlorides penetration were analyzed to the three selected situations. So, a practical methodology is presented, and the results are consistent with the literature data. Among the results, it can be noted that changes in temperature and relative humidity identified in a period of 100 years were responsible for a reduction from 7.8 to 10.2 years of service life. Most standards provide a design service life of 50 years for reinforced concrete structures.

A study on the status of saltwater intrusion in the coastal hard rock aquifer of South India

Abstract: Groundwater of the coastal regions represents a fragile environment. A study has been attempted in the hard rock aquifer of the south-eastern part of India. A total of 135 groundwater samples were collected and analysed for major cations and anions. The domination of cations and anions was in the order of Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ for cations and Cl− > HCO3 − > SO4 2− > H4SiO4 > NO3 − > PO4 − > F− in anions. The water is neutral to alkaline in nature with pH ranging from 6.30 to 9.20 with an average of 7.57. The ions analysed were used for standard plots, ratio of different ions and correlation between them helped to evaluate the active hydrogeochemical process and extent of saltwater intrusion in the coastal aquifer. The electrical conductivity (EC) contour shows that the groundwater quality is poor along the coast due to saltwater intrusion. The Piper and chadda’s plot shows that most of the groundwater samples fall on Na–Cl water type may be due to saltwater intrusion in the eastern part study area. The ratios of Cl−/HCO3 − ranged between 0.24 and 152.50 and have strong positive relationship with Cl− concentrations; it was found that about 30 % of the groundwater samples were strongly affected by the saline water in the study area. The Na+/Cl− ratios ranged from 0.20 to 3.73, and most of the groundwater samples fall close to the contamination region. Agricultural and salt pan land use pattern decrease the water quality due to impact of anthropogenic processes and seawater intrusion. Statistical analysis was also used to obtain the objectives, and it was found that the seawater intrusion is the major factor controlling the groundwater chemistry followed by other factors such as weathering and fertiliser impact.

Spillover effect of congestion charging on pro-environmental behavior

Abstract: This paper reports an examination of a spillover effect from a real-world intervention policy of traffic congestion charging that impacted various pro-environmental behaviors. A mailed questionnaire surveyed randomly sampled car owners living in Stockholm County (Sweden) to gather data on travel modes and pro-environmental behavior before and after the introduction of a trial congestion charging policy in Stockholm. Results of paired t test on 291 valid samples revealed that this policy not only directly mitigates traffic congestion (i.e., a direct effect of the policy intervention), but it also indirectly ‘spills over’ to affect pro-environmental behaviors in nontransportation situations (resource and energy use). A spillover to pro-environmental behavior was confirmed by respondents who shifted their travel mode from car to pro-environmental travel mode. Interestingly, the spillover was also confirmed in a group of respondents who remained in the pro-environmental travel mode and others who adversely shifted away from a pro-environmental travel mode to cars. Results suggest that the spillover effect from an environmental policy intervention can have considerable impact on facilitating pro-environmental behaviors and surrounding issues in more general contexts, thus warranting careful evaluation with a wider perspective.

Introducing education for sustainable development into Egyptian schools

Abstract: Unsustainable development in Egypt has increased water, air and soil pollution, which caused health problems and endangered natural and human resources. The effort to increase the economic well-being has caused enormous damages to the society and the environment. Only sustainable development will enable Egyptians to attain a better quality of life and meet their current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. EduCamp is a European–Egyptian project entitled ‘EduCamp: education for sustainable development beyond the campus’ which aims to introduce key sustainable development principles into teaching and learning in the Egyptian public schools. EduCamp followed four main principles to introduce ESD into Egyptian schools. These include (a) a partnership approach between different stakeholders, (b) changing pedagogical practices, (c) teacher development through training the trainers, and (d) developing public understanding and awareness of sustainability. The main achievements of EduCamp are (a) Developing ESD resource kits for schools to provide activities for teachers and students which link the existing school curriculum to the local community. The kits include activities related to biodiversity, agriculture, energy, and water. (b) A school teachers’ training programme has been developed and applied to enable teachers to implement ESD and use the kits in their teaching activities. (c) Seven ESD Centres of Excellence have been established to promote and support the introduction of ESD into the education system and provide teachers’ training programmes. It is premature to draw a quantitative conclusion about the impact nationwide because change takes time and the implementation of ESD presents a long-lasting process, which will take many years to achieve. The indicators of direct impact on teachers’ and students’ performance are promising. This discussion paper presents and examines EduCamp. The paper is divided into three main sections. Firstly, the authors set the context for the project, explore the issue of education for sustainable development (ESD) and examine current issues facing education in Egypt. Secondly, the authors discuss the project in relation to relevant literature, often curriculum change literature, in order to explore the merits and challenges of the project and the extent to which curriculum change is actually feasible as a result of the project. Finally, the paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges ahead.

Econometric analysis of industrial water use efficiency in China

Abstract: Low industrial water use efficiency has become a resource bottleneck to industrial development in China. The SBM-undesirable and meta-frontier models were used in combination with empirical data in 30 provinces in mainland China (Tibet excluded due to data missing from 1999 to 2013), to compare industrial water use efficiency in mainland China under meta-frontier and group-frontier, and explore the influencing factors. The empirical results of the study reveal that: (a) there is a large difference in the industrial water use efficiency between meta-frontier and group-frontier in mainland China, due to the heterogeneity in the levels of industrial water use technology; (b) given the low recycle rate of polluted industrial water, there is room for improvement in the industrial water use efficiency in the 30 provinces in mainland China. Further, the study finds that the current price of industrial water is distorted to some extent, failing to coordinate with the use of water resources. Policy implications indicate that industrial water use efficiency is not only related to technological heterogeneity in different regions, but also the control and treatment of industrial water pollution. Therefore, the current price of industrial water should be gradually raised. A scalar water pricing system as residential water could also be applied to industrial water.

Towards more non-compensatory sustainable society index

Abstract: A sustainable society index (SSI) developed by the Sustainable Society Foundation (SSF) has been designed to measure the sustainability of 151 countries over the world in terms of human, environmental and economic well-being dimensions. The purpose of SSF’s SSI is to share global, integrated and scientifically based information and serve as a tool to measure the level of sustainability of a country in absolute terms and in comparison with other countries. The SSF provided the framework and the data for this study. The aims of this study were to test different alternatives that would enable to take interactions of the sustainability indicators into account and accomplish a more non-compensatory composite index, which presents more of a stronger sustainability view instead of weak sustainability. The tested methods included additive aggregation rule with interaction terms for the indicators, multiplicative aggregation rule, weighting of the decision hierarchy and constructing piecewise linear models with threshold values to calculate the indicator scores for each country from the raw data. The acquired results were compared to the redesigned SSI-2012 developed by the SSF. According to the results of this study, the new framework and geometric mean used as aggregation method in the redesigned SSF’s SSI-2012 did not fully succeed in its aims towards more non-compensatory composite index. The results of the tested methods showed that the most useful manner to construct composite indices such as SSI would be the use of multiplicative aggregation rule applying weighting based on expert elicitation, and constructing new calculation rules with thresholds for the indicator scores, thus considering the strong sustainable view already at the level of indicator scores. However, all these issues need further studying and development including new comprehensive weighting task, expert judgment task for determining the threshold values and constructing the piecewise models for calculation of the indicator scores.

Unifying the catch data of a divided island: Cyprus’s marine fisheries catches, 1950–2010

Abstract: The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 into the Turkish Cypriot north and the Greek Cypriot south. Here, we have reconstructed the total marine fishery removals for the island in its entirety, and then for each side. Cyprus’s total marine fisheries catches were reconstructed for the 1950–2010 time period by estimating all fishery removals, including unreported commercial, subsistence and recreational catches, and major discards. These estimates were added to the ‘officially reported’ data, as represented by data submitted by countries to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Such data were submitted by the south, but were absent from the north for years following the 1974 partitioning of the island. The total reconstructed catch for 1950–2010 was nearly 243,000 t, which is 2.6 times the 93,200 t officially reported by FAO on behalf of Cyprus. The unreported components consisted of nearly 57,000 t of large-scale commercial landings, 43,000 t of small-scale commercial landings, 11,000 t each for recreational and subsistence landings and nearly 28,000 t of discards. Improving the accuracy of fishery statistics by accounting for all removals is fundamental for better understanding fisheries resource use thus increasing the opportunities for sustainable development through enhancing fisheries management capacity.

Revisiting the link between socio-economic development and environmental status indicators—focus on panel data

Abstract: The link between economic, social, and environmental indicators is often complex and requires a detailed analysis for its understanding. The economy is dependent on the society and the environment, while the very existence of human race and society depends on and within the environment. Thus, these three entities are intricately interconnected, and it is therefore important to understand that any individual group of economic, social or environmental indicators must always be interpreted in connection with the other two groups, since only in this way, an integrated view of the functioning of an economy can be ensured. For the system to be sustainable, the different forces that act on this particular system of interaction must be in balance. Hence, a detailed analysis of selected economic, social, and environmental aspects of development and their linkages is a matter of utmost significance. The objective of this study is to identify an endogenously integrated relationship where economic factor such as gross domestic product per capita influences both qualitative and quantitative factors in social and environmental dimensions and vice versa and to focus on possible correlation between a set of ambient environmental aspects and a set of socio-economic dimensions that influence human well-being and sustainability. The results of the empirical analysis emphasise the fact that there exists bi-directional relationship between different developmental and environmental aspects in the developing countries. The study further argues that without consideration of depreciation/depletion charges for the environmental capital, this relation will not reflect the true interdependence.

Future trends in urbanization and coastal water pollution in the Bay of Bengal: the lived experience

Abstract: The Bay of Bengal includes coastal seas of several countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. We present scenarios for future river export of eutrophying nutrients into the Bay of Bengal, and the role of urbanization therein. We used NEWS (Nutrient Export from WaterSheds) model to analyze trends over the period 1970–2050. The scenarios are based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and indicate the number of people living in urban areas may increase from 22 % in 1970 to about 50 % in 2050. We show that this may considerably increase nutrient levels in rivers from sewage and other sources. For 2050, we calculate that harmful algal blooms may be a potential problem in coastal waters of about 95 % of the total drainage basin of the Bay of Bengal. In addition, we analyze Bangladeshi citizens’ expectations of future trends and how citizens with different worldviews would experience environmental changes (i.e., their lived experience). The citizens indicate that trends as envisaged in our scenarios may be a negative experience. However, some people may experience the trends as positive, because they expected worse.