Food Consumption Patterns and Sustainable Natural Resources Management in the Mediterranean Region

Editorial Wetlands for human well-being

Risk assessment and configuration of water and land resources system network in the Huang-Huai-Hai watershed

Robust optimization for sustainable agricultural management of the water-land-food nexus under uncertainty

The ecosystem approach—as endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in 2000—is a strategy for holistic, sustainable, and equitable natural resource management, to be implemented via the 12 Malawi Principles. These principles describe the need to manage nature in terms of dynamic ecosystems, while fully engaging with local peoples. It is an ambitious concept. Today, the term is common throughout the research and policy literature on environmental management. However, multiple meanings have been attached to the term, resulting in confusion. We reviewed references to the ecosystem approach from 1957 to 2012 and identified 3 primary uses: as an alternative to ecosystem management or ecosystem-based management; in reference to an integrated and equitable approach to resource management as per the CBD; and as a term signifying a focus on understanding and valuing ecosystem services. Although uses of this term and its variants may overlap in meaning, typically, they do not entirely reflect the ethos of the ecosystem approach as defined by the CBD. For example, there is presently an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services, but focusing on these alone does not promote decentralization of management or use of all forms of knowledge, both of which are integral to the CBD’s concept. We highlight that the Malawi Principles are at risk of being forgotten. To better understand these principles, more effort to implement them is required. Such efforts should be evaluated, ideally with comparative approaches, before allowing the CBD’s concept of holistic and socially engaged management to be abandoned or superseded. It is possible that attempts to implement all 12 principles together will face many challenges, but they may also offer a unique way to promote holistic and equitable governance of natural resources. Therefore, we believe that the CBD’s concept of the ecosystem approach demands more attention.La Necesidad de Desenredar Conceptos Clave del Argot Ambiente-EstrategiaResumenLa estrategia ambiental – como es promocionada por la Convención Biológica sobre Diversidad en 2000 – es una estrategia para un manejo holístico, sustentable y equitativo de recursos naturales, que habrá de implementarse por vía de los 12 Principios de Malawi. Estos principios describen la necesidad de manejar la naturaleza en términos de ecosistemas dinámicos, mientras se compromete totalmente con las personas locales. Es un concepto ambicioso. Hoy en día, el término es común en la investigación y la literatura de políticas sobre el manejo ambiente. Sin embargo, se han relacionado múltiples significados con el término, lo que resulta en confusión. Revisamos referencias a la estrategia ambiental de 1957 a 2012 e identificamos tres usos principales: como una alternativa para manejo ambiental o basado en ecosistemas; en referencia a una estrategia integrada y equitativa para el manejo de recursos según la CBD; y como un término que indica un enfoque en el entendimiento y la valuación de los servicios ambientales. Aunque los usos de este término y sus variantes pueden traslaparse en su significado, típicamente no reflejan en su totalidad los valores de la estrategia ambiental como fue definida por la CBD. Por ejemplo, actualmente hay un énfasis creciente en los servicios ambientales, pero enfocarse solamente en estos no promueve la descentralización del manejo o el uso de todas las formas de conocimiento, siendo ambas integrales para el concepto de la CBD. Resaltamos que los Principios de Malawi están en riesgo de ser olvidados. Para entender mejor estos principios, se requiere de más esfuerzo para implementarlos. Dichos esfuerzos deben ser evaluados, idóneamente con estrategias comparativas, antes de permitir que el concepto de la CBD de manejo holístico y comprometido socialmente sea abandonado o reemplazado. Es posible que los intentos por implementar los 12 principios juntos enfrentarán muchos obstáculos, pero también pueden ofrecer una forma única de promover el gobierno holístico y equitativo de los recursos naturales. Así, creemos que el concepto de estrategia ambiental de la CBD exige mayor atención.

In response to the severe situation of water and land resources in China, this paper uses the DPSIR (driving force–pressure–state–impact–response) model and two-stage network DEA (data envelopment analysis) model to evaluate the carrying capacity and utilization efficiency of land and water resources in 31 provinces of China from 2009 to 2017. The empirical results show that the carrying capacity and the efficiency values of land and water resources in most areas of China do not perform well and show a downward trend during the sample period. Specifically, the carrying capacity of land and water resources show a decreasing trend from north to south and from east to west. In addition, the response to the current situation of land and water resources has an important influence on the carrying capacity. The utilization efficiency of water and soil resources is significantly different in the two stages in most regions, indicating that the efficiency of economic benefit transformation is far greater than land and water resources development. Our results shed some insights on land and water utilization efficiency management and provide political recommendations for different regions.

Assessment of natural resource endowment and urban-rural integration for sustainable development in Xinjiang, China

The Kilombero Valley floodplain (KVFP) inhabits a very large natural wetland of which over 70% is protected. Diverse mammals, amphibians, fish and bird species populate the area. Importantly, KVFP harbours 75% of the world Puku antelope population. Most human activities in the area include large and small scale farming, pastoralism and fishing. Recently, population pressure, overgrazing and aligned human activities have pressed strain on the land and water resources in the KVFP. The situation prompted the government of Tanzania to resettle some of the pastoral families so as to achieve sustainable natural resources management. The paper provides an insight of this resettlement exercise as a multilayered land use conflict and its effects to the land resources and people's livelihoods. Focused group discussions, key informant interviews both using checklists and literature review were the methods used for data collection. The Sukuma agro-pastoralists, Maasai and Barbaig pastoralists were the most ethnic groups affected by the resettlement exercise. It was envisaged that a pragmatic approach to land and water resources management such as effective land use plans, natural resource monitoring plans, sensitization programs and rule of law are needed to avoid future conflicts over land resources use and to ensure peoplecentered development process is achieved.

Gaining Acceptance of Novel Plant Breeding Technologies.

The Water Crisis in Yemen: Managing Extreme Water Scarcity in the Middle East

The underlying surface structure is being reshaped by climate change and human activities, which in turn affects the hydrological processes in inland river basins, with significant consequences for coupling patterns of water and land resources in inland river basins of arid and semi-arid regions. However, current studies of coupling pattern of water and land resources analysis focus on available water and visible land resources in the districts, so that there is an urgent need for research on the simulation and prediction for water and land resources coupling of the micro-scale. Therefore, this study firstly evaluated and predicted the land resources by MCE-CA-Markov model and soil quality index function with environment factors and socio-economic factors, then generalized and simulated the water resources by SWAT, and construct the Water-Land Nexus Model for water conservation and water consumption zones to clear the impact mechanisms of water and land resources nexus in inland river basins. The results show that the nexus index of water and land resources present a decreasing distribution from water conservation area to water consumption area of the Shiyang River Basin, with that being lower than 0.1 (mainly in the water consumption area). The coupling index of water and land resources of Shiyang River Basin decreases from 0.1105 in 1980 to 0.1071 in 2000. In 2020-2050, the water conservation area exhibit an increasing trend, but that of the water consumption area is decreasing. The Geo-detector results show that soil quality index, blue water resource and DEM are the main factors influencing the coupling of water and land resources in Shiyang River Basin, follow by precipitation, temperature and green water resource, and the effects of POP and GDP could be negligible. Furthermore, the interactions between natural and socio-economic factors are stronger than the ones within each other, indicating that natural factors are the main influences on water-land nexus and it is important to consider the interactions of nature along with the human activities.

In the background of the current supply and demand of land and water resources has become increasingly acute contradictions, this paper conducted a study of coupling effects of land and water resources, making the region of the use for system land and water resources to optimize the rational allocation. The paper established the coupling effect model, and discussed the process of the genetic algorithm to solve multi-objective in detail, calculated the model which established on the papers, maximize mining the inherent potential of the resources systems, achieved the development goals of the sustainable utilization of resources. Finally, take Xi'an Chanba ecological zone for example to make empirical solving, obtained the optimal results of the water and land resources coupling, provided the basis for land and water resource allocation research of system coupling.

This article is devoted to the study of the main environmental problems of local areas, which are associated with anthropogenic pressure on the quality of water and land resources. The scientific novelty of the work is identified the specific ecological factors which influence on the local areas and analyzed the cause deterioration of water and land quality. The research program provided for the application of a systematic approach to determine the main aspects of anthropogenic pressure on the state of local areas in order to evaluate the impact of urbanization and agricultural activities on land and water resources. To implement the research program, the following tasks were: to determine the factors influencing urbanization and agricultural activities on the state of land and water resources of local areas, which causes a significant anthropogenic load on the territory; to study the main factors of pollution of local areas due to anthropogenic load. According to the results articles we analyzed and determined the main environmental factors which had affect and influence on the quality water and land resources of local territories (Kyiv and Khmelnytsky regions). In particular, it was clarified that the main factors deteriorating the quality of water resources were discharges of untreated wastewater from enterprises and filtration water from landfills, which, due to technological violations, came from landfills to riverbeds. The anthropogenic pressure on land resources is due to the agricultural sector, in particular, it was found that uncontrolled use of agrochemicals and untreated manure in the studied areas were a predictable risk factor for soil contamination by pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals.

Exploring the temporal and spatial variability of water and land resources carrying capacity based on ecological footprint: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, China

The optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources is of great significance in ensuring sustainable food production and economic benefits of farmers. However, agriculture, as an important carbon cycle ecosystem, has paid limited attention to carbon sequestration in the optimal allocation of water and land resources. Therefore, this study developed a new water-carbon-economy coupling model (WCECM) for optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources. In this model, the minimum water scarcity, maximum carbon sequestration and maximum economic benefits are taken as the optimization objectives. In addition, surface water volume and groundwater volume and planting area etc. were defined as constraints, respectively. Then, the model was solved using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III) and the Entropy-weighted-TOPSIS evaluation method. The developed model was demonstrated in the largest Farm, Youyi Farm, which is one of commercial grain production base in China to analyze the optimization of water and land resources from 2010 to 2019. We found that the new WCECM, based on the simulation of a complex coupled water-carbon-economy system, can realize the optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources to protect regional water resources, increase carbon sequestration and adjust the agricultural planting structure. In detail, through the multi-objective optimization model, the planting structure and the allocation ratio of surface water and groundwater irrigation water consumption are more suitable for this study area. After the optimization, the area planted with Rice was significantly reduced, the area planted with Maize was increased, and the area planted with Soybean did not change significantly compared with the first two crops. The planting structure has changed from focusing on paddy cultivation to dryland cultivation, with the ratio of Rice area, Maize area and Soybean area being 3:6:1. The water consumption is constrained within manageable limits, with an average annual irrigation water consumption of 2.01 × 108 m3. The amount of carbon sequestered has increased significantly, with an average annual increase of 7.8 × 108 kg. Meanwhile, the optimized economic benefits increased slightly, with a value of ¥2.35 billion. In short, optimization of water and land resources is beneficial for improving farmers' incomes, increasing carbon sequestration in agriculture, and conserving water resources.

Water and land resource utilization is an important driving force of changes in ecosystem services; therefore, research on multi-parameter coupling systems that consider “ecosystem services, water resources, and land resources” together has key significance for river basins. This study aims to reveal the interaction and mutual influence of ecosystem services and water and land resources in the Daguhe River Basin, China, based on the coupling coordination degree model. The results showed that during the period from 2000 to 2010, the coupling coordination degree values for the years 2000, 2005, and 2010 were 0.6005, 0.7292, and 0.8037. The corresponding coupling coordination classifications were categorized as “primary coordinated development”, “intermediate coordinated development,” and “well-coordinated development”, respectively. These results reflected the fact that the relationship between water and land resource utilization and the environment tends to evolve in the direction of coordinated development (an improvement in one part corresponds to an improvement in another part) with variation in water and land utilization types, and eventually pushes the whole resource, as well as ecological and environmental systems, from low to high levels of coupling coordination degrees as observed in case of the Daguhe River Basin, China. Our research provides an overview of the interaction between ecosystem services and water and land resources in the Daguhe Basin and even in the Shandong Province. With our results, we offer new perspectives on river basin management and for planning future eco-environmental policies (the policy is specifically designed for the ecological environment) by combining water and land resource utilization.