The Physical Restoration of English Rivers with Special Designations for Wildlife: From Concepts to Strategic Planning and Implementation

Integrated strategic urban planning in many cities and countries, as well as analysis of current situation in local development, urban transformation and urban conservation together with the participation of all stakeholders in various activities, poses an impact on the success of a project. It is possible to create a useful model with the participation of local people and other stakeholders in the use of urban space, conservation of areas and monuments of natural and historical value and in this way, the success of sustainable urban revitalization at the local level can be improved. In order to develop sustainable approaches to the conservation and revitalization of archaeological, historical and urban areas, it is necessary to increase compliance with local community values, contemporary needs, public participation and stakeholder satisfaction levels. Because, in the analysis of urban development, conservation and real estate projects through a strategic planning approach with the participation of local people and the private sector is considered among the main conditions for ensuring the sustainability of projects. In recent years, importance and priority have been given to the analysis of open and green areas, parks, conservation areas and urban transformation implementation projects in cities, and integrating strategic planning model has adding value in the process. In the city centre of Ankara province, which is the capital of Turkey, there are several large areas among which the most important is Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) area, which is an historical centre of the city in the Zubeyde Hanım neighborhood of Altindag District. In this study, physical, economic, legal, social and environmental indicators of Atatürk Cultural Center area were determined. In addition to ensuring the preservation and development of historic urban spaces, opportunities for the development of an adequate and effective strategic model and practice-based management tools were evaluated. In the analysis of AKM case study, the relationship between the historical development and the environment of the area was revealed by using the current situation analysis and region data. Based on historical and cultural characteristics and stakeholder views of the area, current use of status and problem analysis of region called the green belt and historical city centre of Ankara Province was conducted. With the data obtained, the difference/gap analysis related to the region was performed and the possible risks were examined in various aspects. In addition to the survey work, project alternatives were determined by taking into account the property and zoning data related to the region, the historical, cultural and symbolic characteristics of the region, and the most appropriate alternative was selected using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). According to the most appropriate alternative, market and competitiveness conditions were examined, and strategic goals were determined at the real estate level by taking into account the compatibility of the project alternative with the relevant existing corporate-macro strategic plans. According to the income-generating approaches included in the selected project, the path of cost and income estimation was taken and the outline of the strategic action plan was presented by designing the process for the strategic spatial plan. According to the research results, it has emphasized that in real estate development project model with the strategic planning approach, competitive real estate markets and the functioning logic of the current region for sustainable (economic, environmental and social) impacts, the potentials and benefits should be taken into account. According to the results of the field study, it has revealed that the AKM area should be a cultural centre by function; and if integrated with its surroundings, especially the historical city centre it will have a modern appearance that preserves its historical and cultural nature. In addition, according to the results of the competitor analysis and gap analysis, it was determined that the project alternative envisaged to be carried out in the region has a competitive advantage and is compatible with the strategic plans already in practice. The fact that the strategic action plan is compatible with the results of fieldwork shows that the strategic planning approach is consistent in itself. Finally, monitoring and evaluation of the strategic plan with the perspective of 10P model for providing corporate level action. In addition, considering that corporate real estate needs to be increasingly integrated into business strategy, it should be emphasized that corporate real estate strategy and corporate strategy should be harmonized in specialized areas such as AKM.

Abstract1. The restoration of riverine habitats that have been physically modified by man has gained momentum over the past two decades, driven by a number of objectives. Formalizing the planning and implementation of such activity, however, so that it demonstrably meets national and local environmental objectives without compromising essential societal needs such as flood risk management, has proved problematic.2. This paper addresses the operational realities of river restoration in the UK as experienced in England by the authors, and in doing so attempts to provide a vision for how strategic planning and implementation of restoration measures sensitive to these realities might be introduced. Specifically, the paper explores: the prevailing perspectives on river restoration, shaped by both legislative drivers for ecosystem and biodiversity protection and the multiple uses made of rivers, their floodplains and catchments; how decisions have tended to be made to date and how the government agencies for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in England are planning to make decisions in the future; the key obstacles to putting in place scientifically and technically robust, large‐scale, long‐term, economically viable plans for river restoration; the potential for using rivers with special conservation designations for wildlife as a springboard for a strategic approach to river restoration more widely. 3. The issues hindering a strategic operational approach to river restoration in England are common to the rest of the UK and other developed countries grappling with the enormity of the river restoration challenge. To make real progress with river restoration, an operational decision‐making framework is needed that promotes progressive and strategic action but at the same time gives everyone confidence that such action is realistic and worthwhile. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Port of Jeddah (Port) released the initial version of this Strategic Plan in 2006. It was developed by Port staff, along with input, as a five-year rolling plan designed to guide the Port's future development while keeping in mind the needs of our tenants, local community members and stakeholders, and the nation. This is the second update to the Strategic Plan since its initial release. While the Port's overarching principles -- commitment to environmental stewardship, addressing tenant needs, goods movement, economic development, and security --have remained largely unchanged, it is important for us to adapt our strategies to meet the challenges of an ever changing local and global environment. The Port is among the world's premier ports and is a critical hub for global trade. This prominence brings with it responsibilities and expectations for the highest possible standards for efficiency, safety and security, and environmental leadership. The Port is the nation's busiest container port and part of the world's busiest port complex, handling 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2013. Global trade and goods movement is Western kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strongest industries in terms of jobs and economic activity. The Port of Jeddah powers these industries, handling almost more than a quarter of the cargo that enters the kingdom of Saudi Arabia annually. Through the Port's activities, a lot of jobs are created in western kingdom of Saudi Arabia and over five hundred thousand nationwide. In order to maintain our position among the world the kingdom of Saudi Arabia premier ports, the Port is continually addressing the demands for providing modern and efficient cargo handling terminals as well as transportation and infrastructure projects. Protecting one of the nation's most vital economic hubs is also an ongoing challenge. Finally, promoting a sustainable grow green philosophy and ensuring that we are the leader among ports in promoting environmental stewardship is a strategic objective of the Port. A strategic plan is a management tool used to improve the performance of an organization and outlines the organization's direction and priorities. This plan identifies the Port's twelve strategic objectives for the next five years. Each of the objectives identifies a series of an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something that the Port will undertake to accomplish that objective. While these objectives are organization-focused and require the coordination of resources throughout the Port, each one will be championed by a bureau, and the divisions within that bureau, as this paper will contain.

Despite many years of experience in the river restoration field, which has become one of the most promising areas of water resources management, significant challenges and problems remain. These include the scope and scale of restoration measures, developing the reference model, assessment of restoration success, and the engagement of local stakeholders. Progress in addressing these challenges to river restoration could be achieved by changes in current approaches through the appreciation and integration of local communities and their local ecological knowledge (LEK). The results of discussion on ecological restoration indicate that ecological knowledge, which combines the interests of local communities and the environment, could be used in restoration projects. However, in the case of river restoration, this type of knowledge is systematically overlooked. In our paper, we discuss common river restoration problems and supportive elements that may be found in LEK. We conclude that the local stakeholders’ involvement and strong establishment of their position in the river restoration processes should be reconsidered. We believe that the application of LEK has large potential for improving water resources management and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and remains a key factor in a successful future of river restoration.

Institutional quality and digitalization: Drivers in accessing European funds at regional level?

Organizations which exist in the 21st Century face a myriad of challenges which require corporate strategic implementation for the organizations to remain competitive. Strategic implementation is a key challenge for today’s organizations and most strategies stagger at the implementation stage. Despite formulating strategic plans, commercial banks often struggle to translate these plans into successful actions that drive performance improvement. Commercial banks in Kenya may face challenges in aligning their strategic plans with the execution of key initiatives. There might be a disconnect between the formulated strategies and the actual implementation, leading to a lack of consistency and coherence in actions taken. This misalignment can hinder the bank’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives and deliver optimal performance. The purpose of the study was to establish how strategic implementation was carried out by commercial banks in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effects of strategic action planning, strategic consensus, strategy communication, and resource allocation on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study utilized a descriptive and explanatory research designs. It targeted 300 respondents from the 30 licensed commercial banks in Western Kenya, who were selected through a census. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated that strategic action planning had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance of commercial banks; strategic consensus was found to have a positive and significant effect on organizational performance; strategic communication had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance while resource allocation emerged as the strongest predictor of organizational performance among the strategic implementation factors examined. The study recommends that banks should invest in developing robust strategic action planning processes that involve key stakeholders and translate high-level strategies into specific, measurable actions; management should focus on building strategic consensus through inclusive strategy formulation, clear goal-setting, and efforts to align understanding across organizational levels; banks should enhance strategic communication by establishing clear communication channels, promoting two-way information flow, and regularly conveying strategic priorities to all employees and careful attention should be paid to resource allocation.

Co-development of East African regional water scenarios for 2050

The fundamental change in nocturnal landscapes due to the increasing use of artificial light at night (ALAN) is recognized as being detrimental to the environment and raises important regulatory questions as to whether and how it should be regulated based on the manifold risks to the environment. Here, we present the results of an analysis of the current legal obligations on ALAN in context with a systematic review of adverse effects. The legal analysis includes the relevant aspects of European and German environmental law, specifically nature conservation and immission control. The review represents the results of 303 studies indicating significant disturbances of organisms and landscapes. We discuss the conditions for prohibitions by environmental laws and whether protection gaps persist and, hence, whether specific legislation for light pollution is necessary. While protection is predominantly provided for species with special protection status that reveal avoidance behavior of artificially lit landscapes and associated habitat loss, adverse effects on species and landscapes without special protection status are often unaddressed by existing regulations. Legislative shortcomings are caused by difficulties in proving adverse effect on the population level, detecting lighting malpractice, and applying the law to ALAN-related situations. Measures to reduce ALAN-induced environmental impacts are highlighted. We discuss whether an obligation to implement such measures is favorable for environmental protection and how regulations can be implemented.

A study of information systems planning and its effectiveness in Taiwan

This study aims to obtain empirical evidence of the influence of external factors, internal factors, strategic planning, strategic implementation on managerial performance. The research unit is 66 respondents on Banking in Jakarta. Methods of analysis tools using path analysis or a combination of correlation and regression to determine the effect of partially or simultaneously. This study was conducted with two models: 1st Model: Influence of External Factors (X1), Internal Factors (X2), Strategic Planning (X3), and the Strategic Implementation (M) on Managerial Performance (Y) either partially or simultaneously among others: partially: the influence of external factors (X1) on managerial performance (Y) of 75.8 % significantly by 0,011, or 11 %, the effect of internal factors (X2) on managerial performance (Y) equal to 61.8 % of non significant ; influence planning strategic (X3) on managerial performance (Y) equal to 74.2 % of non significant ; influence the strategic implementation (M) on managerial performance (Y) by 5 % non- significant . Simultaneously: the influence of external factors (X1), internal factors (X2), strategic planning (X3), and strategic implementation (M) on managerial performance (Y) by a significant 60.2 %. 2nd Model: Influence of External Factors (X1), Internal Factors (X2), and Strategic Planning (X3), the Managerial Performance (Y) with Strategic Implementation (M) as a moderating variable either partially or simultaneously among others: The results of this study have consistency with the entire framework, literature review, and previous studies . The suggestion for the study: (a) for the development of advanced management accounting research is needed outside the model, such other factors which managerial performance (b) to formulate clear policies and management needs to be more concrete criteria above considerations external factors, internal factors, strategic planning, and implementing strategies to improve the performance of managerial

River ecosystems have been heavily degraded globally due to channel hydromorphological modifications or alterations to catchment-wide processes. Restoration actions aimed at addressing these changes and restoring ecological integrity are increasing, but evidence of the effectiveness of these actions is variable. Using a rare 7-year before-after-control-impact (BACI) study of restoration of a lowland groundwater-fed river in England, UK, we explore changes in the macroinvertebrate community following the removal of impoundments and channel narrowing to aid restoration of physical processes. Restoration activity prompted significant taxonomic and functional responses of benthic invertebrate communities in the 4 years post-restoration. Specifically, significant gains in taxonomic and functional richness were evident following restoration, although corresponding evenness and diversity measures did not mirror these trends. Restoration activities prompted a shift to more rheophilic taxa and associated traits matching the physical changes to the channel and habitat composition. Temporal changes were clearer for taxonomic compositions compared to the functional properties of macroinvertebrate communities, indicating a functional redundancy effect of new colonists inhabiting restored reaches following restoration. The results highlight the value of long-term BACI studies in river restoration assessments, as well as project appraisals incorporating both taxonomic and functional observations. We highlight the urgent need of such studies to provide evidence to inform effective river restoration strategies to address future changes such as adaption to climate change and the biodiversity crisis.

This paper discloses the strategic tourism planning process carried out in the Municipality of Ribeira Grande. This is an important municipality of the Azores, although with a poor tourism performance. Recognizing this gap, Ribeira Grande was the first municipality in the Region to develop a strategic tourism development plan. The process included statistical analysis, based on different statistical methods, on tourists’ responses to a questionnaire. The strategic plan had to be focused on the most differentiating local resources and attractions and had to fit into the regional development strategy for the Azores. Local stakeholders and tourists were consulted and they selected nature-based tourism and local natural resources as the destination’s most important features. However, tourists pointed out the need for more adventure tourism packages and more walking trails. All the inputs resulted in the definition of four strategic products: nautical tourism, cultural tourism, wellness tourism, and nature tourism.

Decarbonisation of the building stock is essential for energy transitions towards climate-neutral cities in Sweden, Europe and globally. Meeting 1.5°C scenarios is only possible through collaborative efforts by all relevant stakeholders — building owners, housing associations, energy installation companies, city authorities, energy utilities and, ultimately, citizens. These stakeholders are driven by different interests and goals. Many win-win solutions are not implemented due to lack of information, transparency and trust about current building energy performance and available interventions, ranging from city-wide policies to single building energy service contracts. The emergence of big data in the building and energy sectors allows this challenge to be addressed through new types of analytical services based on enriched data, urban energy models, machine learning algorithms and interactive visualisations as important enablers for decision-makers on different levels. The overall aim of this thesis was to advance urban analytics in the building energy domain. Specific objectives were to: (1) develop and demonstrate an urban building energy modelling framework for strategic planning of large-scale building energy retrofitting; (2) investigate the interconnection between quality and applications of urban building energy data; and (3) explore how urban analytics can be integrated into decision-making for energy transitions in cities. Objectives 1 and 2 were pursued within a single case study based on continuous collaboration with local stakeholders in the city of Stockholm, Sweden. Objective 3 was addressed within a multiple case study on participatory modelling for strategic energy planning in two cities, Niš, Serbia, and Stockholm. A transdisciplinary research strategy was applied throughout. A new urban building energy modelling framework was developed and demonstrated for the case of Stockholm. This framework utilises high-resolution building energy data to identify buildings and retrofitting measures with the highest potential, assess the change in total energy demand from large-scale retrofitting and explore its impact on the supply side. Growing use of energy performance certificate (EPC) data and increasing requirements on data quality were identified in a systematic mapping of EPC applications combined with assessment of EPC data quality for Stockholm. Continuity of data collaborations and interactivity of new analytical tools were identified as important factors for better integration of urban analytics into decision-making on energy transitions in cities.

Maritime cultural heritage (MCH) in Greece remains poorly explored and underutilized due to several key challenges, including the dispersed locations of heritage sites, limited community engagement in decision-making, and the absence of a well-structured decentralized governance framework. This paper addresses these issues by focusing on strategic planning and social management to better integrate coastal and maritime heritage sites into both tourism development and the everyday life of local communities. Our research examines the creation of local social networks and participatory decision-making processes, as well as the adoption of innovative solutions such as maritime spatial planning (MSP) and soft projects to connect scattered cultural sites into cohesive, integrated clusters. The aim is to foster tourism and economic development through collaboration with local stakeholders. The findings emphasize the establishment of a social network for cultural heritage management in the West Pagasetic region of Magnesia, Greece, which culminated in a strategic plan to link cultural sites through soft projects and consultations. This process included a participatory workshop and the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) that brought together professionals from the heritage, tourism, and planning sectors.

In pursuance of effective strategic activity plan preparation methods which could express institutions rational strategic planning model should be used. Extensive theoretic potential for institution strategic planning and sufficient abilities to use it together are guarantee for reaching goals of institution’s strategic planning. On the other hand, the question arises whether the use of theoretic potential allows to reach goals of rational strategic planning? The solution of our suggested complex tasks of institution’s rational strategic planning is to set the demand of the institution’s activity development and this demand fulfillment opportunities and weaknesses, to detect the directions and priorities of institution’s activity development, to chose the best ways and means to implement the institution’s activity development directions and priorities, to monitor the institution’s activity development means implementation. The analysis and evaluation of methods are purposeful to perform in the elements section of the complex of the planning tasks. Generally combinations of methods to solve institution’s strategic analysis tasks in special literature are recommended. The use of combinations of methods allows analyzing and evaluating different factors which influence development of institution’s activity, plus synthesizes the results. The use of theoretic potential for institution’s objective orientation setting creates preconditions to form the mission of institution, create the vision and set strategic goals. Theoretic potential for preparation and acceptance of institution’s strategic decisions are sufficient for decision of tasks of alternatives generation, formation of criteria for alternatives evaluation along with the criteria combination, alternatives analysis and evaluation, the best alternative choice. The use of the institution’s action plan implementation monitoring theoretic potential creates preconditions for analysis and evaluation of inside changes which happened due to action plan implementation, for setting connections between action plan implementation results and institution’s activity development indicators. The use of methods recommended in special literature doesn’t create preconditions to generate alternatives of rational action plan, i.e. to generate alternatives integrating the actions for increasement of the allocation of institutions resources, usage and development possibilities. In regard to complexity principle formation the criteria to evaluate the action plan alternatives and to form criteria combinations is problematical too. Moreover, suggested recommendations to analyse and evaluate action plan alternatives aren’t concretized to the level of quantitative analysis and evaluation of alternatives. So methods analysis and evaluation in context of tasks of institution rational strategic planning allow to identify strong and weak aspects of these tasks decision. Besides, it enables to make methods selections for institution strategic analysis, objective orientation setting, strategic decision preparation and acceptance, monitoring of actions plan implementation. Application of methods selections creates preconditions for decision of adequate strategic planning tasks. In pursuance to fill the essential gap in institution’s strategic planning directions for improvement of planning of institution’s strategic decisions implementation are established. Its implementation allows to reach all goals of rational strategic planning. Article in Lithuanian. Viešojo sektoriaus institucijų strateginio planavimo metodai: teorinis potencialas ir perspektyvos Santrauka. Išanalizuotas ir įvertintas viešojo sektoriaus institucijų strateginio planavimo uždavinių sprendimo teorinis potencialas. Esamą teorinį potencialą galima produktyviai naudoti šiems institucijų strateginio planavimo uždaviniams spręsti: strateginei analizei atlikti, tikslinei orientacijai nustatyti, strateginiams sprendimams rengti ir priimti, veiksmų plano įgyvendinimo monitoringui vykdyti. Išvardytiems institucijų strateginio planavimo uždaviniams spręsti sudaryti metodų rinkiniai ir pateiktos rekomendacijos jiems taikyti. Atsižvelgiant į metodų analizės rezultatus konstatuojama, kad silpniausia institucijų strateginio planavimo grandinės grandis yra strateginių sprendimų įgyvendinimo veiksmų plano rengimo metodinės priemonės. Siekiant pašalinti nustatytas metodinio pobūdžio spragas institucijų strateginio planavimo uždavinių sprendimo grandinėje, parengtos rekomendacijos strateginių sprendimų įgyvendinimo planavimo metodinėms priemonėms sukurti. Reikšminiai žodžiai: institucija, strateginis planavimas, metodai, analizė, taikymas.