Decline In Natural Resources Research Articles

Agrarian Distress in Indian Punjab: A Public Policy Paralysis

The drift towards resource-intensive, high-yield crop-based cultivation in the early 1960s, widely called the Green Revolution, has led to ecologically unviable cropping patterns with adverse monetary fallouts in Punjab, which had once earned the sobriquet, the Granary of India. Since price and availability are the basis of competition, farmers are not sufficiently incentivised to address the vital issue of the decline in natural resources. As a result, securing food and nutrition while conserving the environment is challenging. So is mobilising diverse and apposite stakeholders whose perspective is vital to move ahead sustainably. The vital issue is considering the likely impact of input incentives, output support or restraints, technical backing, and financial aid on agricultural outcomes that vary across contexts and crops. This decision-based case introduces the participants to real-life socio-economic and ecological challenges, which they can relate with any other agriculture-based economy. The highlight of the case is the way the problem is anticipated to be viewed by different stakeholder groups and the conflicting policy options supporting conventional vis-à-vis organic farming. It is also interesting to review the conditions under which the proposed solution is most robust. Such a review would likely sensitise participants to how a change in perspectives can impact the suitability of alternative policy options.

Pesantren dan Konservasi Lingkungan (Studi Kasus di Pondok Pesantren Darumuhyiddin NW Debok Lombok Timur)

Conservation environment become theme global public internationally along with the continued decline in natural resources (natural refuse depilation). Problems environment life rooted from crisis understanding man to nature, thus, of course be a challenge for Islamic education system is currently in develop the institution. By therefore, effort is required concrete to adapt the situation with need era. With education Islam from perspective conservation environment is a theoretical and practical solution as an effort capable of changing understanding and awareness of management environment life become more Good. The purpose of this research is For know how draft conservation environment in the cottage Boarding school Darumuhyiddin NW Debok Subdistrict Terra East Lombok District and Want know how effort conservation environment in the cottage Boarding school Darumuhyiddin NW Debok Subdistrict Terra East Lombok Regency . Research type Which used is field research with a qualitative approach, where this researcher try describe the research subject. Method collection data use method observation, interview and documentation . The concept of environmental conservation based on Sufism values at the Darumuhyiddin Islamic Boarding School, NW Debok, is the concept of al zuhd, the concept of al hub, and the concept of fikr and dzikr. debok in the form of an environmental care curriculum/eco boarding school program and a hidden curriculum/hidden curriculum. Both tree planting and waste management, Darumuhyiddin Islamic boarding school terminology of environmentalism in an effort to protect and preserve the environment so that it is sustainable. The third is the thrifty behavior of the community in the Islamic boarding school environment. The behavior of the residents of the Islamic boarding school as a result of environmental conservation education activities can occur in students who have graduated (alumni).

Trends, patterns and determinants of biodiversity conservation outcomes in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the trends, patterns and determinants of biodiversity conservation in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), India. Temporal remote sensing data from 1990 to 2020 shows a loss of 27.69 km2. The results show that the total forest area has seen a significant decline from 1990 to 2020, whereas non-forest and degraded forest areas have been on the rise. The decline of forest area is observed more in fringe and lower altitude areas where accessibility is easy for humans to extract forest resources. The secondary data shows a decline in the wildlife population including the flagship species, the Bengal tiger. The decline in natural resources due to human activities in the BTR is likely to continue unless a participatory biodiversity conservation programme is established. The establishment of the Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC), a formal local institution where local communities and forest departments (FDs) jointly share the rights and responsibility towards the use and management of the forest, seems to be effective in reducing negative forest activities. The sustainability of the BTR is possible if the local people abandon the ‘tragedy of the commons’ activities and work together, with government guidance for the promotion of livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.

Enhancing social resilience and addressing economic uncertainty in small-scale fishing households along the west coast of West Sumatra

This study examined the significance of small-scale fishing within the west coastal communities in Sumatra. It aimed to investigate the impact of various factors, such as the COVID-19 outbreak, overfishing, and changes in marine ecosystems, on the decline of natural resources. These factors created insecurity in the livelihoods of small-scale fishing and had severe social and economic impacts on coastal communities. To better understand the coping mechanisms used by small-scale fishing in response to external shocks, a qualitative study was conducted in Ampiang Parak Village, Sutera sub-District, South Pesisir District. Data were collected using observation, interviews, literature review, and photo documentation. The results showed that small-scale fishing and the associated households used various livelihood strategies to respond to these challenges. Furthermore, this study examined the social resilience built by fishing households to overcome economic insecurity. The result showed that the resiliencebuilding measures included income diversification, temporal and seasonal migration, women group empowerment, the development of labor division, and the exploration of non-fish resources.

Push and Pull Factors Influencing Migration among Tribal Agricultural Labourers : A Critical Gender Analysis

The present study has been done on the basis of qualitative and quantitative data collected from primary sources and explored the pattern of migration among tribal agricultural labourers, the push and pull factors associated with migration and the infl uence of social discrimination and land alienation leading to migration of tribal labourers. About 55 per cent of the country’s tribal population now resides outside their traditional habitats. While men were generally daily and seasonal migrants, women migrated permanently after marriage. Migration is associated with many economic, social, physical and political factors. While considering the male agricultural labourers, the major push factors forcing them to migrate were low wages, unemployment due to seasonality of jobs and growing indebtedness and the pull factors included better opportunity for higher wages, better employment opportunities and job security. In the case of female agricultural labourers, decline of natural resources, indebtedness, natural calamities and unemployment were the major push factors for migration and pull factor was dependency movement. While social discrimination, land alienation and substance use had a positive and signifi cant eff ect on migration, self-confi dence, health and nutrition, access to common property resources, political orientation and awareness about the about the developmental programmes and their rights had a negative and signifi cant eff ect on migration.

Land suitability evaluation for sustainable development planning major perennial industrial crops in the Central Highlands

The Central Highlands is a major agricultural production region of Vietnam with essential agricultural products such as coffee, pepper, and rubber. However, the agricultural development of the region is currently facing many challenges from the massive development of these industrial crops. The cause is the decline of natural resources (land, water, forest) due to over-exploitation to expand production area and the increase in negative impacts of climate change on agricultural cultivation. Therefore, land suitability assessment to monitor, adjust and stabilize the specialized farming areas according to specific natural advantages and adapt to climate change is considered as a feasible approach to solve these problems. This study was carried out to identify suitable planting areas for essential industrial crops (coffee, pepper, rubber) in the Central Highlands. ALES-GIS integrated model with 13 criteria was used to assess the suitability of land for crops in terms of ecology and environment. The study results showed that the very suitable area (S1) and moderately suitable area (S2) of coffea robustaaccounted for 23.7%, coffea arabica accounted for 4.4%, pepper accounted for 29.3%, rubber accounted for 18.5% of the whole region land area. The assessment results have contributed to providing a scientific basis for orienting land use to 2030 for sustainable development in the Central Highlands, in which the coffee area is 432,775.9 ha (369,357.6 ha for coffea robusta and 63,418.2 ha for coffea arabica), pepper cultivation is 80,589.5 ha, and rubber plantation is 247,621.0 ha.

IoT-Enabled Smart Agriculture: Architecture, Applications, and Challenges

The growth of the global population coupled with a decline in natural resources, farmland, and the increase in unpredictable environmental conditions leads to food security is becoming a major concern for all nations worldwide. These problems are motivators that are driving the agricultural industry to transition to smart agriculture with the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data solutions to improve operational efficiency and productivity. The IoT integrates a series of existing state-of-the-art solutions and technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, cognitive radio ad hoc networks, cloud computing, big data, and end-user applications. This study presents a survey of IoT solutions and demonstrates how IoT can be integrated into the smart agriculture sector. To achieve this objective, we discuss the vision of IoT-enabled smart agriculture ecosystems by evaluating their architecture (IoT devices, communication technologies, big data storage, and processing), their applications, and research timeline. In addition, we discuss trends and opportunities of IoT applications for smart agriculture and also indicate the open issues and challenges of IoT application in smart agriculture. We hope that the findings of this study will constitute important guidelines in research and promotion of IoT solutions aiming to improve the productivity and quality of the agriculture sector as well as facilitating the transition towards a future sustainable environment with an agroecological approach.

The role of modelling in resource management within the livelihood-conservation nexus: A socio-ecological systems approach to Sand Forest harvesting, Northern KwaZulu-Natal

Divergences between community livelihoods and conservation efforts often result in changes to the access and use of natural capital in affected areas, negatively affecting the respective livelihoods. New tools and interdisciplinary approaches are more frequently required for solving these conflicts. In this paper, the socio-ecological systems (SES) perspective along with Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) have been used to model the interdependencies that exist within the livelihood-conservation nexus to determine if this method can improve synergy between community livelihood requirements and conservation targets in an era of unsustainable decline of natural resources, using the livelihood-conservation nexus of informal Sand Forest harvesting in Northern KwaZulu-Natal as a case study. Results suggest BBNs have great potential for use in socio-ecological and resource management studies concerning the livelihood-conservation nexus. The results of the sensitivity analysis of the BBN showed that employment and income are the greatest socio-economic drivers in terms of Sand Forest harvesting, while preference (i.e. behaviour) for energy sources and building materials has the greatest overall influence on Sand Forest usage. The BBN scenario comparison further demonstrated the influence of preference (i.e. behaviour) on the SES. Finally, the conservation effectiveness assessment using the BBN showed the significant contribution of accessibility and availability of Sand Forest (i.e. conservation) to the system. Information provided by the BBN allowed for suitable areas for conservation to be identified given conservation targets and the utilisation needs of the communities (i.e. greater synergy), through the mapping of two livelihood management approaches (i.e. community conservation and formal conservation). The results of mapping the different management objectives have shown that community conservation is more suitable for moving the system towards synergy and should be considered for a Sand Forest resource management approach to compliment any conservation planning.

Review of Cryogenic Carbon Capture Innovations and Their Potential Applications

Our ever-increasing interest in economic growth is leading the way to the decline of natural resources, the detriment of air quality, and is fostering climate change. One potential solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industrial emitters is the exploitation of carbon capture and storage (CCS). Among the various CO2 separation technologies, cryogenic carbon capture (CCC) could emerge by offering high CO2 recovery rates and purity levels. This review covers the different CCC methods that are being developed, their benefits, and the current challenges deterring their commercialisation. It also offers an appraisal for selected feasible small- and large-scale CCC applications, including blue hydrogen production and direct air capture. This work considers their technological readiness for CCC deployment and acknowledges competing technologies and ends by providing some insights into future directions related to the R&D for CCC systems.

Mechanical Behavior of Corroded Steel in Lightweight Concrete: A Review

There is an immediate need for reinforced concrete (RC) construction to protect natural resources and environmental sustainability due to a gradual decline in natural resources and a problem in many waste disposal sites used. Reducing natural stones as aggregates in concrete using agriculture waste as aggregate to produce lightweight concrete is an effective way to reduce this problem. Lightweight concrete applications for structural design have long been applied because they significantly benefit design and construction costs. However, limited information about the structural performance, such as the bond strength, the compressive strength can be a barrier to applying lightweight concrete in the construction industry, as inadequate bond strength can result in structural deficiencies in RC structures. Therefore, to launch the use of lightweight concrete as a general material of construction, this research was conducted to review the current information on the mechanical behaviour of corroded lightweight concrete structures, while agricultural solid wastes were used as a lightweight aggregate in the concrete mixture.

Agroforestry and organic agriculture

Current conventional agriculture is considered unsustainable and inadequate to address great societal challenges such as climate change, environmental pollution, food security, dependence on fossil energy as well as the decline of natural resources and biodiversity. Many of these problems are related to agricultural specialization (i.e. monoculture) and the consequent simplification of the agroecosystem. In this respect, efforts aimed at improving individual agronomic techniques and at increasing the use-efficiency of external inputs (e.g. synthetic inputs, fossil fuels), without modifying the structure and functions of the whole system, appear to be insufficient to achieve sustainability in most conventional and intensive farming systems. Current organic farming systems adopting the so-called input substitution approach remain intensive and highly specialized and not necessarily able to significantly improve their sustainability. This would require system diversification and redesign of the agroecosystem to increase the spatial and temporal diversification of all its components and promote positive ecological relationships between them. Agroforestry is an agricultural approach based on the diversification of the agroecosystem production components (woody perennials, such as trees or shrubs, plus crops and/or livestock) and on the intensification of the agroecological relationships between these components. As such, it has transformative potential, providing an opportunity for increasing the sustainability of organic farming. In this article we review how the adoption of agroforestry practices could contribute to increasing sustainability in organic farming, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of this adoption.

A Facile Chemical Synthesis of PbTe Nanostructures at Room Temperature.

Thermoelectric (TE) materials are possible solutions of the current problems in the energy sector to overcome environmental pollution, increasing energy demand and the decline of natural resources. Thermoelectric materials are a promising alternative for the conversion of waste heat to electricity. Nanocrystalline PbTe powder was synthesized by a simple chemical method at room temperature and systematically investigated at various durations as samples A1–A5. Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), microstructural analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the composition of the samples. TE parameters as thermo-emf of samples A1–A5 and electrical conductivity were measured. The cyclic voltammetry gives a band gap of 0.25 eV, which is in agreement with the optical band gap of the material. The A4 sample has an average crystal size of 36 nm with preferred orientation in (200) verifying the cubic morphology. The obtained TE parameters are beneficial for the non-uniform TE materials which might be due to strong current boundary scattering and extremely low thermal conductivity of the samples.

Electrochemical Separations for Metal Recycling

Recycling of waste is critical for sustainability. Modern industrialization has caused a rapid decline in natural resources, and a dramatic rise in hazardous pollutants released into the environment. A recent study reported that global resource usage rose from 23.7 billion tons in 1970 to 70.1 billion tons in 2010. Global consumption of metals has increased at a significant pace, placing severe environmental and economic pressure for recycling. Electrochemical processes are particularly well suited for metal recovery. Due to the ionic nature of the metals after leaching, both Faradaic and non-Faradaic electrochemical processes can play an important role in separating and purifying these elements. Here, an overview of electrochemical approaches for chemical recycling will be presented, with a focus on metal recovery from electronic waste, battery components, as well as methods for selective recycling specialty metals and rare earth elements. This article discusses emerging recycling methods for value-added compounds beyond metals, including organic compounds, which may point to new directions in chemical recycling. In sum, electrochemical separation processes are expected to play a significant role in waste recycling and contribute towards a sustainable circular economy.

Study on the Impact of Seashore Leisure Behavior on Ecological Environment Based on Water Quality Analysis

Li, J., 2020. Study on the impact of seashore leisure behavior on ecological environment based on water quality analysis. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 193-195. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Seaside leisure tourism as a new industry. It has brought considerable economic benefits to the society, but scenic spot development, infrastructure construction, tourism and management services have also brought great negative impacts to the natural environment. The impact of the rapid development of tourism on the ecological environment of seashore is becoming more and more prominent. Fortunately, in recent years, with more attention paid to the ecological balance and more and more calls for environmental protection around the world, people have also begun to think about the relationship between tourism and the environment and the root causes of the decline of natural resources and the deterioration of tourism environment. Based on the analysis of water quality, this paper analyzes the factors that affect the seashore ecology, hoping to provide some reference for promoting the virtuous circle development of seashore leisure tourism.

AHP-Consensus Judgement on Transitional Decision-Making: With a Discussion on the Relation towards Open Innovation

Green and sustainable engineering business models have become a major topic across industries due to concerns regarding environmental issues and the decline of natural resources. Remanufacturing is showing promise as a preferable solution in terms of environmental, societal, and economic factors compared to alternatives such as repairing, reconditioning, and recycling. By considering the nature of the closed cycle loop system, this paper proposes the idea of a transitional agenda into remanufacturing. However, different countries should employ different approaches to such a transition in order to appropriately account for and integrate diverse stakeholders, perspectives, and preferences. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate prioritized elements and sub-elements in the development of a transitional decision-making framework (TDMF) in the Malaysian automotive industry by applying the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Aggregation of individual and group judgement is done for prioritised elements and their sub-elements, which are then ranked accordingly using element weights based on the acceptance of individual and group consistency index values.

Socio-environmental conflicts between the refugee populations and their host communities: The case of Eritrean Refugees in North Western Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract This article presents research on the socio environmental impact of refugees on their host communities. We assessed the challenges of refuge populations to their host community in north western Tigray, Ethiopia, where the Eritrean refugees are settled,. Primary data was produced from semi-structured questionnaires and a random sampling technique deploying a logistic regression model to describe the relationship between the socio-environmental changes of the host community. Results suggested 96% of the sample respondents confirmed changes of tree species and forest coverage on community farms was observed during the study period. Similarly, change in forest coverage and changes in tree species are strongly and positively associated with the existence of refugees in the study communities. The dramatic change observed on forest coverage and tree species has led to a progressive decline in natural resources. The study concluded that unplanned human population influxes, especially refugee inflows, affected host communities negatively and the socio-environmental situation has been significantly changed in the study areas. The study highlights the need for holistic intervention to ameliorate the negative impacts and to maintain the sustainable management of natural resources so as to improve the socio-environmental impact of refugees on host communities.

A research on the design a bamboo powder drying machine

Bamboo is a sustainable and environmentally friendly material that has the potential to improve the global decline of natural resources. Bamboo is very popular in the countryside of almost all Southeast countries, particularly in Vietnam. Its ability can replace some kinds of wood in decoration and household goods. Bamboo grows up rapidly and can be harvested within 3 to 5 years of planting, in the meanwhile, the harvesting time of other hardwood trees must be from 8 to 10 years or longer. The inherent characteristics of bamboo are lighter than other wood materials and have a value in social and environmental benefits. Its advances in manufacturing technology have created high-value products such as bamboo flooring and bamboo furniture that can substitute for wood flooring and wood furniture. According to the biology studies, the bamboo has the characteristics that can replace the natural wood, but the direction of development from the stage of cultivation to the stage of finished products has not been exploited thoroughly. The production of bamboo plywood will become a great potential for the bamboo plywood industry in Vietnam. Generally, the fabrication of bamboo plywood depends on the following processes such as cutting, grinding to powder or pulp, drying, and pressing processes. In cutting and grinding processes, the trivial remains of bamboo after use, shoots… can be chopped and ground to a powder that is dried and pressed into bamboo plywood by a specialized machine similar to the production of artificial wood particleboard (PB). Bamboo powder drying machine plays a very important role in the production process of bamboo plywood. The function of the machine is drying bamboo powder to get the technical required appropriate moisture before pressing it into the standard bamboo boards. This article presents a design of bamboo powder drying machine with simple structure, long life, medium productivity, and price suitable for medium and small scale production of the Vietnam market. The first bamboo powder drying machine that was manufactured in DCSElab and its products is considered to respond to the technical requirements of customers.

A study on the design of bamboo grinding machine

Bamboo is a sustainable and environmentally friendly material that has the potential to improve the global decline of natural resources. Bamboo is one of the popular flora in Southeast Asia; it is also traditional plants that grow abundantly in Vietnamese villages from north to south. Its ability can replace some kinds of wood in decoration and household goods. Bamboo grows up rapidly and can be harvested within 3 to 5 years of planting, in the meanwhile, the harvesting time of other hardwood trees must be from 8 to 10 years or longer. The inherent characteristics of bamboo are lighter than other wood materials and have a value in social and environmental benefits. Its advances in manufacturing technology have created high-value products such as bamboo flooring and bamboo furniture that can substitute for wood flooring and wood furniture. According to the biology studies, the bamboo has the characteristics that can replace the natural wood, but the direction of development from the stage of cultivation to the stage of finished products has not been exploited thoroughly. The production of bamboo plywood will become a great potential for the bamboo plywood industry in Vietnam. Generally, the fabrication of bamboo plywood depends on the following processes such as cutting, grinding to powder or pulp, drying, and pressing processes. In cutting and grinding processes, the trivial remains of bamboo after use, shoots… can be chopped and ground to a powder that is dried and pressed into bamboo plywood by a specialized machine similar to the production of artificial wood particleboard (PB). The aim of this paper is a representation of a design, computing the structure of a version of a bamboo grinding machine that is sustainable, responds to technical requirements, and protection of the environment. The result of the design was applied for manufacture a typical bamboo machine in the CAD-CAM workshop of DCSELAB in the framework of a project between DCSELAB and PhuAn Village Corporation that has evaluated with satisfaction the real proof of the design. The machine has been in the session of initial testing and exploitation.

Identifying factors and predicting the future land-use change of protected area in the agricultural landscape of Malaysian peninsula for conservation planning

Given that surrounding land-use change affects the function of protected areas, it is crucial to identify the driving forces that influence them and modelling future changes to prevent further decline of natural resources. Thus far, most of the studies predicting future land-use in the protected area are not considering to measure the driving force of land-use change inside and outside protected areas separately. As a result, it is not clear for protected area managers and policymakers to focus on the relevant underlying factors of land-use change inside and outside the protected areas. This study aims to identify the significant driving forces of land-use change inside and outside the Tasek Bera Ramsar Site and how it determines the future land-use inside and outside this protected area separately. To achieve these objectives, past LULC maps of 1988, 2000, and 2014 were developed using ERDAS and ArcGIS software package. The LCM module was used to identify the appropriate drivers of land-use change and predicting the LULC scenario of 2028, based on Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and Markov Chain analysis. The MLP was trained with six variables, including; elevation, slope, soil type, distance from the forest edge, distance from the road, and distance from the river. The result revealed that the most significant driving forces were the distance from forest edge followed by distance from road and soil type. The model validation showed an accuracy more than 75%, and this indicates that the selected variable is acceptable and reliable. The simulated LULC maps of 2028 showed the forest areas inside and outside the Tasek Bera Ramsar Site continue to decline primarily converted to commercial agriculture. The future rate of forest loss will increase and put biodiversity at risk if proper action is not taken. Thus, information obtained from this study can be utilised in decision-making tools to safeguard, conserve, and implement law enforcement in the protected area.

Population Growth and Land Use Land Cover Change Scenario in Ethiopia

Land use and land cover change (LULC) is widespread, accelerating, and significant processes driven by human actions but also producing changes that impact humans. These changes can alter the availability of different biophysical resources including soil, vegetation, water, animal feed and finally it leads to a decreased availability of different products and services for human, livestock, agricultural production and damage to the environment as well. Understanding land use land cover change with relation to population growth at various scales is vital for development of management strategies to tackle further decline of natural resources. In connection to this, a seminar paper was done to assess the relationship between population growth and land use land cover change in Ethiopia. Recently published articles, books, proceedings, dissertations and government reports were used as a secondary data source for this review paper. The result reveals that in Ethiopia there were considerable LULC changes in the second half of 20th century particularly in the highland part of the country. Forest and woodlands coverage of the country was declined from 40% in the early 20th century to 15%. Similarly, the population was rapidly growing from 41.2 million in 1985 to 63.5 million in 2000 and it was reached 96.6 million in 2015. Based on these results it can be concluded that, LULC change and population change have a strong relationship; as population increases the need for cultivated land, grazing land, fuel wood; settlement areas also increases to meet the growing demand for food and energy, and livestock population. Similarly, rapid population growth exerts pressure on the existing land resources through increasing the demand for food, wood for fuel and construction purposes, and other necessities.