Natural Deterioration Research Articles

Silent domestication of wildlife in the Anthropocene: The mallard as a case study

In the Anthropocene, human activities have been a dominant force affecting wildlife, natural habitats, and climate worldwide. Over time, increasing incidences of wildlife-human interactions may have positive outcomes for some generalist species, but studies continue to uncover that most predictably these generalist wild species also suffer from such interactions. In particular, the line between domestic and wild continues to blur as gene flow between these groups intensifies in the Anthropocene. We explore the meaning of wildness, focusing on the mallard, currently the most abundant duck species in the world. Mallard has been connected to humans for tens of thousands of years. Considered an exemplary generalist species with the capacity to adapt to rapidly changing environments, evidence gathered from a variety of disciplines suggests that some management efforts over the last centuries have resulted in the deterioration of the mallard's prolific nature, and that the apparent success in terms of current population size and wide distribution could mask a genetic collapse. Highlighting warning signs from the mallard system, in this Perspectives paper we discuss how active management of habitats and populations runs the risk of compromising species' wildness, and we suggest precautionary and counter-measures in the context of species management and conservation.

EFFECTIVENESS OF 7S GLOBULIN AGAINST BOTRYTIS CINEREA CAUSING GRAY MOLD IN STRAWBERRY

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is the most harmful postharvest disease responsible for the degradation of strawberries. The presented study targeted the preparation of 7S globulin from pea seeds to serve as an antifungal agent against B. cinerea in vitro and on the post-harvest strawberry to extend the fruits’ shelf life. The 7S globulin isolation from pea seeds and characterization employed various methods, such as SDS-PAGE, FTIR, and pH solubility curve. The molecular technique also helped confirm the identity of the causative microorganism of the gray mold disease in strawberries. Utilizing rRNA gene sequencing identified a fungal pathogen that causes gray mold as B. cinerea. The 7S globulin showed three protein bands corresponding to α/ (83 KDa), α (68 KDa), and β (60 KDa) subunits. The isoelectric point was notable at pH 5.8. The essential and non-essential amino acids occurred around 24.92% and 54.04%, respectively. The 7S globulin inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea in a concentration-dependent manner. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) of B. cinerea subjected to 7S globulin showed swelling of both the fungal hyphae and conidia, significantly affected by the pea 7S-globulin treatment, entirely destabilizing and deforming their shape at 0.4 g/L. The 7S-globulin exposure maintained the fruit quality and stopped the strawberry’s natural deterioration. Results further authenticated that 7S globulin (isolated from pea seeds) revealed effective antifungal action against B. cinerea mycelial development via a membrane-targeted mechanism. The 7S globulin affects hyphal morphology, compromises plasma membrane integrity, and prevents post-harvest gray mold on strawberry fruits.

Features of architectural landscape fragmentation in traditional villages in Western Hunan, China

With rapid industrialization and urbanization in China, inadequate preservation of traditional architecture coupled with natural deterioration have led to the fragmentation of architectural landscapes. Drawing from ecological fragmentation research in landscape ecology, we consider the cultural landscape as our research object, viewing buildings as landscape patches, and determine a system for measuring architectural landscape fragmentation in traditional villages. The study shows the degree of landscape fragmentation can reveal the characteristics of traditional villages and the process of regional modernization. The results are as follows: (1) From the perspective of landscape diversity, the study area was rich in landscape types in all dimensions, and the relative evenness index was high, signifying evident or severe fragmentation. (2) The index of landscape heterogeneity in the dimensions of building quality, height, and landscape appearance is low in the study area, with mild levels of landscape fragmentation caused by heterogeneity in the aforementioned dimensions. (3) Mild fragmentation suggests the integrity and homogeneity of architectural landscape types, reflecting a lagging level of economic development, whereas high fragmentation signifies rapid economic development, leading to a substantial deterioration in the integrity and homogeneity of architectural landscape types. Therefore, efforts to preserve and develop traditional villages should not solely aim for low fragmentation as it could potentially constrain sustainable development.

Applying Atua Māori Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Design and Construction of a Pātaka Mātauranga Story-house

The research seeks to understand the impacts of colonisation on wahine whakairo through mana wahine theory. “Orooro te toki na Hine-tua-hoanga” It is through the lens of a toki (adze), originally shaped and sharpened by atua wahine Hine-Tua-Haonga that we may reclaim, reimagine, and reshape our past, present, and future. The research inquiry adopts a pūrākau methodology that functions simultaneously with practice-led research and kaupapa Māori theory. The key research findings are carved and painted components that are part of a wider collective and hononga (connect) to construct a pātaka mātauranga story-house for communities to gather and wānanga. The design and construction of a contemporary carved story-house, that encompasses and connects mātauranga Māori past, present, and future, aims to provide an archive of indigenous knowledge that is relevant to our time and space. Contemporary lived experiences and information is embodied on the inside and outside of the structure through the application of customary and contemporary methods and materials. Because the creative process involves using repurposed or rescued ancient native timber, I realised there was a need to innovate a rongoā to support the wood for construction and to withstand natural deterioration. During the research, a rongoā embodied with ethical Māori values was created to function as a satin finish for carved taonga and to help restore repurposed or damaged rākau within Māori architecture and whakairo. This unique rongoā is a sustainable and natural remedy that can be applied within the marae restoration and creative industries. Contemporary whakairo practitioners could seal, heal, and restore the rākau used for building construction or carving. The ingredients within this rongoā are derived from the atua, making it a supreme sealant, and protectant that reduces decay. The rongoā rākau will be presented through a creative exhibition that showcases a small component of the pātaka mātauranga story-house.

Comparative analysis of decarbonising economy in Siberia and Scandinavia megaregions: Price, value and values of energy

The climate change and deterioration of nature appear to be global problems, and the efficiency of solving them depends on the level of decarbonizing countries’ and regions’ economies. Siberia and Scandinavia are relevant megaregions with similar natural, climate, economic and energy characteristics, though demonstrat­ing, in many cases, different patterns of decarbonizing. The accomplished compara­tive analysis has confirmed that the differences have been conditioned by different approaches to the process of decarbonization. Low-carbon vector of Siberia suggests counterbalance of total GHG, owing to CO2 reduction and its removal with purpose to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2060. In Scandinavia reaching net-zero emission by 2050 suggests the compensation of only residual emission of GHG and only thanks to reliable removal and sequestration technologies. Differences depend on prices and values that refer to the energy sector as a prime emitter in both megaregions. In Siberia the focus is on the evolutionary, gradual energy transition from coal to natural gas, considering that fossil fuels are cheap, available, subsidized by state, and supported by the modernization activities of energy companies, which are led by principals of security, stability and profitability. Scandinavia megaregion seems to prefer the approach to electrifying economy with renewables. Such choice has been determined not only by the price-fall of renewables, but also by the growth of their value on behalf of long-term, innovative activities of energy companies, active role of the states with the purpose of reaching the common good.

Expected Changes in Rainfall-Induced Landslide Activity in an Italian Archaeological Area

Cultural heritage is one of the most exceptional resources characterizing the Italian territory. Archaeological heritage, i.e., the archaeological sites with different types of archaeological artifacts, strongly contributes to enriching the national and international cultural heritage. Nevertheless, it is constantly exposed to external factors, such as natural deterioration, anthropic impact, and climate-related hazards, which may compromise its conservation. In Italy, many archaeological areas are affected by significant soil settlements that involve a large part of monuments. This paper focuses on the landslide hazard assessment of the archaeological site of Pietrabbondante (Molise region, Italy). The impact of the expected rainfall regimes, according to the EURO-CORDEX projections, on slope stability conditions were evaluated through the application of a physically based model that couples a hydraulic and a mechanical model to evaluate slope stability evolution due to pore pressure changes. Given the unavoidable lack of knowledge of the geotechnical soil properties in an archaeological heritage area, the proposed method considered the random uncertainty of soil parameters by means of a probabilistic approach in order to assess the stability conditions in terms of probability of occurrence of a landslide. The results of this study provide a reference for the safety assessment and preventive conservation of archaeological areas characterized by high cultural value.

New Findings in the Ethnobotany of Uzbekistan

This research provides information about the significance and use of some wild flora plants such as Atraphaxis pyrifolia Bunge and Megacarpaea gigantea Regel in folk medicine by the local population of some districts of Samarkand and Navoi regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The above-listed species are little known to official medicine, but local traditional healers have been using them for many years and have a proven record of applying these plants in the treatment of various human diseases. For example, infusion of leaves of Atraphaxis pyrifolia is used by local people for cardiovascular diseases, insomnia, and as a sedative, seeds of Megacarpaea gigantea for treatment of kidney and cholelithiasis, as well as inflammation of the kidneys. However, the plant raw materials are collected from natural places of distribution which may cause a process of the natural deterioration of their supply in future and the sale of dried parts is carried out by traders in the markets or local traditional healers. Thus, this study implies how crucial it is to develop a prospect for the use of medicinal plants in Uzbekistan, and its significance in terms of improving the economy of the region, improving the quality of life of the population and improving the health of the nation.

Defining The Pattern of the Thai Osteoarthritis Movement Data Model

This study proposed an algorithm to identify the patterns of Thai osteoarthritis, a condition that has seen an increase in prevalence in recent years, significantly affecting patients' quality of life and mobility. We aimed to define the data patterns for analysis. For data collection, we employed a Razor-IMU sensor and a WIFI transmitter, allowing testers to independently perform full-range knee motions. Data collection was categorized into two groups: healthy and unhealthy. Our goal was to categorize the data and establish criteria for pattern classification. Once the patterns and criteria were established, our objective was to validate movement models for both normal individuals and osteoarthritis patients. To achieve this, we conducted statistical hypothesis testing to verify the accuracy of the data. This testing comprised three main steps: first, evaluating the accuracy of data collection and data cleaning. Second, assessing the precision of converting data from linear to angular format, including degree coordinates selection. The last, Evaluating the accuracy of data sorting and grouping using Louvain clustering. The researcher thoroughly scrutinized each step to confirm the results. Each step demonstrated an accuracy test As Thailand transitions into an aging society, the prevalence of osteoarthritis is increasing due to the natural deterioration of the body. This deterioration can be decelerated by avoiding risky behaviors. Osteoarthritis significantly impacts patients' physical and mental well-being, making it a critical health concern. The objective of this research is to develop movement prototypes for both normal individuals and osteoarthritis patients by leveraging computer knowledge. This includes data collection with motion sensor devices, enhancing data quality using data mining techniques such as data cleaning and data transformation into suitable formats, and grouping of data. Additionally, the study seeks to validate the accuracy of the algorithm using statistical hypothesis testing methods and graph pattern detection. Based on the experimental results, an accuracy rate of 97% was achieved, demonstrating a high level of reliability. This prototype can be applied in treatment analysis, monitoring treatment outcomes, and even injury prevention. Furthermore, the dataset can serve as a model for the Thai population and can be expanded to accommodate larger datasets.

Real-Time Change Detection for Automated Test Socket Inspection Using Advanced Computer Vision and Machine Learning

We present our automated real-time socket inspection system capable of detecting an assortment of defects including metallic and liquid staining, loose capacitors and pins, and other debris and foreign material (FM). Our test tools pick and place manufactured units into sockets for electrical testing. Any debris accumulated inside the test sockets will likely damage subsequent units until the defective socket is replaced. To quickly capture in-situ defects and mitigate further damage, we equipped each pick-and-place arm with a new vision system designed to fit within the existing tool. The tight footprint constraints required a highly compact imaging system which resulted in a variety of image artifacts, creating several unique challenges. Our inspection algorithm utilizes a variety of advanced computer vision and machine learning techniques to normalize images, extract and match features, register the images, suppress unwanted artifacts, and detect defects. The detected changes are then sent to a deep learning classifier to further filter between true defects and natural socket deterioration. The flagged socket images can be manually dispositioned by the user and the socket can be sent for repair or cleaning as needed.

Effects of Land Transfer on Agricultural Carbon Productivity and Its Regional Differentiation in China

Facing the realistic threat of natural environment deterioration and frequent extreme weather, improving agricultural carbon productivity has become an objective requirement for achieving the goal of double carbon and for promoting the high-quality development of agriculture. As an important path toward improving land-use efficiency and promoting agricultural technological progress, land transfer has a potential positive effect on improving agricultural output and inhibiting agricultural carbon emissions. Based on the current situation of land transfer and the characteristics of agricultural carbon productivity in China, this study used the panel data of 30 provinces, from 2006 to 2019, in China to empirically test the relationship between land transfer and agricultural carbon productivity via the spatial Durbin model. The results show that (1) land transfer has a positive effect on agricultural carbon productivity; (2) agricultural carbon productivity has a spatial correlation, and the impact of land transfer on agricultural carbon productivity has a spillover effect; and (3) there are regional differences in the impact of land transfer on agriculture carbon productivity. Based on the results of the study, this paper puts forward policy recommendations from three aspects through which to optimize land transfer and enhance agricultural carbon productivity.

Energy innovations, natural resource abundance, urbanization, and environmental sustainability in the post-covid era. Does environmental regulation matter?

Natural resource extraction and environmental deterioration remains a big challenge to sustainable growth. Although, extensive research has been conducted on the factors that either improve or worsen the situation of environmental sustainability. However, one critical aspect that has received very little attention is energy innovation. This study aims to examine the role of energy innovation along with natural resource abundance and urbanization towards environmental sustainability in BRICS countries. Panel data of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and India) countries from 1990 to 2020 was used and applied FGLS, SUR, and quantile regression models. The results from quantile regression show, EPT, EPS, and RENC negatively impacted CO2 emissions and improved environmental sustainability. All other variables (NENC, PD, GDP, and NRR) cause environmental degradation, as suggested by FGLS and SUR models. In all quantiles of quantile regression, the NRR bears the correct sign predicted by economic theory. All goodness-of-fit statistics confirmed the best fit of the FGLS, SUR, and quantile regression models. Therefore, the conclusions drawn are unbiased and consistent with the economic theory and can be used for policy formulation in the post-Covid era.

Evaluating the biosusceptibility of natural stone as an supporting tool to prevent Cultural Heritage biodeterioration

Biodeterioration of construction materials is still a major challenge that conservator-restorers face, especially in historic monuments with high cultural value. Natural stone is highly susceptible to deterioration through physical, chemical, and biological ways, whereas biological proliferation may potentiate both chemical and physical deterioration. The composition of the colonizers and their proliferation are highly dependent on climatic parameters like temperature and humidity, which are distinct from place to place. The present work proposes the execution of an innovative methodology that enables the determination of the susceptibility of natural stone to biocolonization, a parameter denominated as biosusceptibility. The study aims to contribute to the creation of models by predicting their deterioration even before the objects’ manufacture, promoting the sustainability of one of the most valuable natural resources. The methodology proposed here was performed on limestones, marbles and slates—exploited in the Portuguese territory—by using colonizing strains typically found on stones exposed to the Mediterranean climate. The results have demonstrated that the stones with higher porosity are less susceptible to epilithic colonization and, consequently, with a moderate alteration of their aesthetic appearance. However, the metabolic activity determined in these stones is higher, which indicates that biocolonization will cause more severe damage to their structure in the future. The first significant changes on the stones’ matrix were assessed one year after the inoculation, using cutting-edge technology of 3D surface micro-reconstruction. Due to its relevance in natural stone deterioration processes, the inclusion of the biosusceptibility information in technical brochures is strongly encouraged.Graphical

Succession of Fungal Community during Outdoor Deterioration of Round Bamboo

Bamboo’s mechanical and aesthetic properties are significantly influenced by fungi. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate the structure and dynamics of fungal communities in bamboo during its natural deterioration. In this study, fungal community succession and characteristic variations of round bamboo in roofed and unroofed environments over a period of 13 weeks of deterioration were deciphered using high-throughput sequencing and multiple characterization methods. A total of 459 fungal Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) from eight phyla were identified. The fungal community’s richness of roofed bamboo samples showed an increasing trend, whereas that of unroofed bamboo samples presented a declining trend during deterioration. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant phyla throughout the deterioration process in two different environments: Basidiomycota was found to be an early colonizer of unroofed bamboo samples. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) analysis suggested that the deterioration time had a greater impact on fungal community variation compared to the exposure conditions. Redundancy analysis (RDA) further revealed that temperature was a major environmental factor that contributed to the variation in fungal communities. Additionally, the bamboo epidermis presented a descending total amount of cell wall components in both roofed and unroofed conditions. The correlation analysis between the fungal community and relative abundance of three major cell wall components elucidated that Cladosporium was negatively correlated with hemicellulose in roofed samples, whereas they presented a positive correlation with hemicellulose and a negative correlation with lignin in unroofed samples. Furthermore, the contact angle decreased during the deterioration process in the roofed as well as unroofed samples, which could arise from the degradation of lignin. Our findings provide novel insights into the fungal community succession on round bamboo during its natural deterioration and give useful information for round bamboo protection.

A Study on the Applicability of Cathodic Protection for the Outdoor Sculptures Corrosion

In this study, we proposed the sacrificial anode cathodic protection method as a countermeasure to reduce the corrosion of the steel sculptures under outdoor conditions and proved the anticorrosive effect experimentally. To affix the Mg sacrificial anode and the steel plate specimen, an adhesive bonding strength test was conducted with three types of conductive adhesives. Hence, the suitability of the conductive epoxy adhesive was confirmed, and a C-clamp experiment was conducted to supplement the connection. In addition, by applying a sacrificial anode suitable for the soil where the artwork is installed, the field applicability was reviewed through an artificial determination of resistance to cyclic corrosion conditions test(salt fog/dry/humid) to prove the suitability of the cathodic protection method by sacrificial anode. Hence, corrosion monitoring is in progress by test-laying steel plate specimens in an outdoor sculpture park to identify natural deterioration. In the future, based on the results of the outdoor exposure test, we plan to determine the proper method of bonding the sacrificial anode and the steel sculpture, and the replacement period of the sacrificial anode.

Lipoprotein lipase activation is a novel vascular anti-contractile mechanism that is lost in aging

Increasing incidence of cardiovascular events with age can be attributed to the natural deterioration in organ function, and manifests through a range of vascular phenotypes that include, endothelial dysfunction, hypercontractility, stiffening and remodeling, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Given the aging global population, the identification and translation of novel mechanisms and therapeutics will be essential to increase longevity and prevent premature death and disability. Physiologically, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is known to impact vasculature by exerting an anti-contractile effect mediated by the biosynthesis and liberation of a myriad of anti-contractile molecules (e.g., adipokines). However, this anti-contractile function declines with age and in related diseases. Therefore, our study aimed to restore the anti-contractile effect of PVAT in arteries from aged animals. Specifically, we predicted that increasing lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity would reinstate the anti-contractile effect of PVAT on aged arteries. To assess this hypothesis, mesenteric resistance arteries (MRA), with (+) and without (-) PVAT, were isolated from male Fisher 344 rats aged 3 (3M) or 16 months (16M) and mounted on a wire myograph. Phenylephrine (PE) concentration-response curves were measured in the presence or absence of LPL activator, NO-1886 (Ibrolipim, 10uM). As expected, PVAT exerted significant anti-contractile effect in MRA, regardless of age [PE 100uM (%), 3M (-PVAT): 112.4±13.3 vs. 3M (+PVAT): 27.6±28.5 {Figure 1.a.} and 16M (-PVAT): 115.4±23.1 vs. 16M (+PVAT): 35.0±34.1 {Figure 1.b.}]. Contrary to our hypothesis, NO-1886 had no effect on the anti-contractile effect of PVAT in 3M or 16M rats [PE 100uM (%), 3M (+PVAT +vehicle): 30.0±34.3 vs. 3M (+PVAT +NO-1886): 47.9±29.8 {Figure 1.c.} and 16M (+PVAT +vehicle): 48.6±42.3 vs. 16M (+PVAT +NO-1886): 60.0±36.9 {Figure 1.d.}]. Surprisingly, we observed an effect of NO-1886 in MRA in the absence of PVAT. Specifically, NO-1886 significantly decreased phenylephrine-induced contraction in 3M rats, but not 16M rats [PE 100uM (%), 3M (-PVAT +vehicle): 112.4±13.3 vs. 3M (-PVAT +NO-1886): 37.8±22.2 {Figure 1.e.} and 16M (-PVAT +vehicle): 115.4±23.1 vs. 16M (-PVAT +NO-1886): 103.1±23.1 {Figure 1.f.}]. Overall, this suggests that LPL has an important physiological role in controlling vascular contraction and this novel anti-contractile mechanism of LPL diminishes with biological age. Funding: NHLBI (R00HL151889), NIGMS (1P20GM103641 - Pilot Project), NIA (K01AG061263), UofSC SOM (Startup funds) This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

An application of a smart production system to control deteriorated inventory

Deteriorating products require different handling procedures. Handling procedure includes prevention of the natural deterioration rate of the product. The production of deteriorating products requires prevention technology for those products to use for a long time. Overproduction of deteriorating types of products causes more trouble in preventing deterioration. This study uses a smart production system to control the production of deteriorating products. A controllable production rate controls the production of deteriorating products, and preservation technology reduces the deterioration rate of products. Preservation technology helps extend the life of products, but it requires a specific temperature-controlled environment to work at maximum efficiency. Transportation of these products uses refrigerated transportation to maintain the quality during the transportation time. The purpose of using all these features for deteriorating products is to reduce the deterioration rate, which helps to reduce waste generation from production. Besides, imperfect products from the production system pass through a remanufacturing process to support the waste reduction process. A sustainable supply chain management model under the above-stated strategies is described here. A classical optimization is used to find global optimum solution of the objective function. Then, the total cost of the supply chain is optimized using unique solutions of production rate, number of deliveries, delivery lot size, system reliability, and preservation investment. Global optimum solutions are established theoretically, and few propositions are developed. Some special cases, case studies, and a comparison graph are provided to validate the results. The beta distribution provides the minimum total cost of the system than uniform, gamma, triangular, and double triangular distribution. Smart production allows 72% system reliability with a negligible amount of imperfect products. Besides, the proposed policy gain 22.72% more profit than exiting literature. The model is more realistic through convex 3D graphs, sensitivity analyses, and managerial insights.

Towards Long-Term Retrieval-Based Visual Localization in Indoor Environments With Changes

Visual localization is a challenging task due to the presence of illumination changes, occlusion, and perception from novel viewpoints. Re-localizing the camera pose in long-term setups raises difficulties caused by changes in scene appearance and geometry introduced by human or natural deterioration. Many existing methods use static scene assumptions and fail in dynamic indoor scenes. Only a few works handle scene changes by introducing outlier awareness with pure learning methods. Other recent approaches use semantics to robustify camera localization in changing setups. However, to the best of our knowledge, no method has yet used scene graphs in feature-based approaches to introduce change awareness. In this work, we propose a novel feature-based camera re-localization method that leverages scene graphs within retrieval and feature detection and matching. Semantic scene graphs are used to estimate scene changes by matching instances and relationship triplets. The knowledge of scene changes is then used for our change-aware image retrieval and feature correspondence verification. We show the potential of integrating higher-level knowledge about the scene within a retrieval-based localization pipeline. Our method is evaluated on the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RIO10</i> benchmark with comprehensive evaluations on different levels of scene changes.

Pro-Environmental Behavior and Household Waste Sorting in Kazakhstan: an Empirical Analysis

Climate change, deterioration of nature, pollution - all these have led to the fact that ecological behaviour has become a necessity for the conservation of nature and its resources. Pro-environmental behaviour is one of the most important factors for sustainable development. Thus, from year to year, pro-environmental behaviour becomes an important subject of discussion for many scientists and government bodies. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of pro-environmental behaviour among the population in household waste sorting and to identify the state of development of infrastructure for the disposal of household waste in the settlements of Kazakhstan. The methodology includes an Internet survey, which was conducted among the population of Kazakhstan aged 18 years and older. The survey involved 2264 respondents. Research results show that 3 out of 5 hypotheses that we assumed turned out to be positive. Thus, statistical analyses showed the following results: Pro-environmental behaviour and waste management mostly depend on - 1) the gender of the respondents, 2) the level of education of the respondents, and 3) the type of settlements of the respondents. Also, the sorting of household waste has a negative connection with the age and marital status of the respondents. Based on these results, it can be assumed that pro-environmental behaviour can be affected by gender, level of education, and the type of settlement. Policymakers should pay attention and give support at all levels like infrastructure, education, etc.

Tourism Brand and Strategy for Sustainable Tourism Development of Bongabon, Nueva Ecija

This study identified problems encountered in tourism sustainability in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. This covered the areas of economic, environmental and tourism managements aspects. Business’ years of operation and services offered in tourist spots were also identified in this study. This research study used a descriptive research design, and a structured interview is used as data collection tool. Participants of the study were 5 selected owners or member of association in different tourist spots in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. Based on the research study, tourism management aspect has the highest percentage of problems encountered, this includes the factors of crowd management and LGU and owner’s participation; environmental aspect has the second highest percentage of problems encountered, this area includes nature deterioration and preservation, pollution, and construction of tourism facilities and infrastructure development; and economic aspect has the least percentage of problems encountered which includes the factors of livelihood, income and employment. Environmental Aspect is an element of an organization's activities, products or services that can interact with the environment. There are two types of environmental aspects: (i) Direct Environmental Aspect Activities over which a company can be expected to have an influence and control. For example, emissions from processes. (ii) Indirect Environmental Aspect Actual or Potential activities over which the organization can be expected to have an influence, but no control. The economic aspect refers to the importance of social responsibility, broad consideration of society and businesses, contribution to public interest, and corporate voluntary participation.

Environmental Security Policies of the Russian Federation

Since the earliest times of history, humanity has been known to be fighting an existential war against nature. Although man’s struggle against his natural environment has not caused severe damage to nature for centuries, human-induced natural environmental degradation has begun to be seen with modernization, the effect of which was experienced to a great extent in the 20th century. With both population growth and technological developments, humanity has achieved significant gains in its struggle for survival against nature, but these gains have turned against humanity itself with the irreversible deterioration of nature. This degradation, which started with environmental pollution in the past and resulted in climate changes today, has been taken care of by modern states, which have significant power in the governance of people. These modern states, which previously had a security perspective through their relations, have started to take steps as environmental problems harm their legitimacy and citizens. States had to come together to solve this common problem no matter how different they were in government type and ideology. Since the day it left the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation has not refrained from taking national steps toward the global environmental security regime. Although like many states, the fight against environmental problems has made mistakes and shortcomings, it has cooperated internationally for various reasons. The most important reason is that the Russian Federation is at the top of the list of states polluting nature. But apart from this, environmental security has been the area of interest of the Kremlin administration due to its geopolitical and geostrategic interests in the international system. Therefore, it has set targets on environmental security in documents such as foreign policy and security concepts adopted since the early 1990s. This study aims to examine the national and international environmental policies of the Russian Federation on global climate change. For this reason, firstly, a brief introduction to the subject of environmental security will be made, and the documents containing the political and security perspective of the Russian Federation will be discussed in the next section. In the last part, it will try to summarize what kind of international contribution and cooperation the Russian Federation has made in solving environmental problems.