Environmental Management Policies Research Articles

The Importance of Being Political: Emergence of a Multi-stakeholder Forum at the Lake Malili Complex, South Sulawesi

Multi-stakeholder forums are considered an essential element of landscape approaches for sustainable development and integrated ecosystem management. Such forums are widely adopted in environmental management policies and introduced as precursors for novel institutional arrangements for collective action in complex landscapes. However, while they are often held up as a mechanism for greater inclusion and representation, they can also further marginalize less powerful stakeholders. In this respect, the importance of politics in shaping the success of a multi-stakeholder forum is often overlooked. This article examines different multi-stakeholder mechanisms for governing the Lake Malili Complex in Sulawesi, Indonesia —a landscape characterized by competing land use interests and the presence of threatened endemic species. The case highlights a successful bottom-up multi-stakeholder approach that became a model for collaboration, and which was subsequently scaled up to cover the broader Lake Malili Complex area.. The research is based on longstanding participation in the politics of decision-making processes at the Lake Malili Complex, complemented by in-depth examination of the establishment of the multi-stakeholder forum. The findings show that strong, locally-based initiatives provide an avenue for generating greater participation in achieving mutual goals for conserving the Lake Malili Complex. However, participation in the multi-stakeholder platform is not enough to push for decision making at the district level, where more powerful management decisions take place. We therefore note that outcomes of community-based resource management are limited when they are not backed by more political approaches to influence decision making

Integrating the three-line environmental governance and environmental sustainability evaluation of urban industry in China

Rapid industrial growth has significantly contributed to the prosperity of Chinese cities over the past decades. Current studies on environmental sustainability (ES) focused on industrial systems, which are the main source of pollution emission, water use, and energy consumption in cities. In light of the weakness of conventional methods in correlating relevant environmental management with ES evaluation, a methodology was developed primarily to improve the evaluation indicators and procedure by integrating the latest three-line environmental governance (TLEG) policy and the ES evaluation of urban industry in China. Specifically, a four-dimensional indicator system was built in a hierarchical structure based on the requirements of TLEG on aspects of ecology, environment, and resource; further, a problem-solving procedure was developed to continuously determine the progress of the industrial ES of the Nansha industrial base (NSIB) in Guangzhou, China. An ad hoc retrospective evaluation was developed to investigate the variations of ES performance of the NSIB from 2005 to 2017 and further to identify a set of restraining indicators exhibiting negative effects on ES. Five alternatives of the industrial upgrading plan up to 2025 were assessed based on the accessibility of ES targets, and the best one was selected against the restraining indicators. The results indicated that the general trend of ES of NSIB was progressive from 2005 to 2017, 13 restraining indicators out of 33 were deemed as key, and Alternative IV was screened out as the best one. This study indicated that such integration with environmental management policies may set up a goal-oriented, problem-solving process for ES evaluation. Further, it may increase the potential to deliver more relevant information for decision-making on the greening industrial systems of cities.

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXIGENCY: AN OVERVIEW IN THE CONTEXT OF BANGLADESH AND INDIA

The major goal of the article is to examine the nature, speed, susceptibility, and an effect of the environmental catastrophe in a global perspective. The study will concentrate on several climate change agendas. With a focus on the Indo-Bangla Diaspora, it seeks to examine numerous environmental crises and challenges relating to global warming. The environmental catastrophe, which is now the most urgent issue on the planet, is also a threat to human life. There is currently scientific agreement that if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, humanity will suffer serious effects. Millions of people in underdeveloped countries are expected to experience water shortages, food grain shortages, and increased health and life hazards. Most of the world's cities may flood because of climate change. This could force hundreds of millions of people to leave their homes. They have already started to suffer; there will be deaths, and the environment will collapse. The environmental catastrophe of today is more artificial than natural. Experts propose a worldwide political accord to address the growing issue. Through the worldwide platform of the climate change agenda and discussions throughout time, this article has acquired a thorough grasp of the problem and its potential solutions. The world urgently needs an effective environmental and climatic management policy, as human sensitivity to climatic calamity is growing every single day.

Linking farmers' management decision, demographic characteristics and perceptions of ecosystem services in the Southern Pampa of Argentina

In the Pampean region of Argentina, uncultivated areas with spontaneous vegetation, such as the sierras (low hills), are important sites for nature conservation. In the last decades, the “agriculturization” process has generated different pressures on these areas and their fate depends on farmers' decision making. In order to understand the context of these decisions, it is important to know the farmers' demographic characteristics and perceptions of ecosystem services (ES). The aim of this study was to explore the link between farmers' management decisions and their demographic characteristics and perceptions of ES in one of the most intensively cropped areas in Argentina. Data were obtained from 40 semi-structured interviews with farmers from the Tandilia system in the Pampean region. A typology of farms was generated according to their management practices and then characterized by the farmers' demographic characteristics and perceptions of ES. The results show a typology of four groups of farms defined by the combination of eight management variables. The demographic characteristics of the farmers that have a strong perception of ES derived from the sierras were related to an emotionally and/or physically close connection with the farm (their parents were farmers, they were raised on the farm, they have worked there for many years, the farm is their place of residence, and it is a family farm). However, neither the farmers' demographic characteristics nor their perceptions of ES were related to their management decisions. This is explained by the fact that the agricultural model that characterizes the region generates different pressures on farmers and leaves them with little choice in the matter of productive management decisions. The information derived from this work could contribute to the design of guidance criteria for sound environmental management strategies and policy instruments for the conservation of biodiversity and the provision of ES in a context with particular ecological, social, and economic characteristics.

PENERAPAN KEBIJAKAN PENGELOLAAN LINGKUNGAN MENUJU UDARA BERSIH DI KERAJINAN PERAK DESA CELUK PROVINSI BALI

The village of Celuk belongs to Sukawati sub-district, Gianyar regency of Bali province. Celuk Bali Village is famous for the results of gold and silver craftsmen, the home-made crafts do have the quality and taste of high-value art. Silvery handicraft activity one of them is the activity of plating (elektoplating). Electroplating process in addition to producing useful products, also produce solid waste, gas and liquid emissions. Waste in the form of gas emissions generally comes from the evaporation of electrolyte, solvent, acid vapor, and cleaning fluids. The purpose of this paper is how the implementation of environmental management policy of air pollution control towards clean air to silver artisans in Celuk Village. By using methods of data collection with instruments and interviews. From the results of questionnaires and interviews, 0% results obtained for indicators of the implementation of environmental management policies of air pollution control and only 25% for the indicator of clean air

High-resolution emission inventory of gaseous and particulate pollutants in Shandong Province, eastern China

To characterize the anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, VOCs, NOx, SO2, and CO) in Shandong Province, eastern China, the high-resolution emission inventories were developed using the “bottom-up” methodology. The emission sources were categorized to biomass burning, dust, fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, solvent utilization, waste disposal, and on-road vehicles, with five-level classification and 399 subclasses. Emission factors were collected from China’s guidelines on the emissions of atmospheric pollutants and literatures with local measurements. Particularly, those for on-road vehicles were calculated by COPERT v5. The county-level activity data were obtained from the governmental statistics. Results showed that the estimated anthropogenic emissions of PM2.5, PM10, VOCs, NOx, SO2, and CO in Shandong Province in 2016 were 5136.8, 5685.4, 3257.1, 1430.6, 240.6, and 19618.8 kt, respectively. The main emission source of PM2.5 and PM10 were dust and it was industrial processes for VOCs and CO. On-road vehicles and fossil fuel combustion contributed the most to NOx and SO2 emissions, respectively. The composition of emissions by sources for each pollutant differed among cities. Emissions in Shandong displayed remarkable spatial variations, with the highest in the central, southern, and coastal areas. This study could be expected to supply sufficient information and basic data for formulating effective environmental management policies and further improving the air quality in Shandong Province and even in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Lawns in Cities: From a Globalised Urban Green Space Phenomenon to Sustainable Nature-Based Solutions

This opinion paper discusses urban lawns, the most common part of open green spaces and urban green infrastructures. It highlights both the ecosystem services and also disservices provided by urban lawns based on the authors’ experience of working within interdisciplinary research projects on lawns in different cities of Europe (Germany, Sweden and Russia), New Zealand (Christchurch), USA (Syracuse, NY) and Australia (Perth). It complements this experience with a detailed literature review based on the most recent studies of different biophysical, social, planning and design aspects of lawns. We also used an international workshop as an important part of the research methodology. We argue that although lawns of Europe and the United States of America are now relatively well studied, other parts of the world still underestimate the importance of researching lawns as a complex ecological and social phenomenon. One of the core objectives of this paper is to share a paradigm of nature-based solutions in the context of lawns, which can be an important step towards finding resilient sustainable alternatives for urban green spaces in the time of growing urbanisation, increased urban land use competition, various user demands and related societal challenges of the urban environment. We hypothesise that these solutions may be found in urban ecosystems and various local native plant communities that are rich in species and able to withstand harsh conditions such as heavy trampling and droughts. To support the theoretical hypothesis of the relevance of nature-based solutions for lawns we also suggest and discuss the concept of two natures—different approaches to the vision of urban nature, including the understanding and appreciation of lawns. This will help to increase the awareness of existing local ecological approaches as well as an importance of introducing innovative landscape architecture practices. This article suggests that there is a potential for future transdisciplinary international research that might aid our understanding of lawns in different climatic and socio-cultural conditions as well as develop locally adapted (to environmental conditions, social needs and management policies) and accepted nature-based solutions.

Concentrations, Possible Sources and Health Risk of Heavy Metals in Multi-Media Environment of the Songhua River, China

Heavy metal pollution in the river environment has been a source of widespread interest due to potential threats to human health and ecosystem security. Many studies have looked at heavy metal pollution in the context of single source-pathway-receptor relationships, however few have sought to understand pollution from a more wholistic multi-media perspective. To investigate potential risks in a more wholistic way, concentrations of six heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb) were detected in multi-media (water, sediment and riparian soil) collected from 14 sampling sites in the main stream of the Songhua River. Chemical analyses indicated that the average concentration of heavy metals in water followed: Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd, with a different trend observed in sediments and riparian soil: Zn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cu > Cd. The potential risk was evaluated using the heavy metal pollution index (HPI), Nemerow pollution index (PN), hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) metrics. Results showed that all HPI values were lower than the critical level of 100 indicating that the levels of these targeted heavy metals were within drinking water safety limits. The PN indicated that both sediment (2.64) and soil (2.95) could be considered “moderately polluted”, with Cd and Zn providing the most significant contributions. A human health risk assessment suggested that the non-carcinogenic risks were within acceptable levels (HI < 1), as was the cancer risk associated with dermal adsorption (CR <10−6). However, the CR associated with ingestion exposure (4.58 × 10−6) exceeded the cancer risk threshold (10−6) indicative of elevated cancer incidence in exposed populations. Health-risk estimates were primarily associated with Cd in the Songhua River. Source apportionment was informed by Pearson correlation analysis coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) which indicated that Cu was mainly derived from natural (geogenic) sources; Cr and Ni were associated with industrial emissions; Pb might be derived from agricultural and transportation sources; Zn might be from industrial, agricultural activities and transportation; while Cd is likely from industrial and agricultural emissions. The source apportionment information could provide the basis for a risk-management strategy focused on reducing Cd and Zn emissions to the riverine environment. Results from this study will provide the scientific knowledge that is needed for measuring and controlling heavy metals sources and pollution characteristics, and identifying the potential cancer risk with different exposure pathways, as well as making effective environmental management policies at catchment or regional scales.

Meninjau Ulang Sustainable Development: Kajian Filosofis Atas Dilema Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup di Era Post Modern

This study is an attempt to re-question the base arguments forsustainable developmentproposal with regardto environmental management. This attempt is important considering intensive deploymemt of cost and benefit calculations in every environmental management policy, which rooted in the utilitarian philosophical tradition. This research runs in the area of political philosophyandemploys methodical components includingdescription, interpretation, critical analysis, and verstehen. The current research suggests that the emergence of sustainable development as a concept of environment management goes along with modernity with all issues that it brings. The proposal of sustainable developments can be categorized into constructive postmodernismapproach. The main purpose of this proposal is to create a condition of balance between the needs of the present generation and the adequacy of the needs of the future generations. However, the concept appears to raise a new concern considering the meaning of “sustainability”has become contestation with strong tendency to economicconsideration which reduces the calculation of cost-benefits into cash-value calculations. This reductionis tendency leads to a dilemma considering the aspiration of shiftinganthropocentrism to ecocentrismunderlying behind concept of sustainable development will ironically produce a new forms of anthropocentrism.

Fog Harvesting and IoT based Environment Monitoring System at the Ilalo volcano in Ecuador

Environmental monitoring is critical to develop appropriate policies for environmental sustainability. The quality of drinking and agricultural water is affected by bad environmental management strategies. In addition, natural water sources have been reduced due to climate changes and the lack of police and compliance with regulations for water resources management. In the Andes region of Ecuador, these problems have increased in recent decades. The lack of water affects not only human well-being, but also causes soil degradation. Therefore, finding alternative water sources has become the underlying requirement to provide human well-being and mitigate soil degradation in these regions. This article presents a fog collection system based on water condensation towers and Internet of Things (IoT) technology with real-time monitoring. Our system allows monitoring of environmental parameters while providing alternative sources of water from the environmental fog. Therefore, by collecting information related to the process of fog collection and climatic measurements of the environment, we seek to determine the state and trends of environmental conditions with respect to the performance of fog collection. In addition, our system allows the storage of historical environmental data, which can be used to develop environmental management policies. We have deployed our system on the slopes of the Ilalo volcano, Pichincha province, being part of the Ecuadorian Andes, where the soil deterioration has increased in recent years and has the largest soil degradation rate in Ecuador

The Contradictions of Conservation: Fighting Erosion in Mao-Era China, 1953–66

Abstract Based on local archival documents and fieldwork conducted in Shaanxi Province’s Baishui County, this article examines how large-scale water and soil conservation campaigns launched in Northwest China’s Loess Plateau region during the Mao era (1949–76) affected agrarian environments and how rural communities experienced and responded to these transformations. By mobilizing rural communities to combat water and soil loss, China’s leaders expected conservation to limit sedimentation along the Yellow River’s lower reaches and increase agricultural yields to support their vigorous program of industrialization. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, local opposition to these efforts to alter human interactions with the land centered on contradictions between the long-term objectives of conservation campaigns and the priority that the rural populace placed on ensuring subsistence. With residents called on to attend to conservation work instead of other production activities, divergent imperatives translated into intense competition over how to use the land and allocate labor power. Even if conservation programs in Baishui, as in other parts of China, drew on lay knowledge and practice, these environmental management policies consistently privileged the state’s developmentalist agenda over the welfare of rural communities. In this manner, Mao-era water and soil conservation supported, and was inseparable from, an extractive political economy that intensified contradictions between the rural and urban, agriculture and industry. Rather than giving voice to vulnerable populations and equitably distributing costs and benefits, Mao-era water and soil conservation exacerbated the burdens placed on marginalized rural communities.

Is the environmental Kuznets Curve in Europe related to the per-capita ecological footprint or CO2 emissions?

Abstract The nexus between environment-economic development has been investigated for a long time. Many empirical studies have measured environmental degradation by CO2 emissions and ignored the possibility that the use of such metric as environmental degradation indicator may be invalid in some cases when it comes to resource stocks. This paper focuses on two indicators of environmental degradation including ecological footprint (EF) and CO2 emissions as target variables to provide new insights into the ongoing discussions of whether the environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is related to the indicators of environmental pressure used. Estimating a heterogeneous panel model with data on 14 European countries over the period 1990–2014, we provide evidence for the sensitivity of the EKC hypothesis to the type of environmental degradation proxy used. Furthermore, we provide new insights regarding the relevance of EF as an appropriate environmental tool that fits the EKC prediction in contrast to CO2 emissions. Regarding the explanatory variables, the results show that renewable energy is an environmentally friendly source while fossil fuels contribute to environmental degradation. The inclusion of renewable energy and fossil fuel does not alter the behavior of economic growth in all environmental degradation indicators. The empirical results demonstrate the need to implement environmental management policies that encourage the production/supply of renewable energy and to reduce reliance on fossil fuel consumption. This paper is expected to provide policy makers with a set of policy proposals to achieve sustainable environmental and economic development.

Environmental management in Uganda: A reflection on the role of NEMA and its effectiveness in implementing Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA)

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of NEMA and its effectiveness in implementing Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Greater Kampala metropolitan Area (GKMA). To achieve the above aim, the study adopted a qualitative document review method to collect data. The concept of the Actor Network Theory was used in identifying how and why NEMA through the process of translation relates with other actors both human and non-human and in what capacity (either in a centralized or decentralized manner) at the various stages of implementing EIA from the various electronic environment management policies reviewed. The socio techno gram tool was used to illustrate the relationship between NEMA and other actors both Human and non-human. In order to understand the aspects of representation of NEMA in the implementation and enforcement of a specific role at various stages of EIA implementation, a matrix framework was developed using the key policy implementation phases. The level of responsiveness from settlement occupants to EIA was used to evaluate the effectiveness of various roles of NEMA in implementing and enforcing EIA in GKMA. The results indicated that NEMA at various stages of EIA implementation and enforcement assumed the statuses of being both a centralized and decentralized institution at the same time. However the study findings also revealed that NEMA was less successful using the centralized approach as compared to the decentralized approach and this was largely attributed to internal weaknesses such as Inadequate skilled personnel, corruption, use of inappropriate implementation tactics among others.

Solid Waste Management Policies in Kenya: The Silence on the Plight of Women and Children

Building on available evidence that there are differences of exposure to solid waste among men, women and children, it follows that effective solid waste management (SWM) policies need to recognise such variations, as a prelude to rolling out programmes to address associated socio-economic and health risks. However, this logical scenario does not seem to be the case in many middle- and low-income countries. In this paper, we use analytical review methodology to examine integrated environmental management and sector specific policies in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya's two biggest cities, to highlight the extent to which existing policies cover the differential challenges of exposure to solid waste and associated health challenges for women and children. We found that apart from one municipal policy and the Kenya Vision 2030 documents respectively, which underscore the importance of including women and young people in waste management, 16 other policy documents reviewed are generally silent on women and children issues. Beyond the limited focus on women- and children-specific challenges, the general lag in policy implementation and enforcement of regulations will still hinder the emergence of an effective SWM system out of the best policy frameworks . The preceding discussion underscores both policy and implementation gaps, which need to be filled, if policies will potentially engender SWM practices that will be relevant and effective in protecting the health of the most vulnerable in urban Africa.

Effect of drought on smallholder education expenditures in rural Iran: Implications for policy

Drought is a major global environmental challenge. It affects the livelihoods of many people, mainly in developing countries. Iran is one of the most affected and vulnerable countries in the Middle East to drought. In this paper, we present a microlevel analysis by employing the Tobit multiplicative heteroscedasticity regression to examine the effects of drought on small farm household education expenditures in rural Iran. We collected primary data from a sample of 300 smallholders in Marvdasht County in Fars Province of Iran. The results revealed a negative relationship between the farm income and education expenditures. This means that the farm households in rural Iran that were affected by the drought increased their expenditures on education for their children. The analysis of income elasticity indicated that a one percent decrease in farm income led to a 0.86% increase in education expenditures, which indicated that the education expenditures were necessary. Furthermore, we observed that in drought-affected families, girls were more likely to be pulled out of university education than were boys; however, for school education, there were no significant differences between the boys and girls. Our findings revealed the need to provide improved facilities and further finances for education expenditures, especially for female university students, and to formulate environmental management policies that include the provision of education facilities by the government of Iran in drought-affected villages. Our findings also shed light on the presence of positive externalities and the important role of education in helping rural households better cope with the negative repercussions of drought on their livelihoods.

Current Status and Issues of Water Environment Management Policy

Current Status and Issues of Water Environment Management Policy

Use of an environmental diagnostic study on a coastal lagoon as a decision support tool for environmental management policies in a coastal zone

Purpose An efficient and adequate environmental monitoring plan is essential to any integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) program. The purpose of this paper is to apply an environmental diagnostic study to a coastal lagoon using anthropogenic markers as a decision support tool to aid the development of coastal environmental management policies. Design/methodology/approach Specifically, environmental status and anthropogenic sources were determined as part of a coastal environmental management plan; a study of human occupation and use was conducted to determine the predominant human activities around the lagoon; an environmental diagnostic study was conducted to determine the occurrence, levels and distribution of markers; and the results of the environmental diagnostic study were compared to indicators stipulated in Brazilian legislation. Findings Land use study revealed both urban and rural activities around the lagoon, as evidenced by the existence of residences, restaurants as well as poultry and livestock activities. The environmental diagnostic study revealed the input of human sewage (treated and raw) and runoff from animal husbandry activities. Practical implications The information produced using anthropogenic markers showed the influence of less studied rural activities, such as livestock and poultry farming, thereby providing a more reliable environmental status compared to the use of classic indicators employed in laws issued by international and Brazilian agencies. Originality/value The present results show that classic indicators used by environmental agencies are insufficient for an accurate diagnosis of coastal zones with multiple anthropogenic activities. Thus, the modernization of the environmental monitoring plan of the ICZM program is urgently needed for a more accurate assessment of coastal environments.

Green candidate selection for organizational environmental management

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a new typological environmentally sustainable human resources management evaluation framework to aid green candidate selection process for environmental management in developing economy local government agencies.Design/methodology/approachPresenting the narrative of developing economies local government context, this paper conducts an extensive review of relevant literature on green human resources management (GHRM) and green recruitment and selection.FindingsDrawing on Siyambalapitiya et al. (2018) and the resource-based theory (RBT), the paper proposes and discusses an evaluation framework for guiding organizations’ green candidate selection process. The framework comprises of seven stages which begins with “training recruiters on green candidate assessment” to “making selection decision and inducting selected candidate” on organization’s environmental management policies and practices, and its green values.Research limitations/implicationsApplication of the proposed framework has implications for enhancing organizations’ efficiency, reducing cost, eliminating environment waste, as well as fostering green culture among employees. This paper also extends the strand of RBT by explaining how organizations could assess and select job applicants with significant intangible capability such as environmental management skills, knowledge and values to foster its competitive urge and sustainability.Originality/valueThis paper makes two main contribution to the GHRM literature. First, the paper proposes a new typological environmentally sustainable human resources management evaluation framework. Secondly, the paper focuses the framework on developing economies and local government organizations context, something that is currently non-existent.

Pesticides and Fertilizers Use in Parts of Rivers Niger and Kaduna Catchments, North Central, Nigeria

Pesticides and fertilizers use in parts of Rivers Niger and Kaduna catchments, north central, Nigeria was investigated. Contamination of the rivers and their resources due to unsustainable use of pesticides and fertilizers by local farmers are a major problem in the study area. Also, data from the study of pesticides and fertilizer use remain scanty and therefore needed. The objective is to find the opportunity for all stakeholders to improve on the overall environmental performance. Extensive field survey was conducted using various participatory appraisals techniques involving key stakeholders in the area. Collated data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods (frequency percentage). The results of findings identify unsustainable use of fertilizers and pesticides by farmers in the study area. It further shows respondents in the study area applied high rate of fertilizers and pesticides during farming activities which obviously improved crop yield but in turn lead to water quality degradation. Virtually, majority of the farmers have little or no measures towards ensuring protection of water and biota from the potential danger of pesticides and fertilizers use in the study area. These attitudes discovered could lead to water quality degradation, biodiversity disruption and subsequent negative impact on economic development in the study area. In view of the above, it is recommended that visible and effective environmental management policies in respect of agrochemicals use in the study area be put in place to guarantee cleaner and healthier environment for all.

Air Pollution Forecasting Using Artificial and Wavelet Neural Networks with Meteorological Conditions

Air quality forecasting is a significant method of protecting public health because it provides early warning of harmful air pollutants. In this study, we used correlation analysis and artificial neural networks (ANNs; including wavelet ANNs [WANNs]) to identify the linear and nonlinear associations, respectively, between the air pollution index (API) and meteorological variables in Xi’an and Lanzhou. Evaluating twelve algorithms and nineteen network topologies for the ANN and WANN models, we discovered that the optimal input variables for an API forecasting model were the APIs from the 3 preceding days and sixteen selected meteorological factors. Additionally, the API could be accurately predicted based solely on the value recorded 3 days earlier. Based on the correlation coefficients between the air pollution index of the targeted day and the tested variables, the API displayed the closest relationship with the API 1 day earlier as well as stronger correlations with the average temperature, average water vapor pressure, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, API 2 days earlier, and API 3 days earlier. When Bayesian regularization was applied as a training algorithm, the WANN and ANN models accurately reproduced the APIs in both Xi’an and Lanzhou, although the WANN model (R = 0.8846 for Xi’an and R = 0.8906 for Lanzhou) performed better than the ANN (R = 0.8037 for Xi’an and R = 0.7742 for Lanzhou) during the forecasting stage. These results demonstrate that WANNs are effective in short-term API forecasting because they can recognize historic patterns and thereby identify nonlinear relationships between the input and output variables. Thus, our study may provide a theoretical basis for environmental management policies.