Sustainable Foundation Research Articles

Digitally interconnected tertiary old age mental healthcare services and primary healthcare services for seniors in remote areas in Greece: An exportable model?

AbstractBackgroundEven though communities in remote areas across the globe age, old age mental healthcare services are mainly tertiary‐ or secondary hospital‐ based and subsequently not easily accessible by seniors with mental disorders living in such communities.MethodsThe INTegRated InterveNtion of pSychogerIatric Care (INTRINSIC) network embodies a model of digitally interconnected tertiary old age mental healthcare services and primary healthcare services for seniors in remote areas in Greece. It is coordinated by the Division of Old age mental health of the 1st Department of Psychiatry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. INTRINSIC network is built around five pillars: The digital platform, bridging healthcare professionals, service users and communities; The old age mental health risk factor surveillance system, enabling the generation of a map of mental health problems of older adults living in each remote community and the initiation of the adequate treatment; the Modified Problem Adaptation Therapy (M‐PATH) intervention; Hearing and vision assessment and support of service users; and an advocacy body consisting of service users, their care partners and families and active members of the local communities. The initial, six‐month phase of INTRINSIC is funded by the Greek Ministry of Health.Results298 seniors living in remote areas of four different Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) regions have been enrolled in INTRINSIC. They are on average 71.8 years old and 30.5% of them are males. Approximately 18% and 26% of INSTRINSIC service users suffer from depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively; 62.3% complained about cognitive decline. Of note, only in 8% of service users the diagnosis of dementia had been established prior their enrolment, while 33.2% were treated with antidepressants.ConclusionBased on amplification of existing resources through the cooperation of tertiary‐ and primary healthcare professionals who share a vision of change, the INTRINSIC model offers a pragmatic opportunity to provide high quality old age healthcare services to seniors living in remote communities. The still ongoing collection and analyses of service users’ data may provide a solid foundation for INTRINSIC feasibility and sustainability

Quantifying the variation of Scaly-sided merganser’ population and their divergent response to changes in hydrological connectivity of rivers in a high-latitude water tower

The Scaly-sided Merganser (SSME) is a globally endangered waterbird species, primarily inhabiting rivers. In recognition of its precarious status, it was added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2002. The SSME is highly sensitive to ecological environmental changes driven by changes in hydrological connectivity, particularly within riverine habitats. Changbai Mountain, a high-latitude water tower in the Northeast Asia, is considered one of the most optimal breeding grounds for the SSME worldwide. Its extensive water system and dense primary forest create an environment particularly well-suited for this species. Over the past 40 years, rivers within Changbai Mountain have experienced phases of hydropower development and ecological restoration. These activities have dramatically altered the hydrological connectivity of the area. However, the response of SSME to these changes in aquatic ecology, driven by shifts in hydrological connectivity, remains uncertain. We employed the AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model to analyze changes in the population size of the SSME. Furthermore, the GeoDetector model was used to understand the impact of ecological changes on the maximum population size (MPS) and distribution of SSME in the context of alterations in hydrological connectivity. Our findings reveal that the restoration of hydrological connectivity, a method of ecological restoration, exerts a bidirectional influence on both the distribution and the MPS of SSME. Our findings can be summarized as follows. Firstly, there was a general trend of increase in both the distribution points and population size of the SSME. Secondly, the contribution of driving factors to the MPS of SSME was ranked in the following order: temperature > Connectivity Status Index (CSI) > river width > fish abundance > river depth > velocity > altitude > forest type. Thirdly, the impacts on the distribution and MPS of SSME were not due to a single factor, but rather a complex interplay of multiple factors. Finally, the construction of small hydropower stations significantly disrupted the hydrological connectivity of rivers, thereby altering the natural habitat of the SSME. The reduction in fish population, resulting from the loss of hydrological connectivity, adversely affected the MPS. Conversely, an increase in water temperature due to loss of hydrological connectivity positively impacted the MPS. However, these effects displayed heterogeneity across different rivers. Our study suggests that the construction of gravel dams may be a suitable approach in certain sections of the river, with a recommended height limit of 1.5 m. This research provides valuable insights for managers, offering a sustainable foundation for future energy planning and ecological restoration efforts.

Green Innovation and Its Effects on Innovation Climate and Environmental Sustainability: The Moderating Influence of Green Abilities and Strategies

This research aims to explore the relationship among environmental sustainability, work environment, green innovation, and industrial companies’ innovation climate. The purpose of this exploration was to find out the explanation of how these variables influence each other and how they play a role in organizations sustainability. The study collected data from 253 employees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas, minerals, and mining sectors. It employed the Warps analysis method to assess the relationships between green innovation, innovation climate, and environmental sustainability. By applying well-established theoretical frameworks, including the Innovation Diffusion Theory and Environmental Sustainability Theory, the research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics at play. The findings affirm the significant and positive relationships between green innovation and both environmental sustainability and the innovation climate within industrial firms. Moreover, the study highlights the mediating role of the innovation climate, which serves as a bridge connecting green innovation with environmental sustainability outcomes. Additionally, green motivational strategies and green abilities were identified as moderators that enhance the effectiveness of green innovation practices. This research carries practical and theoretical implications. It provides valuable insights for industrial firms seeking to integrate sustainability practices into their operations, enhance their innovation climate, and optimize their green innovation initiatives. The findings bridge the gap between theory and practice, guiding managerial decision-making and facilitating the implementation of sustainable practices. Moreover, the study enriches the theoretical foundations of sustainability and innovation by applying established theories to the industrial context, contributing to a more holistic understanding of these critical concepts in the modern business landscape.

Enhanced Non-Communication-Based Protection Coordination and Advanced Verification Method Using Fault Impedance in Networked Distribution Systems

In recent years, the networked distribution system (NDS), which is normally connected to the distribution line (DL), was actively studied as the topology of the future distribution system for reasons such as improving supply reliability, improving line utilization, and increasing the capacity of distribution generators (DGs). However, the NDS creates new issues in terms of protection coordination because of its bidirectional power flow and fault current flow. The issues associated with conventional protection schemes in the NDS include malfunction of protective devices due to bi-directional fault currents and failure of protection coordination due to communication failures between protective devices. When applying a conventional protection method in the NDS, the protection schemes become complicated, and there is a risk of protection coordination failure due to communication failure between protective devices. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an effective and innovative non-communication-based protection algorithm for protection coordination in the NDS. The proposed protection algorithm utilizes fault impedance characteristics, which allow not only determination of whether a fault occurred, but also the ability to identify the exact fault point. Therefore, the proposed method is expected to be sustainably utilized and contribute to developing protection schemes and devices in various system topologies and scenarios in the future. Additionally, this paper addresses the overall concept of hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) and directly verifies the proposed protection algorithm using HILS. Therefore, this study establishes a sustainable foundation for future research on protection coordination using HILS.

2.C. Workshop: Our Food, Our Health, Our Earth: the health literacy pillar of health promotion for sustainability

Abstract Health Literacy (HL) is one of the three pillars of Health Promotion (along with Good Governance and Healthy Cities) (The Shanghai Declaration, WHO 2016). In the dilemma of a sustainable future for humanity, there is a cross-section meeting point where fundamental issues activate the ingredients that either jeopardize that future or respond to the foundations of sustainability. These ingredients are the Food chain (preferences, choices, production, distribution and consumption), the Health dimension (perceptions, concepts, theoretical implications to whole system & society approaches and activation of strategies to promote health) and the Planet (where limited resources do not mitigate humanity hunger of their appropriation, transformation and use). Therefore at the public health level, it is crucial to deepen the discussion, research the best options, facilitate the correct decisions, empower the way forward while we envision a global response that will move humanity to respond positively to the foundations of sustainability. A component that might impinge either of these two options, above referred, is the level of HL that citizens, communities, societies as a whole, possess and integrate in their everyday decision & action processes. This workshop aims to establish a ground approach to the articulation between health promotion and HL when sustainability is at stake. Therefore, it discusses how this third pillar (i.e. HL) may be translated into the everyday practice of Health Promotion “ensuring that people can cope with the challenges they face, through health literacy, ...to lead lives ...in harmony with Nature” (WHO 2021). In the first presentation HL is explored as a situational social practice. In the second presentation, a closer look to “Our Food” is made by the means of a research that investigated 852 adolescents’ health literacy. In the third presentation the conceptualization of Health and HL are considered. The forth presentation will lead the audience to the theoretical discussion of Health Promotion and Positivism. This discussion triggers the floor to a debate around seminal ideas and action processes in the realm of Health Promotion in the context of best practices. From the public health perspective the aim of this workshop is to share with the audience an opportunity to immerse in two different social contexts and explore their HL practices as tracer approaches. This workshop offers a forum for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers interested in health promotion pillars (e.g., health literacy), facilitate the dialogue and lively interaction and vivid discussions to improve policy research, practice, and policy-making, support further synergies, facilitate networking and collaboration, and support international capacity building towards sustainability. Key messages • Explore concepts (e.g. on health literacy) and theories to ensure that a coherent takeover is aiming at sustainable health promotion implementation strategies. • The third pillar of Health Promotion (i.e. health literacy) demands a broader reflection of theoretical versus practice approaches when looking at our Food, our Health & our Planet.

One-pot synthesis of CdS nanoparticles with surface-phase junctions to catalyze the photo-reduction of CO2 into CO and CH4 selectively

Without any external template & surfactant, CdS nanoparticles (NPs) with surface-phase junctions were synthesized directly from CdCl2 and the CS2-storage material (CS2SM) with a simple one-pot strategy, in which only stirring was needed. Under visible light irradiation, the as-synthesized CdS NPs could selectively catalyze the reduction of CO2 to produce CO and CH4 sustainably with a perfect catalyst stability even after 33 h. At 4 °C and the optical power density of 370 mW/cm2, the as-synthesized CdS NPs from 0.5 g CS2SM exhibited 195.41 μmol/gcat CH4 generation capacity and the 9.01 μmol·gcat−1·h−1 maximum average yield, in which the generation ratio of CH4/CO was at 8:2; and the as-synthesized CdS NPs from 2.0 g CS2SM exhibited 119.95 μmol/gcat CO generation capacity and the 3.75 μmol·gcat−1·h−1 maximum average yield, in which the generation ratio of CH4/CO was at 1:3. The research results indicated that CdS NPs with higher hexagonal content and smaller particle size is more active in CO2 photoreduction, which may be due to the low potential CdS NPs surface phase junction reducing the recombination rate of electron hole pairs and improving photocatalytic activity. The simple preparation of CdS NPs and their further photocatalytic CO2 reduction provide a green and sustainable foundation for the application of sulfide photocatalysts.

Demoethical Model of Sustainable Development of Society: A Roadmap towards Digital Transformation

This study aims to explore a demoethical model for sustainable development in modern society. It proposes an approach that focuses on organizing activities to improve sustainable development. Specifically, it presents a demoethical model relevant to Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 organizations. The objective is to identify demoethical values that can drive sustainable development in the era of digitalization. Through a literature review and analysis, this study identifies key components of the demoethical model and provides practical recommendations for stakeholders involved in digital transformation. The analysis of demoethical norms and phenomena, such as education, nurturing, mind, knowledge, science, and honest work, has enabled the identification of values that align with sustainable development in society. The results of the study demonstrate that the notion of a demoethical foundation for sustainability is rooted in the concept of spirituality as the basis for a new societal development scenario and its relationship with nature. The study shows that ideas about the demoethical basis of sustainability are based on the priority of spirituality as the basis of a new scenario for the development of society, as well as the integration of demographic, socio-economical, and ecological components in system-wide modeling.

Applying the Brocher Declaration to short-term experiences in global health in dental education

Participating in Short-Term Experiences in Global Health (STEGHs) has become an increasingly popular way for dental students to learn about the global burden of disease and health inequalities by traveling to a low-income community. However, there is little information available in the dental education literature providing guidelines on best practices for STEGHs. Often little is known about the local dental practice laws and ethics guidelines. One useful resource is the Brocher Declaration. The Brocher Declaration, created by the Advocacy for Global Health Partnerships (AGHP), is a comprehensive document outlining best practices for developing ethical and sustainable global health partnerships. The six guiding principles are: (1) mutual partnership with bidirectional input and learning, (2) empowered host country and community-defined needs and activities, (3) sustainable programs and capacity building, (4) compliance with applicable laws, ethical standards, and code of conduct, (5) humility, cultural sensitivity, and respect for all involved, and (6) accountability for actions. The principles of the Brocher declaration can serve as a foundation for ethics and sustainability and can be easily applied to STEGHs in dental education. The authors present a set of recommendations specific to each principle to guide dental schools in offering STEGHs to their students. Participating in STEGHs represents a unique opportunity for students to learn about the global burden of oral disease, its risk factors, and the population and public health strategies to reduce oral disease in diverse populations. When done ethically, they may serve as a spark for students to become future leaders in global health.

СТРІЧКОВИЙ ФУНДАМЕНТ З ПОВЗДОВЖНІМ ВИРІЗОМ ПО ПІДОШВІ МАСИВНОЇ ПІДПІРНОЇ СТІНИ

The paper analyzes the designs of traditional strip foundations with a flat bottom, the load from which causes the plane strain stress state of the soil base, and other variations of conventionally strip (continuous) foundations, which due to their shape (configuration) of the contact area with the base change its stress state, which enables designing more sustainable foundations for continuous buildings and structures. Proceeding from the solutions to the mixed problem of the theory of elasticity and plasticity using the Mohr-Coulomb criterion strength criterion, analytical studies of the development of plastic zones in the base of a strip foundation with a longitudinal cut-out have been conducted, which show that the limit state always occurs first in the foundation’s edge zones, that is, underneath the outer edges of the foundation. It is also noted, however, that the design resistance of soil decreases when there is no additional load in the area of the cut-out; therefore, a patented design has been proposed of a strip foundation with a longitudinal cut-out in the bottom, where the cut-out with the height is filled with low-modulus material to improve the design resistance of soil. Based on experimental and theoretical studies, methods have been proposed for calculating the soil base (design resistance , settlement and inclination ) for a strip foundation of a massive retaining wall with a longitudinal cut-out in the bottom. A real example shows that the total width of the strip foundation with a cut-out is shorter by 1.5 m in comparison with the continuous shape of the bottom of the foundation, which has a significant economic effect on every linear meter of the wall foundation. Overall, the proposed methods make it possible to reasonably design effective eccentrically loaded foundations with cut-outs in the bottom and to improve the permissible vertical pressure on the base in comparison with a continuous bottom, all other things being equal. Keywords: strip foundation, massive retaining wall, eccentricity, bottom, cut-out, soil base, calculation procedure.

Conceptual Foundations of Sustainability.

Threats to the health of our environment are numerous. Much research in science and engineering is devoted to documenting, understanding, and attempting to mitigate the harm itself. The root challenge for sustainability, however, is human behavior. As such, changes to human behaviors and the internal processes that drive them are also essential. Critical to understanding sustainability-related behaviors is the individual's conceptualization of the natural world and its components and processes. The papers in this topiCS issue address these conceptualizations by drawing from anthropological, linguistic, educational, philosophical, and social cognitive perspectives as well as traditional psychological approaches to the study of concepts and their development in children. They engage with many domains bearing on environmental sustainability including climate change, biodiversity, land and water conservation, resource use, and design of the built environment. They coalesce around four broad themes: (a) What people know (or believe) about nature broadly and about specific aspects of nature, and how they acquire and use this knowledge; (b) how knowledge is expressed and shared via language; (c) how knowledge and beliefs interact with affective, social, and motivational influences to yield attitudes and behaviors; and (d) how members of different cultures and speakers of different languages differ in these ways. The papers also point to lessons for advancing sustainability via public policy and public messaging, education, conservation and nature management, and design of the built environment.

City Wind Impact on Air Pollution Control for Urban Planning with Different Time-Scale Considerations: A Case Study in Chengdu, China

Economic development and fast growing urbanization in China have caused severe air pollution, with frequent pollution episodes endangering the health of inhabitants and disturbing social activities, and as an expanding metropolis, Chengdu has suffered ever since. The concentration variations of main air pollutants, such as PM10, PM2.5 and NO2, often show periodicity because of meteorological impact and anthropic activities, and display orientation discrepancies due to influences of wind speed (WS), frequency and pollutant sources. These features have complicated the mechanisms of pollution episodes and deepened the difficulty in pollution control evaluation. The WS has significant influences on the periodicity and orientation variations in pollutant concentrations, and quantifying the influence of which is of high significance and provides sustainable foundations for pollution alleviation strategies. Different time-scale cycles (i.e., Diurnal, weekly, seasonal and annual), along with the WS, wind frequency, wind and spatial orientations in urban areas, were analyzed in this paper. Results show that the periodicity of diurnal, seasonal and annual cycles is remarkable, and weekly cycle is obvious by adding the influence of the WS in 16 orientations. The WS has direct impacts on pollutants varying in the range of 1.5–2.5 m/s, and has a remarkable diffusion effect on pollutants once above 2.5 m/s. Over heavy pollution hours in diurnal, weekly, annual cycles and transitional seasons, the WS had more significant influences on pollutants, and whereas the wind frequency is not the main impact factor for orientation variations. For Chengdu, the northeast orientation is suitable to construct a wind panel with a remarkable diffusion effect on pollutants, while air pollutions in the northwest and southwest orientations were severe with the WS below 1.5 m/s, and pollution diffusion in the north-northwest orientation was the worst. This work can provide guidance and reference for urban planning optimization and air environment protection in cities with air quality control considerations impacted by city wind.

Ancestral Environmental Technology: Pre-hispanic Foundations for Regenerative Sustainability

Purpose: This contribution has two objectives: 1) to define in context, how the word téchnē and technology are linked to the Nahuatl notion in context; and 2) to characterize pre-hispanic environmental technologies in order to subjectively and materially project the practical utility of ancestral environmental technologies, precisely because they are capable of halting and even reversing the socio-environmental consequences derived from the current climate and ecosystem crisis. Methodological design: From a historical-material perspective, an exploratory study of non-exhaustive and ontological-semantic nature is presented, whose strategy articulated and differentiated the Aristotelian etymon téchnē with the oldest one found in classical Nahuatl language. Previous criterion to characterize pre-Hispanic environmental technology and discuss its specific examples. Results: The way in which Mesoamerican technologies were organized and implemented demonstrates that they achieved what is currently sought through sustainabilty over 2,000 years ago. The concept and characteristics defining and differentiating pre-Hispanic Nahuatl technology from the current techno-scientific-industrial paradigm were provided. Toltecáyotl-amantecáyotl accounts for a productive and organizational system, sentient and alive, which guides the design of truly ecological new technologies. Among others, maize-milpa-chinampa technologies persist and are multidimensionally rewarding. Research limitations: Currently, the complete number of technologies developed, their typology, and their locations are unknown. In Mexico, the disintegration of rural areas is accompanied by a loss of language, knowledge, and objects, which raises the difficulty of accessing ancestral technical-scientific memory. Findings: Pre-hispanic technology is ecological, but not all current environmental and sustainable technologies are.

The ethics of sustainable AI: Why animals (should) matter for a sustainable use of AI

AbstractTechnologies equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) influence our everyday lives in a variety of ways. Due to their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, their high use of energy, but also their impact on fairness issues, these technologies are increasingly discussed in the “sustainable AI” discourse. However, current “sustainable AI” approaches remain anthropocentric. In this article, we argue from the perspective of applied ethics that such anthropocentric outlook falls short. We present a sentientist approach, arguing that the normative foundation of sustainability and sustainable development—that is, theories of intra‐ and intergenerational justice—should include sentient animals. Consequently, theories of sustainable AI must also be non‐anthropocentric. Moreover, we investigate consequences of our approach for applying AI technologies in a sustainable way.

The Implementation and Evolution of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in the Republic of Ireland

Introduction:Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) have formed an integral component of the Irish healthcare system for the past decade, yet the factors leading its commencement, its evolutions over this time, the current model of service delivery have not been widely published.Aeromedical service provision may vary significantly from country to country and may also vary regionally within countries. Health systems necessities, capacity and maturity, the level of state, corporate, private or community investment and capacity of the contracted service provider are all factors that influence the service provision.Method:This research provides a descriptive analysis of the historic factors leading to the implementation of HEMS during an era of healthcare reform, its key evolutions and current model of service delivery.Results:Health system reform in a time of global financial recession led to a unique collaboration between the Irish Defense Forces and civilian Emergency Medical Systems (EMS) to provide a sustainable foundation of primary scene landing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services for the Irish state. This sharing of professional knowledge, logistics and operational experience lead to many further system reforms and will inform future aeromedical service provision.Conclusion:Over the past decade the Irish health system has undergone significant reconfiguration and centralization of services, leading to increased demands on emergency medical ground and aeromedical services. Future advancements in aeromedical service provision require an innate understanding of the current model.This research will add to the knowledge base and inform policy makers and support decision making surrounding Helicopter Emergency Medical Services reform and enhanced service provision in the Irish state.

GLOBAL TOURISM - A QUICK REBOUND AFTER THE PANDEMIC

Even though the COVID 19 virus has negatively impacted travel and tourism throughout the world, the pandemic presents a chance to rebuild the industry with a sustainability-focused vision. The core of a vast economic ecosystem that significantly boosts income and job creation across all EU member states is the tourism industry. Most domestic and international travel has been halted because of the epidemic, which has significantly reduced income and caused liquidity issues for all tourist businesses. However, the figures seem decent. Is the tourist industry growing more quickly than we anticipated?Until the pandemic is declared finished, the days of planning holidays based on where we want to go or what tourist sites we want to visit are over. Instead, the field industry, as well as visitors, will be considerably more concerned with meeting certain personal demands. As a result, post-Covid tourism will be more concerned with the individual than with locations. People are expected to make far more deliberate decisions when faced with the urge to travel as well as the hurdles to satisfying that goal. Tourists will be less ready to compromise on their future vacations in the post-Covid age. They will have higher expectations of the services provided by the hotel business. And, to meet expectations, the hotel sector will need to focus its experiences, facilities, and services centered on wellness, health, and overall well-being.The crisis has provided a chance to use new technology, adopt green recovery measures, and transition to policies and business practices that better balance tourism environmental, social, and economic implications. Policymakers should use the opportunity to relaunch the tourist industry on a more solid, equitable, and sustainable foundation. The crisis, and the recovery strategies that are being implemented, represent a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transition to more sustainable and resilient tourist development models.

都市化社会における農業経営の戦略と組織

Farm businesses, especially in urbanized society, need to keep up preferable relationships with their stakeholders because such relationships are the foundations of corporate sustainability. Farm organizations are formed based on their members’ objectives, hence the stakeholders and effective strategies differ by organization. Through decade-long empirical investigations, we observed that the effective strategies of large rice farm businesses have converged and become relatively similar. Such an observation would further imply the emergence of alternative farm businesses which pursue more specific stakeholder values.

Linking marketing imperfections to sustainable entrepreneurial prospects and sustainability: the case of Indian medicinal and aromatic plants businesses

Purpose Drawing on the extant literature that suggests marketing imperfections are an opportunity to create and establish a foundation for sustainable entrepreneurial prospects and sustainability, this study aims to delineate a marketing mix strategy for Indian medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) resources to optimize the benefits derived from their existing MAP business and address its marketing imperfections. Design/methodology/approach A case study research design was used to investigate the MAP sector, and 37 in-depth interviews were conducted to collect the primary data. Given the study’s exploratory nature, an inductive approach was used for data analysis, and conventional qualitative content analysis was performed to analyze the data. Findings The findings reveal that a marketing mix strategy is relevant for linking MAP businesses to the country’s sustainable livelihood options, entrepreneurial prospects, resource management and the economy and for improving the sector’s global competitive position. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to explore and present a marketing mix strategy for Indian MAP resources. Thus, it extends the marketing and entrepreneurship literature regarding natural resource businesses to advance sustainable entrepreneurial prospects and sustainability. The study concludes by offering strategic clues for implementing the marketing mix strategy in the Indian MAP sector and businesses.

Abstract No. 104 Five-Year Update on the Tanzania IR Initiative: Creating a Sustainable Foundation for IR Services and Training in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract No. 104 Five-Year Update on the Tanzania IR Initiative: Creating a Sustainable Foundation for IR Services and Training in Sub-Saharan Africa

Improving sustainable practices in tuna purse seine fish aggregating device (FAD) fisheries worldwide through continued collaboration with fishers

More than a decade of bottom-up collaborative workshops and research with fishers from the principal tropical tuna purse seine fleets to reduce ecological impacts associated with the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) has yielded novel improved sustainable fishing practices in all oceans. This integrative effort is founded on participatory knowledge-exchange workshops organized by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), referred to as “ISSF Skippers Workshops”, where scientists, fishers, and key stakeholders examine and develop together ways and tools to minimize fishery impacts. Workshops organized since 2010 have reached fleet members in 23 countries across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, with over 4,000 attendances, mostly skippers and crew, operating in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. Structured and continued open transparent discussions on ocean-specific options to minimize FAD associated bycatch, ghost fishing and marine pollution have produced an array of novel co-constructed solutions and a better understanding of ecosystem and fishery dynamics. Dedicated at sea research cruises in commercial purse seiners have enabled testing some of the ideas proposed in workshops. Results obtained were then communicated back to fishers for a double loop learning system resulting in solution refinement and/or adoption. Furthermore, fishers’ increased trust and stewardship have stimulated unprecedented large-scale science-industry research projects across oceans, such as multi-fleet biodegradable FAD trials, the adoption and widespread use of non-entangling FADs, and the development and adoption of best practices for the safe handling and release of vulnerable bycatch. This model of collaborative research is broadly applicable to other natural resource conservation fields. Support for long-term inclusive programs enabling harvesters to proactively collaborate in impact mitigation research contributes to improved scientific advice, voluntary compliance, and adaptive management for lasting sustainability trajectories.

An Analysis of Circular Economy Literature at the Macro Level, with a Particular Focus on Energy Markets

Sustainability is a strategic approach to develop a more sustainable economy to support the environment and socio-economic development. Literature on sustainability has been concerned mainly with global warming and environmental degradation issues, whereas the Circular Economy (CE) concept has recently been suggested as an alternative solution to support market sustainability and deal with both environmental and socio-economic challenges. In order to tackle these challenges, countries must switch from linear economies that follow the “take-make-dispose” principle to circular and sustainable economies. This study applies a structural and conceptual literature review to elucidate the most decisive determinants in the formation of circular strategies, particularly in the context of the energy sector. This study examines obstacles that hinder CE adoption and formulates drivers and measures to overcome them. The strategic literature review shows that the circular approach is critical in achieving sustainable development. Circularity can be considered a novel and innovative approach to alleviating the contradiction between rapid economic growth and energy and raw materials shortages. The CE structure must be considered as a sustainable foundation to enhance economic growth by avoiding waste, preserving natural capital, managing resource scarcity, recycling materials, maximizing energy efficiency, and recirculating them into the economy. Analysis reveals that the circular system is a key pillar of sustainability, security, and efficiency in the energy sector. The sustainable energy transition requires incorporating the CE principles in the design process. It also revealed that both public and private sectors must move away from the linear paradigm towards circularity to achieve CE implementation.