International Environmental Issues Research Articles

پرسە نێودەوڵەتییەکان لە ڕوانگەی تیۆری ڕیاڵیزمەوە: پرسی ژینگە وەک نموونە

Different directions of realism theory, as the most prominent theory for studying issues and international relations, are close in several hypotheses and general lines, but when coming to details, they are different. This study examines international questions and environmental issues in particular in terms of these theoretical directions. In general, realistic theories agree on the hypothesis that international issues can be classified into high politics and low politics. But because in today’s world, the dangers and consequences of environmental pollution on international and world security have considerably increased, for this study, main question is that is environment in the perspectives of different directions of realism theory still a minor issue or has its role and position to become a key issue risen, or is it possible to rise? By relying on reliable sources and using each of deductive method, qualitative method and case studies, efforts have been made to investigate and address this scientific question. In order to achieve the goals and giving attention to the cause and the major problem, the study is divided into two main sections, each section includes accurate enquiries. Finally, the study positively proves its hypothesis, which in the perspective of realism theories, issues related to national interest and security are placed at the top of high issues pyramid, while environmental issues are given less importance by the state and international actors. However, at the same time, some differences in the understanding of realism theories are noticed, particularly in defensive realism, which claims that environment should be dealt with as an important subject in some places and stages of time, yet the offensive realism is the most pessimistic one in this aspect.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-degrading bacteria in the pelagic deep-sea sediments of the Pacific Ocean

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic pollution is widely found in deep-sea sediments. Despite being an international environmental issue, it remains unclear whether PET can be degraded through bioremediation in the deep sea. Pelagic sediments obtained from 19 sites across a wide geographic range in the Pacific Ocean were used to screen for bacteria with PET degrading potential. Bacterial consortia that could grow on PET as the sole carbon and energy source were found in 10 of the 19 sites. These bacterial consortia showed PET removal rate of 1.8%–16.2% within two months, which was further confirmed by the decrease of carbonyl and aliphatic hydrocarbon groups using attenuated total reflectance–Fourier-transform infrared analysis (ATR-FTIR). Analysis of microbial diversity revealed that Alcanivorax and Pseudomonas were predominant in all 10 PET degrading consortia. Meanwhile, Thalassospira, Nitratireductor, Nocardioides, Muricauda, and Owenweeksia were also found to possess PET degradation potential. Metabolomic analysis showed that Alcanivorax sp. A02-7 and Pseudomonas sp. A09-2 could turn PET into mono-(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET) even in situ stimulation (40 MPa, 10 °C) conditions. These findings widen the currently knowledge of deep-sea PET biodegrading process with bacteria isolates and degrading mechanisms, and indicating that the marine environment is a source of biotechnologically promising bacterial isolates and enzymes.

Who Drives Policy Discourse of China’s Energy Transition: Considering Time Series Perspective, Network and Core-Peripheral Analysis

China’s energy transition (CET) is a vital foundation and long-term goal for improving sustainable development potential. Exploring development patterns and core driving actors involved in policy discourse (PD) is effective in suggesting future policy directions by finding the universality and specificity of China in the energy transition process. In this study, we examined the change pattern of CET and the change of keywords for actors involved in policy promotion at a macro level. Text data of over 22 years were collected from Chinese online channels with CET as the subject word. A text mining-based network analysis and core-peripheral analysis were performed by building datasets in units of the five-year plan (FYP). Following network analysis, the pattern of PD in CET process indicated a tendency to gradually converge toward diversified participants and global environmental issues. Core-peripheral analysis results revealed that the actors leading the PD changed from the government to the private sector, and the core issue indicated a shift from a domestic energy issue to an international environmental issue. Based on our analysis results, we suggested three dimensions of direction in CET: integration with digital transformation, expansion of the employment ecosystem, and inducement of balanced regional development.

A Comprehensive Report on Environmental Sustainability: A Global Perspective

In the last three decades, protecting the earth's environment has become a major challenge in international relations. Hundreds of regional and bilateral agreements, as well as at least ten global environmental agreements, were negotiated. Environmentalism can be seen as a social movement that seeks to influence jobs and education to conserve natural resources and ecosystems. Concerns for environmental protection have emerged in various forms in various parts of the world throughout history. The environmental movement is a diverse scientific, social and political movement. The movement is committed to ecology, health and human rights while accepting people as workers in the ecosystem. Today, it is generally accepted that environmental protection is a part of national policies and plans. The accepted standard to achieve this reduction target is "sustainable development". In fact, all existing laws and policies on environmental protection and human development, at the national or international level, aim at achieving "sustainable development". Despite the great environmental protection that humans have used in the past three decades, global warming has not reduced the occurrence of anomalous atmospheric phenomena due to scientific knowledge and available technology. Although many environmental policies and action plans have been negotiated over the past three decades, significant gaps remain in international environmental policy law. The framework has not yet become a method or method. Rather, each is a collection of commitments related to a democratic international or regional environmental issue. Nature has become negative by affecting the climate on the one hand and the health and safety of all living and non-living beings on the other. The ecosystem resonates with abnormal noise, vibration, dust and smoke from human activities. These events remind people that the environment must be protected with all enthusiasm and energy no matter what. Given the progress we have made in destroying the earth's environment, future global environmental efforts will focus more on environmental restoration than conservation. Human rights will also provide important opportunities for better protection of the environment.

Constructing Students Environmental Sensitivity Through Literacy

Sensitivity to the environment is an ability that must be possessed by students to be able to find alternative solutions that are right for solving environmental problems. Therefore, the study aims to develop a SETS-based environmental geography textbook using the ADDIE development model and environmental geography course students as respondents. Data was collected using validation sheets and FGD narratives by experts to maintain textbook quality and descriptive analysis. Using a geographical approach, environmental geography textbooks were developed on the basis of SETS. The textbook contains topic sub-chapters, illustrations in tables and graphs, assignments, and activity-based exercises. Based on SETS, practical steps are used to develop environmental geography textbooks, including presenting contextual science materials; presenting local, national, and international environmental issues; presenting examples of the use of technology in overcoming environmental problems; describing the impact of technology use on the environment and society; and designing evaluations of problem-based textbooks with student activities including SETS elements and involving a geographic approach. This textbook is intended to be used by lecturers of Indonesian environmental geography and subsequent studies as reference material.

The 1972 Stockholm Conference and China's diplomatic response

Increasing public pollution and US President Nixon's environmental diplomacy strategy led to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference), to which China was invited as one of the United Nations member states. Before the conference, the Chinese government clearly understood the purpose of its participation in international environmental issues and the way to demonstrate its political position. During the conference, the Chinese delegation promoted the establishment of a group to revise the declaration on the human environment by uniting with Third World countries. China quickly established an effective environmental management system and contributed to the improvement of international environmental issues by acquiring scientific and technical information through participation in international conferences.

Flame Resistant of Larch Plywood According to Main Ingredients of Fire Retardant Paint

The aims of this study is to comparative analyze the flame resistant of Larix kamperi according to fire retardant paints with different main components. Wood, an eco friendly traditional material, has been proven to reduce carbon, drawing attention as a solution to climate change, an international environmental issue. Wood is used as a material for buildings as furniture, interior, and furniture, and greatly satisfied users who require eco-friendliness. However, wood is a factor that increases the fire load in a fire. In previous studies, the fire vulnerability of Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus densiflora, MDF, OSB, cork board, and plain wood plywood was analyzed. As a result, wood without flame retardant treatment was vulnerable to fire. To compensate for this problem, we intend to secure an evacuation time by delaying the ignition time in case of a fire. Accordingly, Flame retardant treatment is implemented in accordance with Article 20 of ?the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the maintenance and Safety Management of Firefighting Facilities?. The main flame-retardant paint used is bromine, a halogen compound, and has high flame resistant. However, it is subject to environmental regulations due to the problem of soot and smoke generation. Eco friendly fire retardant paint are continuously being developed to escape regulations. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the effect of the flame resistant by treating the developed fire retardant paint for each tree species. So, three types of fire retardant paint with different main components are selected and treated on a larch plywood to analyze flame resistant. In this study, after flame time, after glow time, char length, and char area were measured in accordance with Standard of the Nation Fire Agency of Republic Korea. The main components of fire retardant paint are ammonium polyphosphate, emulsion resin, and phosphorus based mixture. Based on each theoretical application amount, 150g/m2, 180g/m2, and 180g/m2 were applied as the flame retardant paint. As a control group, a test specimen that was not with flame retardant treatment was set. The results are as follows. First, ammonium polyphosphate was the most excellent flame resistant. Second, as a result of flame retardant treatment the phosphorus mixture with the same main ingredient on the same type of larch plywood, the effect of flame resistant was different depending on the technology development of each manufacturer. Third, all larch plywood satisfied the flame resistant regardless of the presence or absence of flame retardant treatment. This seems to be because Larix Kamperi itself has a property that does not burn easily. It is expected that the results of this study will be used as basic data for the production of semi noncombustible material suitable for flame resistant Standard of the Nation Fire Agency of Republic Korea in the future.

The contribution of green building in reducing the carbon footprint and attaining SDG 13

As a result of the construction industry’s rapid growth, several local and international environmental issues have developed in recent years. Thus, numerous new environmental programs have been formed worldwide with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, the built environment must play an important role in keeping up with this development. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 experts in the field of green buildings in Jordan, this study aims to examine the role of green building technology (GBT) in Jordan in lowering CO2 emissions and achieving SDG13, which calls for taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The findings from this paper reveal that there is a strong relationship between the implementation of GBT and the lowering of CO2 emissions resulting from the construction industry in Jordan, which contributes to achieving SDG13. The significance of this paper is to develop the basis of understanding of the importance of GBT adoption for further explorations and studies as an important field for the built environment in achieving the SDGs, which serve as a crucial foundation in protecting our planet and preserving the environment for future generations.

Material flow analysis of commercial fishing gears in Taiwan

Marine debris is an international environmental issue, and the growing amount of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a particular concern. Despite Taiwan's substantial fishing industry, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of fishing gear. This work conducted a static material flow analysis to estimate the flows and the stocks of fishing gear in Taiwan in 2020, based on government statistics and interviews with fishing gears producing companies, fishermen, and recycling companies. Our findings reveal that the inflow, outflow, and stock of the fishing gears are 8,846 t/a, 4,271 t/a, and 4,575 t/a, respectively. Only 36 % of end-of-life fishing gear is recycled, while the rest is incinerated or landfilled. Additionally, the stock comprises 27 % in use, 23 % in ports, and 50 % entering the ocean. These results underscore the need to increase recycling capacity, prevent loss in oceans, and promote repairs to extend the lifespan of fishing gear.

Experiential Learning for Training Future Science Policy and Diplomacy Experts

Experiential Learning is a useful tool to prepare negotiators and politicians in the art of diplomacy and can have a unique value in Science Policy and Diplomacy training. This workshop review summarizes two EL activities undertaken in a University of Arizona SPD course. The first was a semester-long project in conjunction with graduate and undergraduate students from a UA climate change adaptation course and the United States Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab. For this project, students researched issues and potential policies to address climate change effects on water, energy, and food resources in the Lower Mekong river basin. The second activity was the Mercury Game, a negotiation simulation that challenged students to represent interests of various countries to tackle an international environmental issue. Student survey results and other feedback demonstrate that EL is a valuable tool for SPD education and preparation for practice. Insights into how faculty, staff and students can facilitate EL in coursework are also discussed. This paper is authored by the student participants and documents their outcomes and perceptions after completing these activities.

A Ca-rich biochar derived from food waste digestate with exceptional adsorption capacity for arsenic (III) removal via a cooperative mechanism

Arsenic (As) contamination in water is an international environmental issue. Biochar adsorption is often considered a promising way for removing As from contaminated water due to its low-cost and environmental friendliness. However, the poor adsorption capacity limits the application of pristine biochar, and various modification methods are proposed to improve this shortcoming, which inevitably brings some new environmental problems. Herein, a pristine Ca-rich biochar with excellent As adsorption performance was prepared through one-step pyrolysis of food waste digestate. The results demonstrated that the biochar obtained at 800 °C (CDBC8) exhibited higher specific surface area and absorption capacity of As than biochars prepared at other temperatures, with the maximum As adsorption capacity of 69.03 mg/g, which was much higher than most previously reported pristine biochars and even some modified biochars. This is attributed to the considerable portions of CaO and carbon in CDBC8. The adsorption process was best modeled by Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the removal mechanism of As was discussed in-depth. The complexation, precipitation, oxidation, and electrostatic attraction participated in the adsorption, and their contributions were significantly impacted by the pH of the solution. This work presents the great potential of this Ca-rich biochar for wastewater remediation, and also provides a feasible way for the rational utilization of food waste digestate.

KEPATUHAN HUKUM REPUBLIK DEMOKRATIK KONGO TERHADAP CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) ATAS PERLINDUNGAN POHON TROPIS AFRORMOSIA

<div>Trees are forest products whose number continues to decrease over time due to fulfilling human needs to sustain their lives. Continuous deforestation can threaten and destabilize ecosystems on earth, which leads to international environmental issues that have yet to be resolved. The purpose of this legal research was to determine the legal compliance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) towards regulations by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for the protection of the tropical Afromosia tree and the steps that the DRC should undertake in maintaining the existence of the Afromosia tree which is now endangered from extinction. This study is normative legal research with a statute and case approach and analyzed through inductive analysis techniques. Make use of indicators from the international legal compliance theory by Andrew T. Guzman, namely the model of rational and self-interested states theory, the results of the study show that the DRC has a low level of legal compliance with the provisions of the CITES convention related to the protection of Afrormosia trees.</div>

Roles of International Environmental Law in China's Environmental Productivity: Challenges and Implications.

International environmental law is the basic charter for dealing with international environmental issues, and it plays an important role in international environmental governance. In recent years, China's economy has achieved great development, but environmental problems are also very prominent. International environmental law provides a basic reference for China's environmental governance, but it also brings challenges to the development of China's environmental productivity to a certain extent. At the same time, due to the unique dominant position of international environmental law, it has played a certain restrictive role in the development of China's environmental productivity. Based on this, in order to promote the sustainable development of China's economy, this paper took China's industrial and agricultural development as the research object. This paper has conducted research on China's industrial and agricultural environmental productivity, aiming to explore the role of international environmental law in China's environmental productivity. The article first analyzed the limitation of international environmental law on China's environmental productivity, and then on this basis, the article conducted a numerical simulation of China's industrial and agricultural environmental productivity. Finally, starting from the actual development situation, the paper aimed to find out the numerical deviation of China's environmental productivity changes through quantitative analysis. In the course of the research on environmental productivity development, the article found a strong correlation between environmental productivity and international environmental law in China. The correlation between environmental productivity and international environmental law reaches 59.93% in South China and 61.02% in North China. Also, after a series of comparative analyses, the article finds that changes in climate characteristics can exacerbate the regulation of China by international environmental law and seriously affect China's economic development. In this case, China's economy declined by 2.6% year-on-year, which further pushed China to practice sustainable development strategies. This shows that it is essential to study the relationship between international environmental law and China's environmental productivity.

Ekspor Sampah Uni Eropa ke Indonesia sebagai Bentuk Eco-Imperialism

Environmental policy has become an important aspect of reviewing international relations environmental issues. The European Union is a regional institution that has been very active in international environmental cooperation. However, at the same time, the European Union is one of the largest waste exporters to countries in Asia, including Indonesia. Waste export is a free trade mechanism that allows developed countries to send waste to developing countries to be processed as industry materials. This then becomes contradictory to the commitment of the European Union in promoting environmentally friendly policies, and policies for the export of waste are considered as a form of ecoimperialism. This article discusses how the waste export policy by the European Union has become a form of ecological colonization for Indonesia as a waste recipient. Keywords: Waste Export; Eco-Imperialism; Environmental Policy

Legal Tools in International Environmental Law

Abstract Environmental law concepts are expressed in conventions, international binding laws, state practice and soft law commitments. They may be applicable to all foreign community members. These are widely recognized and even approved in the practice of the state. A special feature of international environmental law is that many environmental issues are governed by non–binding soft–law instruments that allow faster responses to international environmental issues. Governments tend to resist legally binding treaty regulation for different reasons but are much more likely to adopt a written action plan or resolution, at least voicing a political will to address an issue. The numerous constitutional standards of several countries must be followed when negotiating international agreements: for example, the way the national parliament must approve and enforce a treaty. The paper investigates the regulation system of international environmental law.

Australian IR scholarship on the environment: the recent past and the possible future

ABSTRACT Australian IR scholars and scholarship have been prominent in framing, informing and contributing to global debates in the field of global environmental politics. This article reviews and analyses those contributions with a focus on the period since 2009. It takes as a starting point research that addresses international or global environmental issues, including those that demand a scalar approach to how the global is voiced and experienced at local and regional sites, and that, in doing so, illuminates key disciplinary concerns and contributes to disciplinary debates. The core of the article is woven around three overlapping sub-fields: global environmental governance, international political economy, and normative IR. It reveals how Australian-based IR scholars working on the environment have engaged with critiques of neo-liberalism, pursued more critical approaches to securitization, expanded the empirical and conceptual basis of how we understand institutional ecosystems, contributed to bringing social justice concerns to the forefront of global environmental politics and theory, and been part of a conversation about environmental challenges in the Asia Pacific region. The article concludes with some thoughts about the future direction of this research and scholarship.

Role of the Article XX of the general tariffs and trade agreement in international trade

This article examines the environmental exceptions in Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and analyzes the illegible or unclear content of the articles so that environmental provisions can be applied to current international environmental issues. GATT Article XX is the most important environmental clause in the GATT / WTO. This article states that under certain circumstances, a country’s laws or measures may deviate from multilateral trade rules. These exclusions include clause (b): “necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health”; and (g): “relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption.” The provisions of Article XX did not contain a clear concept of environmental protection during the development. As environmental awareness increases in the international community, the WTO is gradually focusing on environmental issues in trade, and Article XX plays an increasingly important role. Although the wording of the articles has not been changed, the interpretation of the meaning of the articles is constantly evolving. In specific cases, the existing legal loopholes in Article XX were analyzed and the prospects for their development were predicted. The study concluded that, in practice, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, on the one hand, expands the scope of Article XX (b) and (g) to meet environmental protection requirements, on the other hand, through flexible preamble control, it is possible to prevent the impact of environmental protection measures on normal trade. Key words: Article XX of the GATT, environmental protection, general exceptions, WTO.

Current trends in global nursing: A scoping review.

AimThis review aimed to elucidate research trends in global nursing in international literature.DesignA scoping literature review of the PRISMA was used to guide the review.MethodsPubMed was used to search for English articles published in academic journals between 2016–2018. The search keywords were “global/international/world nursing.” We used thematic synthesis to analyse and interpret the data and generated topics for global nursing literature.ResultsIn total, 133 articles were analysed. Six topics emerged: (a) conceptualization of global nursing, (b) environmental health, (c) infectious diseases, (d) security efforts, (e) global shortage of nursing personnel and (f) diversification of study abroad programmes. The results of this review reflect today's serious international health, labour and global environmental issues. Based on these latest global nursing topics, it is necessary to develop new strategies, nursing models and environment‐related theories to create and maintain a healthy environment.

Artisanal and Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Eastern Caribbean): History, Catch Characteristics, and Needs for Research and Management

Whaling has been a contentious international environmental issue for decades and carries complex ecological and socioeconomic implications. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), a small archipelagic nation located in the Eastern Caribbean, present-day whaling traces its origin to local interaction with American-based whalers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When American whaling in the region ceased, local shore-based whaling arose to fill the niche and to exploit the remaining, though diminished, stocks of large whales, as well as stocks of small cetaceans that the American whalers had not targeted as heavily. After a period of expansion throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which saw shore-whaling operations established on at least 11 islands in the region, Eastern Caribbean whaling experienced a period of attrition, during which most local whaling operations ceased. Two operations, both based in SVG, continue regularly today. This paper reviews the past and present status of whaling activities in SVG from the literature and using recent data collected from 2007 to 2017 through logbook data, interview surveys, and ethnographic observations. Small cetacean captures have been documented since 1949, and at least 15 species of odontocetes have been captured (primarily delphinids). From 1949 to 2017, a total of 13,856 small cetacean captures has been recorded, including 5,896 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), 109 killer whales (Orcinus orca), and 7,851 other small cetaceans. Small cetacean catch records are largely incomplete and total catch estimates could not be attempted. Reliable abundance estimates do not exist. Consistent records for the take of large whales are only available for the period 1986–2020, during which 45 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and 2 Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were taken. Additionally, 8 sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) captures were reported from 1967 and 1974. We also review whaling practices, existing national policy on whaling, management techniques outside of formal policy regimes, research needs, and future management perspectives. Future monitoring and management of whaling activities in SVG are strongly needed to assess the sustainability of small cetacean exploitation.

Category “environmental safety” in the doctrine of international law and international legal documents

CATEGORY“ENVIRONMENTALSAFETY”INTHEDOCTRINEOFINTERNATIONALLAWANDINTERNATIONAL LEGALDOCUMENTS Environmental issues belong to the category of especially significant questions in the international legal space. The current state of ecology is a matter of concern to the international community. Climatic problems, anthropogenic impact on the sphere of environment are perceived as a threat to the human existence. Thereby, it seems relevant to consider legal mechanisms for ensuring international environmental security. The authors pose the problem of international legal support for environmental safety. The article presents an analysis of doctrinal approaches to the definition of the concept of “environmental safety”; a system of features characterizing environmental safety as a phenomenon of international law is proposed; the main tendencies of environmental safety policy in the activities of UN are shown