National Environmental Policy Research Articles

Guangdong's embodied carbon emission in China's inter-provincial trade based on MRIO model.

This paper constructs an embodied carbon model in inter-provincial trade based on China's inter-provincial multi-regional input-output table. By analyzing the embodied carbon emissions for Guangdong with the forefront of economic development, this research reveals the impact of trade scale and structure between Guangdong Province and other provinces on embodied carbon emissions, and finds out key provinces and sectors for emission reduction. It can enable national and regional economic and environmental policies to be implemented into specific industries, guide capital flow to key sectors for emission reduction, provide comments for relevant national and provincial decision-making sectors to adjust trade structure, and play the role of inter-provincial trade in energy conservation and emission reduction.

Predicting Behavioral Intention of Rural Inhabitants toward Economic Incentive for Deforestation in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

The conservation of forest in the northern areas of Pakistan is the major priority of the national environmental policy to fight against global warming. Despite the policy for the protection of forest, rural residents’ behavior toward economic incentives for deforestation may undermine their conservation goals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the factors that affect the illegal behaviors related to deforestation in the northern areas of Pakistan. The present study applied the socio-psychological theory of planned behavior to predict the behavioral intention of rural residents toward economic incentives for deforestation. Correlations were explored between background factors toward motivations for deforestation based on positive and negative views through open-ended questions. Attitude and descriptive norm were found good predictors to perceive the behaviors. The findings of the study suggest that rural communities’ support for compliance with policies is vital for the long-term efficacy and protection of the forest in the region. Further, change in the behaviors of inhabitants toward the ecosystem through training can be improved to manage the forest.

Natural capital for nature\u2019s contributions to people: the case of Japan

Recently, natural capital has gained the attention of researchers and policymakers to promote sustainability. Previous studies have investigated the value of ecosystem services with respect to specific areas or species. Other studies have investigated the value of various types of ecosystem services and natural capital by integrating a number of findings using meta-analyses at the global level. Although these studies have provided information on either the global value of natural capital or the local value of specific subjects, there is little evidence on the country-specific values of natural capital in Japan, which will provide useful information for national environmental policies. We investigated the perceived values of terrestrial and marine natural capital in Japan using internet surveys and payment card methods. Data on various natural forms of capital were collected in a unified format and comparable manner. We found that some explanatory variables, such as perceived importance and visit frequency, as well as sociodemographic characteristics, are significant drivers of the willingness to pay (WTP), which maintains each aspect of natural capital. In addition, we conducted future predictions of terrestrial and marine natural capital using a scenario developed in a previous study. Our results indicate that Japan should follow a population-dispersed scenario for the sustainable management of natural capital up to 2050.

ЗНАЧЕННЯ ЕКОСИСТЕМНИХ АКТИВІВ ДЛЯ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ ТЕРИТОРІЙ

National environmental policy in Ukraine declares introducing of the ecosystem approach into all aspects of social and economic development, as well as conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. The legislative acts sustain support of ecosystem services will enhance sustainable development of the society and ecosystems. One of the Sustainable Development Goals for Ukraine until 2030 concerns protection and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems like inland freshwaters, mountains, forests and meadows. It proves ecosystem management tools are relevant for the environmental policy and methodological basis for those tools being applied is assessment of ecosystem assets and services. Concept of ecosystem assets is quite innovative in Ukraine, and its definitions and visions of functions differ a lot. Both Ukrainian and foreign researchers focus mostly on ecosystem services, approaches to assess them and administration of the payments. Ecosystem assets and issues on their evaluations well as introduction of the ecosystem approach into the managerial practices are still underdeveloped. The paper is to define economic sense of ecosystem assets for provision of the sustainable development of territories. Evaluation of ecosystem assets is important for local communities in order to assess scope of ecosystem payments, elaborate local development strategies, and make decisions if economic activities communities carry on have to be altered. There are no universal rules for such the evaluation, and with foreign experience alone it is difficult to decide how territorial communities can assess their ecosystem assets and which tangible benefits they will get from it. Therefore, it is needed make more efforts in Ukraine too in order to introduce the tool and identify priority areas for its application, i.e. land and water use, biodiversity and so on. So that enhance implementation of the ecosystem approach into the management practices, considerable amendments in the legislation are required. Pilot projects on evaluation of ecosystem assets would be helpful and confirm feasibility of the approach. Even more, such the projects would assist to assess ecosystem services particularly produced by protected areas, water, soils and landfills.

Preserving the Environment and Establishing Sustainable Development: An Overview on the Moroccan Model

Over the past two decades, Morocco has been able to develop a political and strategic vision which has gradually considered the environment as a prerequisite for any public policies. The new approach aims to make the environment the cornerstone of sustainable development, and therefore, ultimately, of the birth of a new "green and inclusive" economy. This vision benefits from an exceptional impetus from His Majesty the King Mohammed VI. Morocco has therefore put in place a national environmental and sustainable development policy which breaks down into several priority areas, namely: strengthening the legal and institutional framework; environmental upgrading through programs dedicated to the preservation of the environment and providing financial instruments and systems in the service of environmental monitoring. In addition, Morocco, with its strategic north-south status, is actively engaged in the environmental diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. On the road to an integrated and sustainable human development, Morocco continues to deploy ambitious efforts in environmental communication, awareness and education. Based on the bidimensional classic model, Morocco has therefore developed a tridimensional/pyramidal model for the sustainable development. This, by integrating governance in the summit, and putting human being at the center of the new form, as an actor and a beneficiary at the same time. This manuscript presents an overview of the Moroccan model in all aspects of preserving the environment and establishing the second generation of the sustainable development.

江苏沿海滩涂围垦与社会经济发展的耦合关系

沿海滩涂湿地是脆弱的生态敏感区，滩涂围垦是沿海国家和地区拓展土地资源的重要方式之一。近年，沿海地区快速城市化下的滩涂围垦导致了沿海湿地生态系统退化等一系列环境问题。基于环境库兹涅茨曲线（Environmental Kuznets Curve，EKC）模型，以江苏北部沿海湿地为研究区，结合遥感影像和社会经济数据，刻画滩涂围垦过程、强度及社会经济发展过程，揭示近40年江苏沿海滩涂围垦主要类型、阶段性变化特征，阐述滩涂围垦与社会经济发展的耦合关系。研究结果显示，养殖水体扩张是近40年江苏滩涂围垦利用的主要方式；相比养殖水体聚集发展的盐城市，以启东为典型代表的南通市经历了相对较完整的养殖水体的滩涂围垦过程，其养殖水体面积与区域渔业产值存在指数关系，即当人均地区产值达到约9.55万元时，区域渔业产值的增长不再以通过围垦增加养殖水体面积为主要途径；从江苏沿海滩涂围垦来看，滩涂围垦与社会经济发展之间存在典型倒U型曲线关系。苏北滩涂围垦可分为3个阶段，初期阶段（1980-2005年），滩涂围垦随着经济发展而急剧增加；中期（2005-2014年），当人均GDP约为3.64×10⁴元时滩涂围垦速度达最大；后期（2014-2018年），滩涂围垦随着经济发展呈现下降趋势。3个阶段中，单位滩涂围垦面积与人均GDP增长关系由4.11元/km²，17.08元/km²增加至60.77元/km²，呈显著增加的趋势。经济发展，农业和农村经济改革以及国家和地方各级政策均对滩涂围垦具有重要影响。严格的国家环境保护政策将是有效控制滩涂围垦、保护生态环境的重要手段。;Tidal flat wetland is one of the most sensitive and fragile ecosystems in the world, and tidal flat reclamation plays an essential role for coastal countries or regions to expand land. In recent years, with rapid urbanization, tidal flat reclamation in coastal areas has led to a series of environmental problems such as wetland ecosystem degradation. Taking coastal wetlands in northern Jiangsu as a research area, based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model, this study attempted to characterize the process of tidal flat reclamation and socio-economic development, and reveal the phase of reclamation over the past 40 years, and explain the coupling relationship between tidal flat reclamation and social economic development. The results showed that the expansion of aquaculture water has been the main characteristics of reclamation in Jiangsu tidal flats in the past 40 years. Compared with Yancheng City, where aquaculture water bodies are clustered developing, Nantong City, which is represented by Qidong, has experienced a relatively complete tidal flat reclamation process for aquaculture water bodies. An exponential relationship was observed between the area of aquaculture water bodies and the regional fishery output value in Qidong, that is, when the per capita regional output value reached approximately 95,500 Yuan, the increase of regional fishery output value no longer depended on increasing the aquaculture water area through reclamation. There was a typical inverted U curve relationship between tidal flat reclamation and economic development in north Jiangsu coastal area in the past 40 years. The process of reclamation in north Jiangsu coastal area can be divided into three phases. In the early phase (1980-2005), the reclamation increased sharply with economic growth. In the middle phase (2005-2014), the increasing trends of reclamation and economic growth continued, with a turning point appeared, when the per capita GDP was about 3.64×10⁴ Yuan, and the maximum reclamation appeared with the speed up to 146.34 km²/a. In the late phase (2014-2018), tidal flat reclamation showed a downward trend while the economy still increasing. In the three stages, the relationship between reclamation and per capita GDP growth increased from 4.11 Yuan/km² and 17.08 Yuan/km² to 60.77 Yuan/km², showing a significant growing trend. Economic development, agricultural and rural economic reforms, and national and local policies make important impacts on tidal flat reclamation. The strictly national environmental protection policies would be of great significance to effectively control tidal flat reclamation and protect the coastal ecological environment.

THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEN ECONOMY

The European green course has influenced the introduction of a "green" economy, the implementation of which requires the application of processes and procedures that will ensure the activities of the enterprise in agriculture in accordance with the developed national strategy and goals. Such a system, expressed through the organizational and institutional support of the green economy, will achieve the set economic, social and environmental goals and adhere to measures to meet the needs of future generations. Accordingly, the aim of the article was to reveal the peculiarities of the conceptualization of organizational and institutional support for the development of a "green" economy in agriculture. During the writing of the article in the process of research dialectical methods of scientific knowledge of the process of ensuring the development of green economy in agriculture, first of all analysis and synthesis, were used. Induction and deduction methods were also used to characterize the organizational and institutional parts of the provision. The study found that the system of organizational and institutional support of the "green" economy combines various interdisciplinary aspects of economic, social, environmental and institutional components for the organization of activities under the European Green Course, the National Concept of Green Transition, National Environmental Policy Strategy and others regulations. Institutional support for the development of the green economy is responsible for the formation of appropriate formal and informal institutions that will create conditions for further activities to achieve the goals. In general, institutional ties are just forming. Accordingly, the system of organizational and institutional support of the "green" economy, which combines various interdisciplinary aspects of economic, social, environmental and institutional components for organizing activities on the main objectives of the "European Green Course" and the national concept of "green" transition and "green" energy will not be formed. Also, the institutional component of the green economy is not yet fully formed and is in the process of formation, and the development of components of both organizational and institutional direction depend on each other. These systems highlighted the main points of organizational and institutional support of the green economy in agriculture and helped to reveal the main components of this process.

Теоретичні підходи до визначення поняття підтримання екологічної безпеки

The article is devoted to the study of theoretical approaches to the definition of «environmental safety» and «maintenance of environmental safety». It was found that the concept of «maintenance of environmental safety» is not clearly regulated, but the concept of «maintenance» is used in relation to various environmental conditions, natural phenomena, mechanisms for ensuring state measures to protect the environment. The opinions of foreign and domestic scientists on the concept of environmental safety and processes of its provision are studied. It is found out that the existing contradictions regarding the interpretation of these concepts exist due to a significant number of definitions and classifications. It is revealed that European scientists are more likely to use the definitions of «environmental safety», «environmental policy» and «environmental law», and are increasingly working towards the introduction of new methods to reduce anthropogenic impact on the environment within the framework of national environmental policies. The distinction between the concepts of «environmental safety» and «environmental safety» is proposed. It is proposed to provide a definition of «environmental safety» from a legal point of view, as a type of activity of authorized public authorities and officials, aimed at establishing and regulating legal, economic, political, technical and social measures to achieve and maintain environmental safety. The interpretation of "maintaining environmental safety" as a response system, a set of preventive measures aimed at minimizing the likelihood of natural and anthropogenic emergencies (which can bring the ecosystem out of balance), as well as adjusting the adopted environmental safety strategies to meet the challenges of our time, is proposed.

The World's Largest Ecosystem Management Plan: The Northwest Forest Plan After a Quarter-Century

For decades, the public forests of the Pacific Northwest were subject to widespread clearcutting of its old-growth trees as part of a federal policy promoting industrial logging. That era came to end in the early 1990s, due to court injunctions enforcing environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act, a response to diminishing old-growth dependent species like the northern spotted owl. Fulfilling a campaign promise to resolve the contentious issue by protecting both wildlife habitat and a logging industry important to local communities, President Clinton and his administration conducted a remarkable 1993 symposium on the economics and science of preserving rapidly disappearing habitat for ESA-listed species like the northern spotted owl and several salmonids. The result was the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NFP), widely recognized as the largest commitment to ecosystem management worldwide. Somewhat surprisingly, the NFP is still in effect over a quarter-century later, despite determined efforts to eviscerate it by the logging industry and its political allies. This article examines the NFP, its antecedents, its provisions, its court interpretations, and its future. In many respects, despite persistent controversy over the legal underpinnings of the NFP, the plan has provided substantial protection for Northwest’s public forests, and – although it did not end all public timber harvests – largely ended harvesting of public old-growth forests. Moreover, the plan’s aquatic protection strategy has proved quite effective and worthy of emulation elsewhere. Although the Bush administration’s repeated efforts to terminate the plan failed, the Obama administration removed about ten percent of the federal forests subject to the plan from its reach, substantially undermining its ecological premises. The courts have so far sustained these removals, casting a pall of uncertainty over efforts to update the NFP to reflect current challenges posed by wildfires and climate change. This article suggests that the goals of a revised NFP should be linked to the role that federal public Pacific Northwest forests can play in the United States’ international obligations to combat climate change. The article also recommends that despite ongoing uncertainty concerning the scope of the plan, revisions of the NFP should end post-fire salvage logging and the logging of mature and old growth forests, while providing a “just transition” for affected rural communities and increased flexibility concerning the boundaries of protective terrestrial reserves in the southern reaches of the plan. We maintain that if it can overcome persistent political challenges, the NFP will continue to provide the signature example of landscape planning worldwide.

Blazing a Path to Wilderness: A Case Study of Impact Litigation Through the Lens of Legislative History

Litigation can be a catalyst for legislation. Legislative history can reveal just how influential litigation is. The legislative history of the laws to designate wilderness in the 1980s provides an object lesson. It demonstrates that litigation both pushed Congress to act and shaped the legislation Congress enacted. This is especially true of the watershed year of 1984. That year, Congress enacted more wilderness laws and added more wilderness areas to the National Wilderness Preservation System in more states than in any other year. The legislative history of the 1984 wilderness laws embedded in bills, hearings, committee meetings, committee reports, and floor proceedings, in conjunction with the legislative history of the various wilderness bills and laws considered, rejected, and passed from 1979 through 1983, reveal the significant impact a particular lawsuit had on Congress in 1984 and beyond. Specifically, a lawsuit grounded in the National Environmental Policy Act, taking advantage of a powerful precedent, prompted the preservation of the wilderness character of millions of acres of public land. To be precise: The lawsuit impelled Congress to designate more than 9.171 million acres in twenty-three states as wilderness from 1984 through 1989. Of that number, more than 7.335 million acres are managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Forest Service; more than 1.835 million acres are managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. This article uses legislative history to demonstrate how a strategic lawsuit sparked congressional action. It traces the litigation engendered by the Forest Service’s decision regarding roadless areas in national forests and the evolution of Congress’s response to that litigation, from the first lawsuit filed in 1979 to the last filed in 1983. In the process, it shows how legislative history can illuminate the underlying causes and policy choices that lead to legislation.

A Hazard Analysis of Federal Permitting Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970

A Hazard Analysis of Federal Permitting Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970

No Butts on the Beach: Aquatic Toxicity of Cigarette Butt Leachate Chemicals.

Toxic pollutants leaching from littered cigarette butts (CB) raise environmental impact concerns. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required to assess the environmental impacts of its tobacco regulatory actions per the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We determined the chemical constituents in CB leachate through analyses of 109 field-collected CB and literature compilation and characterized their ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms. One-third of the 98 identified CB leachate chemicals were very toxic and 10% were toxic to aquatic organisms due to acute and chronic toxicity. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, phthalates, nicotine and volatile organic compounds were the most hazardous CB leachate chemicals for aquatic organisms. Of the 98 CB leachate chemicals, 25 are included in FDA's list of harmful or potentially harmful constituents in tobacco products and tobacco smoke. Our study quantifies CB leachate constituents, characterizes their ecological hazard and identifies chemicals of concern. Thus, it aids in evaluating the environmental impacts of tobacco products per NEPA requirements. These results provide important information for strategies to prevent and reduce CB litter (eg, awareness programs, litter laws enforcement), thereby reducing environmental hazards from CB toxicants.

Potential Biden Administration Changes

Climate change was the top environmental focus during Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, so it is reasonable to assume that is where his administration's environmental efforts will be focused initially. In fact, at the time of this writing, the lead candidates for heading up the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) all work in positions that champion ambitious climate policies. However, with coal-state senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) chairing the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Natural Resources, respectively, the Biden administration's clean energy efforts will move more slowly and rely more on regulatory options than if he had his own party controlling both bodies of Congress. For example, he will have more regulatory options than legislative options available to address greenhouse gases and vehicle efficiency standards. And while presidents do have the power of executive orders at their disposal, they have limited authority and—as we've seen the past few years—can get easily hung up in court unless very carefully crafted. Specific to water, if the Senate remains in Republican control after January's Georgia runoff elections, it is not likely we will see a major rewrite of the Safe Drinking Water Act to make it easier for USEPA to write new regulations. Either way, don't be surprised if some Republicans support efforts to streamline rule-writing to a degree. There are plenty of Republicans with contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or lead service line issues in their states or districts, and those issues have their attention. It is likely we will see drinking water regulations issued for a handful of chemicals within the PFAS family, but probably not for the whole class of PFAS compounds. Biden is a centrist by nature, and because PFAS are used in everything from medical devices to semiconductor chips to cables, it is likely his administration will take these uses into account. The administration could require Clean Water Act permits to list PFAS releases and volumes, halt approvals of the use of new PFAS compounds, and close loopholes in existing reporting requirements. Environmental justice has been an ongoing cause for incoming vice president Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), so expect that to get a higher profile in this administration. Enforcement of environmental regulations will also get a renewed emphasis. As for the ongoing saga of the Waters of the United States rule, the Trump administration issued a narrower definition of regulated wetlands than its predecessor, but that is hung up in court. If the Biden administration moves to change that newest definition, expect more action in the courts. This could go on for a while until the issue reaches the Supreme Court again; the court's decision in 2006, Rapanos vs. United States, opened the door to more litigation on the matter. The Trump administration also attempted to streamline the environmental permitting process by issuing new regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act. That has attracted five lawsuits so far. Since there is not time for these new regulations to take effect, the Biden administration will have the opportunity to reconsider these actions. Infrastructure spending is often seen as a tool to boost economic growth and get people employed again. A big uncertainty is the length and depth of the current economic downturn that the country is experiencing because of coronavirus impacts. If Congress feels a need to step in again this spring, infrastructure spending could be wielded as it was in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. If this is the case, then the question will be whether to put more federal money into existing tools, such as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program and the state revolving loan fund programs, or to also create new financial tools like ARRA did with Build America Bonds. The most likely course is for Congress and the administration to focus on those existing finance tools and possibly existing grant programs, such as those for lead service line removal and PFAS remediation. The past decade has not been kind to forecasters of political trends, so be prepared for developments beyond those described here. Tommy Holmes is director of legislative affairs at the AWWA Government Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at tholmes@awwa.org.

Implementing NEPA in the Age of Climate Change

The national government has a crucial role to play in combating climate change, yet federal projects continue to constitute a major source of United States greenhouse gas emissions. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, agencies must consider the environmental impacts of major federal actions before they can move forward. But agencies frequently downplay or ignore the climate change impacts of their projects in NEPA analyses, citing a slew of technical difficulties and uncertainties. This Article analyzes a suite of the most common analytical failures on the part of agencies with respect to climate change: failure to account for a project’s downstream and upstream greenhouse gas emissions; failure to acknowledge a project’s effect on the country’s energy mix; and failure to consider a reasonable social cost of carbon. After summarizing current regulatory practice and case law on each topic, this Article finds that despite protestations that accounting for such impacts is infeasible, agencies already possess many of the tools needed to assess such impacts, and indeed, some agencies already use these tools to do so. Furthermore, courts are increasingly holding agencies accountable for a full and fair assessment of climate change effects in NEPA analysis. This Article aims to highlight best practices so that agency offices can learn from one another, fulfill NEPA’s mandate, and begin to provide leadership in the fight against climate change.

Cybersecurity Policy and the Legislative Context of the Water and Wastewater Sector in South Africa

The water and wastewater sector is an important lifeline upon which other economic sectors depend. Securing the sector’s critical infrastructure is therefore important for any country’s economy. Like many other nations, South Africa has an overarching national cybersecurity strategy aimed at addressing cyber terrorism, cybercriminal activities, cyber vandalism, and cyber sabotage. The aim of this study is to contextualise the water and wastewater sector’s cybersecurity responsibilities within the national cybersecurity legislative and policy environment. This is achieved by conducting a detailed analysis of the international, national and sector cybersecurity stakeholders; legislation and policies; and challenges pertaining to the protection of the water and wastewater sector. The study found some concerning challenges and improvement gaps regarding the complex manner in which the national government is implementing the cybersecurity strategy. The study also found that, along with the National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (the national cybersecurity strategy of South Africa), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, and other supporting legislation and policies make provision for the water and wastewater sector’s computer security incidents response team to be established without the need to propose any new laws or amend existing ones. This is conducive for the immediate development of the sector-specific cybersecurity governance framework and resilience strategy to protect the water and wastewater assets.

Features of civil liability for environmental offenses

The paper considers the question of the peculiarities of the regulation of civil liability for environmental offenses. A significant step forward in strengthening the importance of the institution of legal liability for environmental offenses in Ukraine was enshrined in the Concept of National Environmental Policy until 2020, the principle of “environmental responsibility, which requires liability for any violations of environmental legislation”. This principle, according to the above concept, is included in the list of fundamental principles on which the national environmental policy in Ukraine should be based. The purpose of the study is to define the concept of legal liability for environmental offenses, to establish its features, types and relationships with other concepts, to clarify the content of environmental offenses and ways to prevent its commission. Legal liability for environmental offenses is an important legal institution to ensure law and order in the field of ecology, environmental safety, protection of human rights and freedoms, which has both general features of legal liability, developed by theory, and specific features due to the subject of regulation. Liability for environmental offenses arises only due to the existence of such an environmental offense, which is characterized by a number of features and a special composition, which includes such mandatory elements as object, subject, objective and subjective side. The absence of these elements excludes grounds for liability. At the level of the application of liability to offenders, the state must address the issue of preventing the commission of these offenses. The causes and conditions of committing specific crimes or administrative offenses must be established and ways to reduce their number must be established. Civil liability is an important means of restoring violated rights and compensation for damage caused by the offense. Thus, environmental liability is a new independent type of legal liability, which has not yet been enshrined in law, but has already received the support of many legal scholars and is currently a promising area for the development of the institution of liability.

Assessing Green Policies for the Rehabilitation and Sustainable Restoration of Mine Sites in Cameroon: Case of the Mayo-Darlé Mine Site, Adamawa Region

Mining is not without negative consequences for the environment. It is appropriate for each concerned state, particularly Cameroon, to adopt and implement mining laws and regulations to reduce environmental risks. The former Mayo-Darlé mine site in the Adamawa region that has been abandoned for several decades is a striking example of the limitations and lapses of national environmental protection policies. Hence, this study outlines an inventory of features in the concerned mine site while analyzing green policies related to the mining sector in Cameroon. The study attempts to modelize the socio-economic and environmental impacts in the sustainable management of the Mayo-Darlé mine site. The study proposes the prescription of a green network to encourage artisanal sustainable practices within mining fields. This “eco-sustainable" strategy shall be specific to mine site development. The implementation of measures outlined in the proposed policy shall considerably improve environmental conditions around the mine site. This involves the establishment of a rehabilitation plan and realistic restoration of the Mayo Darlé site for good preservation of the environment.

A review on distribution and importance of wetlands in the perspective of India

Biodiversity is not equally distributed across the world. It depends on the type of various habitats and food availability. In these habitats, wetlands play an import role to increase the biodiversity of the particular area. Many studies have focused on various habitats to conserve biodiversity. However, the wetland studies are very few due to the lack of information on their distribution and importance. The present review focusses on the wetland status and their importance in India. India has vibrant and diverse wetland ecosystems that support immense biodiversity. The wetlands are unique habitats which provide ecological, social and economic values. However, rapid urbanization, industrialization and uncontrolled agricultural practices have pressurized to shrink the wetlands in India. The present paper highlights the wetland habitats in India with their geographical location, distribution, avian species diversity and their significance. The paper also discusses the growing threats like climate change, land-use change and agriculture/ municipal waste to the wetlands and the conservation efforts by Indian government policies, i.e. National Wetland Conservation Programme, National Environmental Policy, and National Plan for conservation of the aquatic ecosystem. In addition, on the basis of previous studies on wetlands, it is suggested that the role of stakeholders is very much responsible for wetland conservation.

Басейнове управління водними ресурсами України: SWOT-аналіз

This review article aims to increase our understanding in the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of implementing the basin approach for water resources management in Ukraine. To this end, this article implements that SWOT analysis for discussing the transition from the administrative approach towards the basin approach. The SWOT analysis consists of the four main aspects: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weakness include strong and weak points of implementing the basin approach, respectively. Opportunities are windows for implementing actions to facilitate the basin approach and increase the effectiveness of this approach. Threats include risks for implementing the basin approach. In order to better understand opportunities, the main drivers and causes of water pollution are also discussed in the article. Results of the review show that climate change affects the availability of water resources strongly. Human activities namely the poultry production are important polluters of water resources. The article summarizes the correct water resources management approaches and proposes four main strategies for implementing the basin approach within the SWOT analysis. The first strategy deals with the successful transition from the administrative management towards the basin management of water resources. The second strategy deals with an increase in the access of the public to the water resources information including water quality. The third strategy deals with integrating the European Union water-related directives in the national environmental policies. The fourth strategy deals with reducing pollution levels in water systems through improved technologies. Next steps are to develop an integrated approach to account for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the four strategies. It is important to develop water indicators to facilitate an integrated assessment of water resources for different water uses while accounting for water quality. Future research can focus on future scenarios to project water quality under global change and to assess effects of the national policies on reducing future water pollution from urbanization and agricultural sectors.

Linking metal (Pb, Hg, Cd) industrial air pollution risk to blood metal levels and cardiovascular functioning and structure among children in Syracuse, NY

BackgroundExposure to air pollution has been linked to individual health effects in occupational environments and communities proximate to air pollution sources. Use of estimated chemical concentrations from the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model, derived from the Toxics Release Inventory, can help approximate some contributions to individual lifetime exposure to risk from air pollution and holds potential for linkages with specific health outcome data. ObjectivesOur objectives were: (1) use regression modeling to test for associations between observed blood metal concentrations in children and RSEI total air concentrations of the same metals released from proximate manufacturing facilities; (2) determine the relative contribution of RSEI air pollution to blood metal concentrations; and (3) examine associations between chronic metal exposure and cardiovascular functioning and structure in study participants. MethodsUsing data synthesis methods and regression modeling we linked individual blood-based levels of lead, mercury, and cadmium(Pb, Hg, Cd) and cardiovascular functioning and structure to proximate industrial releases of the same metals captured by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) RSEI geographic microdata. ResultsWe found that RSEI-derived ground-level ambient air concentrations of Hg and Cd were a significant predictor of blood metal levels, when controlling for covariates and other exposure variables. In addition to associations with blood metal findings, RSEI concentrations also predicted cardiovascular dysfunction and risk including changes in left-ventricular mass, blood pressure, and heart rate. DiscussionRight-to-know data, such as EPA's RSEI, can be linked to objective health outcomes, rather than simply serving as a non-specific risk estimate. These data can serve as a proxy for hazard exposure and should be used more widely to understand the dynamics of environmental exposure. Furthermore, since these data are both a product of and contribute to regulatory decision making, they could serve as an important link between disease risk and translation-orientated national environmental health policy.