Exploitation Of Natural Resources Research Articles

Exploring the factors shaping business students’ environmental concern

Purpose Increasing the need for education for sustainable development in universities requires an understanding of the predictors of students’ environmental concern (EC). In this paper, the authors focus on the EC of business students because of their future responsibility for business operations regarding the exploitation of natural resources. The aim of the study is to examine the predictors of business students’ environmental concern. Design/methodology/approach Based on the Norm Activation Model as the theoretical framework, this study hypothesizes the model of EC with two main predictors: ascription of responsibility for the environment (AOR), driven by locus of control and self-efficacy (LC/SE), and awareness of positive consequences of consumption reduction on the environment (AOC), driven by perceived environmental knowledge. Structural equation modelling was applied to confirm the conceptual model based on the responses of business students from six countries (Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spain) collected through an online survey. Findings The environmental concern of business students is predicted both by the ascription of responsibility and by awareness of consequences; however, the ascription of responsibility is a stronger predictor of EC. A strong impact was found for internal locus of control and self-efficacy on AOR, as well as a weaker influence of perceived environmental knowledge on AOC. Originality/value Sustainability education dedicated to business students should provide environmental knowledge and strengthen their internal locus of control and self-efficacy in an environmental context.

Chinchero as Tourism Hub and Green Corridor as a Social Integrator in Cusco Peru 2023

This research focuses on the proposal of a corridor design that allows social and ecological integration in the context of a city with emerging potential as a tourist destination in Chinchero, Cusco. Key challenges addressed include lack of infrastructure to manage growing tourism demand, fragmentation of social identity, displacement of the local population due to gentrification processes, uncontrolled urban sprawl, and inappropriate exploitation of natural, cultural, and agricultural lands. To address these issues, a comprehensive diagnosis was carried out covering various urban-environmental dimensions, such as topography, road infrastructure, archeology, climate, and biodiversity. In this process, digital tools such as Blender, AutoCAD, Photoshop, and Affinity Designer were used. As a result of the analysis, an urban green corridor is proposed consisting of seven sectors covering the shores of the Piuray lagoon, the city center, and its archeological area, through the creation of socially active public spaces equipped with cultural, sports, and recreational facilities. The city of Chinchero, with its growing importance as a tourist destination, presents the opportunity and the need to develop a controlled urban development axis that promotes the connection between environmental, cultural, archeological, social, and tourism aspects. This objective is materialized in the form of a green corridor that seeks to promote social integration and a sense of territorial belonging.

A study on the impact of the degree of mixed ownership reform of state-owned enterprises on corporate environmental response

Purpose This study aims to explore the relationship between the degree of state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) mixed reform and the environmental response of enterprises, against the background of actively promoting the reform of mixed ownership in China. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted on a sample of A-share listed manufacturing companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen of China, investigated for the period 2015 to 2020. The baseline regression results are robust to a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. To deal with the issue of endogeneity, the technique of instrumental variable method has been applied. Findings The study confirms the U-shaped effect of the depth and restriction of mixed ownership on SOEs’ environmentally responsive behaviour in the manufacturing industry, especially for lower environmental regulation and higher level of risk-taking firms. The findings indicate that the government, shareholders and other stakeholders of enterprises should not simply consider that the mixed reform is directly promoting or reducing the environmental response behaviour of enterprises. Practical implications SOEs should improve their shareholding structures to undermine performance enhancement at the expense of the environment and increase environmentally beneficial behaviours. Regulators and governments should improve the institutional mechanism of environmental regulation and make efforts to promote corporate awareness of the environment. Social implications Although the adoption and implementation of environmentally friendly policies are costly, improved environmental response and other social responsibilities are helpful to corporate long-term growth and reputation and obtain more capital market attention. Therefore, firms would benefit from improving their environmental response to protect nature, as well as to enjoy the economic and social benefits of a better environmental response. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is a lack of studies focussing on the environmental behaviour of SOEs of mixed reform. As the mixed reform in China has come to a climax phase in recent several years, SOEs of mixed reform is an ideal environment for research. The study focusses on manufacturing firms as these firms are more susceptible to contribute to environmental pollution, exploitation of natural resources and labour concerns.

Shear behavior of thermally damaged rock using the bonded-particle model based on moment tensor

It is critical to understand the temperature-dependent shear behavior of rock in exploiting deep natural resources-geothermal energy, coal, and oil. The shear behavior of thermally damaged rock needs to be further clarified from a micromechanical perspective. In this study, a series of direct shear tests are performed on thermally damaged sandstone using the bonded-particle model (BPM) with thermal formulation to investigate the temperature-dependent behavior. The macro mechanical properties and micro acoustic emission (AE) responses based on a moment tensor algorithm are derived from numerical models to provide insight into the temperature dependence of the mechanical behavior of sandstone. The simulated results indicate that high temperature can induce microcracks, a form of thermally induced damage. Thermally induced damage is a principal cause of the degradation of rock's mechanical properties. Generally, the maximum magnitudes of tensile, shear, and implosive events that can be tolerated without damage decrease gradually as the temperature increases. Also, AE b-value are closely associated with temperature. The findings of this study provide new insights into the shear responses and failure behaviors of rocks at different temperatures, and further aid deep natural resource exploitation when thermal and mechanical properties are coupled. The findings of this study provide new insights into the shear responses and failure behaviors of rocks at different temperatures. These insights could be valuable for optimizing deep natural resource exploitation, particularly when considering the coupling of thermal and mechanical properties.

Tout est « éthique » … mais c’est une éthique à étiqueter ?

Everything Is “Ethical” ... but Do We Label Ethics? During the 20th century, science and technology have developed remarkably, improving the quality of life for many people. However, this development, characterised by the excessive exploitation of natural and human resources, has also had negative consequences. In the 21st century, the spread of alarming news has prompted reflection on the ethical standards to be adopted in different areas of human activity, leading to the development of new practices as well as new terminology. These considerations bring us to the quest for the meaning of « éthique » in today’s time. The aim of this study is to examine the meaning of the adjective « éthique », which is often used to describe new concepts in this context. The analysis, carried out on a sample of N + éthique combinations extracted from the French Web 2020 corpus (frTenTen20) revealed that the meanings of « éthique » depend largely on the specialised field concerned. In some cases, the adjective can also be used to emphasise the absence of dishonest practices or with the intention of concealing the nature of an activity whose basic principles are often contested. Keywords: specialised language, terminology, neologism, ethics, French language

Natural resource development, economic policy uncertainty and urban residents’ consumption in China: a nonlinear ARDL and time-varying parameter vector autoregressive with stochastic volatility approach

AbstractIncreased risks of economic policy uncertainty and overexploitation of natural resources exist in China. At the same time, the growth rate of urban residents’ consumption has generally declined. The paper analyses the role of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and natural resource exploitation on the urban residents’ consumption in China. Based on the data from the first quarter of 2002 to the third quarter of 2021, the paper uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to verify the asymmetric effects. Then the paper constructs a time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model with stochastic volatility term to analyze the nonlinear responses. Impulse response analysis was used to further explain the relationship between the three. The negative impact of rising EPU on urban residents’ consumption is larger than its reduction. Negative shocks to natural resource development increase the urban residents’ consumption. Positive shocks reduce the urban residents’ consumption. There is a time-varying non-linear effect of EPU and natural resource development on urban residents’ consumption in China. The negative impact of EPU on urban consumption has been further exacerbated by major crises such as the financial crisis, COVID-19 and the post-crisis period. The negative impact of natural resource development diminished after the government introduced industrial upgrading policies and environmental regulations. This study provides constructive suggestions for the optimization of economic policies and the improvement of urban consumption. This study also enriches consumer theory and provides new evidence for the resource curse hypothesis.

Resilience through mineral resource development, oil, and natural resource efficiency: Strengthening economies

This study examines the role of resilience in bolstering economies via the development of mineral resources and oil, alongside adaptability and natural resource efficiency, particularly within the G7 economies from 1995 to 2022. Employing the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model, the research aims to unravel the complexities of how resource-rich economies can leverage their natural assets to enhance economic resilience and sustainability. The investigation reveals a positive correlation between the strategic development of mineral resources, oil, and the adaptability of economies to external shocks, highlighting the critical importance of natural resource efficiency in ensuring long-term economic stability and growth. These findings underscore the necessity for G7 nations to implement policies that not only foster the responsible exploitation and development of natural resources but also promote adaptability and efficiency in resource use. The study's policy implication suggests a paradigm shift towards more sustainable and resilient economic models, emphasizing the balanced integration of resource development and environmental stewardship.

Mediating effect of ecospirituality on the relationship between green training and voluntary workplace green behaviour in construction projects in Nigeria

PurposeThe impact of mankind on the environment and the usage of natural resources might be influenced by spirituality, through the consciousness of creating an improved moral sense regarding the consequences of human activities and the necessity to alter these to achieve sustainable development. However, the spiritual element in the form of ecospirituality (ES) has not been sufficiently considered in pro-environmental studies as it relates to the influence of green training (GT) on voluntary workplace green behaviour (VWGB) in the construction sector. This study aims to determine the effect of GT on VWGB and the mediating effect of ES on the relationship between GT and VWGB on construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThis study’s data were gathered through a questionnaire survey of construction site managers and project managers by adopting the probability sampling method. 249 appropriately completed questionnaires were returned. The data obtained were analysed by means of the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe outcomes of the study show that GT has a significant positive impact on VWGB, while ES has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between GT and VWGB, both supporting the study’s hypotheses.Practical implicationsThese findings point to the fact that the hitherto conflicting results reported in earlier studies on the GT–VWGB relationship can be attributed to the lack of consideration given to ES. Hence, special attention should be given to ES.Originality/valueThis research presents actions to enhance the transformation of GT into VWGB by giving due consideration to ES, which was not taken into account in previous studies.

Analysis of Integrated Coastal Management in Cuba

Integrated coastal zone management (iczm) arises as a response to the challenges and problems faced by coastal zones around the world due to population growth, urbanization, industrialization and the exploitation of natural resources. This approach has been developed in response to the need to more effectively address coastal ecosystem management and development planning in these critical areas. However, integrated coastal zone management is a strategy that seeks to balance the protection and conservation of coastal ecosystems with the sustainable development of human activities that depend on these resources. Below is the diagnostic proposal for Cuba on its currently existing administrative-legal subsystem and related to the iczm, a useful analysis in the design of the policy for better governance of its coastal spaces. The methodology followed is the Decalogue, a tool used by the 13 member countries of the Ibero-American Network of Integrated Coastal Management (red ibermar), the key topics analyzed were: public policies, regulations, institutions, competencies, instruments, public information, resources, training. and training, education for sustainability and public participation. Keywords: Cuba, comprehensive diagnosis, coastal management, Management Decalogue.

Reduced Siderite Ore Combined with Magnesium Oxide as Support Material for Ni-Based Catalysts; An Experimental Study on CO2 Methanation

Ni-based catalysts play a fundamental role in catalytic CO2 methanation. In this study, the possibility of using siderite ore as a catalyst or catalytic support material for nickel-based catalysts was investigated, aiming at the exploitation of an abundant natural resource. The catalytic performance of Ni-based catalysts with reduced siderite ore as a support was evaluated and compared to MgO as a support material. MgO is known as an effective support material, as it provides access to bifunctional catalysts because of its basicity and high CO2 adsorption capacity. It was shown that undoped and Ni-doped reduced siderite ore have comparable catalytic activity for CO2 hydrogenation (20−23%) at 648 K, but show limited selectivity toward methane (<20% for sideritereduced and 60.2% for Ni/sideritereduced). When MgO was added to the support material (Ni/sideritereduced/MgO), both the CO2 conversion and the selectivity toward methane increased significantly. CO2 conversions were close to the thermodynamic equilibrium, and methane selectivities of ≥99% were achieved.

Community forest, environment conservation and rural livelihood

The study analyses the economic benefit to rural people derived from the community forest and the role of community forest in the livelihood of the rural people. For this purpose, Khajure Community Forest of Dang district was selected. This article analyses interactions among economic development, the environment, and natural resource use pattern. Community forestry promotes sustainable management of forests by the local community for their collective benefits and promotes equal rights regardless of caste, ethnicity and gender. Community Forest Users’ Group highly depend on CF for their basic households needs such as fuel wood, grass, fodder and timber. Community participation in managing forest has contributed to forest conservation, scientific utilization of forest products and social inclusion which ultimately fosters community ownership in management and use of natural resources. But there are problems in CF governance and benefit sharing. The main issues of community forest are elite dominance in decision-making, social exclusion, and unequal benefit sharing. Rural people go through the exploitation of forest resource haphazardly for their survival. Exploitation of natural resources, including forest resource, contribute to global environmental problems and climate change. Electric cook stoves could be a good, clean fuel source while also helping to reduce the trade deficit. Scheduled firewood collection has resulted to shortage of fuel wood and has increased dependency on cow dung cake for daily cooking. Socio-economic condition of community members has remained as the obstacle for fuel shifting towards modern and clean energy that produces no smoke and no indoor air pollution, and thus, reducing respiratory diseases. Fuel transition has great positive impact on forest conservation,too.

Work in Progress

Questions addressed in this project are concerned with issues of photographic representation and the ways in which, through extended walks with a camera, the medium might reflect upon the problematic coexistence of nature and a cultural progressive drive towards limitless manufacturing within the context of the broader geo-political issues that affect the planet. Specifically, the images respond to problems such as the human exploitation of natural resources, urban expansion and our reliance on fossil fuels in an era in which climate change is threatening our existence.

Human security, sustainable livelihoods and development: the case of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria

This article critically examines the complex connections between human security and livelihoods in relation to development in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. This region is pervaded by a web of socio-economic and environmental issues that have severely impacted the lives of people and communities due to environmental degradation. For example, the exploration and exploitation of natural resources in this region has had extensive consequences on the livelihood activities of the people. Moreover, the Niger Delta has been affected by persistent social instabilities and a lack of access to some of the basic assets of security, including personal, health, economic and environmental security. While the concepts of livelihoods and environmental degradation are reasonably well understood in the context of the Niger Delta, the complex links between them in relation to human security remain unexplored. To examine how environmental degradation impacts livelihoods, this article explores the concept of human security, following a rights-based approach in line with the sustainable livelihood framework. Furthermore, it draws from semi-structured interviews conducted in the region on the lived experiences of community members, such as farmers and fishers, and their challenges in bridging generational crises in the context of environmental degradation. I argue that understanding the interconnectedness of security and livelihood issues in the context of such crises provides an innovative approach to considering both environmental and social factors in sustainable development, which is essential for the overall well-being of people in the region.

Life Style Changes for Environment and Sustainable Development

In the changing world economy scenario and due to consumerism name became a major factor for industry to make a product and services as per customer choice. This consumerism impacted on a large scale in the competitive market due to increase in purchasing power people are demanding new product with special features and corporate houses are somehow compromising on sustainability of development resulting in fast and rapid exploitation of natural resources although government name imposed several restriction on consumer market like ban on plastic, ban on wildlife product, less use of germicide and pesticide in packet foods, waste disposal system at every industry, ban on excessive use of water resources, ban on old vehicle use of green energy, bio fuel, solar energy etc.

THE LAW OF MEASURE IN THE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE PROTECTION OF NATURE

Man, according to biologists, is an animal that belongs to the order of mammals, and within its framework, to the hominids family. Within this family he includes the species homo sapiens. As a creation of nature, he is a part of it. As a part of it, he actually represents human nature. He is born, grows, develops, reproduces, ages and dies according to natural laws. “Man is the measure of all that exists and of all does not exist”, says Protagoras.“ To have measure in everything is the first condition for achieving happiness,” says Democritus. For Aristotle, “two extremes are dangerous in human action: what is excessive and what is lacking. Our very nature suits exactly what is in the middle, neither too much nor too little.” Man, as a part of nature and a measure of everything that exists in it and of what did not exist, using its resources to create it in order to exist and use it, is obliged to respect the law of measure, as a law of nature. Respecting that law, man must take care to use the natural resources to a limit that will not lead to an unwanted change in its quality, and thus to the disruption of the conditions for his life. Unfortunately, man does not act like that, but mercilessly exploits and destroys nature. The thesis that the nature of Planet Earth has lost its self-regulating mechanisms is not true. On the contrary, the self-regulatory mechanisms of nature are increasingly coming to the fore. Global warming followed by unprecedented dry periods in certain parts of the Planet, the hunger of millions of people caused by them, catastrophic floods, hurricane-ravaged winds, increased mortality due to polluted air, epidemics and pandemics whose spread is facilitated by dense living in cities are nothing else, but regulatory mechanisms of nature by which it reduces the human population and tends to exterminate it. Man, ie, humanity, is the one who has lost self-regulatory mechanisms. Endless industrialization driven by the whip of profit, intoxicated by consumer obsession, with uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, mercilessly destroys the ecosystem of Planet Earth. Due to the absence or ineffectiveness of self-regulatory mechanisms, Planet Earth, as the global natural environment of man, is facing a severe ecological crisis. Characteristic of this crisis is not only the destruction of living conditions by destruction and pollution of the natural environment, but also by the destruction of the entire ecosystem of the Planet, the maintenance of which is a vital condition for human life and the survival of civilization. Nature is omnipotent and inexorable when it comes to breaking its laws. Man, as humanized nature, can never be her master, as he imagines, but her servant and slave. The French philosopher Paul Holbach writes about this in his work “System of Nature.” Humanity must find self-regulatory mechanisms and strengthen the existing ones to the maximum. Otherwise, as Thomas Eliot says, “it comes to an end, not in a brutal detonation, but gradually and with a peaceful exhalation.

Models of residential space for ethnic minorities in Thanh Hoa Province associated with sustainable livelihoods

Thanh Hoa Province has 11 mountainous districts with seven ethnic minority groups, and the three largest ethnic groups are the Muong, Thai, and H'Mong. This region has great potential for developing a forest-based economy, ecotourism, community-based tourism, and cultural heritage tourism that is associated with cultural festivals, customs, lifestyles, and traditional housing architecture. However, developing a family-based economy, such as engaging in community-based tourism or agricultural production, has negatively affected and disrupted the structure of village spaces, spatial planning, and traditional house design. The arbitrary construction of additional service spaces and spaces for resident guests within the village space and the precinct of a house has reduced the area of the garden and agricultural land. The self-initiated modification, expansion, and use of non-traditional materials in traditional housing structures by residents to serve tourists have resulted in the loss of the architectural value of traditional homes. The exploitation of agricultural land has affected the natural forest area, the forest protection area at the headwaters, and the vegetation cover and natural ecosystems. Moreover, agricultural economic activities have not been linked to service activities, handicraft production, or tourism, and there are no adaptive residential space models, thus failing to create sustainable livelihood activities. Therefore, the article proposes settlement space models and orientations for residential space development including village spaces, house precincts, and traditional housing spaces of ethnic minorities in Thanh Hoa Province, associated with sustainable livelihoods based on the exploitation of traditional housing architectural heritage values to ensure local economic development. These models are closely linked with the conservation and promotion of ethnic cultural values, landscape preservation, environmental protection, and contribution to poverty reduction for residents.

Integration between olive cultivation and sheep farming in Brazil: Carbon footprint mitigation potential

Two economic activities have been integrated in southern Brazil: olive cultivation and sheep farming. The favorable edaphoclimatic conditions in the southern region for cultivating olive trees and cultural preferences for the consumption of sheep meat make this integration a valuable strategy. Considering that every activity causes environmental impact and the exploitation of natural resources, new systems that promote sustainable development and the efficient use of these resources become necessary. This paper presents the first study of the carbon footprint of the life cycle of integrating of sheep and olive farming, with the objective to build an inventory based on primary data collected on olive and sheep farms in Brazil, determine the carbon footprint of the conventional and integrated system and estimate the potential for mitigating GHG emissions. The evaluation was performed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The study focuses on the detailed analysis of the processes and activities that are responsible for GHG emissions, including enteric methane emissions, methane emissions from manure management, emissions from nitrogen fertilizer use and limestone application and energy consumption. For this, two major scenarios were considered, the first centered around on the traditional olive cultivation and sheep farming systems individually, and the second involved their synergistic integration. The findings indicate that the conventional system is associated with a global warming impact of 6.8 kg CO2eq per liter olive oil and kg live weight. In contrast, the integrated system demonstrates a significant mitigation potential of 27.7%, resulting in a reduced global warming impact of 4.92 kg CO2eq. This advantage is a consequence of the synergy between the systems, as they now occupy the same area, which allows the sharing of agricultural activities and agrochemical inputs, in addition to optimizing nutrient recycling and complementing each other. Additionally, the results of a sensitivity analysis showed that enteric methane from sheep and the application of limestone to the soil are the most influential parameters on the carbon footprint, indicating that they are key parameters for the development of GHG mitigation strategies, some of which were discussed in the article.

“As if sky was blue”: An Eco-Marxist Reading of Caryl Churchill’s Play Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen

 Humanity is confronted with a growing array of environmental challenges that demand immediate attention and cannot be disregarded. One of the issues the world faces is air pollution, which presents a significant risk to both the environment and human well-being. The capitalist system has a great impact on the exacerbation of air pollution and environmental deterioration. This impact is reflected in Caryl Churchill’s post-apocalyptic play Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen (1971). The play presents a futuristic scenario in which humanity faces grave consequences due to the polluting practices of capitalism and the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. It depicts a future in which environmental degradation drives people to violence and despair. In such a situation, it highlights the need for immediate action on climate change and ecological collapse. This paper draws upon eco-Marxism as a theoretical framework to comprehensively analyse how capitalism extensively exploits natural resources in pursuit of immediate financial gains, hence detrimentally impacting the environment.

Local knowledge reconstructs historical resource use

Information on natural resource exploitation is vital for conservation but scarce in developing nations, which encompass most of the world and often lack the capacity to produce it. A growing approach to generate information about resource use in the context of developing nations relies on surveys of resource users about their recollections (recall) of past harvests. However, the reliability of harvest recalls remains unclear. Here, we show that harvest recalls can be as accurate to data collected by standardized protocols, despite that recalls are variable and affected by the age of the recollecting person and the length of time elapsed since the event. Samples of harvest recalls permit relatively reliable reconstruction of harvests for up to 39 years in the past. Harvest recalls therefore have strong potential to inform data‐poor resource systems and curb shifting baselines around the world at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches.

Green Transitions in Developing Countries: Perspectives on Women’s Political Leadership

Green transition by reducing CO2 emissions and curtailing the exploitation of natural resources while increasing renewable energy use and generation is one of the most important targets in sustainable development. This study investigated the impacts of women’s empowerment in politics on the green transition in developing countries. We applied a fixed-effects model to the panel data for 131 developing countries from 2000 to 2019. Our findings indicated that higher levels of participation by women in politics are likely to reduce CO2 emissions and reliance on natural resources. However, there was no statistically significant effect of women’s political empowerment on renewable energy consumption. Women’s political participation enhanced the transition towards sustainable energy sources such as geothermal and wind energy. We also found that the effects of women’s political participation on CO2 emissions were greater in countries with better political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption, and voice and accountability. This study contributes to the growing literature in feminism and environmentalism on the achievement of sustainable development. JEL Codes: J16, O13, P48