Resource Protection Strategies Research Articles

A Study on the Driving Mechanisms of Water Supply and Demand Perception in the Digital Age

This study investigates the drivers of water supply and demand perception in the digital age, focusing on the impact of various factors including climate change awareness, socio-economic impact perception, environmental policy awareness, and water resource protection consciousness. Through questionnaire surveys conducted in Chengdu City and data analysis using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), this study reveals how the aforementioned factors collectively influence the perception of water supply and demand. The findings indicate that a profound understanding of climate change and socio-economic activities, along with a high awareness of environmental policies, can significantly enhance the public’s consciousness towards water resource protection, thereby affecting the accurate perception of water supply and demand conditions. This study not only offers a new perspective in the field of water resource management but also provides a theoretical basis and data support for formulating effective water resource protection strategies, emphasizing the critical role of intelligent water resource management in addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development. The limitations of the study include the restricted sample size and scope, which may affect the generalizability of the results. Future research is recommended to consider more variables, such as regional cultural and economic differences, and to conduct validations across a broader area and population.

Genetic diversity and population structure of wild Macrobrachium nipponense populations across China: Implication for population management

Macrobrachium nipponense, is an important economic indigenous prawn and is widely distributed in China. However, most these genetic structure analysis researches were focused on a certain water area, systematic comparative studies on genetic structure of M. nipponense across China are not yet available. In this study, D-loop region sequences was used to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of 22 wild populations of M. nipponense through China, containing the major rivers and lakes of China. Totally 473 valid D-loop sequences with a length of 1110bp were obtained, and 348 variation sites and 221 haplotypes were detected. The haplotype diversity (h) was ranged from 0.1630 (Bayannur) ~ 1.0000 (Amur River) and the nucleotide diversity π value ranged from 0.001164 (Min River) ~ 0.037168 (Nen River). The pairwise genetic differentiation index (FST) ranged from 0.00344 to 0.91243 and most pair-wised FST was significant (P < 0.05). The lowest FST was displayed in Min River and Jialing River populations and the highest was between Nandu River and Nen River populations. The phylogenetic tree of genetic distance showed that all populations were divided into two branches. The Dianchi Lake, Nandu River, Jialing River and Min River populations were clustered into one branch. The neutral test and mismatch distribution results showed that M. nipponense populations were not experienced expanding and kept a steady increase. Taken together, a joint resources protection and management strategy for M. nipponense have been suggested based on the results of this study for its sustainable use.

How limitations in energy access, poverty, and socioeconomic disparities compromise health interventions for outbreaks in urban settings

SummaryLow-income households (LIHs) have experienced increased poverty and inaccess to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting their ability to adhere to health-protective behaviors. We use an epidemiological model to show how a households' inability to adopt social distancing, owing to constraints in utility and healthcare expenditure, can drastically impact the course of disease outbreaks in five urban U.S. counties. LIHs suffer greater burdens of disease and death than higher income households, while functioning as a consistent source of virus exposure for the entire community due to socioeconomic barriers to following public health guidelines. These impacts worsened when social distancing policy could not be imposed. Health interventions combining social distancing and LIH resource protection strategies (e.g., utility and healthcare access) were the most effective in limiting virus spread for all income levels. Policies need to address the multidimensionality of energy, housing, and healthcare access for future disaster management.

SOURCE: a semi-automatic tool for spring-monitoring data analysis and aquifer characterisation

It has become increasingly necessary to optimise mountain groundwater resource management and comprehend resource-recharging systems from a hydrogeological perspective to formulate adequate resource protection strategies. Analysing mountain spring behaviour and aquifer characteristics can be time-consuming, so new automated techniques and software tools are needed to estimate hydrogeological parameters and understand the exhaustion dynamics of groundwater resources. This paper introduces SOURCE, a new semi-automatic tool that automates the hydrogeological characterisation of water springs and provides proper estimations of the vulnerability index, as well as autocorrelation and cross-correlation statistical coefficients. SOURCE rapidly processed input data from the Mascognaz 1 spring (Aosta Valley) water probes and meteorological station to provide graphical outputs and values for the main hydrodynamic parameters. Having a single software package that contains all the main methods of water spring analysis could potentially reduce analysis times from a few days to a few hours.

Resource status and protection strategies of mangroves in China

Mangrove is a typical natural landscape with great ecological, social and economic functions and values, and should be highly valued and protected. However, in the past few decades, mangrove resources have suffered serious damage, and there are also many deficiencies in mangrove protection. Chinese mangroves, as an important part of the global mangroves, are of great research value. In the present study, the status and historical dynamic process of Chinese mangrove resources were investigated and discussed to illustrate the problems of resources from three aspects, including mangrove distribution, area and plant species. Based on field research, literature research and data analysis, it was revealed that Chinese mangroves are distributed in eight provinces and regions along the southeast coast with an area of 35,749.25 hm2, 38 species and 40 nature reserves. The protection situation and deficiencies were analyzed from the establishment and management of nature reserves. Based on the resource status and problems, reasonable strategies were proposed to protect and manage mangroves mainly from four aspects, including publicity and education, resources restoration and protection technology, legal system establishment, and comprehensive protection and management.

How Limitations in Energy Burdens Compromise Health Interventions for COVID Outbreaks in Urban Settings

Low-income households have experienced increased energy burdens and inaccess to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited their ability to practice social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Here, we show that a households’ inability to adopt social distancing due to constraints in utility and healthcare expenditure drastically impacts the course of disease outbreak in five U.S. counties. Low-income households shoulder greater burdens of disease and death than other households, while functioning as a consistent source of exposure to higher income households. Health interventions combining social distancing and resource protection strategies (e.g., utility access and healthcare) were the most effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, resource protection strategies tailored to alleviate utilities and financial constraints for low-income households can protect the whole population. Current policies need to address the multidimensionality of energy burdens, housing environment, and public health. The findings also imply methods for future disaster management.Funding Information: C.-F. Chen, G. Bonilla, and H. Nelson are supported by the Engineering Research Center Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy under NSF award EEC-1041877 and the CURENT Industry Partnership Program.Declaration of Interests: The authors have no financial or non-financial interests associated with the material in this manuscript.

REALMS OF VISITORS’ EXPERIENCE TO ECOTOURISM IN BULUSAN VOLCANO NATURAL PARK, PROVINCE OF SORSOGON, PHILIPPINES

Globally, the role of protected area is recognised as solutions to environmental, social, and cultural challenges based on the current 2011-2020 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Strategic Plan. The growing popularity of natural parks has proven to be both an opportunity and a threat to its resources; it is an opportunity to maintain the high quality of visitors’ experience, however, poses a challenge to conservation of resources for future generations. Hence, this study which employed mixed method of research that looked into the present status of Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP) as a local conservation area and assessed the visitors’ experiences as to entertainment, educational, escapism, and esthetic. Data were gathered from 200 respondents composed of on-site same-day local visitors and selected volunteers in BVNP. Findings showed that BVNP as a conservation area is committed to address park’s issues and concerns through its sound conservation strategies while fostering social and economic development with the active presence of Aggrupation of Advocates for Environmental Protection (AGAP) Bulusan, Inc. It can be noted that the four realms were experienced good by the visitors with emphasis on escapism which involves higher level of engagement and active participation in the natural settings and the destination’s environment. The feeling of being isolated from the urban society is what BVNP makes more significant to visitors. However, entertainment products should be improved to give more authentic cultural (tangible and intangible) entertainment experience. Further studies can be conducted on the relationship of visitor experience and resource protection strategies in the park. Keywords: conservation, ecotourism, natural park, protected area, visitor experience

RESOURCE PROTECTION STRATEGIES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM AND PROTECTED AREA CONSERVATION: A VISITORS’ EVALUATION IN BULUSAN VOLCANO NATURAL PARK, PHILIPPINES

Purpose of the study: This study has evaluated the resource protection strategies in Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP) along with environmental/biophysical conservation, cultural preservation, social conservation, and physical/behavioral conservation in ensuring sustainable ecotourism operation and protected area conservation.&#x0D; Methodology: It employed a quantitative method of research directed towards presenting, analyzing, and interpreting the data. The selection of respondents was done through the Convenience Sampling Technique where every possible respondent has the same chance of being selected during the administration of the survey questionnaire. Data were analyzed using weighted mean and standard deviation in determining the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the visitors’ evaluation.&#x0D; Main Findings: The strategies on social and environmental conservation are effective and more given emphasis on BVNP. Likewise, with physical or behavioral conservation strategies which also recognized effective mechanisms in managing visitors’ use. However, the cultural preservations were evaluated very low as most of the visitors disagreed that the strategies for this aspect are manifested in the actions of the host community.&#x0D; Applications of this study: Findings of this paper is deemed relevant and useful for natural park administrators and ecotourism destination operators as it provides new insights on the effectiveness of resource protection strategies and suggests future policy actions to ensure sustainability.&#x0D; Novelty/Originality Of this study: This study is novel in evaluating the resource protection strategies in protected areas (BVNP) and in determining how conservation approaches enhance the visitor experience in natural parks.

Strategies to Manage Aquifer Recharge in Balochistan, Pakistan: An Overview.

Balochistan plateau is dominated by the drainage system of eighteen river basins, where precipitation recharges both consolidated and unconsolidated aquifers. In eleven river basins, the groundwater levels are steadily depleting for the last three decades due to indefensible long-term groundwater extraction. The cumulative decline of water-table ranges from 2 to 3 meters/y. The most significant decrease of 60m in the last 12 years has been recorded in parts of Quetta Valley. The estimated total groundwater recharge in an average year of all river basins is 2,200 Mm3, the withdrawal is 2,657 Mm3. The groundwater overdraft in eleven river basins is 886 Mm3, whereas 429 Mm3 is available for sustainable development only in seven river basins. To enhance the groundwater recharge, many proposals have been advanced, and several studies have been carried out by different public and private sector organizations for the protection of natural resources. However, implementation of the recommendations of these studies remained limited with little progress causing severe shortages of groundwater resources. Assorted strategies have been developed by the concerned government departments for the protection of natural resources under their jurisdiction. A comprehensive provincial policy and subsequent strategy for the protection and sustainable development of natural resources in Balochistan is yet to be formed. In this paper the natural resource protection policies and strategies that are directly or indirectly associated with the surface and groundwater resources have been assessed. In addition, the federal and provincial policies, including water, biodiversity, climate change, environment, agriculture, forest, and rangeland management have been reviewed and summarized. In some of the previous strategies, certain measures have been proposed for the improvement of water resources. The measures include a ban on agriculture tube wells in urban areas, construction of storage, supply and delay action dams (DADs). As a consequence, 326 DADs with a storage capacity of 332 Mm3 were constructed in different river basins. The studies represent that in current circumstances, the DADs are the appropriate means to recharge aquifers if supported by design modifications and catchment area specific watershed management plans. For the sustainable management of natural resources of the province a comprehensive, integrated watershed management strategy and a model are presented in this paper.

Remediation and water resource protection under changing climatic conditions

Abstract Our ability to develop reliable, cost effective solutions for remediation and protection of water resources has matured in recent decades due to various factors, including advances in engineering techniques, improved monitoring capabilities, and access to numerous case studies, historical datasets, and research to aid in the selection and evaluation of mitigation/remediation approaches. Traditionally, historical baseline conditions, and reasonable projections of future conditions provide significant input into the decision-making process. The variability, and unpredictable nature of climate change now requires that the inherent uncertainty of future conditions (both short- and long-term) be incorporated in our remedial decision-making. From an engineering perspective, this may include more flexible (and likely more costly) remedial designs, or a shift from current preferences for longer-term passive approaches to consecutive, shorter-term active alternatives. Incorporating an economic decision-making tool provides a means to parametrize the uncertainties associated with climate change, and may identify “tipping points” where our decisions may change. Different communities, whose interpretations of and costs of resource protection may acutely reflect their own unique cultural values, incomes, or beliefs in the future, can evaluate feasible engineering/water resource protection strategies even in the absence of certainty about future climate conditions. The combined approach merges evaluation of traditional engineering/performance metrics with an economic model that we anticipate will improve the success of water management strategies.

Use of molecular approaches in hydrogeological studies: the case of carbonate aquifers in southern Italy

Waterborne pathogens represent a significant health risk in both developed and developing countries with sensitive sub-populations including children, the elderly, neonates, and immune-compromised people, who are particularly susceptible to enteric infections. Annually, approximately 1.8 billion people utilize a faecally contaminated water source, and waterborne diseases are resulting in up to 2.1 million human mortalities globally. Although groundwater has traditionally been considered less susceptible to contamination by enteric pathogens than surface water due to natural attenuation by overlying strata, the degree of microbial removal attributable to soils and aquifers can vary significantly depending on several factors. Thus, accurate assessment of the variable presence and concentration of microbial contaminants, and the relative importance of potentially causative factors affecting contaminant ingress, is critical in order to develop effective source (well) and resource (aquifer) protection strategies. “Traditional” and molecular microbiological study designs, when coupled with hydrogeological, hydrochemical, isotopic, and geophysical methods, have proven useful for analysis of numerous aspects of subsurface microbial dynamics. Accordingly, this overview paper presents the principal microbial techniques currently being employed (1) to predict and identify sources of faecal contamination in groundwater, (2) to elucidate the dynamics of contaminant migration, and (3) to refine knowledge about the hydrogeological characteristics and behaviours of aquifer systems affected by microbial contamination with an emphasis on carbonate aquifers, which represent an important global water supply. Previous investigations carried out in carbonate aquifers in southern Italy are discussed.

An integrated and comprehensive transcriptome reveals immune‐related genes and signal pathways in topmouth culter ( C ulter alburnus )

Topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) is an important freshwater species in China. In recent years, the population of topmouth culter has declined sharply due to the increasing pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction. It may lead to adverse effects, including weakening health, causing disease, and reducing the quality of topmouth culter. It is urgent to conduct resource management, protection and genetic improvement strategies in topmouth culter, especially develop genetic breeding program with disease resistance. In this study, we applied RNA-seq technology to de novo assemble a comprehensive transcriptome, and to discover immune-related genes and pathways in topmouth culter. A total of 102 017 transcripts were assembled with an average length of 945 bp, of which 45 482 protein coding sequences were predicted. BLAST search resulted in 53 575 and 45 602 transcripts with homologous sequences in NCBI-NR and UniProt respectively. Further functional analysis identified 24 052 transcripts in Gene Ontology (GO) categories and 19 260 transcripts in KEGG pathways. Significantly, 13 immune-related pathways with 524 immune-related genes were identified. Our data provided an integrated and comprehensive transcriptome resource for topmouth culter, which could be essential for further research in selective breeding of disease resistance, functional genomics, and genome editing of topmouth culter.

我国湿地保护与生态修复制度安排研究

从制度经济学角度提出了湿地资源保护与生态修复的策略，即推动湿地资源保护与生态修复的体制机制创新，加强湿地资源环境价值核算，探索实施生态补偿机制，进行湿地生态系统管理，把湿地资源环境纳入国民经济核算体系。 This paper presents the wetland resources protection and ecological restoration strategy based on institutional economics. It will promote the innovation of system and mechanism of wetland resource protection and ecological restoration, strengthen the resources environment of wetland value accounting, explore the implementation of ecological compensation mechanism of wetland ecological system, management, and put into the system of national economic accounting of resource environment of wetland.

Machine learning and hurdle models for improving regional predictions of stream water acid neutralizing capacity

[1] In many industrialized regions of the world, atmospherically deposited sulfur derived from industrial, nonpoint air pollution sources reduces stream water quality and results in acidic conditions that threaten aquatic resources. Accurate maps of predicted stream water acidity are an essential aid to managers who must identify acid-sensitive streams, potentially affected biota, and create resource protection strategies. In this study, we developed correlative models to predict the acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) of streams across the southern Appalachian Mountain region, USA. Models were developed using stream water chemistry data from 933 sampled locations and continuous maps of pertinent environmental and climatic predictors. Environmental predictors were averaged across the upslope contributing area for each sampled stream location and submitted to both statistical and machine-learning regression models. Predictor variables represented key aspects of the contributing geology, soils, climate, topography, and acidic deposition. To reduce model error rates, we employed hurdle modeling to screen out well-buffered sites and predict continuous ANC for the remainder of the stream network. Models predicted acid-sensitive streams in forested watersheds with small contributing areas, siliceous lithologies, cool and moist environments, low clay content soils, and moderate or higher dry sulfur deposition. Our results confirmed findings from other studies and further identified several influential climatic variables and variable interactions. Model predictions indicated that one quarter of the total stream network was sensitive to additional sulfur inputs (i.e., ANC < 100 µeq L−1), while <10% displayed much lower ANC (<50 µeq L−1). These methods may be readily adapted in other regions to assess stream water quality and potential biotic sensitivity to acidic inputs.

中国农业生态效率评价方法与实证——基于非期望产出的SBM模型分析

Agricultural eco-efficiency which combines both economic and environmental performance is an effective tool for agricultural sustainability analysis.Taking China′s 30 provinces as case regions,We applied a SBM model of DEA to measure the agricultural eco-efficiency from 1998 to 2009.The SBM model of DEA is non-radical,non-oriented and considers the agricultural non-point source pollution as an undesirable output in the calculating process which is different from the other existing models.Fertilizer,animal,labor,machine,sown area and water consumption were considered as input indicators,provincial agricultural output value and agricultural non-point source pollution were considered as desirable output indicaor and undesirable output indicaor respectively.The main results are summarized as follows:(1)Agricultural eco-efficiency in China during 1998—2009 is 0.499 which is very low,this implies China′s agricultural economic rapid growth is at the expense of natural resources destruction and agriculture environmental pollution,the coordination task of agricultural economic growth and environmental protection and resource saving is very difficult in China;(2)Agricultural eco-efficiency of Beijing,Shanghai,Chongqing,Hainan is equal to one,this demonstrates that these four provinces have efficiency of resources utilization and environment protection for their agricultural economy,but the agricultural eco-efficiency of the other 26 provinces are below one showing that most provinces in China have inefficiency of resources utilization and environment protection for their agricultural economy;(3)Moreover,in order to promote agricultural eco-efficiency in these 26 provinces,the inputs optimization and outputs optimization were designed based on optimization principles.The optimization results show that agricultural output value(agricultural desirable output) has no congestion in all provinces,so the agricultural eco-inefficiency is mostly attributed to inputs and undesirable output.China has enormous potential on the reduction of agricultural non-point source pollution and on the decrease of resource inputs to improve the agricultural eco-efficiency.The eco-efficiency optimization provides deeper insights into the causes of eco-inefficiency and gives further implications on resource and environment protection strategies in China.Our results also showed that the SBM model could be used as a useful tool to reflect the eco-efficiency in a defined region and help governments at various levels to find the most optimized solutions in improving their eco-efficiencies.

Entrusting the Commons

The start of the twenty-first century is marked by new levels of globalization, environmental degradation, and social conflict that are endangering the cultural landscapes and agrarian heritage of rural areas. In the wake of these threats, heritage professionals are imagining new, holistic models for shared cultural and natural heritage protection that support active community engagement around issues of cultural identity, material and ecological sustainability, and shared ethical values. Agricultural land conservation is fertile terrain in which to theorize how heritage protection can contribute to the mobilization of social cohesion to restore a balanced human ecology. Agrarian land tenure challenges heritage advocates to bridge the conventional binary of nature/culture that has divided heritage resource protection strategies and to support the protection of working, populated cultural landscapes. Over the past 35 years in the United States, a number of agricultural land protection programs have emerged that depend upon a complex web of cooperation among landowners, governments, and private land trusts to purchase development rights on farmland. I propose that such programs are both symptoms of and coping strategies for broader processes of socio-economic alienation. This paper focuses on a New England case study to explore the potential for agricultural land protection as a framework for shared heritage protection. Based on the results and research connected with this case study, I offer a theoretical and ethical framework of heritage protection as a culturally mediated discursive practice of community-building—one that references the past in order to intervene in present alienating processes and secure a recognizable future.

The StormWater Management and Planning Tool: Coastal Water Quality Enhancement through the Use of an Internet-Based Geospatial Tool

Increasing development of coastal watersheds has altered groundwater and surface runoff patterns, and led to the progressive eutrophication of freshwater tributaries and adjacent coastal waters. Effective and properly engineered stormwater management systems represent one of the most important water resource protection strategies to counter this trend. Geospatial tools are needed to place existing and proposed development and stormwater management system (SWMS) infrastructure into a watershed context. A Geographic Information System (GIS) inventory of the existing SWMS infrastructure is a critical first step. To be most effective, this geospatial inventory, complemented by decision support tools, needs to be user friendly and readily available to a wide audience of target groups. To address this issue, we developed the StormWater Management Planning Tool (SWMPT) as a suite of on-line interactive mapping and query tools to facilitate access to data for display, assessment and analysis purposes needed for stormwater and sediment control. SWMPT is geared to meet the needs of municipalities and counties in planning and managing their SWMS infrastructure and has been implemented for Ocean County, NJ as a pilot project. To ensure that SWMPT met the needs of its identified target audience, a number of county and local partners and prospective end users were involved in the project from its inception through a highly structured design and evaluation process. The SWMPT interactive mapping tool can be accessed through www.BarnegatBayBasins.rutgers.edu.

Geographic Profiling to Assess the Risk of Rare Plant Poaching in Natural Areas

We demonstrate the use of an expert-assisted spatial model to examine geographic factors influencing the poaching risk of a rare plant (American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius L.) in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA. Following principles of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), we identified a hierarchy of 11 geographic factors deemed important to poaching risk and requested law enforcement personnel of the National Park Service to rank those factors in a series of pair-wise comparisons. We used those comparisons to determine statistical weightings of each factor and combined them into a spatial model predicting poaching risk. We tested the model using 69 locations of previous poaching incidents recorded by law enforcement personnel. These locations occurred more frequently in areas predicted by the model to have a higher risk of poaching than random locations. The results of our study can be used to evaluate resource protection strategies and to target law enforcement activities.

An ecosystem approach to planning for groundwater: The case of Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Sustaining the human-ecological benefits of groundwater requires carefully planned strategies for reducing the cumulative risks posed by diverse human actions. Municipal governments in Ontario, Canada, play a key role in developing solutions to groundwater management and protection. The responsibility to provide drinking water and sewage works, regulate the use of private land, and protect public health provides the mandate and authority to take action. Waterloo Region, in the province of Ontario, contains the single largest population in Canada that uses groundwater as its primary source of drinking water. The region's Water Resources Protection Strategy provides a model of planning for groundwater at a regional scale.

MANAGING HERITAGE RESOURCE PROTECTION: A CASE STUDY FROM THE BERMAN SPILL RESPONSE1

ABSTRACT Heritage resources were a significant concern during the Morris J. Berman oil spill response, which began on January 7, 1994, in Puerto Rico. Numerous pre-Columbian artifacts and archeological sites, along with some of the oldest historic structures under U. S. jurisdiction were at risk from the spreading oil and subsequent response activities. A group of interagency professionals quickly formed into what was soon known as the Heritage Resources Management Team to deal with the myriad evolving issues involving heritage resources. Discovering success in a team approach, this core team became an integral, high-performing part of the larger response organization. Although this paper presents a case study of how heritage resources were tackled during the Morris J. Berman oil spill response, the decision-making and problem-solving methods described are applicable to any response effort. Incorporating heritage resource protection strategies in response planning and organization is crucial for mitigating future threats to these priceless remains of our history.