Environmental Strategic Planning Research Articles

Spatiotemporal Variation and Prediction of Carbon Storage in Terrestrial Ecosystems at Multiple Development Stages in Beijing City Based on the Plus and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs Models

Terrestrial ecosystems play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, and their carbon sequestration capacity is vital for mitigating the impacts of climate change. Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics significantly alter this capacity. This study scrutinizes the LULC evolution within the Beijing metropolitan region from 1992 to 2022, evaluating its implications for ecosystem carbon storage. It also employs the Patch-Generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model to simulate LULC patterns under four scenarios for 2035: an Uncontrolled Scenario (UCS), a Natural Evolution Scenario (NES), a Strict Control Scenario (SCS), and a Reforestation and Wetland Expansion Scenario (RWES). The InVEST model is concurrently used to assess and forecast ecosystem carbon storage under each scenario. Key insights from the study are as follows: (1) from 1992 to 2022, Beijing’s LULC exhibited a phased developmental trajectory, marked by an expansion of urban and forested areas at the expense of agricultural land; (2) concurrently, the region’s ecosystem carbon storage displayed a fluctuating trend, peaking initially before declining, with higher storage in the northwest and lower in the central urban zones; (3) by 2035, ecosystem carbon storage is projected to decrease by 1.41 Megatons under the UCS, decrease by 0.097 Megatons under the NES, increase by 1.70 Megatons under the SCS, and increase by 11.97 Megatons under the RWES; and (4) the study underscores the efficacy of policies curtailing construction land expansion in Beijing, advocating for sustained urban growth constraints and intensified afforestation initiatives. This research reveals significant changes in urban land use types and the mechanisms propelling these shifts, offering a scientific basis for comprehending LULC transformations in Beijing and their ramifications for ecosystem carbon storage. It further provides policymakers with substantial insights for the development of strategic environmental and urban planning initiatives.

REAL TIME AIR QUALITY PREDICTION AND ANOMALY DETECTION

When it comes to addressing the growing concerns about environmental health and safety, real-time air quality forecast and anomaly detection are essential. This study describes a robust system that effectively tracks, analyses, and forecasts air quality parameters in real-time using a combination of cutting-edge sensors, sophisticated data analytics, and machine learning algorithms. Utilising a wide range of environmental sensors, the system continuously monitors pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), and ozone. Modern data analytics techniques are then used to process and analyse the gathered data. A machine learning platform at the centre of the system makes use of time-series forecasting methods to forecast air quality conditions. Additionally, it uses anomaly detection algorithms to identify anomalous trends or abrupt spikes in pollutant concentrations, which may indicate operational issues or environmental dangers. Environmental agencies and public health experts can take timely action and make informed judgements thanks to these skills. In addition, the system has an easy-to-use interface that provides both specialists and non-experts with real-time updates and visual representations of air quality statistics. Using IoT technology increases the system's expandability to larger regions and guarantees effective data flow. By providing consistent and accurate air quality information, this technique not only supports urgent mitigation measures but also facilitates strategic environmental and public health planning. Predictive analytics and proactive surveillance are intended to improve environmental governance and public health. Keywords—LSTM, Linear Regression and Minmax scalar.

Effects of sediment-storage dams on suspended sediment transport in the Sera Lake Watershed, northeast Turkey

In this study, the effects of cascade sediment-storage dams (SSDs) on the suspended sediment (SS) transport in the Sera Lake Watershed (northeast Turkey) were investigated. Ten SS monitoring stations from upstream (S01) to downstream (S10) were selected for the study considering the locations of the SSDs and Sera Lake. In a gauging station, where S05 was selected, the water stage monitoring studies were also conducted, and daily discharges and SS loads were computed. The Spearman correlation coefficient between SS and discharges data was computed as 0.592. The deterioration of the naturalness of the watershed with external interventions was effective on this value. While the Sera Lake trapped 33% of the SS transport, this value varied between –25.8 and 44% for SSDs. Although the SSDs have been proportionately succeed in trapping the SS, they have been insufficient in preventing sedimentation and problems caused by sediment transport in the watershed. In addition, the annual average soil erosion amount was determined by the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) method in the watershed. According to the RUSLE method, the annual average soil loss of the watershed is 1.65 tons/ha. The SDR value of the watershed was calculated as 0.104. Integrating different environmental management tools to achieve a balanced and sustainable decision, a strategic environmental management plan should be constituted.

Annotated Checklist of Cartilaginous Fishes in Palawan Waters

An annotated checklist of 67 species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) confirmed to be present in Palawan waters was described based on (1) market visits in Puerto Princesa, Aborlan, Brookes Point, and Roxas between October 2021 and March 2022; (2) contributory citizen science soliciting photographs and video footage validated by the authors; and (3) review of various ichthyologic types of research in Palawan that include museum collection records, taxonomic papers, results of DNA analysis, institutional project reports, and related literature, particularly on the occurrence and distributional range of the species. An additional 24 species were placed on the unconfirmed list due to insufficient evidence collected and thus required further investigation. The Province of Palawan exercises environmental jurisdiction over its surrounding marine areas under Republic Act No. 7611, known as the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan, with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), as its regulatory, enforcement, and policy-making authority. In response to the Wildlife Act (Republic Act 9147), the PCSD drafted Resolution 15-521(s. 2015), which updated the list of terrestrial and marine wildlife species in Palawan for protection and management and included only 15 shark and ray species. This paper provides an updated list of Palawan Chondrichthyes (with notes on the conservation status based on the IUCN Global Red List Assessment), suggests a prescriptive approach to enhancing conservation policies in the province, and addresses some critical issues of conservation and management of the Philippine sharks and related species, in particular, and the Philippine fisheries in general.

Environmental Sustainability Practices of Chinese Logistics Service Providers: A Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility

Guided by the strategic objectives of "carbon neutrality" and "peak carbon" in China, low-carbon development in the logistics industry has become a core driver of industry transformation and upgrading. At the micro-level, companies are gradually accelerating their environmental strategic planning and actively promoting environmental sustainability practices. This paper focuses on logistics service providers (LSPs) and selects representative integrated logistics service companies for multidimensional analysis of corporate social responsibility report information. The paper analyzes the characteristics of environmental sustainability practices in companies from the perspectives of transportation strategies, green packaging, green buildings, and circular economy. Policy recommendations for the low-carbon and green development of Chinese logistics service providers are provided.

Enabling green shared vision: linking environmental strategic focus and environmental performance through ISO 14001 and technological capabilities.

Consistent with the worldwide call to combat environmental degradation concerns and advance sustainable development, there is increasing pressure on organizations to ensure organizational strategies include green initiatives. In this regard, environmental strategic focus is a relevant concept for scholars and business leaders. Underpinned by dynamic capability and stakeholder theory, the present study hypothesizes that ESF derives environmental performance, coordinated by mediating role of green shared vision that strategic environmental planning and decision making. Additionally, the current study employed ISO 14001 and technological capability as moderators between ESF and the green shared vision link. Methodologically, the data for this study was collected from 162 senior managerial officials working in EMS 14,001-accredited manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The data were analyzed with the AMOS 23 software to perform covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), and then hierarchical regression analysis and moderated-mediation analysis were applied with SPSS 25. The findings confirmed that ESF is positively linked to environmental performance. The results validate that green shared vision acts as a positive mediator between ESF and environmental performance, in which the creation and sharing of knowledge embedded in a green shared vision serve as enablers to create higher environmental performance. The current study also validates a significant moderating role of ISO 14001 and technological capability between ESF and green shared vision. The study confirms how environmental strategies are integrated into environmental management processes that can serve as a source of dynamic capabilities.

Linking environmental knowledge, attitude, and behavior with place: a case study for strategic environmental education planning in Saint Lucia

This case study investigated whether and how urban/rural differences may impact environmental knowledge, attitude, and action levels of the youth to better understand the linkage between place and environmental behavior. A nation-wide survey was conducted in Saint Lucia, targeting secondary school students. A total of 1,349 self-reported questionnaire samples were collected and the results were compared between sex (male/female), age (younger/older), and location (urban/rural) groups using three-way ANOVA tests. Significant urban–rural differences as well as interactions between location and age, and location and sex factors, were found. A path analysis further confirmed that location had a significant direct impact on students’ knowledge, and indirect impacts on attitude and action levels via age factor. We discuss the impact of living place on students’ environmental characteristics, and how environmental education (EE) can incorporate such perspective in its design. We believe that the obtained insights are useful for making EE more effective.

Water footprint in gold extraction: A case-study in Suárez, Cauca, Colombia

This research deepens the analysis of the mineral water footprint, especially that of gold, in regions that are understudied and where mining has been an intensified extractive activity since the colonial era, as is the case in the northern part of department of Cauca in Colombia. Thus, the purpose was to estimate the water footprint indicators in gold mining in Suárez (Cauca, Colombia), to quantify the impacts generated by the non-returned water in the production process and the levels of pollutants in the wastewater, aimed to strength public policies, control strategies and mitigation that generates reductions in the impacts from mining activities on the environment. The blue water footprint was estimated in 79.91 m3 per kg of gold extracted and the gray water footprint was found to be in the range of 272,125.39 to 404,825.11 m3 per kg of gold extracted. The water footprint values obtained were compared with other mines with similar operations. These results generate a baseline for decision making, providing elements for environmental strategic planning, regulations and showing the great environmental pressure that gold activity exerts on water resources and the territories.

Strategic Environmental Planning for Deep Seabed Mining in the Area

Discussions approximately an environmental control method for deep seabed mining in the Area had been underway for some the years. Both states and scientists have known for such an environmental control method. In 2018, the International Seabed Authority has followed its first 5-year strategic plan, masking all elements of its mandate. This article examines the brand-new strategic plan integrates factors of an environmental control method and what is probably missing. It demonstrates that even as a few overlaps exist, there are numerous key gaps left via way of means of the modern strategic plan which will be stuffed via the way of means of an environmental control method. To operationalize those desires and objectives, development ought to be measurable; thus, objectives are set, reviews are assessed, and suitable responses are awarded. Many control equipment and toots are relevant for accomplishing environmental desires. To date, the ISA has taken into consideration marine spatial making plans in large part across the modern exploration settlement blocks. Other factors of environmental control, which include the necessities for baseline studies, effect assessment, post-effect tracking, and the remedy of dangerous consequences and extreme damage want to be carried out to assist well-described environmental desires and objectives. We advocate that this making plans be done for scales largethan man or woman blocks, through a Strategic Environmental Management Plan, to make certain sustainable use of ocean assets throughout the Area.

Deep learning hybrid model with Boruta-Random forest optimiser algorithm for streamflow forecasting with climate mode indices, rainfall, and periodicity

Long-term forecasting of any hydrologic phenomena is essential for strategic environmental planning, hydrologic and other forms of structural design, agriculture, and water resources management. Climate mode indices, utilising machine learning methods, are frequently considered as predictor variables in order to forecast several different hydrological variables. In this study, a feature selection algorithm based on two different deep learning models, i.e., long short-term memory and a gated recurrent unit, is applied to improve the forecasting capability of streamflow water levels at six gaugingstations in the Murray Darling Basin of Australia. This paper therefore aggregates the significant antecedent lag memory of climate mode indices, rainfall, and the monthly factor based on the periodicity as the predictor variables to attain significantly accurate stream water level forecasts. This novel method identifies an improved relationship between the stream water level and climate mode indices through the aggregation of the significant lagged datasets capturing the historical features to predict the future streamflow water level. The boruta feature selection algorithm (BRF) was then applied in a two phase process before and after attaining the significant lagged inputs to screen the optimum predictor variables. The merits of the forecast models were evaluated through different performance evaluation criteria. The results show that the accumulated significant lagged inputs based on climate mode indices, along with the rainfall and periodicity factors are seen to provide improved forecasting of the SWL over the non-BRF deep learning approaches where no prior feature selection was applied. The hybrid LSTM method (i.e., BRF-LSTM model) achieved a unique advantage in terms of SWL forecasting, particularly attaining over 98% of the predictive errors lying within a band of +/-0.015 m with relatively low relative errors (RRMSE ≈1.30% and RMAE ≈ 0.882%), outperforming all of the benchmark models. It is also found that the periodicity factor has a potential influence on the accuracy of the forecast models for the four monitored study stations. This study concludes that the newly developed hybrid deep learning approaches, coupled with the BRF feature selection, provide improved forecasting performance. The hybrid approach developed in this paper can therefore be used to provide a strong provide predictive response algorithm for the hydrological variables that were influenced by the low-frequency variability of the climate model indices in respect to streamflow water level.

Interactions among Environmental Training, Environmental Strategic Planning and Personnel Controls in Radical Environmental Innovation

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of environmental training on the relationship between environmental strategic planning and personnel controls in radical environmental innovation. To collect the data, we designed a questionnaire for companies in the Brazil Stock Exchange (B3-Brazil, Bolsa, and Balcão). Data from 150 companies were analyzed using structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA). The results show that environmental strategic planning and personnel controls affect radical environmental innovation. The findings also show that environmental training impacts the relationship between environmental strategic planning and personnel controls in radical environmental innovation. The asymmetric approach reinforces this evidence and suggests that environmental training is a central element that leads to high radical environmental innovation. The study contributes to the literature by showing that environmental training assists in the management of radical environmental innovation by aligning individual and organizational objectives.

Global life-cycle impacts of onshore wind-power plants on bird richness

Abstract Wind energy development continues to expand rapidly to meet international climate targets. However, these developments impact biodiversity and associated sustainability targets negatively. Environmental impact assessments (EIA) predominately focus on site-specific impacts; failing to account for cumulative impacts at larger spatial scales. Life cycle assessments (LCA) can take such a holistic view, however models quantifying the main impact pathways on biodiversity are still lacking. To address this gap, we present a methodology to quantify habitat loss, disturbance and collision impacts of onshore wind power plants on bird biodiversity globally. By overlaying species ranges with wind-power plant locations, species-area relationships were used to calculate the potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) for the three impact pathways. Results revealed habitat-specific bird richness values, at order level, which were greatest in tropical and subtropical regions. Temporal changes in PDF were related to operationalizing wind-power plants. Despite similar PDF curves throughout the time period, disturbance and habitat loss had a greater effect compared to collisions. Annual energy production values strongly affected overall impacts for all impact pathways, which in turn differed between continents. When controlling for continent, bird order rather than country more strongly influenced variation in the pathway-specific PDF per GWh. Our approach represents the first step towards incorporating the impacts of wind power production in strategic environmental planning and the LCA framework. Failing to account for these negates an assessment of the trade-offs between biodiversity and energy production, and therefore the balancing of global sustainability goals.

Visual Environment of South Russian Cities in the Assessments of Citizens

The article analyzes the perception of visual characteristics of the urban environment in terms of cultural values represented in this process. The analysis is based on a sociological study of the cities in the Southern Federal District, conducted by the authors in 2018. Considerable attention is given to the city dwellers’ contradictory attitudes to the city and the factors that bind it with a person. The study attempts to reveal how assessment of the visual urban environment depends on the type of the city. It is shown that the most acute contradictions include the gap between attachment to the city as a “small homeland” and its actual condition (architectural planning solutions, aesthetic appeal, cleanliness in public places, etc.), increased visualization of social inequality, imbalance in the content of monumental propaganda, dissatisfaction with the general cultural level of city dwellers. The study reveals the city dwellers' controversial attitude to the content of advertisements: residents of small cities tend to evaluate them from a more traditionalist standpoint. The practical value of the obtained results is due to the fact that they may contribute to the improvement of visually perceived urban environment and municipal strategic planning.

Strategic environmental urban planning - A contextual approach for defining performance goals and informing decision-making

Environmental performance objectives in terms of energy consumption and carbon emission targets can be found in various building norms and certifications schemes. These targets are often dependent upon the building program (e.g. office), but independent from its context; the same value is imposed for two buildings of the same program regardless of other possibly influential characteristics (e.g. solar exposure). Such targets serve as references against which a project's performance is measured following its description and assessment using an evaluation tool. In this paper, we question the suitability of this procedure within the context of urban planning by asking: should a district-level performance objective be allocated in a ‘uniform’ manner or through a ‘contextual’ approach, capable of capturing specificities throughout the site and allowing compensation between areas? To address this question, a novel method is proposed to distribute a site-level target differently between lots presenting distinct conditions over the site, through a combined top-down and bottom-up approach. The method relies on the exploration of databases of lot-specific scenarios, generated by varying design parameters that have not yet been fixed at the planning stage, such as building shape and construction materials. Applied on a case-study district in Switzerland, the contextual method results in differentiated lot-specific targets that are up to 11% away from the uniform targets. Although apparently small, these shifts can increase the feasibility of reaching the site-level target by up to 30%. Such information can guide the design team towards defining a coherent environmental strategy and making informed decisions.

СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКАЯ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА ПЛАНОВ И ПРОГРАММ ДЛЯ ИРАКА

The interaction of architectural, urban planning activities and the natural environment is manifested at all hierarchical levels and its results need to be foreseen. The role of strategic environmental assessment is closely related to the concept of sustainability, since it is a tool that identifies the environmental impact of plans and programs implemented in the territory. The study examines the role of strategic environmental assessment in achieving sustainability of plans and programs at the international level, and concentrates on the problems of strategic environmental planning in Iraq. Strategic environmental assessment is a comprehensive process for assessing the impact of plans and programs on the environment. The previous studies have shown the effectiveness of using methods of strategic environmental assessment in promoting the comprehensive development of the territory; the ability of the public to participate in the assessment of environmental and social aspects of policies, plans, and programs. The purpose of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is to eliminate disproportions in the development of territories. A comparison of SEA and environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been carried out. In Iraq, strategic environmental assessment has been found to be a relatively new phenomenon. Its use in strategic planning of the territory will contribute to increasing the sustainability of development in Iraq, its application will be efficient in the country and its regions, and will ensure public participation in this process.

Network model-based analysis of the goals, targets and indicators of sustainable development for strategic environmental assessment

Strategic environmental assessment is a decision support technique that evaluates policies, plans and programs in addition to identifying the most appropriate interventions in different scenarios. This work develops a network-based model to study interlinked ecological, economic, environmental and social problems to highlight the synergies between policies, plans, and programs in environmental strategic planning. Our primary goal is to propose a methodology for the data-driven verification and extension of expert knowledge concerning the interconnectedness of the sustainable development goals and their related targets. A multilayer network model based on the time-series indicators of the World Bank open data over the last 55 years was assembled. The results illustrate that by providing an objective and data-driven view of the correlated variables of the World Bank, the proposed layered multipartite network model highlights the previously not discussed interconnections, node centrality measures evaluate the importance of the targets, and network community detection algorithms reveal their strongly connected groups. The results confirm that the proposed methodology can serve as a data-driven decision support tool for the preparation and monitoring of long-term environmental policies. The developed new data-driven network model enables multi-level analysis of the sustainability (goals, targets, indicators) and will make it possible to plan long-term environmental strategic planning. Through relationships among indicators, relationships among targets and goals can be modelled. The results show that sustainable development goals are strongly interconnected, while the 5th goal (gender equality) is linked mostly to 17th (partnerships for the goals) goal. The analysis has also highlighted the importance of the 4th (quality education).

Governing the City of Flows: How Urban Metabolism Approaches May Strengthen Accountability in Strategic Planning

The article aims to provide an initial insight into if and how urban metabolism perspectives and approaches may strengthen accountability in urban environmental strategic planning. It argues that many of the challenges in governing urban environmental flows successfully result from accountability gaps in strategic planning. The aim of the research is to test the assumption that urban metabolism perspectives and approaches strengthen accountability in urban environmental strategic planning. Applying a four-pillar accountability analysis to the strategic climate and resource plans of New York and Zurich, two cities which put environmental sustainability high on their political agenda, the study traces the role of urban metabolism perspectives and approaches and discusses the benefits these may have for accountable strategic planning with a focus on carbon and material flows. The interim results show on the one hand that implicit urban metabolism approaches are vital for both cities’ strategic planning and that they contribute to strengthened accountability in all four pillars of the analysis: responsibility, transparency, assessment and participation. On the other hand, the analysis highlights further potential benefits of urban metabolism perspectives and approaches in urban strategic climate and resource planning.

Strategic environmental planning for deep seabed mining in the area

Discussions about an environmental management strategy for deep seabed mining in the Area have been underway for a number of years. Both states and scientists have called for such an environmental management strategy. In 2018, the International Seabed Authority has adopted its first 5-year strategic plan, covering all aspects of its mandate. This article examines whether the new strategic plan integrates elements of an environmental management strategy and what might be missing. It demonstrates that while some overlaps exist, there are several key gaps left by the current strategic plan which could be filled by an environmental management strategy. These include the development of environmental goals and objectives, a systematic approach to environmental regulation and management, setting priorities, filling gaps in substantive obligations, and allocating environmental management tasks to specific actors.

Strategic Environmental Goals and Objectives: Setting the basis for environmental regulation of deep seabed mining

Deep seabed mining is a major new intersection of human enterprise and deep-ocean ecosystems. This paper reviews the concept and process for a holistic approach to planning environmental management in the deep sea based on Strategic Environmental Goals and Objectives. Strategic planning around the environment can establish a vision for the future condition of the ocean floor for which the International Seabed Authority (ISA) can draw on a wealth of precedents and experience. By engaging stakeholders and applying current knowledge of deep ecosystems, the ISA can build meaningful strategic environmental goals and objectives that give guidance to its own operation and those of its contractors. This framework builds understanding of the organization’s aspirations at global, regional and contractor levels. Herein, some examples are suggested, but we focus on the process. To operationalize these goals and objectives, progress must be measurable; thus, targets are set, reports are assessed, and appropriate responses are awarded. Many management tools and actions are applicable for achieving environmental goals. To date, the ISA has considered marine spatial planning largely around the current exploration contract blocks. Other elements of environmental management, including the requirements for baseline studies, impact assessment, post-impact monitoring and the treatment of harmful effects and serious harm need to be implemented to support well-defined environmental goals and objectives. We suggest that this planning be executed for scales larger than individual blocks, through a Strategic Environmental Management Plan, to ensure sustainable use of ocean resources across the Area.

The role of value systems in translating environmental planning into performance

This study identifies the nature and extent of interdependencies among environmental strategic planning (ESP), environmental value systems, and firms’ environmental and economic outcomes. Findings are reported based on survey data collected from a cross-sectional sample of Australian firms. The results suggest that while ESP is positively associated with improved environmental performance, the emphasis of environmental value systems may not directly influence environmental performance outcomes. Furthermore, though environmental performance is positively associated with economic performance, the indirect association between ESP and economic performance through environmental performance is not absolute. Rather, this indirect association is conditional on the emphasis placed on environmental value systems. Specifically, the indirect association between ESP and economic performance is stronger for firms that employ formal and informal systems to promote shared environmental values and beliefs throughout the organisation.