Transboundary Movements Research Articles

Plant quarantine for biosecurity during transboundary movement of plant genetic resources

Plant quarantine for biosecurity during transboundary movement of plant genetic resources

Source apportionment of SPM by positive matrix factorization and PM2.5 analysis in an urban industrial area

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to monitor suspended particulate matter (SPM), PM2.5 and source apportionment study for the identification of possible sources during the year 2018–2019 at Raipur, India.Design/methodology/approachSource apportionment study was performed using a multivariate receptor model, positive matrix factorization (PMFv5.0) with a view to identify the various possible sources of particulate matter in the area. Back-trajectory analysis was also performed using NOAA-HYSPLIT model to understand the origin and trans-boundary movement of air mass over the sampling location.FindingsDaily average SPM and PM2.5 aerosols mass concentration was found to be 377.19 ± 157.24 µg/m³ and 126.39 ± 37.77 µg/m³ respectively. SPM and PM2.5 mass concentrations showed distinct seasonal cycle; SPM – (Winter ; 377.19 ±157.25 µg/m?) > (Summer; 283.57 ±93.18 µg/m?) > (Monsoon; 33.20 ±16.32 µg/m?) and PM2.5 – (Winter; 126.39±37.77 µg/m³) > (Summer; 75.92±12.28 µg/m³). Source apportionment model (PMF) have been applied and identified five major sources contributing the pollution; steel production and industry (68%), vehicular and re-suspended road dust (10.1%), heavy oil combustion (10.1%), tire wear and brake wear/abrasion (8%) and crustal/Earth crust (3.7%). Industrial activities have been identified as major contributing factor for air quality degradation in the region.Practical implicationsChemical characterization of aerosols and identification of possible sources will be helpful in abatement of pollution and framing mitigating strategies. It will also help in standardization of global climate model.Originality/valueThe findings provide valuable results to be considered for controlling air pollution in the region.

Electronic Waste, an Environmental Problem Exported to Developing Countries: The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a rapidly developing environmental problem particularly for the most developed countries. There are technological solutions for processing it, but these are costly, and the cheaper option for most developed countries has been to export most of the waste to less developed countries. There are various laws and policies for regulating the processing of e-waste at different governance scales such as the international Basel Convention, the regional Bamoko Convention, and various national laws. However, many of the regulations are not fully implemented and there is substantial financial pressure to maintain the jobs created for processing e-waste. Mexico, Brazil, Ghana Nigeria, India, and China have been selected for a more detailed study of the transboundary movements of e-waste. This includes a systematic review of existing literature, the application of the Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, Response (DPSIR) framework for analysing complex problems associated with social ecological systems, and the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for evaluating the environmental impact of electronic devices from their manufacture through to their final disposal. Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Norway have been selected for the LCA to show how e-waste is diverted to developing countries, as there is not sufficient data available for the assessment from the selected developing countries. GOOD, BAD and UGLY outcomes have been identified from this study: the GOOD is the creation of jobs and the use of e-waste as a source of raw materials; the BAD is the exacerbation of the already poor environmental conditions in developing countries; the UGLY is the negative impact on the health of workers processing e-waste due to a wide range of toxic components in this waste. There are a number of management options that are available to reduce the impact of the BAD and the UGLY, such as adopting the concept of a circular economy, urban mining, reducing loopholes and improving existing policies and regulations, as well as reducing the disparity in income between the top and bottom of the management hierarchy for e-waste disposal. The overarching message is a request for developed countries to help developing countries in the fight against e-waste, rather than exporting their environmental problems to these poorer regions.

Ship scrappage records reveal disturbing environmental injustice

Ship demolition is a significant source of marine pollution. Not recycled properly, toxic chemicals can be released and pose great dangers to both the environment and public health. By investigating over 22,500 scrapped vessels’ business records ranging between 2000 and 2019, we find how business owners in developed countries disguise ships’ true identity by registering them in developing regions with loose approaches to labor and environmental protection, thus creating a leeway to violate environmental justice. International treaties and regional regulations have failed to correct the problem. Neither the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal nor enhanced regional regulations from the European Commission are effective. We propose three reforms to make the shipping industry more sustainable.

Fugas, robos y siniestros en el transporte ferroviario de maíz genéticamente modificado, vectores que atentan a los maíces mexicanos

The article is focused on the analysis of the biosafety policy implemented by the Mexican government in relation to leaks, theft and transport accidents, which we call risk vectors, arising during the transboundary movement of genetically modified (GM) corn. We support the hypothesis that imported GM grain for the manufacture of inputs for human and animal consumption constitutes a favorable mechanism to bring GM corn closer to agricultural fields and Mexican corn, thus increasing the risk of contamination of these. The conceptual analytical framework of the research is based on an analysis of the biosafety policy adopted by the Mexican State against the aforementioned vectors; having as an argument for reflection, in addition, the different normative artifacts and administrative provisions that make up the biosafety system of genetically modified organisms. We rely on an extensive newspaper and photographic review of nearly a decade of leaks, thefts, and transportation accidents during the movement of GM corn.

The Perilous Plight of Great Indian Bustard (<i>Ardeotis nigriceps</i>) in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan

This paper summarizes the population dynamics and distribution of the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan from 2018 to 2020. The Scan and focal sampling along with the intensive seasonal survey methodology was adopted to assess the population dynamics and movement pattern of the state bird of Rajasthan. The entire study area is divided into 231 grids consisting of 3 blocks and covered using a transect of 3875.49 km, which helped systematic assessment of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) population. A total of 54 potential grids for GIB has been identified based on the presence and absence of the species and associated habitat of the region. The authors had observed 42 distinct GIB individuals and a record sighting of 11 GIB in a flock at the Thar landscape of Rajasthan. This paper depicts the importance of seasonal migration, and land use utilization for GIB. Authors had also identified two distinct resident populations of GIB i.e. one each from the Khetoloi-Ramdevra belt and Sudashree-Chohani-Sipla belt. The paper had implicated the transboundary movement of this bird towards the Cholistan Desert of Pakistan and raises concern over the same.

Using a participatory qualitative risk assessment to estimate the risk of introduction and spread of transboundary animal diseases in scarce-data environments: A Spatial Qualitative Risk Analysis applied to foot-and-mouth disease in Tunisia 2014-2019.

This article presents a participative and iterative qualitative risk assessment framework that can be used to evaluate the spatial variation of the risk of infectious animal disease introduction and spread on a national scale. The framework was developed through regional training action workshops and field activities. The active involvement of national animal health services enabled the identification, collection and hierarchization of risk factors. Quantitative data were collected in the field, and expert knowledge was integrated to adjust the available data at regional level. Experts categorized and combined the risk factors into ordinal levels of risk per epidemiological unit to ease implementation of risk-based surveillance in the field. The framework was used to perform a qualitative assessment of the risk of introduction and spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Tunisia as part of a series of workshops held between 2015 and 2018. The experts in attendance combined risk factors such as epidemiological status, transboundary movements, proximity to the borders and accessibility to assess the risk of FMD outbreaks in Tunisia. Out of the 2,075 Tunisian imadas, 23 were at a very high risk of FMD introduction, mainly at the borders; and 59 were at a very high risk of FMD spread. To validate the model, the results were compared to the FMD outbreaks notified by Tunisia during the 2014 FMD epizootic. Using a spatial Poisson model, a significant alignment between the very high and high-risk categories of spread and the occurrence of FMD outbreaks was shown. The relative risk of FMD occurrence was thus 3.2 higher for imadas in the very high and high spread risk categories than for imadas in the low and negligible spread risk categories. Our results show that the qualitative risk assessment framework can be a useful decision support tool for risk-based disease surveillance and control, in particular in scarce-data environments.

Rapidly increasing eco‐certification coverage transforming management of world’s tuna fisheries

AbstractTuna support some of the world's largest, most valuable and spatially extensive fisheries, but effective management has been challenging due to their transboundary movements and the need for multilateral decision‐making. To address public concerns of over‐exploitation, fishing companies have sought to differentiate themselves through involvement in “sustainable seafood” eco‐certification programmes. Here, we show that the volume associated with such initiatives for tuna increased 237‐fold between 2007 and 2019. Today, 2.31 million tonnes (47%) of the global tuna catch comes from fisheries holding or seeking Marine Stewardship Council eco‐certification. This is due to a 57‐fold increase in the number of fisheries engaged in the eco‐certification process. Crucially, this growth is also correlated with a concurrent 14‐fold increase in the adoption of harvest strategies by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Semi‐structured interviews with a broad range of RFMO stakeholders corroborate that the rapid uptake of harvest strategies is largely attributable to pressure from fishing companies needing to meet eco‐certification requirements; over 90% of respondents had directly observed or speculated on this type of advocacy. These results suggest the tuna fishing industry and associated seafood supply chain actors are now playing an unprecedented role in shaping the international governance of these species.

An atlas of tsetse and animal African trypanosomiasis in Zimbabwe

BackgroundIn the 1980s and 1990s, great strides were taken towards the elimination of tsetse and animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) in Zimbabwe. However, advances in recent years have been limited. Previously freed areas have been at risk of reinvasion, and the disease in tsetse-infested areas remains a constraint to food security. As part of ongoing control activities, monitoring of tsetse and AAT is performed regularly in the main areas at risk. However, a centralized digital archive is missing. To fill this gap, a spatially explicit, national-level database of tsetse and AAT (i.e. atlas) was established through systematic data collation, harmonization and geo-referencing for the period 2000–2019.MethodsThe atlas covers an area of approximately 70,000 km2, located mostly in the at-risk areas in the north of the country. In the tsetse component, a total of 33,872 entomological records were assembled for 4894 distinct trap locations. For the AAT component, 82,051 samples (mainly dry blood smears from clinically suspicious animals) were collected at 280 diptanks and examined for trypanosomal infection by microscopy.ResultsGlossina pallidipes (82.7% of the total catches) and Glossina morsitans morsitans (17.3%) were the two tsetse species recorded in the north and northwest parts of the country. No fly was captured in the northeast. The distribution of AAT follows broadly that of tsetse, although sporadic AAT cases were also reported from the northeast, apparently because of transboundary animal movement. Three trypanosome species were reported, namely Trypanosoma brucei (61.7% of recorded infections), Trypanosoma congolense (28.1%) and Trypanosoma vivax (10.2%). The respective prevalences, as estimated in sentinel herds by random sampling, were 2.22, 0.43 and 0.30%, respectively.DiscussionThe patterns of tsetse and AAT distributions in Zimbabwe are shaped by a combination of bioclimatic factors, historical events such as the rinderpest epizootic at the turn of the twentieth century and extensive and sustained tsetse control that is aimed at progressively eliminating tsetse and trypanosomiasis from the entire country. The comprehensive dataset assembled in the atlas will improve the spatial targeting of surveillance and control activities. It will also represent a valuable tool for research, by enabling large-scale geo-spatial analyses.Graphical

Progress towards Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants through Vaccination.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a transboundary viral disease that threatens more than 1.74 billion goats and sheep in approximately 70 countries globally. In 2015, the international community set the goal of eradicating PPR by 2030, and, since then, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have jointly developed and implemented the Global Control and Eradication Strategy for PPR. Here, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), the OIE World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), Regional Roadmap Meetings, and countries’ responses to PPR Monitoring and Assessment Tool (PMAT) questionnaires were analyzed to inform on current progress towards PPR eradication. OIE recorded the use of over 333 million doses of vaccine in 12 countries from 2015 to 2018, 41.8% of which were used in Asia and 58.2% in Africa. Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 12,757 PPR outbreaks were reported to OIE: 75.1% in Asia, 24.8% in Africa, and 0.1% in Europe. The number of global outbreaks in 2019 fell to 1218, compared with 3688 in 2015. Analysis of vaccine use and PPR outbreaks in countries indicates that disease control strategies, particularly vaccination campaigns and vaccine distribution strategies, still require scientific evaluation. It is imperative that vaccination is undertaken based on the epidemiology of the disease in a region and is coordinated between neighboring countries to restrict transboundary movements. Strengthening surveillance and post-vaccination sero-monitoring at the national level is also essential. The PPR vaccine stock/bank established by FAO, OIE, and other partners have improved the quality assurance and supply of vaccines. However, to achieve PPR eradication, filling the funding gap for vaccination campaigns and other program activities will be critical.

Liability for Transboundary Damage of Genetically Modified Organisms: Existing Patterns and Application

Normative analysis found that for the application of liability for transboundary damage to genetically modified organisms, there are currently three liability patterns: traditional state liability, private law liability, and liability for transboundary damage. It will not be an effective solution to the problem of penalty for damages, if the above liability patterns apply to transboundary damage of genetically modified organisms separately. And this approach is inconsistent with the legal principles of relevant international law and judicial practice. So this article uses method of legal interpretation to analyze and interpret the provisions of Convention on Biological Diversity, The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol to clarify the true meaning of the provisions in depth, and eliminate errors and omissions. At the same time, this article uses the method of theoretical analysis to analyze the existing liability patterns. Finally, we found, the principle of timely and adequate compensation for victims should be implemented in complex realities, and genetically modified damage should be dealt with and in accordance with the attributes of damage, causation and other factors. According to these factors, we will divide transboundary damage of genetically modified organisms into three types: intentional transboundary movement, unintentional transboundary movement and illegal transboundary movement. To divide the transboundary damage to genetically modified organisms and apply different liability patterns according to different situations should be the best approach.

The International Maritime Organization and regime interaction: cooperation or hegemony?

Regime interaction is an expected consequence of the specialisation and expansion of international law. It occurs regularly, including during law-making processes, authoritative legal interpretations, and international organisations’ activities. This study shows that, while international organisations contribute to the coordination among international legal regimes, such coordination has limitations. The author illustrates such limitations with two examples. One relates to ship recycling and the cooperation between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the subsidiary bodies of the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Wastes (Basel Convention). The other relates to the rescue of migrants at sea and disembarkation to a place of safety and the cooperation between the IMO and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There is an asymmetrical relationship between these organisations, and the IMO, as the more powerful organisation, has upheld its normative agenda, narrative, ideology, and power structure while cooperating with the Basel Convention’s subsidiary bodies and UNHCR. Such asymmetrical relations have a negative impact on legal cross-fertilisation, ie fragmentation and tunnel vision. On the one hand, the ship-recycling case illustrates legal fragmentation, where two parallel and distinct legal regulations, ie the Basel Convention and the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, are potentially applicable to ships at the end of their operative lives. On the other hand, the rescue of migrants at sea exemplifies tunnel vision where this particular issue has been framed as a maritime safety matter, leaving little room for cross-fertilisation with refugee law.

The Role of the EMERCOM of Russia in the Activities of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

The Role of the EMERCOM of Russia in the Activities of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

СПЕЦИФИКА УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ТРАНСГРАНИЧНЫМ ПЕРЕМЕЩЕНИЕМ ТОВАРОВ ОСОБОГО НАЗНАЧЕНИЯ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ТРАНСПЛАНТОЛОГИИ)

Modern economic relations are the private sector of public relations. The rapid development of markets, the complication of commodity-money relations, the development of service, scientific and technological progress, new means and methods of business have covered the key spheres of life: health care, education, social security, etc. The article reveals the economic and legal aspect of the regulation of relations in the field of transplantology. The authors noted that the sphere of transplantation in the socio-economic development of countries and the world community as a whole is an integral part of the medical sphere, contributing to the solution of the issue of life and death, can be attributed to the key interests of national security. This determines the relevance of the topic. Donor bodies are a particularly significant category of goods, considered by specialists not only from the point of view of bioethical norms, but also from the point of view of legality, pricing and methods of government regulation. The imperfection of the mechanism of state regulation, the specifics of registration and transportation, the lack of effective logistics are noted by the authors as a complex of problems requiring solution. The novelty of the research is predetermined by the analysis of the key norms of international law that predetermine the mechanism of the transboundary movement of donor organs. The direction of the vector of policy of individual states and the international community in the development of the market for donor organs is in direct proportion. This, in turn, requires the development of solutions both in the field of legal support for the legality of operations for the receipt, distribution and use of donor organs, as well as the development of a unified policy of coordinated interaction.

SUSTAINABLE E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA: LESSONS FROM SELECTED COUNTRIES

The seriousness of electrical and electronic equipment waste (E-waste/WEEE) problem is currently haunting both developed and developing nations around the world. WEEE in layman’s term can be defined as discarded components of electrical and electronic equipment that have no reuse value. Improper disposal of WEEE can bring about catastrophic effects to mankind and the environment. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 1992 categorises WEEE as hazardous waste due to the presence of toxic materials. Currently, the production of WEEE is expanding at a significant rate and is expected to touch 52.2 million Mt tonnes globally by 2021. The nations around the world have taken initiatives such as introducing new laws, regulations and policies. Malaysia is also similarly affected by the increasing volume of WEEE and it has been reported that its WEEE would reach an aggregate of 762.507 million units by 2020. In response, the Malaysian government has drafted a new regulation, the Environmental Quality (Household Scheduled Waste) Regulation, which is currently under review by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Using the library-based research methodology, this legal research aims to provide a comprehensive overview of WEEE management from a global as well as the Malaysian perspective. A brief discussion on the classification of e-waste and analysis of key initiatives taken worldwide is provided and examined. The article concludes with a recommendation for the necessary actions that can be adopted to enhance best WEEE management practices in Malaysia, to ensure the threat imposed by WEEE on mankind and the environment is curtailed.

Offshore banking in the structural dynamics of transboundary movement of financial capital

Offshore banking in the structural dynamics of transboundary movement of financial capital

Harvey Alter

ACS NEWS Harvey Alter ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2020, 98 (42), p 36November 2, 2020Cite this:C&EN 98, 42, 36AbstractHarvey Alter, 87, died June 27 in Frederick, Maryland. “Harvey had an eclectic career. Beginning as a bench chemist, he proceeded to R&D management, to tech transfer in the resource-recovery field, and then on to environmental and science policy. For 15 years, he represented various industry groups before the United Nations Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. He taught at Frederick Community College pro bono for their Institute for Learning in Retirement. He was also an adjunct professor at American University and the University of Maryland University College for about 20 years. Harvey joined ACS in 1951 and served as president of the Chemical Society of Washington in 1972.”—Family of Harvey Alter Most recent title: Manager of environmental and natural resource public policy issues, US Chamber of Commerce Education: BS, chemistry, Queens College, 1952; PhD, physical chemistry, University of Cincinnati, 1957 Survivors:View: PDF | Full Text HTML

The 1971 and 2019 Hague Judgments Conventions: Compared and Whether China Would Change Its Attitude Towards The Hague

Abstract Under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, decades of endeavours brought about the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, being the newest achievement and a milestone. Serving the basic modern values of promoting access to justice and facilitating multilateral trade, the 2019 Convention reflects the global trend and maximizes the common grounds countries could agree to. As a historical culmination, the 2019 Convention refers to the experience of the past Hague conventions, in particular the 1971 Convention. On the one hand, the 2019 Convention duplicates the 1971 Convention in significant respects, maintaining its virtues; on the other hand, novelties are created to avoid the failures shadowing the 1971 Convention. Overall, the 2019 Convention is acceptable though it falls short of some long-lasting expectations. Recent years have seen China’s efforts to promote transboundary movement of judgments and its contribution to the arrival of the 2019 Convention. As an important global player with increasing ambition of claiming more international presence, the Convention is expected to fare well in China.

Potential habitat distribution of Himalayan red panda and their connectivity in Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan.

Survival of endangered Himalayan red panda is threatened by ever‐growing anthropogenic activities leading to an unprecedented rate of habitat degradation and loss. However, limited studies have been conducted in the context of the spatial distribution of habitats and habitat connectivity for the species in the landscape of Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS). Lack of such information remains a challenge while implementing effective and holistic conservation initiatives. Therefore, this study identifies the distribution of potential habitats and their connectivity using maxent and linkage mapper, respectively. Precipitation‐related predictor variables exhibited a significant influence on the prediction of habitat distribution. The model predicted 27.7% of the SWS as a potential habitat (fundamental niche). More than 75% of the predicted habitats fall outside the existing core zones where anthropogenic disturbance is relatively high, indicating the need to reassess existing management options. In SWS, 15 core habitats (CH) are predicted which are connected by a least‐cost corridor (length µ = 2.91 km) with several pinch points in it. Centrally located CH5 and CH11 are identified as the most important habitat in maintaining overall connectivity within SWS. However, CH located in the peripheries could be equally important in facilitating the transboundary movement of the species. Overall, SWS can play a critical role as a connecting link between the larger landscape of Bhutan and the adjacent Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the conservation of Himalayan red panda that exhibits narrow dispersal with special habitat needs. Based on our findings, we recommend initiating GPS/satellite telemetry of the species to enable SWS to understand the precise interaction of Himalayan red panda to widespread herder communities, livestock, and free‐roaming dogs dwelling in the same landscape. It will also help to evaluate the functionality of the predicted habitats, linkages, and feasibility of transboundary conservation initiatives.

Screening brinjal (Solanum melongena) accessions conserved in the National Genebank collected from states adjoining Bangladesh for adventitious presence of EE1 event

Systematic management of Plant Genetic Resources (PGRs) is the key to sustainable agriculture for food and nutritional security and in mitigating climate change. The National Genebank (NGB) at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, acts as a repository of PGRs for future use. This study aimed at screening for the adventitious presence of transgenes in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) accessions conserved in the NGB. The study targeted the collections made during 2007-2016 from areas adjacent to Bangladesh (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal), where field trials of Bt brinjal event EE1 were conducted during 2005-2012 and commercial cultivation of this event was permitted in 2013.There could be an apprehension of both unintentional introgression and transboundary movement through borders. Adventitious presence of transgenes was checked in a set of 96 accessions of brinjal employing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR assays. As event EE1 carries cry1Ac gene for insect resistance with Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) promoter (P-35S) and marker genes (nptII and aadA), so these genetic elements were targeted for qualitative GM testing. Based on the test results, transgenes were not detected in brinjal accessions conserved in NGB. Our study showed that brinjal and wild species collected from adjoining areas of Bangladesh, post field trials and release, do not contain the event EE1. The study presents an efficient and reliable method to ensure conservation of GM-free germplasm in the NGB.