Environmental Challenges最新文献

{"title":"The potential of collected rainwater as an alternative water resource for domestic purpose to mitigate groundwater overexploitation in terms of water quality and people’s acceptance","authors":"Van Cam Pham ,&nbsp;Johannes Ho ,&nbsp;Jonas Bauer ,&nbsp;Nicolas Börsig ,&nbsp;Felix Dörr ,&nbsp;Tran Viet Hoan ,&nbsp;Elisabeth Eiche ,&nbsp;Andreas Tiehm ,&nbsp;Stefan Norra","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ca Mau province, located in the south of the Mekong Delta, is strongly affected by land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Overexploitation of groundwater has been highlighted as a significant driving factor for these processes. As groundwater currently plays a crucial role in the local water supply, this study examines the potential of rainwater as an alternative water source for domestic use to reduce groundwater extraction and contribute to ensure the safe and sustainable water resource for public use (SDG 6). The present study follows a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the potential of rain water as an alternative water resource, covering an assessment of (i) social perception of rainwater usage, (ii) rainwater availability as well as water quality analyses of rainwater stored under various conditions. For this, a combined survey and sampling campaign throughout Ca Mau province was conducted in two main phases between 2019 and 2022. The survey includes a questionnaire which was completed by 473 participants together with in-depth interviews in several selected locations. Complementary, time series of precipitation were analyzed to determine the potentially available rainwater quantity. Stored rainwater samples were collected and analyzed according to their quality based on physical parameters, chemical parameters using ICP-MS and Ion Chromatography with 49 water samples and biological parameters using the IDEXX Colilert® system and MALDI-TOF-MS with 75 water samples. Based on the results, factors that could affect the quality of rainwater were examined. The results show that in some rainwater samples, threshold values of the standards from Vietnamese regulation were exceeded for some parameters, raising the issue of rainwater treatment before use. The questionnaire revealed that rainwater is considered as a potential water source which can replace groundwater for domestic purposes by participants. Despite concerns about rainwater storage during the dry season, public acceptance of using rainwater is generally high. However, the government’s interest in communicating information about current environmental issues as well as support in guiding rainwater storage and economic support during the transition process is an issue that people are concerned about. The results of this study provide new insights to further identify potential pilot sites in Ca Mau for rainwater harvesting as an alternative to groundwater extraction, as well as to design concepts for optimizing the use of rainwater.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101443"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the sustainability of Sphagnum moss harvesting or farming versus horticultural peat using a multi-criteria decision framework","authors":"Jaakko Karvonen ,&nbsp;Tanja Myllyviita","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As horticultural peat availability declines, alternative growing media are increasingly needed. <em>Sphagnum</em> moss has emerged as a high-quality substitute, yet its sustainability has not been thoroughly assessed. This study uses multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to compare the sustainability of <em>Sphagnum</em> moss and horticultural peat. <em>Sphagnum</em> was evaluated either as harvested from natural sites with replanting or as cultivated on peatland farms. A panel of stakeholders and researchers assigned weights to the criteria, with biodiversity considered most important (39.78 points), followed by climate (26.81), costs (18.86) and employment (14.55). The results show that <em>Sphagnum</em> harvesting with replanting and <em>Sphagnum</em> farming achieved the highest overall sustainability scores (67.88–77.72 points), while harvesting without replanting scored lower (28.52–49.14). Horticultural peat received the lowest score (18.86). Based on these results, regrowth of <em>Sphagnum</em> after harvesting is essential to ensure sustainable harvesting, and <em>Sphagnum</em> farming offers a renewable and sustainable option for growing media production. Overall, <em>Sphagnum</em> moss represents a promising and more sustainable alternative to peat in horticulture, but further research and optimization are essential to realize its full potential. As the <em>Sphagnum</em> industry is still developing, there is substantial potential to improve field practices, particularly regarding harvesting techniques and regrowth management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101445"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floristic diversity, carrying capacity and local management of coastal rangelands in a context of climatic variability and urbanization: a case study from West Africa","authors":"B.S.C.M. Ahouangan ,&nbsp;A.D.P. Lesse ,&nbsp;K.V. Salako ,&nbsp;M.S. Toyi ,&nbsp;M.R.B. Houinato","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101434","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101434","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coastal ecosystems are under pressure due to climate change and increasing anthropogenic activities, especially in pastoralism proned areas. This study combined vegetation census (phytosociological surveys and biomass cuts in 120 and 40 plots, respectively) and socio-economic surveys of cattle breeders (<em>n</em> = 115) to (i) assess vegetation structure and influencing environmental factors, (ii) determine vegetation groups and their carrying capacity, and (iii) characterize the local uses and management of the rangelands. The study was carried out in four coastal communes (Abomey-Calavi, Grand-Popo, Ouidah and Sèmè-Podji). We used both univariate and multivariate descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis. We recorded, 347 species from 252 genera and 88 families, the largest floristic composition being observed in Abomey-Calavi and Ouidah. Relief was the main determinant of the variation of floristic composition. The plot ordination led to three main groups (G1 dominated by Acacia sieberiana and Aristida adscensionis, G2 dominated by Imperata cylindrica and Zanthoxyllum zanthoxyloides, and G3 dominated by Cocos nucifera and Indigofera spicata). Phytomass (2.06 ± 0.68 t DM/ha - 2.48 ± 0.63 t DM/ha) and carrying capacity (0.29 - 0.39 UBT/ha/year) differed significantly between the three groups and the four communes. The typology of breeders led to three clusters, namely familial agro-pastoral farmers (6%), typical agro-pastoral farmers (58%) and co-managed agro-pastoral farmers (36%). Herd composition, rangelands management, and adaptation strategies also differed markedly across the three clusters. However, the observed management methods are not effective for coastal range management and an integrative climate-smart management scheme is needed for sustainable pastoralism in the coastal region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101434"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping and connectivity analysis of thermal comfort zones in Shanghai using a modified temperature–humidity index","authors":"Hongchao Xu ,&nbsp;Xiao Xiao ,&nbsp;Peng Zeng ,&nbsp;Yue Che","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101441","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101441","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the context of sustained global warming and rapid urbanization, extreme summer heat and humidity increasingly intensify urban heat stress in metropolitan environments. This study develops a remote-sensing–based framework to generate city-scale screening maps of relative hot–humid exposure in Shanghai (summer 2022) using a modified temperature–humidity index (MTHI). The resulting surface is further translated into structural and connectivity-based spatial indicators through morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and circuit theory (CT) modeling. Areas classified as thermal comfort zones (i.e., relatively lower hot–humid exposure under the MTHI framework) accounted for 71.3 % of the urban area, representing spatial contrasts in thermal–humidity conditions rather than absolute physiological comfort. MSPA and circuit-based analyses revealed a structured, network-like organization of these relative cooling-favorable areas, characterized by a core–edge backbone consisting of 13 source areas, 17 potential corridors, and 39 pinch-point locations. These elements highlight how a limited number of structural features may influence the spatial continuity of cooling-favorable conditions across the city. The proposed framework provides hypothesis-generating spatial indicators of thermal comfort organization by integrating relative exposure mapping with connectivity analysis using publicly available data and standardized workflows. This approach offers an exploratory planning-support tool that can assist preliminary screening of cooling-sensitive areas in hot–humid cities, while requiring further validation before operational decision-making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101441"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can urban Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) generate effective ecological and management outcomes?","authors":"Julie Marty-Gastaldi ,&nbsp;Charalampos Dimitriadis ,&nbsp;Nathalie Lazaric ,&nbsp;Benoit Dérijard","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Mediterranean Sea, a hotspot of biodiversity, is impacted by the urbanisation of its coastlines. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a vital role in safeguarding these urban regions and preserving their marine biodiversity. However, despite the urgent need to protect these populated areas, implementation of MPAs under such conditions remains challenging in terms of policy, financing and governance. Twelve MPAs with different urban scores were assessed in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Our objectives were to compare urban and non-urban MPAs in terms of management performance and ecological effectiveness. We analysed the effect of urbanisation on the management of MPAs and then, the effect of urbanisation and management on the variability of ecological outcomes. Our findings were the following: (1) There is no significant difference in management effectiveness between urban and non-urban MPAs, meaning that MPAs can be effectively managed in both contexts; (2) Urban MPAs are ecologically effective, with at least twice as much fish biomass inside the protected areas as outside; and (3) The implementation of an effective management strategy depends on many different factors, such as staff capacity and access to funding. This study thus provides initial insights into the effectiveness of urban MPAs, showing that they have the potential to be managed effectively, with favourable ecological outcomes. In the context of the 30 × 30 global objective, the framework of urban MPAs can serve as a model for developing new MPAs and promoting policies that encourage action, even in degraded urban ecosystems in need of protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101406"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating machine learning and drone technology for precision agriculture: A smart solution for automated irrigation and crop management","authors":"Sayibu Abdul-Gafaar ,&nbsp;Peter Osei Boamah ,&nbsp;Jacqueline Onumah ,&nbsp;Frank Sam ,&nbsp;Raymond Gyaang ,&nbsp;Daniel Appiah-Essuman ,&nbsp;Dennis Redeemer Korda ,&nbsp;Alberta Mawunyo Buadi ,&nbsp;Linus Tabari ,&nbsp;Fortunatus Aabangbio Wulnye","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101393","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101393","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agriculture is vital to Ghana’s economy, contributing approximately 20 % to GDP and employing 45 % of the workforce. However, the agricultural sector’s reliance on rain-fed farming, particularly in northern Ghana, exposes it to climate variability, erratic rainfall, and prolonged droughts which lead to chronic food insecurity and economic losses. With only 2 % of farmland irrigated, traditional methods exacerbate water scarcity and low productivity. This study proposes an innovative machine learning (ML) and drone-based precision irrigation system to optimize water use, enhance crop yields, and build climate resilience in northern Ghana. The study deployed internet of things (IoT) soil sensors, weather forecasts, and autonomous drones across 150 smallholder farms in Tamale, Bolgatanga, and Wa through a mixed-methods approach. A random forest ML model predicted irrigation needs, while drones delivered targeted water applications. Results showed a 50.6 % increase in crop yields and a 30–40 % reduction in water usage compared to traditional methods. However, stakeholder interviews and factor analysis identified barriers such as high costs, limited digital literacy, and policy gaps. The study recommends government subsidies, farmer training, and regulatory reforms to facilitate adoption. This scalable model contributes to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2, 6, and 13) and offers a replicable framework for other arid regions in sub-Saharan Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101393"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145798441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental deregulation by design: Institutional capacities and the perils of Brazil’s new environmental licensing law","authors":"José Amorim Reis-Filho ,&nbsp;Yram Lecht Fiterman ,&nbsp;Tommaso Giarrizzo ,&nbsp;Eurico Mesquita Noleto-Filho","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101383","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101383","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Decentralizing environmental governance is often cast a route to greater administrative efficiency and local empowerment. Yet its ability to uphold socio-environmental safeguards remains under-scrutinized, particularly when authority is devolved to subnational entities with limited institutional capacity. Brazil faces its most severe regulatory rollback: The environmental legislation reform would dramatically expand municipal autonomy in environmental licensing—including for complex, high-impact projects—while weakening oversight mechanisms, community consultation, and technical safeguards. To evaluate the risks of this institutional shift, we assessed the environmental governance and institutional capacity of 1270 municipalities across all twenty-six Brazilian states. Using a multidimensional framework, we analyzed indicators such as the presence of municipal environmental secretariats, existence of local environmental legislation and councils, and availability of qualified technical staff. Our findings reveal widespread and persistent institutional fragility: most municipalities lack even the minimum structures required to conduct precautionary and effective environmental licensing. These deficits are especially acute in regions with lower Human Development Index (HDI) and in ecologically critical biomes such as the Amazon—home to the planet’s highest biodiversity—and the Caatinga, a uniquely Brazilian semiarid biome of high socioecological vulnerability. We also identify strong associations between territorial, socioeconomic, and environmental profiles of municipalities and their institutional readiness. We argue about the need to strengthen municipal capacity, standardize licensing procedures, and provide intergovernmental technical support before transferring complex projects to local authorities. Without these safeguards, decentralization could undermine Brazil’s environmental protection and its commitments under global frameworks. This study offers a national-scale diagnostic of subnational environmental governance and provides a scalable framework for assessing institutional capacity in countries facing similar deregulatory pressures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101383"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145749823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of satellite precipitation products across climatic and topographic gradients in a basin in Northern South America","authors":"Jhonny I. Pérez-Montiel,&nbsp;Adriana M. Choles Epiayu,&nbsp;Cristian Diaz Moscote","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101426","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101426","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reliably estimating precipitation remains a challenge, especially in tropical regions characterized by high climate variability, complex topography, and sparse rainfall station coverage. In these contexts, gridded precipitation satellite products (GPPs) are an important alternative for hydrological analysis, climate assessment, and risk management, which aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 11 (resilient cities and communities), and SDG 13 (climate action). This study evaluates the performance of five GPPs: CHIRPSv2, CHIRPSv3, ERA5-Land, MSWEPv2.8, and PERSIANN<img>CDR, in the Ranchería river basin in northern Colombia. The evaluation covered the period 1991–2020 and used continuous and categorical metrics on daily, 3-day, monthly, and annual time scales. Fourteen rainfall stations from the national monitoring network were used as a reference. The study area is a complex hydroclimatic environment ranging from semi-arid lowlands to mountainous terrain influenced by the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (the world’s highest coastal mountain range). This configuration allows analysis of the sensitivity of satellite algorithms to topographic gradients and varying precipitation intensities. The results indicate that CHIRPSv3 has the best overall performance and the highest inter-scale consistency, followed by CHIRPSv2 and PERSIANN<img>CDR. In general, all products improve with temporal aggregation; however, their performance degrades with increasing elevation, especially in ERA5-Land and MSWEPv2.8. The detection of daily extreme events remains limited, with moderate improvements when considering 3-day accumulations. As a general recommendation, satellite products should be selected based on local conditions, such as topography, time scale, and management objectives, to support reliable decision-making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101426"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate-induced potential driver of water conflicts over natural resource and the role of land use and land cover change in the Lake Chad catchment","authors":"Samuel Che Nde,&nbsp;Lobina Gertrude Palamuleni,&nbsp;Sammy Kipyego Bett,&nbsp;Gabriel Sanjo Aruwajoye,&nbsp;Arabi Mouhaman","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101422","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2026.101422","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With changing climatic conditions and land use patterns, communal conflicts over access to and control over natural resources are likely to intensify in the Lake Chad basin (LCB). Against the backdrop of the popular discourse of climate wars, environmental scrutiny research has not sufficiently addressed the role of land use and land cover change (LULCC) as potential drivers of such conflicts. Historical climatic data for a period of 30 years were obtained from CHIRPS due to its high spatial and temporal resolution and Landsat and Sentinel-2 images from 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023 were used for LULCC detection. A supervised classification with the maximum likelihood classifier was applied to generate LULCC maps for the selected periods. Results indicate that environmental stressors were only partly predictive of conflict events due to changes in land use patterns. Results of the geospatial data reveals losses in water bodies and natural forage over the three decades as major factors that could trigger tensions between pastoralists and small-scale farmers. An interdecadal comparison of rainfall shows a statistically significant difference (<em>p</em> = 0.031) between the first and second decades, corresponding to declining trends in vegetation cover, water bodies, and cultivated land in the LCB attributable to rainfall anomalies. These results provide valuable insights to better understand potential drivers behind armed conflict, the contribution of land use dynamics, and their interconnectedness between human-induced land transformation and climatic anomalies over shared resources which interact reciprocally to intensify resource competition among individuals and groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101422"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antimicrobial resistance in shrimp aquaculture: Pathways, ecosystem risks, and policy responses","authors":"Lovely Akter ,&nbsp;Neaz A. Hasan ,&nbsp;Moshiur Rahman ,&nbsp;Nasrullah Forajy ,&nbsp;Mohammad Mahfujul Haque","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envc.2025.101401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Shrimp aquaculture, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, substantially contributes to economic growth and food security. However, the sectors’ heavily reliance on antibiotics together with weak biosecurity – driving the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This review synthesizes evidence from 2000 to 2025 on antibiotic use, resistance pathways, and the associated environmental (particularly mangrove habitats) and public-health risks. Through the integration of antibiotic management, diagnostic development, and the control of non-antibiotic diseases on the broad One Health platform, this review emphasizes the interdependence of shrimp aquaculture, ecosystem health, and public health. The historical shift from traditional, mangrove-linked practices to intensive, export-oriented systems accelerated the loss of mangroves and increased ecological vulnerability. High disease pressure in intensive farms drove routine, sometimes inappropriate antibiotic use (mostly oxytetracycline, florfenicol, and sufonamides), and the emergence of resistance. Weak regulation and limited diagnostics, along with widespread use of non-approved drugs, enabled persistent selection pressures across production environments, further shaping AMR development. Diverse AMR genes (such tetA, sul1, and blaCTX-M) occur in farm-associated bacteria, raising concerns about movement through aquatic ecosystems and human exposure. Effluents from shrimp farms carry antibiotic residues and resistant microbes into nearby mangroves, where resistance genes persist, spread, and disrupt ecological functions. These pressures diminish shrimp health and productivity, alter microbial nitrogen cycling, suppress diazotrophic taxa, and reduce nitrogenase and functional gene activity compromising mangrove ecosystem services like nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and coastal protection. Public-health risks arise when food chain entry or occupational exposure occurs via either residues or resistant bacteria; these necessitate strong farm-level controls, surveillance, and hygiene practices. AMR mitigation needs tighter antibiotic governance, expanded diagnostic capacity, and wider adoption of non-antibiotic disease-management strategies within a coordinated One Health framework. Future progress depends upon closing knowledge gaps, improving monitoring, and aligning regulations and farm practice for long-term environmental and public-health protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101401"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}