Pub Date : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100455
Bailing Zhang , Jing Kang , Tao Feng
Reducing CO2 emissions represents a global challenge, and the mobility sectors account for a considerable portion of total emissions, with marked disparities across diverse economies. Viewed from a macroscopic perspective, countries and regions around the world can be categorized in various ways. However, relying on a single or a few indicators often proves inadequate to meet the classification requirements for carbon reduction and sustainable development. In this study, employing machine learning and guided by 10 economic indicators, we classified 188 countries/regions into 6 identifiable clusters. Subsequently, by applying ratio analysis and random forest methodologies, we conducted a matrix-based analysis that elucidates the distinct emission characteristics of each mobility sector. Feature importance analysis revealed that for highly developed economies, the total population's contribution was significant, especially in domestic and international aviation, accounting for 50% and 25% of emissions, respectively. In contrast, for lower-middle-income countries and regions, while the total population still played a pivotal role, its influence was most pronounced in railway transportation, reaching 67%. For rapidly developing economies, domestic aviation emissions reached a peak influence of 61%. These insights emphasize the necessity for strategies tailored to the unique attributes of economic entities.
{"title":"Global disparities in CO2 emissions from mobility sectors of diverse economies: A macroscopic exploration across 188 countries/regions","authors":"Bailing Zhang , Jing Kang , Tao Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Reducing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions represents a global challenge, and the mobility sectors account for a considerable portion of total emissions, with marked disparities across diverse economies. Viewed from a macroscopic perspective, countries and regions around the world can be categorized in various ways. However, relying on a single or a few indicators often proves inadequate to meet the classification requirements for carbon reduction and sustainable development. In this study, employing machine learning and guided by 10 economic indicators, we classified 188 countries/regions into 6 identifiable clusters. Subsequently, by applying ratio analysis and random forest methodologies, we conducted a matrix-based analysis that elucidates the distinct emission characteristics of each mobility sector. Feature importance analysis revealed that for highly developed economies, the total population's contribution was significant, especially in domestic and international aviation, accounting for 50% and 25% of emissions, respectively. In contrast, for lower-middle-income countries and regions, while the total population still played a pivotal role, its influence was most pronounced in railway transportation, reaching 67%. For rapidly developing economies, domestic aviation emissions reached a peak influence of 61%. These insights emphasize the necessity for strategies tailored to the unique attributes of economic entities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100455"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001235/pdfft?md5=694f390934a2cbe3220e5364089b174c&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001235-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141953809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100452
Abdou Safari Kagabo , Bonfils Safari , Jimmy Gasore , Bethwel Kipkoech Mutai , Joseph Ndakize Sebaziga
Land use changes and urban activities cause environmental degradation and climate change. This study aims to assess the impacts of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes on land surface temperature (LST) in Kigali, Rwanda over the past three decades. The combined techniques of remote sensing and GIS were applied to generate good quality Landsat images, categorize land use classes and retrieve urban indices. The modified Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to analyze trends in LST. The results indicate that between 1990 and 2020, the extent of builtup and forest areas have increased at an average rate of 3.39 km2/year and 2.42 km2/year respectively, while open land has decreased at an average rate of 5.81 km2/year. In the same period, water bodies and wetlands showed minimal changes with an increase of 1.56 km2 and a decrease of 1.66 km2 for water bodies and wetlands respectively. The slope magnitudes of LST are predominantly positive (p ≤ 0.05) with a high increase observed in dry seasons (0.51 °C per decade for Tmin in JJA and 0.49 °C per decade for Tmax in JF). The positive correlations between LST and urban indices were observed in all studied subregions (all values are above 0.61, p ≤ 0.05). The findings of this study are useful for the development of future urban land use schemes and the adoption of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change.
{"title":"Assessing the impact of Land Use Land Cover changes on land surface temperature over Kigali, Rwanda in the past three decades","authors":"Abdou Safari Kagabo , Bonfils Safari , Jimmy Gasore , Bethwel Kipkoech Mutai , Joseph Ndakize Sebaziga","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Land use changes and urban activities cause environmental degradation and climate change. This study aims to assess the impacts of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes on land surface temperature (LST) in Kigali, Rwanda over the past three decades. The combined techniques of remote sensing and GIS were applied to generate good quality Landsat images, categorize land use classes and retrieve urban indices. The modified Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to analyze trends in LST. The results indicate that between 1990 and 2020, the extent of builtup and forest areas have increased at an average rate of 3.39 km<sup>2</sup>/year and 2.42 km<sup>2</sup>/year respectively, while open land has decreased at an average rate of 5.81 km<sup>2</sup>/year. In the same period, water bodies and wetlands showed minimal changes with an increase of 1.56 km<sup>2</sup> and a decrease of 1.66 km<sup>2</sup> for water bodies and wetlands respectively. The slope magnitudes of LST are predominantly positive (p ≤ 0.05) with a high increase observed in dry seasons (0.51 °C per decade for Tmin in JJA and 0.49 °C per decade for Tmax in JF). The positive correlations between LST and urban indices were observed in all studied subregions (all values are above 0.61, p ≤ 0.05). The findings of this study are useful for the development of future urban land use schemes and the adoption of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100452"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272400120X/pdfft?md5=d85eee80e0e5683cb1f0994e719d212e&pid=1-s2.0-S266597272400120X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141990866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100456
Thomas Ohnemus , Steffen Zacharias , Thomas Dirnböck , Jaana Bäck , Werner Brack , Martin Forsius , Ulf Mallast , Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis , Johannes Peterseil , Christophe Piscart , Francisco Pando , Christian Poppe Terán , Michael Mirtl
Addressing global change requires standardised observations across all ecosystem spheres. To that end, the distributed Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI) strives for an optimal observational design of its over 200 in-situ facilities. Their spatial distribution should be unbiased to scale local data to its continental target region.
Therefore, we assessed biases in the emerging eLTER RI in-situ facility network. We (i) conducted a survey describing the emerging eLTER RI, (ii) detected critical gaps in its coverage of Reference Parameters by identifying biases in a six-dimensional thematic space and determined regions, where these biases cluster spatially, and (iii) derived recommendations to further develop the eLTER RI network.
Three distinct gaps were identified: the Iberian, Eastern and Nordic Gap. They resulted mainly from underrepresentation of agricultural lands, mesic and dry regions with low economic density and the Mediterranean, Continental and Boreal biogeoregions. The patterns of underrepresentation are driven by various factors including the thematic context of site establishment over the past decades, operations logistics and funding constraints. We consider closing these gaps of highest priority for spatial network development.
Mitigating the biases in the eLTER RI network is crucial to enable confident scaling of local data to the European scale. This will allow the eLTER RI to provide a comprehensive foundation for scientists, policy and decision makers to face global change. Next, a comprehensive dataset of possible additional research sites over Europe must be analysed to derive site- and country-specific recommendations for cost-efficient gap mitigation.
应对全球变化需要对所有生态系统领域进行标准化观测。为此,分布式综合欧洲长期生态系统、临界区和社会生态研究基础设施(eLTER RI)努力对其 200 多个原位设施进行最佳观测设计。因此,我们对正在形成的 eLTER RI 实地设施网络的偏差进行了评估。我们(i) 对新兴的 eLTER RI 进行了调查,(ii) 通过识别六维主题空间中的偏差,发现其在参考参数覆盖方面的关键差距,并确定了这些偏差在空间上的聚集区域,(iii) 提出了进一步发展 eLTER RI 网络的建议。这些差距主要是由于农业用地、经济密度较低的中温带和干旱地区以及地中海、大陆和北 寒带生物地理区域的代表性不足造成的。造成代表性不足的因素有很多,包括过去几十年来建立遗址的主题背景、运行后勤和资金限制。我们认为缩小这些差距是空间网络发展的重中之重。减少 eLTER RI 网络中的偏差对于将本地数据可靠地扩展到欧洲尺度至关重要。这将使 eLTER RI 为科学家、政策制定者和决策者面对全球变化提供一个全面的基础。下一步,必须对欧洲可能增加的研究地点的综合数据集进行分析,以得出针对具体地点和国家的具有成本效益的缩小差距建议。
{"title":"The eLTER research infrastructure: Current design and coverage of environmental and socio-ecological gradients","authors":"Thomas Ohnemus , Steffen Zacharias , Thomas Dirnböck , Jaana Bäck , Werner Brack , Martin Forsius , Ulf Mallast , Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis , Johannes Peterseil , Christophe Piscart , Francisco Pando , Christian Poppe Terán , Michael Mirtl","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Addressing global change requires standardised observations across all ecosystem spheres. To that end, the distributed Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI) strives for an optimal observational design of its over 200 in-situ facilities. Their spatial distribution should be unbiased to scale local data to its continental target region.</p><p>Therefore, we assessed biases in the emerging eLTER RI in-situ facility network. We (i) conducted a survey describing the emerging eLTER RI, (ii) detected critical <em>gaps</em> in its coverage of Reference Parameters by identifying biases in a six-dimensional thematic space and determined regions, where these biases cluster spatially, and (iii) derived recommendations to further develop the eLTER RI network.</p><p>Three distinct <em>gaps</em> were identified: the Iberian, Eastern and Nordic Gap. They resulted mainly from underrepresentation of agricultural lands, mesic and dry regions with low economic density and the Mediterranean, Continental and Boreal biogeoregions. The patterns of underrepresentation are driven by various factors including the thematic context of site establishment over the past decades, operations logistics and funding constraints. We consider closing these <em>gaps</em> of highest priority for spatial network development.</p><p>Mitigating the biases in the eLTER RI network is crucial to enable confident scaling of local data to the European scale. This will allow the eLTER RI to provide a comprehensive foundation for scientists, policy and decision makers to face global change. Next, a comprehensive dataset of possible additional research sites over Europe must be analysed to derive site- and country-specific recommendations for cost-efficient gap mitigation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100456"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001247/pdfft?md5=6c4baea21101db2119e84a4a1230b812&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001247-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141953811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100454
Eromose E. Ebhuoma, Noma Julia Nene, Llewellyn Leonard
In Durban, South Africa, heavy rainfall leading to flooding has become more frequent over the past decade, resulting in devastating consequences for households. However, studies in South Africa have predominantly focused on understanding the impacts of flooding on rural livelihoods. With intense rainfall events that could result in localized flash flooding to be expected to increase in Durban in the near future, failure to understand how households prepare for flooding and the interventions implemented by local authorities could jeopardize the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 – resilient and sustainable cities. To address this gap, primary data were collected from purposively selected residents of the Amanzimtoti community in Durban using questionnaires that comprised both closed and open-ended questions. Additionally, secondary data were analyzed to determine the measures implemented by the eThekwini Municipality to mitigate the adverse effects of flooding. The findings indicate that flooding has triggered psychological trauma among residents. Regarding interventions to mitigate flooding impacts, some homeowners and business owners purchased insurance. Despite the municipality providing early warnings, a severe flood event in 2019 had a significant negative impact on households partly due to the municipality's failure to utilize preferred communication channels – such as X (formally known as Twitter) – that resonate with residents. The study also found that adoption of early warnings may be partly hinged on the extent to which they remember the last flood episode that resulted in disaster. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for achieving SDG 11 in Durban.
{"title":"Analysis of urban households’ preparedness and municipal interventions to build flood resilience in Durban, South Africa: Implications for SDG 11","authors":"Eromose E. Ebhuoma, Noma Julia Nene, Llewellyn Leonard","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In Durban, South Africa, heavy rainfall leading to flooding has become more frequent over the past decade, resulting in devastating consequences for households. However, studies in South Africa have predominantly focused on understanding the impacts of flooding on rural livelihoods. With intense rainfall events that could result in localized flash flooding to be expected to increase in Durban in the near future, failure to understand how households prepare for flooding and the interventions implemented by local authorities could jeopardize the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 – resilient and sustainable cities. To address this gap, primary data were collected from purposively selected residents of the Amanzimtoti community in Durban using questionnaires that comprised both closed and open-ended questions. Additionally, secondary data were analyzed to determine the measures implemented by the eThekwini Municipality to mitigate the adverse effects of flooding. The findings indicate that flooding has triggered psychological trauma among residents. Regarding interventions to mitigate flooding impacts, some homeowners and business owners purchased insurance. Despite the municipality providing early warnings, a severe flood event in 2019 had a significant negative impact on households partly due to the municipality's failure to utilize preferred communication channels – such as X (formally known as Twitter) – that resonate with residents. The study also found that adoption of early warnings may be partly hinged on the extent to which they remember the last flood episode that resulted in disaster. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for achieving SDG 11 in Durban.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100454"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001223/pdfft?md5=4c89a2e52b7a52b1e52f71f30f003f47&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001223-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141963526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100453
Adél Kelemen , Zsuzsanna Katalin Szabó , Sándor Bozóki , Zsombor Szádoczki , Áron Dénes Hartvig
The aim of composite indicators is to express the overall performance of countries/regions with respect to a complex goal including sustainability, competitiveness, and innovation. Some of the indices play an important role in real governmental and strategic decisions on allocating sources. Sensitivity analyses usually include the changes in weights (of importance), the evaluations with respect to the criteria and the aggregating functions. In contrast, we investigate the effect of setting the minimal and maximal thresholds of the scoring functions used in the assessment. Thus, only the effect of this transformation is investigated, while the input data and criteria weights are not modified or stochastic. It is demonstrated that even such a seemingly innocent modification of the min/max thresholds might lead to remarkable changes in the ranking. Results are presented in detail on the examples of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). However, the phenomenon is general: further 15 composite indices, applying the min/max threshold, have also been collected. The choice of min/max threshold is functionating as an implicit (re-)weighting of the criteria: criteria with smaller min/max ranges are overweighted. Thus, the steps of weighting and assessment are not independent. This research provides an alternative sensitivity analysis to test the robustness of the rankings.
{"title":"A sensitivity analysis of composite indicators: Min/max thresholds","authors":"Adél Kelemen , Zsuzsanna Katalin Szabó , Sándor Bozóki , Zsombor Szádoczki , Áron Dénes Hartvig","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100453","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100453","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The aim of composite indicators is to express the overall performance of countries/regions with respect to a complex goal including sustainability, competitiveness, and innovation. Some of the indices play an important role in real governmental and strategic decisions on allocating sources. Sensitivity analyses usually include the changes in weights (of importance), the evaluations with respect to the criteria and the aggregating functions. In contrast, we investigate the effect of setting the minimal and maximal thresholds of the scoring functions used in the assessment. Thus, only the effect of this transformation is investigated, while the input data and criteria weights are not modified or stochastic. It is demonstrated that even such a seemingly innocent modification of the min/max thresholds might lead to remarkable changes in the ranking. Results are presented in detail on the examples of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). However, the phenomenon is general: further 15 composite indices, applying the min/max threshold, have also been collected. The choice of min/max threshold is functionating as an implicit (re-)weighting of the criteria: criteria with smaller min/max ranges are overweighted. Thus, the steps of weighting and assessment are not independent. This research provides an alternative sensitivity analysis to test the robustness of the rankings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100453"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001211/pdfft?md5=bac1f757a08ab8c370d56b563ab42ae7&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001211-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141979474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Low-carbon oriented land use change is crucial to tackling climate change issues in rapidly urbanizing metropolitans. Previous studies lacked to consider how the cross-level interaction within multilevel governance of metropolitan areas affect the land use change. In order to simulate multilevel governance interaction, this study proposes a land use simulation model, facilitating a comparative analysis of simulated results under different scenarios. Taking Hangzhou as the empirical study area, the results show that the predicted scale of construction land with high carbon emissions is smallest in interactive governance scenario. Its overall low-carbon performance of land use is the best among all scenarios, with a Polycentric Degree of 0.7856 (N = 4) and 0.9142 (N = 6), and Cohesion Degree and Land-Use Degree Index are 101.8320 and 101.7944 respectively. This study revealed that the interactive governance effectively curbs the growth of land with high-carbon emissions, promoting the spatial carbon efficiency and the low-carbon oriented spatial layout. Multi-level governance provides a framework for effective implantation of low-carbon oriented land use change objective and plays an important role in promoting its low-carbon performance. This study innovatively incorporates governance parameters into the land use prediction model, providing guidance for optimizing land use governance in metropolitan areas.
{"title":"Influence of multilevel governance on land use change in China's rapidly urbanizing metropolitan from low-carbon perspective","authors":"Mingyu Zhang , Weicheng Gu , Dongye Yang , Yichen Ruan","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Low-carbon oriented land use change is crucial to tackling climate change issues in rapidly urbanizing metropolitans. Previous studies lacked to consider how the cross-level interaction within multilevel governance of metropolitan areas affect the land use change. In order to simulate multilevel governance interaction, this study proposes a land use simulation model, facilitating a comparative analysis of simulated results under different scenarios. Taking Hangzhou as the empirical study area, the results show that the predicted scale of construction land with high carbon emissions is smallest in interactive governance scenario. Its overall low-carbon performance of land use is the best among all scenarios, with a Polycentric Degree of 0.7856 (N = 4) and 0.9142 (N = 6), and Cohesion Degree and Land-Use Degree Index are 101.8320 and 101.7944 respectively. This study revealed that the interactive governance effectively curbs the growth of land with high-carbon emissions, promoting the spatial carbon efficiency and the low-carbon oriented spatial layout. Multi-level governance provides a framework for effective implantation of low-carbon oriented land use change objective and plays an important role in promoting its low-carbon performance. This study innovatively incorporates governance parameters into the land use prediction model, providing guidance for optimizing land use governance in metropolitan areas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100450"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001181/pdfft?md5=88b99a870e768711e395c39eb84187db&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001181-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141962851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study attempts to examine the cost and benefits of shifting the collection process of groundwater revenue and groundwater preservation fees from a manual to automatic meter reading (AMR) system, utilizing marginal cost and marginal benefit. The methodology is based on a benefit-cost analysis, taking into account the monetary value of time. The following specific results are revealed: (1) Changing to an AMR system can provide additional benefits in terms of time-savings for current personnel since the administrative work relating to the collection of groundwater usage fees and groundwater preservation fees can be reduced by 70%. This study is based on two personnel per province, calculated using the rate of 26,397.46 baht (or 792.95 USD) per person per month, 70% of which equates to an opportunity cost of 18,000 baht (or 540.70 USD) per person per month. (2) The accident rate can be reduced if personnel do not need to travel to examine the groundwater usage of licensees. However, because the AMR system is complicated and customizable, transitioning from manual to AMR systems is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. We propose that a pilot project be carried out to properly implement the AMR installation process.
本研究试图利用边际成本和边际效益,对地下水收入和地下水保护费的征收流程从人工抄表系统转向自动抄表系统(AMR)的成本和效益进行研究。该方法基于效益成本分析,并考虑到时间的货币价值。具体结果如下:(1) 由于收取地下水使用费和地下水保护费的行政工作可减少 70%,因此改用 AMR 系统可为现有人员节省时间,带来额外收益。本研究以每个省两名工作人员为基础,按照每人每月 26,397.46 泰铢(或 792.95 美元)的费率计算,其中 70% 的费率相当于每人每月 18,000 泰铢(或 540.70 美元)的机会成本。(2)如果工作人员不需要出差检查持证人的地下水使用情况,事故率就会降低。然而,由于 AMR 系统复杂且可定制,从人工系统过渡到 AMR 系统并非一劳永逸。我们建议开展一个试点项目,以正确实施 AMR 安装程序。
{"title":"Study on the guidelines for the efficient and sustainable management of groundwater usage revenue collection in relation to groundwater usage fees and groundwater preservation fees in the groundwater crisis areas of Thailand","authors":"Vijitsri Sanguanwongse , Mana Luksamee-Arunothai , Supanee Harnphattananusorn , Kanokon Seemanon , Wasin Siwasarit , Setthabut Ittithumwinit","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100449","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100449","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study attempts to examine the cost and benefits of shifting the collection process of groundwater revenue and groundwater preservation fees from a manual to automatic meter reading (AMR) system, utilizing marginal cost and marginal benefit. The methodology is based on a benefit-cost analysis, taking into account the monetary value of time. The following specific results are revealed: (1) Changing to an <span>AMR</span> system can provide additional benefits in terms of time-savings for current personnel since the administrative work relating to the collection of groundwater usage fees and groundwater preservation fees can be reduced by 70%. This study is based on two personnel per province, calculated using the rate of 26,397.46 baht (or 792.95 USD) per person per month, 70% of which equates to an opportunity cost of 18,000 baht (or 540.70 USD) per person per month. (2) The accident rate can be reduced if personnel do not need to travel to examine the groundwater usage of licensees. However, because the AMR system is complicated and customizable, transitioning from manual to AMR systems is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. We propose that a pilot project be carried out to properly implement the AMR installation process.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100449"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272400117X/pdfft?md5=8ea5e041c1fd2947361d851ea6a8dd8a&pid=1-s2.0-S266597272400117X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141952042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-02DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100451
Collins C. Okolie , Oluwasola T. Ogunleye , Gideon Danso-Abbeam , Abiodun A. Ogundeji , Ágoston Restás
Climate change threatens smallholder farmers' productivity, revenue generation, and increases household food insecurity. Thus, adaptation and coping strategies are paramount for smallholder farming households to mitigate these impacts of climate change. This study used a bibliometric analysis to examine smallholder farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies to climate change (SFCA-SCC) research trends from 2010 to 2022. A total of 1635 papers were analysed from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases to characterize the field and observe research trends. The articles from these databases demonstrate an upward trend in publications (54–300) over the period under study, signifying the importance of research on adaptation and coping strategies of climate change. The research findings showed that majority of studies originated from institutions in industrialized countries, while very few did so from emerging economies. According to the findings, smallholder farmers have embraced a range of adaptation and coping mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as altering planting schedules, and diversifying crop varieties among others. It is imperative for African researchers and institutions to engage in more research aimed at developing strategies to mitigate the risks posed by climate change.
气候变化威胁着小农的生产力和创收,并加剧了家庭粮食不安全。因此,适应和应对策略对于小农家庭减轻气候变化的影响至关重要。本研究采用文献计量学分析方法,考察了 2010 年至 2022 年期间小农应对和适应气候变化战略(SFCA-SCC)的研究趋势。研究人员对 Scopus 和 Web of Science(WoS)数据库中的 1635 篇论文进行了分析,以了解该领域的特点并观察研究趋势。这些数据库中的文章显示,在研究期间,论文数量呈上升趋势(54-300 篇),这表明气候变化适应和应对策略研究的重要性。研究结果表明,大多数研究都来自工业化国家的机构,而新兴经济体的机构很少。研究结果表明,小农采用了一系列适应和应对机制来减轻气候变化的影响,如改变种植计划、作物品种多样化等。非洲的研究人员和机构必须开展更多的研究,以制定减轻气候变化风险的战略。
{"title":"Smallholder farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies to climate change: Evidence from a bibliometric analysis","authors":"Collins C. Okolie , Oluwasola T. Ogunleye , Gideon Danso-Abbeam , Abiodun A. Ogundeji , Ágoston Restás","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Climate change threatens smallholder farmers' productivity, revenue generation, and increases household food insecurity. Thus, adaptation and coping strategies are paramount for smallholder farming households to mitigate these impacts of climate change. This study used a bibliometric analysis to examine smallholder farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies to climate change (SFCA-SCC) research trends from 2010 to 2022. A total of 1635 papers were analysed from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases to characterize the field and observe research trends. The articles from these databases demonstrate an upward trend in publications (54–300) over the period under study, signifying the importance of research on adaptation and coping strategies of climate change. The research findings showed that majority of studies originated from institutions in industrialized countries, while very few did so from emerging economies. According to the findings, smallholder farmers have embraced a range of adaptation and coping mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as altering planting schedules, and diversifying crop varieties among others. It is imperative for African researchers and institutions to engage in more research aimed at developing strategies to mitigate the risks posed by climate change.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100451"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001193/pdfft?md5=062aae380fb5546f5a1e9eb1b88fd322&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001193-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141963529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-31DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100443
Abdul Waheed , Sajida Kousar , Muhammad Irfan Khan , Thomas Bernward Fischer
Environmental governance (EG), climate-resilient development, and environmental sustainability are interlinked phenomena. It is in this context that an evaluation of Pakistan's EG was carried out in order to establish policy insights into the environmental sustainability of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Plan 2017–2030. A questionnaire survey approach (targeting various stakeholder groups), using a multi-criteria decision analysis of ‘Best’ and ‘Worst’ method and an integrated EG framework were used. An important finding is that responsiveness was ranked as best and equity as worst EG themes for CPEC sustainability. Similarly, criteria transparency is considered to be the best aspect and criteria access to information/knowledge the worst. Other aspects scoring highly included e.g. monitoring and evaluation; stakeholder's communication and collaboration in governance processes; mechanisms to ensure that means and rationales of decisions making are transparent for eco-friendly development under the CPEC Plan; stakeholders' input integration in planning and policy implementation; stakeholders capacity building to deal with environmental and CC concerns of CPEC development. Criteria scoring poorly included e.g., effective mechanisms to resolve conflicts between federal and provincial Environmental Protection Agencies and implementation of environmental laws in letter and spirit, as well as marginalized stakeholders' participation in the decision-making process. In this context, the Government needs to establish an effective EG system to ensure environmentally friendly and climate-resilient development (CRD) in the country.
{"title":"Environmental governance in Pakistan: Perspectives and implications for the China-Pakistan economic corridor plan","authors":"Abdul Waheed , Sajida Kousar , Muhammad Irfan Khan , Thomas Bernward Fischer","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Environmental governance (EG), climate-resilient development, and environmental sustainability are interlinked phenomena. It is in this context that an evaluation of Pakistan's EG was carried out in order to establish policy insights into the environmental sustainability of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Plan 2017–2030. A questionnaire survey approach (targeting various stakeholder groups), using a multi-criteria decision analysis of ‘Best’ and ‘Worst’ method and an integrated EG framework were used. An important finding is that responsiveness was ranked as best and equity as worst EG themes for CPEC sustainability. Similarly, criteria transparency is considered to be the best aspect and criteria access to information/knowledge the worst. Other aspects scoring highly included e.g. monitoring and evaluation; stakeholder's communication and collaboration in governance processes; mechanisms to ensure that means and rationales of decisions making are transparent for eco-friendly development under the CPEC Plan; stakeholders' input integration in planning and policy implementation; stakeholders capacity building to deal with environmental and CC concerns of CPEC development. Criteria scoring poorly included e.g., effective mechanisms to resolve conflicts between federal and provincial Environmental Protection Agencies and implementation of environmental laws in letter and spirit, as well as marginalized stakeholders' participation in the decision-making process. In this context, the Government needs to establish an effective EG system to ensure environmentally friendly and climate-resilient development (CRD) in the country.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100443"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001119/pdfft?md5=1b36f08ab5e7fb225ea08a71e2d88164&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001119-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141961283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Deforestation in the form of forest land use change (FLUC) increases the emission of greenhouse gases, disrupts the water cycle, dries the soil, and reduces the growth of plant products. This has a direct effect on the well-being of local communities whose livelihoods depend on the forest and threatens biodiversity. The systematic review aimed to analyze the studies conducted on the effects of FLUC on biodiversity ecosystem services (BECS) and human well-being (HWB) of local communities. The study utilized a qualitative content analysis (QCA) based on a deductive approach, which reviewed 114 scientific documents, particularly research articles, selected by searching keywords through a purposeful sampling method. The FLUC indicators in the two groups of dominant morphology (intensity, scale, pattern, and usage) and recessive morphology (function, property rights, and management mode) had 172 repetitions in the articles. Moreover, the BECS criteria (regulating, provisioning, supportive, and cultural services) and HWB (items related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, subjective well-being, objective well-being, and preferences) had 125 and 148 repetitions, respectively. Results confirm the relationship and effects of FLUC on BECS and HWB, which emphasizes the mutual role of these variables in social, economic, and environmental studies in future research programs. An increase in FLUC can decline the performance and structure of BECS and have a negative impact on the HWB of those communities who depend on forest. Findings are presented in the form of a model that provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between FLUC, BECS, and HWB for relevant decision makers.
{"title":"Forest land use change effects on biodiversity ecosystem services and human well-being: A systematic analysis","authors":"Zeynab Hallaj , Masoud Bijani , Esmail Karamidehkordi , Rasoul Yousefpour , Hamed Yousefzadeh","doi":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indic.2024.100445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Deforestation in the form of forest land use change (FLUC) increases the emission of greenhouse gases, disrupts the water cycle, dries the soil, and reduces the growth of plant products. This has a direct effect on the well-being of local communities whose livelihoods depend on the forest and threatens biodiversity. The systematic review aimed to analyze the studies conducted on the effects of FLUC on biodiversity ecosystem services (BECS) and human well-being (HWB) of local communities. The study utilized a qualitative content analysis (QCA) based on a deductive approach, which reviewed 114 scientific documents, particularly research articles, selected by searching keywords through a purposeful sampling method. The FLUC indicators in the two groups of dominant morphology (intensity, scale, pattern, and usage) and recessive morphology (function, property rights, and management mode) had 172 repetitions in the articles. Moreover, the BECS criteria (regulating, provisioning, supportive, and cultural services) and HWB (items related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, subjective well-being, objective well-being, and preferences) had 125 and 148 repetitions, respectively. Results confirm the relationship and effects of FLUC on BECS and HWB, which emphasizes the mutual role of these variables in social, economic, and environmental studies in future research programs. An increase in FLUC can decline the performance and structure of BECS and have a negative impact on the HWB of those communities who depend on forest. Findings are presented in the form of a model that provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between FLUC, BECS, and HWB for relevant decision makers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36171,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Sustainability Indicators","volume":"23 ","pages":"Article 100445"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001132/pdfft?md5=bf95c6429ebc056ced6c9ec7c662ea74&pid=1-s2.0-S2665972724001132-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141963527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}