Geography and Sustainability最新文献

Noise pollution is becoming a critical health risk for city life. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many cities to implement several mobility restrictions. These restrictions changed human activity patterns and decreased the noise levels and noise pollution that often affect urban settings. As the number of infections decreased, so did the outdoor activities, influencing the population’s perception of noise. This paper aims to evaluate the changes in noise levels associated with mobility restrictions between 2020 and 2021 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This study used crowdsourcing with the help of smartphones and mobile applications to collect geo-referenced environmental noise data. The data was used to generate noise maps in different time frames. Finally, noise level maps were created using GIS-based tools to identify the urban areas that experienced the highest noise level variation during the study period. The results show that the most significant noise increase occurred at night. Furthermore, when analyzing noise level changes in different urban areas, the western area of Guayaquil was the one that experienced the most significant noise level variation. Findings inform the perception of noise pollution and could potentially serve as a reference for decision-makers during the proposal of public policies that ensure a better quality of life for its citizens.

Rapid urbanization urges the immediate attention of policymakers to ensure sustainable city development. Understanding the urban growth drivers is essential to address effective strategies for urbanization-related challenges. This work aims to study Raiganj’s urban development and the factors associated with this expansion. This study employed global logistic regression (LR) and geographical weighted logistic regression (GWLR) to explore the role of different factors. The results showed that the role of the central business district (covariate >-1), commercial market (covariate >-3), and police station (covariate >-4) were significant to the development of new built-up areas. In the second period, major roads (covariate >-2) and new infrastructures (covariate >-4) became more relevant, particularly in the eastern and southern areas. GWLR was more accurate in assessing the different factors’ impact than LR. The results obtained are essential to understanding urban expansion in India’s medium-class cities, which is critical to effective policies for sustainable urbanization.

Investigating the spatiotemporal variation of human activity intensity and its determinants is a crucial basis for further revealing the mechanism of human-environment interaction and optimizing the human development mode. In this study, the human activity intensity on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) from 1990 to 2020 was measured based on the quantitative model of land use data and the actual regional background, and the underlying natural and socioeconomic determinants were investigated using spatial econometric methods. The results demonstrate that (1) the human activity intensity in QTP has increased by 11.96%, and there are differences in different spatial scales; the areas with high human activity intensity are distributed in the Hehuang Valley where Xining City and its surrounding areas are located, as well as the One-River and Two-River Area where Lhasa City and surrounding areas are located. (2) Human activity intensity has significant positive spatial spillover, suggesting that local changes will cause changes in the same direction in adjacent areas. (3) The human activity intensity in QTP is affected by various determinants. Concerning socioeconomic factors, the economic level has no significant impact on the human activity intensity in QTP, which differs from the general regional law. Both urbanization and traffic conditions have a significant positive effect, and the impact intensity continues to increase. Concerning natural factors, topographic relief has a significant positive effect; the impacts of temperature and vegetation coverage have changed from insignificant to a significant positive effect; the impacts of precipitation and river network density have not been verified; there is no linear relationship between altitude and human activity intensity in the entire QTP, while it exists in local regions. Finally, this study proposes three policy implications for the realization of a more harmonious human-environment relationship in QTP.

Land use/cover change (LUCC) plays a key role in altering surface hydrology and water balance, finally affecting the security and availability of water resources. However, mechanisms underlying LUCC determination of water-balance processes at the basin scale remain unclear. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and partial least squares regression were used to detect the effects of LUCC on hydrology and water components in the Zuli River Basin (ZRB), a typical watershed of the Yellow River Basin. In general, three recommended coefficients (R² and E_ns greater than 0.5, and P_bias less than 20%) indicated that the output results of the SWAT model were reliable and that the model was effective for the ZRB. Then, several key findings were obtained. First, LUCC in the ZRB was characterized by a significant increase in forest (21.61%) and settlement (23.52%) and a slight reduction in cropland (–1.35%), resulting in a 4.93% increase in evapotranspiration and a clear decline in surface runoff and water yield by 15.68% and 2.95% at the whole basin scale, respectively. Second, at the sub-basin scale, surface runoff and water yield increased by 14.26%–36.15% and 5.13%–15.55%, respectively, mainly due to settlement increases. Last, partial least squares regression indicated that urbanization was the most significant contributor to runoff change, and evapotranspiration change was mainly driven by forest expansion. These conclusions are significant for understanding the relationship between LUCC and water balance, which can provide meaningful information for managing water resources and the long-term sustainability of such watersheds.

As ecologically fragile areas, coastal zones are affected by both anthropogenic activities and climate change. However, the impacts of these factors on large nearshore mammals, such as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (IPHDs, Sousa chinensis), are poorly understood. Here, modeling revealed that the suitable habitats of IPHDs are affected mainly by the sea surface temperature (SST), and the habitat suitability decreases as the distance to the nearest coastline increases. In addition, anthropogenic activities involving demersal fishing, contamination and shipping have narrowed IPHD habitats and reduced the habitat suitability. We found that climate change will further narrow suitable habitats located farther than 7 km from coastlines and trigger habitat losses in the eastern Taiwan Strait by 2090–2100 under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. The projected decreases in habitat suitability and area emphasize the urgency of establishing connected marine protected areas (MPAs) while considering climate change, intergovernmental cooperation, and public involvement.

Development Geography is a branch of geography which studies the socioeconomic development of different countries and regions worldwide. Its related research provides informative ideas for promoting regionally coordinated development. This study introduces the basic connotation and theory of Development Geography research, and clarifies its primary indicators and core approaches to provide solutions for regional development. Finally, the application in regional development research under globalization is proposed. It is considered that the systematically integrated geography paradigm highlights the advantages of Development Geography in regional development research. As a result of its “differentiation characteristics-diffusion state-convergence mode”, an important theoretical basis and methodological paradigm are provided to explore the features of regional development. Since the development gaps among regions exist long throughout the world, Development Geography research ought to focus on new characteristics and challenges of regional development, to provide a theoretical basis for synergy management of sustainable development goals and international cooperation. This contributes to high-quality regional development.

This study used multinomial logistic regression and Bayesian belief networks (BBN) to analyze factors influencing the functionality of the community-based rural drinking water supply and sanitation program (PAMSIMAS) in Indonesia. 28,936 PAMSIMAS projects in 33 provinces in Indonesia were analyzed. The data indicates that 85.4% of the water supply systems were fully functioning, 9.1% were partially functioning, and 5.5% were not functioning. In the regression analysis, good management is positively associated with functionality and a high investment per capita is negatively associated with the functionality. The latter suggests the need for comprehensive economic analysis in the feasibility study in scattered housing sites and remote-undeveloped areas. We also found that high community participation at the beginning of the project was associated with the not functioning system, while women’s participation was positively associated with the functionality. Furthermore, the household connection is more likely to be functioning than communal connection. BBN analysis shows if the beneficiaries do not pay for water, the probability of not functioning systems is 20 times higher than systems with fee collection. Moreover, the combination of strong management, strong financial status, and household connection rather than communal connection increases the probability of fully functioning to 98%. Improvement of data collection is also necessary to monitor the current conditions of all PAMSIMAS systems in Indonesia. This study offers a country-level perspective for better implementation of the community-based rural water supply and sanitation program in developing countries.

Coal has been dominating the electricity supply in Indonesia, especially in long-term power generation from fossil energy. This dominance is due to lower production costs in coal-fired power plant generation. However, this low price is only based on monetary costs and ignores the social costs. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the social costs of coal-fired generation. Using QUERI-AirPacts modeling, the present study quantifies the social costs resulting from the Tenayan Raya coal-fired generation in Riau, Indonesia. It includes the levelized cost of electricity and health costs into the generation costs. After that, this study calculates the net present value, internal rate return, and project payback period. The study found that as much as $50.22/MWh was the levelized cost of electricity. While $15.978/MWh or $0.015978/kWh was the social cost that was not included in the generating cost. At the electricity production level of 1,380,171.69 MWh per year, there is an expected extra cost of $22,052,383.30 uncounted when externalities are included. For instance, the net present value (NPV) is lower and even negative when external costs are included (–$24,062,274.19) compared to $176,108,091.52 when externalities are not considered. The internal rate of return (IRR) is much higher when the social costs are not considered. The payback period is also shorter when the social costs are excluded than when the externalities are included. This global number indicates that the inclusion of external costs would impact NPV, IRR, and the payback period. This result implies that the government should internalize the external cost to stimulate the electricity producers to conduct cost-benefit analyses. The cost-benefit analysis mechanism would lead the producers to be more efficient.

Landslide disasters reflect the conflict between human society and the natural environment, posing challenges to the sustainable development of mountain regions. Identification of potential landslides, estimation of the degree of damage and potential losses of elements at risk, and control of the loss are the major tasks of landslide risk management. Resilience is defined as a social system’s comprehensive abilities to cope with disasters, including the abilities to prepare, anticipate, preserve, absorb, respond, resist, recover, mitigate, learn, and adapt. As an indispensable role, resilience enables more rational landslide risk management for social sustainability. However, quantitative landslide risk management does not pay sufficient attention to the role of resilience. Hence, in this paper, the role of resilience in a landslide risk management framework is systematically discussed. A quantitative landslide risk management framework consists of hazard analysis, exposure analysis, risk estimation, risk evaluation, and risk control. In hazard analysis, resilience assessment could help identify potential landslides that could cause significant damage due to the poor resilience of the elements at risk. Resilience assessment in exposure analysis might aid in identifying the most vulnerable elements or regions to certain landslides. Consideration of resilience in risk estimation aids in the calculation of indirect losses and improves the results of direct losses analysis. In risk evaluation, resilience as a disaster-coping ability will impact the social system's landslide risk tolerance threshold. Enhancing resilience is an essential strategy to reduce the vulnerability of social systems. We also proposed that the efficient use of risk information will increase the accuracy of landslide resilience assessments.

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces of Yunnan Province have become a national emblem for China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but some are beginning to crumble. This research attempts to address why this is happening and what can be done about it. Previous work has failed to adequately address the possible shortcomings of recently introduced seed and water management technologies, their particular effect on rice terraces and the people who depend upon them. In an effort to better understand the issue, field observation was triangulated with in-depth interviews with local people, and the examination of scientific literature. To do this, the authors spent time in China with a translator in a key village known to be first in the area to truly succeed in carving the rice terraces and in making the mountain slope irrigation system required actually working. Results validated by experts in each field indicate that while the new seed and technologies do save water and improve lives, paired with migration, they may also be threatening the long-term viability of rice terracing in the region. The authors conclude that an integrated approach is needed and put forward a strategic blueprint to reinforce ecological, social and economic longevity. They also call for more research into the applicability of these resilience measures in other hybrid rice terracing regions, such as in the Philippines and Vietnam.