Environmental Development最新文献

Bush cover is high in some semi-arid African grasslands, and these woody plants have various socio-cultural uses and potential as livestock feed resources. The current study was conducted in northern Tanzania to investigate the changes in bushland cover, identify general uses of woody plants by agro-pastoral farmers, determine livestock preferences, and the nutritional values of selected plants. We determined bush cover changes from 2000 to 2022 by Google Earth Engine using the Random Forest algorithm during land cover classification. Livestock observation and participatory rural appraisal were used to sample woody plants foraged by livestock. Farmers named woody plants in a local language, listed their uses and ranked them as livestock feed. Farmer-preferred plants were analysed for nutritional values and screened for preference using goats. Bush cover had increased by 6.9–90.2% at 0.6–4.5% per year in the studied area, where 32 woody plant species were ranked and had other socio-cultural uses. These uses were medicine (78%), firewood (59%), a food source (31%) and construction (28%), with Grewia bicolor and Cordia sinensis possessing many of the uses. Farmers ranked woody plants highly as the feed if they were available all year round, readily eaten by livestock (palatable) and led to high performance. The coefficient of preference (COP) varied (p < 0.001) among goats fed the selected plants. Grewia similis (COP = 1.8) and Haplocoelum foliolosum (COP = 1.7) were highly preferred, while Combretum campestris and C. sinensis were the least preferred. There were differences in nutritional values among key woody plants, and G. similis had the highest digestibility (59%), making it a suitable species for agroforestry. Encroaching non-invasive woody plants can be used as livestock feed or serve other socio-cultural uses; their control should be informed by participatory appraisal involving locals in semi-arid areas.

Arribadas present many research challenges, such as establishing historical baselines and the elucidation of their formation and evolution. For local communities arribadas mean addressing shifts in areas such as tourism, sea turtle egg extraction and animal predation dynamics, representing a potential catalyst for changing attitudes towards sea turtle conservation. This study aims to provide insights about the onset and evolution of Corozalito, a nascent Costa Rican arribada beach, by compiling local ecological knowledge (LEK), and by identifying the local perceptions towards the mass nesting event and its socio-economic and conservation impacts. From October to December 2018, we conducted two types of semi-structured interviews: 10 to key informants (KIs) gathering LEK of Corozalito arribada and 15 to local respondents assessing perceptions about this phenomenon. According to KIs, Corozalito arribadas started in the late 1990s, early 2000s, exhibiting a growing trend in magnitude and frequency, which is consistent with published monitoring data. There was a general basic understanding among community members about the importance of sea turtle conservation. Regarding threats to sea turtles during arribadas, animal nest predation was the most frequently mentioned; nonetheless, most respondents attributed it to a natural process. In contrast, sea turtle egg extraction presented the most divided opinions, being reported as a source of conflict in the past for the community. Most respondents expressed concerns about egg removal for commercial purposes. Clutch density, nest destruction, and legal egg extraction in similar arribada sites, were occasionally mentioned as arguments favoring sea turtle egg extraction. Additionally, there was a general feeling that tourism should be promoted with regulations for economic revenue in the short-term. Overall, this study provides useful information about the establishment and evolution of Corozalito arribadas along with its impacts on the local community, which can inform future management and conservation strategies.

Climate change has detrimental effects on the livelihoods of Africans, given their dependency on agriculture and subsistence farming. As such, when the environment is no longer conducive due to climate change challenges, migration is opted to seek better, more supportive living conditions. The study aimed to understand migration trends in the African region and to identify sustainable development strategies to mitigate migration by employing a bibliometric and systematic literature review. This systematic literature review of 16 studies conceptualized climate-induced mobility in African countries with evidence on how climate change has influenced migration decisions for most dwellers in vulnerable African areas. The results revealed a rural-urban migration as farming workers searched for other ways to secure livelihoods. Migration to other countries was also identified, especially in countries like the United States, France and the United Kingdom. However, the results also revealed that those who remained in rural areas would opt for other livelihood activities such as businesses. It was also observed that climate-induced migration is growing in Africa, particularly in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Therefore, to mitigate climate issues and manage migration, strategies are required to support communities affected by climate-induced problems.

This study recommends that governments and policymakers should consider strategies like climate development finance, capacitating communities depending on natural resources, conservation agriculture and innovative technology to help stabilize the economies in areas affected by climate change and to improve human security.

Health and environmental issues have become pressing global problems that affect human society's sustainable development. Residents are not only practitioners but also direct beneficiaries of ecological protection and play a crucial role in maintaining ecological and environmental health. Health, as the basis of residents' behavioral choices, influences residents' behavior toward ecological and environmental protection. This study aims to investigate how health factors profoundly affect residents' willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection and reveal the intrinsic connection between health and environmental protection behavior. The 2017 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data and the ordered probit model were used to determine that improving residents' health greatly increases their willingness to protect the environment and passes a number of tough tests. In addition, the promotion effect of health on residents' WTP for ecological protection is markedly heterogeneous, especially in younger residents who do not have children. Therefore, we suggest to policymakers and national governments a range of countermeasures and suggestions to enhance health education, safeguard public health, and promote ecological protection education.

In order to promote the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach in environmental management processes, integrated assessment studies can be conducted to link human activities and observed impacts on natural environments. Analytical models such as DPSIR are used, based on the monitoring of environmental indicators, to improve planning and management processes for water resources at multiple scales. World Surfing Reserves (WSRs) are institutions that have been utilizing this environmental assessment model to successfully implement environmental management strategies and instruments in coastal zones. Building upon the adaptive co-management model developed in the 6th WSR of Bahía de Todos Santos (Mexico), which incorporates DPSIR analysis and the use of GIS (remote sensing) tools in environmental assessment, this research develops a protocol for integrated environmental assessment, focusing on water resource management, through a case study conducted in the 9th WSR of Guarda do Embaú, Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is understood that this protocol can be utilized in other surfing reserves, especially in estuarine regions, to identify priority aspects for water resource management through: (i) water quality indicators, (ii) institutional environmental monitoring reports, and (iii) georeferenced statistical data (GIS). Based on these data, integrated analyses were conducted to determine which polluting agents pose a greater risk to the sustainable management of water resources surrounding the 9th WSR. Among the observed results, it was found that multiple pressure factors pose high environmental risk to the water resource stocks, mainly due to the discharge of urban and agricultural effluents into rivers, as well as deforestation in protected areas directly associated with the conservation of water reservoirs. As a result of these factors, a moderate risk of eutrophication, water scarcity, unavailability of recreational water use, disease spread, and sedimentation was observed, alongside a high risk of biodiversity loss, habitat loss, and unavailability of drinking water. Due to the risks of the mentioned impacts, the aspects identified in this study require management at the appropriate scale for processes occurring in the watershed, in order to gradually mitigate the effects of polluting activities.

Between natural and social systems there are two-way interactions, which determine the path of change in the Socio-Ecological System. For example, the type of land use decisions that society makes could lead to the deterioration of the biophysical system and its ecological functioning, causing effects on social well-being. Conceptual and simulation models of socio-ecological systems allow an understanding of such interactions and the development of trajectories. In this manuscript we explore the link between three lines of research that overlap but have been studied separately (i) Governance, (ii) Socio-ecological systems, and (iii) social capital. This paper analyzes the dynamics of social capital and its influence on governance and Land Use and Land Cover Changes in a basin of the Colombian Andes. To this end, we develop a Systems Dynamics model (SD). This research contributes to the (i) understanding of how the institutions, their policies, the actors, and the interactions generated between them in a territory influence the management of natural resources, which is indispensable to supporting the decision-making process; and (ii) operationalization of the social capital elements on the SES model through an integrated analysis with consideration of feedback mechanisms between natural and social system. With this model, a scenario evaluation is developed to analyze the effect of different approaches of the social capital organization on land cover in the basin case study.

The need for sustainable development has grown in response to global environmental, social, and economic challenges. Conventional computational methods frequently struggle to address the complex nature of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), lacking the ability to balance global search with local optimization and failing to prioritize goals related to sustainability. To address these restrictions, this work introduces the Integrated Bioinspired Computing Model for Sustainable Development (IBCMSD). By combining Genetic Algorithms (GAs), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), a cohesive hybrid model is developed that improves exploration and exploitation, balance for increased efficiency, and solution quality. It is implemented on High-Performance Computing (HPC) clusters to ensure scalability and resilience when dealing with complicated optimization challenges. Furthermore, using a multidisciplinary co-design method completes the model with multiple views, increasing its relevance and applicability in real-world circumstances. IBCMSD makes a significant contribution to computational sustainability by leveraging bioinspired computing, potentially enabling informed decision-making and SDG accomplishment across multiple domains.

The Jakarta Metropolitan Area is one of the cities heavily affected by floods in Asia. Effective disaster risk reduction strategies require deep understanding of what motivates its citizens towards preparedness and mitigation actions. This study aimed to discern these motivating factors among Jakarta's residents through the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) approach. Through an online survey, 304 participants provided insights into how the extended PMT factors shape their Protection Motivation (PM) towards flood preparedness. A total of nine (9) variables and 41 constructs were considered in this study. PMT factors were comprised of PM, Perceived Severity (PS), Perceived Vulnerability (PV), Response Efficacy (RE), and Perceived Self-Efficacy (SE) along with additional factors such as Media (M), Government Preventive Actions (GA), Flood Experience (FE), and Geographical Perspectives (GP). Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that SE had the most substantial impact on influencing PM (β = 0.522) followed by PV, PS, and RE. The results also showed the significance of M and GA to both SE and RE. Meanwhile, FE illustrates positive impact to both PV and PS. Interestingly, GP was found to be only significant to PV and not to PS. External factors M and GA demonstrated a significant indirect effect on PM through SE, whereas GP exhibited a significant indirect effect on PM through PV. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and disaster management practitioners, emphasizing the power of media and the need for comprehensive strategies that address both the psychological and practical aspects of flood disaster readiness in Jakarta and potentially other flood-prone regions.

Africa's traditional knowledge system sustained the continent and its people for millennia before the advent of Western knowledge and, even so, has continued to play a critical role in the advancement of the continent. We ask in this article if Africa's traditional education through storytelling/folktales has a role to play in the contemporary drive for sustainable development practices. To answer this question, we carried out a field experiment among preteen pupils in Nigeria. We taught an age-old African folktale among school-age pupils to one set of pupils and not in the control group and asked them how they would use and manage certain natural resources. We find that those exposed to an African folktale had a better appreciation for resource management than those who were not holding all else constant. We also discuss the implications of incorporating folktales into the Nigerian school curriculum and its potential benefits for resource management.

The Amazon, a vital global ecosystem, renowned for biodiversity and climate regulation, faces unprecedented challenges due to escalating non-renewable energy consumption. This article sheds light on climate change's implications, exploring the intricate interplay in Amazon sustainability. The focus is on comprehending the impacts and exploring potential solutions to mitigate adverse effects. The research spans from 2002 to 2022, covering countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Ecuador. This broad geographic and temporal scope provides valuable insights into the dynamic changes occurring in the Amazon region over the years. Employing a robust methodological approach, double log regression analysis is utilized as a powerful tool for a precise examination of the complex relationships between energy consumption, environmental preservation, and sustainable development. The study incorporates various estimators, including Non-Renewable Energy (EnR), Forest Area (FA), Forest Income (FI), Endangered Mammals (EM), Endangered Birds (EB), Endangered Fish (EF), Endangered Plants (EP), Freshwater Capitation (FC), Greenhouse Gases (GHG), Socioeconomic Factors (SF), Water Availability (WA). This comprehensive list enhances clarity and transparency, ensuring a thorough understanding of the research methods. The study uncovers the wide-ranging impact of growing non-renewable energy demand on Amazon biodiversity, forests, and species vulnerability, driven by direct rebound effects. It highlights both the backfire and super conservation effects, emphasizing the need for strategic, holistic approaches to energy and environmental management. Navigating this balance, the research informs decisions for a sustainable Amazon future, fostering awareness and inspiring action toward environmental stewardship and global conservation.