Environmental Management最新文献

The multiple uses of marine space and the synergies among their effects require a systematic assessment of cumulative impacts, especially amid the growing blue economy and offshore wind expansion, which interact with existing human activities in an impacted seascape. Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) has become essential for systematically managing complex environmental interactions. Clear legal requirements for CIA are crucial to supporting better-informed decision-making, improving environmental governance, and fostering the implementation of CIA into practices. This study aims to compare the legal requirements related to CIA applied to the early planning and development phases of offshore wind energy (OWE) in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Canada, offering guiding elements for designing or restructuring CIA regulations for offshore wind markets. We conducted a comprehensive scholarly and gray literature review to identify the key federal legislation related to CIA applied for OWE, which was then comparatively analysed using a set of core questions. The key findings are (1) Clear legislation is foundation to CIA practice; (2) Definition of cumulative impacts is key to guiding CIA implementation; (3) CIA requirements are crucial at various planning levels, from marine spatial planning to project-level assessments; (4) CIA regulations should consider collaboration, clear roles, and shared accountability among institutions and sectors; and (5) Stakeholder engagement and public consultation should be ensured throughout all the CIA steps. These elements may be used to support countries that have not yet adopted CIA, as well as those seeking to strengthen its implementation in offshore wind development.

The risk assessment of chemicals relies on multiple tools to quantify the ecological responses of ecosystems to existing chemical pollution. These tools are broadly categorized into three major groups: toxic pressure assessments, bioassays, and ecological monitoring. Here, we examine the strengths and limitations of these approaches, their current level of implementation for freshwater ecosystems across Europe, and their ability to evaluate the impacts of chemicals under field conditions. Additionally, we analyze the correspondence between results obtained from these tools when applied to a monitoring dataset from German streams. Our evaluation showed that no single tool can perfectly characterize the environmental impacts of chemical mixtures. However, each provides distinct lines of evidence, enabling the identification of chemicals driving ecological risks and the biological endpoints most likely to be affected, with ecological monitoring tools having the potential to show long-term ecosystem impairment. Finally, we propose recommendations to better understand the discrepancies between the outcomes of different methods and explore their potential integration into a unified water quality evaluation framework.

Industrial activity, particularly hydropower and mining projects and their associated road networks, are prevalent in Eeyou Istchee, the traditional home of the Crees in the James Bay region of Northern Quebec. Since the mid-1980s, industry proponents must outline plans for fish habitat compensation in order to receive authorization from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans to engage in any development activity that will result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish or fish habitats. The goal of these fish habitat compensation projects is No Net Loss of Canada’s fish habitat productivity, with fish habitat compensation serving as a compromise between continued industrial development and the preservation of Canada’s fisheries resources. In this paper, we outline five recent industrial development projects and their associated fish habitat compensation projects in Eeyou Istchee. These projects include a hydropower project, two mining projects, a road extension project, and the repair of two existing roads. The inclusion of Cree traditional knowledge, the impacts of the development projects on fish and fish habitats, the avoidance and minimization measures taken during the habitat compensation work, and the implemented fish habitat compensation projects are summarized and compared for each project. The priority for these five fish habitat compensation projects was their structural integrity and potential ability to function as designed, rather than any proven beneficial effects on fish reproduction and fish population dynamics. In cases where fish populations continued to decline despite the habitat compensation projects, nothing further was done. Proponents were only held accountable for the completion of the planned compensation work, but not for the consequences of their fish habitat compensation projects.

Water control infrastructure forms barriers that fragment river habitats, reducing aquatic biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. Irrigation infrastructure, for example, although implemented to support food production, highlights problematic trade-offs against wild food systems like inland fisheries which are a critical food resource for tens of millions of people, particularly in tropical countries. To reduce fragmentation at a broad range of barriers, fish passage technology is sometimes implemented to support migrating fish, aided by frameworks designed to prioritize barriers for remediation. This study critically evaluated 93 fish passage barrier prioritization frameworks globally to explore how they could strategically guide fish passage investments in tropical contexts and identify criteria relevant to delivering on nutrition security outcomes. Results showed prioritization frameworks were ill-equipped to support the broader human development goals that may drive fish passage investments in tropical countries, such as supporting human nutrition under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger. Tropical contexts were underrepresented despite substantial recent fish passage investment, whereas temperate and conservation focused frameworks, particularly from North America, dominated. These findings prompt reflection on the inherent biases in fish passage barrier prioritization frameworks and criteria. Improving understanding of and collaboration with local partners to integrate SDG 2 into future prioritization frameworks could improve fish passage infrastructure and help support better nutrition and food production for communities.

Forests have been increasingly affected by natural disturbances and human activities. These impacts have caused habitat fragmentation and a loss of ecological connectivity. This study examines potential restoration pathways that reconnect the five largest forest cores in the Castilla y León region of Spain. Resistance surfaces were created based on land use and land cover variables. Three spatial configurations were tested to reflect different combinations of forest types, agroforestry areas, and legally protected public forests (Montes de Utilidad Pública [MUPs]). Among these, the configuration that included MUPs resulted in the largest improvement in ecological connectivity. The connected habitat area nearly doubled, and the required restoration area was substantially lower compared to the other configurations. In all cases, the majority of the proposed pathways passed through forest and semi-natural areas. This outcome shows that these land types are essential for achieving cost-efficient and functionally effective restoration. The findings support the main role of public lands in large-scale forest connectivity efforts. This study provides a spatially explicit framework for restoration planning. It also strengthens the case for including publicly managed forests in long-term conservation and land management policies.

Adaptive management has long been advocated as a framework of choice for addressing the complexities and uncertainties of natural resource management. Despite its theoretical appeal, successful implementation remains elusive, with many documented barriers and limited operational examples. This paper examines Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM), a long-running adaptive management program originating from the Kruger National Park in South Africa. SAM’s formulation in the 1990s drew on principles from value-based business planning and adaptive management, emphasizing the co-defining of a desired state or aspirational outcome that incorporates societal values, management pragmatism and scientific rigor. Following a case study approach, we analyze SAM’s conceptual evolution and geographic spread through a bibliographic synthesis including operational and trialed case examples spanning rivers, protected areas and rural landscapes. We identify three parallel streams of development, in South Africa’s national parks, Australia and the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Experiences, including strengths and weaknesses, from these streams were used to characterize present-day SAM and its iterative cycles of envisioning a desired state, considering management options, implementing actions, reviewing outcomes and adapting, alongside omnipresent co-learning and reflection. Additionally, the paper contextualizes SAM within the broad application of adaptive management, including active- and passive adaptive management, adaptive co-management and Conservation Standards, highlighting similarities and opportunities for cross-learning. Our synthesis underscores SAM’s transparency, scalability and value in fostering stakeholder collaboration and co-learning across diverse environmental contexts. SAM offers a robust framework for achieving strategic, vision-oriented management amidst uncertainty, even with implementation challenges.

Forest landscapes play a significant role in both global and local carbon cycles, mitigating climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon. To maintain carbon stock and enhance sequestration from the atmosphere, it is important to quantify the effects of driving factors on carbon stock. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of storing factors, maintaining factors, and disturbing factors on carbon stock, and to analyze the individual and combined effects of multiple factors. All-subsets regression and hierarchical partitioning methods were used to analyze the driving factors of carbon stock. A total of nine subset regression models were developed with different combinations of driving factors. The combination of five driving factors, such as tree density, tree diameter at breast height (DBH), canopy cover, Terrain Ruggedness Index, and distance from agricultural land gave the optimum model and explained almost 79% (R² = 0.791) of the variability in carbon stock. Storing factors contributed a total of 68.637% to the optimum model, followed by maintaining factors (8.314%) and disturbing factors (23.049%). However, canopy cover was the most dominant factor, while tree density and diversity were essential factors that exerted an influence on tree DBH, tree height, tree basal diameter (BD), and canopy cover. Furthermore, regular monitoring and management of forests near built-up and agricultural areas are required to improve carbon stock. These findings may aid in developing scientific management strategies, and methodological setup can be used in other geographical regions.

With renewables, marine photovoltaic (PV) harnessing solar energy gains momentum, promising vast ocean space for power generation with significant benefits.Recent studies indicate that while marine PV systems are designed to address environmental challenges, they can also cause unintended ecological consequences. Mitigating potential negative impacts on aquatic environments has therefore become a critical research priority. This study focuses on three key aspects of these environments: trace elements, water temperature, and aquatic organisms. It provides a critical review of the literature based on a systematic search and a bibliometric analysis of 406 relevant publications on marine PV systems. The main conclusions include the following: (1) The marine PV industry has huge development potentials, and the installed capacity is anticipated to grow by more than 22% annually. (2) In terms of trace elements in water, the installation of piled PV power station will inevitably disturb the underwater sediments, reducing the water’s transparency and cause pollution to the water body;(3) In terms of water temperature, different PV layouts on the same water surface will produce diverse cumulative effects temporally and spatially. Consequently, PV power plant operations alter water temperature, thereby impacting seawater hydrology; and (4) In terms of aquatic organisms, PV plant deployment alters water light distribution, directly impacting phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance, vertical spread, and size, thereby affecting biological growth. The problems are discussed and summarized to foster sustainable progress in marine PV development. Despite these efforts, current research still lacks comprehensive analysis of emerging pollutants such as microplastics and long-term ecological impacts. Future work should prioritize interdisciplinary studies that integrate field experiments, ecosystem modeling, and policy frameworks to ensure the sustainable deployment of marine PV systems.

Studies on the impact of health shocks in (re)shaping forest management institutions exist, albeit fragmented. Similarly, significant knowledge gaps exist regarding conceptualizing health shocks, the mechanisms and outcomes of forest-linked institutional change, and the methods used so far. We review regional variations in conceptualizing forest management institutions and institutional change that are linked to health shocks. Further, we studied the mechanism of institutional change and outcome in the context of health shocks and evaluated the yet-to-be-filled methodological gaps. Using the critical eco-health approach and an institutional analysis framework, we systematically review 70 empirically conducted studies. Descriptive and directed content analysis was employed in the data analysis. First, we found that health shocks are predominantly conceptualized as pandemics in Asia and epidemic in Africa. Forest management institutions are viewed through the process dimension lens, with informal processes more prevalent in Africa and formal processes dominant in other regions. Second, health shocks have primarily induced new formal forest management institutions while eroding informal ones in Asia and Africa. Thirdly, these institutional changes are linked with negative ecological and economic outcomes in the developing subregions, particularly in Asia, followed by Africa and Latin America. Finally, most studies employed the qualitative and single case study approaches, potentially limiting the findings’ generalizability. Our study establishes a gap in understanding the power dynamics and political process of institutional change in the context of health shocks. Future studies should use a multiple-case study approach, mixed methods, and actor-centred analysis of forest management institutional compliance during health shocks.

This study evaluates the hydrogeochemical behavior and groundwater quality under significant anthropogenic pressure in a volcanic-carbonate aquifer, using trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REE) as environmental tracers. A total of 25 samples from wells of different depths and flow rates in the city of Puebla were analyzed by ICP-MS. Positive Ce anomalies (18 samples with an average of 1.4) and negative Eu anomalies (7 samples with an average of 0.5) were directly related to local oxygen conditions, while positive Eu anomalies across all samples (avg. of 3.7) were determined to be influenced by rock weathering. An inverse correlation between REE concentrations and dynamic water level indicates that deeper and older waters contain higher levels of these elements. The Water Quality Index (WQI) classified 96% of samples as good to excellent quality, and the Human Health Risk Assessment revealed that over 70% of samples exceeded the non-carcinogenic threshold for arsenic. Four samples (2, 4, 22, and 24) exhibited distinct geochemical signatures not associated with well depth, yield, or quality indices. These anomalies suggest potential mixing with other water bodies, likely through vertical flow along microfractures, indicating vulnerability in the hydrogeological boundaries between units. The findings highlight both the aquifer system’s current good quality and its underlying risk, using REE as tracers into water-rock interactions and contamination pathways. These findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive integration of geochemical data and groundwater system characterization to inform the development of scientifically grounded extraction and management strategies. Such an approach is essential to safeguard both groundwater quality and quantity, particularly in urbanizing regions facing water security challenges.