Land Use and Forest Dynamics in the Context of Redd+: Pathway to Sustainable Environmental Management*

Reverting to nature as a major arsenals in a universal fight against Climate Change impact and loss of biodiversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), views sustainable Land use and Forest (the main crux of the Glasgow declaration 2021) as the way to go. Forest conservation, protection and management in the context of REDD+ would guarantee sustainable ecosystem and mitigate climate change impacts. At National and subnational levels, the Nigerian REDD+ readiness scheme holds out hope for environmental sustainability. This study throws light into the historical background of trends in land use forest change in Nigeria, and places Nigeria on a “red” stage 3 (Low Forest Cover, High Deforestation Rate-LFHD) status while maintaining optimism that with REDD+ properly implemented in Nigeria, Stage 4: Low forest cover, Low Deforestation Rates (LFLD) and Stage 5: Low forest cover, Negative Deforestation Rates (LFND) can be achieved by 2030 and 2050 respectively, if the trio of reforestation, afforestation and natural restoration is practiced as a matter of national policy and subnational implementation within the context of REDD+. Four (4) broad drivers of deforestation and forest degradation were identified as direct, indirect, pre-disposing and planned /unplanned. The paper concludes that a viable pathway to sustainable environmental management is appropriate monitoring and evaluation of land use and forest dynamics in the context of REDD+.

Research on the Relationship Between Human Resource Management and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

The significance of human resource management in enterprise management is steadily growing,especially as businesses today are expected to shoulder their share of social responsibility.Among these responsibilities,corporate environmental responsibility assumes a pivotal role.This paper aims to investigate the interplay between human resource management practices and corporate environmental responsibility.The study employs various factors of human resource management practices as independent variables,using the current environmental status quo and environmental innovation capacity as intermediary variables,and adopts multiple regression analysis to scrutinize the influencing factors of corporate environmental responsibility.The findings underscore that when the working environment is favorable,enterprise human resource management practices can effectively enhance corporate environmental responsibility.Furthermore,when supported by environmentally responsible behavior,these human resources practices exhibit a positive influence on a company’s environmental responsibility.Consequently,this study provides practical recommendations for enhancing corporate environmental responsibility.

The Impact of the Cognition of Landscape Experience on Tourist Environmental Conservation Behaviors

This article explores the relationship between the tourist's cognition of the landscape experience and the environmental conservation efforts at three distinct tourist sites in mountains of southwestern China. A total of 1500 on-site questionnaire surveys were distributed and 1142 valid questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. Results from multi-group path analysis showed that both cognition of the cultural landscape experience and cognition of the natural landscape experience had positive impacts on environmental conservation behaviors and behavior intentions of tourists. Results from comparative analysis among the three tourist sites indicated that cognition of the cultural landscape experience had a stronger power to predict senior environmental conservation behaviors and behavior intentions than cognition of the natural landscape experience, whereas cognition of the natural landscape experience had more power to predict general environmental conservation behaviors and behavior intentions than cognition of the cultural landscape experience. Furthermore, our findings benefit environmental management and sustainabilityat tourist sites.

Watershed environmental management framework based on economic theory

Based on the meaning of economic theory as well as analysis of relevant characteristics of watershed environmental management,a watershed environmental management framework will be created,with building systems of theory,principles,methods,and supporting measures.Through the general structure,the watershed environmental management system design can be explored to optimize the allocation of resources and achieve coordinated development of watershed economic growth and environmental protection.

The alternative saline lake ecosystem states and adaptive environmental management

Our sustainable environmental management must be based on adequate ecological concepts. The question arises: what concept is better to use for understanding and management of ecosystems? To look for an answer, we concentrate our attention on saline lakes. Every ecosystem has several alternative stable states and may demonstrate regime shifts, which are large, abrupt, persistent changes in the structure and function of a system. To understand the dynamics of ecosystems the Concept of Multiplicity of Ecosystem Alternative Stable States as a new ecological paradigm has been developed recently. The author analyzes the emerging paradigm using the case of saline lakes, and discusses how to base our adaptive environmental management on the developing paradigm. Different issues of development of the concept and its application to salinology as a scientific basis of an integrated management of a saline lake and its watershed are discussed. The concept may serve as one of the key theoretical elements of the scientific basis in sustainable environmental management.

GIS Database Template for Environmental Management of Mining in Indonesia

Mining sector in Indonesia faces many challenges including needed to support national economy, compliance to central and local government regulations, local community empowerment and environmental impact management. Mining companies are mandatory to perform the environmental management efforts to minimize the negative impact to the environment and pursue sustainability of post-mining land use and as much as possible to restore land to the initial conditions. There are many challenges on management multi parameter and multi temporal spatial data of environmental management. The aim of this research is to design the GIS database template for environmental management in Indonesia’s mining operation. This GIS database is designed using ArcCatalog ArcGIS 9.3 software, through following steps: inventory and assessment government regulations, inventory and assessment environmental quality standards, sorting and grouping parameters, design feature class and attribute, create GIS database, create GIS database dictionary. According to research result, GIS database template has many advantages for environmental management include integrated into a single database, avoid redundancy data, reduce volume data, uniformity data, easy to find and track data, integrated spatial and attribute data, can be used as an input for GIS analysis for decision-making and development strategies.

Integrated water risk early warning framework of the semi-arid transitional zone based on the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC)

Water risk early warning systems based on the water environmental carrying capacity(WECC)are powerful and effective tools to guarantee the sustainability of rivers.Existing work on the early warning of WECC has mainly concerned the comprehensive evaluation of the status quo and lacked a quantitative prejudgement and warning of future overload.In addition,existing quantitative methods for short-term early warning have rarely focused on the integrated change trends of the early warning indicators.Given the periodicity of the socioeconomic system,however,the water environmental system also follows a trend of cyclical fluctuations.Thus,it is meaningful to monitor and use this periodicity for the early warning of the WECC.In this study,we first adopted and improved the prosperity index method to develop an integrated water risk early warning framework.We also constructed a forecast model to qualitatively and quantitatively prejudge and warn about the development trends of the water environmental system.We selected the North Canal Basin(an essential connection among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region)in China as a case study and predicted the WECC in 25 water environmental management units of the basin in 2018–2023.We found that the analysis of the prosperity index was helpful in predicting the WECC,to some extent.The result demonstrated that the early warning system provided reliable prediction(root mean square error of 0.0651 and mean absolute error of 0.1418),and the calculation results of the comprehensive early warning index(CEWI)conformed to the actual situation and related research in the river basin.From 2008 to 2023,the WECC of most water environmental management units in the basin had improved but with some spatial differences:the CEWI was generally poor in areas with many human disturbances,while it was relatively good in the upstream regions with higher forest and grass covers as well as in the downstream areas with larger water volume.Finally,through a sensitivity analysis of the indicators,we proposed specific management measures for the sustainability of the water environmental system in the North Canal Basin.Overall,the integrated water risk early warning framework could provide an appropriate method for the water environmental administration department to predict the WECC of the basin in the future.This framework could also assist in implementing corresponding management measures in advance,especially for the performance evaluation and the arrangement of key short-term tasks in the River Chief System in China.

Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management: the case of Nandi Hills Forests, Kenya

Environmental education （EE） is a vital dimension of modern day acumen that portends a great promise in solving the myriad environmental resource management challenges at global, regional and local levels. A study was carried out in 18 locations in the Nandi North, Nandi South and Nandi Hills districts of Kenya, which cover the Nandi Hills and Nandi Forests in Nandi County, major water catchments for Lake Victoria. A mixed methodological approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data obtained from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, household survey and observations was embraced in data collection and analysis. The study reveals that there are several strategies that have been adopted by the local population and institutions involved in the management of the Nandi Hills Forests （NHFs） and that these strategies have contributed to an improvement in the perceptions of the local population in terms of the importance of environmental management of the forests. This paper highlights EE as a vehicle for ensur- ing a sustainable management of the Nandi Hills Forests. As such, it illuminates the great potential that lies in sustainably managing the NHFs by integrating formal and informal EE approaches. It further points out the functional gaps in the management of NHFs and proposes best-practices that could be adopted and/or domesticated in NHFs management regimes.

Analysis on the Influencing Factors and Comprehensive Management of Environmental Problems in Dongping Lake

[Objective]We aimed to study the influencing factors and comprehensive management of environmental problems in Dongping Lake.[Method]Based on field investigation and historical data,environmental problems of Dongping Lake and their influencing factors were analyzed,and seven measures about comprehensive management of environmental issues and ecological protection of Dongping Lake were put forward.[Result]During recent years,the content of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in Dongping Lake showed a decreasing trend,but the water was still in the eutrophic state.The environmental problems of Dongping Lake,like flood,drought and pollution,are closely linked to natural and man-made factors,such as regional seasonal precipitation,industrial and agricultural pollution,etc.In order to control the environmental problems of Dongping Lake,we should strengthen the construction and management of wetland nature reserves,develop ecological agriculture,establish an integral system for environmental monitoring and information management,reinforce propaganda and education to improve residents’ environmental consciousness,etc.[Conclusion]The research could provide scientific references for the comprehensive management of environmental problems in Dongping Lake and its basin.

Rapid Urbanization and Environment Management in Nkafu Municipality, Eastern DR Congo

Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization as well as urban land management are major constraints to land planning in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A household data collection and analysis was carried out in 283 random households in the Nkafu municipality, eastern DR Congo, to assess the local community’s perception of rapid urbanization and its impact on land policy and management of the built landscape. Data of socio-demographics characteristics, rapid urbanization, and environment management data were collected and analyzed using XLStat version 2019. In addition, the study area location map, land use and cover change maps were generated using ArcMap 10.8. Results indicate that landowners are dominant and, build simple houses with unsustainable building materials (i.e. wooden plank) obtained locally. In addition, land management is not appreciated by local communities, due to anarchic construction due to lack of financial resources generating thus an increasing amount of urban waste, which is poorly managed. The study suggests, urban roads renew, building in conformity with urban planning and building regulations, potable water supply and health services availability to improve the study area. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) use, would provide spatial information on land planning in the study area.

Coastal Environmental Changes and Management in China in the Context of Global Changes and Human Activities

Coastal zone is the complex area with intense sea-land interaction. There are various types, complex environments and developed economy in coastal area of China. Under the influence of global change and human activities, the ecosystem of coastal zone is vulnerable and has sensitive response to environment changes. The environmental problems of sea-level rising have attached close attention by countries all over the world. As far as regions concerned, relative sea-level rising is more important than theoretical sea-level rising. The relative sea-level rising has resulted in series of environment disasters in coastal area of China, such as coastal erosion, seawater invasion, and floods in coastal lowlands, etc. The flux of sediments transported by rivers into sea is the main material source of marine pollution. The human activities are controlling factors of variations in river sediment loads. Under the influence of high strength development in the upstream region, the results are that the reduction of seagoing sediments in main rivers of China, and damage of coastal material balance. Land-based pollution is the main source of marine pollution. With rapid economic development in China s eastern coastal, pollutants flux into sea increase gradually. The results are that the environmental quality and seawater quality of marine have being deteriorated and pollution is serious increasingly. To meet the land demand of industrialization and urbanization, the sea reclamation has become an effective means to alleviate the contradiction between human and land in coastal area of China. This leads to large-scale reduction of coastal wetland area, and the heavy losses of ecological service value of coastal wetland. To face the environmental changes in coastal area of China and solve the contradiction among population, resources, environment, development, it is required to set up the system concept of man-land-sea relationship, so as to achieve sustainable development. The feasible measures include improving coastal management system, strengthening integrated basin management, attaching importance to construction of the coastal environment engineering, and raising the environmental monitoring and early warning level.

Environmental Anthropological Study of Watershed Management‐Water Quality Conservation of Forest as a Catchment Area in the Southern Part of Australia

Authors have conducted an experiment of irradiation using sound waves (frequency) including ultrasonic waves into water such as drinking water, sea water and forest water and wastewater so far. As a result, almost the same effect of improvement of water quality was confirmed for each sound wave. Then, an environmental anthropological study of watershed management based on the sound was carried out assuming that a water quality management using the sound could be possible. The Goulburn River basin in the southern part of Australia in which indigenous peoples (Yorta Yorta) have been concerned with the management for a long time so far was selected as an objective drainage basin this time. As a result, a couple of environmental anthropological perspectives on watershed management were proposed.

Implications of Declining Ground Water and Water Quality in the US Southeastern Coastal Plain Ecoregion and Areawide Environmental Impact Statement Required for Mining in the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin—Part 1

Karst aquifers occur worldwide and exhibit groundwater flow responses that differ considerably from aquifers lacking fractures, bedding planes, and other karst conduits where significant and rapid groundwater flow can occur. The regional, karst Floridan aquifer system underlies the United States (US) Southeastern Coastal Plain Physiographic Region and exhibits hydrologic interconnections with overlying surficial aquifers and throughout other zones of the aquifer system, as is characteristic of other karst aquifer systems. Anthropogenic groundwater declines in this regional karst aquifer system have been documented in published literature for decades, but the impacts of those declines in this coastal plain region and the embedded ecosystems that provide essential and critical habitat for native, endemic, and federally endangered and threatened species have not been considered previously. Those anthropogenic groundwater declines reduce surfacewater levels and flows due to the capture of both groundwater and overland flow of surfacewater, resulting in induced recharge through semi-confining zones and interbasin flow through fractures and other karst conduits. This case study identifies examples from the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin study area and comparison areas of how those declines result in loss of historic base flow to surface waters and other capture of surface waters, ultimately increasing saltwater intrusion. Those results alter and degrade the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters, in violation of the US Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972. Historic groundwater declines from mining and other anthropogenic groundwater withdrawals from this regional karst aquifer system already threaten the survival and recovery of federally endangered and threatened species, as well as existing and proposed critical habitat for those species within this regional extent, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. This case study and its companion publication (Part 2) appear to be the first to provide scientific support for this regional karst aquifer system as the unifying factor in habitat responses to irreversible groundwater impacts on aquatic and marine ecosystems. These adverse impacts strongly suggest that the extent of the regional Floridan aquifer system should be designated as the Southeastern Coastal Plain Ecoregion for the purpose of managing natural resources. Mining activities continue to expand in our study area, which is the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin. Despite that fact, no comprehensive Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (AEIS), similar to the AEIS required for phosphate mining within the Central Florida Phosphate District (CFPD) approximately a decade ago has been conducted for any of the numerous mining projects that are occurring and are proposed within the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin. This case study also provides examples of why a comprehensive AEIS is essential to consider all of the adverse direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of those mining activities to the CWA, the ESA, and the irreversible losses to local economies, because federal agencies responsible for considering those adverse impacts rely on public comments to identify those adverse impacts. The mining activities authorized throughout the regional Floridan aquifer system under Category 44 Nationwide Permits (NWP) result in the same type of adverse impacts as the mining activities evaluated under Individual Permits in that region. Therefore, those Category 44 NWP mining activities also should be required to obtain Individual Permits and be evaluated under an AEIS in the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin. This case study also describes how Florida’s assumption of the CWA Section 404 regulatory authority in 2020 severs four sub-basins within the Greater Okefenokee Swamp Basin study area at the state line between Florida and Georgia.

A Methodology to Develop the Integration of the Environmental Management System with Other Standardized Management Systems

Traditionally the global management system of an organization is frequently split into a number of individual management systems that are defined and implemented according to specific management systems standards (MSSs) as well as managed independently. The individual implementation of MSSs is an option that leads to several inefficiencies and sub-optimization of the global management system of an organization. As referred by ISO [1] the interested parties’ requirements increase. A more effective and efficient option for an organization is to integrate, into an integrated management system (IMS), the implementation and management of requirements of multiple MSSs. Certain difficulties are associated to the structuring process, implementation, verification, evaluation, improvement and progressive development of an IMS in the organizations. Several scholars have proposed various theoretical approaches regarding the integration of individual management systems (MSs) leading to the conclusion that there is not a common practice for all organizations as they encompass different characteristics. This paper aims to present and justify a designed methodology to be used by organizations to support the integration of various MSs. Among them are highlighted: the Environmental Management System (EMS) according ISO 14001 [2], the Quality Management System (QMS) according ISO 9001 [3], and the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OH & SMS) according OHSAS 18001 [4]. The methodology was designed in the context of a Portuguese company, on sequence of an organizational diagnosis and a research that was performed through a questionnaire. The strategy and the research methods took into consideration the case study.

Analysis on Residents’ Satisfaction and Its Influencing Factors with Water Environment Management: Based on the Data from Xiaoqing River

Xiaoqing River is one of the key rivers in the Yellow River Basin, and its management satisfaction is the content that the government should consider when formulating policies. This paper concentrates on residents’ satisfaction of water environment management in Jinan section of Xiaoqing River, using questionnaires to find out the problems and effects of Xiaoqing River management. Based on the correlation analysis of the questionnaire data, the results show that five factors including the impact of water pollution, understanding of Xiaoqing River governance, willingness to participate in Xiaoqing River governance, policy publicity, and government regulation have a positive impact on the satisfaction of Xiaoqing River water environment governance. Finally, the paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to increase residents’ satisfaction from five aspects, such as increasing publicity efforts, paying attention to the cultivation of public participation consciousness, etc.

The Management of Environment Cost Caused by Ballast Water

According to classical economic theory,external cost is the indirect,and uncompensated,social or environmental cost caused to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party’s activity.In light of this,the environmental cost caused by ballast water is considered as a negative externality.This paper aims to contribute by proposing that the environmental cost caused by ballast water can be determined through questionnaires,and that the imposition of a Pigouvian retributive tax is required to compensate for the environmental damage caused.The paper proceeds as follows.Firstly,ballast water management is discussed.Second,the environmental cost is discussed and it is asserted that it is important to have clear regulations and to update them frequently to prevent or minimize ballast water’s negative impact on the environment.Finally,it is suggested that the environmental cost caused by ballast water can be determined by questionnaires and,more specifically,by the WTP(Willingness to Pay)method,and that a special Pigouvian corrective taxation which can internalize this cost should be imposed.

How to enhance agricultural plastic waste management in China?Insights from public participation

Agricultural plastics play a pivotal role in agricultural production.However,due to expensive costs,agricultural plastic waste management(APWM)encounters a vast funding gap.As one of the crucial stakeholders,the public deserves to make appropriate efforts for APWM.Accordingly,identifying whether the public is willing to pay for APWM and clarifying the decisions’driving pathways to explore initiatives for promoting their payment intentions are essential to address the dilemma confronting APWM.To this end,by applying the extended theory of planned behavior(TPB),the study conducted an empirical analysis based on 1,288 residents from four provinces(autonomous regions)of northern China.Results illustrate that:1)respondents hold generally positive and relatively strong payment willingness towards APWM;2)respondents’attitude(AT),subjective norm(SN),and perceived behavioral control(PBC)are positively correlated with their payment intentions(INT);3)environmental cognition(EC)and environmental emotion(EE)positively moderate the relationships between AT and INT,and between SN and INT,posing significant indirect impacts on INT.The study’s implications extend to informing government policies,suggesting that multi-entity cooperation,specifically public payment for APWM,can enhance agricultural non-point waste management.

A regional environmental management information system for Chinese EPA—the system analysis and design

REMIS is one of key research projects sponsored by the central government. It is recommended to regional EPAs as a main tool of the environmental management. REMIS simulates the functions of the regional EPAs and aimed to improve their management level. The national environmental management information system will base on REMIS.Functional analysis is the kernel of the REMIS system analysis. Data and data flow analysis are used to support the functional analysis.Investigations on the functions of the local EPAs of eight provinces and 12 cities have been taken. The functions were carefully sorted. Modular design method was used in system analysis and system design.The system analysis included functional analysis, data analysis and data flow analysis. The system design is based on the system analysis. HIPO diagram of each modular, data base structure, menu design, selection of hardware and software environment were the main items of the system design.

Perception of the Residential Environmental Quality of Yenagoa Metropolis,Nigeria

Residential environmental quality(REQ)affects human health and quality of life(QoL).Therefore,this study as­sessed residents’perception of the REQ of the Yenagoa metropolis.Data for the study were sourced from the 400 ad­ministered questionnaires,which required respondents to rate their REQ based on seven selected indicators(air quality,drinking water quality,housing location,sanitation,waste management,housing accessibility and noise pollution).The respondents were sampled using the multistage sampling technique.The data were analyzed using frequency,percent­age,t-test,ANOVA and REQ model.The findings show that the overall calculated REQ of Yenagoa was classified as“good quality”.The best-rated indicator was drinking water quality,while the least-rated was noise pollution.Ratings based on respondents’sex,income and educational status recorded similar results.Also,the respondents’perception of the REQ across the four zones was similar as the calculated ratings of all the zones fell under the“good quality”classification.Furthermore,the hypotheses tested revealed that there were no significant differences in the perception of the REQ by sex and income status,while significant variation exists by education status.Despite the general“good quality”rating,there is still room for improvement,especially in the areas of noise pollution,sanitation and housing location,which received relatively low ratings.

Environmental status and management in Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture is located in the east of Tokyo Metropolis. A large scale development of industrial and residential areas began in the late 1950s until then the main industries of the prefecture were agriculture and fisheries. During the past 30 years rapid industrialization and urbanization took place resulting in occurrence of various environmental problems.In an attempt to establish a better environment condition towards 21st century Chiba Prefecture has made Environmental Plan which all the municipal governments, enterprises and inhabitants should observe to realize better environment.