Ethics an environmental Sciences.

Sin resume

Tourism: an alternative to development?: reconsidering farming, tourism and conservation incentives in Northwest Yunnan mountainous communities

In the last decade, tourism has developed rapidly in the mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan. This growth has led to substantial economic and social changes, with resulting environmental consequences. This article uses a case study to illustrate how local farmers involved in tourism changed their agricultural practices as a result of the transformations that took place in the area. The aim was to examine tourism's expected benefits of poverty alleviation and conservation incentives. Tourism investments were found to have been adopted only by households with available cash and labor, whereas they remained inaccessible for the poor, small landowners who most needed a new source of income and used their land more exhaustively. Relatively rich, large landowners did not take the opportunity to reduce their agricultural activities. Instead, they used supplementary incomes earned from tourism to hire external labor to cultivate their land more intensely. Tourism development failed to generate real incentives for mountain farmers to adopt more conservation measures and prevent soil erosion and nonpoint source agricultural water pollution, which currently constitute serious environmental problems for mountain environments in Yunnan. This article presents recommendations based on the conclusions of the study

A GIS approach towards estimating tourist's off-road use in a mountainous protected area of Northwest Yunnan, China

To address the environmental impacts of tourism in protected areas, park managers need to understand the spatial distribution of tourist use. Standard monitoring measures (tourist surveys and counting and tracking techniques) are not sufficient to accomplish this task, in particular for off-road travel. This article predicts tourists' spatial use patterns through an alternative approach: park accessibility measurement. Naismith's rule and geographical information system's anisotropic cost analysis are integrated into the modeling process, which results in a more realistic measure of off-road accessibility than that provided by other measures. The method is applied to a mountainous United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in northwest Yunnan Province, China, where there is increasing concern about potential impacts of unregulated tourist use. Based on the assumption that accessibility tends to attract more tourists, a spatial pattern of predicted off-road use by tourists is derived. This pattern provides information that can help park managers develop strategies that are effective for both tourism management and species conservation

Ampliación del concepto “Producción más limpia”

“Cleaner production “ (CP) emerged in the aftermath of the 1987 Brundtland Commission (WCED, 1987) call for less and more efficient energy and materials use efficiency and the suggestion to substitute more harmful products (for the environment and health) by less dangerous ones. Cleaner production was the reply of industry to the inter-sectorial and socio-economic call for sustainable development. The technical aims widened. Originally they were targeted to improve en-vironmentally inferior products to less inferior ones. Today the goal is producing is quality products us-ing renewable energy efficiently and producing zero waste, while emitting no pollution.The perspective of the scope also changed from en-vironmental sustainability to the wider “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR). This includes that post-modern companies have not only responsibili-ties on their economic performance and the environ-ment, but should also act on issues including human rights and resources, business ethics, and community involvement. This widening of contents necessitates more and better adapted methods. During the past 45 years the number of assessment methods (preventing pollution and its effects) increased significantly from environmental aspects (EIA), over health (HIA) and policy aspects (SEA), to sustainability assessment, addressing not only environmental, but in an inte-grated way also social, economic, and ethical issues of the evaluation.This paper reviews this evolution of ideas. It provides not only the concepts, but is equally based on case studies and examples illustrating different aspects of this evolution. It acts as a guide towards contempo-rary CSR and advocates its support towards educa-tion and research.“Producción más limpia” (CP) surgió a raíz de la Comi-sión Brundtland de 1987 con el objetivo de requerir me-nos energía y de manera más eficiente con respecto a su uso, sugiriendo sustituir los productos más nocivos (por el medio ambiente y la salud) por menos peligroso; la pro-ducción más limpia, fue la respuesta de la industria a la llamada inter-sectorial y socioeconómica para el desarro-llo sostenible. Los objetivos técnicos se abrieron ya que originalmente estaban dirigidos a mejorar los productos de calidad medioambiental inferior a los menos inferio-res. Hoy en día el objetivo es producir productos de calidad utilizando energía renovable eficiente y productoras de re-siduos cero, mientras que emite ninguna contaminación.Desde la perspectiva del ámbito de aplicación se incorpora la sostenibilidad ambiental a la “Responsabilidad Social Empresarial” más ancha (RSE). Esto incluye que las em-presas de post-modernos no sólo tienen responsabilidades sobre su desempeño económico y el medio ambiente, sino que también deben actuar en temas como los derechos hu-manos y los recursos, la ética empresarial, y participación de la comunidad. Esta ampliación de contenidos requie-re más y mejor adaptados métodos. Durante los últimos 45 años el número de métodos de evaluación (prevención de la contaminación y sus efectos) aumentó significativa-mente de los aspectos ambientales (EIA), más de la salud (EIS) y los aspectos de política (SEA), con la evaluación de la sostenibilidad, abordar no sólo el medio ambiente, pero en una también forma integrada social, económica, y las cuestiones éticas de la evaluación.Este documento analiza esta evolución de las ideas. Ofre-ciendo no sólo los conceptos, sino que se basa igualmente en estudios de casos y ejemplos que ilustran diferentes aspectos de esta evolución. Actúa como una guía hacia la RSE contemporánea y aboga por su apoyo hacia la educa-ción y la investigació

The energy potential of agriculture, agroindustrial, livestock, and slaughterhouse biomass wastes through direct combustion and anaerobic digestion. The case of Colombia

In Colombia, agriculture and livestock production, and the processing agroindustry (including slaughterhouses) are a significant source of biomass wastes, which often generate significant environmental impacts. Waste-toenergy technologies, particularly direct combustion and anaerobic digestion systems are an alternative to revalorize these wastes as energy sources while reducing their environmental impacts. To this end, is necessary to identify the biomass-based energy potential from the available biomass wastes. It is additionally necessary to highlight potential applications of the biomass-based energy potential, to replace unsustainable energy sources like fossil fuels or cooking wood in the end-use energy mix. To this end, an inventory of the main crops and livestock produced in Colombia, and the share processed in agroindustry was developed to identify the available biomass wastes for energy applications. Based on the inventory, the biomass-based energy potential was calculated for the use of direct combustion and anaerobic digestion systems. The results show a bioenergy potential of 60,000 to 120,000 GWh per year, with higher potentialities for direct combustion systems than for anaerobic digestion. In particular, the biogas potential account for 90% of the use of natural gas and LPG. Moreover, using around half of the solid biomass available in direct combustion systems can potentially replace the use of solid fuels (i.e. wood and coal). In total, the combined use of direct combustion and anaerobic digestion can support from 50 to 97% of the use of gaseous and solid fuels. Using combined heat and power systems for heat and electricity production can increase the biomass share in the end-use energy mix up to 15 to 28%, including 27 to 53% of the 68,943 GWh of electricity produced in 2018

Integral assessment of national economy sustainable development

This study is devoted to sustainable development issues of Ukraine. The problems of assessing the sustainable development are discussed. It is shown that many indicators are insufficient to make decisions at the national level. It was proposed to define trends of the development of the national economy based on integral analysis of environmental, economic and social indicators. The criteria for the selection of the indicators, the standards and factors of development are the main prerequisites for a mechanism of sustainable development. A system of indicators is based on the statistical information and allows to determine a combined sustainability index for the economy. A three-level system of indicators is proposed as well as integrated index of sustainable development. The method allows to assess the development of the different regions of Ukraine and to identify the current trends. It allows to monitor dynamic changes due to the complex system of indicators

Identification and estimation of the marine ecosystem services surrounding selected offshore islands of Vietnam

Intertidal and larger marine ecosystems surrounding the islands of Bach Long Vi (Northern Vietnam), Con Co (Central Vietnam) and Tho Chu (Southernmost Vietnam) which have typical and valuable ecosystems are planned as marine protected areas. They are the study area of this paper on identification and estimation of these ecosystem services. The total economic valuation concept is used to estimate the total value of the ecosystems during the period March 2014 to October 2015. The marine ecosystems surrounding Bach Long Vi Island were estimated servicing 599,047.8 million VND (Vietnam Dong)/year in total (corresponding to 26.62 million USD (US dollar—1 USD = 22,503.68 VND (rate May 1, 2015)); calculated per hectare; this value corresponds with 94 million VND/year. The marine ecosystems surrounding Con Co Island provide a total monetary service of 267,518 million VND/year (approximately, 12 million USD/year); this corresponds with 307 million VND/ha/year. The marine ecosystems surrounding the Tho Chu archipelago were worth 565,236 million VND/year (approximately, 25 million USD/year); this corresponded with 125.47 million VND/ha/year. These figures show the most significant service value of marine ecosystems, particularly around the three islands

Multicriteria Evaluation Of Tourism Potential In The Central Highlands Of Vietnam: Combining Geographic Information System (GIS), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) And Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

Tourism potential provides an indication for the tourism development opportunities of regions and sites. This paper deals with a multicriteria evaluation of the tourism potential in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The study area is located in the Southeast Asian monsoon tropical climatic zone, and offers both natural and cultural tourism resources. GIS-based cost distance analysis was used to calculate the travel time along the road and using other transportation networks. Then an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to determine a weighting coefficient for each criterion in multicriteria evaluation. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was processed next to AHP, allowing combination of the internal and external tourism potentials of the considered sites. Both AHP and PCA approaches were based on a certain number of alternatives, and take multiple criteria and conflicting objectives into consideration. The results show that the Central Highlands have considerable potential for tourism development at 99 potential eco-tourism sites and 45 potential cultural tourism sites. However, the region is now faced with poor tourism infrastructure with low external potential. An improvement of tourism infrastructure, service quality, and strengthened linkages with other tourist sites is indicated to diversify the tourism products and increase the attractiveness of regional destinations

Unsupervised Exercise Training Was Not Found to Improve the Metabolic Health or Phenotype over a 6-Month Dietary Intervention: A Randomised Controlled Trial with an Embedded Economic Analysis

Abstract Ectopic fat leads to metabolic health problems. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of a hypocaloric diet intervention together with an unsupervised exercise training program in comparison with a hypocaloric diet alone to reduce ectopic fat deposition. Sixty-one premenopausal women with overweight or obesity participated in this controlled trial and were each randomised into either a usual care group (hypocaloric diet) or intervention group (hypocaloric diet + unsupervised exercise training). Ectopic fat deposition, metabolic parameters, incremental costs from a societal perspective and incremental quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were assessed before, during and after the six-month intervention period. In the total sample, there was a significant decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT: -18.88 cm2, 95% CI -11.82 to -25.95), subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT: -46.74 cm2, 95% CI -29.76 to -63.18), epicardial fat (ECF: -14.50 cm3, 95% CI -10.9 to -18.98) and intrahepatic lipid content (IHL: -3.53%, 95% CI -1.72 to -5.32). Consequently, an "adapted" economic analysis revealed a non-significant decrease in costs and an increase in QALYs after the intervention. No significant differences were found between groups. A multidisciplinary lifestyle approach seems successful in reducing ectopic fat deposition and improving the metabolic risk profile in women with overweight and obesity. The addition of unsupervised exercise training did not further improve the metabolic health or phenotype over the six months. Keywords: body fat distribution; ectopic fat; exercise; overweight

Stakeholder Delphi-perception analysis on impacts and responses of acid rain on agricultural ecosystems in the Vietnamese upland

Vietnam is one of most vulnerable countries to acid rain in Asia. In the Vietnamese Northern Mountains, acid rainwater affects negatively to local agricultural ecosystems. This paper analyzes how major agricultural stakeholders living in the mountains assess the impacts of acid rain and their responses on agricultural ecosystems. A two-round Stakeholder Delphi combined with the pressure-state-response (PSR) model allows ranking effects, mitigation and adaptation measures. Eight themes, 14 sub-themes, and 35 indicators for acid rain are structured in the PSR model. The results show that deforestation and rainfall variability relate to changes in the concentrations of acid ions in rainwater. Energy consumption in the industry and transportation, chemical fertilizer use in agriculture, and air pollution from neighboring areas contribute significantly to acid rain. Acid rain affects agriculture and decreases crop yields, causes arable land loss, reduces nutrients and organic matter, and accumulates heavy metals. Panel members perceive that applying local knowledge in agricultural practices, rational energy use, promotion of integrated agricultural policies, and changing farmer behaviors are measures to mitigate acid rain and its adverse effects. The results contribute to a vision on local adaptation actions and policy to foster the capacity and the resilience of major local group