The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources

This book aims to strengthen the knowledge base dealing with Air Pollution. The book consists of 21 chapters dealing with Air Pollution and its effects in the fields of Health, Environment, Economy and Agricultural Sources. It is divided into four sections. The first one deals with effect of air pollution on health and human body organs. The second section includes the Impact of air pollution on plants and agricultural sources and methods of resistance. The third section includes environmental changes, geographic and climatic conditions due to air pollution. The fourth section includes case studies concerning of the impact of air pollution in the economy and development goals, such as, indoor air pollution in México, indoor air pollution and millennium development goals in Bangladesh, epidemiologic and economic impact of natural gas on indoor air pollution in Colombia and economic growth and air pollution in Iran during development programs. In this book the authors explain the definition of air pollution, the most important pollutants and their different sources and effects on humans and various fields of life. The authors offer different solutions to the problems resulting from air pollution

Photodiodes

Photodiodes or photodetectors are in one boat with our human race. Efforts of people in related fields are contained in this book. This book would be valuable to those who want to obtain knowledge and inspiration in the related area

A critical analysis of the security of foreign investments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region

Foreign investments in SADC are regulated by Annex 1 of the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investments (SADC FIP), as well as the laws of SADC Member States. At present, SADC faces the challenge that this regime for the regulation of foreign investments is unstable, unsatisfactory and unpredictable. Furthermore, the state of the rule of law in some SADC Member States is unsatisfactory. This negatively affects the security of foreign investments regulated by this regime. The main reasons for this state of affairs are briefly explained below. The regulatory regime for foreign investments in SADC is unstable, due to recent policy reviews and amendments of key regulatory instruments that have taken place. Major developments in this regard have been the suspension of the SADC Tribunal during 2010, the amendment of the SADC Tribunal Protocol during 2014 to bar natural and legal persons from access to the Tribunal, and the amendment of Annex 1 during 2016 to remove investor access to international investor-state arbitration, better known as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The regulation of foreign investments in SADC has been unsatisfactory, among others because some SADC Member States have failed or neglected to harmonise their investment laws with both the 2006 and the 2016 Annex 1. Furthermore, SADC Member States such as Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have multiple Regional Economic Community (REC) memberships. This places these Member States in a position whereby they have conflicting interests and treaty obligations. Finally, the future of the regime for the regulation of foreign investments in SADC is unpredictable, due to regional integration efforts such as the recent formation of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Zone (T-FTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The T-FTA is entitled to have its investment protocol, while the AfCFTA investment protocol will be negotiated from 2018 until 2020. These developments entail that the 2016 Annex 1 will soon be replaced by an investment protocol at either the T-FTA or AfCFTA levels, thereby ushering a new regime for the regulation of foreign investments in SADC. The unknown nature of the future regulations create uncertainty and instability among foreign investors and host states alike. This study analyses the regulation of foreign investments in terms of Annex 1 and selected laws of SADC Member States. In the end, it makes the three findings mentioned above. In order to address these findings, the study makes four recommendations. The first is that foreign investments in SADC must be regulated at African Union (AU) level, by means of an AfCFTA investment protocol (which incidentally is now the case). Secondly, investor-state disputes must be referred to the courts of a host state, optional ISDS, the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJ&HR) or other agreed forum. Thirdly, an African Justice Scoreboard (AJS) must be established. The AJS will act as a gateway to determine whether an investor-state dispute shall be referred to the courts of a host state, ISDS, the ACJ&HR or other forums. Fourthly, the office of an African Investment Ombud (AIO) must be created. The AIO shall facilitate the early resolution of investor-state disputes, so as to reduce the number of disputes that may end-up in litigation or arbitration.Mercantile LawLL. D

Forensic Medicine

Forensic medicine is a continuously evolving science that is constantly being updated and improved, not only as a result of technological and scientific advances (which bring almost immediate repercussions) but also because of developments in the social and legal spheres. This book contains innovative perspectives and approaches to classic topics and problems in forensic medicine, offering reflections about the potential and limits of emerging areas in forensic expert research; it transmits the experience of some countries in the domain of cutting-edge expert intervention, and shows how research in other fields of knowledge may have very relevant implications for this practice

How can the enforcement of the Basel Convention be improved? : a case study of China and the UK and the role of networks

The rise of globalization and urbanization has led to increased production and emission of hazardous wastes. Developed countries often mitigate their disposal costs by exporting large quantities of these wastes to developing countries, causing significant environmental pollution. International organisations like the United Nations Environment Program and various countries have recognized this issue and have developed environmental laws to combat it. Despite these efforts, enforcement remains weak against the growing threat of pollution. This thesis investigates how to improve the enforcement of laws governing the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, particularly focusing on the Basel Convention. It examines the role of inter-governmental and inter-institutional networks in achieving effective enforcement. By comparing national legislation and enforcement mechanisms in the UK and China, the study highlights significant differences in how these countries handle environmental law enforcement. The UK, typically a waste-exporting nation, and China, a waste-importing nation, exhibit contrasting enforcement capabilities. China's environmental law enforcement has evolved, yet it still lags behind the UK's more robust systems. The thesis underscores that networks - facilitating the exchange of expertise and resources—are essential in strengthening national and institutional capacities for enforcing laws on hazardous waste movement. Overall, the study concludes that enhancing cooperation through networks can significantly improve the enforcement of environmental laws, reducing the detrimental impact of hazardous waste transboundary movement.The rise of globalization and urbanization has led to increased production and emission of hazardous wastes. Developed countries often mitigate their disposal costs by exporting large quantities of these wastes to developing countries, causing significant environmental pollution. International organisations like the United Nations Environment Program and various countries have recognized this issue and have developed environmental laws to combat it. Despite these efforts, enforcement remains weak against the growing threat of pollution. This thesis investigates how to improve the enforcement of laws governing the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, particularly focusing on the Basel Convention. It examines the role of inter-governmental and inter-institutional networks in achieving effective enforcement. By comparing national legislation and enforcement mechanisms in the UK and China, the study highlights significant differences in how these countries handle environmental law enforcement. The UK, typically a waste-exporting nation, and China, a waste-importing nation, exhibit contrasting enforcement capabilities. China's environmental law enforcement has evolved, yet it still lags behind the UK's more robust systems. The thesis underscores that networks - facilitating the exchange of expertise and resources—are essential in strengthening national and institutional capacities for enforcing laws on hazardous waste movement. Overall, the study concludes that enhancing cooperation through networks can significantly improve the enforcement of environmental laws, reducing the detrimental impact of hazardous waste transboundary movement

Coping with Crisis in Eastern Europe's Environment

Along with the winds of political change in Central and Eastern Europe have come the realities of severely polluted air, water and soil. Among the greatest challenges for Eastern Europeans will be how to cope with these environmental problems during a period of difficult economic and political transition. This book is one of the first published since the revolutions of 1989 giving the views of top environmental experts from six Central and Eastern European countries on these issues. In individual chapters these experts analyze the air and water quality situations of their countries in depth. Much of the data and analyses contained is being made available for the first time to an international audience. This volume not only gives an overview of the current environmental situation, but also presents many ideas for reforms and actions needed for coping with the environmental crisis in each country in the short run. These include suggestions for institutional and economic reforms, as well as specific recommendations for technology transfer and training that are most needed for environmental protection