Research of Ecological Carrying Capacity ---Comprehensive Evaluation Model

AbstractThe indicators of ecological carrying capacity---comprehensive evaluation model was deeply analyzed and studied. Combining with the demand of sustainable development, introduce the advantages and disadvantages of ecological carrying capacity---comprehensive evaluation model. The indicator system, weight definition and data acquisition of the comprehensive evaluation model is analyzed deeply, and then propose three suggestions of them in hopes of objective assessment of ecological sustainable development in new period

River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge

Three of the eleven papers focused on groundwater recharge and its impacts on the groundwater regime, in which recharge was caused by riverbed leakage from river ecological restoration (artificial water replenishment). The issues of the hydrogeological parameters involved (such as the influence radius) were also reconsidered. Six papers focused on the impact of river ecological replenishment and other human activities on river and watershed ecology, and on groundwater quality and use function. The issues of ecological security at the watershed scale and deterioration of groundwater quality were of particular concern. Two papers focused on water resources carrying capacity and water resources reallocation at the regional scale, in the context of the fact that ecological water demand has been a significant topic of concern. The use of unconventional water resources such as brackish water has been emphasized in the research in this issue

Environmental hazard identification, assessment and control for a sustainable maritime transportation system

A demand exists to contribute towards the widening awareness of the need for sustainable maritime development and for coordinated maritime policies worldwide. Maritime shipping is considered the most eco-efficient mean of transportation and yet, is responsible for negative environmental impacts. This dissertation focuses on developing data-driven decision support tools to evaluate the sustainable performance of MTS by focusing on the elements of the MTS that place stress on the environment. The first research contribution is a System Dynamics simulation model that examines the MTS resiliency after an extreme event and determines the sequence needed to restore the ocean-going port to its pre-event state. The second is a Decision-Making in Complex Environments (DMCE) tool developed by integrating fuzzy logic with a combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Techniques for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) to quantify and rank preferred environmental impact indicators within MTS. The third is an extension to this DMCE tool by the integration of a Monte Carlo simulation in order to have a better understanding of the risks associated with the resulting rankings of those preferred environmental indicators. And, the fourth is a predictive model for the monitoring of vegetation changes near-port areas and to understand the long-term impacts that maritime activity has towards the environment. The developed models address the impacts MTS has on the natural environment and help achieve environmental sustainability of this complex system by evaluating the sustainability performance of the MTS --Abstract, page iv

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

Risk of Land Degradation: A Case Study of Phu Yen Province, Vietnam

The issue of the land degradation vulnerability index (LDVI) is multifaceted, encompassing climate, soil, vegetation, policy formulation, and human actions. In Vietnam, the convergence of climatic fluctuations and human impact results in phenomena, such as soil sealing, erosion, salinization, and landscape fragmentation. These phenomena are recognized as significant triggers of land degradation. This paper seeks to present a method for assessing a land's susceptibility to degradation by utilizing ten ecological 10 criteria: NDVI; slope; bulk density (cg/cm3); cation exchange capacity in the soil (CEC; mmol(c)/kg); Soil organic carbon stock (SOC; dg/kg), pH; Nitrogen (N; cg/kg); soil thickness (cm); soil surface temperature LST (0C); precipitation of the driest quarter (mm). The research results show that Song Hinh and Son Hoa communes are standing on the most land degradation vulnerability. Some criteria that are considered important in assessing land degradation by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique are NDVI, followed by slope, nitrogen, bulk density, and soil thickness. The results of the study are consistent with records in localities that are often under pressure from drought. Extreme LDVI areas were larger identified on low mountains, slope terrain, and precipitation of driest quarter under 200mm, expanding on the agricultural areas with 40km2 total province agriculture area, followed by grassland (20.3 km2), natural forests (17.2 km2), plantation forests (8.2 km2), residences (8.2 km2), and bare land (8.15 km2). Poor land management practices, such as improper construction, inadequate water management, and lack of terracing, can contribute to soil erosion and land degradation. This LDVI assessment process can be applied to some tropical countries. The NDVI index combined with the slope, nitrogen, bulk density, and soil thickness can be exploratory indicators of land sensitivity to land degradation

Stakeholder engagement in sustainable housing refurbishment in the UK

The UK government is committed to effectively implement a viable sustainable agenda in the social housing sector. To this end housing associations and local authorities are being encouraged to improve the environmental performance of their new and existing homes. Whilst much attention has been focused on new housing (e.g. the Code for Sustainable Homes) little effort has been focussed on improving the 3.9 (approx) million homes maintained and managed by the public sector (in England), which, given the low rate of new build and demolition (<1% in England), will represent approximately 70% of the public housing stock in 2050. Thus, if UK is to achieve sustainable public housing the major effort will have to focus on the existing stock. However, interpreting the sustainability agenda for an existing housing portfolio is not a straight foreword activity. In addition to finding a ‘technical’ solution, landlords also haveto address the socio-economic issues that balance quality of expectations of tenants with the economic realities of funding social housing refurbishment. This paper will report the findings of a qualitative study (participatory approach) that examined the processes by which a large public landlord sought to develop a long-term sustainable housing strategy. Through a series of individual meetings and group workshops the research team identified: committed leadership; attitudes towards technology; social awareness; and collective understanding of the sustainability agenda as key issues that the organisation needed to address in developing a robust and defendable refurbishment strategy. The paper concludes that the challenges faced by the landlord in improving the sustainability of their existing stock are not primarily technical, but socio-economic. Further, while the economic challenges: initial capital cost; lack of funding; and pay-back periods can be overcome, if the political will exists, by fiscal measures; the social challenges: health & wellbeing; poverty; security; space needs; behaviour change; education; and trust; are much more complex in nature and will require a coordinated approach from all the stakeholders involved in the wider community if they are to be effectively addressed. The key challenge to public housing landlords is to develop mechanisms that can identify and interpret the complex nature of the social sustainability agenda in a way that reflects local aspirations (although the authors believe the factors will exist in all social housing communities, their relative importance is likely to vary between communities) whilst addressing Government agendas

Sustainable Use of Soils and Water: The Role of Environmental Land Use Conflicts

This book on the sustainable use of soils and water addressed a variety of issues related to the utopian desire for environmental sustainability and the deviations from this scene observed in the real world. Competing interests for land are frequently a factor in land degradation, especially where the adopted land uses do not conform with the land capability (the natural use of soil). The concerns of researchers about these matters are presented in the articles comprising this Special Issue book. Various approaches were used to assess the (im)balance between economic profit and environmental conservation in various regions, in addition to potential routes to bring landscapes back to a sustainable status being disclosed

SMART - IWRM : Integrated Water Resources Management in the Lower Jordan Rift Valley; Project Report Phase I (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7597)

This book provides an overview of the large scale Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) research program SMART at the Lower Jordan River Basin which aims at local implementation, knowledge & capacity building. The focus of the first phase is placed on decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse, water quality including emerging pollutants, management and modelling of groundwater systems, artificial recharge, socio-economic frameworks, a transboundary database and decision support tools