Sustainable Development Policies in Europe

The objective of this paper is to investigate the actual situation in the shift towards the implementation of Sustainable Development Policies in Europe. The aim is to highlight the key role of the European Union in bringing about sustainable development within Europe and also on the wider global stage. It will show how the European Commission performs its commitment in reaching a sustainable regulation by issuing some documents and declarations. The paper frames the EU action into an international framework of strategies, agreements and policies on SD and, at the same time, provides an overview on experiences of SD strategy implementations at the national level, according to the commission pressing on MS to produce their own SD strategy and implement it. Indicators systems, issues of interest and fields of actions are compared: the analysis of these elements aims to highlight common scenarios of SD strategies that reveal the trends towards a more sustainable growth in the European Union.Sustainable Development, Globalization, Environment Policy, Strategy for Sustainable Development, Good Governance, Participation

Colorado water, November/December 2018

The newsletter is devoted to highlighting water research and activities at CSU and throughout Colorado.Newsletter of the Colorado Water Center. Theme: Irrigation innovation and technology

The selective dissemination of information system (SDI system) of the Nuclear Information Centre of the National Commission for Nuclear Energy (CIN/CNEN) in Brazil

The economic importance of the contribution of information services of the Nuclear Information Centre of the National Commission of Nuclear Energy (CIN/CNEN) in Brazil is carefully analysed from the point of view of economic analysis. [Continues.

Land Resource Depletion, Regional Disparities, and the Claim for a Renewed ???Sustainability Thinking??? under Early Desertification Conditions

The present contribution discusses recent findings in environmental issues dealing with desertification risk and regional disparities in the Mediterranean basin. By focusing on key socioeconomic factors underlying land and soil degradation (population growth, urban sprawl, coastalization, agricultural intensification, and land abandonment), this commentary highlights the intimate linkage between socioeconomic processes, rural poverty, and territorial disparities based on complex dynamics of demographic and economic factors. The increasing complexity in the spatial distribution of land vulnerable to degradation has also been pointed out with special reference to post-war Italy, a Mediterranean country considered as particularly affected in the UNCCD Annex IV, as the results of non-linear biophysical and socioeconomic dynamics. The lack in multi-target and multi-scale policies approaching land degradation and territorial disparities together is finally discussed as an original contribution to the study of Mediterranean desertification

ESSAYS ON PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Precision agriculture (PA) can be defined as a set of technologies that have helped propel agriculture into the computerized information-based world, and is designed to help farmers get greater control over the management of farm operations. Because of its potential to spatially reduce yield variability within the field through variable rate application of nutrients it is thought to be a production risk management instrument. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is another production risk management technology that is generating interest from the farming community as a result of new technological improvements that facilitate equipment maintenance and reduces water consumption.In the first article the production risk management potential of these two technologies was investigated both for each technology and for a combination of the two. Simulated yield data for corn, wheat and soybeans were obtained using EPIC, a crop growth simulation model. Mathematical programming techniques were used in a standard E-V framework to reproduce the production environment of a Kentucky commercial grain farmer in Henderson County. Results show that for risk averse farmers, the lowest yield variability was obtained with the SDI technology. The highest profit level was obtained when the two technologies were combined.Investment in two sets of equipments (PA and SDI) to maximize profitability and reduce risk could however expose many farm operations to financial risk. In the second article, a discrete stochastic sequential programming (DSSP) model was used to analyze the impact of PA and/or SDI equipment investment on the farm\u27s liquidity and debt to asset ratio.In the last article, the cotton sector in Benin, West Africa, was utilized to study the transferability of PA technology to a developing country. Properly introduced, precision agriculture (PA) technology could help farmers increase profitability, improve management practices, and reduce soil depletion. An improved production system could also help farmers better cope with the policy risk related to cotton production. Results from the two models show that PA is less profitable for the risk neutral farmer but more profitable for the risk averse one when compared to conventional production practices. The adoption of the new technology also has very little impact on the choice of crop rotation made by the farmer

Spatial Distribution and Quantification of Forest Treatment Residues for Bioenergy Production

The availability and spatial distribution of forest treatment residues are prerequisites to supply chain development for bioenergy production. To accurately estimate potential residue quantities, data must be provided to simulate stand-level silviculture across the landscape of interest. However, biomass utilization assessments often consider broad regions where adequate data are not supplied. At present, these measures are addressed using strategic level assessments and broad-based management that may not be applicable to all areas of the landscape. This thesis introduces a new methodology for spatially describing stand-level treatment residue quantities based on detailed silvicultural prescriptions and site specific management. Using National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery, the forest is segmented into treatment units based on user defined size constraints. Using a remote sensing model based on NAIP imagery and Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data, these units are attributed with stand-level descriptions of basal area, tree density, above ground biomass, and quadratic mean diameter . The outputs are used to develop silvicultural prescriptions and estimate available treatment residues under three alternative management scenarios at a range of delivered prices per bone dried ton (bdt) to a nearby bioenergy facility in southwestern Colorado. Using a marginal cost approach where treatment costs were covered by merchantable yields, the breakeven delivered price of treatment residues in this study is $48.94 per bdt yielding 167,685 bdt following a 10 year management simulation at a 5,000 acre per year annual allowable treatment level

Economic Implications of Rice Production Technology in District Shikarpur, Sindh Province

The research was carried out to investigate the “economic implications of rice production technology in district Shikarpur, Sindh province”, with the main objective to find out the socio-economic factors of the study area, to determine the production practices technology of rice crop in the study area, to identify the marketing channels of crop in the study area and to suggest policy measures for sustainable rice production in the study area. The study was conducted by survey method. A well designed questionnaire was prepared. Average water charges per acre incurred by rice farms was Rs. 2000, Average other charges per acre incurred by rice farms were Rs. 4000. So the Average per acre land inputs cost of Rs.24000 incurred on a rice farm, average per acre cost of Rs.23914.5 incurred as labour costs. The costs further indicates that the labour cost in the study area ranged between Rs.20591.83 to Rs.27237.19. Average per acre cost on rice farm on capital inputs is Rs.23231.36, the capital inputs ranges from Rs.16637.97 to Rs.29804.75. Average per acre cost of Rs.81530.74 as marketing cost including loading, unloading, transportation and commission. Keywords: Rice, production practices technology, average per acre cos

Exploring Sustainability Concerns and Ecosystem Services: The Role of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale in Understanding Public Opinion

This study mainly explores people’s environmental attitudes and perceptions and their motivations for protecting and improving ecosystem services in Italy. The environmental perceptions of people were explored through the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, a tool for gauging environmental consciousness and perceptions, especially in the context of ecological sustainability. Data were collected from a sample of more than 1500 respondents residing in Italy using computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI). The results showed that respondents have a high level of environmental concern for most scale issues. The application of principal component analysis (PCA) to the respondents’ responses revealed the multidimensionality of the NEP scale: anti-anthropocentrism (pro NEP items), human domination (pro-dominant social paradigm (DSP) items), and limits of nature. The results also showed that socio-demographic characteristics and people’s knowledge and beliefs are associated with a strong concern for nature, which can support ecosystem service conservation. Different cultural backgrounds may place varying emphasis on sustainability, conservation, or economic development