Think Piece. Learning for a World Changed by Intergenerational Equity

Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.a. Recognize that the freedom of action of each generation is qualified by the needs of future generations.b. Transmit to future generations values, traditions, and institutions that support the long-term flourishing of Earth's human and ecological communities.Earth Charter Principle 4 Intergenerational equity, the ethic of responsibility among generations, is stated in the Earth Charter as the imperative to ‘recognize that the freedom of action of each generation is qualified by the needs of future generations’ (Earth Charter Commission, 2000:Subprinciple 4.a). Clearly, ethics call out for responsibility to those yet to come of age. Indeed, this is at the  heart of sustainable development – to ‘meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’.1 We believe that ‘learning in a changing world’ must pay particular attention to the ethical principle of intergenerational equity and to the dramatic demographics of an increasingly youthful population. Second, it presents a powerful opportunity for society if young people can participate in positive aspects of life, such as culture, environment, governance, politics and commerce, to promote sustainable development. In order to do so, young people need the support of older generations in terms of appropriate policies, education, information, financial resources, and hope. Young people have an enormous stake in the present and future state of the planet. For instance, through their lifestyles, they influence commerce and the media industry and shape the process of production, marketing, and consumption patterns of goods and services (UNEP/ UNESCO, 2001). Since young people are also tomorrow’s workers, entrepreneurs, parents, and political leaders, the policy makers know that they will greatly influence the future of their nations and global governance (World Bank, 2006)

Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrology of the Upper Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

This study investigated the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia. A soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was calibrated and validated against observed streamflow using SWAT CUP. The Mann–Kendall trend test (MK) was used to assess climate trends. Meteorological drought (SPEI) and hydrological drought (SDI) were also investigated. Based on the ensemble mean of five global climate models (GCMs), projected increases in mean annual maximum temperature over the period 2015–2100 (compared with a 1983–2014 baseline) range from 1.16 to 1.73 °C, while increases in minimum temperature range between 0.79 and 2.53 °C. Increases in mean annual precipitation range from 1.8% at Addis Ababa to 45.5% over the Hombole area. High streamflow (Q5) declines at all stations except Ginchi. Low flows (Q90) also decline with Q90 equaling 0 m3 s−1 (i.e., 100% reduction) at some gauging stations (Akaki and Hombole) for individual GCMs. The SPEI confirmed a significant drought trend in the past, while the frequency and severity of drought will increase in the future. The basin experienced conditions that varied from modest dry periods to a very severe hydrological drought between 1986 and 2005. The projected SDI ranges from modestly dry to modestly wet conditions. Climate change in the basin would enhance seasonal variations in hydrological conditions. Both precipitation and streamflow will decline in the wet seasons and increase in the dry seasons. These changes are likely to have an impact on agricultural activities and other human demands for water resources throughout the basin and will require the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures

Gender differentiated preferences for a community-based conservation initiative

Community-based conservation (CBC) aims to benefit local people as well as to achieve conservation goals, but has been criticised for taking a simplistic view of "community" and failing to recognise differences in the preferences and motivations of community members. We explore this heterogeneity in the context of Kenya's conservancies, focussing on the livelihood preferences of men and women living adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Using a discrete choice experiment we quantify the preferences of local community members for key components of their livelihoods and conservancy design, differentiating between men and women and existing conservancy members and non-members. While Maasai preference for pastoralism remains strong, non-livestock-based livelihood activities are also highly valued and there was substantial differentiation in preferences between individuals. Involvement with conservancies was generally perceived to be positive, but only if households were able to retain some land for other purposes. Women placed greater value on conservancy membership, but substantially less value on wage income, while existing conservancy members valued both conservancy membership and livestock more highly than did non-members. Our findings suggest that conservancies can make a positive contribution to livelihoods, but care must be taken to ensure that they do not unintentionally disadvantage any groups. We argue that conservation should pay greater attention to individuallevel differences in preferences when designing interventions in order to achieve fairer and more sustainable outcomes for members of local communities

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Why Did Leopards Kill Humans in Mumbai but not in Nairobi? Wildlife Management in and Around Urban National Parks

Why did leopards kill humans in Mumbai but not in Nairobi? Our initial hypothesis was that a different form of park management, more in harmony with that of the city, might explain the absence of leopard attacks on humans in Nairobi. We speculated that the actors in the two spheres coordinate their efforts to ensure better oversight of wildlife. This hypothesis was not confirmed. Instead, we see the importance of factors such as predation by leopards on populations of domestic dogs, the landscape configurations of the interfaces between park and city, and the diversity of representations of nature or social disparities, which generate differing vulnerabilities. This leads to a two-level conclusion regarding the role of the national trajectories in these countries of the Global South in respect of environmental concerns and their contribution to the new ways of understanding our relation to nature

Toxins and their phytoremediation

The agricultural and industrial revolutions in the last few decades have resulted in increased concentration of toxins in our environment that are now-a-days a major cause of toxicity in plants and animals. Among different toxins, increasing levels of salts, heavy metal, pesticides and other chemicals are posing a threat to agricultural as well as natural ecosystems of the world. These contaminants result in soil, air and water pollution, and loss of arable lands as well as crop productivity. They also cause changes in species composition and loss of biodiversity by bringing about changes in the structure of natural communities and ecosystems. In this situation, different approaches are being adopted to reclaim polluted environments. Among these, phytoremediation has a potential in removing these toxins from the environment. This approach is based on the use of natural hyperaccumulator plant species that can tolerate relatively high levels of pollutants in the environment. Pollutants accumulated in stems and leaves of high biomass producing and tolerant plants can be harvested and removed from the site. Therefore, this approach has a potential to remove large amounts of toxins by harvesting the above-ground biomass. However, the effectiveness of phytoremediation approach can be increased if we have better knowledge of physiological, biochemical, molecular and genetic bases of plant resistance to natural and anthropogenic induced toxins. All these aspects of toxicity mechanisms and their removal techniques are comprehensively reviewed in this book. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010