A Framework to Evaluate the SDG Contribution of Fluvial Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBSs) are measures reflecting the ‘cooperation with nature’ approach: mitigating fluvial flood risk while being cost-effective, resource-efficient, and providing numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits. Since 2015, the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda has provided UN member states with goals, targets, and indicators to facilitate an integrated approach focusing on economic, environmental, and social improvements simultaneously. The aim of this study is to evaluate the contribution of fluvial NBSs to the UN 2030 Agenda, using all its components: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets, and indicators. We propose a four-step framework with inputs from the UN 2030 Agenda, scientific literature, and case studies. The framework provides a set of fluvial flooding indicators that are linked to SDG indicators of the UN 2030 Agenda. Finally, the fluvial flooding indicators are tested by applying them to a case study, the Eddleston Water Project, aiming to examine its contribution to the UN 2030 Agenda. This reveals that the Eddleston Water Project contributes to 9 SDGs and 33 SDG targets from environmental, economic, societal, policy, and technical perspectives. Our framework aims to enhance the systematic considerations of the SDG indicators, adjust their notion to the system of interest, and thereby enhance the link between the sustainability performance of NBSs and the UN 2030 AgendaRivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin

Deliverable 3.6 zoning plan of case studies : evaluation of spatial management options for the case studies

Within MESMA, nine case studies (CS) represent discrete marine European spatial entities, at different spatial scales, where a spatial marine management framework is in place, under development or considered. These CS (described in more details below) are chosen in such a way (MESMA D. 3.1 ) that they encompass the complexity of accommodating the various user functions of the marine landscape in various regions of the European marine waters. While human activities at sea are competing for space, there is also growing awareness of the possible negative effects of these human activities on the marine ecosystem. As such, system specific management options are required, satisfying current and future sectoral needs, while safeguarding the marine ecosystem from further detoriation. This integrated management approach is embedded in the concept of ecosystem based management (EBM). The goal of marine EBM is to maintain marine ecosystems in a healthy, productive and resilient condition, making it possible that they sustain human use and provide the goods and services required by society (McLeod et al. 2005). Therefore EBM is an environmental mangagement approach that recognises the interactions within a marine ecosystem, including humans. Hence, EBM does not consider single issues, species or ecosystems good and services in isolation. Operationalisation of EBM can be done through place-based or spatial management approaches (Lackey 1998), such as marine spatial planning (MSP). MSP is a public process of analysing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities aiming at achieving ecological, economic and social objectives. These objectives are usually formulated through political processes (Douvere et al. 2007, Douvere 2008). Within MESMA, a spatially managed area (SMA) is then defined as “a geographical area within which marine spatial planning initiatives exist in the real world”. Marine spatial planning initiatives refer to existing management measures actually in place within a defined area, or in any stage of a process of putting management in place, e.g. plans or recommendations for a particular area. Management can include management for marine protection (e.g. in MPAs), or management for sectoral objectives (e.g. building a wind farm to meet renewable energy objectives). Within MESMA, SMAs can have different spatial scales. A SMA can be a small, specific area that is managed/planned to be managed for one specific purpose, but it can also be a larger area within which lots of plans or ‘usage zones’ exist. This definition is different from the definition mentioned in the DoW (page 60). The original definition was adapted during a CS leader workshop (2-4 May 2012 in Gent, Belgium) and formally accepted by the MESMA ExB during the ExB meeting in Cork (29-30 May 2012). MSP should result in a marine spatial management plan that will produce the desired future trough explicit decisions about the location and timing of human activities. Ehler & Douvere (2009) consider this spatial management as a beginning toward the the implementation of desired goals and objectives. They describe the spatial management plan as a comprehensive, strategic document that provides the framework and direction for marine spatial management decisions. The plan should identify when, where and how goals and objectives will be met. Zoning (the development of zoning plans) is often an important management measure to implement spatial management plans. The purpose of a zoning plan (Ehler & Douvere 2009) is: To provide protection for biologically and ecologically important habitats, ecosystems, and ecological processes. To seperate conflicting human activities, or to combine compatible activities. To protect the natural values of the marine management area (in MESMA terminology: the SMA) while allowing reasonable human uses of the area. To allocate areas for reasonable human uses while minimising the effects of these human uses on each other, and nature. To preserve some areas of the SMA in their natural state undisturbed by humans except for scientific and educational purposes.peer-reviewe

A Framework for Cloud to Coast Adaptation: Maturity and Experiences from across the North Sea

The low-lying coastal areas of the countries around the North Sea are exposed to flooding and the influence of sea level rise. The countries in the North Sea Region need to continue to adapt if the associated risk is to be well-managed into the future. In addition to reducing flood risk, adaptation measures can bring development opportunities for those same places. These opportunities, however, are unlikely to be achieved through a ‘defence only’ paradigm, and instead a new approach is needed that simultaneously reduces risk and promotes liveable places, ecosystem health and social well-being. The building blocks of this new approach are promoted here and are based on an adaptation process that is collaborative and takes a whole-system, long-term perspective. The approach developed through the Interreg funded project, C5a, brings together governments, practitioners and researchers from across the North Sea to share policies, practices and the emerging science of climate change adaptation and enabling sustainable development. The new approach reflects a Cloud to Coast management paradigm and emerged through a combination of knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning across seven case studies. Central to the case studies was a maturity analysis of existing capabilities across the North Sea countries and their ability to adopt the new approach. This paper presents the results of this analysis, including the common challenges that emerged and the methods and examples of good practice to overcome them. Building upon these findings, the paper concludes by presenting four priority policy directions to support the uptake of the Cloud to Coast approach

From sediments to soils: changes in pore water metal bioavailability

Abstract: The use of sediments as soils is an area of interest for Beneficial Use of dredged sediments. In this study the impact of the transition from sediments to soils is researched by looking at the seasonal and long year (10 year) change in pore water metal chemistry of sediments which are considered clean (class A) according to the Dutch soil directive. This study is based on a combination of geohydrological, geochemical and ecotoxicological risk models and validated against measured pore water concentrations for metals over an dry/wet period. The pore water metal concentrations are compared against standards and expressed as at Risk Characterization Ratio’s (RCR) values. The RCR values are high (> 1) during the first 3 years after the application of sediments as soil, especially at the end of the summer. The multi substances Potentially Affected Fraction (ms-PAF) shows a similar trend as the RCR values, although it takes 5 years before the combined calculated potential ecotoxicity is below the legal 40% threshold level. Translated to land use, it is advised to restrict land use for farming on soils where these clean (class A) sediments are applied for a five-year transition period. Article Highlights: Beneficial Use of sediments should take into account the different conditions when used as soils.Use of sediments as soils lead to a predicable seasonal and multiple year trend in metal concentrations in pore water.The predicted results in metal pore water concentrations are translated into an advice for temporal land use.Geoscience and Engineerin

A chronic bioassay with the estuarine amphipod Corophium volutator : Test method description and confounding factors

Methods of conducting a chronic sediment toxicity test with the estuarine amphipod Corophium volutator are described. They consist of a 49-day exposure, after which mortality, growth and reproduction are determined. Pilot experiments were used to optimize test design parameters such as temperature, duration, feeding and refreshing regimes, and effects of indigenous organisms. By way of further validation, the present study focused on the effects of four different parameters: oxygen saturation, salinity, ammonium and nitrite. These confounding factors might play an important role especially if the test is used for risk assessment of field-contaminated sediments. It is concluded that the present experimental design is well suited for chronic sediment exposures with C. volutator. The test can be performed at a broad range of salinity values, provided that controls are performed at the same salinity. Results further demonstrate that with the endpoints growth and reproduction this chronic test procedure is a factor 7-18 more sensitive to ammonium and nitrate than the standardized acute bioassay (endpoint mortality)

(13)C-Labeled Gluconate Tracing as a Direct and Accurate Method for Determining the Pentose Phosphate Pathway Split Ratio in Penicillium chrysogenum

In this study we developed a new method for accurately determining the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) split ratio, an important metabolic parameter in the primary metabolism of a cell. This method is based on simultaneous feeding of unlabeled glucose and trace amounts of [U-(13)C]gluconate, followed by measurement of the mass isotopomers of the intracellular metabolites surrounding the 6-phosphogluconate node. The gluconate tracer method was used with a penicillin G-producing chemostat culture of the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. For comparison, a (13)C-labeling-based metabolic flux analysis (MFA) was performed for glycolysis and the PPP of P. chrysogenum. For the first time mass isotopomer measurements of (13)C-labeled primary metabolites are reported for P. chrysogenum and used for a (13)C-based MFA. Estimation of the PPP split ratio of P. chrysogenum at a growth rate of 0.02 h(−1) yielded comparable values for the gluconate tracer method and the (13)C-based MFA method, 51.8% and 51.1%, respectively. A sensitivity analysis of the estimated PPP split ratios showed that the 95% confidence interval was almost threefold smaller for the gluconate tracer method than for the (13)C-based MFA method (40.0 to 63.5% and 46.0 to 56.5%, respectively). From these results we concluded that the gluconate tracer method permits accurate determination of the PPP split ratio but provides no information about the remaining cellular metabolism, while the (13)C-based MFA method permits estimation of multiple fluxes but provides a less accurate estimate of the PPP split ratio

Health expenditure of employees versus self-employed individuals; a 5 year study

It is unclear to what extent self-employed choose to become self-employed. This study aimed to compare the health care expenditures-as a proxy for health-of self-employed individuals in the year before they started their business, to that of employees. Differences by sex, age, and industry were studied. In total, 5,741,457 individuals aged 25-65 years who were listed in the tax data between 2010 and 2015 with data on their health insurance claims were included. Self-employed and employees were stratified according to sex, age, household position, personal income, region, and industry for each of the years covered. Weighted linear regression was used to compare health care expenditures in the preceding (year x-1) between self-employed and employees (in year x). Compared with employees, expenditures for hospital care, pharmaceutical care and mental health care were lower among self-employed in the year before they started their business. Differences were most pronounced for men, individuals ≥40 years and those working in the industry and energy sector, construction, financial institutions, and government and care. We conclude that healthy individuals are overrepresented among the self-employed, which is more pronounced in certain subgroups. Further qualitative research is needed to investigate the reasons why these subgroups are more likely to choose to become self-employed