Closing the gap between sustainability and affordability: communal sanitation in urban slums of India

This research paper is based on assessment of community toilet blocks in urban slums of Lucknow and Kanpur, UP, India. The objective of the research was to assess the current set of practices and usages from perspective of financial sustainability and affordability of services to urban poor. Economic analysis shows that low-income households are currently paying 3 to 6 times the UN standard for accessing affordable sanitation, and 104 times that of an affluent household with a household latrine. Financial and managerial structures vary across facilities, with observed under-budgeting resulting in poor sanitation access and services. The lessons learnt include developing existing community toilets as WASH Resource Centers through diversification service, major role of women in managing these to ensure gender inclusive model and city or sub city -level cluster based management through a federation of Community toilet blocks, ensuring financial and operational sustainability

BIOECONOMIC MODELING TO ASSESS ECONOMIC AND WATER QUALITY IMPACTS OF LAND USE CHANGE

Changes in water quality and agricultural and forest revenues due to land use changes are compared. A biophysical model estimates the effect in nitrogen and phosphorus runoff and sediment deposition. The results are combined with farm enterprise budgets to estimate the economic returns resulting from land use changes.Land Economics/Use,

Association of new-born birth weight with maternal parameters

 Background: Birth weight is the single largest determinant of the neonatal survival and wellbeing. Maternal anaemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and is associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. The effect of haemoglobin levels of the mother on the foetus however remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effect of maternal anaemia on neonatal birth weight. It also evaluates the effect of parity, gestational age and maternal age on the new-born birth weight.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on patients who had delivered in Al Falah hospital, a newly setup medical college in rural Haryana. The population was studied for maternal age, gestational period, and parity and haemoglobin levels. These parameters were correlated with neonatal birth weight. The study was carried out on deliveries which occurred over a period of six months from November 2018 to April 2019.Results: The low birth weight new-borns were 10.5%. Maternal anaemia was present in 79.74 % of women in the study group. Amongst all parameters studied, only higher parity and greater period of gestation had a positive correlation with neonatal birth weight. Haemoglobin levels or maternal age didn’t show a significant impact on the neonatal birth weight. Anaemic mothers didn’t have a higher incidence of low birth weight babies.Conclusion: The most significant contributor to improved neonatal weight is the gestational age of the foetus. All efforts to ensure better neonatal outcome must primarily concentrate on prevention of preterm births. Maternal haemoglobin levels do not directly impact the neonatal birth weight. However, as anaemia is a risk factor for preterm delivery, anaemia indirectly impacts on the neonatal birth weight and outcome

A Direct, Approximate Solution to the Modified Green-Ampt Infiltration Equation

Accurately predicting the rainfall-runoff process is of vital importance for water quality models as well as for correct design of various types of hydraulic structures. This article presents a method of describing the cumulative infiltration process as an explicit function of time using an approximation to the modified Green-Ampt equation given by Mein and Larson (1971). The resulting equation is helpful in predicting cumulative infiltration and therefore infiltration capacity for computer simulation models. The proposed method takes about 50% less time than the usual iterative technique for the same degree of accuracy. The maximum error due to approximation was 1% and generally the error was much less, making this solution acceptable for most practical problems

Environmental sustainability in restaurants. A systematic review and future research agenda on restaurant adoption of green practices

publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and hospitality sector: Charting new frontiers for restaurant businesses

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a key theme of discussion and focus in all debates regarding the need for business enterprises to function in a manner that is responsive and sensitive to the needs of their communities and society. Academic research has also kept pace with the rising industry interest. The literature on CSR has grown appreciably, offering important insights that scholars must collectively evaluate if they are to inform theory and practice. Appreciating the value of such an endeavour, the present study utilised a critical systematic literature review (SLR) to analyse the literature published on the role of CSR in the restaurant sector from 2004 to 2021. The SLR was executed, first, by identifying relevant studies using a clearly defined search protocol. This process resulted in 67 studies. Subsequently, a content analysis we performed on these studies to delineate thematic areas of research. Based on the stakeholder perspective, two main themes and six sub-themes of research related to individual, organisational and societal levels were identified. In addition, the content analysis also identified crucial research gaps, providing the basis for a future research agenda and the development of a research framework for the reference of scholars and practitioners. The findings of the SLR provide valuable insights that can support efforts currently underway to strengthen CSR in the restaurant sector.publishedVersio

Validating a Vegetative Filter Strip Performance Model

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) reduce losses of nutrients, solids, and other materials from land area treated with fertilizers and manures. A number of models are available that simulate nutrient and sediment transport in VFS. While VFS effectiveness is considered to depend on lengths of pollutant source area and VFS areas, few published studies have tried to validate these models using variable pollutant source area and VFS area. The objective of this study was to validate an event-based nutrient transport model (Chaubey et al., 1995) that simulates soluble nutrient transport in VFS. This model links three sub-models: modified Green-Ampt infiltration, non-linear kinematic wave overland flow routing, and a nutrient transport component. The nutrient transport component considers infiltration as the only mechanism of pollutant removal from runoff. Data from a field plot experiment were used to validate the model. The model was executed using an uncalibrated runoff component, a calibrated runoff component, and measured runoff. The concentrations of parameters entering the VFS from three different poultry litter application lengths (6.1, 12.2, and 18.3 m) were not significantly different. However, predicted concentrations at subsequent lengths were different for all the three poultry litter application lengths. This finding was consistent with the observed data. Model execution with the uncalibrated runoff component, calibrated runoff component, and measured runoff underpredicted concentrations and mass transport at various locations along the length of the VFS. Underprediction of concentration was judged to be the reason for underprediction of mass transport. The agreement between the observed and predicted concentrations and mass transport, however, improved when runoff predictions from the calibrated runoff component and measured runoff were used. This suggests that accurate prediction of infiltration and runoff is critical for accurate prediction of concentration mass transport. Furthermore, since concentration was underpredicted even when measured runoff was used, this study suggests that the nutrient transport component might be improved, possibly by including nutrient removal mechanisms other than infiltration

Poultry Litter-Treated Length Effects on Quality of Runoff from Fescue Plots

Using experimental data and/or mathematical simulation models to identify practices that reduce pollution from manure-treated areas is sometimes perceived as limited by the unknown validity of extrapolating plot-scale data to larger areas and by uncertainties in modeling transport of various pollutants. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of length of manure treatment on runoff concentrations of poultry litter constituents and to define the modes of transport (particulate versus soluble) for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C), and solids. Poultry litter was applied to three 1.5- x 18.3-m fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plots with runoff collection gutters installed at 3.0-m intervals along the lengths of the plots. Runoff was generated from simulated rainfall (50 mm/h for 1 h of runoff), and samples were analyzed for total Kjeldahl N (TKN), organic N (Org-N), ammonia N (NH3-N), nitrate N (NO3-N), total P (TP), total organic C (TOC), and total suspended solids (TSS). Soluble fractions of TKN, Org-N, NH3-N, TP, and TOC were also determined. Manure-treated length had no effect on runoff concentration of any parameter, indicating that a manure-treated length of only 3.0 m would have been sufficient to simulate runoff quality associated with longer manure length treatments. Proportions of TKN, Org-N, NH3-N, and TP transported in soluble form were high (≥ 74%), and over half of the TOC in the runoff was in soluble form. These results indicate that for conditions similar to those of this study, extrapolation with respect to runoff concentrations might be possible with little adaptation of the data and might simplify the design of management practices that key on edge-of-field runoff concentrations. The results with regard to modes of transport can help to better model losses of N, P, and COD and suggest that losses of these parameters will be most effectively controlled through practices that focus on reducing soluble losses rather than simply reducing erosion