“Top-Down-Bottom-Up” Methodology as a Common Approach to Defining Bespoke Sets of Sustainability Assessment Criteria for the Built Environment

YesThe top-down-bottom-up (TDBU) methodology for defining bespoke sets of sustainability criteria for specific civil engineering project types is introduced and discussed. The need to define sustainability criteria for specific civil engineering project types occurs mainly in one or both of the following cases: (1) when a more comprehensive and indicative assessment of the sustainability of the project type in question is required; and/or (2) there is no readily available bespoke sustainability assessment tool, or set of criteria, for assessing the sustainability of the project type. The construction of roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, flood banks, bridges, water supply, and sewage systems and their supporting systems are considered to be unique civil engineering/infrastructure project types. The normative definition of sustainable civil engineering/infrastructure projects and the framework for assessing its sustainability is defined and provided by the authors. An example of the TDBU methodology being applied to define sustainability criteria for transport noise reducing devices is presented and discussed. The end result of applying the methodology is a systematically researched and industry validated set of criteria that denotes assessing the sustainability of the civil engineering/infrastructure project type. The paper concludes that the top-down-bottom-up will support stakeholders and managers involved in assessing sustainability to consider all major research methods to define general and unique sustainability criteria to assess and so maximize sustainability

Global distribution and drivers of language extinction risk

Many of the world's languages face serious risk of extinction. Efforts to prevent this cultural loss are severely constrained by a poor understanding of the geographical patterns and drivers of extinction risk. We quantify the global distribution of language extinction risk—represented by small range and speaker population sizes and rapid declines in the number of speakers—and identify the underlying environmental and socioeconomic drivers. We show that both small range and speaker population sizes are associated with rapid declines in speaker numbers, causing 25% of existing languages to be threatened based on criteria used for species. Language range and population sizes are small in tropical and arctic regions, particularly in areas with high rainfall, high topographic heterogeneity and/or rapidly growing human populations. By contrast, recent speaker declines have mainly occurred at high latitudes and are strongly linked to high economic growth. Threatened languages are numerous in the tropics, the Himalayas and northwestern North America. These results indicate that small-population languages remaining in economically developed regions are seriously threatened by continued speaker declines. However, risks of future language losses are especially high in the tropics and in the Himalayas, as these regions harbour many small-population languages and are undergoing rapid economic growth

Traditional zootherapeutic studies in India: a review

The present study aims to review the zootherapeutic practices of the different ethnic communities of India. This work is also an attempt to present a list of animals' use for medicinal purposes by different communities of India. Data were gathered from 15 published research papers of various authors on zootherapeutic studies in India from 2000 to 2007. Approximately 109 animals and their 270 uses are reported in traditional medicine in different parts of India. Of these, the highest numbers of animal species (42, 38.5%) with 50 (18.5%) uses have been reported for the treatment of Respiratory system related problems. Rheumatic and other pains are treated with 32 species (29.4%) in 34 (12.9%) uses. Gastric problems are reported to be treated with 22 (20.2%) species in 26 (9.9%) uses. The mammals constitute the highest number of animals used for medicinal purposes. 44 (40%) mammals, 24 (22%) invertebrates, 18 (17%) birds, 12 (11%) reptiles, nine (8%) fishes and two (2%) amphibians have been reported for medicinal purposes. Of the total 109 animal species reported, 76(70%) are included in IUCN red data list and 36 (33%) animal species are listed in CITES appendix I, II, and III. This work will be helpful in biodiversity conservation in India and also give a clue to investigate bio-active compound in these animal raw materials

Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Animal-based remedies constitute an integral part of Brazilian Traditional Medicine. Due to its long history, zootherapy has in fact become an integral part of folk medicine both in rural and urban areas of the country. In this paper we summarize current knowledge on zootherapeutic practices in Northeast of Brazil, based on information compiled from ethnobiological scientific literature.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to examine the diversity of animals used in traditional medicine in Northeast of Brazil, all available references or reports of folk remedies based on animals sources were examined. 34 sources were analyzed. Only taxa that could be identified to species level were included in assessment of medicinal animal species. Scientific names provided in publications were updated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The review revealed that at least 250 animal species (178 vertebrates and 72 invertebrates) are used for medicinal purposes in Northeast of Brazil. The inventoried species comprise 10 taxonomic categories and belong to 141 Families. The groups with the greatest number of species were fishes (n = 58), mammals (n = 47) and reptiles (n = 37). The zootherapeutical products are used for the treatment of different illnesses. The most widely treated condition were asthma, rheumatism and sore throat, conditions, which had a wide variety of animals to treat them with. Many animals were used for the treatment of multiple ailments. Beyond the use for treating human diseases, zootherapeutical resources are also used in ethnoveterinary medicine</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The number of medicinal species catalogued was quite expressive and demonstrate the importance of zootherapy as alternative therapeutic in Northeast of Brazil. Although widely diffused throughout Brazil, zootherapeutic practices remain virtually unstudied. There is an urgent need to examine the ecological, cultural, social, and public health implications associated with fauna usage, including a full inventory of the animal species used for medicinal purposes and the socio-cultural context associated with their consumption.</p

Detecting early‐warning signals of concern in plant populations with a Citizen Science network. Are threatened and other priority species for conservation performing worse?

Long-term monitoring of biodiversity is a fundamental part of environmental management, and Citizen Science (CS) approaches are increasing their contribution to such endeavour. CS plant monitoring programmes, however, almost exclusively report on the species presence, which can be used to detect changes in distribution or occupancy areas, but not to assess their local extinction risk. To anticipate the collapse of local populations, we need information on population sizes, trends, temporal fluctuations and threats. This is particularly important in the case of priority species (threatened, endangered and those that need special protection). Here we describe the working protocol of the 'Adopt a plant' programme, a collaborative network that is currently monitoring 332 populations of 204 plant taxa (threatened, of community interest, common, rare and habitat indicators) across a heterogeneous landscape in NE Spain. Coordinated by scientists, participants estimate population sizes, record disturbances and follow scientifically rigorous sampling methods to track plant abundances year after year in fixed representative areas within populations. Two simple indices are estimated from that information: the overall trend (mean population abundance change, as percentage; PAch) and temporal fluctuations (standard deviation of annual changes; PAch(sd)). The potential of this ongoing high-quality dataset is demonstrated through the analysis of 242 populations monitored over 3-10 years. Stability is the dominant trend (mean PAch: +0.14%), with priority species having similar PAch and lower PAch(sd) than non-priority ones. Regardless of the priority status, small populations performed worse than large ones. Only 8% of studied populations faced direct human threats. Synthesis and applications. The 'Adopt a plant' collaborative monitoring programme was launched in NE of Spain to produce standardized indices of abundance change and other early-warning signals of concern or risk of population collapse. Such information is crucial to report the conservation status of threatened plants, and plants of Community interest (Habitats Directive). By analysing hundreds of populations, we found that priority plants experienced few threats and did not perform worse than non-priority ones. This unexpected finding evidences the importance of gathering massive demographic information to refine conservation priorities and to achieve a more comprehensive assessment of flora's vulnerability.Diputacion General de Aragon, Grant/Award Number: RB-0.4075; OAPN, Grant/Award Number: 1656/2015; Diputacion Provincial de Huesca, Grant/Award Number: Decreto 1521; Spanish Research Agency, Grant/Award Number: CGL2017-90040-R; European Commission, Grant/Award Number: LIFE+12 NAT/ES/000180; Delegacion CSIC-Arago

First confirmed record of suni (Neotragus moschatus) and rusty‐spotted genet (Genetta maculata) in Nyika National Park, Malawi

Conservation of National Parks depends on accurate measurements of biodiversity, and therefore keeping an accurate list of species is key to determining biodiversity loss or gain in an ecosystem. This study confirms the presence of two disputed species in NNP, Suni and Rusty-spotted genet. Suni are currently believed to be extant only in the south of Malawi, however, the habitat of NNP is consistent with their current range as they are known to inhabit montane forest up to 2700m (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 2016). To date Suni have not been recorded in Zambia, which borders NNP, therefore further research may potentially confirm their presence there. Rusty-spotted genets are widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa so their occurrence in NNP is not unexpected