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For a geography bachelor course about climate change, we replaced the end-of-course exam with one term paper and three term-paper peer reviews. Our objectives were to design a learning environment where students read continuously throughout the semester, develop their writing skills, become familiar with quality criteria for academic texts, and get trained in applying these. To support students in their term-paper writing and term-paper peer reviews, we arranged two annotated-bibliography exercises as optional learning activities. A t-test demonstrated a statistically significant increase in performance for those who participated in these exercises compared to those who did not. A survey confirmed that students still doubt their own and their peer students' capability to provide authoritative reviews, but qualitative interviews supported the findings that a majority of students found the peer-review process valuable for their reading behaviours and the development of their writing skills. The improvements, however, were mostly related to form (such as structure, grammar, and how to set up a proper reference list) and less related to academic content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teaching in Higher Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Conducting a vulnerability and risk assessment (VRA) is a critical step in adaptation planning and implementation. This research paper has assessed how the co-developed approach helped the Government of Nepal and stakeholders in Nepal to agree on and operationalize the vulnerability and risk assessment framework and what works best for the country's context. The methodological framework consists of eight steps including (i) scoping, (ii) reviewing the framework (iii) identifying data sources (iv) exploring data sources, nature, and character (v) data collection, tabulation, filtration, and normalization (vi) weightage and composite value (vii) analysis of the data (viii) identifying climate change impact, vulnerability, and risk. The output of the vulnerability and risk assessment in Nepal presents a compilation of impacts, vulnerabilities, and risks and a description of their context, root causes, and trends. These research-based assessment can be used to draw some possible adaptation options and improved decision-making at the national and sub-national levels. However, there were some challenges faced in analyzing the vulnerability and risks based on the indicators. There was a lack of a multi-year, complete, and uniform database, and difficulties in developing scenarios of hazards due to unclarity on climate change attribution. The lessons from this paper will be important for designing a more practical and country-driven VRA framework and methodology for other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threat of rising sea levels, flooding, freeze, extreme heat and changes in the intensity and frequency of severe weather poses substantial risks to critical airport assets and infrastructure. As the gateways to cities and countries around the world and engines of economic development, airports are the backbone for the movement of people and goods across the globe. This paper presents an actionable approach to building resiliency across the airport environment to climate change threats and geophysical hazards. The four-step methodology focuses on planning, designs and engineering, prioritisation of financial investments and ongoing industry research and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic study of dragonflies and damselflies (odonatology) is well established, but relatively limited attention has been given to odonates in the context of applied ecology and conservation science. We used the Web of Science™ and Odonatological Abstract Service (ISSN 1438-0269) to capture trends in primary literature, characterize study features (habitats, life stages, etc.), identify research themes, and suggest future directions for odonatology in freshwater applied ecology and conservation science. We found no papers in this area prior to 1980, and 411 papers from 1980 through 2013. Nearly 75% of these papers were recent (since 2005) and >40% were very recent (since 2010). We identified several broad and overlapping research themes: 1) model taxa, 2) tools and indicators, 3) odonate-centered work, and 4) methodological issues and improvements (field sampling, data modeling/simulation, conservation/landscape-scale genetics). We found more reliance on field-based observational approaches than experiments and model-driven exercises, although the number of papers using model-driven exercises is rapidly increasing. We found a strong focus on adult stages, odonate assemblages, the Odonata as a whole, and studies of particular species. We identified research priorities in areas such as ecological valuation and management, monitoring and assessment, climate change and landscape planning, concordance with other taxa, effects of urbanization, data modeling/simulation, and rare-species ecology and conservation. To help establish an identity and facilitate communication, we suggest naming this diverse realm "applied odonatology". We think applied odonatology has a good future for a range of topics from conservation genetics and population ecology to assessments of anthropogenic impacts and the conservation of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractConsidering the crucial role of education in offering mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change, there is a clear need for objective tools to assess its impact on the understanding of the issue among secondary school students. This paper describes the methodological design used to build and validate an instrument that explores secondary education students’ climate change knowledge. The design is organized into several steps: literature and document review; item design; Expert judgment; pilot testing; and instrument quality criteria analysis. Thus, a questionnaire comprising 27 4-points Likert scale items was designed. Two rounds of pilot testing and statistical analyses were conducted on the difficulty indexes, factor analysis, Spearman coefficient (flit-half method), and alpha coefficient. The result is an instrument with a degree of feasibility, validity and reliability suitable for comparative research as was found in a Spanish macro-study involving 6398 secondary school students. Preliminary results for the Spanish context are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and solve the problem of climate change, technological progress and the conscious climate policy of many countries has led to the transformation of the world economy and power industry towards low-carbon development, which should be based on renewable energy sources. Oil and gas companies are actively criticized by the international community for contributing significantly to total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions from hydrocarbon fuel combustion being the largest. In order to meet the tightening environmental requirements and regulations, oil and gas companies implement various initiatives for decarbonization and reducing the carbon footprint, including operating with renewables, whose scale, essence and variety depend on the decarbonization model. This paper attempts to identify, first, how renewable sources of energy have been integrated into the oil and gas companies; second, what decarbonization models are possible; and third, what the major determining factors in the formation of their decarbonization model and the scale of renewable usage are. Based on an extensive literature review, survey, websites and corporate sustainability reports of Russian and foreign oil and gas companies, models of decarbonization and the role of renewables in decarbonization are defined and the classification and interpretation of determining factors are offered, justifying their impact on the decarbonization model and the scale of renewable usage. The authors present an assessment of factors and prove the correlation between the factors under consideration and the scale and diversity of renewable usage by oil and gas companies, confirming the adequacy of the offered approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers in this Special Issue are the primary technical underpinnings for the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA), an integrated regional-scale assessment of projected climate change, impacts and options for mitigation and adaptation across the US Northeast. The consequences of future pathways of greenhouse gas emissions on projected climate and impacts across climate-sensitive sectors is assessed by using downscaled projections from three global climate models under both higher (Alfi) and lower (B1) emissions scenarios. The findings illustrate that near-term reductions in emissions can greatly reduce the extent and severity of regionally important impacts on natural and managed ecosystems and public health in the latter half of this century, and increase the feasibility that those impacts which are now unavoidable can be successfully managed through adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation to the impacts of climate change has become a concern in the Nordic countries. Regional responses to climate change impacts are considered to be crucial since they are likely to target specific vulnerabilities with concrete and feasible adaptation measures. The ability of the region to respond to climate change is determined to a large extent by its adaptive capacity that consists of economic, social and political capacity, as well as infrastructure and technological potential. This paper assesses the generic adaptive capacity of Nordic regions by using a set of indicators that reflect five determinants of adaptive capacity. The results of the assessments are presented in maps that illustrate that Nordic regions have high capacity but there are also significant differences between and within countries. Finally, this article also discusses arguments for and against the use of these kinds of assessments in policy-making, and the implications of this for the Nordic countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As Canada's climate warms at double the rate of the rest of the world, Canadian libraries have an important responsibility towards guardianship and activism on the climate crisis. Libraries have long been assessed on their sustainability efforts by inward facing factors, such as building standards and collections. While these remain important, this paper proposes a taxonomy that develops assessment further outward in the direction of community activism and climate justice, and tests that taxonomy against the environmental sustainability indicators published by Ontario public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas are the engines of socioeconomic growth and the homes of billions of people around the globe. In a changing climate, urban areas are inexorably from vulnerability to climate hazards including flooding which deters their social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The main objective of this paper was to explore exposure to elements at risk due to climate change-induced flooding in urban areas. In addition, the paper analyses the coping and adaptation strategies practiced at the community and national levels and recommends appropriate policy measures for enhanced climate resilience in urban areas. The study adopted purposeful sampling in which n = 95 households were selected for the study. Data collection methods involved household interviews with structured questionnaires, focused group discussions, documentary reviews, transect walks, surveys, and observations. Data analysis was done with a statistical package for social sciences. The results revealed that the elements at risk of exposure to climate change-induced flooding in the study area were physical infrastructures, socio-economic activities, livelihoods, and ecosystems. The study recommends enhancing resilience of elements at risk to climate change-induced flooding at national and local levels in urban areas. This is through promoting flood policies, strategies, laws, planning and management measures; enhance non-structural actions including flood forecasting, mapping, emergency evacuation plans and land use zoning and structural measures namely dams, dikes, storm surge barriers for adaptation to urban flooding.

For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. However, due to its wide interpretation range, the understanding of what water security is and what it encompasses can change considerably with different perspectives. By means of a review of both academic and grey literature, this paper presents an in-depth global overview of what water security means and how assessment is being carried out. These aspects are put together in the present work with the aim to facilitate access to this complex concept for academics but also policymakers and other stakeholders involved in water management and governance. Aiming to provide a groundwork for water security understanding, we examine definitions, scales of application, frequent approaches and methodologies used to study water security. We also present indicators and aspects being included in water security frameworks. A summary of important actions towards water security improvement is also presented. As a dynamic and multi-faceted concept, water security requires an equally multi-dimensional and flexible interpretation. Understanding and measuring are key to improving water security levels. Bringing attention to how climate change, environmental needs, demographics, economics and governance are linked to water security can boost impact by prompting science, policies and innovation to come together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a participatory framework for Sustainability Assessment (SA) for urban Integrated Watershed Management (IWM). The framework is applied to the Lihu Lake Basin (Wuxi City), where between 2002 and 2012 an IWM program was implemented, coordinating water environmental management measures with urban planning. The framework for SA introduced in this paper is based on a Multi-Criteria-Decision-Analysis (MCDA) approach integrating criteria of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Local stakeholders were engaged in focus group discussions (FGDs) to validate and weigh criteria and attributes employed in the SA framework. Results of the model application indicate that the programme implemented in the Lihu Basin yielded positive results in enhancing environmental conditions, providing more sustainable avenues of environmental management funding, and fostering economic growth. Despite efforts put forward by local authorities, performance of social indicators was comparatively worse, due to relocation policies, increase in housing prices, and scarce public participation. Results show that decision makers pursued viability, rather than comprehensive sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of vulnerability has emerged in recent decades as a key concept for the research on drought risk as well as in the implementation of mitigation strategies of drought risk. The context within which this concept emerges is one of scientific consensus: the research community agrees that we are witnessing a paradigm shift in water management policies, within a broader framework of changes in the relationship between humans and nature. In this context, vulnerability studies must become an instrument for the assessment and mitigation of risk. Based on the proposals put forward by the IPCC concerning the components of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity), this paper proposes a methodology for the evaluation and analysis of drought vulnerability on the river basin scale. The methodology results in the calculation of a Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI) and the use of different techniques for the interpretation of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts vulnerability and risk are of great importance in the fields of climate change and natural hazards. Confusion is asserted in the terminology used by the respective communities, and a large conceptual literature has not solved this problem. This affects the communication within and between the two communities and the comparison of results from vulnerability and risk assessments. This paper argues that the main difference between methods to assess vulnerability and risk in the climate and the disaster communities is not a conceptual one, but rather different terminologies are used. This point is made using a formal framework of vulnerability to climate change that makes the structure of vulnerability and risk assessments explicit. The framework distinguishes three assessment approaches in the field of vulnerability to climate change, which recur-under different labels-in the risk assessment approaches analysed. While within each community, the same terms are ambiguously used to refer to more than one assessment approach, the confusion is enhanced between the two communities by using different labels for very similar approaches. As an application of the results, similarities and differences between two assessment tools are analysed: the Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assessment model (DIVA) for the case of vulnerability to climate change and the CATastrophe SIMulation model (CatSim) for risk of natural hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change will bring more severe and frequent floods to the Upper Thames River basin. The city of London, with a population of over 350,000, is one of the most vulnerable locations in the basin. This paper presents an original methodology used to prepare the input for flood risk assessment under climate change. The methodology involves integrated climate-hydrologic-hydraulic modeling analyses for floodplain mapping under the changing climatic conditions. Using 43 years of historical data at 15 stations in the Upper Thames River basin and global circulation model predictions, the potential climate change impacts on flood risk in the basin are provided. The results indicate that, under climate change, the extent of flood impacts will be larger (larger areas inundated with larger water depth), and will therefore increase the level of risk to public infrastructure. Results of the study are being used in a quantitative assessment of risk to the municipal infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to climate change, the limited availability of fossil fuels and the risks associated with nuclear energy, Germany's energy transition aims to achieve a sustainable, environmentally sound supply of energy services. A monitoring process was established by the Federal Government to ensure that the targets defined for the transformation will be reached. The indicator system developed for that purpose mainly focuses on 'classical' environmental, economic and technological indicators for which statistical time series data and political targets are available. Important socio-technical aspects of the energy system and its transition, such as affordability, participation and acceptance, remain largely neglected. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on indicators needed for political decision-making to appropriately address sustainability aspects of the energy system and its transition, as well as to contribute to improving existing indicator systems. Therefore, the sustainability rules of the Integrative Concept of Sustainable Development were translated into indicators based on an in-depth literature review. The resulting abundance of possible indicators was then reduced using selection criteria such as comprehensiveness, possibility to determine targets and availability of data. Finally, the indicator system was adjusted based on feedback of experts from different disciplines and stakeholder interviews in the particular investigation area of southwest Thuringia. Besides classical indicators related to techno-economic and environmental aspects, the finally developed indicator system includes new sustainability indicators related to the socio-technical interface of the energy system. Thus, it is considered suitable for assessing the sustainability of the Germany energy system and its transition in an integrative and comprehensive way. The indicator system is helpful to systematically identify strengths and weaknesses of the energy system and interdependencies and conflicts of goals between different sustainability aspects. All in all, we believe that applying the indicator system appropriately can support the development of resilient political strategies for a successful energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 60% and 80% of global energy is consumed in urban areas and given the projected increase in world׳s urban population, this share is expected to further increase in the future. Continuity of energy supply in cities is affected by climate change and a growing array of other threats such as cyber attacks, terrorism, technical deficiencies, and market volatility. Determined efforts, acknowledging the interactions and interlinkages between energy and other sectors, are needed to avoid adverse consequences of disruption in energy supply. Resilience thinking is an approach to management of socio-ecological systems that aims to develop an integrated framework for bringing together the (often) fragmented, diverse research on disaster risk management. The literature on urban resilience is immense and still growing. This paper reviews literature related to energy resilience to develop a conceptual framework for assessing urban energy resilience, identify planning and design criteria that can be used for assessing urban energy resilience, and examine the relationship of these criteria with the underlying components of the conceptual framework. In the conceptual framework, it is proposed that in order to be resilient, urban energy system needs to be capable of “planning and preparing for”, “absorbing”, “recovering from”, and “adapting” to any adverse events that may happen in the future. Integrating these four abilities into the system would enable it to continuously address “availability”, “accessibility”, “affordability”, and “acceptability” as the four sustainability-related dimensions of energy. The paper explains different resilience principles associated with these abilities and sustainability dimensions. Also, different planning and design criteria were extracted from the literature and categorized into five themes: infrastructure; resources; land use, urban geometry and morphology; governance; and socio-demographic aspects and human behavior. Examination of the relationship of these criteria with the underlying components of the conceptual framework highlighted the complexity and multi-faceted nature of energy resilience. Exploration of the relevance of the identified criteria to climate change mitigation and adaptation revealed that most of the identified criteria can provide both mitigation and adaptation benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although climate change risks have been studied for a number of economic sectors, banking has received relatively little attention. The paper proposes a methodology and an associated decision-support tool for quantifying, in monetary terms, the risks for banks from the exposure of their loan recipients and/or applicants to climate change. The framework and tool are applied to a case study based on input from a Greek bank; results indicate that climate change risks for banks are considerable, and thus decision makers need to estimate their magnitude and possibly consider these within the credit management process, and in environmental planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite nearly 20 years of work on understanding the climate information needs of stakeholders and simultaneous development of decision support tools, a relatively low level of awareness of specific climate information products exists among many water managers in the southeastern United States. This paper presents results from an assessment of key water management decisions, awareness of, perception of, use of, and barriers and opportunities for using climate information among water managers in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Through an online survey, we collected data from 141 water managers across the region. Our findings reveal that water managers surveyed, for the most part, are unaware of most sources of seasonal climate forecasts as well as specific sources of long-term climate change information. From our analysis, we found that the use of seasonal climate forecast products remains mostly in the realm of water managers with high levels of expertise and training generally employed at large water management agencies. In addition to limited awareness, some reasons for nonuse are lack of understanding of forecasts and limitations in temporal and spatial scales of available climate information. We conclude with recommendations on how our findings can be used to align goals of climate science research by ensuring that it is relevant to decision-makers' needs and decisions and by identifying opportunities for improvements in forecast dissemination and climate risk management. For example, the need for more interactions among scientists and decision-makers, and the identification of opportunities within the decision-making frameworks where climate information can be input are manifest throughout the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of the DMC satellite data as suitable alternative to Landsat-7 ETM+ satellite data sets in view of the aging conditions, the failure of the Scan Line Corrector (SLC) and resulting scan line anomaly within the Landsat-7 ETM+ data sets. Design/methodology/approach – The DMC and Landsat-7 ETM+ satellite data were compared by obtaining quantitative parameters such as; spatial, geometric, spectral, radiometric properties from coincident date images of the two satellite sensors, while inter-relationship between DMC and Landsat-7 ETM+ satellite data were established by deriving sensor inter-calibration from linear regression equation. Findings – The result shows that the performances of UK-DMC match well with Landsat-7 ETM+ and the accuracy of the UK-DMC with respect to spatial, geometric properties. The frequency of DN distribution in each waveband for the two sensors and a pair-wise relationship between the DN of selected targets was established using linear regression equation with coefficient of determination (R2) values that range from 0.92 to 0.95. These are adequate for data integration of the UK-DMC and Landsat-7 ETM+ sensors, and indicate that UK-DMC can be used as a replacement for Landsat-7 ETM+ and can provide a suitable platform for multi-temporal and multi-sensor approach that is required for the study of environmental dynamics. Research limitations/implications – The challenge in this study is that information on DMC sensor calibration and radiometric parameters such as time-dependent change in the data derived from pre-flight measurements, in-flight calibration and ground-based calibration data were not available at the time of this study. Therefore, absolute radiometric correction of converting the digital number (DN) recorded by the sensor to spectral radiance detected by the sensor using sensor-specific calibration parameters was not possible. The suitable alternative is to use spectrally invariant targets for relative radiometric correction of DN to DN pair wise pixel technique and selecting similar targets on the images. Practical implications – This study shows that a suitable platform for multi-temporal and multi-sensor approach that is required for the study of environmental dynamics can be provided. Social implications – The issue of climate change was mentioned in this manuscript because satellite sensors that were used previously for climate change (multi-disciplinary approach) does not have the temporal dynamics of daily coverage (temporal) and spatial resolution like the DMC satellites while there is usually a trade-off between temporal and spatial resolution. The DMC satellites have got the exceptional capability of daily temporal and medium spatial resolution that can be suitable for monitoring climate change. That is why in this study investigation was carried out on the unique properties of the DMC satellites by making comparative assessments Landsat-7 ETM+. Originality/value – The originality/value of this paper lies on the fact that; for the first time the DMC satellite data are being compared with Landsat-7 ETM+ because of similar characteristics in terms of wavebands (near infrared, red and green) and spatial resolution (Landsat-7 ETM+: 30 m, DMC: 32 m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prepare agricultural systems for climate change, scientists need to be able to effectively engage with land managers and policy makers to explore potential solutions. An ongoing challenge in engagement is to distil the complexity of climate-change-management-change interactions in agro-ecological systems to identify responses that are most important for adaptation planning. This paper presents an approach for selecting climate change scenarios to provide a focal point for engaging with stakeholders to evaluate adaptation options and communicate assessment outcomes. We illustrate how scenarios selected with the approach can be used by evaluating climate change impacts and an adaptation option for livestock industries in the north-east Australian rangelands. Climate change impacts on forage production, animal liveweight gain and soil loss are found to track projected climate changes in four pasture communities; increasing by up to 50% and declining by up to 110% in response to doubled atmospheric carbon-dioxide (CO), 4°C warming, and +20% to −40% changes in mean annual rainfall. The effectiveness of reducing grazing pressure as an adaptation option shows a similar response; resulting in higher forage production (up to 40%), animal liveweight gains (up to 59%) and gross margins (up to 40%), and reduced soil erosion (down by 91%) per hectare relative to the baseline management. The results show that a few key scenarios may be selected to represent the range of global climate model (GCM) projections for use in assessing and communicating impacts and adaptation; simplifying the assessments and allowing limits to the effectiveness of adaptation options to be explored. The approach provides a framework for capturing and communicating trends in climate change impacts and the utility of options, which are required for successful engagement of stakeholders in finding viable adaption responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of VertigO is the property of La Revue Electronique en Sciences de l'Environnement VertigO and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Climate change has the potential to cause a variety of effects on water resources. It is necessary to assess the potential effects of climate change on hydrologic systems to provide the information needed to develop rational management strategies to cope with such change. This paper reports on a case study of the Waimea Plains catchment located in the Tasman region, South Island, New Zealand. Two methods were used to assess the effects of climate change: (1) trend analysis of historic climate and hydrologic data from routine monitoring systems using the Mann-Kendall method; and (2) modelling of projected effects as a result of standard greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Trend analysis results were mixed. Statistically significant trends were noted for some climate and hydrologic variables but not others. Modelling started with regionally downscaled climate projections based on the IPCC A1B and A2 emissions scenarios. Modelling projections focused on downstream Waimea River flow and groundwater levels for the critical dry period of a record drought year. Both mechanistic computer modelling (MODFLOW) and artificial intelligence modelling were used. Key inputs for this model, such as rainfall recharge, were obtained from artificial intelligence modelling. Artificial intelligence modelling was also applied directly to project stream flow and groundwater levels. Modelling results were similar for both mechanistic and artificial intelligence models. Water usage increased but the decrease in rainfall recharge of groundwater was largely made up by increased stream recharge. The net result was substantial impact on stream flow but only minor effects on groundwater levels. Recommendations from this study include improved routine monitoring of hydrologic variables and expanded modelling efforts in other catchments under a wide variety of hydrologic and climate change conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Algeria as the Mediterranean countries is facing various challenges. Among them, the increasing of the population and their activities in the coastal zone, which impacts heavily the coastal and marine environment. Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) has been seen as an appropriate approach to tackle this situation. Algeria has set up numerous initiatives to strengthen its coastal governance, such as the Coastal Area Management Plan (CAMP) in the Algiers Coastal zone (ACZ) situated in the central part of Algeria. Also, various legal and institutional reinforcement have been done, like the enactment of a coastal law and the creation of agencies dedicated to coastal management. Even if assessment is seen as primordial in this process, yet few evaluations have been done in Algeria and particularly on the ACZ. This research paper aims is to assess the ICZM process in Algeria. A survey has been done with the various stakeholders involved in Coastal management at the different level of governance; national, regional and local in the ACZ. The objective was to assess the institutional capacities to implement the fundaments of ICZM. 7 parameters have been assessed: Data, interesectoriality, participation, legal framework, Capacity building, awareness and financial resources. A score for each parameter was set by the interviewees. Results shows that even some basements framework are now implemented, Algeria has still a long way to fully implement ICZM approach. Mainly regarding data management and the implementation of coastal monitoring systems, enhancing the coordination and participation of stakeholders, particularly the local communities and NGO's. The legal framework even it strengthening, a lot of efforts are still to be done for it real enforcement. The awareness and capacity building are still insufficient. Finally, sustainable funding for ICZM projects must be ensured. Highlights • The Algerian Coast is facing many environmental challenges. • Integrated Coastal Zone management (ICZM) has been seen as an appropriate approach to tackle these challenges. • ICZM process in the Algiers Coast has been assessed through the institutional capacities to implement ICZM principals. • Even though considerable efforts have been made, Algeria has still a long way to go to implement fully ICZM approach. • Focusing on Institutional capacities permits to highlight the critical aspect of governance to a better implementation ICZM process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and human activities are the two kinds of driving forces in desertification, and assessing their relative role in desertification is of great significance to deeply understanding the driving mechanisms and preventing desertification expansion. This paper has systematically reviewed the progress of the researches on assessing the relative role of climate change and human activities in desertification from qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative aspects respectively. The authors found that there were still some problems in the previous researches. For example, the subjectivity in assessment was obvious, the assessment cannot be easily repeated, and the assessment and its results were always based on administrative regions and less taken and expressed in a continuous space. According to the progress of previous researches and the works conducted by the authors recently, we put forward a quantitative approach by selecting NPP as a common indicator to measure the relative role of climate change and human activities in desertification and dividing the ecological process of 'driving force effect-dynamic response of desertified land' into several scenarios. Meanwhile, validation and scale of assessment should be taken into account when quantitative assessment of the relative role of climate change and human activities in desertification are carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on planning literature which include approaches to empirical work in regional economics, understanding the barriers to social adaptation, and management of large city regions.

This section presents abstracts of papers on city planning published from 2007 to 2008, including "Streets, Sounds and Identity in Inter-war Harlem," by Clare Corbould, "(Re)making the Other, Heterosexualising Everyday Space," by Kath Browne, and "Rankings and Reactivity: How Public Measures Recreate Social Worlds," by Wendy Nelson Espeland and Michael Sauder.

Abstract: Assessments of climate change face the task of making information about uncertainty accessible and useful to decision-makers. The literature in behavior economics provides many examples of how people make decisions under conditions of uncertainty relying on inappropriate heuristics, leading to inconsistent and counterproductive choices. Modern risk communication practices recommend a number of methods to overcome these hurdles, which have been recommended for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports. This paper evaluates the success of the most recent IPCC approach to uncertainty communication, based on a controlled survey of climate change experts. Evaluating the results from the survey, and from a similar survey recently conducted among university students, the paper suggests that the most recent IPCC approach leaves open the possibility for biased and inconsistent responses to the information. The paper concludes by suggesting ways to improve the approach for future IPCC assessment reports. To cite this article: A. Patt, S. Dessai, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Logging activities, climate change and variation are threatening the sustainability of the entire forest ecosystem. Maintenance and periodic assessment of diverse ecosystems are, therefore, crucial for the long-term survival of human beings. However, baseline data on the resulting depletion of forest ecosystems in Nigeria are insufficient or lacking. The aim of the present study was to assess the phytosociological relationship between species composition and the diversity of woody species at Omo Biosphere Reserve. Three lines of transect were cut apart 200 m far from each other. Each transect has 4 plots of 50 x 50m in an alternate manner at 100m intervals. Trees with e" 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) in each plot were measured for height, DBH. The data were analyzed for species composition, richness, diversity, relative density, and relative dominance, Species Importance Value Index (IVI), Species diversity was computed using Shannon's Weaner and Simpson's diversity indices. The Data were analyzed using PAST software Version.3 and Microsoft Excel 2010. The Carl-Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between various phytosociological parameters. A total of 427 trees representing 57 from 22 families were encountered in Omo Biosphere Reserve. The stocking density of dominant tree species/ha ranges from 0.33 trees/ha to 26.33 trees/ha. For Simpson's similarity between the plots, it varied from 0 % to 77 % for all the plots. The species diversity (Simpson's diversity indices) between the plots varies from 64 % to 93 % for all plots. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the promise of an in-situ approach to nature preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the country with the most population in the world, and its climate is extremely diverse due to tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude, ranging from tropical in the far south to subarctic in the far north and alpine in the higher elevations of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Accurate assessment of its modern climate change is conductive to addressing global warming threat. Along with the development of Past Global Changes (PAGES) research, the focus has changed from paleo-climate reconstructions to using paleo-data for assessing the present and predicting the future. Previous studies have been devoted to climate change assessment using modern climate observations and simulations. This paper presents a new assessment approach based on the mid-Holocene, which provides a naturally oriented warming that can be compared to modern human-made global warming. A variety of climatic data, including modern observations, paleo-climate records, CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) and PMIP3 (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project 3) simulations, as well as lake level models, were applied in this synthesis. Numerical climate classification was introduced to evaluate climate change impacts to Chinese climate zones on various time scales. The results show that winter and summer seasons have different response to the naturally oriented mid-Holocene warming but human-made global warming makes the warming trend appear in all seasons. Temperate and continental dry winter climates expand dramatically during the mid-Holocene warm period; however, the future global warming could have few impacts to Chinese climate zones. Furthermore, the East Asian summer monsoon was strengthened obviously by the mid-Holocene warm climate and strong low-latitude insolation. There is no consistent trend both for the winter and summer monsoon on the background of human-made global warming. In this study, a new benchmark was established based on paleo-climate to evaluate the impacts of human-made global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is a paradigm that affects many sectors due to an increasing of stakeholders’ pressure, economic or political reasons. The wine industry is concerned about sustainability in both senses: it confronts threats from sustainability issues, such as climate change, chemical exposure and water and energy availability and its activities have their own impacts. In this sense, understanding sustainability in the wine world requires identifying definitions and principles, but also a review of current practices. This paper sets forth a cross-country analysis about current sustainability assessment frameworks in six countries (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, US, Chile and France) in order to identify their main aspects, drivers and issues. A cross-analysis discusses the presentation, the scale, the scope, the governance, the deepness, the learning potential and the content, in a cross-disciplinary perspective. The common grounds are summarized in terms of main indicators linked with official guidelines. Most of the frameworks are certifications or labels in voluntary programs, using a qualitative approach to check compliance with guidelines, without proposing the improvement of sustainability performance. They are more focused on operation and on mitigating impact. All frameworks have indicators considering the main environmental issues to the wine industry. The frameworks development should move toward a more effective proposition for improving wine sustainability, in order to answer to the operational challenges with a strategic thinking. The analysis performed can contribute to the development of sustainability programs, improve current methods and encourage the diffusion of sustainability practices to the individuals or in terms of national programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past couple of decades, the number of wildfires and area of land burned around the world has been steadily increasing, partly due to climatic changes and global warming. Therefore, there is a high probability that more people will be exposed to and endangered by forest fires. Hence there is an urgent need to design pervasive systems that effectively assist people and guide them to safety during wildfires. This paper examines the potential of mobile applications to be employed to assist people to escape wildfires in real-time, by means of using and evaluating EscapeWildFire, a system for suggesting evacuation paths to mobile phone users in real-time. Two different evaluation strategies are followed: (a) Considering different areas of the island of Cyprus as case studies with simulated wildfires and actual users and (b) Considering a historic wildfire that occurred in Amarillo, Texas in 2011. Results in both cases show that mobile apps can effectively be employed to assist people to escape wildfires, but their use is heavily dependent on a backend system that supports the precise modelling of the wildfire. The time between the wildfire outbreak and the notification reaching the user is crucial for their safety. Various recommendations for improvements have been recorded based on either the feedback of participants in the case studies or the observations from the Texas wildfire. The code of the mobile app, backend and administration interface used are all open-source; fire authorities around the world are encouraged to further investigate this opportunity and adopt this approach. • A method for assisting citizens to escape wildfires in real-time via mobile apps. • System implementation is realistic solution to the problem under study based on various requirements and design aspects. • Evaluation of method and system in various diverse scenarios. • Implemented system operates correctly, it is accepted by the users and easy to use. • Numerous recommendations recorded, an indication of the problem's complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Canada’s climate warms at double the rate of the rest of the world, Canadian libraries have an important responsibility towards guardianship and activism on the climate crisis. Libraries are often appraised on their climate change goals by inward-facing factors, such as building standards and collections. While these remain important, this paper proposes a taxonomy that develops assessment further outward in the direction of community activism and climate justice, and tests that taxonomy against the environmental sustainability indicators published by Ontario public libraries.

As the global climate change and the rapid progress of urbanization, the frequent occurrence of flooding disasters and non-point source pollution seriously threaten the sustainable development of modern cities. To alleviate these problems, China started to pilot construction of the "Sponge City" (SPC). Over a decade, it has attracted public attention, supports, and participations. The paper presents a literature review of sponge city construction (SPCC) process (planning, design and construction) as well as the assessment of SPC, including: operation, maintenance, and effectiveness. Research gap and future works are also proposed. The paper offers some tactics for SPCC, including: 1) in the planning and construction stage of SPC, the goals and systematic plans should be formulated according to local water-environmental conditions. The drainage plan should cover the strategy to dispose runoff volumes at sources and the ultimately goal for flood mitigation. The drainage design involves the combination of various green and grey infrastructures; 2) It is important to identify monitoring methods and hydrological models which can be used to assess the performance of a SPC. With adequate field data, all models and methods should be calibrated for not only runoff quantity and quality control but also the alleviation of urban heat island effects, including the base flows and local groundwater table; 3) Based on the regional field data, it is necessary to standardize regional design parameters, construction material specifics, and maintenance scheme and schedule that would significantly affect the facility's infiltrating and filtering processes, therefore, a regular maintenance program should be initiated to monitor the operations of the as-built facilities according to local climate conditions. The paper evaluated several maintenance methods for ten typical facilities to provide a reference for the operation and maintenance of facilities in SPCC. • The sponge city construction (SPCC) and design methods were introduced in detail. • Scientific and reasonable assessment can better guide the SPCCs. • The sponge city (SPC) facilities can be a better way to control stormwater runoff. • Monitoring and simulation method are equally important for assessing SPC effect. • A maintenance program should be initiated to monitor the operations of SPC facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continued strengthening of global climate change, various extreme climate events have become increasingly prominent. Typhoons are the most disastrous weather event that cause severe losses to the economy, agriculture, transportation, communication, and ecosystem in coastal regions. The super typhoon Sarika that hit Hainan Island on October 18, 2016, lasted for 15 h, and it was the most severe typhoon that hit this island in October since 1970. The coastal land of Hainan Island experienced gales with an average speed of 35 m/s. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the super typhoon Sarika on vegetation by performing normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) difference analysis using MODIS multi-temporal images acquired before and after the typhoon. The assessment of typhoons depends on the land-use types and landscape topography of slope, aspect, and altitude. The results indicated that the super typhoon Sarika seriously hit forestry, agriculture, shrubs, plantations, and orchards on Hainan Island. Overall, 79% of vegetation exhibited a negative change, whereas only 21% of vegetation exhibited a positive change in NDVI after the super typhoon Sarika. Agriculture was most severely impacted by the typhoon, where more than 81% of areas exhibited a decrease in NDVI, followed by plantations and orchards, where 77% of areas exhibited a decrease in NDVI. Additionally, the impact of the typhoon on vegetation was affected by the degree of NDVI decrease with the altitude, slope, and aspect. In conclusion, vegetation damage is associated with land cover types, altitude, aspect, and slope. NDVI decreased more in low-altitude plain and coastal areas than in higher altitude montane forest areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC) was established in 2016 for the purpose of issuing comprehensive assessment reports and special reports applying standards and procedures like the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). All of these assessment reports essentially aim at providing an authoritative synthesis of policy-relevant knowledge, with an emphasis on undisputed statements. In this article, we describe the one-and-a-half-year process of generating the scientific assessment for the Austrian Special Report Health, Demography and Climate Change (ASR18). 60 authors from different disciplinary backgrounds were involved in the writing process, 30 stakeholders were consulted and raised relevant issues in two workshops, and two formal scientific review loops yielded more than 2,000 comments. From the perspective of the process coordinators, we reflect on the efficacy of management tools to achieve a credible, relevant and legitimate outcome. Finally, we outline the extent to which we see our Special Report as an effective contribution to incorporating scientific knowledge into policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walking behavior is positively associated with physiological and mental health as much evidence has already shown. Walking is also becoming a critical issue for health promotion in urban environments as it is the most often used form of active mobility and helps to replace carbon dioxide emissions from motorized forms of transport. It therefore contributes to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and heat islands within cities. However, to promote walking among urban dwellers and to utilize its health-enhancing potential, we need to know more about the way in which physical and social environments shape individual experiences during walking episodes. Such person-place interactions could not adequately be analyzed in former studies owing to methodological constraints. Objective: This study introduces walking-triggered e-diaries as an innovative ambulatory assessment approach for time-varying associations, and investigates its accuracy with 2 different validation strategies. Methods: The walking trigger consists of a combination of movement acceleration via an accelerometer and mobile positioning of the cellphone via GPS and transmission towers to track walking activities. The trigger starts an e-diary whenever a movement acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold and participants' locations are identified as nonstationary outside a predefined place of residence. Every 420 (±300) seconds, repeated e-diaries were prompted as long as the trigger conditions were met. Data were assessed on 10 consecutive days. First, to investigate accuracy, we reconstructed walking routes and calculated a percentage score for all triggered prompts in relation to all walking routes where a prompt could have been triggered. Then, to provide data about its specificity, we used momentary self-reports and objectively assessed movement behavior to describe activity levels before the trigger prompted an e-diary. Results: Data of 67 participants could be analyzed and the walking trigger led to 3283 e-diary prompts, from which 2258 (68.8%) were answered. Regarding accuracy, the walking trigger prompted an e-diary on 732 of 842 (86.9%) reconstructed walking routes. Further, in 838 of 1206 (69.5%) triggered e-diaries, participants self-reported that they were currently walking outdoors. Steps and acceleration movement was higher during these self-reported walking episodes than when participants denied walking outdoors (steps: 106 vs 32; acceleration>0.2 g in 58.4% vs 19% of these situations). Conclusions: Accuracy analysis revealed that walking-triggered e-diaries are suitable to collect different data of individuals' current experiences in situations in which a person walks outdoors. Combined with environmental data, such an approach increases knowledge about person-place interactions and provides the possibility to gain knowledge about user preferences for health-enhancing urban environments. From a methodological viewpoint, however, specificity analysis showed how changes in trigger conditions (eg, increasing the threshold for movement acceleration) lead to changes in accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]