Search

This article delves into the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in the engineering disciplines in Canada and Spain and presents the challenges faced by underrepresented individuals and ways to promote an inclusive and diverse environment. Two strategic lines are identified: (a) facilitating university education access to underrepresented and minority groups and (b) guiding such students during university training to set them up for successful future careers. Accordingly, this article shows how the strategies mentioned above are implemented in some selected Canadian and Spanish universities, clearly distinguishing the approach taken in the two countries. In Canada, there is a more decentralized approach to addressing EDI issues, wherein the universities devise their agendas independently. In Spain, on the other hand, there is a stronger and more direct involvement of the government to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide approach to tackling EDI issues in academia. This article helps education policymakers to devise and implement pragmatic strategies for achieving EDI and the relevant UN-defined sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest landscape fragmentation poses a significant challenge to the conservation of species diversity. Evaluating the suitability of forest landscape restoration (FLR) becomes essential as it promotes effective management of forest resources and protects species diversity. This study focused on deploying and testing a suitability evaluation framework system for FLR in the Saihanba area of Hebei, China. The framework system incorporated factors such as land cover type, landscape structure, soil quality, and topography. Using the matter-element model, the study evaluated the restoration suitability and identified priority restoration areas. The results revealed that land cover type and landscape structure were the primary factors influencing FLR in the study area. The suitable area for FLR in the study area was about 519.20 km2, accounting for 55.55% of the total area. The area of moderate, marginal, and unsuitable restoration accounted for 17.30%, 23.96%, and 3.18% of the study area, respectively. The suitable restoration areas predominantly consisted of natural secondary forest characterized by large patch areas, short distances between patches, and complex patch shapes. In the study area, the objective of FLR should be protect large and complex shaped patches of natural secondary forests for better conservation of species diversity. The FLR suitability evaluation conducted in this study provide a valuable guidance for promoting species-diversity conservation and restoration of forest ecosystems at the landscape scale in the study area and other similar regions.

This article delves into the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in the engineering disciplines in Canada and Spain and presents the challenges faced by underrepresented individuals and ways to promote an inclusive and diverse environment. Two strategic lines are identified: (a) facilitating university education access to underrepresented and minority groups and (b) guiding such students during university training to set them up for successful future careers. Accordingly, this article shows how the strategies mentioned above are implemented in some selected Canadian and Spanish universities, clearly distinguishing the approach taken in the two countries. In Canada, there is a more decentralized approach to addressing EDI issues, wherein the universities devise their agendas independently. In Spain, on the other hand, there is a stronger and more direct involvement of the government to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide approach to tackling EDI issues in academia. This article helps education policymakers to devise and implement pragmatic strategies for achieving EDI and the relevant UN-defined sustainable development goals.

During the 20th century, European cities experimented with industrialization processes and the mechanization of agriculture that triggered the rural-urban exodus. A primarily young population left their rural territories of origin to work in cities in the industrial and service sectors. These massive migratory movements catalyzed the depopulation and aging in many rural regions of Europe. Spain, where the great exodus occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, is one of the European countries most affected by depopulation. Significantly, the region of Castilla y León , in the northwest of the country, due to its orographic characteristics and the dispersion of its population in many small municipalities, has been and still is especially vulnerable to the loss of inhabitants in favor of large cities, converting a large part of its territory in an excellent example of demographic desert. The article's objective is twofold: First, to provide a methodology to identify municipalities or geographic areas at risk of digital exclusion and subject to substantial demographic imbalances. Consequently, based on the proposed methodology, to prioritize the areas of Castilla y León where to act to try to reverse the situation. Thus, this study goes beyond previous research. It provides a comprehensive view that integrates demographic and technological aspects. As a result, a specific methodology is proposed, which also connects the above with the European context and policies. Identifying and prioritizing areas for technological improvement in Castilla y León represent a valuable contribution to addressing the challenge of rural depopulation. • Appropriate technological endowment could reverse or stop depopulation. • Technological endowment of rural areas is essential for rural development. • Geostatistical analysis allows for the identification of priority areas for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of wall-to-wall biotic inventories poses a significant challenge for conservation biology. Therefore, a primary goal in conserving the unknown (species and their distribution) is finding biodiversity surrogates. This study uses remote sensing techniques and animal distribution in Spain to propose a new surrogate - habitat heterogeneity diversity (HHD). HHD was defined using measures of NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index) and maximum dispersion approach to identify areas that spam habitat heterogeneity among sites. The efficacy of HHD in selecting sites to represent species was compared to the biotic surrogate rarity-weighted richness (RWR), a single NDVI measure, and a null solution. This study also investigated the spatial patterns of RWR and whether the methodology used to estimate HHD influences its efficiency as a surrogate. RWR patterns generally show high values in the north. While the correlations among RWR values were generally moderate, HHD successfully represented species compared to NDVI and null solutions and, in some cases, RWR. HHD is a robust alternative for complementarity-based solutions for solving problems that require the representation of at least one occurrence per species. Since HHD could be calculated using NDVI variables, the cost of conservation planning could be reduced since remote sensing variables are widely available and accessible most of the time. When validated, HHD could be incorporated into spatial conservation prioritization plans alongside other abiotic-based solutions at the same scale that conservation is practiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are territorial management instruments aimed at conserving ecosystem services, natural resources, protecting habitats, recovering degraded areas and safeguarding associated cultural values. Integrating MPAs into networks has been increasingly recognized as a more effective and successful approach to achieve their goals. In this study, we use social network analysis to assess the interaction networks of environmental, social and management aspects of the MPAs in the Atlantic Forest Central Corridor (Brazil), one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Two hypotheses were tested: (i) geographically close MPAs are more likely to interact in certain aspects, and (ii) networks consist of densely connected subgroups of federal and state MPAs (managed by institutions with a broader geographic focus), which interact more among themselves and occupy central positions in the network, while municipal MPAs (managed by institutions with a local geographic focus) occupy a more peripheral or isolated positions. The results support the first hypothesis, indicating how central MPAs exert influence on geographically close areas, increasing their interaction capacities. The second hypothesis was partially supported, with municipal MPAs isolated in the environmental and management networks, but active in the social network. The environmental network showed the greatest number of interactions and was characterized by the formation of four groupings between MPAs, while the social network presented the greatest number of social actors, reaching the greatest strength of interaction between the MPA-actors and presented six groupings. The management network exhibited the formation of three groupings of MPAs and presented the greatest isolation between actors from different groups. Network analysis highlights the central role that some MPAs play in marine conservation and suggests that interactions between MPA managers form organically, but are influenced by homophily and historical components. • Ecological corridors are strategic for maintaining biodiversity. • Marine protected areas (MPAs) interacted in environmental, social, and management aspects. • Central MPAs exert influence on geographically close areas, increasing their interaction capacities. • MPAs interact with each other regardless of their management category. • Homophily is a key driver of interactions between MPAs in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel typological framework for categorising Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) across multiple governance levels, such as national, regional, and sectoral, responding to the fragmented landscape in current literature. Through a comprehensive review and analysis of 398 CE documents, combined with methodological approaches like natural language processing (NLP), topic modelling, and quantitative content analysis, patterns, prevalence, and priority areas in CERMs are expounded. Results underline the pivotal role of governance in CE transitions and spotlight environmental issues, especially sustainable waste management, as dominant motivations. Notably, there appears to be limited private sector involvement in CERM development. Given the inherent regional and sectoral nuances, the findings critically highlight the need for tailored CERM types to facilitate effective transitions. [Display omitted] • Proposed a typology for Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) from reviewing 398 documents. • Used NLP, topic modelling, and analysis to identify patterns in Circular Economy Roadmaps. • Identified governance's key role in driving transitions in National and Municipal CERMs. • Key areas in CE strategies are sustainable waste, food, construction, and plastics. • CERMs mainly concentrated in Europe & Asia, highlighting early CE policy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]