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It is hard not to consider sea-level rise as reflective of an imminent crisis. Drawing together insights from Black feminism and Indigenous thought from the Island Pacific, this article counters a discourse of crisis without uncritically accepting the "oceanifying" of the planet. It moves between analyses of poetic, visual, and plant cultivation practices to show that there is a rubric for living and thinking with the ocean that emphasizes how human and nonhuman life can "become-with" each other in response to ecological degradation while still grappling with the lived legacies of colonial pasts. These oceanic coordinations are ways of knowing that destabilize human exceptionalism from the outset while not excluding the human entirely. Rather, these frameworks incorporate human-nonhuman relations to expand our frame of reference, challenging dominant anthropocentric narratives of crisis and helping imagine and live within oceanic futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization is a major cause of habitat and biodiversity loss and human–animal conflict. While urbanization is inevitable, we need to develop a good understanding of the urban ecosystem and the urban-adapted species, in order to ensure sustainable cities for our future. Scavengers play a major role in urban ecosystems, and often, urban adaptation involves a shift towards scavenging behaviour in wild animals. We experimented at different sites in the state of West Bengal, India, to identify the scavenging guild within urban habitats, in response to human-provided food. Our study found a total of 17 different vertebrate species across 15 sites, over 498 sessions of observations. We carried out network analysis to understand the dynamics of the system and found that the free-ranging dog and common myna were key species within the scavenging networks. This study revealed the complexity of scavenging networks within human-dominated habitats. This article is part of the theme issue 'Connected interactions: enriching food web research by spatial and social interactions'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign investments, viewed as a matter of social responsibility, can improve environmental quality in the host country. In addition, although foreign investors promote economic development because they prefer countries where environmental policies are not stringent, they may increase environmental degradation by transferring dirty industries to host countries. However, in EU countries, environmental policies are strictly implemented, and incentives are offered to increase investments in clean sectors. In this context, there is a widespread opinion that greenfield investments will be environmentally friendly thanks to environmental regulations in EU countries. Despite this, no study has been found that analyzes these views empirically. In this study, the effect of greenfield investment and investment freedom on environmental quality in EU countries for the period 2003–2022 is investigated with panel cointegration and long-run estimators within the framework of the EKC hypothesis. According to the results of the study, while greenfield investment increases environmental quality in Italy and Romania, investment freedom increases environmental quality in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Italy and Spain. The EU should set a standard in order to attract environmentally friendly foreign investments, taking into account its strategic location and infrastructure. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The effects of greenfield investment and investment freedom on the ecological footprint are investigated. The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is tested for EU countries. Greenfield investment positively influences environmental quality in Italy and Romania, while investment freedom has a positive impact in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, and Spain. The study suggests that the EU can serve as a model by establishing standards to attract environmentally friendly foreign investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Due to the socioeconomic and environmental damages caused by invasive species, predicting the distribution of invasive plants is fundamental for effectively targeting management efforts. A habitat suitability model (HSM) is a powerful tool to predict potential habitat of invasive species to help guide the early detection of invasive plants. Despite numerous studies of the predictors used in HSMs, there is little consensus about the most appropriate predictors to use in creating ecologically realistic predictions from HSMs. Location: The contiguous United States. Methods: We explore 220 invasive terrestrial plant species' existing HSMs constructed with consistent modelling algorithms, background generation methods, predictor resolution, and geographic extent, and calculate the relative importance of predictors for each species. We sort predictors into eight groups (topography, temperature, disturbance, atmospheric water, landscape water, substrate, biotic interaction, and radiation) and compare the importance of predictor groups by plant lifeforms and phylogenetic relatedness. Results: Human modification and minimum winter temperature were generally the two highest performing individual predictors across the species studied. The highest‐performing predictor groups were disturbance, temperature, and atmospheric water. Across lifeforms, there were minimal differences in the influences of predictor groups, although woody plant models exhibited the largest differences in predictor importance when compared with non‐woody plant models. Additionally, we found no significant relationship between the importance of predictor groups and phylogenetic relatedness. Main Conclusions: This study has implications for informing predictor selection in invasive plant HSMs, leading to more reliable and accurate models of invasive terrestrial plants. Our results emphasize the need to critically select predictors included in HSMs, with special consideration to temperature and disturbance predictors, to accurately predict habitat of invasive plant for detection and response of invasive plant species. With more accurate predictions, managers will be better prepared to address invasive species and reduce their threats to landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people today are growing up in an increasingly urban, technical, virtual and ecologically precarious world, leaving many feel disconnected from nature yet anxious about its degradation at the same time. Two distinct bodies of knowledge – namely youth human-nature relationships and youth eco-anxiety – are concerned with the former and the latter respectively. Through a narrative literature review, we bring these fields together and explore their interaction. We demonstrate that the dominant responses of facilitating nature exposure and encouraging environmental action risk counteracting each other and ultimately fail to address the root cause of children and young people's experiences. We further show that emerging responses in both fields are overcoming these limitations by turning towards a reimagination of humanity's relationship with nature, providing a holistic way forward. We conclude by discussing barriers restricting the expansion of such approaches and opportunities for future research to contribute to dismantling these barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The primary mechanisms contributing to nitrogen (N) addition induced grassland biodiversity loss, namely light competition and soil cation toxicity, are often examined separately in various studies. However, their relative significance in governing biodiversity loss along N addition gradient remains unclear.We conducted a 4‐yr field experiment with five N addition rates (0, 2, 10, 20, and 50 g N m−2 yr−1) and performed a meta‐analysis using global data from 239 observations in N‐fertilized grassland ecosystems.Results from our field experiment and meta‐analysis indicate that both light competition and soil cation (e.g. Mn2+ and Al3+) toxicity contribute to plant diversity loss under N enrichment. The relative importance of these mechanisms varied with N enrichment intensity. Light competition played a more significant role in influencing species richness under low N addition (≤ 10 g m−2 yr−1), while cation toxicity became increasingly dominant in reducing biodiversity under high N addition (>10 g m−2 yr−1). Therefore, a transition from light competition to cation toxicity occurs with increasing N availability.These findings imply that the biodiversity loss along the N gradient is regulated by distinct mechanisms, necessitating the adoption of differential management strategies to mitigate diversity loss under varying intensities of N enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall erosion can cause environmental and economic damage by decreasing the storage capacity of water reservoirs because of the detachment of soil particles. The purpose of this study was to develop a one-dimensional physicomathematical model that can help predict the effects of rainfall erosion on the banks of water reservoirs. The model was developed using the Mein–Larson model to describe water infiltration, the kinematic wave approximation to represent overland flow generation, and the steady state sediment continuity equation to estimate sediment transport. The model was validated using rainfall simulator tests and lateritic soil samples with a bimodal soil–water retention curve. The results showed conformity with the experimental data, identifying a threshold in the models for discharge per unit area and sediment yield rate, as well as a linear increase in the models for total runoff and sediment load per unit area. However, the model failed to capture the peak in sediment yield rate owing to raindrop impact during the initial minutes of rainfall. Parametric analysis highlighted the impact of increasing the calibration constant of splash erosion, erodibility coefficient, and critical shear stress on the slope of the sediment load per unit area model. Despite its limitations, the model demonstrates satisfactory predictive capability for sediment load per unit area under high-intensity rainfalls, achieving an R2 greater than 0.92 in five of the six cases examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation sector is believed to be responsible for considerable environmental damage attributed to emission of a large number and amount of pollutants. Airports are often surrounded by forest fragments and humid areas that attract birds of prey and hence may potentially serve as useful bioindicators. The aim of the present study was to examine genotoxic potential in raptors exposed to airport pollution using the micronucleus (MN) test and morphological changes as evidenced by bilateral symmetry. This investigation was conducted at Salgado Filho International Airport of Porto Alegre – RS as well as in private and zoological breeding grounds. The presence of metals was measured in the blood cells of the collected birds. Seventeen birds (Caracara (Polyborus) plancus) were used in this study 11 from exposed and 6 from non-exposed group. The nuclear alterations clearly indicate that organisms exposed to airport pollution exhibited a significantly higher frequency of genetic damage compared to non-exposed birds. Further, manganese and chromium were detected exclusively in the blood of the exposed group. In contrast, the analysis of bilateral symmetry did not detect any significant morphologic differences between the two groups. Therefore, data indicate that blood genotoxic stress occurs in birds of prey living in civil aviation areas as evidenced by MN frequency increase and presence of manganese and chromium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the temporary shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rapid recovery and resumed growth of the tourism sectors accelerates unsustainable tourism, resulting in local (over-)crowding, environmental damage, increased emissions, and diminished tourism acceptance. Addressing these challenges requires an active visitor management system at points of interest (POI), which requires local and timely POI-specific occupancy predictions to predict and mitigate crowding. Therefore, we present a new approach to measure visitor movement at an open-spaced, and freely accessible POI and evaluate the prediction performance of multiple occupancy and visitor count machine learning prediction models. We analyze multiple case combinations regarding spatial granularity, time granularity, and prediction time horizons. With an analysis of the SHAP values we determine the influence of the most important features on the prediction and extract transferable knowledge for similar regions lacking visitor movement data. The results underline that POI-specific prediction is achievable with a moderate relation for occupancy prediction and a strong relation for visitor count prediction. Across all cases, XGBoost and Random Forest outperform other models, with prediction accuracy increasing as the prediction time horizon shortens. For effective active visitor management, combining multiple models with different spatial aggregations and prediction time horizons provides the best information basis to identify appropriate steering measures. This innovative application of digital technologies facilitates information exchange between destination management organizations and tourists, promoting sustainable destination development and enhancing tourism experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification and expansion are regarded as main drivers of biodiversity loss. This conclusion is mainly based on observed declines of local diversity (α-diversity), while effects on community composition homogenization (decrease of β-diversity) at a larger spatial scale are less well understood. Carabid beetles and spiders represent two widespread guilds and are important predators of pest species. Here we surveyed carabid beetles and spiders in 66 winter wheat fields in four northwestern European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and UK) and analyzed how their community composition was related to geographic distance (separation distance between any pairwise fields) and three environmental variables: crop yield (proxy for land-use intensity), percentage cropland (proxy for landscape complexity) and soil organic carbon content (proxy for local soil conditions). We further analyzed whether the relationship between carabid beetle and spider community composition and geographic distance was influenced by environmental variables. We found that, 55 % and 75 % of all observed carabid and spider individuals, respectively, belonged to species that occurred in all four countries. However, individuals of species that were unique to a particular country only accounted for 3 % of all collected individuals for both taxa. Furthermore, we found a negative relationship between distance and similarity of spider communities but not for carabid beetle communities. None of the environmental variables were related to similarity of carabid beetle and spider communities, nor moderated the effects of distance. Our study indicates that across a great part of the European continent, arthropod communities (especially carabid beetles) in agricultural landscapes are composed of very similar species that are robust to current variations in environment and land-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue Canadienne des Ressources Hydriques is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)

The study aims to investigate the impact of agricultural production on environmental degradation in the case of India, an emerging market economy, based on time series data from 1990 to 2020. Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been used as indicators of degradation. Autoregressive distributive lag bound tests examine the long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables. To investigate the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) between agricultural production and CH4, N2O, and CO2, we used a fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) technique, and the robustness of the results of FMOLS were checked by dynamic ordinary least squares estimators. We also used Granger causality to check for unidirectional and bidirectional causalities. Results indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship in the case of both CH4 and N2O emission, thus confirming the EKC hypothesis. The relationship of CO2 emission with agricultural production does not verify the EKC hypothesis, and we find a U-shaped relation in the long-run. Lastly, policy measures have been suggested to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities that may help attain a more sustainable economy. JEL Classification Q1, Q22, Q23, Q53, C33 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, health-related issues have been attributed to some environmental factors and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These factors have further increased the high mortality rate despite increased spending on health. This study investigates the impact of environmental degradation and renewable energy consumption on the health outcomes of the population in the region. The study used a panel of 45 SSA countries from 2000 to 2019 and employed the generalized method of moments (GMM) and pooled mean group (PMG) regression analysis system. The findings reveal that increased environmental degradation in the form of CO2 emissions exposes people to health hazards, thus reducing their life expectancy. Renewable energy consumption, on the other hand, is a major contributor to the increase in life expectancy. The study recommends adopting the appropriate energy mix to reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important concern is the availability of clean drinking water, which is an essential need for human survival. This issue arises due to the existence of hazardous micropollutants originating from various emission sources. Nanotechnology aids in the mitigation of micropollutants by assimilating and counteracting their effects, hence diminishing their influence on water and other ecosystems. The study investigates the relationship between nanotechnological progress, the adoption of renewable energy, environmental consequences, and economic growth in China, using the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory as a conceptual framework. The study employs panel cointegration tests to analyze structural breaks from 2000 to 2020. Nanotechnology is expected to reduce environmental degradation and the presence of micro-pollutants by increasing the use of renewable energy and promoting energy conservation. Nanotechnology is crucial for mitigating micro-pollutants and advancing sustainable development in this specific context. However, the literature also highlights the harmful consequences of nanoparticle emissions caused by nanotechnology on human and environmental health for a long duration, requiring more examination. This research is the first empirical inquiry into the relationship between improvements in nanotechnology, the use of renewable energy, economic growth, and ecological effect, all within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory. The results confirm the successful incorporation of all components with a focus on long-term outcomes. The findings suggest that the EKC hypothesis is relevant in China. In China, advancements in nanotechnology have a moderating effect on environmental degradation. The use of renewable energy sources in China enhances environmental circumstances. Given the offered empirical evidence, it is advisable for the government to have a leading role in the development of innovative nanotechnologies that have low emissions of nanoparticles. By using this approach, it will be possible to encourage the conservation of energy and the use of renewable sources in a more secure way, hence improving the effectiveness of sustainable development initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

AbstractDirect joining molding of metals and polymers has received increasing attention in the field of lightweight fabrication. The aluminum alloy (Al) surface was modified by secondary anodizing and a special needle-like structure was formed on the Al surface. Then, the glass fiber-filling polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) was directly joined with Al by the hot pressing technique. The relationship between the interfacial structure and mechanical properties of Al/PPS hybrids was systematically investigated and discussed. The results showed that the generation of needle-like structures could improve the surface roughness and wettability, thus effectively improving the mechanical interlocking ability of the interface and forming the Al-O-C chemical bond with PPS. The maximum tensile strength of Al/PPS hybrids was 28.34 MPa, and their impact toughness (ak) reached 9.69 J/cm2. Even though the hybrids were exposed to a salt spray environment or 200 °C, the strength could still reach 25 MPa. This study has prepared a high-performance metal/plastic hybrid by secondary anodizing method, which can be applied in harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities drive ecological transformation, impacting island ecosystems from species diversity to ecological traits, mainly through habitat degradation and invasive species. Using two unique long‐term datasets we aim to evaluate whether species traits (body size, trophic level, dispersal capacity and habitat occupancy) can predict temporal variations in the abundance of endemic, indigenous (endemic and native non‐endemic) and exotic arthropods in the Azores Islands. We found that body size is crucial to predict arthropod abundance trends. Small‐bodied herbivorous arthropods showed a decrease in abundance, while large‐bodied indigenous arthropods increased in abundance, mainly in well‐preserved areas. Also, large‐bodied exotic arthropods increased in abundance across the entire archipelago. Moreover, endemic canopy dwellers increased in abundance, while endemic ground‐dwellers decreased in abundance. Simultaneously, exotic arthropods showed the opposite result, increasing in abundance in the ground while decreasing in abundance in the canopy. Finally, habitat influenced both endemic and exotic spider abundance trends. Endemic spiders that occupy solely natural habitats experienced a decline in abundance, while exotic spiders in the same habitats increased in abundance. Our study underscores the significance of arthropod species traits in predicting abundance changes in island ecosystems over time, as well as the importance of monitoring species communities. Conservation efforts must extend beyond endangered species to protect non‐threatened ones, given the increased extinction risk faced by even common species on islands. Monitoring and restoration programs are essential for preserving island ecosystems and safeguarding endemic arthropod populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the crucial issues confronting China is high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Despite the numerous measures outlined to promote the country's carbon neutrality target, CO2 emissions in the nation continue to increase. This means that more policy options are needed to help improve environmental sustainability (ES) in the nation. Hence, examining the relationship between financial development (FD), foreign direct investment, industrialization, and environmental sustainability in China to provide proper recommendations to drive the carbon neutrality agenda of the nation is deemed fitting. In attaining this goal, time-series data from the period 1990 to 2018 is employed. According to the results, foreign direct investment deteriorates environmental sustainability by promoting more CO2 emissions. This validates the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). In addition, industrialization and financial development are not friendly to the nation's environmental quality. Furthermore, economic growth and urbanization escalate environmental pollution in the nation. In addition, the interactions between financial development and foreign direct investment and between financial development and industrialization deteriorate the environment in China. Moreover, foreign direct investment and financial development have an inverted U-shaped association with environmental degradation, but industrialization and environmental pollution are not nonlinearly related. The study advocated for the implementation of measures that could help advance the carbon-neutrality targets of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective solutions to biodiversity loss are multidimensional, requiring engagement from diverse stakeholders across various sectors and commitment levels. In this context, voluntary actions from community members emerge as a valuable addition to the large‐scale nature conservation activities conducted by states and municipalities. Such actions complement biodiversity protection measures and legal requirements aimed at companies. This article delves into the rescaling of biodiversity offsetting to the community members level and explores it from the perspective of community members. Through workshops organized in four Finnish municipalities, participants were prompted to reflect on biodiversity offsetting in their daily lives. The results show community members' limited resources to conduct pro‐biodiversity actions and highlight their diverse interpretations of the topic. Beyond direct biodiversity‐enhancing action, like maintaining rural biotopes, eradicating alien species, or protecting forests, workshop participants called for indirect actions. These included education, eco‐taxes, and the development of sharing economies. Thus, rather than solely focusing on biodiversity offsetting or the mitigation hierarchy, these suggestions underscore the need for diverse pro‐biodiversity actions at the community member's level. Furthermore, the results highlight the need for support that enables community members and communities' work for biodiversity. Introducing the concept of nature amends addresses this need, enhancing the mitigation hierarchy's capacity to incorporate community members in nature conservation endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways in which ‘forest school’, an educational approach where children engage in creative and play based activities in a ‘natural’ environment, can contribute towards Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) by promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and by helping address biodiversity loss. Drawing on data from an inquiry that explored childhoodnature play in an inner‐city forest school in London, England, this article discusses the ways in which nature relations emerged over weekly visits to an urban park over the course of one school year. We, the adult and young child researchers and more‐than‐human nature, enacted ‘shared play’ as part of a post‐qualitative approach that involved playing together as a form of data creation. Co‐created ‘play tales’ from the inquiry foreground encounters between children, grass, flowers, soil, trees, fruits and insects and illuminate the ways in which nature relations ignited small, yet powerful, acts to protect and restore the flora and fauna in the urban park. This article asserts that post‐anthropocentric, postdevelopmental educational approaches create opportunities for multi‐species relations to slowly emerge and flourish. These stories illuminate the ways these ethico‐political relations and onto‐epistemological transformations can prevent the continuation of terrestrial ecosystem degradation and contribute towards biodiverse futures in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework lays out an ambitious set of goals and targets aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss. The extent of natural ecosystems has been selected as one of a small set of headline indicators against which countries will report progress under this framework. We evaluate the effectiveness with which this indicator is expected to capture the overall scope of the ecosystem‐focused component of Goal A, and interlinkages with the species‐focused component of this same goal, using extensive global data on the integrity, connectivity, and plant species composition of forests. Results generated for all forest‐supporting countries demonstrate that consideration of these additional factors can profoundly alter understanding of the state of forest biodiversity relative to that based on extent alone. Employment of ecosystem extent as a headline indicator must therefore be augmented by appropriate use of component and complementary indicators addressing other key dimensions of ecosystem change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) for the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in the fall of 2024 and is expected to focus on measurement, monitoring, and valuation of biodiversity. There is a need to coalesce around a coherent system of biodiversity measurement that can support valuation. Numerous biodiversity indices exist, but these generally do not support unique and policy-meaningful valuation. Most of the components of a science-based system of measurement exist. Here, we discuss how to think about the criteria for a measurement system and how to organize the existing pieces by framing biodiversity as a specific summary statistic of a subset of natural capital accounts. Successful implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires identifying a process for measuring and valuing changes in biodiversity that build on the recognition that economics and valuation must play a key role in "halting and reversing" biodiversity loss. Here, we discuss considerations for a practical path to valuing changes in biodiversity. Framing changes in the value of biodiversity as a summary of changes in certain natural assets enables leveraging existing approaches and international standards associated with environmental-economic accounting. We discuss why an approach that builds from individual species, evolutionary groups, or functional groups into a practical, hierarchical statistical classification system is better than the development of any one biodiversity index. We merge techniques from ecology and other natural sciences, national and environmental-economic accounting, and economics, which are all on the cusp of making measurement of the change in the value of biodiversity possible. The focus should be on scaling and integrating these approaches. The path forward appears to begin with imperfect but useful measures, grounded in robust concepts, while establishing ambition to further scale-up measurements--just like the past evolution of many other official statistical series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and education are largely believed to be two significant predictors of uplifting environmental quality by providing opportunities to address economic, social, and environmental challenges and creating a more inclusive and sustainable future for all. Thus, this inquiry probes whether ICTs and education mitigate the degradation of the environment measured by CO2 emissions in five selected countries of Asia from 1980 to 2022. Applying the autoregressive distributed lag approach (ARDL), ICTs were found to significantly mitigate environmental degradation in both the short and long term in all sample countries. Education was also found to significantly reduce the degradation of the environment in the short and long run in Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In India, however, the Beta of education is significantly positive (in the long run) and negative (in the short run) in association with environmental degradation. The outcomes propose that key stakeholders should highly concentrate on ICTs and education to decrease the degradation of the environment in the sample countries. Besides, these selected five countries are also required to effectively implement stringent regulations for upholding energy efficiency and decreasing excessive usage and abuse of resources. The inquiry not only contributes to the extant body of knowledge but also provides rich insights about the contribution of ICTs and education in decreasing energy usage and protecting the environment without compromising national economic growth for achieving sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas are typically considered a cornerstone of conservation programs and play a fundamental role in protecting natural areas and biodiversity. Human‐driven land‐use and land‐cover (LULC) changes lead to habitat loss and biodiversity loss inside protected areas, impairing their effectiveness. However, the global dynamics of habitat quality and habitat degradation in protected areas remain unclear. We used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade‐offs (InVEST) model based on global annual remotely sensed data to examine the spatial and temporal trends in habitat quality and degradation in global terrestrial protected areas. Habitat quality represented the ability of habitats to provide suitable conditions for the persistence of individuals and populations, and habitat degradation represented the impacts on habitats from human‐driven LULC changes in the surrounding landscape. Based on a linear mixed‐effects modeling method, we also explored the relationship between habitat degradation trends and protected area characteristics, biophysical factors, and socioeconomic factors. Habitat quality declined by 0.005 (0.6%) and habitat degradation increased by 0.002 (11%) from 1992 to 2020 globally, and similar trends occurred even in remote or restrictively managed protected areas. Habitat degradation was attributed primarily to nonirrigated cropland (62%) and urbanization (27%) in 2020. Increases in elevation, gross domestic production per capita, and human population density and decreases in agricultural suitability were associated with accelerated habitat degradation. Our results suggest that human‐induced LULC changes have expanded from already‐exploited areas into relatively undisturbed areas, and that in wealthy countries in particular, degradation is related to rapid urbanization and increasing demand for agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Strengthening future food security through the application of unsustainable levels of inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizers to crop fields may exacerbate environmental damage. Coordination of N‐use efficiency (NUE) and plant growth is, therefore, crucial for sustainable agriculture. Auxin plays pivotal roles in developmental and signaling responses that affect NUE. Hence, a better understanding of these processes provides great potential to improve crop NUE. This review summarizes the effects of auxin on N‐related and root developmental processes that either directly or indirectly affect NUE in the model plant Arabidopsis and major crop species to highlight the potential of fostering sustainable agricultural development in the future through modulating auxin‐related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upscaling Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can generate ecological and social benefits at a scale that is meaningful to address pressing environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity losses. Lack of resources and risks of implementation gaps may, however, hinder the success of upscaling VSS. This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature regarding options to reduce certification costs to upscale VSS amid the limited financial resources available for certification. The paper presents the result of action research involving 3,507 independent oil palm farmers who are members of six farmer groups in two districts in Central Kalimantan to achieve Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification. The research found that achieving economies of scale by increasing the total number of certified farmers can reduce the certification costs per farmer. By establishing a district-level entity, the costs related to audits, RSPO membership fees, and the establishment of farmer groups, such as developing standard operating procedures (SOPs), can be lowered. Implementation gaps were not found with the increase of farmers joining the project based on the training frequency and the external audit findings reports on farmers' compliance with RSPO principles and criteria. The findings of this study provide a basis for promoting the upscaling of VSS, including through the RSPO jurisdictional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In response to environmental degradation and the associated health challenges, the Chinese government has implemented a comprehensive array of environmental protection measures. Given the health enhancement objective of environmental protection measures and the considerable costs involved in the implementation process, evaluating whether environmental regulation is beneficial to reducing the health costs of the population is of great significance for enhancing environmental governance efficiency and social welfare. The data from the Chinese Family Panel Survey (CFPS) is applied to examine the effect of environmental regulation on the reduction of residents' health costs from a microscopic perspective. Results: The results indicate that for a 1% increase in total investment in environmental governance, residents' health costs will decrease by 0.189%. The examination of the causal pathway suggests that implementing environmental regulation can diminish residents' health costs through improving air quality and residents' health status. Concurrently, there exist significant heterogeneities in the role of environmental regulation in reducing residents' health costs. The effect of environmental regulation is more pronounced for the young, males, and individuals with better self-perceived health. Furthermore, the outcome of environmental regulation exhibits greater efficacy in urban areas compared to rural areas. Lastly, market-incentive environmental regulation in reducing health costs is more effective than command-controlled regulation. Conclusions: Enhancing the intensity of environmental regulation contributes to decreasing residents' health costs. The findings can provide policy reference for implementing environmental governance and achieving tangible enhancements in individuals' life quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) can possibly serve as a pervasive source of essential nutrient zinc in agricultural crops in the future. The major environmental concerns with ZnO NPs might be their toxicity and incorrect dosage, which might lead to crop damage and environmental pollution. Interplay between ZnO NPs and Lactuca sativa (L. sativa) will be of interest, yet little is known about apropos interaction of these two, which will assist in optimizing the dose of ZnO NPs for their commercial use in agriculture. The current study aimed to investigate the growth, anatomical, and antioxidative responses of L. sativa against ZnO NPs and zinc acetate. ZnO NPs were foliar sprayed with concentrations of 0, 25, 50, and 100 ppm. ZnO NPs remarkably promoted L. sativa growth, leaf water content, and biomass accumulation; however, they declined root growth. The foliar spray of ZnO NPs improved the thickness of the stem hypodermis, cortex, pericycle, and phloem, while decreasing the stem diameter, thickness of the epidermis, and number of vascular bundles. ZnO NPs rigorously declined the cell area of xylem but slightly improved it in phloem. Unlike stem cells’ anatomical responses to ZnO NPs, the root cells behaved otherwise. Overall, the antioxidative activity of L. sativa considerably improved at 25 ppm concentration and decreased at 100 ppm. Generally, low and medium concentrations of ZnO NPs promoted plant morphological, anatomical, and antioxidant traits, while higher doses inhibited the same traits. Contrary to this, Zn acetate displayed severe toxic effects on almost all studied anatomical traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of the dismal performance of BRICS nations in terms of governance, this study examines the relationship between governance indicators and carbon emissions. By employing DOLS and FMOLS cointegration techniques from 1996 to 2022, we find that effective governance helps in reducing environmental pollution. Specifically, indicators namely government effectiveness, political stability, the rule of law, voice and accountability, regulatory quality, and control of corruption show a favourable impact in mitigating carbon emissions. Additionally, our findings reveal that both foreign direct investments and trade openness contribute positively in lowering carbon emissions by introducing advanced technologies and sustainable practices. Conversely, rapid industrialization and population growth exacerbate carbon emissions due to increased reliance on fossil fuels and higher energy demand. Our study underscores the need for enhanced governance, green investments, and stringent environmental regulations to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability in BRICS nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there are many global geospatial datasets representing the extent of agriculture, they predominantly represent croplands. Only a couple of global data products represent the full global agricultural footprint, including pastures. Our own research team's most recent complete publicly available agricultural land cover dataset, including both croplands and pastures, represent circa 2000. These data, distributed on a graticule of 5 arcminutes (~10 km2 at the equator), have been integrated into a considerable number and diversity of research studies, modeling, data science and media applications. Further, users of these data have been interested in them for studying a variety of issues such as land use, food security, climate change and biodiversity loss. Here we present an updated dataset on the global distribution of agricultural lands (cropland and pasture) circa 2015 (15 years on since the initial study). Past studies that have constructed such datasets have been one-off exercises that have been infrequently repeated due to the amount of effort required. Therefore, in this work, we developed a transparent and reproducible approach to update our data product while also enabling easier reproduction of future datasets. We distribute our 2015 product at the same resolution and formats as the prior product, and accompany it with a full set of replicable code and data for reconstruction. In this article we explain how the data was constructed, with links to the permanent DOIs where the data can be readily downloaded by the user community (Mehrabi et al. 2024; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11540554). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss. Among vertebrates, amphibians are one of the more sensitive groups to climate change due to their unique ecology, habitat requirements, narrow thermal tolerance and relatively limited dispersal abilities. We projected the influence of climate change on an endemic toad, Malabar Tree Toad (Pedostibes tuberculosus; hereafter MTT) from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India, for two different shared socio-economic pathways (SSP) using multiple modeling approaches for current and future (2061–2080) scenarios. The data used predominantly comes from a citizen science program, 'Mapping Malabar Tree Toad' which is a part of the Frog Watch citizen science program, India Biodiversity Portal. We also evaluated the availability of suitable habitats for the MTT in Protected Areas (PAs) under the current and future scenarios. Our results show that annual precipitation was the most important bioclimatic variable influencing the distribution of MTT. We used MaxEnt (MEM) and Ensemble (ESM) modeling algorithms. The predicted distribution of MTT with selected environmental layers using MEM was 4556.95 km2 while using ESM was 18,563.76 km2. Overlaying PA boundaries on predicted distribution showed 37 PAs with 32.7% (1491.37 km2) and 44 PAs with 21.9% (4066.25 km2) coverage for MEM and ESM respectively. Among eight future climate scenarios, scenarios with high emissions showed a decreased distribution range from 33.5 to 68.7% of predicted distribution in PAs, while scenarios with low emissions showed an increased distribution range from 1.9 to 111.3% in PAs. PAs from the Central Western Ghats lose most suitable areas with a shift of suitable habitats towards the Southern Western Ghats. This suggests that MTT distribution may be restricted in the future and existing PAs may not be sufficient to conserve their habitats. Restricted and discontinuous distribution along with climate change can limit the dispersal and persistence of MTT populations, thus enhanced surveys of MTT habitats within and outside the PAs of the Western Ghats are an important step in safeguarding the persistence of MTT populations. Overall, our results demonstrate the use of citizen science data and its potential in modeling and understanding the geographic distribution and the calling phenology of an elusive, arboreal, and endemic amphibian species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most contentious issues discussed in international forums is environmental deterioration, which is seen as a major global problem. Consequently, while a number of carbon emission (CO2) drivers have been covered in the literature so far, little is known about the moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the link between CO2 emissions and mineral rent (MINR). Therefore, for the BRICS nations, this document serves as a representation of the earlier effort to investigate the moderating effect of EPU on the link between mineral rents and environmental deterioration. The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction effect of MINR and EPU on CO2 for BRICS from 1990 to 2022. For this purpose, we use the panel autoregressive distributed lag model to ascertain the long‐ and short‐term effects of EPU and MINR on CO2. The long‐term findings imply that MINR increases 2. In contrast, the moderation effect of EPU aggravates the impact of MINR on emissions. This study makes policy recommendations for accomplishing sustainable development. The governments of these nations may solve the problem of environmental degradation by assuring political stability, adopting dependable macroeconomic policies, and creating policies that are so adaptable that they can be readily controlled or utilized to handle unforeseen environmental concerns in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise Methods and Results Conclusions Embryo excision is an effective, under‐described means of promoting germination in the sunflower family and may help to ensure the survival of endangered taxa or lineages with limited seed availability.We describe and illustrate a detailed method of embryo excision used successfully to stimulate germination in a diversity of composites and that requires minimal materials and expense, using Layia platyglossa as an example. We show how this procedure greatly increases germination compared to control treatments in Madia elegans, a close relative of Hawaiian silverswords that exhibits physiological dormancy.This technique can be learned quickly and is highly effective. Embryo excision can aid conservation efforts dependent on minimal seed resources by enhancing germination and allowing evaluation of seed quality before or after storage, as well as synchronizing seedling development, thereby allowing for refinement of ex situ seed bank conditions and efficient use of horticultural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactic acid (PLA), a highly promising biodegradable biopolymer, has been extensively studied over the last two decades. The thermoplastic polyester PLA is bio-based, compostable, and eco-friendly. Its monomer, lactic acid, is fermented from renewable plant sources like starch and sugar. Therefore, PLA is regarded as a desirable substitute for conventional petroleum-based polymers. Because of its biocompatible and biodegradable properties, U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has approved PLA as a biomedical material. PLA has excellent mechanical, physical, structural, and thermal properties, making it suitable for various applications. However, PLA has limitations such as low impact toughness, hydrophobicity, and slow degradation rate at ambient temperatures. This can be improved by different modification methods, such as copolymerization, making composites or blends of PLA with other biodegradable polymers, or incorporating additives. This review presents information about the various methods of synthesis of PLA, its properties, and the environmental degradation of PLA. In addition, the different processing techniques of PLA are also reviewed. Lastly, the applications of PLA in sectors such as packaging, biomedical, agricultural, automotive, and textile are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To endow SiC ceramic membranes a catalytic self-cleaning capability, a pore-functionalized SiC ceramic membrane with impregnated a perovskite-type catalyst La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 was fabricated by a urea-assisted one-step combustion method. Diffraction of X-ray (XRD), canning electronic microscopy (SEM) with an energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to investigate the effects of the impregnating of La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 on SiC membrane pore-structure (La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 -CM). The catalytic self-cleaning performance of the as-prepared membranes was assessed through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation under a cross-flow filtration mode. Results indicate that La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 has been successfully impregnated into the macropores of SiC membranes without pore blocking, and 92.4 % of the flux recovery rate (FRR) was achieved when the PMS concentration was 70 mM and catalytic flushing time was 45 min. Therefore, the La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 impregnated SiC membrane exhibited excellent catalytic self-cleaning property, which can effectively avoid the environmental pollution and the deterioration of membrane materials caused by chemical cleaning for membrane fouling. In addition, the radical quenching experiment and electron spin resonance (EPR) tests were conducted in the catalytic self-cleaning process, and the results suggested that the hydroxyl radical (⋅OH) and sulfate radical (SO 4 •‾) are simultaneously captured and ⋅OH is the dominant active species. This study embarks on a novel and environmental friendly membrane cleaning approach for irreversible fouling eliminates in diverse membrane separation applications. • A SiC ceramic membrane with catalytic self-cleaning function was prepared and characterized. • La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 exhibited high-effective PMS activation performance. • FRR of 92.4 % was achieved in the La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 -CM/PMS system. • Oxidant species were captured and identified in the catalytic self-cleaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial structure plays a key role in economic and sustainable development, global competitiveness, and prosperity. Hence, it is crucial to understand the current industrial structure and technological trade in the top‐ten high‐income countries. Therefore, the aspiration of this research is to unpack the stance of upgradation of industrial structure, technological trade, and sustainable development. To this end, the second‐generation estimation approaches were adopted for the Top‐ten high‐per‐capita high‐income countries, namely, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, and the United States from 2001 to 2018. The results drawn from the Driscoll–Kraay standard errors suggest that the current industrial structure contributes to carbon footprint and increases environmental degradation. In the same way, financial development increases environmental degradation and poses a threat to sustainable development. Contrarily, trade is negatively related to carbon footprint and curbing environmental degradation. Globalization and renewable energy mitigate carbon footprint and bring sustainable development. The HDI has a positive but insignificant relationship with carbon footprint. Additionally, the causation illustrates a reciprocal interaction between carbon footprint and trade; however, no causal link was detected between industrialization and carbon footprint. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to formulate effective policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss, driven by human activities, significantly affects the environment, human societies, and economies. Using the extended multi‐regional input–output (EEMRIO) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques, we offer insights into how these methodologies can be used to inform financial decisions related to biodiversity focusing on two key aspects: biodiversity impacts and ecosystem service dependencies. Our method combines spatially explicit characterization factors from LC‐IMPACT with the Global Resource Input‐Output Assesment (GLORIA) database to estimate biodiversity impacts. As a case study we assess the biodiversity impact of the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI)  which consist of about 3000 large‐ and mid‐sized companies, from 23 developed and 24 emerging countries. The results demonstrate that most of the biodiversity impact is caused in the Americas, followed by Asia, despite its low representation in the index's country weight (6%). Europe shows the least impact. These results emphasize the need to account for global supply chain linkages as products sold in one country might have significant biodiversity impacts elsewhere due to sourcing of production inputs. Second, our results identify the main determinants of the index's impact: land use, followed by water stress and climate change. Although most of the impact is localized in few sectors, the distinct characteristics of these sectors require industry‐specific mitigation approaches. Finally, double materiality results show both, the influence companies have on biodiversity and the reciprocal effects. Companies neglecting these impacts risk financial setbacks, making it a crucial concern for investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the convergence of environmental sustainability and its main determinants in selected American countries. In addition, it studies the impact of economic activity, income inequality, trade openness, and innovative activity on the sustainability of these countries. Convergence tests such as unit root and club convergence are applied. Furthermore, cointegration and causality tests are used, and long-term parameters are estimated using methods robust for cross-sectional dependence. The results show evidence of stochastic convergence with the univariate unit root tests in the five indicators (energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, ecological footprint, energy intensity, and load capacity factor) used, while with the panel data unit root tests only in four (carbon dioxide emissions, ecological footprint, energy intensity, and load capacity factor). There is no evidence of convergence towards a single club considering the complete sample, but there is evidence of convergence towards several clubs. The variables are integrated of order one and are cointegrated. Moreover, using robust estimators in the presence of cross-sectional dependence in long-term economic activity, income inequality, trade openness, and innovative activity deteriorate sustainability, while renewable energy improves it in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive black 5 (RBk5) is a refractory azo dye that constitutes a serious threat to the environment and humans. Herein, natural bornite (Nbo) was utilized to activate persulfate (PDS) for the RBk5 removal. The particle size of the Nbo catalyst was optimized and the RBk5 degradation rate constant that responded positively to the particle size of the Nbo catalyst was exhibited. Then, the operational factors affecting RBk5 removal were comprehensively investigated. With the addition of 1.5 g L−1 Nbo and 1.5 mM PDS, 99.05% of the RBk5 (20 mg L−1) was removed in 150 min compared with 0.46% removal with PDS only, which was caused by the additional reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the synergistic action of Fe-Cu bimetallic metal and reductive sulfur species. The Nbo catalyst presented high stability and reusability toward RBk5 removal. Identification of reactive oxygen species revealed that ${\rm SO}_4^{\cdot -}$ SO 4 ⋅ − , ·OH, ${\rm O}_2^{\cdot -}$ O 2 ⋅ − and 1O2 collectively participated in RBk5 removal. Additionally, a possible degradation pathway for RBk5 was proposed, including cleavage of the azo, C–S and S–O bonds, hydroxylation, hydrolyzation, direct oxidation and other pathways. This work developed a highly effective and low-cost natural mineral-based bimetallic sulfide material for PDS activation for the degradation of contaminants and environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

Electrochemical water splitting is a promising technique for the production of high‐purity hydrogen. Substituting the slow anodic oxygen evolution reaction with an oxidation reaction that is thermodynamically more favorable enables the energy‐efficient production of hydrogen. Moreover, this approach facilitates the degradation of environmental pollutants and synthesis of value‐added chemicals through the rational selection of small molecules as substrates. Strategies for small‐molecule selection and electrocatalyst design are critical to electrocatalytic performance, with a focus on achieving a high current density, selectivity, Faradaic efficiency, and operational durability. This perspective discusses the key factors required for further advancement, including technoeconomic analysis, new reactor system design, meeting the requirements of industrial applications, bridging the gap between fundamental research and practical applications, and product detection and separation. This perspective aims to advance the development of hybrid water electrolysis applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]