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The livelihoods of the majority of Uganda's population depend on declining environmental resources. The sustainability of the natural environment requires that the people who are interdependent with it, as well as the structures of governance and leadership around them, understand the implications of resource degradation and take deliberate steps towards restoration. The interdependency of human and environment conditions in Uganda requires multidisciplinary attention and this paper reflects a contribution to this end. Socio‐cultural perceptions and relations with a vulnerable environment are put into dialogue with the physical status of environmental resources in Alebtong District, Uganda. Southern epistemological perspectives are considered in relation to Western scientific paradigms. Culturally responsive socio‐cultural research data are related to MODIS NDVI data, using time series analyses and NDVI as a proxy for productivity. The research confirms the declining availability and condition of natural resources and the acknowledgement of local influence on this condition. Despite this, deliberate community and governance efforts towards conservation and restoration varied from non‐existent to insufficient. The causes for this inconsistency revolve around conflicting priorities. This paper demonstrates and discusses the difficult trade‐offs in decision‐making about natural resources that rural communities face, and supports new partnership models as a route to improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study investigates the moderating effect of board gender diversity on the relationship between environmental performance indicators (emissions, innovations, and resources) and financial performance. The study adopts a robust research design, drawing on a diverse sample of 6,104 companies operating in various countries. It employs a sophisticated panel data analysis with a fixed-effect model. The findings indicate a significant effect of environmental performance on financial performance. The results also reveal that higher gender diversity on a board is linked to lower returns on assets (ROA). Moreover, there is a positive interaction between management teams, board gender diversity, and financial performance. This study explores the relationship between corporate governance, environmental performance, and financial outcomes, offering practical insights for businesses, policymakers, and stakeholders. It also provides actionable insights for companies to align sustainability practices with financial success, enhancing their environmental stewardship and potentially improving financial performance. Policymakers can use this knowledge to design regulations and guidelines, while stakeholders, including investors and environmental advocacy groups, can use it to make informed decisions. The study's originality lies in its exploration of the moderating impact of board diversity on the relationship between firms' environmental performance and financial performance, using a large sample from different countries. As there is still a lack of consensus on the effect of environmental performance on financial performance, this study contributes to the understanding of corporate governance, environmental responsibility, and financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of past human activities in determining the extent and composition of current woodland cover has long been recognized. Understanding the environmental dynamics that have characterized vegetation over time, as well as the productive rural practices associated with them, can have significant repercussion on the current and future management of environmental resources. Scholars have identified a significant shift in woodland exploitation regimes in Europe, occurring between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During this period, several states introduce modern forestry which gradually replaced local agro-silvo-pastoral structures. Geohistorical sources can help reconstruct these previous management systems and provide information on past environments. This paper has two main objectives: to increase knowledge of environmental and landscape dynamics in the Alpine context through a specific case study, and demonstrate the potential of geographic information systems (GIS) software in handling geohistorical sources. The case study of Val di Fiemme (Italy) has been chosen for two reasons: it is an area that has high forest presence and peculiar vegetation cover and the local archive contains a great deal of documentation. Specifically, the documents drafted by an Austrian Commission for forest management in the 18th century have been interpreted as an attempt by the Habsburg Crown to restructure the valley towards a timber economy. Documentation was collected, digitized, and mapped to build a historical GIS, showing woodland ownership status, tree species, and practices in the 18th century. As a result, a socio-ecological system was identified that significantly differs from the current one, revealing a greater diversity of species. The establishment of Habsburg norms represents a watershed in forest management with direct environmental effects that can be seen over the subsequent century. In conclusion, the study demonstrates the potential of using GIS-based approaches to analyze textual geohistorical sources and extend the analyzed diachrony to periods prior to the geometrical cartographic ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The study investigates the moderating effect of board gender diversity on the relationship between environmental performance indicators (emissions, innovations, and resources) and financial performance. The study adopts a robust research design, drawing on a diverse sample of 6,104 companies operating in various countries. It employs a sophisticated panel data analysis with a fixed-effect model. The findings indicate a significant effect of environmental performance on financial performance. The results also reveal that higher gender diversity on a board is linked to lower returns on assets (ROA). Moreover, there is a positive interaction between management teams, board gender diversity, and financial performance. This study explores the relationship between corporate governance, environmental performance, and financial outcomes, offering practical insights for businesses, policymakers, and stakeholders. It also provides actionable insights for companies to align sustainability practices with financial success, enhancing their environmental stewardship and potentially improving financial performance. Policymakers can use this knowledge to design regulations and guidelines, while stakeholders, including investors and environmental advocacy groups, can use it to make informed decisions. The study's originality lies in its exploration of the moderating impact of board diversity on the relationship between firms' environmental performance and financial performance, using a large sample from different countries. As there is still a lack of consensus on the effect of environmental performance on financial performance, this study contributes to the understanding of corporate governance, environmental responsibility, and financial performance.

Abstract Vietnam’s economy is rapidly growing, marked by an increasing reliance on fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, resulting in unsustainable consumption patterns. The primary objective is to investigate the implications of renewable and non-renewable resource consumption on the overall resource availability over the long term, as indicated by the ecological footprint. Furthermore, the study incorporates economic growth to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in Vietnam. Methodologically, the study adopts the asymmetric Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, utilizing time-series data ranging from 1986 to 2022. The findings highlight that Vietnam’s economic growth still use more natural resources while compromising the overall ecological reserve. Furthermore, the research findings suggest that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not hold in the context of Vietnam. Specifically, the increasing share of primary energy sourced from fossil fuels is observed to coincide with an increase in demand in ecological footprint. In contrast, an increase in primary energy consumption from renewable sources demonstrates a marked reduction in natural resource demand over the long term. Several strategies are recommended to enhance the resilience of environmental resources, such as adopting new and energy-efficient technologies is necessary within the industrial sector, promote the utilization of renewable energy sources, enhance waste management systems, transition from conventional energy to renewable sources in both production and consumption and the formulation of legislation on renewable energy usage.

Sustainable agricultural practices need to be continuously sought after so that a greater number of producers can adopt them, taking into account, above all, the food security scenario, land use efficiency, and climate change. Intercropping—a cultivation system in which two or more species are grown in close proximity in the same field—is one strategy to increase diversity in the agroecosystem. However, for intercropping systems to be adopted, their productive and economic advantages over monoculture must be clearly demonstrated. Banana (Musa sp.) growers are interested in crop diversification as a potential strategy to increase production yields and, consequently, economic income. The management of banana crops can be facilitated by intercropping, as this system plays an important role in increasing biodiversity and reducing the need for weed control in the crop rows, promoting better land use efficiency. However, this system should be evaluated alongside other indicators. Banana intercropping has significant potential and many benefits, but success depends on the interaction between the component species, appropriate management practices, and favorable environmental conditions. This review aims to provide an overview of recent studies on banana intercropping systems, focusing on the contextualization of land use, monoculture and intercropping, and evaluating intercropping indicators, as well as the benefits, risks, and disadvantages discussed in the literature, and the main outcomes of banana-based intercropping systems. The main findings relate to the possibility of using intercrops with aromatic species and the preliminary reports on the contributions of intercrops to the suppression of Fusarium wilt disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam's economy is rapidly growing, marked by an increasing reliance on fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, resulting in unsustainable consumption patterns. The primary objective is to investigate the implications of renewable and non-renewable resource consumption on the overall resource availability over the long term, as indicated by the ecological footprint. Furthermore, the study incorporates economic growth to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in Vietnam. Methodologically, the study adopts the asymmetric Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, utilizing time-series data ranging from 1986 to 2022. The findings highlight that Vietnam's economic growth still use more natural resources while compromising the overall ecological reserve. Furthermore, the research findings suggest that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not hold in the context of Vietnam. Specifically, the increasing share of primary energy sourced from fossil fuels is observed to coincide with an increase in demand in ecological footprint. In contrast, an increase in primary energy consumption from renewable sources demonstrates a marked reduction in natural resource demand over the long term. Several strategies are recommended to enhance the resilience of environmental resources, such as adopting new and energy-efficient technologies is necessary within the industrial sector, promote the utilization of renewable energy sources, enhance waste management systems, transition from conventional energy to renewable sources in both production and consumption and the formulation of legislation on renewable energy usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental resources and ecological systems are significantly affected by the steady rise of the global temperature. However, the degree of temperature change at the regional and local levels is uncertain. The uncertainty arises from various factors, but mostly due to the short length of ground data and dependency of local studies on the large-scale and spatially coarse output of Global Climate Models (GCMs). Therefore, the output of GCM cannot be directly used in impact assessment studies at a regional and local level. In this study, the Statistical Down-Scaling Model (SDSM) is employed to investigate the magnitude of temperature changes (Minimum and Maximum Temperature) for the future period 2026–2100. The SDSM builds relationships between large-scale predictors and local climate variables, allowing for finer-resolution projections at a regional level. The study utilized the Climate Hazard Infra-Red Temperature with Station (CHIRTS-daily) to complete daily missing records in more than 90 ground stations. Additionally, predictors of the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) for the historical period (1961–2010) and the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) for the future period (2026–2100) are employed to calibrate SDSM and to build finer-resolution scenarios under two representative concentration pathways; RCP2.6 and RCP8.5. The methodology additionally involved validating the SDSM performance using observed historical data before applying it to future projections. The findings indicate that both minimum and maximum temperatures (T-min and T-max) will increase, with a more pronounced rise in minimum temperature (T-min). Over the future period (2026–2100), the projected average temperature rise is 1.10 °C (T-max) and 1.43 °C (T-min) under RCP2.6. For RCP8.5, the projected average increases are 1.56 °C and 2.3 °C for T-max and T-min, respectively. Overall, the most significant increase is projected to occur in the 2090s (2076–2100) under RCP8.5, particularly in the lowlands and wadis of Al Mahwit and Raymah governorate. In these areas, the minimum temperature (T-min) exhibited an increased absolute value of up to 3.2 °C. This high rise in temperatures is expected to result in increased evapotranspiration, prolonged droughts, and possibly breakouts of some plant diseases and pests. This would require effective adaptation measures such as harvesting rainwater and growing short-time and heat-resistance crops. Engaging in field visits and social discussions added depth to the study by introducing various traditional methods and indigenous practices. Valuable resources for future efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change are offered by these insights.

With the future of green energy relying on increases in green-energy production scale to support demand, placing importance on location selection for new energy production methods is going to be vital to secure a zero-carbon future. In this paper, a method called H2Locate is introduced to conduct a down selection sequence for identifying hydrogen production plant location within a defined region. Following the method, resource availability, energy availability, and social impact metrics are analyzed to understand which variables are most vital and what data must be obtained to achieve confidence in the selection of an implementation location. An illustrative example using Oklahoma as the region is produced to demonstrate the proposed method. The counties within Oklahoma are analyzed to identify potential subregions for implementing a hydrogen production plant. Excel-based software, The Probability of Hydrogen Implementation (PHI), using publicly available data regarding energy, resources, and social variables is utilized to carry out the proposed method. Considering the illustrative example with a 290 MW alkaline electrolysis facility, we find that Kay County, Johnston County, Caddo County, and the counties directly surrounding them are the most suitable locations in Oklahoma for the implementation given variables related to the desired energy, resource, and social metrics. • The H2Locate down selection method guides hydrogen production plant location selection. • Analyzes 7 hydrogen hub reports to identify key hydrogen industry variables. • Categorizes energy, feedstock, and social factor variables utilized in the H2Locate method. • An illustrative 290 MW alkaline electrolysis example in Oklahoma identified Kay, Johnston, and Caddo counties as prime locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching mathematics in the transition period required familiarity with the four fundamental operations: addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, including fractions. This is necessary for a pupil to comprehend more complex mathematical concepts. The COVID-19 epidemic had a significant impact on the development of these skills. The appropriate use of teaching materials was one of the explanations offered by several studies for why students struggle to understand fractions and fall short of fundamental levels of proficiency in fractions. In order to teach fractions to Grade III students at Ditucalan Elementary School in Iligan City's West II District face-to-face, this study sought to assess the learning benefits of environmental resources. In particular, it aimed to respond to queries regarding substantial differences between the pretest and posttest of the Comparative and Environmental approach groups. A quasi-experimental research design was used for this investigation. This study compared the comparative method and environmental approach using a 40-item teacher-made test as the instrument. The Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) formed the basis for five lessons that were taught to third-graders. The statistical methods utilized to compare the results of the pretest and posttest for both the Comparative and Environmental approaches were frequency count and percentage, Independent T-test, and Paired T-test. The following conclusions were drawn from the data: The pretest mean scores of both groups were comparable and did not significantly differ. However, the posttest results showed that there was a significant difference, thus the null hypothesis was rejected. It was concluded that the use of environmental resources had improved the pupils' academic performance. This proved that teaching Fractions using resources from the environment can be adapted as another teaching strategy. Thus, it is hoped that the action plan on environmental resources be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: A shelter for homeless animals is a highly stressful place for cats. This study aimed to assess whether enriching the living environment of these cats with additional resources, such as scratching posts and hiding places, would reduce long-term stress. One hundred and seventy-nine cats took part in the study. The research material consisted of hair. Cortisol levels were analyzed. The results confirmed that cats from a more enriched environment had almost half the cortisol level in their hair than those with fewer resources. Enriching cats' living environment in shelters is crucial in reducing their stress. Easier access to resources allows cats to display natural behavior. This study aimed to assess whether cats staying in an enriched environment would be less stressed than cats staying in a standard environment. The first group consisted of cats living in an environment with fewer resources (standard environment)—103 cats. The second group consisted of cats living in an enriched environment—76 cats. The research material consisted of hair collected to determine the cortisol level. The results indicate that cats from a more enriched environment have almost half the level of cortisol in hair than cats from an environment with fewer resources (0.059 ng/mg vs. 0.101 ng/mg; p = 0.000001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land cover data documents how much of a region is covered by forests, wetlands, impervious surfaces, agriculture, and other land and water types. Water types include wetlands or open water. Land-use shows how people use the landscape - whether for development, conservation, or mixed uses hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the impact of land-use change from 2000 - 2020 on environmental resources in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A sample frame of two broad epochs (spanning from 2000 - 2020) was used for the study. This was to allow detailed image capturing and interpretation of land-use land cover (LULC) change of the study area. The result of the analysis shows that water bodies occupies 291.31km2 (3.11%) of the total land cover of the area (9372.72km2), riparian vegetation 1245.2km2 (13.29%), mangrove swamp - 2959.86km2 (31.57%), fresh water - 3976.86km2 (42.43%) and built up area 899.95km2 (9.60%). The study recommends for the implementation of existing environmental laws in order to take care of current trend of environmental resources decline, there should be public enlightenment and environmental education in order to alert the general public on the danger of human activities on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable increase of total productivity by improving resources use efficiency in arid agricultural farming areas is crucial, and intercropping may be a good practice to be implemented in these arid regions. For this purpose, a three-year field experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran to assess the agronomic and economic indices of intercropping patterns. The experiment treatments included C1: sole cotton, C2: sole sesame, and intercropping ratios (C3: 20:80, C4: 40:60, C5: 50:50, C6: 60:40, and C7: 80:20 cotton-sesame ratio). The results showed that the leaf chlorophyll content and leaf area index were significantly higher in the intercropped plants compared to the sole cropped plants. The yield components of both crops (such as branches per plant, capsules per plant, seeds per capsule, and 1000-seed weight for sesame, and opened bolls per plant, closed boll per plant, and seed cotton per boll for cotton) significantly improved under intercropping. However, the highest sesame seed yield (2703, 1979, and 1358 kg ha-1, respectively) and seed cotton yield (3749, 2179, and 3426 kg ha-1, respectively) in the three experiment years were observed in the sole cropping treatment. The implementation of intercropping significantly improved the water use efficiency of the cropping system, so that the highest values in the first to third year (0.67, 0.51, and 0.41 kg m-3, respectively) were recorded in the C4, C3, and C7 treatments. The intercropping evaluation indices revealed the advantage of intercropping compared to the sole cropping. The highest value of the land equivalent ration in the first year (1.28) belonged to the C4 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.40 and 1.10, respectively). The calculation of the aggressivity index revealed that in most of the intercropping patterns, especially in the first and second years, cotton showed greater competitive ability than sesame. The highest actual yield loss value in the first year (0.64) belonged to the C3 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.42 and 0.34, respectively). The highest economic advantage in terms of the monetary advantage index in the first year was obtained by the C4 treatment (1140.5), and in the second and third years, was observed in the C7 treatment (940.6 and 265.5, respectively). The intercropping advantage index in the three experiment years was highest (1.41, 3.38, and 0.80, respectively) for the C7 treatment. Eventually, the results of this research show that cotton and sesame are able to adapt well to the intercropping and this cropping system can significantly improve the resources use efficiency (especially water and land) in an arid area enjoying greater economic benefit than sole cropping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable increase of total productivity by improving resources use efficiency in arid agricultural farming areas is crucial, and intercropping may be a good practice to be implemented in these arid regions. For this purpose, a three-year field experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran to assess the agronomic and economic indices of intercropping patterns. The experiment treatments included C1: sole cotton, C2: sole sesame, and intercropping ratios (C3: 20:80, C4: 40:60, C5: 50:50, C6: 60:40, and C7: 80:20 cotton-sesame ratio). The results showed that the leaf chlorophyll content and leaf area index were significantly higher in the intercropped plants compared to the sole cropped plants. The yield components of both crops (such as branches per plant, capsules per plant, seeds per capsule, and 1000-seed weight for sesame, and opened bolls per plant, closed boll per plant, and seed cotton per boll for cotton) significantly improved under intercropping. However, the highest sesame seed yield (2703, 1979, and 1358 kg ha-1, respectively) and seed cotton yield (3749, 2179, and 3426 kg ha-1, respectively) in the three experiment years were observed in the sole cropping treatment. The implementation of intercropping significantly improved the water use efficiency of the cropping system, so that the highest values in the first to third year (0.67, 0.51, and 0.41 kg m-3, respectively) were recorded in the C4, C3, and C7 treatments. The intercropping evaluation indices revealed the advantage of intercropping compared to the sole cropping. The highest value of the land equivalent ration in the first year (1.28) belonged to the C4 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.40 and 1.10, respectively). The calculation of the aggressivity index revealed that in most of the intercropping patterns, especially in the first and second years, cotton showed greater competitive ability than sesame. The highest actual yield loss value in the first year (0.64) belonged to the C3 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.42 and 0.34, respectively). The highest economic advantage in terms of the monetary advantage index in the first year was obtained by the C4 treatment (1140.5), and in the second and third years, was observed in the C7 treatment (940.6 and 265.5, respectively). The intercropping advantage index in the three experiment years was highest (1.41, 3.38, and 0.80, respectively) for the C7 treatment. Eventually, the results of this research show that cotton and sesame are able to adapt well to the intercropping and this cropping system can significantly improve the resources use efficiency (especially water and land) in an arid area enjoying greater economic benefit than sole cropping

Several studies have reported the neurophysiological and behavioural mechanisms that enable fish to experience several types of affective states, such as fear, pain and joy. This is crucial for the welfare feelings‐based approach, as conditions that bring positive or negative valence to fish influence their affective state. A method to understand to what extent fish 'like' or 'dislike' their surrounding features is by evaluating their consistent choices (preferences) and propensity to reach environmental resources or traits (motivation). In this review, we propose how to assess preference and motivation tests in fish and discuss the limitations and potential biases that may affect such tests. Furthermore, we emphasize that understanding the avoidance responses of fish under a welfare context is a complementary method to improve the quality of life of fish in any type of rearing environment. Although there are other reviews about animal preference and motivation, this is the first one exclusively dedicated to the application of fish welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the development of abandoned mining land has become a focal point in landscape planning. However, during the development of abandoned mining land, there often exists a phenomenon of prioritizing economic considerations over ecological concerns, leading to a failure to achieve genuinely sustainable development. An ecological sensitivity assessment, guided by the principles of protection and development, provides an evaluation framework that directs planning strategies for abandoned mining land from the perspective of balanced development and conservation. To facilitate the development and construction of abandoned mining land, this paper utilizes GIS technology, on-site surveys, analytic hierarchy processes, etc. Taking the abandoned mining land in Haining, Zhejiang, China, as the research subject and considering its unique site conditions, ecological sensitivity is divided into topographic conditions, surface water systems, and plant landscapes. Ecological sensitivity factors are selected, and an ecological sensitivity assessment system is constructed from the perspectives of ecological conservation and sustainable development. Using ArcGIS 10.2 and Fragstats 4.2 software, landscape pattern analysis is conducted, exploring the relationship between landscape patterns and ecological sensitivity assessment results from the perspectives of landscape fragmentation, diversity, and aggregation. By comparing the results of single-factor sensitivity analysis and comprehensive sensitivity analysis, as well as landscape pattern indices before and after classifying ecologically sensitive areas, the practicality of the evaluation system is verified, facilitating planning studies and providing design recommendations for abandoned mining land. Landscape pattern indices serve as supplementary explanations for ecological sensitivity. Based on the results of ecological sensitivity assessment and landscape pattern indices, the ecological conservation levels in the research area are classified into five categories: the Level I Comprehensive Protection Zone, Level II Moderately Developed Zone, Level III Construction Suitable Zone, Level IV Core Construction Zone, and Level V Core Development Zone. These correspond to ecological protection zones, sightseeing experience zones, historical exhibition zones, core commercial zones, and themed amusement zones, respectively. The I-level sensitive area in the research area has the smallest range, while IV-level and VI-level sensitive areas have larger extents, exhibiting a high degree of overall landscape fragmentation but with diverse and dominant landscape types. Integrating ecological sensitivity assessment results and landscape pattern indices aids in delineating ecological conservation levels and regional functional recreation zones, guiding the rational recreation allocation of resources for abandoned mining land and promoting its development into a scenic area integrating ecology and tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huong, D.T.T.; Lan, T.D., and Le, D.T., 2024. Environmental conflicts with tourist beach uses along the northeastern Vietnam coast. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(1), 104–114. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. NE Vietnamese beaches possess economic and ecological value, particularly in the areas of international importance, such as the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site and the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, and national significance, such as the National Park of Bai Tu Long Bay. Increasing socioeconomic development in this coastal zone has generated pressures on and use conflicts within coastal ecosystems, including coastal beaches. To support integrated coastal management of the area, identification and in-depth analysis of the environmental conflicts of nine typical tourist beaches were conducted. The conflicts were defined by naming beach users and then grouping them, such as the group of economic sectors and the group of environmentalists and nature conservationists. The first group of beach-use conflicts consists of the conflict of tourism and urbanization with sand mining in Cat Ba, Ha Long–Bai Tu Long, and Cam Pha–Mong Cai; the conflict of tourism and urbanization with marine and coastal aquaculture in Cat Ba, Ha Long–Bai Tu Long, and Cam Pha–Mong Cai, and the conflict of sand mining with marine and coastal aquaculture in Cat Ba and Ha Long–Bai Tu Long. The second group of conflicts between socioeconomic development and nature conservation involves the conflicts of all three economic sectors with conservation activities in the Bai Tu Long National Park and the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve and the conflicts of tourism, urbanization, and marine and coastal aquaculture with nature conservation in the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site. Conflict aspects were detailed with the nature of the conflict, parties involved, typological classification, and current trends. Analysis of detailed aspects shows that environmental conflicts are still severe and long-lasting, especially in coastal areas with international and national importance. This requires a resolution of integrated coastal management to be developed as soon as possible for the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Change is an inevitable part of rural livelihoods. While natural disasters can trigger sudden challenges to resilience, long-term shifts in government-related socio-ecological transformation policies can pose even greater challenges to the well-being of rural households and communities. We identified and characterized the socio-ecological transformations generated by the Chinese central government's 'ecological civilization construction' policy, culminating with the creation of Sanjiangyuan National Park, and analyzed the heterogeneity of household responses to these transformations. We take a mixed-method approach that is derived from Ostrom's (2007) socio-ecological systems framework, calibrated to local residents' self-assessments of their household well-being. Our results support three policy-relevant conclusions. First, government efforts to re-settle survivors of the 2010 Yushu earthquake appear to be well appreciated by the affected populations. Second, residents' perceptions of their economic well-being depend upon their ability to augment government payments with income generated from natural products, particularly harvesting of Chongcao (Cordyceps militaris) and cattle grazing. Third, women and older residents tend to be more skeptical of government and demonstrate lower perceptions of their own economic and health status. We conclude that a successful socio-ecological transformation as envisaged by the "ecological civilization" paradigm requires a balance of government regulation, compensation, and sustainable access to environmental resources by the affected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land cover data documents how much of a region is covered by forests, wetlands, impervious surfaces, agriculture, and other land and water types. Water types include wetlands or open water. Land-use shows how people use the landscape – whether for development, conservation, or mixed uses hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the impact of land-use change from 2000 – 2020 on environmental resources in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A sample frame of two broad epochs (spanning from 2000 – 2020) was used for the study. This was to allow detailed image capturing and interpretation of land-use land cover (LULC) change of the study area. The result of the analysis shows that water bodies occupies 291.31km2 (3.11%) of the total land cover of the area (9372.72km2), riparian vegetation 1245.2km2 (13.29%), mangrove swamp – 2959.86km2 (31.57%), fresh water – 3976.86km2 (42.43%) and built up area 899.95km2 (9.60%). The study recommends for the implementation of existing environmental laws in order to take care of current trend of environmental resources decline, there should be public enlightenment and environmental education in order to alert the general public on the danger of human activities on the environment.

Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are the protected areas proposed by the Man and the Biosphere Programme for harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Human activities represented by community livelihoods have always been one of the critical issues in the protection and development of BRs. However, the lack of comprehensive research on the status quo and problems of community livelihoods in BRs has caused difficulties in policy formulation and management. In the form of a literature review, this study attempts to summarize and sort out the overview of community livelihoods in BRs by screening the academic literature with the keywords of BRs and livelihoods and using the 21st Century Sustainable Livelihood Framework as the road map. As a result, community livelihoods in BRs highly depend on environmental resources, increasing vulnerability. Although establishing BRs has brought financial and business opportunities to the community, it also provides environmental resources, public services, and geographical areas in the climate-environmental context needed for livelihood maintenance. However, community livelihoods and climate-environmental context show a contradictory relationship of ‘mismatch between supply and demand’ in environmental resources and public services in BRs. In geographical areas, the conflicts brought by illegal activities, invasive alien species, and wildlife-human conflicts are also gradually increasing. At the same time, unbalanced physical and financial assets and relational power with mixed praise also challenge the sustainable development of community livelihoods in BRs. Therefore, this study believes that through multi-stakeholder joint efforts, BRs Friendly Community Livelihoods other than the initial livelihood with high environmental resource dependence can be sought for communities through livelihood diversification, community participatory management, and community spatial pattern refinement.

Sustainable agricultural practices need to be continuously sought after so that a greater number of producers can adopt them, taking into account, above all, the food security scenario, land use efficiency, and climate change. Intercropping—a cultivation system in which two or more species are grown in close proximity in the same field—is one strategy to increase diversity in the agroecosystem. However, for intercropping systems to be adopted, their productive and economic advantages over monoculture must be clearly demonstrated. Banana (Musa sp.) growers are interested in crop diversification as a potential strategy to increase production yields and, consequently, economic income. The management of banana crops can be facilitated by intercropping, as this system plays an important role in increasing biodiversity and reducing the need for weed control in the crop rows, promoting better land use efficiency. However, this system should be evaluated alongside other indicators. Banana intercropping has significant potential and many benefits, but success depends on the interaction between the component species, appropriate management practices, and favorable environmental conditions. This review aims to provide an overview of recent studies on banana intercropping systems, focusing on the contextualization of land use, monoculture and intercropping, and evaluating intercropping indicators, as well as the benefits, risks, and disadvantages discussed in the literature, and the main outcomes of banana-based intercropping systems. The main findings relate to the possibility of using intercrops with aromatic species and the preliminary reports on the contributions of intercrops to the suppression of Fusarium wilt disease.

The purpose of the article is to present the possibilities of developing rural tourism in Biala County. Biala County is one of the counties in the Lublin Voivodeship where tourism potential may be an important element of its development. It is an area characterised by high environmental and cultural values and a low level of environmental pollution. In order to assess the environmental and cultural potential of the district, a study was conducted using the author’s survey questionnaire. The research was carried out in the second quarter of 2023, among 108 tourists visiting Biala County during the study period or within the last 12 months. The results of the research confirmed the previously stated assumptions that the Biala County area is an important object of interest for tourists. The respondents highly rated the tourist potential of the district and pointed out the significant role of attractive elements of the natural environment. Recent years have also seen an increase in interest in tourism in the area. However, the survey results indicate that steps should be taken to make greater use of the opportunities created by the environment and cultural resources.

Entrepreneurship is a crucial driver of economic growth, especially in rural areas. Understanding the unique components that contribute to the success of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems is essential. This study presents a cutting-edge approach to uncover the essential components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems that support rural entrepreneurship. We employ bibliometric techniques that enable us to leverage the Scopus database's academic paper metadata related to entrepreneurial ecosystems. Through citation analysis, we identify a core network of studies related to entrepreneurial ecosystems. Co-occurrence analysis visualizes the clusters of the most prominent components in both general and rural entrepreneurial ecosystems. We interpret the results based on a literature review. Our study categorizes the essential components into two: actor (academics, business, government, and community) and non-actor (human capital, network, entrepreneurial culture, financial systems, governance systems, infrastructure, environmental resources, and market) components. Environmental resources are critical in distinguishing the conditions of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas. This component represents the uniqueness and local economic potential of smaller areas, whereas in general entrepreneurial ecosystem studies, this component might not be a concern. By uncovering the components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems, our study provides insights that can help policymakers, practitioners, and academics better support rural entrepreneurship and promote economic growth in rural areas.

The approval of the national law on collective property (2017) and the almost simultaneous approval of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Landscape Plan(2018) are introducing novelties in the places that had mostly seen a resurgence of interest on collective property.. The essay takes as an example one of the areas with the highest density of management claims by fractional communities, one of Carnia's traditional alpine areas, the Canal di Gorto. Its environment was marked both by the demographic crisis and the uncertainty about the stability of the communities in relation to the great economic transformations imposed by globalization and industrial delocalisation. Our aim was to describe the innovations introduced in the last five years in order to understand if any change in the evolution of the management of collective assets is looming. The acknowledgement in the landscape plan of so-called civic uses in Friuli Venezia Giulia has proved to be very partial, despite the cooperation of the Coordination of regional collective properties and the new investigations by the regional planning offices engaged in the formation of the urban planning tool. On the other hand, at least three small villages in 2020 claimed the democratic right to be allowed to manage fractional resources on their own in order to guarantee benefits and services to their inhabitants. The process described is placed within a democratic claim of territorial management capable of producing projects even starting from planning solicitations at a regional level.

Enriching cats’ living environment in shelters is crucial in reducing their stress. Easier access to resources allows cats to display natural behavior. This study aimed to assess whether cats staying in an enriched environment would be less stressed than cats staying in a standard environment. The first group consisted of cats living in an environment with fewer resources (standard environment)—103 cats. The second group consisted of cats living in an enriched environment—76 cats. The research material consisted of hair collected to determine the cortisol level. The results indicate that cats from a more enriched environment have almost half the level of cortisol in hair than cats from an environment with fewer resources (0.059 ng/mg vs. 0.101 ng/mg; p = 0.000001).

Strategic decision-making for sequential move games requires rationality and continuity of rationality to guarantee maximum payoffs at all nodes/stages/levels. Rationality and continuity of rationality in a player's behaviour are not often observed and/or maintained thus, leading to less optimal outcomes. More so, the belief in an opponent's rationality, on the other hand, co-determines the level of effort a player employs while making strategic decisions. Given irrationality and discontinuity of rationality in a sequential move game with mover advantages, there are strategic steps (algorithms) to convert and/or maintain the mover advantages of an irrational player. In this paper, the conversion strategy algorithms, as well as the optimal strategy algorithms, are developed using the Beta Limit Sum (BLS) strategy model and the game of strokes. The simulation exercises confirm that the BLS strategy model is an optimal solution for the finite sequential game of strokes. One of the key applications of these strategies is that of resource economics like environmental resources (clean water, air & land). These are public goods, as such, the optimal strategy entails that the community cooperates (as one entity) and takes the same actions or strategy to maintain a healthy and clean state of the communal environmental resources.

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists 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 relevance of the study is due to the identification of unique and universal viability resources of the Moscow and Surgut residents. The purpose of the research is to study the viability resources of Moscow and Surgut citizens. The study hypothesizes that there are general and unique personal and environmental factors for both cities that ensure the viability of their residents. The study was carried out on a sample of respondents aged 18–75 (N = 644) living in the two cities: Moscow (n = 359) and Surgut (n = 285). The applied methods include the “Identification-with-the-City Scale” (M. Lally) used to identify the perception of the advantages of the city, general attachment to it, connection with the city past and orientation to it in the future. Moreover, the authors used the original questionnaires aimed at the identification of the citizens’ responsibility and their willingness to participate in the city life (T. V. Drobysheva); analysis of the emotional characteristics of the city future “Semantic differential” (T. V. Drobysheva, S. V. Tarasov); a set of questions that reveal socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. The research results demonstrate that there are some factors of the urban environment that reduce the citizens’ viability. These factors are common to both cities. In addition, in the Moscow sample, the experience of stress is mostly associated with external factors, while in the Surgut sample it is connected with the quality of life. The study has revealed differences in the socio-psychological resources of the citizens’ vitality: in the level of urban identity, in the type of responsibility (external for the Muscovites and internal for the Surgut residents), in readiness for various types of activity, in the image of the future city, and in the use of environmental resources. The resources of the Muscovites’ viability are based on a high level of their urban identity, on delegating responsibility for the city state to the authorities, and on a positive image of future life in the city. The Surgut residents rely on their self-confidence and feel responsible for the city state. An important viability resource for them is their willingness to take actions in the interest of the city and their tendency for active use of urban recreational resources. It is recommended to develop urban programs to attract interested citizens to planning city innovations in both cities.

Renewables and environmental challenges have become the headlines of academic discussions and interactions between international communities. In recent years, economists have studied the issue of improving the conditions of renewables and environmental resources from various aspects. In this article, the issue of how sports management affects renewables and environmental resources and what the roles of green financing are were considered using the survey research method. The 439 Respondents to questions were invited to this web survey through environmental NGOs in China, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Kazakhstan. The significant results confirmed a unified opinion among the respondents with different work experiences about the belief in the greening of sports management. Developing the use of green financing tools, creating a "green sports management network" discourse, cultivation through various communication media to increase public knowledge of the greening of sports management, and development of green power generation for sports venues such as stadiums, swimming pools are the policies provided by this research. • RelAtionship of sports management, renewable energy, and the environment assessed. • The role of green finance in mitigating the negative impact was quantified. • The three challenges are lack of capital, knowledge, and planning. • Green finance could mitigate the negative impacts on the environment. • The green sport management network is another proposed recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has an enormous effect on human lives and the global environment. This review aimed to assess the global scientific evidence on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on natural resources using international databases and search engines. Thus, the unprecedented anthropause due to COVID-19 has positive and negative effects on natural resources. Main body This review showed that the unprecedented pandemic lockdown events brought a negative impact on the physical environment, including pollution associated with a drastic increase in person protective equipment, deforestation, illegal poaching and logging, overfishing, disruption of the conservation program and projects. It is noted that the spread of pandemic diseases could be aggravated by environmental pollution and a rapid increase in the global population. Despite these negative impacts of COVID-19, the anthropause appear to have also several positive effects on natural resources such as short term reduction of indoor and outdoor environmental pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and CO2), reduction in noise pollutions from ships, boats, vehicles, and planes which have positive effects on aquatic ecosystems, water quality, birds behaviour, wildlife biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration. Conclusion Therefore, governments and scientific communities across the globe have called for a green recovery to COVID-19 and implement multi-actor interventions and environmentally friendly technologies to improve and safeguard sustainable environmental and biodiversity management and halt the next pandemic.

Homestead agroforestry is one of the recognized agroforestry practices in Bangladesh. While the monoculture cropping system is enormously intensified, homestead agroforestry has added dimension to rapid economic growth. But despite having significance, homestead agroforestry is not gaining concern in further development. The study was done to bring this topic into focus by compiling the prospects of homestead agroforestry in Bangladesh by highlighting the significance and necessity. A secondary analysis was done by reviewing the findings to do this research. To collect paper keywords, “Bangladesh homestead agroforestry”, “Homestead agroforestry practices”, “Homestead agroforestry status”, “Homestead biodiversity’', “Homestead and SDGs,” “Dominant species,” and “Home garden agroforestry system” were entered. Following the PRISMA framework, 337 papers were collected, among which 113 met the inclusion or eligibility criteria. The interrelated publications of homestead agroforestry with SDGs were assessed from the 113 shortlisted articles. The interrelated publications assessment on homestead agroforestry in the context of Sustainable Development Goals figured out that major research output was oriented towards no poverty (44%), decent work and economic growth (27%), zero hunger (20%), indicating its link to achieve SDGs from Bangladesh perspectives. The shortlisted articles were reviewed in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), food security, livelihood improvement, environmental resources conservation, and dominant species coverage. Consequently, the dominant species were tabulated along with their respective coverages according to their uses. The study identified that in all localities of Bangladesh, Mango, Areca, Coconut, and Mahogany are the highly preferred dominant species, while Jackfruit, Acacia, and Banana also prevailed. Hence, the study concluded that homestead agroforestry has significant prospects in food security, livelihood improvement, and environmental resources conservation, and its contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goals cannot be ignored. But homestead agroforestry system is exposed to vulnerability due to constraints. The systematic elimination of prevailing constraints can help in successfully executing sustainable development goals, and fruitful consequences can be derived by imposing potential concerns on this sector.

The characteristics of learning environments are relevant for promoting academic engagement and learning achievement. Thus, this study seeks to identify whether perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically, the sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (compatibility, being away, extent, fascination), can promote academic Engagement and self-efficacy using the Job Demands-Resources Model as the underlying conceptual framework. Further, we tested the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between Perceived Restorativeness and academic engagement. Data were collected from a sample of 188 Italian university students. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis indicated that a restorative quality of the learning environment (i.e., compatibility and fascination) was positively correlated with academic engagement, but that there was a non-significant relationship between being Away and academic engagement and between extent and academic engagement. Regression analyses showed significant indirect effects of compatibility and extent through students' self-Efficacy. Further, self-efficacy was a complete mediator between extent and academic engagement. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to play a partially mediating role between compatibility and academic engagement. The results of this study provide important information that students, teachers and designers should pay attention to levels of restorative quality in the environment for improving engagement and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees' job crafting is important because it can result in better person-job fit and motivate better performance, producing favorable outcomes for both employees and organizations. Based on conservation of resources and job crafting theories, we examined effects of environmental resources (job security, autonomy, and feedback) on employees' crafting behaviors through organization-based self-esteem. Data were collected at two time points with a four-week interval. With 425 full-time U.S. employees, path analysis demonstrated that organization-based self-esteem (a personal resource) explained indirect relationships of environmental resources with job crafting behaviors. Furthermore, role ambiguity had a negative influence on the use of resources. It moderated the positive links between environmental resources and organization-based self-esteem, making them weaker, thereby limiting the indirect theoretical effect that resources could have on job crafting. Overall, findings suggest that environmental and personal resources are important antecedents of employees' proactive job crafting at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural, Environmental & Veterinary Sciences is the property of Arab Journal of Sciences & Research Publishing (AJSRP) 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.)

Nowadays, urban framework, stressed by the growing anthropic pressure and its constantly evolving use requests is split by uneven structures, contexts, users and patchy needs, which come out to be inefficient and ineffective in access and management. This fact is directly connected both with morph-functional structure of urban texture and its continuous changing trends. The most important consequences of this situation are some negative effects that produce entropy, mistaken anthropic space uses, ecological networks decrease and most of all a substantial urban life quality reduction connected with mobility problems and non-resilient spaces' use at the different plan scales. These elements make it necessary to restart thinking about environmental resources' sustainable use and management. Universal design comes out to be a useful tool related to urban space planning strategies in terms of resilient choices and actions. Design for all plan approach also represents a good solution for matching people needs to urban environmental quality improvement. This idea is supported by the experience of a certain case study, that considers universal design application positive effects on open public space plan strategy in Oslo, together with an example of an active use of water to plan a sustainable public space in Rotterdam.