Geo-Economy of the Future: Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Energy: Volume II

This book presents an international review of the modern geo-economy and a scientific take on the geo-economy of the future. It identifies the challenges of climate change and their impact on the modern geo-economy. Prospects for the geo-economy of the future are outlined based on sustainable agriculture and alternative energy. Policy implications are put forward to develop a geo-economy of the future in response to the challenges of climate change. The book presents management implications for the development of the geo-economy of the future in response to the challenges of climate change at the regional and global scale. It presents the lessons-learned through the COVID-19 pandemic, and applies experiences of countries with different environmental conditions for agriculture and the development of the energy sector. Based on these results, advanced practical recommendations and ready-made frameworks at the national, regional, and enterprise level are provided. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

The challenge of conducting marine scientific research under the COVID-19 pandemic

This opinion paper highlights the unseen impacts that the current COVID-19 outbreak has posted to ocean sciences, particularly in developing countries. Ocean science diplomacy, i.e. the interplay between ocean science and international affairs, present useful tools to leverage from this new normal and address the need to foster balance between regions in terms of scientific capabilities to unveil the ocean as a public good. The UN Decade of Ocean Science offers a timely framework to advance such discussions.

COVID-19 Pandemic, Climate Change, and Conflicts on Agriculture: A Trio of Challenges to Global Food Security

Global food security is a worldwide concern. Food insecurity is a significant threat to poverty and hunger eradication goals. Agriculture is one of the focal points in the global policy agenda. Increases in agricultural productivity through the incorporation of technological advances or expansion of cultivable land areas have been pushed forward. However, production growth has slowed in many parts of the world due to various endemic challenges, such as decreased investment in agricultural research, lack of infrastructure in rural areas, and increasing water scarcity. Climate change adversities in agriculture and food security are increasing. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected global food supply chains. Economic and social instability from the pandemic contribute to long-term disturbances. Additionally, conflicts such as war directly affect agriculture by environmental degradation, violence, and breaches of national and international trade agreements. A combination of food security and climate change challenges along with increased conflicts among nations and post-COVID-19 social and economic issues bring bigger and more serious threats to agriculture. This necessitates the strategic design of policies through multifaceted fields regarding food systems. In this comprehensive review, we explore how these three challenging factors, COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts, are interrelated, and how they affect food security. We discuss the impact of these issues on the agricultural sector, plus possible ways of preventing or overcoming such adverse effects.

The Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Spanish Protected Areas: the Case of Picos de Europa National Park

Protected areas are complex social-ecological systems;thus, they were unavoidably impacted by COVID-19. Spain is one of the most diverse countries in terms of biodiversity in the European Union and the second most visited country in 2019 and third touristic destination worldwide. Understanding the effects of the pandemic in Spanish protected areas is very important to discuss new possibilities on how to drive sustainable development on these conserved spaces and how to manage them in the event of external shocks and uncertain scenarios. Therefore, the aim of this study is to have a better understanding of the effects and opportunities of the pandemic on Spanish protected areas. To address this concern, a qualitative analysis is conducted based on an assessment of secondary literature and relevant interviews. Picos de Europa national park was chosen as case study because of its unique features. This study shows the drawbacks of the pandemic in Picos de Europa in terms of management operations, drastic fluctuation of visitors, loss of tourism revenues, vulnerability of neighboring communities, missed opportunities in conservation and education and pressure on nature. On the other hand, it poses opportunities in terms of technology, innovation, fundings, lessons learned, rise in educational and conservation activities and more awareness on the environment and rural surroundings. This study suggests that is difficult to find a win-win solution that includes the targets of nature conservation, viability of local economies and tourism activities in Picos de Europa. Ideas for management options that focus on dealing with the negative outcomes of the pandemic are suggested. © 2022, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. All rights reserved.

Biodiversity, Urban Quality Life and Air Quality Indices for Hotspot Detection of Transformation Opportunities in Cities: A Case Study in Barcelona

Half of the world's population lives in cities, where usually there are few little green space and there are also high levels of air pollution. Moreover, the traditional urbanization of cities contributes to climate change, promotes the loss of global biodiversity and induces serious health problems for citizens. Both climate change and the loss of biodiversity affect negatively to the ecosystems and therefore human health, as they are responsible for providing clean air, food, fresh water, medicines, renewable resources. . . This deterioration increases significantly the risk of human-borne infectious diseases such as coronavirus or HIV. The ability we have to re-naturalize anthropogenic spaces and learn to generate spaces for coexistence will be key for the future of our society. The research presented in this paper aims to do a step forward to achieve that ability by working in three schools of the city of Barcelona and their surroundings. Among other actions, in this project, a diagnosis of neighborhood has been carried out. The diagnosis includes the identification and quantification of relevant indicators regarding neighborhood's biodiversity and also the quality of daily life and the analysis of pollutants (NO2 and PM10) near the schools during the 2021-2022 school year. All these information has been merged in a single geographic data base and relevant hotspots where to act have been identified. The information has been shared with city council and citizens. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.

New Developments in Climate Change, Air Pollution, Pollen Allergy, and Interaction with SARS-CoV-2

In recent years, the environmental impacts of climate change have become increasingly evident. Extreme meteorological events are influenced by climate change, which also alter the magnitude and pattern of precipitations and winds. Climate change can have a particularly negative impact on respiratory health, which can lead to the emergence of asthma and allergic respiratory illnesses. Pollen is one of the main components of the atmospheric bioaerosol and is able to induce allergic symptoms in certain subjects. Climate change affects the onset, length, and severity of the pollen season, with effects on pollen allergy. Higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) can lead to enhanced photosynthesis and a higher pollen production in plants. Pollen grains can also interact with air pollutants and be affected by thunderstorms and other extreme events, exacerbating the insurgence of respiratory diseases such as allergic rhinitis and asthma. The consequences of climate change might also favor the spreading of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 one.

What is hidden in the luggage? First assessments of illegal seashells gathering in Sardinia (Italy)

Natural souvenirs collection has been identified as a driving force in biodiversity and habitat degradation of tropical marine ecosystems. This work considers this phenomenon in the Mediterranean region taking Sardinia (Italy), one of the most renowned tourism destinations, as a case study. The biological material seized at Cagliari-Elmas Airport (years 2019–2020: 138 kg) was analyzed: 199 taxa were identified, gastropods (112 species, 7866 pieces) and bivalves (63 species, 34,218 pieces) resulted the most represented classes. Twenty-two protected species were found in the tourists' luggage including Patella ferruginea and Pinna nobilis, the invertebrates most threatened with extinction in the Mediterranean Sea. This study demonstrates that the illegal collection of natural mementos is common in Sardinia, thus its relevance is not limited to tropical regions. Regulation, enforcement and compliance shortcomings emerged, highlighting the importance of strengthening stakeholders' collaboration for a deeper insight on this phenomenon and implementing effective conservation strategies.

International Symposium on Eastern Indonesia Marine Ecosystems

EditorsAgus Setiawan, Iis Triyulianti, Charlie Ester de Fretes, Muhammad Zain Tuakia, Sem Likumahua, Faisal Hamzah, Corry Yanti Manullang, Dewi Seswita Zilda, Abdul Wahab Radjab, Muhammad Fadli, Rafidha Dh. Ahmad Opier, Ahmad Romdon.PrefaceThe evaluation of the First Symposium on Banda Sea Ecosystem (ISBSE) held by the Research Center for Deep Sea (then under the Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI) in 2017 indicated the need to expand the geographic coverage area of the symposium. As the follow up, in 2022, the Research Center organized the International Symposium on Eastern Indonesia Marine Ecosystems (ISEIME), with the objective is to gather all marine scientists and observers to meet and share their knowledge and recent information regarding marine ecosystems in eastern Indonesia and the country in general. ISEIME is one of various international conferences that organized by the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency-BRIN to focus on topics such as Oceanography and Climate Change;Marine Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Ecology;Marine Monitoring and Management;Marine Pollution;and Marine Geosciences. The event took place on the 24th of November 2022.Human health problems due to the pandemic of COVID-19 in Indonesia has decreased recently, yet in some parts of the country still show slight increase cases. To this end, we decided to conduct the ISEIME 2022 virtually using the zoom platform, which was remotely organized from Ambon, eastern Indonesia. The symposium was commenced by a report from the chairman of ISEIME and subsequently followed by a welcoming-remarks by the Head of Research Center for Deep Sea, Intan Suci Nurhati, Ph.D. In the first session, two keynote speakers (Prof. Ocky Karna Radjasa and Prof. Dwi Listyo Rahayu from BRIN) were given 30-40 minutes to present their talks and followed by a 30 minutes Q&A. Three invited speakers, Prof. Stevan Steinke, Prof. Wiedong Yu and Prof. Madya Dr. Tuan Nurul Sabiqah Tuan Anuar delivered their talks during the second session. In the parallel session, 30 speakers were divided into five different rooms according to the topics and they were given 15 minutes each to deliver their presentations, followed by 5 minutes Q&A.The event has gained a great success due to hard work from the collaboration between the local committee in Ambon, Bali and Jakarta. We would like to thank BRIN International Conference Event Organizer who had taken part in providing time and financial support during the event. Special acknowledgement to all speakers who contribute in the event by imparting their knowledge during the talks and discussions, and also their willingness to participate and contribute in the future marine research in Indonesia. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all authors who contribute their findings through their written papers, and for their significant thoughts and ideas in discussions during their presentations. Finally, we give a great appreciation and many thanks to reviewers who have voluntarily participated and contributed not only in judging papers, but also in providing constructive comments and suggestions for authors to improve their manuscripts.ISEIME chairmanSem LikumahuaList of ISEIME Committee is available in this Pdf.

4th International Conference on Natural Resources and Technology, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia, 29-30 August 2022

These proceedings, with a theme of Natural Resources and Technology for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal through Academic, Industry, and Community and a subtheme of Resilience and Innovation Research on Sustainable Natural Resources and Technology Post-Covid 19, contain 104 articles covering 6 major topics in the related fields such as (i) Natural science and natural product, (ii) Natural resource technology, (iii) Information systems of tropical resources, (iv) Tropical biodiversity, (v) Food science and food technology, and (vi) Ethnobotany and ethnozoology.

The use of technological innovation in bio-based industries to foster growth in the bioeconomy: a South African perspective

Several countries around the world are taking advantage of emerging technologies to leverage the use of natural resources to develop and grow bio-based industries. As a result, these activities have become the backbone of bioeconomy-growth strategies in the developing world. Adoption of the concepts and technological aspects of this facet of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) across government, academia, and industry has fostered innovation in the health, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors. However, the relationship between the technological catalysis of innovation and the bioeconomy from the perspective of a developing country has been left unexplored. In this context, this review explores the contribution of technological advances toward a sustainable, valuable bioeconomy and the current policy mandates. We focus our attention on South Africa because the country has a holistic, well-defined bioeconomy strategy that is consistent with the conditions of developed nations more generally. The review suggests that developing countries could adopt a multidisciplinary approach to designing their bioeconomy strategies. We further assert that developing holistic strategies that address the recent COVID-19 pandemic and potential future world crises could be beneficial in achieving sustainable development goals.

A QGIS plugin for BONDS project: integrating field data with geographical, remote sensing and health information

Open source Geographic Information System (GIS) have been fostering spatial data research such as Earth observation and environmental monitoring for more than 30 years. More recently, globally available geospatial information combined with web technologies are providing new environments and tools for data handling. Thus, binding the mapping and processing capabilities of traditional GIS to the accessibility and reliability of web-based data providers can bring new opportunities for research. In this paper, we built a QGIS plugin to explore the integration of different public data providers in Brazil along with field data produced by the BONDS project. The biOdiversity conservatioN with Development in Amazon wetlandS project (BONDS) proposes to develop biodiversity scenarios for the Amazonian floodplains aiming to support solutions to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. The use of web services enabled dynamic and fast access to several products ranging from remote sensing images, land use and land cover, territorial cartography, water quality, to COVID-19 health data, and more. © 2022 National Institute for Space Research, INPE. All rights reserved.

Global modeling of the socioeconomic, political, and environmental relations of farmer seed systems (FSS): Spatial analysis and insights for sustainable development

Accessible, high-quality seed is vital to the agricultural, food, and nutrition sovereignty needed for justice-based sustainable development. Multiregion, interdisciplinary research on farmers' seed systems (FSS) can complement case-based and thematic approaches.This study's goals are to (1) provide a synthetic overview of current major FSS concepts;(2) design and evaluate a novel social- and political-ecological model of FSS using globally representative data from mountain agricultural areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America;(3) model and evaluate FSS relations to socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors including main food crops (rice, wheat, maize, potato, and common bean);(4) generate new spatial, geographic, and demographic estimates;and (5) strengthen FSS for justice-based sustainable development of agriculture, land use, and food systems. The conceptual framework of FSS-related factors guided the global modeling of data from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A multiple regression model explained FSS utilization (R2 1/4 0.53, P < 0.0001), specifying the significant inverse relations to mean farm area (strong), per-capita Gross Domestic Product at the district level (strong), and urban distance (moderate). FSS showed strong positive relations to aridity and topographic ruggedness. FSS were positively related to elevation in a 5-country Andean subsample. Results estimated FSS utilization by 136 million farmers within the 11 countries. Novel insights to strengthen FSS policies and programs are the importance of FSS to extremely small farm-area subgroups and other distinct FSS stakeholders, global-region geopolitical distinctness of FSS-farm area relations, multidistrict FSS concentrations that enable extralocal FSS spatial connectivity, FSS capacities in climate-change hot spots, and high FSS encompassing periurban areas. Policy-relevant results on global geographic and demographic extensiveness of FSS and key spatial, socioeconomic, political, and environment relations demonstrate that globally FSS are key to supporting agrobiodiversity, agroecology, nutrition, and the sustainability of food systems. These advise strengthening FSS through pro-poor and linked urban-rural policies at regional scales in addition to expanding local initiatives.

Circulation of genetically diverse non-polio enteroviruses in respiratory samples during COVID-19 pandemic period (2021-22)

Enteroviruses, beyond poliovirus, are important pathogens. Several non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) are causing epidemics all around the world. Limited data is available on the prevalence and diversity of these viruses from India. Objective(s): Detection and characterization of NPEVs in respiratory samples during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Material(s) and Method(s): COVID-19 negative samples from acute respiratory infections (ARI) [n = 105] and severe-acute respiratory infections (SARI) [n = 148] during the period 2021-22 were screened for NPEVs. Detection was carried out using the one step RT-PCR method targeting the 5'UTR region followed by molecular analysis. Results and Conclusion(s): Total positivity of NPEVs was noted in 35.23% and 31.08% of the ARI and SARI cases, respectively. Comparison within the two groups studied, showed significant difference in the age-wise distribution for cases>18 years of age. Year round seasonality for ARI cases while autumn seasonality for SARI cases was observed. Sequencing of representative samples of ARI cases showed prevalence of Rhinovirus A (RVA), Rhinovirus B (RVB), Rhinovirus C (RVC) and Echovirus, while predominance of RVC followed by RVA was observed for the SARI cases. Phylogenetic analysis of all the strains showed clustering of RVC strains in different clusters. Divergence was also noted in RVA and RVB strains studied. Circulation of a rare Echovirus-29 strain was noted in the ARI cases. The study highlighted significant divergence in the Rhinovirus strains studied. It warrants the need for surveillance of NPEVs, whole-genome sequencing of the circulating strains for better understanding of biodiversity among the NPEVs and the potential health burden.

Circular medicine. a paradigm of sustainability and resilience in education and professional development

Circular economy is a model of economic, social and environmental production and consumption, aimed to build a sustainable society in tune with the available resources. In the Brundtland Report, (1987, United Nations) sustainability it is defined as an approach focused on "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The European Medical Association (EMA), that has currently more than 50 000 members, is involved in the advancement of health, pursuing educational and professional goals addressed to the quality of environment, lifestyle and civil society through a circular medicine approach. This is a comprehensive strategy, integrating best medical practice, bioinformatics and molecular biology with economy, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Circular Medicine is the resilient framework linking all these topics with circular economy methods. Innovative possibilities of circular medicine are many: it is a comprehensive paradigm shift, countering a non-medicine based on simplistic algorithms with guidelines of insufficient effectiveness, reliability and generalizability, often passed off as innovative Artificial-Intelligence approaches. We launched in 2020 a still ongoing survey aimed at the dissemination of information and at a greater sensitivity of all our members and followers on these topics, striving to build circular medicine in the real-world. This position document is based on its preliminary results: 1. Studying and investigating the links among health, climate change, biodiversity, circular economy, robust Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning support are goals and needed practice suitable to be pursued by EMA and other medical and scientific associations. Circular economy will be fruitfully used in health facilities, including hospitals, with health professionals and life science researchers acting also in the role of influencers and opinion leaders. 2. The interventions based on epidemiology, environmental sciences, best practice in medicine, sustainable technologies and molecular biology, the pillars of a potential framework of circular medicine, need a robust bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence support. 3. Academic curricula and health professionals CME courses should provide stronger digital knowledge, reliable procedures trainings and expertise along these lines. Daily routine of clinical observation and participatory dialogue are key elements for the progress toward a culture, practice and accomplishments of circular economy and medicine. 4. Molecular biology, still the most innovative field of medical and life science, has a role for strengthening the pathways of the circular economy, as a reliable and resilient basis of "circular medicine." 5. The lessons of COVID19, the ongoing battles for healthier lifestyles dealing with nutrition, exercise and against alcohol and cigarette smoking, and the concept of smart cities are some of the cornerstones of the proposed strategy for a real-world circular medicine. Debunking interventions against the misuse of scientific and medical are means for the development of circular economy and medicine. Effective roadmaps, guidelines and grids for recognizing and counteracting the overlap of bullying, imposter's fear, insufficient expertise and knowledge, fake assertions and evaluations are actively developed by EMA's ad-hoc workshops. AI knowledge and skills should be implemented within innovative molecular biology and medical best-practice academic-CME curricula.Copyright © 2023 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Ecology in the age of climate change: Challenges facing the effective implementation of nature-based solutions in terrestrial ecosystems

At this stage of the Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene, humanity is experiencing the global issues of worsening climate change impacts, devastating damage from more frequent and severe natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which are attributable to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. The global community recognises that these issues pose severe societal and economic risks. “Nature-based solutions” have been posited as a means to address these threats. Nature-based solutions utilise natural terrestrial ecosystem functions to provide environmental, social and economic benefits at low cost. The growing social demand for nature-based solutions constitutes an opportunity for the field of ecology to expand beyond the conventional focus on biodiversity and conservation and shift to presenting biodiversity and ecosystem functions as the basis of human well-being and social sustainability. We sought to identify a trajectory for ecological research that is aimed at contributing to the effective implementation of nature-based solutions. First, we summarise current social needs related to terrestrial ecosystem utilisation. Next, we provide an overview of existing literature and knowledge regarding biodiversity and terrestrial ecosystem function, which are critical to nature-based solutions. Finally, we identify outstanding ecological hurdles to the implementation of these strategies and propose a way forward based on our findings. We explain that any basic presentation of ecological processes requires addressing the impacts of climate change and the interrelatedness of biodiversity, climate and social systems. Enhanced ecological process models are critical for linking biodiversity and ecosystems with climate and social systems. It is crucial to establish a framework that embeds monitoring systems, data infrastructure and delivery systems within society to mobilise terrestrial ecosystem and biodiversity data and results. Furthermore, the implementation of nature-based solutions must include acknowledging trade-offs in objectives and transdisciplinary research with other fields and stakeholders with the shared goal of transformative change. Ecological research must demonstrate more clearly how terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems are linked to human health and well-being, as well as how they are affected by production and consumption systems. In the age of climate change, the knowledge and tools of the ecologist form the foundation of nature-based solutions and provide an indispensable theoretical basis for this approach.Alternate :æŠ„éŒ²äººæ–°ä¸–ã®å¤§åŠ é€Ÿã¨ã‚‚å‘¼ã°ã‚Œã‚‹æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•ã®æ™‚ä»£ã«ãŠã„ã¦ã€æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•å½±éŸ¿ã®é¡•åœ¨åŒ–ã€è‡ªç„¶ç½å®³ã®æ¿€ç”šåŒ–ãƒ»é »ç™ºåŒ–ã€COVID-19の世界的流行などの地球規模の問題が増大している。国際社会では、ã"ã‚Œã‚‰ã®å•é¡Œã¯ç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»ã®åŠ£åŒ–ã‚„ç”Ÿç‰©å¤šæ§˜æ€§ã®æå¤±ãŒè¦å› ã§ã‚ã‚‹ã"と、そして社会経済にも多大な損害ã‚'与える大きなリスクであるã"とが共通の認識となりつつある。そのような状況ã‚'åæ˜ ã—ã€é™¸åŸŸç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»ã®å¤šé¢çš„ãªæ©Ÿèƒ½ã‚'活用するã"とで、低いコストでç'°å¢ƒãƒ»ç¤¾ä¼šãƒ»çµŒæ¸ˆã«ä¾¿ç›Šã‚'もたらし、社会が抱える複数の課題の解決に貢献する「自然ã‚'基盤とした解決策」という新しい概念に大きな期待が寄せられている。ã"の解決策への社会的なニーズの高まりは、生態学が長年取り組ã‚"できた生物多様性や生態系の保全に関する課題ã‚'超えて、生態学が生物多様性や生態系が豊かな人é–"社会ã‚'継続し発展させる知的基盤となるã"とや、生態学の社会的有用性ã‚'示す機会である。そã"で本稿では、気候変動時代における「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®å®Ÿè·µã«å‘ã‘ãŸç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ç ”ç©¶ã®æ–¹å‘ã¥ã‘ã‚'目的とし、陸域生態系の活用に対する社会的なニーズの現状ã‚'概観する。その上で、「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®éµã¨ãªã‚‹é™¸åŸŸç”Ÿæ ‹ç³»ã®ç”Ÿç‰©å¤šæ§˜æ€§ã‚„ç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»æ©Ÿèƒ½ã«é–¢ã™ã‚‹çŸ¥è¦‹ã‚'整理して課題ã‚'抽出し、ã"れらã‚'è¸ã¾ãˆã¦ä»Šå¾Œã®ç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ç ”ç©¶ã®æ–¹å‘æ€§ã‚'å…·ä½"的に示す。まず、現象の基礎的な理解という観点からは、生物多様性ã‚'含む陸域生態系と気候システムや社会システムとの相äº'関係性ã‚'含めた包括的な気候変動影響のメカニズムの解明と、予測・評価のためのプロセスモデルの高度化ã‚'進めるã"と、そして同時に、陸域生態系と生物多様性の変化ã‚'ç¤ºã™ãŸã‚ã®åŠ¹æžœçš„ãªãƒ¢ãƒ‹ã‚¿ãƒªãƒ³ã‚°ã¨æƒ…å ±åŸºç›¤ã®å¼·åŒ–ã‚'行い、データや分析結果ã‚'社会に還元するフレームワークã‚'構築するã"ã¨ãŒå„ªå…ˆäº‹é …ã§ã‚ã‚‹ã€‚ã‚ˆã‚Šå®Ÿè·µçš„ãªè¦³ç‚¹ã‹ã‚‰ã¯ã€ã€Œè‡ªç„¶ã‚'基盤とした解決策」の実装や社会変革などにおいて共通の目標ã‚'ã‚‚ã¤ä»–åˆ†é‡Žã¨ã®å­¦éš›ç ”ç©¶ã‚'積極的に行うã"とにより、実装における目的é–"のトレードオフã‚'示すã"と、健康・福祉の課題や生産・消費システムの中での陸域生態系や生物多様性への影響や役割ã‚'示すã"ã¨ãªã©ãŒå„ªå…ˆäº‹é …ã¨ãªã‚‹ã€‚æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•ã«ä»£è¡¨ã•ã‚Œã‚‹ä¸ç¢ºå®Ÿæ€§ã®é«˜ã„ç'°å¢ƒä¸‹ã§ã€åŠ¹æžœçš„な「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®å®Ÿæ–½ãŸã‚ã«ã¯ã€ãã®ç§‘å­¦çš„åŸºç›¤ã¨ãªã‚‹ç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ã®çŸ¥è¦‹ã¨ãƒ„ãƒ¼ãƒ«ã¯ä¸å¯æ¬ ã§ã‚ã‚Šã€ã¾ãŸãã®å®Ÿè£…ã‚'通じた社会変革へのé"筋においても生態学の貢献が期待されている。

Valuation and financing of National Parks in South and South East Asia: a meta-analysis

Protected Areas, the mainstay of biodiversity conservation, are facing an unprecedented threat of being exploited, making their conservation not only crucial but also urgent. As the looming threat does not leave scope for expensive and time-consuming surveys, this paper intends to add to the existing literature and to the cause of biodiversity conservation by undertaking the first ever multinational Meta-Analysis of National Park (NP) valuation studies in South and South East Asia. The relative importance of study-, site-, and socioeconomic characteristics is estimated through a meta-regression and suggestions for redesigning pricing strategies to capture the unrealized consumer surplus are presented. Key results highlight the importance of the place of residence, area of the NP, and GDP per capita in explaining variation in NP value. Furthermore, taking note of the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the study highlights the need to diversify the funding base for NP management in order to ensure sustainable financing by presenting country-specific examples.

Heat vs. Health: Home Office under a Changing Climate

Stressors are especially widespread in urban agglomerations. Common themes of built environment interventions that support health and well-being are blue and green infrastructure, indoor and outdoor air quality, thermal comfort, access to natural lighting, and acoustics. Given the current megatrends of increasing summer temperatures and the high popularity of home offices, we aimed at modeling thermal comfort changes of people working at home in three Austrian cities (Vienna, Innsbruck, and Graz) during the next decades until 2090. We present findings based on (I) an inter-disciplinary literature search and (II) indoor and outdoor climate simulations for actual and future climate scenarios. Based on the results, we discuss the potential impacts for work and human health and well-being, and we suggest a framework for the home office in "post-COVID-19 Austria” that integrates social, ecological, and economic aspects. The results of our study indicate that, in future climate scenarios, overheating of the interior can no longer be prevented without active cooling measures and nature-based solutions. Recommendations on the adjustment of behavior under climate change, including greening, adequate ventilation, and cooling techniques, are thus urgently needed for employees who are working from home in order to maintain physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Climate Change and the Great Power Rivalry in the Arctic

The world politics of the 2020s seems to consist of two realities: People are concerned about an ecological catastrophe, as tion kills and climate change threatens societies. The focus of this article is to discuss climate change, and state politics in the Arctic in the context of the two realities. Behind this is the assumption that climate change mitigation is a challenge to state politics and national security. The commentary assumes that, although in world politics, there is a new (East-West) great power rivalry with its related conflicts, no armed conflicts appear in the Arctic, but environmental degradation and rapid climate change still threaten the people. The study firstly analyses how environmental issues came onto the political agenda of States, in particular, that of the Arctic states;secondly, it discusses huge investment packages and great power rivalry as substitutes for climate change mitigation, revealing the political inability of states;thirdly, it examines the Arctic from the point of view of functional cooperation on environmental protection, and that on science;and finally, it concludes what has possibly gone wrong in state politics related to the environment, and could be taken as the biggest challenge.

Health from ecological justice: from the regeneration of wild nature to the prevention of future pandemics

The aim of this article is to explore a philosophical perspective on health linked to the restoration of wild nature, especially on the basis of some lessons that can be drawn from the spread of recent zoonotic diseases. The first section presents the relationship that the COVID-19 pandemic has maintained with social justice, venturing the thesis that ecological justice is a dimension that should be incorporated with deeper attention. To justify this, the following sections propose, first at the conceptual level, to approach a concept of health that is plural, dynamic and interdependent, and, then at the pragmatic level, to take as a reference the casuistry that shows an inverse correlation between the presence of wild biodiversity in a territory and contagion by zoonoses. In sum, these thoughts may lead to justify anticipatory duties for future pandemics and a responsibility for global health that deserve to be analyzed from an ethical point of view.

Sustainability of Heritage Villages through Eco-Tourism Investment (Case Study: Al-Khabra Village, Saudi Arabia)

This study explores the reasons for the failure to sustain the rehabilitation of Al-Khabra as a heritage village for tourism. Despite the rehabilitation activities since 2007 and the comprehensive plans for the development, protection, and operation of the village, tourism activities are limited due to the restricted availability of qualified buildings, infrastructure, and services. This has made the investment in the village economically unviable. This study aims to propose sustainability strategies for heritage villages by investing in eco-tourism. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach by analyzing the rehabilitation experience through available reports and studies, field observations, and interviews. A holistic and environmental approach was proposed based on the integration of cultural and environmental elements to promote eco-tourism in the village. This study recommends the development of national policies that regulate the preservation of local resources and biodiversity within an integrated framework that enhances the unique environmental advantages of the village and encourages investment in it.