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Results for “Sustainable management”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Economics of reservoir sedimentation and sustainable management of dams.

Accepted practice has been to design and operate reservoirs to fill with sediment, generating benefits from remaining storage over a finite period of time. The consequences of sedimentation and project abandonment are left to the future. This 'future' has already arrived for many existing reservoirs and most others will eventually experience a similar fate, thereby imposing substantial costs on society. Such costs could be avoided if sedimentation was minimized and dams were allowed to live forever. The fact that the world's inventory of suitable reservoir sites is limited provides an additional reason for encouraging the sustainable management of dams. This paper provides a framework for assessing the economic feasibility of sediment management strategies that would allow the life of dams to be prolonged indefinitely. Even if reduced accumulation or removal of sediment is technically possible, its economic viability is likely to depend on physical, hydrological and financial parameters. The model presented incorporates such factors and allows a characterization of conditions under which sustainable management would be desirable. The empirical implementation of the model draws upon the substantial amount of technical information available. We analyze the sustainability of reservoirs, with a focus on the trade-off between such sustainability and the short to medium term benefits which a reservoir is expected to produce. The results show that, for a very wide range of realistic parameter values, sustainable management of reservoirs is economically more desirable than the prevailing practice of forcing a finite reservoir life through excessive sediment accumulation.

Environment↗

PubMed2000

A hierarchical approach to the sustainable management of controlled ecological life support systems: part 2, systems realization and analysis.

The second in a series of two articles exploring the sustainable management of a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS), this article examines the feasibility of the approach outlined in Part 1 using a simple, abstract CELSS representation comprising buffers and pumps. We develop a two-level management hierarchy in which the top level imposes constraints on the operation of the lower level. The compartments can operate freely within these constraints. This freedom can be used to enhance system performance and robustness. Additionally, the higher level does not require detailed subsystem representations. Our approach to sustainable management of CELSS allows for the active distribution of system mass, taking into account component constraints and system dynamics.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Measuring biodiversity and sustainable management in forests and agricultural landscapes.

Most of the world's biodiversity will continue to exist outside protected areas and there are also managed lands within many protected areas. In the assessment of millennium targets, there is therefore a need for indicators to measure biodiversity and suitability of habitats for biodiversity both across the whole landscape/seascape and in specific managed habitats. The two predominant land uses in many inhabited areas are forestry and agriculture and these are examined. Many national-level criteria and indicator systems already exist that attempt to assess biodiversity in forests and the impacts of forest management, but there is generally less experience in measuring these values in agricultural landscapes. Existing systems are reviewed, both for their usefulness in providing indicators and to assess the extent to which they have been applied. This preliminary gap analysis is used in the development of a set of indicators suitable for measuring progress towards the conservation of biodiversity in managed forests and agriculture. The paper concludes with a draft set of indicators for discussion, with suggestions including proportion of land under sustainable management, amount of produce from such land, area of natural or high quality semi-natural land within landscapes under sustainable management and key indicator species.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2000

A hierarchical approach to the sustainable management of Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems: part 1, an ecological and engineering synthesis.

In this article we present, in an expository manner, an approach to the sustainable management of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) based on concepts from both engineering and ecology. Our perspective leads us to express the sustainability of CELSS in terms of constraints imposed on its subsystems. These constraints are of two types: static and operational. Static constraints capture the basic sustainability requirements of the individual subsystem components--they represent the absolute limits (bounds) on the operating range of these subsystems. Operational constraints, on the other hand, represent a response to global changes in the availability of system resources. They are imposed as the system evolves dynamically to avert shortages or surpluses in resources in various subsystems. As well as having implications on design, our perspective, termed the constraint perspective, leads naturally to a management hierarchy. The second article (this issue) in this series will explore the feasibility of this approach and demonstrate some of its consequences based on a simple CELSS model.

Ecological Systems, Closed↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A Decision Support System approach for rivers monitoring and sustainable management.

This paper presents a Decision Support System (DSS) approach developed in the context of the Copernicus project entitled System for Water Monitoring and Sustainable Management based on Ground Stations and Satellite Images (WATERMAN). The main objective of WATERMAN is the monitoring and management of the Strymon River in the Southern Balkans. The specific DSS integrates the main components of WATERMAN and helps the decision maker to monitor the Strymon region; to control and forecast the quantity and quality of the river water; as well as to make objective decisions about the state of the water based on data provided by radio computers, earth stations and satellite images processed by mathematical and statistical models and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Decision Support Systems, Management↗

PubMed2001

From river to ridge: a blueprint for sustainable management in the Georges River catchment.

Research on sustainable transport and water projects, conducted in North America during 1999, identified four key considerations common to a number of projects. These four considerations are the preconditions necessary to achieve sustainability in a given location. These preconditions (BAPP) are boundary definition, administrative alignment, protection of non-urban lands, and the participation of all interested parties. This paper considers the perceived attitudes of various catchment stakeholders and focuses on planners and planning. The results of questionnaire surveys based on BAPP concepts suggest that local government is perceived as having the highest priority for protection of riparian lands and waterways (as individual Councils and Regional Organisations of Councils). Thus local government is the preferred arena for coordination, responsibility and jurisdiction of waterways and riparian land. The opportunity exists to examine the differing roles of local and state government. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of this research for land use planning and institutional structures in sustainable river management.

Agriculture↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Defining and managing sustainable yield.

Ground water resource management programs are paying increasing attention to the integration of ground water and surface water in the planning process. Many plans, however, show a sophistication in approach and presentation that masks a fundamental weakness in the overall analysis. The plans usually discuss issues of demand and yield, yet never directly address a fundamental issue behind the plan--how to define sustainable yield of an aquifer system. This paper points out a number of considerations that must be addressed in defining sustainable yield in order to make the definition more useful in practical water resource planning studies. These include consideration for the spatial and temporal aspects of the problem, the development of a conceptual water balance, the influence of boundaries and changes in technology on the definition, the need to examine water demand as well as available supply, the need for stakeholder involvement, and the issue of uncertainty in our understanding of the components of the hydrologic system.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2005

Toward sustainable management of national parks in Japan: securing local community and stakeholder participation.

Japan's national park system constitutes a potentially viable mechanism for securing local community participation and building stakeholder consensus for sustainable park management, although the potential of this system is yet to be fully maximized. This article gives an overview of the system of protecting natural resources in Japan, focusing on the national park system. Parks are managed by zoning and regulation, which is unique in that land is not "set aside" for nature conservation, but designated as national park wherever the need to preserve "scenic beauty" has been recognized, regardless of land ownership or land use. Although resource conservation under this system has been problematic, it has advantages, especially in terms of community participation. This article demonstrates that in order to reach the system's potential, the park authority must act as coordinator of stakeholders and facilitator of bottom-up approaches to decision-making. In order to do this, steps that must be taken include the following: identifying the various stakeholders in park management and defining the "local community"; clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder; and supporting consensus-building among stakeholders regarding the objectives and long-term vision of each park. By taking these steps, it would be possible to build a park management system that overrides government boundaries and involves local communities. This will enable the park authority to address the challenges facing Japan's complex system of conserving natural resources, and move towards sustainable management of natural resources in Japan.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2000

[Optimal models on sustainable management of oases ecosystem in southern margin of Taklamakan Desert].

On the basis of analyzing the distribution feature of water resource and the canal water utilization coefficient of oases in southern margin of Taklamakan Desert, observing the wind prevention efficiency of shelterbelt through a simulation experiment in wind tunnel, and 15 years researching the comprehensive control of desertified land in Cele Oasis, a series of optimal models on sustainable management of oases ecosystem is southern margin of Taklamakan Desert were proposed i.e., the optimal model on "moderated osais", the optimal model on structure of wind-breaks, the optimal model on comprehensive control of desertified land, and the optimal model on planting structure of corps.

Agriculture↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management.

Sustainable development is a term reflecting human, societal, and environmental values and in order to determine progress toward this goal; it is necessary to identify and define these values, and for governments or other institutions to establish the means to assess progress. Canada is directly involved in national and international processes to assess the sustainability of forest management processes using Criteria and Indicators. These consist of a group of broad core values (Criteria) and are supported by an number of measures (Indicators) to assess status or progress toward the realization of these values. Measuring and monitoring indicators is necessary to demonstrate progress toward sustainable development nationally and internationally. The criteria that have been identified include the traditional concepts of timber values, and include economics, environmental, social values, and national infrastructures. Each criterion is supported by a number of indicators to track progress. Countries in the international process also collaborate on defining terms, methods of reporting, and improving and enhancing indicators. C&I facilitate international reporting and provide a framework for international agreements while reflecting national differences in characteristics and descriptions of forests. The reporting process has stimulated the emergence of forest management issues that will influence forest science and forest ecosystem management in the future. For Canada, these include the development of a national system of forest ecosystem inventory, and ecological classification, the interpretation of the range of historic variation, and the adequacy and applicability of data sources.

Biomarkers↗

PubMed2006

Fees or refuges: which is better for the sustainable management of insect resistance to transgenic Bt corn?

The evolution of resistance in insect pests will imperil the efficiency of transgenic insect-resistant crops. The currently advised strategy to delay resistance evolution is to plant non-toxic crops (refuges) in close proximity to plants engineered to express the toxic protein of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We seek answers to the question of how to induce growers to plant non-toxic crops. A first strategy, applied in the United States, is to require Bt growers to plant non-Bt refuges and control their compliance with requirements. We suggest that an alternative strategy is to make Bt seed more expensive by instituting a user fee, and we compare both strategies by integrating economic processes into a spatially explicit, population genetics model. Our results indicate that although both strategies may allow the sustainable management of the common pool of Bt-susceptibility alleles in pest populations, for the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) one of the most serious pests in the US corn belt, the fee strategy is less efficient than refuge requirements.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

The design of a web-based decision support system for the sustainable management of an urban river system.

The effects of urbanization on the aquatic environment, and solutions to the deterioration of water quality and stream ecology in the Love River have long been the main focus of environmental management in southern Taiwan. Apart from choosing the regular strategies of installing an intercept and sewer system, coastal wastewater treatment plant, and ocean outfall pipe, a new opportunity for improving the overall managerial efficiency is to design and implement a web-based Decision Support System (DSS). This DSS must be capable of managing storm water impacts when overflow is inevitable, river water quality variations loading to influences on the ecosystem, and changing land use programs along river corridors and adjacent urban areas simultaneously. This paper presents a new design framework for building such a DSS. By using the advanced information technology in the "Internet" environment, the proposed DSS may perform normal queries and statistical analyses in a web-enabled database, spatial analysis via the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in the Internet environment, and essential data warehousing/data mining. Possible linkage with various analytical models is anticipated. Such a DSS must be helpful for achieving the rehabilitation of the estuarine ecosystem and satisfying the goals for sustainable management in a regional sense.

Cities↗

PubMed2004

An assessment of Turkish deltaic landscapes regarding environmental conservation and sustainable management--a case study of the Kizilirmak Delta.

Deltas, as macro and micro biological systems at high productive levels, are the natural reserve areas of the world. Those in Turkey present the international importance landscapes as to the various ecosystem characteristics and land use patterns. Nevertheless, these areas are currently facing many problems such as biodiversity loss and environmental degradation owing to coastal settlements and pollution factors. This paper describes the factors responsible for the main features and degradation types of the Deltaic landscapes and their impact for future land use. It also deals with : an overview of the Kizilirmak Delta, one of the most important Deltas along the central part of Black Sea Region (Turkey); presents major ecosystem of it; identifies land use pattern and discusses the threats by environmental and human induced disturbances. The most considering feature of this Delta is to show the largest and most significant wetland area of Turkey which has been able to protect its natural beauties on the Black Sea Coasts. A Delta plain of 56000 hectares extends through the area at the north of the Samsun-Sinop highway. The ecological system of the Delta is extremely rich in terms of its biological variety as well as its fauna (especially number of bird species). But, the Delta including terrestrial areas close to the water resources and the vegetation between aquatic and terrestrial systems, has been constantly modified by human activities. Consequently, some considerations for environmental conservation and sustainable management were put forward for the future generations.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2006

Simulation and trend analysis of the water quality monitoring daily data in Nestos River Delta. Contribution to the sustainable management and results for the years 2000-2002.

The transboundary River Nestos in the Balkan Peninsula is a surface water resource shared by Hellas and Bulgaria. The Public Power Corporation of Hellas (DEH) proceeded to the dams' construction of Thesaurus in 1997 and Platanovrissi in 2000, to satisfy the increased needs for power production and irrigation in the Regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in the Hellenic Territory. DEH following the Ministerial Agreement of the Hellenic Parliament ';KYA 18492/19-09-1996'' funded a series of Research Projects concerned on the monitoring of the water quantity and quality data of Nestos from the Hellenic-Bulgarian borders to its estuaries in the Thracian sea. ';PERSEAS'' Research Group from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, carried out the research, design, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of the ';R.E.MO.S.'' (Remote Environmental MOnitoring System) networks. Three REMOS networks have been installed in the areas of (a) the River Nestos deltaic channel, (b) Thesaurus dam-lake in the intramountainous valley and (c) Potamoi (Despat) and Pagoneri (Nestos) villages close to the borders between Hellas and Bulgaria. They record water level (H), water and air temperature (T), water conductivity (ECw), Redox potential (RP) and dissolved oxygen (DO) on a 24h basis, since the beginning of the year 2000. The research carried out in this paper, is focused on the REMOS station in the final course of Nestos in the deltaic area. The continuous monitoring and the data analysis yield useful results for the quality and quantity of the hydrologic regime of Nestos after the dams' construction, as well as for the trends detected of the quality parameters (ECw, RP and DO) and the water level, using the nonparametric Spearman's criterion. The best fitted model of time trend, for each variable, was chosen. The statistical sample of each one of the quality variables consisted of about 1000 values based on daily measures on a three years monitoring program (1/1/2000-31/12/2002). Further research and analysis for the other network stations of REMOS should provide useful results for the sustainable management of the transboundary River Nestos.

Air↗

PubMed2001

Biosolids management--sustainable development status and future direction.

The role of biosolids management continues to gain priority in terms of holistic waste management/reuse. Recommended options should lead to simple and safe management alternatives that stress reclamation of resources. This paper addresses current sustainability strategies, priorities and future direction of waste management as it relates to residuals and in particular to sludges/biosolids. Sludge management and resource recovery approaches must be diversified and flexible. They should be based on actual needs of the affected society and community. It is also important that the chosen strategy be appropriate to the conditions of the site under consideration. Processes which promote sustainability will become viable options for resource management if conversion into a "value-added product" can be realized.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2003

Sustainable management for the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

The objective of this article is to propose a program for the integrated coastal zone management that is required to stimulate and guide sustainable development of the Mediterranean coastal zone of Turkey. Improved data collection, quality control, analysis, and data management will provide a firm basis for future scientific understanding of the East Mediterranean coast of Turkey and will support long-term management. Various innovative procedures were proposed for a promising ecosystem-based approach to manage coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean: remote data acquisition with new technologies; environmental quality monitoring program that will provide a baseline for monitoring; linking a Geographic Information System (GIS) with natural resource management decision routines in the context of operational wetlands, fisheries, tourism management system; environmental sensitivity analysis to ensure that permitted developments are environmentally sustainable; and use of natural species to restore the wetlands and coastal dunes and sustain the system processes. The proposed management scheme will benefit the scientific community in the Mediterranean and the management/planning community in Eastern Turkey.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in shrimp ponds and the measures for sustainable management.

Six ponds of age 3 were selected 45 km north from Suzhou in the Tailake region, and research conducted on nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in P. vannanmei (Penaeus vannanme) ponds and M. nipponense (Macrobrachium nipponense) hatchery ponds under normal management. Two treatments each had three replications. The results confirmed that feed was the major path of nitrogen and phosphorus input, each accounted for 61.24% (193.81 kg ha(-1)) and 81.08% (45.20 kg ha(-1)) of the total nitrogen and phosphorus input for P. vannanme ponds; the values for M. nipponense ponds were 43.93% (86.31 kg ha(-1)) and 57.67% (14.61 kg ha(-1)), respectively. Water pumped into ponds contributed on average 83.57 kg ha(-1) nitrogen and 8.48 kg ha(-1) phosphorus for P. vannanmei ponds, and 87.48 kg ha(-1) nitrogen and 7.00 kg ha(-1) phosphorus for M. nipponense hatchery ponds. Shrimp harvest recovered 102.81 kg ha(-1) nitrogen (32.94% of the total nitrogen input) and 7.94 kg ha(-1) phosphorus (14.23% of the total phosphorus input) for P. vannanme ponds; and 43.94 kg ha(-1) nitrogen and 4.46 kg ha(-1) phosphorus for M. nipponense hatchery ponds. The sum of nitrogen losses through volatilization, denitrification and sedimentation was 173.62 and 122.39 kg ha(-1), 54.86% and 62.29% of the total nitrogen input for P. vannanme ponds and M. nipponense hatchery ponds, respectively. Sediment accumulated 41.46 and 14.63 kg ha(-1) phosphorus, 74.37% and 64.85% of the total phosphorus input for P. vannanm ponds and M. nipponense hatchery ponds. Draining and seeping caused 40.06 kg ha(-1) nitrogen (12.66% of total nitrogen input) and 6.36 kg ha(-1) phosphorus (11.40% of total phosphorus input) loss to the surrounding water from P. vannanme ponds in 114 days; 30.14 kg ha(-1) nitrogen (15.34% of the total input) and 4.45 kg ha(-1) phosphorus (17.57% of the total input) to channel water from M. nipponense hatchery ponds in 87 days, respectively. Countermeasures for sustainable pond management include improving feeds and feeding, sediment treatments, machine aerating, chemicals with no pollution, and integrated fish-shrimp cultivation. Management of water resources for pond and methods to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loading into surrounding water from drainage are elucidated.

Aquaculture↗

PubMed2002

[Sustainable management for farmland shelterbelts].

The spatio-temporal pattern of shelterbelt regeneration is an important issue which determintes whether shelterbelt network produces protective effects sustainably. This article developed a new method of imitating "normal forest" to manage shelterbelts. Based on an administrative village as an organized management unit, each shelterbelt in the organized management unit will be individually regenerated and regulated, until the number of the shelterbelts in each age-class from young to mature ones will be equal, and the shelterbelts in each age-class will be spatially distributed uniformly in the shelterbelt network of an organized management unit. Consequently, this method might temporally ensure sustainable and stable ecological services which are provided by the shelterbelts in an organized management unit.

Agriculture↗