Search results for "environmental planning."

We need to appreciate common synanthropic plants before they become rare: Case study in Latgale (Latvia)

2020

Local ecological knowledge holds great potential in contributing to sustainable resource management and conservation activities. For this reason, the authors choose to analyse an ethnobotanical dataset from the Baltic Sea region by exploring the relationship between plants and humans on the basis of three main categories: habitat characteristics, distribution in the wild and plant sensitivity to human impact beyond physical distance. The study provides empirical evidence of widespread usage of so-called common species which are widely distributed in the territory and benefit from human activity. When considering the data via the intensity of use, based on detailed use-reports (DUR), the mai…

Material flow models as a tool for ecological-economic decision making

1999

The quality of life of residents of a satellite degraded city district as part of urban development policy

2017

The purpose of this article is to assess the quality of life of the residents of a degraded satellite area of a city. It is considered in the context of urban development policy – as the result of decisions and as a challenge for long-term development. The research was based on a case study, which is the district of Opole referred to as Metalchem. It is characterized by an isolated location in the city structure as well as economic transformations. The study was based primarily on an analysis of source materials and results of a survey. The results show that the assessment of the quality of life is inconsistent. The living conditions are good, but satisfactory fulfilment of social needs is …

Paradigms on landfill mining: From dump site scavenging to ecosystem services revitalization

2017

For the next century to come, one of the biggest challenges is to provide the mankind with relevant and sufficient resources. Recovery of secondary resources plays a significant role. Industrial processes developed to regain minerals for commodity production in a circular economy become ever more important in the European Union and worldwide. Landfill mining (LFM) constitutes an important technological toolset of processes that regain resources and redistribute them with an accompanying reduction of hazardous influence of environmental contamination and other threats for human health hidden in former dump sites and landfills. This review paper is devoted to LFM problems, historical developm…

A systematic assessment of road pavement sustainability through a review of rating tools

2017

Pavements are engineered systems present in every modern society, and they have significant environmental, economic and social impacts. In an effort to promote more sustainable decisions regarding pavement design, construction and management, several pavement sustainability assessment tools have been developed. This research reviewed some of these tools and found that many of them do not treat the pavement as a system; instead, they seek to optimize individual aspects of the pavement in an effort to increase its sustainability. Therefore, a framework for analytically assessing the system outcomes towards sustainable objectives is presented and applied for modern pavement sustainability asse…

Towards sustainable coexistence: People and wild mammals in Baluran National Park, Indonesia

2018

Abstract The paper offers a critical discussion of resource use in a national park, Baluran, in Indonesia. In general, an increasing accept of the need for livelihood security, also for people living in or near natural conservation areas, are challenging traditional systems of national park governance. Finding ways to balance the needs of local populations against the necessity to secure biodiversity and environmental sustainability becomes important, and the main question in our research is how to accommodate an existing society in Baluran without a further negative impact on endangered mammals. Based on common pool resource management and co-management theories and thorough empirical inve…

Commoning of territorial heritage and tools of participated sustainability for the production and enhancement of agro-environmental public goods

2021

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to analyze how the commoning heritage processes find application for the production of agro-environmental public goods in contexts of high socio-economic marginality and environmental vulnerability, characterized by abandonment and from the consumption of agricultural land for food use. The purpose is to understand how these processes are able to influence, at local level, the governance processes for the implementation of environmental protection strategies. The survey made it possible to verify how the commoning processes aimed at the production of agro-environmental goods generate territorial resilience, understood as a community competence able to st…

How communities' perceptions of disasters influence disaster response: managing landslides on Mount Elgon, Uganda

2014

The aim of this paper is to assess the role of people's perception in disaster management. It is based on a study carried out along the slopes of Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda. People living in the study area have experienced a number of landslides, but the landslide in 2010 had the most far-reaching effects on community livelihoods and resulted in a major setback to development efforts in the area. Experiences of landslides have enabled the local people to develop a number of interpretations of the causes and effects of the phenomena. The study revealed that community members did not share uniform perceptions. Whereas some members advanced technical or physical explanations for the 2010 di…

Water need of Energy Crops – one of the environmental problems of Poland

2010

The government policy updates of Poland are presented, showing legal and financial instruments for governing bioenergy developments. The strategy for renewable energy must be co-ordinated with the strategy of water management in the country. The water needs are given for cool climate and extensive agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe which are few times lower than for hotter condition of Southern Europe. Despite this the rain would be not enough for water supply of most of the energy crops.

Unconventional Reducing Gases Monitoring in Everyday Places

2017

Abstract Air pollution, be it indoors or outdoors, is a major environmental health concern as it can lead to serious health effects, such as respiratory diseases, including asthma and lung cancer. Much progress has been made in Europe in improving outdoor air quality and limit values have been set for several pollutants. However, indoor air quality also requires attention because this is where we spend most of our time. Measurements at appropriate spatial and temporal scales are essential for understanding and monitoring heterogeneous environments with complex and highly variable emission sources, such as in urban areas. However, the costs and complexity of conventional air quality measurem…