Search results for "environmental protection."
showing 10 items of 276 documents
Conceptualising State-Controlled Resort Islands for an Environment-Friendly Development of Tourism: The Maldivian Experience
2001
The Maldives host a sophisticated and competitive international tourist industry which has replaced fishing as the dominant economic activity. With their rich tropical reef ecosystems and the abundant biodiversity of their marine environment, a total of 86 uninhabited islands had been converted into Resort Islands by the end of 2000. Resort Islands are equipped with comprehensive facilities for accommodation, food, recreation and leisure. They are also strictly reserved for foreign tourists and guarantee complete privacy. This gives the benefit of averting conflicts of acculturation with local islanders. In the arena of impacts on the physical environment, however, the consumptive leisure l…
The study programme “Environmental protection and impact assessment” at the University of Latvia
2001
Reviews trends in environmental protection and sustainability in Latvia and introduces a programme in this field at the University of Latvia in Riga. Concludes that regional changes are necessary.
Metal–organic framework technologies for water remediation: towards a sustainable ecosystem
2018
Having access to clean water is a mandatory requirement for the proper development of living beings. So, addressing the removal of contaminants from aquatic systems should be a priority research topic in order to restore ecosystem balance and secure a more sustainable future. The fascinating structures and striking physical properties of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have revealed them as excellent platforms for the removal of harmful species from water. In this review, we have focused our attention on critically highlighting the latest developments achieved in the adsorptive removal of inorganic – metal cations, inorganic acids, oxyanions/cations, nuclear wastes and other inorganic anion…
Renewable energy evaluation in Italy and Brazil
2017
The aim of this study is a comparison among Italian and Brazilian electrical energy system with a particular focus on renewable energy sources. The energy sector has a key role in the sustainable development of a country, so it influences economic and political choices. The work would underline differences, common point among two country, specially, in this particular socio-economic period and it should emphasize that green economy could be a possible answer to the financial crisis. The work will be divided into four sections: Section I will introduce all details of the question; Section II will explain the renewable assessments for the countries, Section III will talks how renewable energy…
Application of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to Natural Parks and reserves
2006
Natural parks and reserves have to face problems concerning the conservation of their natural resources. Citizens and firms often perceive the institution of new protected areas more as a bind or a restriction to their activities than an added value of the territory. Following the principles of sustainable development, it is necessary to integrate the environmental protection with the needs of neighbouring urban areas and production sites. The implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) according to international standards (ISO 14001, EMAS) can support the Park administration in their complex management activities. This paper analysed the criticisms related to the application…
Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk.
2021
Soil quality is fundamental for ecosystem long term functionality, productivity and resilience to current climatic changes. Despite its importance, soil is lost and degraded at dramatic rates worldwide. In Europe, the Mediterranean areas are a hotspot for soil erosion and land degradation due to a combination of climatic conditions, soils, geomorphology and anthropic pressure. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered a key indicator of soil quality as it relates to other fundamental soil functions supporting crucial ecosystem services. In the present study, the functional relationships among SOC and other important soil properties were investigated in the topsoil of 38 sites under different …
Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Energy Valorization of the Residual Agro-Food Industry
2021
This study assesses the potential environmental impacts related to the energy valorization of agro-food industry waste thought the Life Cycle Assessment methodology (ISO 14040). The system examined consists of a real anaerobic digester coupled with a combined anaerobic digester and heat and power plant (AD-CHP) operating in Sicily. The analysis accounts for all the impacts occurring from the delivery of the biomass to the AD-CHP plant up to the electricity generation in the CHP. The main outcomes of the study include the eco-profile of the energy system providing electricity and the assessment of the contribution of each life cycle phase aimed at identifying the potential improvement area. …
Agricultural Residue Management for Sustainable Power Generation: The Poland Case Study
2021
The European Union has set targets for renewable energy utilization. Poland is a member of the EU, and its authorities support an increase in renewable energy use. The background of this study is based on the role of renewable energy sources in improving energy security and mitigation of climate change. Agricultural waste is of a significant role in bioenergy. However, there is a lack of integrated methodology for the measurement of its potential. The possibility of developing an integrated evaluation methodology for renewable energy potential and its spatial distribution was assumed as the hypothesis. The novelty of this study is the integration of two renewable energy sources: crop residu…
Unveiling distribution patterns of freshwater phytoplankton by a next generation sequencing based approach.
2012
The recognition and discrimination of phytoplankton species is one of the foundations of freshwater biodiversity research and environmental monitoring. This step is frequently a bottleneck in the analytical chain from sampling to data analysis and subsequent environmental status evaluation. Here we present phytoplankton diversity data from 49 lakes including three seasonal surveys assessed by next generation sequencing (NGS) of 16S ribosomal RNA chloroplast and cyanobacterial gene amplicons and also compare part of these datasets with identification based on morphology. Direct comparison of NGS to microscopic data from three time-series showed that NGS was able to capture the seasonality in…
Effect of environmental conditions on the durability of polycarbonate for the protection of cultural heritage sites.
2019
Polycarbonate is a good material for covering and protecting cultural heritage sites because of its durability, mechanical properties, and transparency. However, polycarbonate degrades under environmental weathering with a significant decrease of physical and mechanical properties and loss of transparency. In this work, the contemporary presence of ultraviolet irradiation and different temperature and moisture conditions have been taken into account to study the environmental degradation of this polymer with regard to its mechanical and optical properties. The photo-oxidation reactions cause a decrease in the molecular weight and the formation of many oxygenated species. The hydrolytic sci…