An economic-environmental analysis of selected barrier-coating materials used in packaging food products: a Swedish case study

The purpose of a barrier coating in food packaging is primarily to increase the shelf life of the foodstuff contained within the packaging, preserve its colour, odour, taste and quality, and thereby reduce food wastage (both at retail outlets and households). While most publications hitherto have compared packaging and barrier-coating materials on the basis of their environmental impacts alone, this paper adopts a more holistic approach by factoring in the economic aspect as well. Four barrier material alternatives—starch, polyethylene, EVOH + kaolin and latex + kaolin are analysed. Two well-defined end-of-life handling scenarios, relevant to Sweden, are: one in which everything except starch is recycled, with starch being composted, and the other in which everything is incinerated. Among the several environmental impact categories which can be analysed, this paper considers only global warming. Two approaches are tested to combine the economic and environmental aspects—normalisation, weighting and aggregating on the one hand, and using the carbon tax to internalise the externality caused by GHG emissions on the other. For the set of weighting factors obtained thanks to a survey conducted by the authors (40.6% for environmental and 59.4% for economic), starch emerges as the most sustainable alternative, followed by polyethylene for both the end-of-life handling scenarios. This tallies with the result obtained by using the carbon tax for internalisation of the externality. The case study, methodology and results presented in this paper, will hopefully be a springboard for more detailed studies of this nature, under the umbrella of sustainability.     

Detection of potential harmful algal bloom-causing microalgae from freshwater prawn farms in Central Luzon,Philippines, for bloom monitoring and prediction

Prawn aquaculture industry is one of the developing economic activities in the Philippines. Generally, a wide range of microalgae typically grow and proliferate in many aquaculture ponds. However, certain species of microalgae have the ability to form harmful algal blooms (HABs) which often bring damaging consequences to the aquaculture industry, food safety, and the environment. The study aims to identify and characterize the composition of microalgae (particularly Cyanophyta) that are capable of forming HABs in selected freshwater prawn culture ponds in Central Luzon, Philippines, using morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular characterizations. From water samples collected in ten selected ponds across Central Luzon (Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales), potential HAB formers such as Oscillatoria agardhii, O. princeps, Microcystis aeruginosa, and M. wesenbergii were observed to have occurred mostly, while Anabaena circinalis was only observed in one site. Both morphological and ultrastructural methods brought upon some challenges and limitations while molecular methods using 16S rRNA gene and phylogenetic analysis which were optimized in this study offered better and more efficient ways of identification and were helpful in resolving genus-level and species-level relationships. The influence of physicochemical properties of pond water, especially nutrient levels (nitrate, nitrite, and orthophosphate) on the occurrence of these cyanobacteria was also analyzed. As a pioneering study on freshwater HABs in aquaculture ponds in the country, results of the study can provide information to improve the knowledge in bloom occurrence and prediction, and to develop freshwater HAB prevention and control methods.     

Assessment of hydrothermally modified fly ash for the treatment of methylene blue dye in the textile industry wastewater

Dyes and pigments are one of the major water pollutants and if not discharged properly cause ecological disturbance. Considering this, the current study investigates the application of thermal power plant by-product, i.e., fly ash for the elimination of a hazardous methylene blue dye from its synthetic aqueous solution. Experiments were conducted in batch mode to study the effect of pH, temperature, adsorbent dose and contact time. Highest dye removal (94.3%) was achieved at pH 10 using adsorbent dose of 10 g/L in 90 min of contact time at 40 °C. However, for cost-effective operation at neutral pH and room temperature (30 °C), it yields 89.3% dye removal having similar dose and contact time. Equilibrium isotherms for adsorption were analyzed by Langmuir and Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm equations. The results revealed that the best fit model of adsorption closely followed Langmuir adsorption. Based on adsorption isotherm models, thermodynamics parameters ΔG, ΔH and ΔS were calculated. The negative value of ΔG and ΔH revealed that adsorption process was exothermic, spontaneous and physical. The present work suggests that through simple process hydrothermally modified fly ash has the potential to be used as cost-effective and efficient adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater from textile industries.     

Modeling of agricultural drought risk pattern using Markov chain and GIS in the western part of Bangladesh

The aim of the study is to assess the agricultural drought risk condition in the context of global climate change in the western part of Bangladesh that covers about 45% area of the country for the period of 1960–2011. Drought Index (DI) and Drought Hazard Index (DHI) have been calculated by Markov Chain analysis and that of Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI) from socioeconomic and physical indicators. The DI values show that the northern part in general is more drought-prone, having less crops prospect, whereas the southern part is less drought-prone with high crop potentiality. The probability of extreme drought occurrence increases in recent decades in some parts as a result the drought events become more frequent in the areas. The DHI ranges from 15 to 32, and northern part suffers from more extreme drought hazards than that of southern part. DVI also indicates that northern part is exposed to high to very high drought vulnerability as higher percentage of illiterate people are involved in agricultural practices and high percentage of irrigation to cultivable land, but southern part exposed to moderate to low vulnerability because of low values of vulnerability indicators. Finally, agricultural drought exists at high risk condition in northern part and low in southern parts and 21.63, 26.54 and 29.68% of the area poses very high, high and moderate risk, respectively. So, immediate adaptation measures are needed keeping in mind climate features like rainfall and temperature variability, drought risk and risk ranking to make viable adaptation measures.     

Life cycle assessment tool of electricity generation in Portugal

This paper investigates multi-stakeholder arrangements initiated by businesses and NGOs from the North that aim to enhance a more sustainable agricultural production at specific localities in Southern countries. We aim to better understand the search for concerted action in multi-actor arrangements. Therefore, this paper presents a diagnostic framework with three strategic challenges the partnership projects are facing: linking global economic objectives to local needs, values and interests; bridging public and private interests and responsibilities; and seeking trade-offs between social, environmental and economic values. Starting from the partnerships’ Theory of Change, this diagnostic framework is applied to comparative case studies of partnership projects in the cocoa sector in Indonesia, which are part of a Northern-based public–private partnership to improve farmers’ prospective. It is concluded that the economic reality faced by the farmers differs from that of the Northern actors; collaboration with governments is difficult because of different organizational cultures; and the partnership projects underestimate the strength of vested social relations the smallholders are part of. Overall, the initiators of the partnerships seem to work with a too restricted economic interpretation of the local reality.     

Discrete-choice experiments valuing local environmental impacts of renewables: two approaches to a case study in Portugal

Despite the often mentioned environmental benefits associated with transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, their use for electricity production has non-negligible negative environmental impacts. The most commonly mentioned in surveys concern different types of landscape impacts, impacts on the fauna and flora, and noise. These impacts differ by size and location of plants, and by source of energy, rendering the policy decision complex. In addition, there are other welfare issues to take into consideration, as positive and negative environmental impacts are not evenly distributed among population groups. This paper proposes to compare the welfare impacts of renewable energy sources controlling for the type of renewable as well as the specific environmental impact by source. To this end, two discrete-choice experiments are designed and applied to a national sample of the Portuguese population. In one case, only individual negative impacts of renewables are used, and in another case, the negative impacts interact with a specific source. Results show the robustness of discrete-choice experiments as a method to estimate the welfare change induced by the impacts of renewable energy sources. Overall, respondents are willing to pay to reduce the environmental impacts, thus making compensation for local impacts feasible. Moreover, the estimations reveal that respondents are significantly sensitive to the detrimental environmental effects of specific renewable energy sources, being willing to pay more to use these sources of energy relative to others.     

Human–nature connectedness as a ‘treatment’ for pro-environmental behavior: making the case for spatial considerations

The degree to which an individual feels connected to the natural world can be a positive predictor of pro-environmental behavior (PEB). This has led to calls to ‘reconnect to nature’ as a ‘treatment’ for PEB. What is not clear is the relationship between where one feels connected to nature and where one acts pro-environmentally. We propose that integrating spatial scale into the conceptualization of these constructs will provide insights into how different degrees of connectedness influence pro-environmental behavior. We discuss trends towards a spatial understanding of human–nature connectedness (HNC) and introduce three archetypes that highlight scalar relationships between scale of connectedness and scale of pro-environmental behavior: (1) equal interactions, (2) embedded interactions, and (3) extended interactions. We discuss potential policy and practice implications of taking a spatially explicit approach to HNC–PEB research, and propose a research agenda for investigating these scalar relationships that can inform nature as a ‘treatment’ intervention.     

Overcoming barriers to sustainability by combining conceptual,visual, and networking systems

Sustainability challenges rarely align with the conventional boundaries of our disciplines, institutions and means of communication. To address these challenges amid real-world complexity, we need to think holistically and collaborate across disciplines. In this paper, we synthesise three themes: (1) more integrated conceptual frameworks; (2) digital visual communication which provides fluid expression of complex ideas and perceptions; and (3) online networks which can empower sustainability initiatives and communicate them across social and institutional barriers at a global scale. Each of these tools can help to overcome persistent barriers to sustainability. When used together, they provide a strategic basis for the design of digital collaboration platforms for addressing sustainability challenges. Using design thinking, we developed a Synergy Map which identifies relationships among a number of barriers to sustainability and conceptual and digital tools which help to address them. The Map identifies the potential for synthesising these tools into effective digital artefacts. We provide several examples and identify characteristics of particular value for overcoming barriers to sustainability. Combining new theoretical developments in sustainability sciences with recent advances in communication and networking technologies offers substantial potential for advancing sustainability on multiple fronts.     

Anishnaabe Aki: an indigenous perspective on the global threat of invasive species

Conservation discourses tend to portray invasive species as biological entities temporally connected to colonial timelines, using terms such as “alien”, “colonizing”, “colonial”, and “native”. This focus on a colonial timeline emerges from scientific publications within conservation biology and invasion ecology and is enacted through invasive species management by state and NGO actors. Colonialism is influential for indigenous nations in myriad ways, but in what ways do indigenous understandings of invasive species engage with colonialism? We conducted ethnographic research with indigenous Anishnaabe communities to learn about the ways Anishnaabe people conceptualize invasive species as a phenomenon in the world and were gifted with three primary insights. First, Anishnaabe regard plants, like all beings, as persons that assemble into nations more so than “species”. The arrival of new plant nations is viewed by some Anishnaabe as a natural form of migration. The second insight highlights the importance of actively discovering the purpose of new species, sometimes with the assistance of animal teachers. Lastly, while Anishnaabe describe invasive species as phenomenologically entangled with colonialism, the multiple ways Anishnaabe people think about invasive species provide alternatives to native–non-native binaries that dominate much of the scientific discourse.     

Evaluating knowledge integration and co-production in a 2-year collaborative learning process with smallholder dairy farmer groups

Although knowledge integration and co-production are integral to transdisciplinary approaches to foster sustainable change in social–ecological systems, this type of research is usually not evaluated based on assessments of the learning process. While participants are meant to be central in such approaches, too often, their perspectives are not central to the evaluation. Moreover, there is limited empirical information about how new knowledge is transformed into action. We respond to these knowledge gaps by analyzing (A) farmers’ perspectives on the collaborative learning process and (B) how farmers’ new knowledge can serve as the basis for changed actions. Theoretically, we are guided by second-order cybernetics and have integrated the Control Loop Model with Learning Loops to extend Kirkpatrick (Evaluating training programs: the four levels, 2nd edn. Berrett-Koehler Publisher, San Francisco, 1998) four-level evaluation scheme. We apply this to evaluate a 2-year collaborative learning process with two smallholder dairy farmer groups in Nakuru County, Kenya that aimed to co-develop local sustainable pathways to reduce milk losses. Results showed that farmers learned by (1) implementing corrective actions based on known cause–effect relations (single-loop learning); (2) discovering new cause–effect relations and testing their effect (double-loop learning); and (3) further questioning and changing their aims (triple-loop learning). Highlighting the importance of knowledge integration and co-production, this collaboration between farmers, researchers, and field assistants improved the farmers’ ability to respond, adapt, and intentionally transform their farming system in relation with complex sustainability challenges. Results demonstrate that the potential of our evaluation scheme to better reflect learning and empowerment experienced by actors involved in transdisciplinary research for sustainability.