Ecological restoration as a strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change: lessons and challenges from Brazil

Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects biophysical systems and human well-being. The Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 2016 with the objective of strengthening the global response to climate change by keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. The agreement requires all Parties to submit their “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is an important strategy for mitigating climate change, particularly in developing countries with large forests. Extensive tropical forest loss and degradation have increased awareness at the international level of the need to undertake large-scale ecological restoration, highlighting the need to identify cases in which restoration strategies can contribute to mitigation and adaptation. Here we consider Brazil as a case study to evaluate the benefits and challenges of implementing large-scale restoration programs in developing countries. The Brazilian NDC included the target of restoring and reforesting 12 million hectares of forests for multiple uses by 2030. Restoration of native vegetation is one of the foundations of sustainable rural development in Brazil and should consider multiple purposes, from biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation to social and economic development. However, ecological restoration still presents substantial challenges for tropical and mega-diverse countries, including the need to develop plans that are technically and financially feasible, as well as public policies and monitoring instruments that can assess effectiveness. The planning, execution, and monitoring of restoration efforts strongly depend on the context and the diagnosis of the area with respect to reference ecosystems (e.g., forests, savannas, grasslands, wetlands). In addition, poor integration of climate change policies at the national and subnational levels and with other sectorial policies constrains the large-scale implementation of restoration programs. The case of Brazil shows that slowing deforestation is possible; however, this analysis highlights the need for increased national commitment and international support for actions that require large-scale transformations of the forest sector regarding ecosystem restoration efforts. Scaling up the ambitions and actions of the Paris Agreement implies the need for a global framework that recognizes landscape restoration as a cost-effective nature-based solution and that supports countries in addressing their remaining needs, challenges, and barriers.

     

可持续建筑部门的理念与手段

本文概览了伍珀塔尔研究所为建筑部门确立可持续性目标,以及为实现这些目标开创途径所采取的多种方法.资源生产力是覆盖建筑物整个生命周期的考虑(MIPS).为了迈向更大的可持续性,COMPASS理念把单一公司或工业部门的环境、经济和社会各方面因素综合考虑.这些方法中的每一种都有所作为,再根据不同类型的研究,为公司和政策制定者提出建议.多边利益相关者程序可以用来推动建筑部门的全面可持续发展,最终把相关的理念明确地推进到微型和中等级别上.     

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of frontonasal dysplasia

We report a case of prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of frontonasal dysplasia. This represents a very rare disorder involving the face (hypertelorism, median cleft lip, absence of the nasal tip) and often the central nervous system (CNS) (cranium bifidum occultum, ethmoidal cephalocele, agenesis of the corpus callosum). Although several of the typical anomalies are diagnosable by ultrasound in utero (hypertelorism, median cleft lip, anterior cephalocele), very few cases have been reported prenatally, the present being only the third. In the present case, hemimegalencephaly is first reported among the anomalies possibly associated with frontonasal dysplasia. The diagnosis was made at 22 weeks' gestation and was confirmed by necropsy following termination of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations – Part 2: methodological approach for performing vulnerability analysis of watersheds

Environmental vulnerability analysis has been sparsely used in environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of technological innovations. The present paper proposes a methodological approach to carry out vulnerability analysis of watersheds and to integrate this analysis into methods of environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations. This approach is applied to the Ambitec-Life Cycle method, described in Part 1 (this issue) of this study. The case study of green coconut substrate compared to ripe coconut substrate, also described in Part 1 (this issue), is now presented considering the vulnerability analysis of the watersheds where the life cycle stages of these products occur. The integration of vulnerability analysis in Ambitec-Life Cycle contributes to a better understanding of the environmental aspects of agro-industrial technological innovations with potential to cause significant impacts in watersheds where these innovations are implemented.     

Climate change and human health in Latin America: drivers, effects, and policies

Many people would be increasingly affected by living under critical conditions in Latin America if, as expected, global warming aggravates disease and pest transmission processes. Heat waves and air pollution would increase heat-related diseases and illness episodes in large cities. Fire smoke has been associated with irritation of the throat, lung and eyes, and respiratory problems. Climate extreme increases associated with climate change would cause physical damage, population displacement, and adverse effects on food production, freshwater availability and quality. It would also increase the risks of infectious and vector-borne diseases. Climate change impacts the geographical range, seasonality, and the incidence rate of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria. Climate-related ecological changes may expand cholera transmission, particularly among populations in low-laying tropical coastal areas. El Niño conditions may affect the incidence of infectious diseases, such as malaria. Ocean warming would increase temperature-sensitive toxins produced by phytoplankton, which could cause more frequent contamination of seafood. A clearer understanding on the current role of climate change in disease patterns will be able to improve forecasts of potential future impacts of projected climate change and support action to reduce such impacts.