Indicator framework for sustainable production planning and controlling

Production facilities serve to transform raw materials into products, usually with the goal of achieving a designated output, in terms of quantity and quality, with the minimum of cost and labour. With the aid of production planning and controlling (PPC) systems, raw material inputs, and labour can be planned to achieve a determined output of products. In general, the role of environmental and social aspects is neglected in production planning processes. Because of the growing pressure from politics and customers, sustainable production of products is becoming more important. One possibility for supporting sustainable manufacturing is, to integrate sustainable aspects in the production planning process. This paper presents input and output information for current PPC systems and discusses the need for additional information necessary for sustainable PPC. For this approach, a text review of cooperate social responsibility (CSR) reporting indicators provided by the GRI was performed. Based on the text review, an input-output model has been developed for conventional and another one for sustainable PPC systems. Through the comparison of the two input-output models, challenges and requirements for sustainable PPC systems have been defined as a basis for future work and analyses.     

Assessing and managing intensification in smallholder dairy systems for food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smallholder farmers play an important part in the dairy value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three technological approaches have been used to improve productivity. These are through, applying agricultural ecological processes (ecological intensification), utilising modern livestock breeding (genetic intensification), and socio-economic intensification. Ecological intensification includes continuous housing of cows applying a cut-and-carry feeding system, introduction of purpose-bred forages and pastures, and the introduction of agro-forestry within the dairy systems. Genetic intensification strategies include: importation of dairy breeds such as Holstein–Friesian (HF) and cross-breeding of the indigenous breeds with HF. Training and capacity-building activities to create sustainable livelihoods have been initiated for farming and technological practices of animal husbandry, but also to enhance appropriate leadership and corporative-building skills that would create and support an enabling environment for sustainability. These improvements and initiatives in the service delivery have been championed by national governments, development partner institutions, or non-governmental organisations through different programmes. Challenges of intensification include matching management to genetic potential of imported and cross-bred improved dairy breeds, ensuring low post-harvest losses, proper utilisation, and reducing environmental impact. Using examples from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, this paper reviews the management and assessment approaches used in fostering smallholder dairy development strategies and dairy’s contribution to sustainable livelihoods in the face of intensification.     

On the Environmental Efficiency of Water Storage: the Case of a Conjunctive use of Ground and Rainwater

Rainwater harvesting, consisting in collecting runoff from precipitation, has been widely developed to stop groundwater declines and even raise water tables. However, this expected environmental effect is not self-evident. We show in a simple setting that the success of this conjunctive use depends on whether the runoff rate is above a threshold value. Moreover, the bigger the storage capacity, the higher the runoff rate must be to obtain an environmentally efficient system. We also extend the model to include other hydrological parameters and ecological damages, which respectively increase and decrease the environmental efficiency of rainwater harvesting.     

Detention Outlet Retrofit Improves the Functionality of Existing Detention Basins by Reducing Erosive Flows in Receiving Channels

By discharging excess stormwater at rates that more frequently exceed the critical flow for stream erosion, conventional detention basins often contribute to increased channel instability in urban and suburban systems that can be detrimental to aquatic habitat and water quality, as well as adjacent property and infrastructure. However, these ubiquitous assets, valued at approximately $600,000 per km² in a representative suburban watershed, are ideal candidates to aid in reversing such cycles of channel degradation because improving their functionality would not necessarily require property acquisition or heavy construction. The objective of this research was to develop a simple, cost‐effective device that could be installed in detention basin outlets to reduce the erosive power of the relatively frequent storm events (~ < two‐year recurrence) and provide a passive bypass to maintain flood control performance during infrequent storms (such as the 100‐year recurrence). Results from a pilot installation show that the Detain H₂O device reduced the cumulative sediment transport capacity of the preretrofit condition by greater than 40%, and contributed to reduced flashiness and prolonged baseflows in receiving streams. When scaling the strategy across a watershed, these results suggest that potential gains in water quality and stream channel stability could be achieved at costs that are orders of magnitude less than comparable benefits from newly constructed stormwater control measures.     

Overview of Proposal Revisions to the superfund Hazard Ranking System

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 required the federal government to establish criteria for setting priorities among releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded by developing the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which is a scoring system used to establish the National Priorities List (NPL). The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 required EPA to amend the HRS so it will more accurately assess relative risks and take into account certain specific elements of risk. On December 23,1988, EPA published in the Federal Register the proposed rule to revise the HRS.1 EPA expects to issue the final rule in 1990 after reviewing public comments. This paper describes the proposed revisions and summarizes major technical findings that support the revisions. As a result of the HRS revisions, there may be some changes in the types of sites that score high enough to be placed on the NPL. A projection of those changes is discussed.     

An Approach for Evaluating the Repeatability of Rapid Wetland Assessment Methods: The Effects of Training and Experience

We sampled 92 wetlands from four different basins in the United States to quantify observer repeatability in rapid wetland condition assessment using the Delaware Rapid Assessment Protocol (DERAP). In the Inland Bays basin of Delaware, 58 wetland sites were sampled by multiple observers with varying levels of experience (novice to expert) following a thorough training workshop. In the Nanticoke (Delaware/Maryland), Cuyahoga (Ohio), and John Day (Oregon) basins, 34 wetlands were sampled by two expert teams of observers with minimal protocol training. The variance in observer to observer scoring at each site was used to calculate pooled standard deviations (SD_pool), coefficients of variation, and signal-to-noise ratios for each survey. The results showed that the experience level of the observer had little impact on the repeatability of the final rapid assessment score. Training, however, had a large impact on observer to observer repeatability. The SD_pool in the Inland Bay survey with training (2.2 points out of a 0–30 score) was about half that observed in the other three basins where observers had minimal training (SD_pool = 4.2 points). Using the results from the survey with training, we would expect that two sites assessed by different, trained observers who obtain DERAP scores differing by more than 4 points are highly likely to differ in ecological condition, and that sites with scores that differ by 2 or fewer points are within variability that can be attributed to observer differences.     

Rapidly eroding piñon-juniper woodlands in New Mexico: response to slash treatment

The pi?on (Pinus edulis Engelm.)-juniper [Juniperus monosperma (Engelm.) Sarg.] woodlands of Bandelier National Monument are experiencing accelerated erosion. Earlier studies suggest that causes of these rapidly eroding woodlands are related to an unprecedented rapid transition of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) savanna to pi?on-juniper woodlands as a result of cumulative historical effects of overgrazing, fire suppression, and severe drought. To study the effectiveness of slash treatment in reducing accelerated erosion, we used sediment check dams to quantify sediment yield from twelve paired microwatersheds (300-1100 m2) within an existing paired water-shed study. Six of the twelve microwatersheds were located in a 41-ha (treatment) watershed with scattered slash treatment, whereas six microwatersheds were located in an adjacent 35-ha untreated (control) watershed. The primary purpose of our research was to quantify the rates of sediment yield between the treated and control microwatersheds. Sediment yield was measured from 15 individual storms during the months of June-September (2000 and 2001). In response to slash treatment, mean seasonal sediment yield for 2000 equaled 2.99 Mg/ha in the control vs. 0.03 Mg/ha in the treatment and 2.07 Mg/ha in the control vs. 0.07 Mg/ha in the treatment in 2001. The practice of slash treatment demonstrates efficacy in reducing erosion in degraded pi?on-juniper woodlands by encouraging herbaceous recovery. Our data show that slash treatment increases total ground cover (slash and herbaceous growth) beyond a potential erosion threshold. Restored pi?on-juniper woodlands, as the result of slash treatment, provide a forest structure similar to pre-grazing and pre-fire suppression conditions and decrease catastrophic fire hazard.