Social perceptions of the impacts of Colombo water supply projects

The complexity of development activities, in which the interactions between various forces often mean that outcomes are unpredictable and unanticipated, highlights the importance of objective and comprehensive evaluations. In the specific case of the evaluation of towns east and south of Colombo water supply projects, the findings have major implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, if the water-related objectives are to be fulfilled. The study found that 30% of the households of these towns that are receiving clean, piped water are not using it for drinking. Instead, they are continuing to drink contaminated well water. Whereas it is considered that the main beneficiaries of water supply projects have been women and people who are sick, elderly, or disabled, the general perception is that the health conditions of the families have not improved with the provision of clean water (in fact, many claim that their health conditions have deteriorated). In spite of the higher cost of the supplied water, people are willing to pay for it as long as the supply is reliable.     

Economic impacts of urban air pollution: valuation for Mumbai, India

Urban air pollution is on the rise in many cities of the world. There are associated health impacts that affect urban residents, especially the poor. By doing economic valuation, it is possible to draw the attention of citizens, policy-makers and, of course, researchers to the extent of damage and the value of it. In this paper, such a valuation is done using time-series data for the suburb of Mumbai called Chembur and cross-sectional data for several wards. We value mortality and morbidity from air pollution using the above data. It is shown that the pollution in Mumbai can lead to high health costs. In general the average cost amounts 0.26% of income due to highly subsidised treatment and poverty. However, 5% of patients who suffer severe attacks may pay as much as much as 19% of their income. Workdays lost are of equal importance to health expenditures. Distributional aspects of the damage are such that children and senior citizens are affected most.     

Evaluating the impacts of some environmentally relevant factors on the availability of bisphenol A with negligible-depletion SPME

The effect of some environmentally relevant factors including salinity, pH, and humic acids on the availability of bisphenol A (BPA) was evaluated by using the negligible-depletion solid-phase microextraction (nd-SPME) biomimetic method. With the variation of salinity (0–500 mM NaCl) and pH (5.0–8.5) of aqueous solutions, the partition coefficients of BPA between the nd-SPME fiber and the aqueous solution varied in the range of log D = 3.55–3.86, which indicates that the salinity and pH can influence the availability of BPA. By using Acros humic acid as model dissolved organic matter (DOM), it was also demonstrated that the environmental factors such as salinity and pH could affect the partitioning of BPA between DOM and aqueous solutions. The determined partition coefficients of BPA between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and aqueous solutions were in the range of log D_DOC = 4.03–5.60 for Acros humic acid solutions with 1–50 mg l⁻¹ DOC. The influence of salinity and pH on log D_DOC was more significant at low concentration (0–5 mg l⁻¹) of DOC.     

Evaluating the air quality impacts of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: On-road emission factors and black carbon profiles

The aggressive traffic interventions and emission control measures implemented to improve air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games created a valuable case study to evaluate the effectiveness of these measures on mitigating air pollution and protecting public health. In this paper, we report the results from our field campaign in summer 2008 on the on-road emission factors of carbon monoxide, black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particles (UFP) as well as the ambient BC concentrations. The fleet average emission factors for light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGV) showed considerable reduction in the Olympic year (2008) compared to the pre-Olympic year (2007). Our measurement of Black Carbon (BC), a primary pollutant, at different elevations at the ambient site suggests consistent decrease in BC concentrations as the height increased near the ground level, which indicates that the nearby ground level sources, probably dominated by traffic, contributed to a large portion of BC concentrations in the lower atmospheric layer in Beijing during summertime. These observations indicate that people living in near ground levels experience higher exposures than those living in higher floors in Beijing. The BC diurnal patterns on days when traffic control were in place during the Olympic Games were compared to those on non-traffic-control days in both 2007 and in 2008. These patterns strongly suggest that diesel trucks are a major source of summertime BC in Beijing. The median BC concentration on Olympic days was 3.7 μg m⁻³, which was dramatically lower than the value on non-traffic-control days, indicating the effectiveness of traffic control regulations in BC reduction in Beijing.     

Climate change impacts on the leaching of a heavy metal contamination in a small lowland catchment

The Keersop catchment (43km(2)) in the south of The Netherlands has been contaminated by the emissions of four zinc ore smelters. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of future projected climate change on the hydrology and the leaching of heavy metals (i.e. Cd and Zn) in the catchment. The numerical, quasi-2D, unsaturated zone Soil Water Atmosphere Plant model was used with 100-year simulated daily time series of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. The time series are representative of stationary climates for the periods 1961-1990 ("baseline") and 2071-2100 ("future"). The time series of future climate were obtained by downscaling the results of eight regional climate model (RCM) experiments, driven by the SRES A2 emissions scenario, using change factors for a series of climate statistics and applying them to stochastic weather generator models. The time series are characterized by increased precipitation in winter, less precipitation in summer, and higher air temperatures (between 2°C and 5°C) throughout the year. Future climate scenarios project higher evapotranspiration rates, more irrigation, less drainage, lower discharge rates and lower groundwater levels, due to increased evapotranspiration and a slowing down of the groundwater system. As a result, lower concentrations of Cd and Zn in surface water are projected. The reduced leaching of heavy metals, due to drying of the catchment, showed a positive impact on a limited aspect of surface water quality.     

Reindeer in the Swedish mountains: an assessment of grazing impacts

During the last decade, several well-publicized grazing-related incidents of vegetation degradation have helped to form an official opinion of overutilization of some mountain areas and a concern that Swedish reindeer husbandry may not be ecologically sustainable. We examine these examples in a temporal and management perspective to assess the scale of impact on summer grazing grounds in the Swedish mountains. Long-term data on population dynamics of reindeer show no trend with fluctuations around 225 000 animals for the last century. Data on grazing effects from L?ngfj?llet (Dalarna) and Mitt?kl?ppen (H?rjedalen) are discussed in detail. We compare these data to the situation in Finnmark, Norway, and in northern Finland where reindeer husbandry in recent decades does not seem to have been ecologically sustainable. We conclude that large-scale overexploitation by reindeer in the Swedish mountains is not evident. However, strong grazing and trampling effects may be found around enclosures and fences.     

Interaction of plastic particles with heavy metals and the resulting toxicological impacts: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Interactions of plastic particles with different organic/inorganic pollutants including heavy metals impact their ecotoxicological potential, and...     

A multivariate statistical approach for the evaluation of spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water quality from the small reservoir located in the drought-prone area of South-West India: a case study of Tiru reservoir (India)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the use of different multivariate statistical analysis methods, spatio-temporal fluctuations in the water parameters of Tiru reservoir located at...     

Distribution of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers in soil samples from a small scale industrial area of Lucknow, North India, associated with lindane production

Concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (alpha-HCH, beta-HCH, gamma-HCH, and delta-HCH) were studied in soils samples collected from a small scale industrial unit of Lucknow associated with lindane production. All four isomers were detected from ten sites and the total HCH isomers in the analyzed samples varied from 53 to 99mgkg(-1). Cluster analysis was performed to group the soil sites in terms of their HCH contamination level. Low alpha/gamma HCH ratios were found and they indicate recent input of HCH. There is an urgent need for the on-site remediation of these contaminated sites in order to prevent the long-term environmental pollution.     

Environmental concerns and pollution control in the context of developing countries

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the developing countries, the pace of change—in vital technologies, in scientific research, in economic fundamentals, in the living...     

The invisibility of fisheries in the process of hydropower development across the Amazon

We analyze the invisibility of fisheries and inadequacy of fishers’ participation in the process of hydropower development in the Amazon, focusing on gaps between legally mandated and actual outcomes. Using Ostrom’s institutional design principles for assessing common-pool resource management, we selected five case studies from Brazilian Amazonian watersheds to conduct an exploratory comparative case-study analysis. We identify similar problems across basins, including deficiencies in the dam licensing process; critical data gaps; inadequate stakeholder participation; violation of human rights; neglect of fishers’ knowledge; lack of organization and representation by fishers’ groups; and lack of governmental structure and capacity to manage dam construction activities or support fishers after dam construction. Fishers have generally been marginalized or excluded from decision-making regarding planning, construction, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring of the social–ecological impacts of hydroelectric dams. Addressing these deficiencies will require concerted investments and efforts by dam developers, government agencies and civil society, and the promotion of inter-sectorial dialogue and cross-scale participatory planning and decision-making that includes fishers and their associations.     

A review about COVID-19 in the MENA region: environmental concerns and machine learning applications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has delayed global economic growth, which has affected the economic life globally. On the one hand, numerous...     

Evaluating the environmental fate of lindane in France

Lindane, a highly persistent and lipophilic pesticide, is still used in large quantities. This chemical can be found with appreciable concentrations in biota, atmosphere, and in other environmental compartments in the adsorbed form. This information provided a basis for assessing the simulation performances of CHEMFRANCE, a regional level III fugacity model allowing to generate environmental behavior profile of organic chemicals in France. The comparison between the estimated environmental fate and field and laboratory observations suggests that this fugacity model can be used to determine the processes that control the environmental fate of lindane in France. CHEMFRANCE also provides accurate estimates of environmental compartment contaminations.     

Evaluating the environmental fate of atrazine in France

Atrazine is used in large quantities in U.S. and European countries as a weed-control agent. As a result, numerous data on its environmental fate and hazards have been published. Analysis of the literature shows that this herbicide can be found with appreciable concentrations in groundwaters, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. This contamination principally results from leaching and runoff processes. Atrazine can also pollute fog and rain due to its release into the atmosphere through spray applications. This large amount of information constitutes a very attractive basis for assessing the simulation performances of environmental fate models. In this context, CHEMFRANCE, a regional fugacity model level III which calculates the environmental distribution of organic chemicals in twelve defined regions of France has been used to estimate the environmental fate of atrazine. The calculated values are comparable with field and laboratory results. Therefore, CHEMFRANCE can be considered as a useful tool for simulating the environmental fate of this agrochemical.     

Metal contamination of soils and plants associated with the glass industry in North Central India: prospects of phytoremediation

Introduction  

The effect of the glass industry on urban soil metal characterization was assessed in the area of Firozabad, India. A comprehensive profile of metal contamination was obtained in five zones each containing five specific sites.     

Biomonitors and the assessment of ecological impacts: distribution of herbivorous epifauna in contaminated macroalgal beds

We determined metal contents of co-occurring algae Padina crassa and Sargassum sp. in Port Jackson (Australia), and relationships between metal levels and the abundance of epifaunal amphipods. Copper, lead and zinc concentrations were amongst the highest yet recorded in these algae. Copper, manganese and lead concentrations were far greater in P. crassa than Sargassum sp., possibly due to the low growth of P. crassa in proximity to contaminated sediments. However, in manipulative experiments the proximity of algae to sediments did not explain these differences. The abundance of herbivorous amphipods correlated negatively with the copper content of P. crassa, but not with the lower concentrations in Sargassum sp. The greater contamination of P. crassa led to patchy distributions of metals in algal beds and recolonisation experiments showed Sargassum sp. acts as a refuge from contaminants for epifauna. The contamination of macroalgae may pose threats to epifauna in harbours around the world.     

Issues in evaluating the long-term global impacts of transport policy

This paper provides an overview of issues involved in evaluating the long-term impacts of transport policy. It considers the effects of global warming, and the costs and benefits of action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The overall case for such action rests on the choice of discount rate. The paper considers the relative effectiveness of taxes and regulations in controlling emissions from the transport sector, and contrasts direct action on road traffic with indirect action via policies to increase travel on public transport. After a brief mention of the issue of biodiversity, the paper concludes with some reflections on the political acceptability of different policies.     

Evaluating provincial eco-efficiency in China: an improved network data envelopment analysis model with undesirable output

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, an improved matrix-type network data envelopment analysis (NDEA) model with undesirable output was developed to evaluate the...     

The negative impacts of human activities in the eastern African region: an international waters perspective

The complex interactions between human activities and the environment at the interface of land and water is analyzed with a focus on the Somali Current (East Africa), and Indian Ocean Island States, subregions of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA). These 2 subregions contain some of the world's richest ecosystems, including the high biodiversity forests of Madagascar and the diverse coastal habitats of the eastern African coast. These ecosystems support local communities and national and regional economies. Current and future degradation of these systems, from water basins to continental shelves, affects the livelihoods and sustainability of the countries in the region, and long-term efforts to reduce poverty. The assessments determined that pollution and climate change are the primary environmental and social concerns in the Islands of the Indian Ocean, while freshwater shortage and unsustainable exploitation of fisheries and other living resources are the primary environmental and social concerns in East Africa. The GIWA approach, through assessing root causes of environmental concerns, enables the development of policy approaches for mitigating environmental degradation. This paper explores policy frameworks for mitigating the impacts, and reducing the drivers, of 3 environmental concerns--freshwater shortage; solid waste pollution; and climate change--addressing social and institutional causes and effects, and linking the subregions to broad international frameworks. The common theme in all 3 case studies is the need to develop integrated ecosystem and international waters policies, and mechanisms to manage conflicting interests and to limit threats to natural processes.     

Evaluating the environmental effects of economic openness: evidence from SAARC countries

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study investigates the possible environmental effects of economic openness, such as economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, and...