The impact of a cement company’s CSR programmes on the lifestyles of a rural community: a case study in the Ring 1 area in Tuban,East Java,Indonesia

The studies about patterns and impacts of a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes on the local communities have been conducted in a number of developed countries. The similar studies, however, were still rarely conducted in developing countries, particularly in Indonesia. This study aims at discussing the impact of the CSR programmes of a cement company on the lifestyles of a rural community in six villages in Tuban district of East Java Province in Indonesia. The study was conducted from January to September 2015, using qualitative data collection and analysis. This study found that the presence of the cement company has made both positive and negative impacts to the rural community. For the positive impacts, we can see the development of infrastructure that makes the villages become more representative; the emergence of new business opportunities, such as food stalls and boarding houses; and the improvement of the quality of human resources through free health care, education, and religious activities. The supports from the cement company, however, have not been distributed equally among the villagers. In addition, we can also see the following negative impacts: the increase of social tense among the villagers due to the tight competition to obtain work in the cement company; the uneasy relation between the local people and the immigrants who work in the cement company; the decrease in the number of people working in agricultural sectors, as most of them have moved or wish to move to the cement company.     

Analysis of Cd,Cu, Pb,Zn, Hg and Mn in kidneys and liver from human cadavers – A case study in South Western Nigeria

In this study, autopsy tissue samples from human liver and kidneys were analysed for Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg and Mn in 25 subjects (16 males and 9 females) ranging in age from 2 to 70 years. Tissue samples that were pathologically normal were obtained at postmortem and concentrations of metals were determined. In both kidneys and liver, the concentrations of metals followed the order Cd > Hg > Pb > Zn > Mn > Cu irrespective of gender and age group, except in female kidneys where the order was Cd > Pb > Hg > Zn > Mn > Cu. Generally, males had higher concentrations of metals in both the kidneys and liver. Significant correlations of the metals were found in kidney and liver tissues.     

Can floor-area-ratio incentive promote low impact development in a highly urbanized area?—A case study in Changzhou City,China

As an environmental friendly measure for surface runoff reduction, low impact development (LID) has been applied successfully in urban areas. However, due to high price of land and additional expense for LID construction in highly urbanized areas, the developers of real estate would not like to proceed LID exploitation. Floor area ratio (FAR) refers to “the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.” Increasing FAR indicates that the developers can construct higher buildings and earn more money. By means of awarding FAR, the developers may be willing to practice LID construction. In this study, a new residential district is selected as a case study to analyze the tradeoff between the runoff reduction goal achieving by LID practices and the incentive of awarding FAR to promote LID construction. The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN) model is applied to simulate the runoff reduction under various LID designs and then derive the Pareto-optimal solutions to achieve urban runoff reduction goals based on cost efficiency. The results indicates that the maximum surface runoff reduction is 20.5%. Under the extremity scenarios, the government has options to award FAR of 0.028, 0.038 and 0.047 and the net benefits developers gain are 0 CNY, one million CNYand two million CNY, respectively. The results provide a LID construction guideline related to awarding FAR, which supports incentive policy making for promoting LID practices in the highly urbanized areas.

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HCHs and DDTs in Yellow River of Henan section—a typical agricultural area in China: levels,distributions and risks

The levels, potential sources and ecological risks of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) in Yellow River of Henan section, a typical agricultural area in China, were investigated. Surface water samples and suspended particulate matters (SPMs) were collected from 23 sites during two seasons. In wet season, the residues of ∑HCHs (α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH and δ-HCH) and ∑DDTs (p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDD) ranged from 41.7 to 290 and 4.42 to 269 ng/L in surface water, while those varied from 0.86 to 157 and 1.79 to 96.1 ng/g dw in SPM, respectively. Moreover, in surface water, the levels of HCHs and DDTs in wet season were much higher than those in dry season. The reverse was true for residues of HCHs and DDTs in SPM. Compared with the large rivers in other regions, the levels of HCHs and DDTs in the studied area ranked at high levels and the residual concentrations might cause adverse biological risk, especially for ∑HCHs during wet season. Distributions of HCHs and DDTs delineated that the input of tributaries made a significant effect on the residue of HCHs and DDTs in the mainstream. ∑HCHs in surface water were consist of 26.7 % α-HCH, 30.0 % β-HCH, 37.9 % γ-HCH and 5.45 % δ-HCH and those in SPM contained 5.16 % α-HCH, 22.1 % β-HCH, 60.5 % γ-HCH and 12.2 % δ-HCH on average. Combined with ratios of α-HCH/γ-HCH in surface water (0.70) and in SPM (0.09), the results strongly indicated that lindane was recently used or discharged in the studied area. The mean percentage of DDTs′ isomers were 28.7 % p,p′-DDT, 29.8 % o,p′-DDT, 28.1 % p,p′-DDE and 13.4 % p,p′-DDD in surface water, while those were 12.5 % p,p′-DDT, 31.8 % o,p′-DDT, 30.5 % p,p′-DDE and 25.1 % p,p′-DDD in SPM. The ratios of (DDE + DDD)/∑DDTs and o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT revealed that the DDTs in the studied area mainly derived from long-term weathering of technical DDTs residue and the input of dicofol.     

Evaluation and remediation of organics,nutrients and heavy metals in landfill leachate – a case study in Beijing

Leachate pollution in landfill sites is a major source of environmental concern. This study evaluates organics, nutrients and heavy metals in a landfill site in Beijing, and introduces a method combining coagulation–flocculation with filtration for the advanced treatment of leachate. The results confirm that COD_Cr, TN, NH₄⁺ ? N, TP, Mn and As in leachate treated by an anaeobic–oxic biological method are unable to meet discharge or surface water quality standards. When treated with coagulation–flocculation combined with filtration under optimal conditions (cationic polyacrylamide dosage of 8.0 mg/L; polyaluminium chloride dosage of 350 mg/L; 0.4–0.6 mm ceramsite media in the filtration process), the residual NH₄⁺? N, TN, Mn and As in the leachate meet the maximum allowed values for landfill leachate discharge or surface water quality standards in China; the exceptions are chemical oxygen demand and total phosphorus. Leachate treatment processes could be further strengthened or improved.     

End-users’ knowledge,attitude, and behavior towards safe use of pesticides: a case study in the Guanting Reservoir area,China

Pesticides are widely used in China for crop protection. However, the use of some highly toxic and accumulative pesticides has led to serious pollution to the environment. The knowledge that end-users of pesticides have about hazards is important for the prevention of acute poisoning. Moreover, farmers, especially those who purchase and use pesticides, often make important and long-standing impacts on the local ecosystem and environment. In this study, a specially designed questionnaire was used to collect information on their knowledge, attitude, and behavior related to pesticides in the Guanting Reservoir area, north of China. Most pesticide end-users reported that they took incomplete preventive measures for lack of extensive pesticide knowledge and information. Pesticide information, instruction, and training among farmers should be promoted, and governmental intervention is needed to ensure proper management regarding public health risks and environmental hazards.     

Accumulation, contamination, and seasonal variability of trace metals in the coastal zone – patterns in a seagrass meadow from the Mediterranean

Amongst a plethora of threats to seagrass ecosystems, contamination with heavy metals may well be one of the most significant. We therefore set out to track contamination levels with Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the principal autotrophic compartments and sediments of a meadow of Posidonia oceanica in the Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea. With respect to metal levels, leaves and their associated epibiota are certainly not a homogenous compartment, as might perhaps be inferred from the common use of the term “leaf–epiphyte complex” in the literature. Save for Cu, all metal species analysed showed appreciable differences in concentration between seagrass leaves and epibiota. These results give strength to our argument that in ecotoxicological work leaves and epibiota should not be treated as a single unit. Although absolute differences in trace-metal levels among sampling periods varied somewhat with the specific component analysed (i.e. macrophyte organs, epibiota, sediment), an overall trend of markedly higher heavy-metal levels during the winter season is a striking one. Whilst annual cycles in growth dynamics of the seagrasses explain a significant fraction of the temporal variance, seasonality in productivity is a doubtful explanation for similar patterns in non-living sedimentary components; consideration of additional variables therefore seems sensible. As variables with consistent explanatory powers we suggest: (1) seasonal cycles in storm frequency and amplitude which remobilise metals bound in the sediments of the sea floor, and (2) increased precipitation during the cold season which may significantly increase marine metal levels through elevated weathering of rocks and elevated fluvial inputs of anthropogenic contaminant loads. Whereas Cd and Pb concentrations in seagrass leaves from the Gulf of Naples fall within the range for coastal areas subjected to low levels of heavy-metal pollution, Cu and Zn reach levels typical of highly contaminated regions, such as the waters bordering major coastal cities. Any direct comparisons of the pollution status of seagrass beds between different geographic areas are, however, likely to be confounded by the indiscriminate application of the “leaf–epiphyte complex”: the magnitude of the confounding effect depends on the ratio of epibiota/leave biomass, time of sampling, and metal species analysed. Received: 15 May 1997 / Accepted: 2 February 1998     

Landsenses pattern design to mitigate gale conditions in the coastal city – a case study of Pingtan,China

ABSTRACT

Due to the special geographic locations and multiple typhoons a year, the frequent strong winds bring great discomfort and danger to the daily lives of the urban residents in southeast coast of China. The strategic design of landsenses pattern on different scales can help reduce gale days in urban areas while delivering diverse additional benefits such as pollution control and biodiversity habitat protection. Although the greatest gale days are observed in cold and damp winters, there is comparatively little information available for land managers to determine an appropriate strategy for landsenses pattern design under these climatic conditions. We present a framework for prioritization and selection of landsenses pattern for gale day reductions. The framework is supported by examining the relationships between urban landsenses pattern evolution and gale day mitigation in the past, with which we used to develop implementation guidelines that maximize reductions of urban surface gale days. We focus particularly on quantifying the benefits of four types of landsenses: land-use patterns, urban road network, architectural patterns, and vertical greening systems (green walls and facades) and demonstrate how to apply the framework with a case study from Pingtan Island, China.     

An integrated investigation of biomarkers’ response in crabs (Liocarcinus depurator) and benthic indices at a metalliferous waste discharge area in North Evoikos gulf,Greece

This study applied biomarkers and benthic indices at an area in North Evoikos Gulf, Greece, affected by metalliferous slag disposal. Biomarkers of antioxidant defense (catalase, glutathione S-transferase), and neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase) were measured in crabs Liocarcinus depurator. Iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) concentrations in sediments and crabs were also measured. High levels of all metals were found in sediments at the disposal area. Metal levels in the crabs were also higher in the disposal area although spatial differences were not as marked as in the sediments. Accordingly, biomarker responses of crabs in the disposal area were also noted suggesting impact on the antioxidant defense of the organisms against oxidative stress. Benthic indices showed disturbance in the disposal area. The combined approach of measuring biomarkers and contaminant levels in the crabs and sediment was complementary to the benthic indices approach providing indications of metal exposure related effects. Our results support the idea that a twofold monitoring approach of assessing both the benthic community structure shifts and the biomarkers and metal accumulation levels may integrate and capture both the structural and the toxicological effects of dumping onto the benthic communities.     

Multi-risk,multi-scale and multi-stakeholder – the contribution of a bow-tie analysis for risk management in the trilateral Wadden Sea Region

Risk management processes increasingly call for enhanced stakeholder participation, and aim to integrate different risk perceptions, concerns and interests. Frequently, this goal is driven by the increased complexity of risk management processes, as risk management processes continuously have to deal with multi-risk situations including impacts resulting from risks of natural hazards and risks caused by misguided social or economic development. Although stakeholder participation is required by different policies, major challenges still arise from the question of how to perform multi-stakeholder participation in practice. In order to find answers, we tested the so-called ‘bow-tie analysis’ as a potential tool to facilitate multi-stakeholder participation with a major effort on integrating stakeholders risk perceptions and interest in the risk management processes. The bow-tie analysis is a commonly used risk assessment technique (IEC 2009) to analyse cause-and-effect pathways of risks, but its application in multi-stakeholder processes in risk management of natural hazards, especially in a European context, is rather new. Using practical experiences from the trilateral Wadden Sea Region we demonstrate the bow-tie analysis’ contribution to coastal risk management processes in this coastal area by facilitating collaborative identification, comprehension and analysis of the management system. The use of a modified bow-tie analysis in collaboration with stakeholders from the Wadden Sea Region proved to be an appropriate framework for enhancing the understanding of risk management processes and fostered disclosure of different perceptions and concerns of multi-risk problematics. The bow-tie can be beneficial as a communication and co-construction tool in risk management processes in a multi-risk context.     

Efficiency of Zn phytoextraction,biomass yield and formation of low-molecular-weight organic acids in S × rubens – a hydroponic experiment

The aim of the study was to estimate Zn phytoextraction and changes in biomass of S?×?rubens growing in modified Knop's solution with different levels of Zn addition (0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0?mM). Obtained results were correlated with secretion of selected low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) in the rhizosphere, roots and leaves. An increase in Zn concentration in Knop's solution resulted in Zn accumulation in roots, shoots and leaves. The highest accumulation was observed for plants growing in 5?mM Zn, at concentration levels 4741.36?±?98.66, 1227.31?±?16.57 and 2241.65?±?34.90?mg?kg^?1 DW in roots, shoots and leaves, respectively. The bioaccumulation factor and the translocation factor for plants growing in 0.5, 1.0 and 2.5?mM Zn clearly indicate that this Salix taxon is an effective Zn accumulator. The general reduction of Salix biomass with an increase in Zn concentration in the solution was observed. In the rhizosphere, the total LMWOA concentration was almost 0.93?µmol?kg^?1 DM for control (Zn free) plants, while for 5.0?mM of Zn it was 4.9?µmol?kg^?1 DM. Increasing concentrations of acids were observed in roots (1.34 for the control and 5.57?µmol?kg^?1 DM for plants treated with 2.5?mM of Zn).     

Biologically active secondary metabolites in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) – a review focusing on contents in the plant, plant–pest interactions and transformation

Summary.  To exploit biologically active compounds from white clover (Trifolium repens L.) for suppressing weeds and soil-borne diseases, either as isolated products (biopesticides) or through cultivars with enhanced production of these compounds, the biologically active compounds must be identified, plant content measured, and their fate in soil known. The present review summarizes the published knowledge needed for such exploitation; providing essential information on structure and concentration of flavonols, flavones, condensed tannins, isoflavones, isoflavanones, pterocarpans, coumestans, cyanogenic glucosides, and saponins in healthy and stressed white clover plants. Various stresses and particular cultivars affect the concentrations of several of the compounds. Information on biological effects and the degradation/transformation of these compounds in plants or by microorganisms is available. There is no information on the degradation pathway in soil, the mechanisms of exudation and leaching of compounds from plants, and soil sorption properties of the compounds. The clover soil fatigue problem is increasing in grasslands and causes problems especially in organic farming. Research efforts focused on biological elements of clover soil fatigue have not explained it, and the influence of secondary metabolites has not been investigated. There are few investigations into the interaction between beneficial fungi/fungal-diseases and the occurrence of biologically active secondary metabolites in white clover plants. Such studies are critical to better understand beneficial fungi and pathogens.     

Palaeopathological Fish Bones from Phosphorites of the Lake Manyara Area, Northern Tanzania – Fossil Evidence of a Physiological Response to Survival in an Extreme Biocenosis

In Plio/Pleistocene phosphorites at Minjingu, 5 km east of Lake Manyara, northern Tanzania, hyperostotic fish bones (Tilly bones) are preserved, which developed in a strongly alkaline, lacustrine environment. The palaeopathological addition of bony tissue to the normal skeleton of these fishes was analysed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), in thin sections under ordinary and polarised light, in microradiographs, with epifluorescence microscopy and their fluorine content was determined. The development of these structures is probably correlated with the high content of fluorine in this exceptional environment and denotes a physiological survival strategy in this ancient biocenosis.     

Biodiversity protection funding preference: a case study of hotspot geoinformatics and digital governance for the Map of Italian Nature in the presence of multiple indicators of ecological value,ecological sensitivity and anthropic pressure for the Oltrepò Pavese and Ligurian-Emilian Apennine study area in Italy

The environmental decision-maker is aware of the increasing difficulties in finding sufficient financial resources for nature conservation. So he must focus his attention on ecological situations that more than the others merit considering and defending because of elevated value but also because of risk for their intrinsic characteristics and for human pressure acting on them. Usually an ecological scientist focuses his attention on the natural patches of the landscape, analyzing their peculiar ecological traits forgetting that, even if we want to protect some environmental critical situations, this can be done only moving to the administrative partition of the territory since the central and local environmental stakeholders have primary interest in providing funds to those involved in those critical situations. The present work shows a methodological approach, consisting of a set of statistical and geoinformational tools, considering both ecological and socio-demographical indicators. The goal is not simply to give some general guidelines for environmental policies to the involved stakeholders but focuses more on finding out which administrative local partitions in a study area are more worthy to receive urgently the priority funds for biodiversity protection to face critical environmental situations often due to a combination of intrinsic ecological parameters and external human pressure ones. Obtaining results that cover 5% of the Communes involved in the area seems to be a realistic result that a decision-maker can support and fund. Methodologically and geospatial data analytically, the investigation offers interesting challenges for surveillance geoinformatics of hotspot detection and prioritization, because of the presence of multiple hotspots and multiple sets of multiple indicators.