Integrating livelihoods and conservation in protected areas: understanding the role and stakeholder views on prospects for non-timber forest products,a Bangladesh case study

Protected areas (PAs) represent a key global strategy in biodiversity conservation. In tropical developing countries, the management of PAs is a great challenge as many contain resources on which local communities rely. Collection and trading of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is a well-established forest-based livelihood strategy, which has been promoted as a potential means for enhanced conservation and improved rural livelihoods in recent years, even though the sustainability or ecological implications have rarely been tested. We conducted an exploratory survey to understand the role and stakeholder views on conservation prospects and perceived ecological feasibility of NTFPs and harvesting schemes in a northeastern PA of Bangladesh, namely the Satchari National Park. Households (n?=?101) were interviewed from three different forest dependency categories, adopting a stratified random sampling approach and using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study identified 13 locally important NTFPs, with five being critically important to supporting local livelihoods. Our study suggests that collection, processing and trading in NTFPs constitutes the primary occupation for about 18% of local inhabitants and account for an estimated 19% of their cash annual income. The household consensus on issues relating to NTFPs and their prospective role in conservation was surprisingly high, with 48% of respondents believing that promotion of NTFPs in the PA could have positive conservation value. The majority (71%) of households also had some understanding of the ecological implications of NTFP harvesting, sustainability (53%) and possible management and monitoring regimes (100%). With little known about their real application in the field, our study suggests further investigations are required to understand the ecological compatibility of traditional NTFP harvesting patterns and management.     

Green supply chain management in the chemical industry: structural framework of drivers

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is to improve the quality of supply chain management strategies and environmental performance. As per current statistics, the chemical industry is growing fast in Bangladesh. In order to compete for global competition, GSCM is essential in this sector. This paper proposes a systematic approach of structural framework whose aim is to enhance the probability of constructive implementation of GSCM in the field chemical industry in Bangladesh. Therefore, this framework evaluates the appropriate interrelationship along with the drivers of GSCM in the chemical industry. In total, eight drivers were finalized from an associated literature review with the help of survey and by taking expert opinions via the Delphi methodology. In addition to MICMAC analysis, the driving and the dependence powers for all the drivers were determined. Moreover, the structural frameworks for the drivers were developed by means of total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) technique. As a result, the findings indicate that the most significant driver was supplier pressure and willingness and the most important barrier was high cost. Finally, the main objective of this research is expected to help industrial managers to evaluate and understand the critical areas where they should emphasize to implement GSCM in the chemical industry.     

Chlorpyrifos insecticide uptake by plantain from polluted water and soil

Chlorpyrifos is a common organophosphorus insecticide used for crop protection. Chlorpyrifos use has induced heath issues and water pollution. Such issues may be solved by phytoremediation, which is the use of plants for the cleanup of pollutants. Here, we tested Plantago major L. to clean water and soils under laboratory conditions. Results show that the concentration of chlorpyrifos residues after 5 days exposure reached 36.86 μg/g in roots and 13.93 μg/g in upper plant tissues. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of chlorpyrifos metabolites suggests the formation of 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) and diethyl 3,5,6-trichloropyridin-2-yl phosphate (chlorpyrifos-oxon). Chlorpyrifos-oxon was detected in the roots and the leaves after 2 h of testing. After 24 h of testing, the degradation product chlorpyrifos-oxon increased in the roots and the leaves then decreased gradually until the end of testing. TCP levels increased gradually to 192 h then decreased until the end of testing.     

Health care system hazard vulnerability analysis: an assessment of all public hospitals in Abu Dhabi

Hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) is used to risk‐stratify potential threats, measure the probability of those threats, and guide disaster preparedness. The primary objective of this project was to analyse the level of disaster preparedness in public hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, utilising the HVA tool in collaboration with the Disaster Medicine Section at Harvard Medical School. The secondary objective was to review each facility's disaster plan and make recommendations based on the HVA findings. Based on the review, this article makes eight observations, including on the need for more accurate data; better hazard assessment capabilities; enhanced decontamination capacities; and the development of hospital‐specific emergency management programmes, a hospital incident command system, and a centralised, dedicated regional disaster coordination centre. With this project, HVAs were conducted successfully for the first time in health care facilities in Abu Dhabi. This study thus serves as another successful example of multidisciplinary emergency preparedness processes.     

High photocatalytic decomposition of the air pollutant formaldehyde using nano-ZnO on bone char

Air pollution is a major issue leading to many serious illnesses. Exposure to formaldehyde may occur by breathing contaminated indoor air, tobacco smoke, or ambient urban air. Exposure to formaldehyde has been associated with lung and nasopharyngeal cancer. Therefore, there is a need for methods to degrade formaldehyde. Here, we studied the photocatalytic decomposition of gaseous formaldehyde over nanosized ZnO particles on bone char. The conditions were UV/bone char, UV/ZnO nanoparticles, and UV/ZnO-bone char in continuous flow mode. We investigated the effects of humidity, initial formaldehyde concentration, and residence time on decomposition of formaldehyde. Agglomeration of ZnO particles in the bone char pores was characterized by Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller surface area, and scanning electron micrograph. Results show that maximum decomposition efficiency of formaldehyde was 73 %. The optimal relative humidity was by 35 %. Findings also indicated that immobilization of ZnO nanoparticles on bone char has a synergetic action on photocatalytic degradation. This is explained by the strong adsorption of formaldehyde molecules on bone char, resulting in higher diffusion to the catalytic ZnO and thus a higher rate of photocatalysis.     

Lead in particulate deposits and in leaves of roadside plants, Karachi, Pakistan

Lead concentrations were determined for particulates which were deposited during one year on the leaves of roadside plants in Karachi. The particulates were collected from the leaves at a height of one metre. The lead accumulated by the leaves of different species was also measured. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of passing petrol driven vehicles and the lead concentration in the deposits at different designated sites. However, no significant correlation was found between the concentration in the deposits and the lead accumulated by the leaves. A lead concentration of 30.00±6.6 ppm was recorded as the highest concentration in the particulate deposits, while maximum lead accumulated by the leaves was noted as 3.12±1.09 ppm.     

Transition to a low-CO2 emissions economy: China government policy for early-stage green finance

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The popularity of green economy as an innovative technique and financial mechanism has soared as a result of this exchange, the gross domestic product...     

Modeling factors of biogas technology adoption: a roadmap towards environmental sustainability and green revolution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In a developing country such as Pakistan, adopting biogas technology is a complicated process. The government has taken several steps to address...     

Performance evaluation of using evacuated tubes solar collector,perforated fins,and pebbles in a solar still – experimental study and CO2 mitigation analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The combination of various methods of increasing evaporation rate can highly impact the performance of solar desalination. This investigation aims to...     

Energy transition determinants in the European Union: threshold effects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The World Economic Forum (2018) has introduced a comprehensive proxy for the Energy Transition Index (ETI), which includes two main sub-indices; the...