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.     

Biosynthesis and Characterization of Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from Bacillus cereus S10

The biodegradable and biocompatible copolymer poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-5 mol% 3-hydroxyvalerate), poly-(3HB-co-5 mol% 3HV), was synthesized by Bacillus cereus S10 and the highest yield was determined as 69.91 % at pH 7 and 30 °C after 48 h of incubation using a glucose as the sole carbon source. Poly-(3HB-co-5 mol% 3HV) was purified from bacterial biomass using chloroform. FTIR analysis showed absorption bands at 1,723, 1,274, 1,373, 1,453, 2,932 cm^?1 corresponding to C=O, C–O stretching, CH₃, –CH₂ and –CH groups, respectively. ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR analysis confirmed that the copolymer was composed of 95 mol% of 3-hydroxybutrate and 5 mol% of 3-HV monomeric units. Poly-(3-HB-co-5 mol% 3HV) was used for nanoparticles preparation. The diameter of nanoparticles was 202 nm.     

Biosurfactant electrospun nanofibers exhibit minimal side effects on the structure and function of the liver tissue in male rat model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Oil spills can result in significant damage to marine estuaries, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and shorelines. Electrospun nanofibers containing...     

Effect of dietary phytogenics (herbal mixture) supplementation on growth performance,nutrient utilization,antioxidative properties,and immune response in broilers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This experiment was conducted to study that effect of a phytogenics (herbal mixture) supplementation as alternative to antibiotics on the growth...     

An extensive review on restoration technologies for mining tailings

Development of mineral resources and the increasing mining waste emissions have created a series of environmental and health-related issues. Nowadays, the ecological restoration of mining tailings has become one of the urgent tasks for mine workers and environmental engineers all over the world. Aim of the present paper is to highlight the previous restoration techniques and the challenges encountered during the restoration of mine tailings. As it is a common practice that, before restoring of tailings, the site should be evaluated carefully. Studies showed that the mine tailings’ adverse properties, including excessive heavy metal concentration, acidification, improper pH value, salinization and alkalization, poor physical structure and inadequate nutrition, etc., are the major challenges of their restoration. Generally, four restoration technologies, including physical, chemical, phytoremediation, and bioremediation, are used to restore the mining tailings. The working mechanism, advantages, and disadvantages of these techniques are described in detail. In addition, selection of the suitable restoration techniques can largely be carried out by considering both the economic factors and time required. Furthermore, the ecosystem restoration is perceived to be a more promising technology for mine tailings. Therefore, this extensive review can act as a valuable reference for the researchers involved in mine tailing restoration.     

Experimental investigation of dust pollutants and the impact of environmental parameters on PV performance: an experimental study

The accumulation of dust pollution on the photovoltaic (PV) module can have a significant effect on the productivity and efficiency of PV systems in different locations in the world. Dust which accumulated over time on the PV module and is based on weather conditions led to the reduction in the effectiveness of solar cells. The aim of this research was to experimentally investigate the effect of the natural dust and the effects of environmental parameters on PV performance. The experiments were conducted to propose a model for the current, voltage, power and efficiency and to simulate the effect of environmental parameters on PV performance. The natural dust investigated consisted of different compounds: SiO₂ (45.53 %), CaO (24.62 %), Al₂O₃ (10.83 %), Fe₂O₃ (10.46 %), MgO (6.33 %), K₂O (0.87 %), TiO₂ (0.45 %), SO₃ (0.24 %), MnO₂ (0.21), Cr₂O₃ (0.23 %), SrO (0.13 %) and NiO (0.09 %). It was found that the most accurate correlation is a polynomial from seventh degree for current, voltage, power and efficiency, fourth degree for solar radiation and temperature, cubic degree for humidity and wind velocity. The coefficients of general model are 0.6343, 0.0110, 0.0 and 0.0001 for PV module, respectively, with 0.0011 fitting factor. The proposed model has been validated using models in the literature.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of climatic variables in the western part of Bangladesh

Monitoring and detecting trends of climatic variables like rainfall and temperature are essential for agricultural developments in the context of climate change. The present study has detected trends in annual and cropping seasonal rainfall and temperature data for the period of 1961–2011 using Mann–Kendall (MK) test, Spearman’s rho (SR) test and modified Mann–Kendall test that has been applied to the significant lag-1 serial correlated time series data, and slope has been estimated using Sen’s Slope estimator for twelve meteorological stations located in the western part of Bangladesh covering about 41 % of the country. Almost 71 % trends explored by MK test in annual rainfall are statistically insignificant, and SR test also complies it. The spatial distribution of rainfall trend shows insignificant positive trends in major part of the area. Significant positive trends both by MK test and by SR test at 95 % confidence levels are observed at rates of 8.56, 11.15 and 13.66 mm/year at Dinajpur, Rangpur and Khepupara stations, respectively, and the Kharif season rainfall of these stations also shows significant increasing trends except Dinajpur. On the other hand, significant decreasing trends in annual rainfall are found at Bhola (?11.67 mm/year) and Rajshahi (?5.951 mm/year) stations and decreasing trends in rainfall dominated the Pre-Kharif season over the area. But, 83.33 % of the stations show rising trends in annual mean temperature with significant positive trends (as observed by both MK test and SR test) at Rangpur, Bogra, Faridpur, Jessore and Bhola stations where the rate of changes vary from 0.013 °C/year at Faridpur to 0.08 °C/year at Bhola. Most of the trends in Rabi and Pre-Kharif seasons of mean temperatures are not statistically significant. However, all stations except Barisal show significant rising trends in temperature in Kharif season. To cope with this changing pattern of rainfall and temperature, effective adaptation strategies should be taken to keep up the agricultural production that is related to livelihood of the most people and to ensure the country’s food security.     

Atmospheric deposition of major and trace elements in Amman, Jordan

Wet and dry deposition samples were collected in the capital of Jordan, Amman. Concentrations of Al, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, Zn, Fe, Sr, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻, along with pH were determined in collected samples. Mean trace metal concentrations were similar or less than those reported for other urban regions worldwide, while concentrations of Ca²⁺ and SO₄ ²⁻ were among the highest. High Ca²⁺ concentrations were attributed to the calcareous nature of the local soil and to the influence of the Saharan dust. However, high SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations were attributed to the influence of both anthropogenic and natural sources. Except for Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻ and Cu, monthly dry deposition fluxes of all measured species were higher than wet deposition fluxes. The annual wet deposition fluxes of trace metals were much lower than those reported for other urban areas worldwide.