A roadmap for knowledge exchange and mobilization research in conservation and natural resource management

Scholars across all disciplines have long been interested in how knowledge moves within and beyond their community of peers. Rapid environmental changes and calls for sustainable management practices mean the best knowledge possible is needed to inform decisions, policies, and practices to protect biodiversity and sustainably manage vulnerable natural resources. Although the conservation literature on knowledge exchange (KE) and knowledge mobilization (KM) has grown in recent years, much of it is based on context‐specific case studies. This presents a challenge for learning cumulative lessons from KE and KM research and thus effectively using knowledge in conservation and natural resources management. Although continued research on the gap between knowledge and action is valuable, overarching conceptual frameworks are now needed to enable summaries and comparisons across diverse KE‐KM research. We propose a knowledge‐action framework that provides a conceptual roadmap for future research and practice in KE/KM with the aim of synthesizing lessons learned from contextual case studies and guiding the development and testing of hypotheses in this domain. Our knowledge‐action framework has 3 elements that occur at multiple levels and scales: knowledge production (e.g., academia and government), knowledge mediation (e.g., knowledge networks, actors, relational dimension, and contextual dimension), and knowledge‐based action (e.g., instrumental, symbolic, and conceptual). The framework integrates concepts from the sociology of science in particular, and serves as a guide to further comprehensive understanding of knowledge exchange and mobilization in conservation and sustainable natural resource management.     

Modeling groundwater flow and its associated environmental problem in a lowland coastal plain: a first step towards a sustainable development plan

Groundwater is an important resource in the alluvial coastal lowland plains. In the Shiroishi lowland plain, southwestern Kyushu Island of Japan, land subsidence due to groundwater development has long been recognized as an environmental issue. Land subsidence can have several negative economic and social implications. In this study, an integrated numerical groundwater and land subsidence model, which combines a three-dimensional numerical groundwater flow model and a one-dimensional soil consolidation model, was used to simulate the dynamic groundwater flow and ground subsidence due to pumping. On the other hand, a groundwater optimization model was also formulated to search for an optimal safe yield of groundwater pumping without violating physical, environmental, social-economic constraints. The model results reveal that groundwater levels in the aquifers greatly vary from season to season in response to varying climatic and pumping conditions. Consequently, land subsidence has rapidly occurred throughout the area with the central prone in Shiroishi plain. The study also proposes a countermeasure against subsiding process in the area by means of numerical models. The optimization model result suggests that pumping can be increased in the northern part of the study area without leading to significant land subsidence.     

Pendrin mediates uptake of perchlorate in a mammalian in vitro system

Perchlorate is a known endocrine disruptor present in groundwater, vegetables and dairy food products in many regions of the United States. It interferes with the uptake of iodide into the thyrocyte by the sodium-iodide symporter at the basolateral surface, thus potentially disrupting the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Because transport of iodide from the thyroid follicular cells to the follicular lumen is mediated by the protein pendrin at the apical surface, we hypothesized that perchlorate may also interact with this protein. Therefore, HeLa cells were transfected with the human SLC26A4 gene, which encodes pendrin, to generate an in vitro mammalian system expressing the recombinant pendrin protein (HeLa-PDS). The HeLa-PDS cells, along with untransfected cells, were then cultured in presence of iodide and/or perchlorate. Intracellular levels of these two chemicals were measured by ion chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results from this study show that iodide and perchlorate uptake increases significantly in HeLa-PDS cells as compared to untransfected cells. Thus, recombinant HeLa cells expressing pendrin protein accumulate iodide and perchlorate intracellularly, indicating that pendrin is involved in the uptake of perchlorate. Additional results from this study suggest that iodide and perchlorate competitively inhibit each other for uptake by pendrin. The ability of perchlorate to compete with iodide for uptake by both basal and apical transporters may increase the potential of perturbation of thyroid homeostasis and therefore the estimated risk posed to susceptible human populations.     

Persistent organochlorine residues in human breast milk from Hanoi and Hochiminh City, Vietnam: contamination, accumulation kinetics and risk assessment for infants

Despite the ban on persistent organochlorines (OCs) in most of the developed nations, their usage continued until recently in many Asian developing countries including Vietnam, for agricultural purposes and vector-borne disease eradication programs. In this study, we collected human breast milk samples from the two big cities in Vietnam: Hanoi (n=42) and Hochiminh (n=44) and determined the concentrations of persistent OCs such as PCBs, DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordane compounds (CHLs) and tris-4-chlorophenyl-methane (TCPMe). The contamination pattern of OCs was in the order of DDTs > PCBs > HCHs > CHLs approximately HCB approximately TCPMe. Compilation of available data indicated that DDT residue levels in human breast milk from Vietnam were among the highest values reported for Asian developing countries as well as developed nations. This result suggests recent usage of DDTs in both north and south Vietnam. Interestingly, in both cities, the p,p'-DDT portion was higher in multiparas than those in primiparas. Considering the fact that the interval between the first and the second child of a mother in Vietnam is usually short, this result probably indicates continuous intake of DDTs in the population. Analysis of infant exposure to DDTs via breast milk suggested that the daily intake rates for number of individuals are close to or above the threshold for adverse effects which may raise concern on children health.     

Amine volatility in CO2 capture

Amine volatility is a key screening criterion for amines to be used in CO₂ capture. Excessive volatility may result in significant economic losses and environmental impact. It also dictates the capital cost of the water wash. This paper reports measured amine volatility in 7 m MEA (monoethanolamine), 8 m PZ (piperazine), 7 m MDEA (n-methyldiethanolamine)/2 m PZ (piperazine), 12 m EDA (ethylenediamine), and 5 m AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) at 40–60 °C with lean and rich loadings giving CO₂ partial pressures of 0.5 and 5 kPa at 40 °C. The amine concentrations were chosen to maximize CO₂ capture capacity at acceptable viscosity. At the lean loading condition (where volatility is of greatest interest), the amines are ranked in order of increasing volatility: 7 m MDEA/2 m PZ (6/2 ppm), 8 m PZ (8 ppm), 12 m EDA (9 ppm), 7 m MEA (31 ppm), and 5 m AMP (112 ppm). The apparent amine partial molar excess enthalpies in these systems were estimated to range from ～10 to 87 kJ/mol of amine.     

Techno policy aspects and socio-economic impacts of eco-industrial networking in the fishery sector: experiences from An Giang Province,Vietnam

Eco-industrial networking is considered as a new approach for businesses to improve their competitiveness, economic viability and human and ecosystem health. A cyclic material flow with alternative usage of all materials in the loop is an essential feature of an eco-industrial network. While eco-industrial networking has been primarily applied on the high-tech sector, this paper attempts to apply the principles on the fishery sector of An Giang, a Vietnamese province in the Mekong River Delta. An Giang Province has its own market share in the trade of Tra and Basa fish. The industries in the value chain of Tra and Basa are in a situation that forces them to improve their competitiveness to retain the market share. It was found that forming an eco-industrial network and recruiting new businesses to utilize all materials in the process provides additional revenue apart from reducing waste disposal concerns. This paper details the current market situation, the issues faced and material flow patterns and presents a feasible eco-industrial network. The results of the study indicate that the eco-industrial network creates positive impacts in terms of increased competitiveness, improved socio-economic conditions and cleaner environment.     

Software for Sustainability Assessment: a Case Study in Quang Tri Province,Vietnam

Sustainable development is a widespread concept. Indicator selection and sustainability assessment are basic methods to analyse the sustainable development process. This study aims to develop a software application to select indicators and to allocate weightings to the indicators and the sub-indexes, so that they can be listed in a sustainability assessment. The Visual Basic software is used to develop a software package based on Delphi, analytic hierarchy, normalization and combination processes. Software for sustainability assessment was developed. Thirty-five indicators are selected as a first step of which eight health indicators and eight environmental ones and their sub-indexes are given weightings. The indicators are normalized. Sub-indexes are combined into a composite sustainable development index. The model is validated showing the ‘main features’ of the sustainability situation on health and environmental aspects in the Quang Tri province during the period 2000–2005. The results support the decision-making process of the competent authorities.     

Soils and sediments of the Thua Thien-Hue Province (central Vietnam): recognizing trace element sources and the likely influence of natural events

Trace element concentrations have been measured in soil and sediment samples taken from the Thua Thien Hue (TT-H) Province and the Tam Giang-Cau Hai (TG-CH) Lagoon in 2002 and 2004. Results show that the lagoon is only slightly contaminated by elements such as Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, whereas As, probably naturally enriched in this Asian region, reaches values above the lowest internationally accepted sediment quality guidelines. Concentrations in soils are ascribable to natural sources and distributions in the TG-CH Lagoon are mainly influenced by river inputs, with Ag and Cd undergoing estuarine desorption processes. However, concentration-depth profiles of most trace elements in sediments show a recent increasing trend that might be linked to the economic development of the area. The comparison of porosity and (210)Pb depth profiles (confirmed also by Cd and As) from repeated samplings of the same core locations in the TG-CH Lagoon seems to account for a loss of 5-10 cm of surficial sediment that took place during the time interval between the two samplings. It is hypothesized that extreme meteorological events (e.g. a major typhoon that hit the area in November 2003) could be responsible for such sediment displacement.     

Linearized and nonlinearized modellings for comparative uptake assessment of metal-organic framework-derived nanocomposite towards sulfonamide antibiotics

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The emergent occurrence of sulfonamide species involving sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethazine (SMZ) in aquatic systems can cause a wide range of...