Comparative assessment of municipal sewage sludge incineration,gasification and pyrolysis for a sustainable sludge-to-energy management in Greece

For a sustainable municipal sewage sludge management, not only the available technology, but also other parameters, such as policy regulations and socio-economic issues should be taken in account. In this study, the current status of both European and Greek Legislation on waste management, with a special insight in municipal sewage sludge, is presented. A SWOT analysis was further developed for comparison of pyrolysis with incineration and gasification and results are presented. Pyrolysis seems to be the optimal thermochemical treatment option compared to incineration and gasification. Sewage sludge pyrolysis is favorable for energy savings, material recovery and high added materials production, providing a ‘zero waste’ solution. Finally, identification of challenges and barriers for sewage sludge pyrolysis deployment in Greece was investigated.     

Computing sustainable manufacturing index with fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

The growing industrial interest in adopting sustainability programmes has ushered in studies regarding sustainability indicators which have continually flourished in current literature. However, limited attention is given to the development of priority ranking, which is an important input for any adopting firm. This paper presents a hybrid multi-criteria approach in determining priority areas in sustainable manufacturing (SM). Using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to address uncertainty in hierarchical decision-making, this paper determines SM priority strategies and eventually identifies even lower level strategies. The computed sustainable manufacturing index is presented at both the organizational and operational levels for a real case study of an industrial plastic manufacturing firm. This work provides a detailed and transparent hierarchical decision-making approach based on SM framework, the use of which could be valuable to practicing managers across industries in their pursuit of greater sustainability.     

Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Hydromorphological and socio-cultural assessment of urban rivers to promote nature-based solutions in Jarabacoa,Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean, river restoration projects are increasing, but many lack strategic planning and monitoring. We tested the applicability of a rapid visual social–ecological stream assessment method for restoration planning, complemented by a citizen survey on perceptions and uses of blue and green infrastructure. We applied the method at three urban streams in Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic) to identify and prioritize preferred areas for nature-based solutions. The method provides spatially explicit information for strategic river restoration planning, and its efficiency makes it suitable for use in data-poor contexts. It identifies well-preserved, moderately altered, and critically impaired areas regarding their hydromorphological and socio-cultural conditions, as well as demands on green and blue infrastructure. The transferability of the method can be improved by defining reference states for assessing the hydromorphology of tropical rivers, refining socio-cultural parameters to better address river services and widespread urban challenges, and balancing trade-offs between ecological and social restoration goals.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01565-3.     

Transforming urban planning processes and outcomes through creative methods

Inclusively delivering the sustainable development goals (SDGs) remains challenging, particularly in urban areas, where some of the most pressing concerns exist. To achieve the transformative SDG agenda, new methods are required to overcome current deficits in engagement around inclusion and equitable outcomes. Evaluating against theories of governance and inclusion, we test a mixture of digital and physical creative methods abilities to deliver co-designed solutions that influence mobility and road safety planning outcomes in East African cities. Greater inclusion led to improved interactions of citizens with decision makers, and the identification of novel, practical solutions, delivering some elements of transformation. Risks include creative methods being used to co-opt communities to official agendas, and institutional planning norms needing to adapt to respond to a wider range of stakeholders. Overall, where risks are mitigated, we recommend that using Creative Methods could localise SDG delivery, ensuring more equitable and effective outcomes from infrastructure development investments.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01436-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Influence of agricultural activities, forest fires and agro-industries on air quality in Thailand

Annual and monthly-based emission inventories in northern, central and north-eastern provinces in Thailand, where agriculture and related agro-industries are very intensive, were estimated to evaluate the contribution of agricultural activity, including crop residue burning, forest fires and related agro-industries on air quality monitored in corresponding provinces. The monthly-based emission inventories of air pollutants, or, particulate matter (PM), NOx and SO₂, for various agricultural crops were estimated based on information on the level of production of typical crops: rice, corn, sugarcane, cassava, soybeans and potatoes using emission factors and other parameters related to country-specific values taking into account crop type and the local residue burning period. The estimated monthly emission inventory was compared with air monitoring data obtained at monitoring stations operated by the Pollution Control Department, Thailand (PCD) for validating the estimated emission inventory. The agro-industry that has the greatest impact on the regions being evaluated, is the sugar processing industry, which uses sugarcane as a raw material and its residue as fuel for the boiler. The backward trajectory analysis of the air mass arriving at the PCD station was calculated to confirm this influence. For the provinces being evaluated which are located in the upper northern, lower northern and northeast in Thailand, agricultural activities and forest fires were shown to be closely correlated to the ambient PM concentration while their contribution to the production of gaseous pollutants is much less.     

敦煌阳关湿地的特点及可持续利用的分析

湿地是自然界生物多样性最丰富的生态景观和人类最重要的生存环境之一。敦煌阳关湿地因其特殊的地理环境形成了其明显的特点。人为活动对该湿地资源的过度开发及不合理利用,加之全球气候变化的影响,湿地面临着环境恶化、资源枯竭、生态退化等的严重威胁。这也对该湿地功能的发挥和可持续利用造成了非常大的影响。本文以敦煌阳关湿地为研究对象,分析了阳关自然保护区内湿地保护面临的问题,并提出科学合理规划湿地、开展湿地资源监测、湿地保护与生态旅游开发的协调发展等一系列措施。本文对甘肃敦煌阳关国家级自然保护区湿地资源的保护和可持续发展有一定的参考意义。     

人类自我科学管理是实现可持续发展的必然选择

现今人口规模的不断膨胀和物质生活水平的日益提高,对资源和环境造成的压力急剧增加。分析了世界现状和可持续发展面临的挑战之后,提出人类要实现可持续发展必须要进行自我科学管理,分别从人类自我定位、对待科技的态度、人口管理、人类消费管理4个方面进行讨论和阐述。人类首先需重新审视自己,进行自我定位;其次要正确对待科技;控制人口数量和转变不合理消费是目前人类自我管理的重要任务,对此提出一些实施对策。     

祁东经济开发区生态化建设规划研究

工业园生态化建设是发展循环经济走新型工业化道路的重要途径,生态工业园是我国继经济技术开发区、高新技术开发区之后第三代工业园区发展的必然趋势。本文从祁东经济开发区的内部资源和外部环境出发,对其发展生态工业园具备的优势与劣势、面临的机遇与威胁进行了系统分析,并对其建设生态工业园的模式和实施层次进行了探讨,同时提出了相应的保障措施,以利于祁东经开区的可持续发展。     

我国钢铁行业环境现状分析与对策研究

钢铁工业是我国国民经济的重要基础产业和实现新兴工业化的支柱产业,同时存在能源消耗和环境污染的一系列问题。通过对钢铁行业的能源消耗和环境保护的现状及特点进行总结,归纳了该行业突出存在的环境问题,提出相应的环境保护对策,并指导钢铁行业未来的发展;提出了提高生产装备水平、控制污染物排放总量和严格环评准入等方面的建议。