Pollution of River Mahaweli and farmlands under irrigation by cadmium from agricultural inputs leading to a chronic renal failure epidemic among farmers in NCP, Sri Lanka

Chronic renal failure (CRF) associated with elevated dietary cadmium (Cd) among farming communities in the irrigated agricultural area under the River Mahaweli diversion scheme has reached a significantly higher level of 9,000 patients. Cadmium, derived from contaminated phosphate fertilizer, in irrigation water finds its way into reservoirs, and finally to food, causing chronic renal failure among consumers. Water samples of River Mahaweli and its tributaries in the upper catchment were analyzed to assess the total cadmium contamination of river water and the possible source of cadmium. Except a single tributary (Ulapane Stream, 3.9?μg?Cd/l), all other tested tributaries carried more than 5?μg?Cd/l, the maximum concentration level accepted to be safe in drinking water. Seven medium-sized streams carrying surface runoff from tea estates had 5.1-10?μg?Cd/l. Twenty larger tributaries (Oya), where the catchment is under vegetable and home garden cultivation, carried 10.1-15?μg?Cd/l. Nine other major tributaries had extremely high levels of Cd, reaching 20?μg?Cd/l. Using geographic information system (GIS), the area in the catchment of each tributary was studied. The specific cropping system in each watershed was determined. The total cadmium loading from each crop area was estimated using the rates and types of phosphate fertilizer used by the respective farmers and the amount of cadmium contained in each type of fertilizer used. Eppawala rock phosphate (ERP), which is mostly used in tea estates, caused least pollution. The amount of cadmium in tributaries had a significant positive correlation with the cadmium loading of the cropping system. Dimbula Tea Estate Stream had the lowest Cd loading (495.9?g/ha/year), compared with vegetable-growing areas in Uma Oya catchment with 50,852.5?g?Cd/ha/year. Kendall's τ rank correlation value of total Cd loading from the catchment by phosphate fertilizer used in all crops in the catchment to the Cd content in the tributaries was +0.48. This indicated a major contribution by the cropping system in the upper catchment area of River Mahaweli to the eventual Cd pollution of river water. Low soil pH (4.5-5.2), higher organic matter content (2-3%), and 18-20?cmol/kg cation exchange capacity (CEC) in upcountry soil have a cumulative effect in the easy release of Cd from soil with the heavy surface runoff in the upcountry wet zone. In view of the existing water conveyance system from upcountry to reservoirs in North Central Province (NCP) through diversion of River Mahaweli, in addition to their own nonpoint pollution by triple superphosphate fertilizer (TSP), this demands a change in overall upper catchment management to minimize Cd pollution through agriculture inputs to prevent CRF due to elevated dietary cadmium among NCP farmers.     

Reducing anthropogenic environmental stresses: A review on cleaner production and industrial ecology

Cleaner production (CP) provides source control measures of minimizing the waste and emissions occurred by the production and processes. CP, which is also known by the term pollution prevention (P2), has been practiced for several years among various countries across the world. Practicing of CP in industries supports in optimization of materials utilization, lowering the energy consumption, and the reduction of emissions to air, water, and soil. CP provides a continuous and preventive environmental improvement for the organizations by focusing on the prevention rather than providing solutions, once the pollution has been occurred. Implementing CP in a business requires support from the employees from top to bottom levels in the hierarchy, to obtain a successful and long‐term outcome. Thus, CP is no longer considered as a standalone process and should be integrated in the entire business development activities, in order to improve the quality of life. CP can also be identified as a subset of industrial ecology, which focuses on designing the industrial processes, products, and services, in order to minimize the environmental concerns of the industrial activities. This article will provide an overview of the background of CP, the CP assessment methodology, and the concepts of industrial ecology.     

Current Near‐to‐Nature Forest Management Effects on Functional Trait Composition of Saproxylic Beetles in Beech Forests

With the aim of wood production with negligible negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem processes, a silvicultural practice of selective logging with natural regeneration has been implemented in European beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) during the last decades. Despite this near‐to‐nature strategy, species richness of various taxa is lower in these forests than in unmanaged forests. To develop guidelines to minimize the fundamental weaknesses in the current practice, we linked functional traits of saproxylic beetle species to ecosystem characteristics. We used continental‐scale data from 8 European countries and regional‐scale data from a large forest in southern Germany and forest‐stand variables that represented a gradient of intensity of forest use to evaluate the effect of current near‐to‐nature management strategies on the functional diversity of saproxylic beetles. Forest‐stand variables did not have a statistically significant effect on overall functional diversity, but they did significantly affect community mean and diversity of single functional traits. As the amount of dead wood increased the composition of assemblages shifted toward dominance of larger species and species preferring dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. The mean amount of dead wood across plots in which most species occurred was from 20 to 60 m³/ha. Species occurring in plots with mean dead wood >60 m³/ha were consistently those inhabiting dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. On the basis of our results, to make current wood‐production practices in beech forests throughout Europe more conservation oriented (i.e., promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning), we recommend increasing the amount of dead wood to >20 m³/ha; not removing dead wood of large diameter (50 cm) and allowing more dead wood in advanced stages of decomposition to develop; and designating strict forest reserves, with their exceptionally high amounts of dead wood, that would serve as refuges for and sources of saproxylic habitat specialists. Efectos Actuales del Manejo Casi Natural de Bosques sobre la Composición de Atributos Funcionales de Escarabajos Saproxílicos en Bosques de Haya     

Assessment of the critical factors in ımplementing ISO 14001:2015 environmental management systems for developing countries: A case study for Sri Lanka

ISO 14001:2015 is an international standard that specifies the requirements of environmental management systems (EMS). This study assessed the influence of top management commitment, applications of compliance and other requirements, operational control, monitoring and measurements, resource management and improvements as critical factors on successful implementation and the operation of the ISO 14001:2015, by considering organizations in Sri Lanka as a case study. A data collection was conducted via questionnaires and structured interviews from stakeholders who are directly responsible for the EMS such as environmental managers, quality mangers and general managers of the organizations, who are certified with ISO 14001:2015, and comparisons were undertaken. The statistical analysis of the critical factors has shown a significant positive effect on both large‐scale organizations and export‐oriented organizations on EMS implementation. Furthermore, the results indicate that the EMS adoption has created significant positive impacts on efficient energy and resource consumption within organizations.