ALBERT

Description: Publication date: November 2016 Source: Energy Reports, Volume 2 Author(s): Sangram Bana, R.P. Saini In order to predict the performance of a PV system, a reliable and accurate simulation design of PV systems before being installed is a necessity. The present study concerns the development of single and double diode model of solar PV system and ensures the best suited model under specific environmental condition for accurate performance prediction. The information provided in the manufacturers’ data sheet is not sufficient for developing a Simulink based single and double diode models of PV module. These parameters are crucial to predict accurate performance of a PV module. These parameters of the proposed solar PV models have been calculated using an efficient iterative technique. This paper compares the simulation results of both the models with manufacturer’s data sheet to investigate the accuracy and validity. A MATLAB/Simulink based comparative performance analysis of these models under inconsistent atmospheric conditions and the effect of variations in model parameters has been carried out. Despite the simplicity, these models are highly sensitive and respond to a slight variation in temperature and insolation. It is observed that double diode PV model is more accurate under low intensity insolation or shading condition. The performance evaluation of the models under present study will be helpful to understand the I-V curves, which will enable us in predicting the solar PV system power production under variable input conditions.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Lina Mtwana Nordlund How do you, as a university lecturer, change from teacher-centered teaching to a more student-centered, active teaching? This paper aims to inspire you to make a change, big or small, to increase your students’ engagement and learning, by presenting suggestions on what you can do. The ideas and suggestions synthesized here are based on several different teaching philosophies and methods, which are well tested and shown to be effective in the right setting. The selection of suggestions is believed to be specifically suitable for ecology. The paper includes suggestions on how to plan a course or a lecture by setting a good learning environment. Both pre-lecture activities and during lecture activities are included, with a focus on activities to engage students and encourage increased discussion and reflections, as well as what to think about when choosing learning activities and how and why it is important to teach students to think and act like professionals in ecology. While changing teaching methods takes investment of time, time that is limited for many researchers, even small changes in your teaching can make big differences in learning, and the investment will hopefully pay back by making teaching more fun and rewarding. The suggestions presented are understandable without being be conversant in the ‘education literature’, but will provide you with a vocabulary of teaching activities that will be useful if you are inspired to find more information and learn more about teaching.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan Kumar Ghosh India generates nearly 62 million tons of MSW annually that creates huge problems in the environment. Small number of initiatives of waste treatment, e.g., incineration, pyrolysis, bio-refining & biogas plants, composting, recycling and SLFs are available in the country. For the sustainable Solid Waste Management (SWM), an inclusive improvement policy and paradigm shift is necessary. SBM (SBM), flagged off on October 2, 2014, is considered as a paradigm shift in Indian SWM movement. SBM is the country's biggest-ever cleanliness drive costing over 10,600 million USD for 5 years in 4,041 towns in which SWM considered as one of the six components. One of the stated objectives of SBM is to ensure door-to-door garbage collection and proper disposal of municipal solid waste in all the 83,000 wards in urban areas by 2019. Swachh Bharat citizen communities were formed subsequently to generate awareness and citizen participation. Since then, over a period of 12 months, over 335,000 citizens have become part of the various Swachh Bharat citizen communities across more than 100 cities of India. The study reviews the present status and sustainability of the activities undertaken and proposes some improvement scopes in the schemes under the SB mission for effective SWM in India. The study will definitely help in revisiting the scheme periodically for continual improvement.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A.O. Coker, C.G. Achi, M.K.C. Sridhar, C.J. Donnett Waste generation is an intrinsic part of human existence. Waste materials are usually characterized by their nature, components and quality. Variations in quality, quantity and composition of solid waste can be linked to various factors such as cultural, economic, social and financial status of inhabitants of the particular space being studied. These distinct factors will also determine the best waste management practice to adopt. This paper captures the current institutional solid waste management in a Nigerian Private institution of higher learning. Using key-informant interview and personal field observations, the waste generation rate, pattern and characterization was made. Results showed that between 0.3 and 0.4 kg/capita/day was generated daily by the students in their respective halls of residence, with population ranging from 762 – 848 students in each of the halls. All the solid wastes generated were collected using appropriate waste collection bags and mobile bin positioned at strategic corners of the university premises. The waste materials after collection were segregated into plastics, bottles, nylon and organic materials by scavengers. After these non-bidegradables were sold in the secondary market, an estimated total sum of 639,900 naira (2908.6USD) was realized daily. At this rate a total sum of 230 million Naira (1,045,454.5 USD) is realizable yearly as wealth from waste. It was concluded that if all the organic waste streams from kitchens, cafeteria and animal houses are utilized for bioenergy and organic fertilizer, the wealth to be generated would be phenomenal.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Pawan Kumar Bharti, Bhupesh Sharma, R.K. Singh, A.K. Tyagi Antarctica is the coldest continent on the earth. The Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean surround the continent. Antarctic continent covers 10% of the earth surface and has a surface area of nearly 14 million square kilometer. It also has 70% of the world's fresh water resources in the form of ice sheets. Thick ice sheets cover the whole continent (almost 98%). As a result of the environmental conditions, the remaining (2%) fraction without ice cover is basically the barren soil and rocks. Many countries have set up scientific research stations in Antarctica. There are about 65 scientific research stations in summer and 30 research stations in winter, which are currently operating for scientific investigations. India has two permanent scientific research stations in the Antarctica located in Schirmacher Oasis in Central Dronning Maud Land and in Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. However, the activities due to operation and maintenance of the research station in Antarctica have impacts on the Antarctic environment. Besides, the scientific stations also generate waste materials and a significant part of it is discharged into the Antarctic environment, which may create impacts on the Antarctica. The assessment of waste materials emanating from various sources was carried out. The present paper attempts to highlight the environmental parameters observed during ISEA austral summer at Maitri and Bharti station, East Antarctica.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A.S. Aremu, Ritesh Vijay Indigenous footpaths have been the major means of passage from origin to destination before the advent of cars and town planning. Over the years, these traditional areas have retained their original attributes with additional walking links to the motorable roads. In this study, footpaths to municipal solid waste bins were modelled in order to locate waste bins within an area in Ilorin, north central Nigeria. A network dataset was built in a standard GIS application (ArcMap 10) from the downloaded satellite image of the study area. The Location-Allocation tool in the Network Analyst window was then used to determine the optimal location of facilities based on cut-off walking distance which defines command area of a waste bin. The result of this analysis could act as a decision support tool for the determination of type, size and removal frequency of each waste bin based on estimates of waste generation from each command area.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Mustapha Bashir Kazaure A survey on solid waste management for sustainable development and public health in Dutse metropolis was conducted. One hundred (100) designed questionnaires were distributed across four major areas within the town which included Yadi, GidaDubu, Dan Masara and Mopol base quarters were twenty five (25) are distributed to each of the four sites. From the result, it was discovered that residence of Danmasara quarters discharge all their waste 100(100%) in government approve sites while Yadi quarters are the lowest in terms of discharging waste in government designated locations 6(24%). Based on flooding, Yadi recorded the highest rate of flooding 21(84%) while Dan masaraquartes recorded the lowest 9(36%). Proper waste discharge was also summarized according to educational status of individual respondents within the affected areas under study. It could be observed that people with secondary education had the highest of (47%) while informal education recorded the lowest (08%) in terms of proper waste discharge respectively. It is concluded that most of places in Dutse metropolis do not access to drainage system as well as government designed areas for waste disposal and hence, it is recommended that government should provide adequate waste disposal sites to each area within Dutse metropolis.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Pinky Chandran, Sandya Narayanan This paper studies the role of Dry Waste Collection Centers (DWCCs) in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Bangalore which were set up following LokAdalat's intervention directing the Municipality to set up these centers to enable ward level recycling. The Karnataka High Court further validated the direction by instructing the municipality to set up necessary infrastructures to facilitate ward level decentralized management of waste for all categories. The DWCC is a hallmark of the triple bottom line of sustainable business operations– people, planet and profit, and modeled on three corner- stones – Social Considerations, Economic Considerations and Environmental Impact. Based on a zero-subsidy model for operations, the DWCCs are envisioned to meet the environmental objective of managing the MSW recyclable waste stream through responsible recycling. They are also expected to be a hub for social inclusion of the informal sector in the process, and ensure economic viability through market driven delivery mechanisms. The paper traces the history of DWCCs and studies the operations of 32 DWCCs which have been in operation for more than a year and operated by the informal sector. In addition, the paper will also analyze the effect of dry waste diverted from landfills at the ward level and will provide recommendations to enhancing performance of these centers.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Subzar Bashir, Subhrangsu Goswami Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the crucial urban basic services which influence the public health and environment of a town. While hill towns in India are already facing tremendous pressure due to lack of infrastructure, unfavourable climatic condition, difficult terrain, and public apathy towards waste management, Tourism induced challenges further aggravate the issue. Although in case of hill towns, tourism has a profound impact on the economy of the town, it comes with new challenges in terms of waste generation resulting into negative impacts on the sensitive hill environment. It is in this context, an effort has been made in this paper to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, a small hill town located in the state of J&K, commonly known as “Mini Switzerland”, with special reference to impact of tourism on overall MSWM of the town. The methodology adopted includes review of case of SWM in other hill towns in India, and the legal and policy aspects at the national level. Primary survey of households and hotels was conducted by using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected through structured questionnaire containing key information related to the issues and challenges in MSWM with special focus on tourism. Interview of city officials was conducted to capture institutional perspective. The study revealed that, in Pahalgam, tourism sector is the major generator of solid waste, Religious-touristic activities during the peak season. The study also finds crucial issues related to lack of capacity of the local body and the issues related to lack availability of plain land, improper location of waste collection infrastructure due to undulated terrain and inadequate collection capacity. The study also finds very strong correlation between unscientific disposal of MSW and degrading surface water quality and increasing occurrence of water borne diseases in the downstream during the peak tourist season.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vinay Yadav, Subhankar Karmakar, A.K. Dikshit, Shivkumar Vanjari In India, a substantial fraction (∼0.85) of total expenditure on MSW management is spent on collection of waste. Nevertheless, the average waste collection efficiency is about 70% in Indian urban areas. Waste collection efficiency can be increased by utilising staff and collection vehicles effectively with transfer stations (TSs), though choosing best sites (in an economically optimal manner) for TSs siting is a major task. Also, many parameters (e.g., waste-generation rate, running cost of facilities, transportation cost, revenues etc.) in MSW management system are associated with uncertainties. To study the apportionment of these uncertain input parameters into the results, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis has been performed. Furthermore, the effect of interaction among most sensitive parameters is examined through design of experiment. Also, a facility location two stage stochastic model has been proposed to select the best sites for TSs siting, which is basically a framework of facility location problems involving uncertainty. The developed model is applied on the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India. The model has 9186 constraints and 8152 variables, which has been written in AMPL (a mathematical programming language). KNITRO 5.2 (nonlinearinterior-point trust region optimizer) have been used to solve the developed model. Sensitivity analysis abduces waste generation as the most sensitive kind of parameter followed by the unit transportation cost of waste from source to TSs. Furthermore, multivariate SA identifies the importance of a facility location framework involving uncertainty.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Hamsa Iyer Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), spread over 4,355sq. km is home to seven municipal corporations. All Municipal Corporations in India are mandated to look into solid waste management in their functional domains under the 74th Constitutional Amendment. At present, all the seven municipal corporations depend upon centralised means of managing waste which is dumped at assigned landfills post collection. Apart from the corporation, there are multiple players who play a crucial role in managing the waste. Much of this is managed by informal sector and now emerging recyclers who are setting up processes for decentralised waste management. This paper explores the scale at which different institutions/communities have taken efforts to successfully manage their waste. Most people are unable to achieve 100% decentralized management due to lack of appropriate channels for managing rejects and sanitary waste. More importantly, it is imperative to understand the failure and limitations of the municipal corporation since they are financially dependent on the centre and state for their functioning. But despite all those constraints, it makes sense to gauge energy and material recovery potentials and correlate to municipal waste management. By means of different examples and a technology provider for bio-medical waste, we are able to make an impact towards creating greener, sustainable communities.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Ajaykumar Soni, Deepak Patil, Kuldeep Argade Solid waste management all over world is looked as major challenge to civil bodies. Pune corporation has taken initiatives to collect, segregate and treat solid waste and system for handling around 1600 MT / day is operative. Composting, biogas and inert waste recycle are present mode of treatment. Praj Industries limited, Pune has taken the activity further to noticeable level and can integrate overall waste management activities so that from biodegradables, biodiesel, bio CNG, fuel ethanol and liquid manure can be safely produced. No waste is left over. Biodegradable solid waste in Pune has potential to generate Biodiesel-18 to 20 MT/ day, Fuel ethanol-7 to 9 M3/ day, BioCNG-10 to 12 MT/ day and in addition 1100 to 1200 M3 liquid manure / day can be produced. These energy rich compounds can generate electricity, run vehicles and maintain solid fertility. One has to look scientifically in the optimization of collection and segregation from the point where waste generates.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K. Chithra, P.P. Anilkumar, M.A. Naseer According to United Nation's World urbanization prospects Report, urban population in the world is expected to touch 70% of the total population by 2050. Urbanization trend in the world has made residential land-use, a major shareholder amongst urban land uses. This land-use has become the major deciding factor for urban infrastructure development at large. Municipal solid waste management and its related infrastructure provision have become a major concern to many of the urban local self-governments in India. Major objective of this paper, which is based on a doctoral research work on the residential land use impact on urban environment is to examine the relative position of municipal solid waste management sector among the other identified sectors of urban environment and also to evolve a waste management index that can be used to compare urban areas in terms of its waste generation and management perspective. An AHP based expert questionnaire survey of 93 experts across India was conducted to identify the significance of municipal solid waste management sector along with the identified impacted sectors of urban environment due to residential land use activities. A household survey was conducted in 51 wards of Kozhikode Corporation to check the performance of the waste management index generated out of the expert survey. The results of the survey show that the municipal solid waste management sector is the most impacted sector among the urban environment sectors. Waste management index of the surveyed wards revealed that the index is aligning very well with the residential density as well as the residential land-use characteristics of the area under consideration. This index has immense potential to identify the urban areas that require intervention possibly by providing infrastructure for municipal solid waste management. Survey inputs are gathered, compared and composed in this regard and the results are presented and communicated in this paper.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.L. Verma, G. Borongan, M. Memon Management of solid waste, including the municipal solid waste (MSW), is a major challenge in urban regions of most part of the world, including Southeast Asia. Due to the lack of effective management programs, regulations, and policies; the waste is causing severe health hazard including several communicable diseases, bad odors, nuisance, and environmental impacts, such as, contamination of water, soil, and air. Most Southeast Asian cities are lacking efficient MSW management programs. Thus, in order to contribute to building a good dataset on MSW for the Southeast Asian region, we quantified solid waste generation and analyzed waste composition for Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City is a major urban region of Viet Nam in Southeast Asia. In Ho Chi Minh City, about 8,175 tons of solid waste was generated per day in 2014, consisting 6,800-7,000 of MSW, with 1.02 kg/capita/day generation of waste. The trend in MSW generation from 1992-2010 showed that 98,338 tons of MSW has been increasing every year. The MSW of Ho Chi Minh City contains 65-90% biodegradable matter. The major portion of MSW was food waste from 1.4 million households, 1,837 schools, and 12,000 hotels and restaurants. The current common practice of solid waste management in Ho Chi Minh City is landfilling. About 86% of the total solid waste was landfilled at two major landfill sites (PhuocHiep and Da Phuoc), and the rest 14% waste was recycled. Paper, plastic, metals, glass were the major waste being recycled with a quantity of 3364, 3794, 1124, and 384 tons/month, respectively. Further to support the MSW planning in Ho Chi Minh City, we analyzed gaps and SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) and provided recommendations to be incorporated in the action plans for efficient management of solid waste in Ho Chi Minh City.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Giresh Mohan, Ujjawal Kumar Sinha, Meva Lal Solid waste management is fast becoming an insurmountable challenge across urban India, requiring urgent solutions, especially in view of rapid urbanization and inability of local urban authorities to tackle it. Saharanpur, a small city in Uttar Pradesh, represents a microcosm of most large cities and towns in India, grappling with similar challenges. With a decadal population growth of over 19% during 2001-2011, which is higher than the national growth, the city is confronted with the task of managing a rapid growth in solid waste. In order to come up with viable solutions to this problem ITC Limited, in collaboration with Muskan Jyoti Samiti, an NGO, and the local municipal authority, initiated a pilot PPP project on solid waste management in the year 2006. With persistent focus on processing, recycling and user fee, this initiative has been able to surpass the national benchmark of 80% waste recovery set by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). The cost of collection and processing is covered through revenue from user fees and compost sale.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Tapas Kumar Ghatak Issues related to waste management in the context of Indian Cities still requires a path finder as most of the SWM planners and Executers are still in the dark which part of the SWM rule 2002 needs to be addressed in the primary stage. In fact finding it hard to plan and execute it was thought it may be better to change certain part of the rules which is not even 15 years old. A draft rules awaits approval and most of the people are not actually knows what is being changed and why. In fact this part of the facilities has never been considered as part urban infrastructures neither the citizen's opinion was asked in any stage while framing the rules or while even changing it for betterment. The present paper generates Certain issues related to Waste management which have been experienced while being involved in various cities in national and International arena and picks up certain unaddressed issues related to Waste management in Indian Cities. The main aim of this paper is to combine the opinion with a learned group of participants and try to evolve an effective pathway for its management. One of the most prominent factors which is missing in the entire process is the role of Community as a stake holder and their inclusion in the entire process.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan Kumar Ghosh The waste management is a major issue in most of the developing countries in the globe. India and China are two faster growing economies who also have similar problems to handle huge amount of municipal solid waste (MSW). Moreover, with the population growth and the increasing GDP, the MSW generation rate is increasing proportionately. Both the countries investing a loads of funds in landfill sites, MSW handling and treatment, but still the problem is not resolved. The main hurdle is the awareness of the citizen and poor institutional initiative all through the country, in general. There are a number of good initiatives, of course. This study aims to explore the present situation of the management of MSW and analyse the sustainability of the initiatives to protect the environment and resource utilisation leading to the least amount of landfill in India and China.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M. Nelles, J. Grünes, G. Morscheck The new German Closed Cycle Management Act is aimed to turn the waste management into a resource management. The realisation that waste can be a useful source of raw materials and energy is not new; metals, glass, and textiles have been collected before and put to new use. The waste management policy, which has been adapted in Germany over the past 20 years, is based on closed cycles and assigns disposal responsibilities to manufacturers and distributors of products. This has made people even more aware of the necessity to separate waste, led to the introduction of new disposal technologies, and increased recycling capacities. Today, 14 per cent of the raw materials used by the German industry are recovered waste. Modern closed cycle management contributes, with a share of approximately 20 per cent, to achieve the German Kyoto targets on the reduction of climate-relevant emissions.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K. Patchai Murugan, S. Swarnalatha, G. Sekaran Tannery buffing dust (TBD) contains high amount of potential chemicals including Cr (III) besides carcinogenic organic compounds. The Cr (III) present in TBD can be thermodynamically feasible to convert into carcinogenic Cr (VI). The obnoxious gases such as oxides of sulphur, ammonia and other volatile organic compounds are emitted from tannery buffing dust during the thermal decomposition. Pyrolysis of a chromium-tanned buffing dust under controlled O 2 atmosphere has been carried out in a thermal reactor to eliminate the environmental burden of these toxic pollutants. The effect of process variables, such as temperature, pyrolysis time, and heating rate on the pyrolytic product distribution was studied. Flash pyrolysis upto 550°C and slow pyrolysis from 550 to 800°C with applying O 2 at the rate of 1LPM in the temperature range between 700 and 800°C were studied. The pyrolysed tannery buffing dust was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, TGA and CHNS analyzer. The pyrolysed TBD was effectively solidified / stabilized using Portland cement and also bitumen mixture. Unconfined compressive strength of the blocks was in the range of 16-99KN. The leachability of the stabilization of Cr (III) in the solidified matrix was confirmed through XRD.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Akanksha Kaushal, M.P. Sharma In developing countries, quantities of solid waste generation is increasing day by day and most of which is disposed off through landfilling and open dumping resulting into the release of significant quantities of GHG. CH 4 , the major gas produced by these activities, is known to cause global warming. The paper reports the estimates of CH 4 calculated by using IPCC Default, FOD method and LandGEM model, version 3.02 from Panki open dump site of Kanpur, India. The annual average CH 4 emission rates from Panki open dump site is found as 197.33, 24.27 and 25.14 Gg by IPCC Default method, FOD and LandGEM respectively for the period 2010-2030. The study reveals that IPCC Default method over estimate the result therefore it is not recommended for open dump site. however, LandGEM is recommended over FOD method for open dumps due to the fact that [a] estimates of CH 4 emission is very near to GHG emission by FOD method [b] simplicity in model parameters [c] avoidance of over estimation, if parameters are calculated as per the actual site conditions. So the present study reveals that LandGEM provides better estimation compared to other method and the CH 4 emission rate is found as 25.14 Gg/year for the Panki open dump site, Kanpur. The assessment of methane emission potential reveals the fact that upgrading the open dumps into landfill increases the methane emission rates and their utilization potential and adding the landfill to fill the future needs and utilization of landfill gases.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.M. Kurakalva, K.K. Aradhi, K.Y. Mallela, S. Venkatayogi Rapid urbanization and population growth are largely responsible for exponentially increasing rate of solid waste in the urban areas. The proper management and recycling is a major problem of Municipal Corporation which is great concern of human health and environment. The purpose of this study is to assess groundwater contamination in and around of Jawaharnagar Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) dumping site due to heavy metals and its relationship between hydrochemical data. Groundwater samples were collected from the wells located in the vicinity of the dumping site and its surrounds in a watershed. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties as well as for major ion concentrations such as Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + , CO 3 2ˉ , HCO 3 ˉ , Cl ˉ , NO 3 ˉ , F ˉ and SO 4 2ˉ using ion chromatograph. Results suggest the high concentrations of major ions such as Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and F − is observed in groundwater indicating differential weathering of minerals present in granite rocks in the study area. A good number of samples are showing higher values for NO 3 ˉ than that of World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guideline values. This demonstrates the oxidation of ammonia and similar sources from lechates originating from municipal solid waste of the study area. Further, heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn are analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer. The data revealed elevated concentrations of Arsenic (0.04-0.36 ppb), Cadmium (0.00-0.09 ppb), Chromium (24.0–28.0 ppb), Copper (0.61–2.9 ppb), Iron (11.99-35.26 ppb), Manganese (1.04-107.2 ppb), Lead (0.19-1.32 ppb) and Zinc (1.49 –49.59 ppb). The present study demands proper management of landfill site and municipal solid waste to reduce further groundwater contamination via percolation of toxic substances.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.K. Kashyap, Parivesh Chugh, T. Nandakumar Currently, nearly 210 Million Metric Tonnes/Annum of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generated in India and most of it gets disposed in Open and un-scientifically managed Landfills. The typical Indian MSW contains approximately 50% of bio-degradable organic components that starts degrading under anaerobic conditions and generates LandFill Gas (LFG). The LFG mainly contains Methane (40-50%) and CO 2 (50-60%). Methane is a Green House Gas (GHG), and is 25 times more potent than CO 2 in causing Global Warming and is the 2 nd largest anthropogenic source of Methane emissions after coal mining. Thus capturing and destructions of LFG shall lead to mitigation of GHG emissions. In addition, open Landfill sites also pose safety risks like fire hazard, explosion, and asphyxiation etc. apart from health risks. At the current MSW generation rate of 0.575MMT/day in India, the LFG generation potential is around 86.25 MMSCMD of LFG. Presently, LFG from the landfill sites is not being captured leading to fugitive GHG emissions. Further, due to rapid population growth and accompanying urbanisation and lack of new landfill sites, the existing waste handling infrastructure is getting stressed and leading to overflowing and vertical growth of the existing landfills. Thus Indian landfills provide good opportunities for the extraction & utilisation of Methane from LFG. However, there are lot of Issues that need to be overcome for exploitation of LFG in a sustainable manner. GAIL (India) Ltd, a Maharatna company, as a part of its R&D activities has taken up an initiative in this direction and implemented a Pilot project to ascertain the recovery of LFG from an un-scientifically managed open active MSW dumping site at Ghazipur Delhi. The utilization of LFG for energy recovery is being explored. This Paper shares the Challenges faced and Key insights gained during the LFG Project Implementation and its Operation.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P.K. Amritha, P.P. Anilkumar Uncontrolled dumping of waste on open dumps or landfills has become one of the most common methods of disposing waste. Globally, such dumps/landfills have remained as an anomaly in urban landscapes due to its heterogeneous nature and the environmental degradation it causes. This paper considers open dumps/ landfills as specific example cases upgradable to ‘landscaped landfills’ so that landfills transform to be a more sustainable disposal option. Such an approach can be devised only by knowing the quality and quantity of the waste that are disposed in landfills and the background environmental conditions of a particular region. A landfill dominantly of organic/biodegradable character can become a good source of nutrients in developing the soft elements of landscape. In developing a landscaped landfill, the environmental risks associated such as leachate generation, groundwater contamination, greenhouse gas emission and soil stability are major concerns to be addressed. For a long term use of conventional landfills converted into ‘landscaped landfills’ the principles of environmental remediation techniques like phytoremediation, bioremediation and bio reactor landfills have a pivotal role to play. The research work aims at the disposing organic/biodegradable waste on any land or designated open dumps /landfills and simultaneously using the same land for green productive purpose in a cyclic fashion thereby making it a sustainable waste management strategy. The paper discusses the practical issues in converting a landfill into landscaped landfill by doing an onsite experiment using organic kitchen waste considering parameters like the number of households, their expected production of organic waste and suitable worked out land area for dumping, digesting and assimilating waste. In an attempt to streamline the process of planning landscaped landfills, the paper describes a strategy and methodology to convert landfills into a fitting component of typical urban landscapes through enhancing its environmental significance and visual quality for sustainability.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Dubey, M. Chakrabarti, D. Pandit The study hereby is an attempt to evaluate the process of landfill mining as a remediation technique for Municipal Solid Waste dumpsites, which are an inherent feature of each city of note, in the developing countries. These dump sites, more often than not, nothing more than a piece of land where all of the city's refuse is collected, are threats to the environment and consume valuable land, which could otherwise be converted into a revenue generating asset. Many cities are extremely short on land and some are also facing the negative impacts of these dumps in terms of water contamination, air pollution and land degradation to name a few. Encouraged by the positive outcomes of studies carried out earlier, this study was aimed at applying the idea on a broader scale in terms of encompassing a number of cities across the country. The solid waste characterization for the cities taken into the study was obtained and the amount of solid waste deposited in the landfills of these cities was estimated. Based on these, various revenue generating fractions were identified. From the current market cost of the land used as dumpsite and the material salvaged by the landfill mining operation, the benefit-cost scenario was judged. It was found that for most of the scenarios the overall operation of mining the landfills was economical in terms of cost, but the intangible benefits, which cannot be monetized, are expected to be far greater than the rest.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M.N. Asha, K.S. Chandan, H.P. Harish, S. NikhileswarReddy, K.S. Sharath, G. Mini Liza This paper compares the effectiveness of chemical and physical methods in treating the wash water collected from automobile service stations. Wash water was collected from two service stations in the city of Bangalore, and the effluent was characterised for different parameters such as pH, turbidity, conductivity, total solids, oil and grease, COD (chemical oxygen demand), BOD (biological oxygen demand), chlorides, sulphate and total hardness. For chemical treatment, alum was used and locally available natural materials such as saw dust and sugarcane bagasse were used for physical treatment. Alum at different concentrations was agitated with the effluent for a prescribed contact period which led to the formation of flocs. The filtered samples were tested for COD and oil & grease. in the form of filter columns of three different heights. The percentage reduction in COD and oil and grease was correlated with the depth and type of filter media. A comparison of physical and chemical methods of treatment revealed that natural materials are effective in removing oil & grease and COD from the automobile effluent and hence provide a viable solution because of its eco-friendliness. From the experimental studies it is observed that in physical treatment, the sorption capacity of any material is dependent on its porosity, surface area and height of filter bed.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): N.L. Dvalishvili In November 2010 the new landfill has been put into service in Tbilisi, the territory of which equals to 94 ha and is divided by inner roads into several areas, on which the waste disposal cells (area 5 ha) are installed. The goal of our project was the determination (elaboration of energetic scenarios) of economically profitable ways of utilization/application of basic greenhouse gas CH 4 , on the basis of inventory of methane emission from Norio landfill of municipal solid waste of Tbilisi city by IPCC methodology, and prevention from global climate changes caused by greenhouse gases with the use of methane in the energy sphere. The share of the landfill of municipal solid waste in the greenhouse gases emission in Georgia equals to 7% of the total emission of CH 4 and CO 2 that is very high rate. Our goal was the determination of amount of greenhouse gases (CH 4 and CO 2 ) emerged on the Norio landfill and forecasting of gases emission for the subsequent period. According to inventory data the whole potential of methane emission from Norio landfills equals to 930 mln. m 3 .

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S.K. Maiti, S. De, T. Hazra, A. Debsarkar, A. Dutta The possible enduring environmental impact of a closed landfill on groundwater and surface water quality depends on the leachate characteristics. Post closure management of closed landfill site is needed for averting the environmental hazards. The present investigation was aimed to characterize leachate and its impact on surrounding water resources of closed dumping site at Dhapa (Kolkata, West Bengal, India). Three sampling points were identified for collection of samples fromand near the closed dumping site. All the samples were examined for pH, TDS, Cl - , BOD 5 , COD, NH 4 + -N, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Hg and Pbto study the seasonal variation of significant parameters. The laboratory analysis shows prevalence of high value of TDS (8994.16±6239.2mg/L), COD (4191.66±2282.19mg/L), NH 4 + -N (1165.93±658.4mg/L), Cl − (4356.65±1304.84mg/L) and two heavy metals viz. Pb (0.56±0.33mg/L) and Hg (0.42±0.44mg/L) in the leachate samples, which have exceeded their respective standards specified in “Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000” for disposal of treated leachates. The maximum concentration of afore-said heavy metals viz. lead and mercury are found to be 0.15±0.18mg/L and 0.16±0.28mg/Land 0.23±0.21mg/L and 0.1±0.05mg/L respectively for surface and ground water resources, which have exceeded their respective permissible limits recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The extent of contamination of local water resources necessitates appropriate treatment of leachate before getting discharged and establishes the significance of post closure management of the closed dumpsite.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sutripta Sarkar, Subrata Pal, Sunanda Chanda Proper management of waste is a major problem in most of the metropolitan areas. Composting is one of the oldest and simplest methods of organic waste stabilization. It is a self-heating biological conversion, which generates suitable end products such as fertilizers, substrates for mushroom cultivation and bio-gas (methane). The thermophilic phase is a very dynamic phase where high microbial activity leads to accelerated degradation of organic matter. This phase also sanitizes the compost. The aim of the current study is to optimize a composting system utilizing market waste. Three methods of composting were studied and composting by heaping or piling was found to be the most efficient method as a significant thermophilic phase (highest temp. 65.9 0 C) was obtained provided the moisture content was kept around 60%.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan K. Ghosh, H.S. Haldar, S. Chatterjee, P. Ghosh Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which constitutes more than 30% of the solid waste stream in India is not given proper attention and loses it's recycling potential. Absence of enforcement and negligence on behalf of the authorities has given rise to independent overlords who fight among themselves for the control of waste thereby making it even more difficult to categorize and quantify C&D waste. Re-utilization of Solid Waste is in developmental stage and thus ends up mostly in landfills without taking into consideration the malignant effects on the environment. Elements like Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium and Silica find their way into the soil and are then transported into the ground water (Stefania Butera, 2015). So the directive is to minimize the exploitation on the environment and find a means for recycling the waste into environment friendly building materials. Estimation of CD waste is carried out by making use of Building specific and region specific waste generation rates. An all encompassing model which can successfully predict the total amount of waste generated from a particular project does not exist and this fact is quite evident given the diversity of construction techniques and composition of building materials. Even If such a database were to be compiled, end users would find it hard to comprehend and apply this data into meaningful quantity. The most appealing way of making users more aware of the need to recycle is by offering a perspective where they can perform a cost benefit analysis of the revenue that can be generated from proper optimization and reutilization of CD waste. Contractors can make a prior estimate of the investment for a particular project and order precise quantities of the materials required. This would not only eliminate the additional cost incurred but also reduce waste on site from off cuts and poor handling of surplus materials. Therefore the objective is to propose a model which makes use of easily available data like transportation rates and resale value of recyclable materials which would provide an intuitive and simple optimization model while imbibing the basic principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle into action.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Naveen Desai, Anuradha Tanksali, Veena S. Soraganvi The ever growing industries, human population and urban areas have increased the generation of waste materials, which is polluting the entire environment. As the environment gets affected, indirectly human race is also affected. Industrial waste management has become a big issue in the present era. Though there are different methods of waste disposal, most of them lead to soil deterioration, toxic effect and increased pollution on land, air, water and living beings apart from being very expensive. We need an eco-friendly one stroke solution for disposal of waste, which not only manages the waste but in return gives some beneficial end product. Vermicomposting is one such promising eco-friendly method which helps in reducing the pollution and simultaneously produces good quality compost using minimal space, labour and cost. Here an attempt is made to decompose milk sludge mixed with paper and garden waste with earthworms by vermicomposting. In one tank substrate is formed with paper and garden waste, milk sludge and cowdung in the ratio 3:1:1. And in another tank a ratio of 7:2:1 was considered. The reproduction of earthworms in the form of cocoons and the chemical composition of the generated manure after 30, 45, 60 days are noted and analysed. It is noted that the manure generated from the first pit has a favourable C:N ratio and decomposes fast, whereas the second pit manure with a higher nitrogen content decomposes slowly and this type of manure can be used for potato, soya bean and corn plant. Milk sludge, highly odorous and difficult to dispose can be treated by this simple eco-friendly method.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Chhavi Jatwani, R.K. Gupta, Reema Rai, Nitish Bansal Heavy metals act as toxicants to soil and crops at elevated level. Earthworms help in bioremediation process they remove heavy metal from the soil and accumulate them in their body tissues especially yellow cells. Depending upon the concentrations of heavy metals the body of earthworm get affected. An experiment was conducted to check the effect of Hg and Co on Eiseniafetida. Nine concentration of heavy metals were sprayed i.e. Hg @0.02,0.04,0.06 ppm ,Co @0.02,0.04,0.06 ppm and Hg+Co @0.01 ,0.02,0.03 ppm for two months . Bio-molecular parameters were calculated at an interval of 15 days for 2 months And it was concluded that Hg at 0.006 ppm affect the biomoleculer concentration of body of earthworm than Co and combination of both. The carbohydrates level has been decreased from 17.65% in 0.06 Hg, 17.05% in 0.06 Co and 17.32% in combination of 0.03Hg+0.03Co. At 0.06ppm of Hg lipid content decreased by 41.25%, 23.26% at 0.06ppm Co and 32.44% at 0.03Hg +0.03 Co whereas protein concentration was decreased by 42.47% at 0.06ppm Hg, 35.27% at 0.06ppm Co and 38.07% at 0.03Hg+0.03Co. So it was concluded that Hg is more toxic to earthworm not only bio-molecular parameter it affect coccon production, coelomocytes, body weight, length also.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M. Pavlović, D. Tadić, S. Arsovski, A. Tomović, A. Pavlović The market validation of any devices presents one of the most waste important tasks. There are many factors have a critical effect on market validation. These factors are defined by reverse logistic management team. In this paper, a new model for market validation of device for recycling is proposed which includes both quantitative and qualitative factors. In this paper, fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix of the relative importance of factors is performed by reverse logistic team which use linguistic expressions. The factor weights are given by fuzzy AHP. The values of factor can be crisps and described by pre-defined linguistic expressions. All linguistic terms are modeled by triangular fuzzy numbers. The proposed model is verified through an illustrative example. The obtained results represent an input for future research which should include a good benchmark base for tested different devices which use in reverse logistic chains and their continuous improvement.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sartaj Ahmad Bhat, Jaswinder Singh, Adarsh Pal Vig The aim of present work was to assess the growth of earthworm Eisenia fetida during vermicomposting of pressmud (PM) sludge. It was mixed with cattle dung (CD) at different ratios (PM: CD) of 0:100 (PM 0 ) 25:75 (PM 25 ), 50:50 (PM 50 ), 75:25 (PM 75 ) and 100:0 (PM 100 ) under different varying weight 8.76 (PM 0 ), 7.63 (PM 25 ), 9.93 (PM 50 ), 9.90 (PM 75 ) and 10.23 g (PM 100 ). Co-composting with cattle dung helped to improve their acceptability for E. fetida and also improved physico-chemical characteristics. Best suitable mixture for highest survival, maximum weight and highest population buildup of E. fetida was determined by observing growth rate, weight, mortality, rate of cocoon production and population buildup. Minimum mortality and highest weight (77 g) of worms were observed in 25:75 (PM 25 ) mixture of PM. However, increasing percentages of wastes significantly affected the number and weight of worms. Nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium, increased from initial feed mixture to final products, while organic carbon, C:N ratio and Potassium showed an opposite trend. Heavy metals (Copper, Chromium, Iron) decreased significantly from initial except Zinc and manganese which accumulate significantly.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Grace P. Sapuay Solid waste management has always been about collection and disposal of garbage. We have currently moved on to a more efficient collection and disposal by using Engineered Sanitary Landfills in the Philippines. However, with the increase in population and the consequent increase in solid waste generation, we are now running out of spaces to establish solid waste disposal facilities. A global trend in solid waste management is towards resource recovery rather than disposal of waste. Resource recovery is no longer limited to recyclable materials such as tins, glass, paper, plastic and rubber. Resource recovery now involves the recovery of all solid waste materials, including residual waste. This is the value of RDF or refuse-derived fuel. RDF uses highly combustible residual waste, such as plastics and some biodegradable materials as fuel for cement kilns. It is currently being used by giant cement manufacturers Holcim and La Farge, consisting about 10% of the fuel they use in their cement kilns, which still uses an estimated 90% coal. The use of RDF, however, as a waste-to-energy technology must still be closely monitored under RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000 as well as the Clean Air Act. It remains to be an incinerating technology that requires equipment for flue gascleaning system to prevent air pollution. If RDF can be maintained as a clean technology and recovery of RDF-qualified waste materials can be increased, resource recovery from solid waste will become more efficient, then someday, we will finally be able to achieve zero waste.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vasanthy Muthunarayanan, Karthika Arumugam, Tamilselvi Duraisam Organic and postconsumer wastes are the major waste of today's concern in our living environment. Though they are one of the very rich sources of nitrogen and carbon, improper disposal results in different types of pollution including aesthetic pollution too. Hence, our aim is to manage the dried paper cup waste, temple waste and bay leaf waste in an eco friendly manner. Vermicomposting is a method involving biooxidation and stabilization of organic matter with the help of earthworms and microorganisms thereby turning waste into valuable soil amendments. The intensive objective of this study is to investigate the physico chemical characteristics, biomass, microbial population and also the histopathalogical analysis of the three different types of waste. Three different sets were prepared for this study, which includes paper cup waste and cowdung along with E. eugenia (A), Temple waste, cow dung along with E. eugenia (B), Bay waste, cow dung along with E. eugenia (C) in 1:1 ratio to carry out the degradation process in an eminent way. These materials were left for pre-composting followed by the introduction of the selected earth worms. Physico-chemical parameters (pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total organic matter (TOM), Total Nitrogen (TKN), C:N and Total Phosphorus) were analyzed. We have found that the aging of vermicompost reduce the microbial biomass of both bacteria and fungi. The histopathology analysis showed differences in the tissue damage of earthworm employed in different types of waste. Coherently, we have found noticeable earthworm behaviour during the addition of bay leaf waste and temple waste when compared to the paper cup waste. By this way the earthworms were active till the end of the process of degradation. Thus the addition of organic waste along with the post-consumer waste is justified.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Smita Agarwal, Papiya Mandal, Anjali Srivastava Size-segregated aerosol samplings were carried out during 2013-14 at Okhla landfills, Delhi, which is a municipal solid waste dumping station. Aerosol samples were collected on quartz filters using an Andersen impactor sampler having 9-stages with cut-off diameter >9.0, 9.0-5.8, 5.8-4.7, 4.7-3.3, 3.3-2.1, 2.1-1.1, 1.1-0.65, 0.65-0.43, 〈0.43 μm at flow rate 28.3 lpm. Additionally, a low-volume handy sampler was also used to measure total culturable microbial concentrations operates at flow rate of 2 lpm. The culturable total bacterial and fungal concentrations across the seasons ranged from 8.3×10 5 -1.8×10 7 cfu/m 3 and 1.2×10 3 -2.5×10 5 cfu/m 3 , respectively and also varied across the impactor stages. Major concentration peaks found during winter could be associated with high particulate matter concentration and favourable meteorological conditions in Delhi. On the other hand, comparatively lower concentrations were observed in summer. This is possibly because of microbial lethal effects of adverse meteorological conditions (high temperature and solar radiation) which are more prominent than that of release of microbial flux due to solar ground heating effect in summer. Size distribution analysis shows that bacteria were mostly abundant in fine particle sizes, i.e. 〈0.43-2.1 μm, but few peaks were also observed in size ranges between 5.8->9.0 μm. Fungal spores mostly peaked in coarse sizes (2.1-5.8 μm) and showed unimodal size distribution. Predominant identified bacterial strains were mostly belonged to Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Klebseilla and Escherichia genera. Most of the identified fungal spores are known for adverse health effects causing numerous allergic and pathogenic inflammations. These results suggest that the open-solid waste dumping sites are a major source of bioaerosols, and residents living in the nearby areas of landfills are at high health risks.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S. Vigneswaran, J. Kandasamy, M.A.H. Johir In this paper the optimum design of windrow composting is discussed. There are many reasons to consider implementing centralized open-windrow compost technology in developing countries, especially in municipalities which are not subject to the severe space restrictions. Compared to mechanized or in-vessel operations, windrow composting has many advantages as discussed in the paper. Design aspects of windrow composting facility such as process design, composting area sizing, runoff collection pond sizing, land treatment design for runoff, and capital and operating cost estimation are discussed in detail. In particular, the process design components such as feedstock (solid wastes) recovery, feedstock preparation, composting, stabilization, curing, refining and storing are analysed. A detail cost analysis (Capital and O&M Cost) is made based on processing 3000 tons/yr of yard waste, food waste, etc. to produced 1,500 tons/yr. of finished compost is made.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M.K. Manu, R. Kumar, A. Garg Drum composting is a potential mean to recycle the food waste (FW) at the source of generation in developing countries. The present study reports the kinetics of the composting process conducted in three plastic drums each of 125 L capacity. To facilitate natural aeration, 10 mm diameter holes were provided on the periphery of two drums while one drum was used as control (i.e., without any hole). Moreover, yard waste (YW) was also added to the feed as bulking agent (FW: YW = 2.5: 1 by wt.). The effect of turning and natural aeration was studied during 60 days of composting of food waste. Various physical, chemical and biological parameters were monitored routinely. The time-based organic matter degradation data was used to determine the kinetic parameters according to the first order rate equation. The reaction rate was found to be 0.0105 day -1 (R 2 = 0.9605) in the modified drum with regular sample turning. The principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchial cluster analysis (HCA) were used as statistical tools to evaluate the variation between the measured parameters.

Description: Publication date: Available online 5 August 2016 Source: Climate Risk Management Author(s): Jonathan Star, Erika L. Rowland, Mary E. Black, Carolyn A.F. Enquist, Gregg Garfin, Catherine Hawkins Hoffman, Holly Hartmann, Katharine L. Jacobs, Richard H. Moss, Anne M. Waple Scenario planning is a technique used to inform decision-making under uncertainty, and is increasingly applied in the field of climate change adaptation and policy. This paper describes applications that combine previously distinct scenario methods in new and innovative ways. It draws on numerous recent independent case studies to illustrate emerging practices, such as far stronger connections between researcherdriven and participatory approaches and cycling between exploratory and normative perspectives. The paper concludes with a call for greater support for, and collaboration among, practitioners with the argument that mixed methods are most effective for decision-making in the context of climate change challenges.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Susan M. Cheyne, Wiwit Juwita Sastramidjaja, Muhalir, Yaya Rayadin, David W. Macdonald Using camera traps at eight grids across Indonesian Borneo we show how mammalian species assemblages can provide reliable information about how disturbance affects a forest. This enables us to use the large mammal community structure at each site to assess the impacts of human disturbance and habitat variables. Occupancy ranged from 0.01–0.77 with pig-tailed macaques, muntjac, orang-utans, sun bears, bearded pigs and common porcupines consistently having an occupancy of > 0.5. These large mammals were generally making use of the whole forest surveyed and avoided the forest edge in only a few grids. A General Linear Model with general contrasts and survey effort as a covariate was performed to assess the impact of different variables. Logging and hunting were positively associated with low species number ( F = 6.3 , p = 0.012 and F = 5.4 , p = 0.003 respectively). Logging and hunting contributed to a low % of carnivorous species ( F = 1.5 , p = 0.021 and F = 4.8 , p = 0.041 respectively) and a higher % of IUCN Endangered and Vulnerable species ( F = 5.9 , p = 0.044 and F = 5.0 , p = 0.044 respectively). The presence of burnt areas within the study grids was positively associated with reduced species numbers ( F = 5.3 , p = 0.018 ) and reducted % of carnivorous species ( F = 6.8 , p = 0.023 ) but not the % of IUCN Endangered and Vulnerable species. This is likely a result of burnt areas reducing the area of suitable habitat for many mammals. The proximity of the grids to roads, villages, rivers and presence of logging camps have been proposed as suitable parameters to indicate disturbance. In our study none of these parameters significantly affected the total species numbers, % of carnivores, and % of IUCN concern (Endangered and Vulnerable), nor did the protected status of the forest. We have identified 4 species as specific indicators whose presence or absence can help determine the type and/or extent of forest disturbance and/or be a proxy indicator for the presence of other species. Leopard cat ( Prionailurus bengalensis ) and pig-tailed macaques ( Macaca nemestrina, generalists); sambar deer ( Rusa unicolour, large, wide-ranging herbivores) and clouded leopards ( Neofelis diardi ) as a proxy for at least 2 of the smaller felid species.

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 July 2016 Source: Water Science Author(s): Sumita Rani, Meenal Aggarwal, Mukesh Kumar, Sumit Sharma, Dinesh Kumar Methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B dyes (RB) were degraded from water using zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) and zirconium oxide/graphene composites (ZrO 2 /GR) as photocatalyst. The photocatalytic efficiency was calculated from absorption spectra obtained using UV–visible spectroscopy. It has been observed that photodegradation time as well as photocatalytic efficiency increase with the concentration of catalyst up to a certain limit after which effect was reversed. The degradation was studied as a function of pH also. It was found that photocatalytic efficiency was more in alkaline medium than acidic medium. Degradation of RB takes place at higher value of pH as compared to MB. The degradation time for MB was 1 h using ZrO 2 which get reduced to 32 min using ZrO 2 /GR composite and for RB it reduced to 40 min (using ZrO 2 /GR) from 80 min (ZrO 2 ).

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 July 2016 Source: Water Science Author(s): Sahar Salim Kamrakji, Abdel-Wahab Mohamed Amer, Sherif M.A. El-Didy, Ahmed Mohamed Tawfik In arid and semi-arid regions, soil salinity is a common problem threatening fertility of irrigated lands. The Lower Euphrates valley in Syria suffers from salt accumulation in soil because of the inappropriate climatic conditions, using the traditional methods in irrigation; flood irrigation. HYDRUS 1-D model was used to simulate water flow, salt transport and root water uptake processes in this area. Data from seventy soil profiles were acquired from the pedological reports obtained from the Ministry of Irrigation in Syria. Representative monthly evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) values in Deir Ez-Zor were taken from the FAO CLIMWAT database. The seventy soil profiles were grouped in fourteen zones distributed over the study area. For each zone, the monthly recharge and its salt concentration was estimated. The model was run for 24-month duration. The results showed increasing in soil salinity and, consequently, increasing in salts load transmitted into groundwater. Accordingly, mitigation measures have been suggested.

Description: Publication date: November 2016 Source: Energy Reports, Volume 2 Author(s): Fengbo Guo, Wanli Jia, Bin Hou, Yongfa Zhang Dry re-forming of methane has been carried out in a high temperature–pressure reactor at different pressures, using Hongce lignite semicokes catalyst. The results show that CH 4 and CO 2 conversions are decreased as the reaction pressure increased, but both of them kept basically stable when the reaction pressure is between 0.3 and 1 MPa. The comparison shows that the effects of the temperature and the flow of reactant gas on dry re-forming of methane are consistent with between high pressure and atmospheric pressure. The ratio of CO/H 2 decreased as the ratio of CH 4 /CO 2 increased, yet the value of CO/H 2 is always more than 1 at different pressures. Hongce lignite semicokes catalyst is characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and BET, and the analysis results reveled that the physical specific adsorption peak of CO 2 at 2350 cm −1 is strengthened significantly at different pressures, the micropore area and volume of Hongce lignite semicokes reduced form 40.2 m 2  g −1 and 0.019 cm 3  g −1 to 34.9 m 2  g −1 and 0.017 cm 3  g −1 , respectively. Hongce lignite semicokes catalyst exhibited better activity and stability within 0.3–1 MPa range.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Annabelle Langlois, Stéphanie Pellerin With a growing number of species at risk of extinction, reintroductions have become an important component of several recovery schemes. In 2005, a recovery program including reintroduction and reinforcement efforts as well as monitoring activities was implemented in Québec for the endangered false hop sedge ( Carex lupuliformis ). Between 2005 and 2010, a total of 600 plants were reintroduced in different habitats (dry and wet) on five distinct sites (swamps). Our objective was to determine which environmental variables (soil moisture, light availability, competition, aphid infestation) influenced the survival and vigour (height, number of shoots, number of fruiting shoots) of the transplanted individuals. We also compared the survival, growth and fecundity of transplanted and wild individuals. Discriminant analyses and ANOVAs indicated that exotic aphid infestation, excessive soil moisture and low light availability were the main causes of premature transplant death. Soil moisture (when not excessive, as shown by the survival analyses), light availability and competition volume positively influenced transplant vigour. Although only 4% of original transplants remain alive after a decade, at least one new population has established and total population has increased six-fold, when wild individuals and transplants still alive in 2015 are included in the calculations. Furthermore, at least 33% of transplants produced seeds at least once. Overall, transplants were less vigorous than wild individuals, but were found to live on average just as long, suggesting that the biological success of our reintroduction program is promising. Further studies of false hop sedge should include an examination of seed viability, to evaluate whether the small, newly-created populations experienced reduced germination.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Katherine R. Amato, Jessica L. Metcalf, Se Jin Song, Vanessa L. Hale, Jonathan Clayton, Gail Ackermann, Greg Humphrey, Kefeng Niu, Duoying Cui, Hongxia Zhao, Mark D. Schrenzel, Chia L. Tan, Rob Knight, Josephine Braun Primates of the Colobinae subfamily are highly folivorous. They possess a sacculated foregut and are believed to rely on a specialized gut microbiota to extract sufficient energy from their hard-to-digest diet. Although many colobines are endangered and would benefit from captive breeding programs, maintaining healthy captive populations of colobines can be difficult since they commonly suffer from morbidity and mortality due to gastrointestinal (GI) distress of unknown cause. While there is speculation that this GI distress may be associated with a dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, no study has directly examined the role of the gut microbiota in colobine GI health. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to examine the gut microbiota of three genera of colobines housed at the San Diego Zoo: doucs ( Pygathrix) ( N = 7 ), colobus monkeys ( Colobus) ( N = 4 ), and langurs ( Trachypithecus) ( N = 5 ). Our data indicated that GI-healthy doucs, langurs, and colobus monkeys possess a distinct gut microbiota. In addition, GI-unhealthy doucs exhibited a different gut microbiota compared to GI-healthy individuals, including reduced relative abundances of anti-inflammatory Akkermansia. Finally, by comparing samples from wild and captive Asian colobines, we found that captive colobines generally exhibited higher relative abundances of potential pathogens such as Desulfovibrio and Methanobrevibacter compared to wild colobines, implying an increased risk of gut microbial dysbiosis. Together, these results suggest an association between the gut microbiota and GI illness of unknown cause in doucs. Further studies are necessary to corroborate these findings and determine cause-and-effect relationships. Additionally, we found minimal variation in the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota along the colobine GI tract, suggesting that fecal samples may be sufficient for describing the colobine gut microbiota. If these findings can be validated in wild individuals, it will facilitate the rapid expansion of colobine gut microbiome research.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): A. Dellinger, J. Plotkin, B. Duncan, L. Robertson, T. Brady, C. Kepley Crustaceans, such as crab and lobster, comprise an important global food commodity. They are captured in traps using primarily forage fish (e.g. anchovies, herring, and menhaden), as bait. Approximately 18 million tons of these fish are used annually to bait traps, worldwide (U. Nations, 2014). In addition to natural predators dependent on forage fish (Pikitch et al., 2012), myriad other factors are further intensifying demand and collectively threatening stocks ( e.g. Omega-3 supplements, pet food, livestock feed,–in addition to direct human consumption). Forage fish capture methods pose collateral environmental risks from by-catch ( e.g. seals, dolphins, turtles) indiscriminately killed in nets. Sustainable alternatives to stem further depletion are desperately needed, and toward this end, a synthetic crustacean bait has been developed. The technology mimics molecules released from forage fish by employing a formulation that is dispersed at a controlled rate from a soluble matrix. The synthetic bait reliably caught stone crab, blue crab, and American lobster in field trials. This technology addresses major ecological threats, while providing economic and operational benefits to the crustacean fishing industry. One Sentence Summary: A synthetic crustacean bait has been developed to obviate the need for forage fish capture and depletion.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S.B. Wath A flush urinal-toilet disposes human waste by using water through a drainpipe to another location. A series of urinal-toilets are fitted in offices, malls, multiplexes, educational institutions, bus railway stations, airports, commercial complexes, stadia and other public places. Most have manual flushing systems like push button, trigger, pull chain, etc. however, use of such manually operated flush can spread germs and bacteria when contacted and thus users avoids to flush or lead to wastage of water if used. Now a day's laser or infrared sensor operated flushes is also used in the places of high commercial value and importance but are expensive and required continuous O&M. Therefore, the sanitary facility may remain un-flushed leading to unhygienic conditions and foul smell. Thus need for a low cost automatic flushing apparatus which can flush the right-controlled amount of water and avoid direct contact thus conserving water as well as maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation The present invention relates to a specially designed mechanical automatic urinal-toilet flusher and a mechanism thereof, which utilizes the weight load/pressure of the person using the urinal-toilet for automatic flushing the urinal- toilet with the specified or measured quantity of water to prevent odors, soil drain and scale buildup. It ensures the compulsory, regular and un-intentional flushing of the urinal-toilet without any direct hand contact of the user to the flush and also conserve water at the same time is simple and cheap, which can be fitted-retrofitted to new as well as existing water pipe line of the urinal-toilets.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vidyadhar Durgekar This paper explores the performance of sustainable waste management through effective policy, legislations, supply chain integration and participation in technology. It compares a standalone impact analysis of the aspects and the hazards of the municipal solid waste. Considering the practical difficulties and issues on site of the waste disposal in the Cities, this paper does an matrix based analysis to arrive at the solution.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Aich, Sadhan K. Ghosh Municipal solid waste management system cannot be made sustainable only with the technical end-of-pipe solutions but an integrated approach is necessary. The use of SWOT (strength & weakness and opportunity & threats) analysis technique for the selection of technology for processing and disposal of municipal solid waste will help to mitigate the uncertainties and minimise the business/project risk and will also help to identify the raw material feed mix, establish a raw material supply chain, identify the product mix and product market, business model & business risk. In this paper a systematic approach has been developed for the selection of right technology for the sustainable processing and disposal of municipal solid waste.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Aditee Potdar, Anju Singh, Seema Unnikrishnan, Neelima Naik, Mayuri Naik, Indrayani Nimkar, Vikrant Patil Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has emerged as a core issue, which needs to be tackled effectively in developing countries. The burgeoning population indicates increased MSW generation rates indirectly posing challenge to the final disposal. The final disposal is of critical importance as it largely impacts the environment and public health. A number of technologies are available for management and treatment of MSW but choosing the appropriate one depends on the nature of MSW and local conditions. Selecting the appropriate technology also helps to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thereby mitigating climate change. The opportunity to reduce GHG emissions is offered by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This paper reports how MSW can be managed effectively through CDM. 350 MSW projects have been registered under CDM across 56 developing countries. 51,292,568 metric tons of CO2e are estimated to be reduced through these 350 projects. China registered the maximum number of projects (102), followed by Brazil and Mexico registering 45 and 28 projects, respectively. Overall, 175 projects from China, Brazil, and Mexico account for about 51.63% of the total estimated emissions reductions. Asian region reported the highest number of projects (191) followed by South American region (123). 16 methodologies have been used as stand-alone as well as in combination for management of MSW through CDM and cover several areas through which the potential of MSW can be trapped. China and India used the maximum methodologies (9) followed by Brazil (7). Registering for CDM offers financial benefits as well as technology transfer and ultimately sustainable development. Source reduction and technology development to suit local needs are the areas where developing countries can focus. An integrated system for solid waste management is perfectly suitable for developing countries.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P.P. Anilkumar, K. Chithra Municipal solid waste management has become a serious concern in India, and for efficient management, it is important that accurate methods are developed for estimating solid waste types, quantities and its distribution. Objective of this research paper, which is based on a HUDCO funded project, is to understand how residential land use and associated activities’ based specific key generators of solid waste in a small/medium scale urban area are related to the quantity of waste generated and thereby to model the same. The study is aimed at deriving a more rational method to estimate quantity of solid waste generated type-wise, in place of the per capita based en-bloc estimation system practiced at present. Criticality of residential land-use and related generators are identified through a Delphi/AHP based expert survey process. Their relationship to waste generation is established based on the field survey conducted in 2 select wards of three cities namely Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Kozhikode in South India. The sample size was 150 households/ward. The results show that when solid waste estimation based on land use parameters is attempted for residential land-use, not only factors like household size, and income matter but also factors like housing typology, floor area of the residence and lifestyle of the family etc. have a decisive role to play. In its results part, the paper presents models for estimating solid waste for residential land-use based on the critical generator parameters with established correlation. Then the paper discusses the survey based validation results of the models. In conclusion, the paper briefly outlines a system that can be developed to estimate solid waste generation at an appropriate level with superior quantitative and qualitative precision of waste estimation. It can have immense application in waste management related capacity building and in formulating suitable policy guidelines.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Shaoli De, Biswajit Debnath Multiple factors like population density with high degree of commercialization and rapid urbanization has resulted in problems of solid waste disposal which produce 120,000 tones of solid waste per day in India (2014) and its detrimental consequences. But separate studies on the health hazards associated with waste disposal in the localities of Kolkata are scanty. The aim of this study is to explore the adverse health effects prevalent in the community associated with the solid waste disposal system in a specific locality (i.e. Garia) of Kolkata. A garbage disposable area of Kolkata was selected in Garia and the nearby households (within 500 m from the waste disposable land) were randomly selected and case study was done by interview on the effect of garbage disposal on the health of the adjacent residents with two self structured questionnaires, taking note of perception and awareness about garbage disposal practices. Their recommendation was also sought for eradication of menace. The study clearly indicates failure of the existing facilities, high volume of waste generation, inadequate collection space, and the presence of open-dump sites which generates serious health risks. Information of various types of waste materials like polythene bags, construction wastes, regular solid wastes from households were obtained. It was observed that the people living in this area have poor health like allergy, asthma, skin irritation and other gastro intestinal diseases. The public perception indicated that most people lack knowledge of the harmful effects of waste heaps including that they are breeding grounds for flies, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, rodents etc which are responsible for transmission of germs and zoonotic infections to the people living nearby. The findings of the study will help the stakeholders to take necessary steps to eradicate the problem and to grow a healthier environment.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Shyamala Mani, Satpal Singh Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has emerged as a big challenge not only because of the health and environmental concerns but also due to huge quantities of waste generated. It is observed from many research documents that most urban local bodies (ULBs) in India are unable to handle such huge quantities of solid waste due to financial and institutional debilities. Furthermore, ULBs rarely have sufficient funds, resources, infrastructure and appropriate strategies for improved solid waste management. Segregation of waste, door to door waste collection, technologies for the treatment of waste, land resources and scientific disposal methods are some of the major challenges. Recognizing these challenges, the two ministries of Government of India namely Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) have initiated several policies and programmes to improve the current scenario of MSWM in India. Environment Ministry had promulgated the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules in2000 which is now being revamped as Solid Waste Management Rules 2015 while the MoUD has prepared a draft manual on MSWM to support cities and towns on planning and implementing a proper MSWM system in line with the SWM Rules being promulgated in 2015. It is observed that many policies and programmes fail to achieve their objectives due to lack of clarity and awareness among the stakeholders and poor enforcement by the regulators. The present paper provides a comprehensive view of SWM and most importantly highlights some major points of the policies/programmes initiated by the Government of India to overcome the challenges of solid waste management in our country.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Animesh Biswas, Arnab Kumar De In this study a fuzzy chance constrained programming approach is developed for municipal solid waste management to minimize the net system cost and maximize the revenue generated from different treatment facilities. Most of the parameters involved with this model are imprecisely defined and probabilistically uncertain. A fuzzy chance programming model is developed to minimize the net system cost of sorting and transporting the wastes and to maximize the revenue generated from different treatment facilities. To resolve the cases arising due to the multiple occurrences of fuzzy goals, a fuzzy goal programming has been adopted. To expound the potential use of the approach, modified version of a case example, studied previously, has been considered and solved. The achieved model solution is compared with the existing technique for waste management, studied earlier.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P. Albores, K. Petridis, P.K. Dey In our day-to-day living, a simple underlying principle is to consume resources in one form or another. This consumption generates waste, which needs to be dealt with in a responsible, efficient and effective manner. Waste is mostly collected and disposed by municipalities. This presents a challenge for these municipalities in dealing with ever increasing amounts of waste to be managed. This is particularly critical in cities, where the demand for these services is increasing. Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to be one of the top priorities for human communities in the 21st century. The model of integrated solid waste management, reduction of waste right at the source points before it enters the chain of waste stream, reuse of generated wastes for recovery by recycling, and disposal through environmentally sound combustion facilities and landfills that meet policy standards are being used by communities as they evolve. Solid waste management is known to be an important contributor to various environmental problems, for example climate change (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions from landfills), disturbing multiple ecosystems (e.g. heavy metal emissions into air, soil and surface water), and improper use of resources leading to depletion (e.g. inexistent or inefficient recycling processing methods for a few particular key minerals or metals) among others. The formidable rise in solid waste generation require suitable management systems, which methodically handle these environmental issues and eventually contribute to move towards a more environmentally sustainable society. This paper presents a method based on Data Envelopment Analysis to analyse the efficiency of Waste to Energy systems, looking not only at maximising the positive outputs (e.g. Energy), but also minimising the negative ones (e.g. emissions). The results provide a benchmark for municipalities to aim in the operation of their Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM).

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Schüch, G. Morscheck, A. Lemke, M. Nelles German biodegradable waste is collected separately, recycled and ecologically and economically used. Compost and digestate are used as organic fertilizer or replace peat in potting soil and plant substrates. The bio-waste recycling may also directly contribute to climate protection if the methane produced during the fermentation is used for energy production. Around the world biodegradable waste in landfills is the main factor for the generation of the greenhouse gas methane. This environmental impact can be significantly reduced by the separate collection and recycling/use of organic waste. The separate collection of bio-waste is also a precondition for reutilizing of organic matter and nutrients. Only from separately collected bio-wasteit is possible to produce high-quality compost and digestate, which are suitable for agricultural or horticultural use. The separate collection of bio-waste from households affects the amount and composition of the residual waste. By separating bio-waste the remaining amount of waste is reduced up to a third. At the same time the residual waste contains less wet ingredients, which facilitate the waste sorting and makes the treatment in waste incineration plants more effective or even possible. Both, the recycling of compost and digestate on soils, as well as the energy recovery of bio-waste, contribute to climate protection and resource conservation. The operation of the treatment plants determines how much of the greenhouse gases methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia is released during the process. Some plant operators need to be awakened and their awareness of climate-relevant emissions from their bio-waste treatment plants has to be raised. Also the amount of collected organic waste should be further reinforced. In 2015 the separate collection of bio-waste has to improve!

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K.A. Kolekar, T. Hazra, S.N. Chakrabarty Development of a Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) plan is a complex process. As a foundation and prerequisite for efficient MSWM plan, quantification and prediction of Solid Waste (SW) generation is very much essentials. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) prediction cannot be done directly and depends on so many factors. In actual practices, due to uncertainties and unavailability of sufficient data, modelling methods are needed for prediction of MSW generation. A number of researchers have predicted SW generation using various modeling methods. The main objective of this paper is to review such models related to MSW generation using economic, socio-demographic or management-orientated data and identify possible factors that will help in selecting the crucial design options within the framework of mathematical modeling. Five characteristic classification criteria, namely, modeling method, area covered, time series, independent variables and waste streams are focused in this review. The entire published models are diverse in nature for application from whole country to households. Successful modeling depends significantly on selection of waste stream. From the review and discussion of models the research aims to identify the limitations of previous models which will help in identifying the crucial design options within the framework of modeling. The study is concluded with a few fruitful suggestions.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Konstantinos Petridis, Prasanta Kumar Dey Incineration plants in UK carry out two important tasks: reduction of waste disposed to landfills, and power/heat production from waste incineration distributed to the grid. However, incinerating waste produces, except for desirable outputs like exported power, harmful emissions, too. In this work, a DEA/Goal Programming model is presented to assess the performance of each incineration plant. Data from 22 incineration plants have been collected regarding capacity (waste and power), power exported, annual availability and levels of harmful emissions. The proposed model provides an allocation of the examined incineration plants, by shutting down a plant if it doesn’t meet environmental targets. Additional constraints are considered regarding levels of power exported and annual availability. The model is solved for multiple scenarios regarding the number of incineration plants that will be eventually installed. Results are provided regarding the optimal allocation of each incineration plant and the optimal values of under and over achievement of each environmental target. Additionally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the scores derived from the proposed method and DEA models that handle both desirable and undesirable outputs. No differences between the two rankings are derived by applying statistical analysis.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Wilfrid Rodriguez, Ika C. Feller, Kyle C. Cavanaugh General circulation models predict warming trends and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns that have the potential to alter the structure and function of coastal habitats. The purpose of this study was to quantify the expansion and contraction of mangroves and saltmarsh habitats and assess the impact of climate on these landscape changes. The study was conducted in a mangrove/saltmarsh ecotone in Flagler County, FL, near the northern range limit of mangroves along the Atlantic coast of North America. We used time series of historical aerial photography and high-resolution multispectral satellite imagery from 1942 to 2013 to quantify changes in the extent of mangrove and saltmarsh vegetation and compared these changes to climate variables of temperature and precipitation, temperature–seasonality, as well as historical sea-level data. Results showed increases in mangrove extent of 89% between 1942 and 1952, and a continuous increase from 1995 to 2013. Largest decrease in saltmarsh extent occurred between 1942 and 1952 (-136%) and between 2008 and 2013 (-81%). We found significant effects of precipitation, temperature, seasonality, and time on mangrove and saltmarsh areal extent. The statistical effect of sea-level was rather small, but we speculate that it might have ecological impacts on these two coastal ecosystems. Results also showed a cyclical dynamism as well as a reversal in habitat dominance, which may be the result of complex interactions between plant habitats and several environmental drivers of change such as species interactions, and hydrological changes induced by sea-level rise, in addition to temperature and precipitation effects. Our results on mangrove/saltmarsh expansion and contraction may contribute to the improvement of management and conservation strategies for coastal ecosystems being impacted by climate change.

Description: Publication date: Available online 20 June 2016 Source: Climate Risk Management Author(s): Noémie Rachel Kugler, Pilar MoragaSariego The damages related to climate change are a concerning issue for the international community, as no country will escape the impacts of climate change. Indeed, it is a preoccupation for the countries (mostly vulnerable) that will suffer those damages, but also for the States that emitted greenhouse gases which fear to have to repair them. That’s why the international negotiation related to the climate regime use the ambiguous term “loss and damage” to design the impacts related to climate change. The purpose of this article is to know if the term “loss and damage” is a useful one in view of reparation under international law or if it iss necessary to conceptualize the “climate change damage” notion employed by the doctrine. More precisely, the central question is the following: why is it necessary to conceptualize the “climate change damage” notion? Even though “loss and damage” could formally be a legal concept, it is substantially useless with regard to reparation under international law because it is too ambiguous. Therefore, we judged necessary to clarify the concept of “climate change damage” used by the doctrine but that unfortunately defines it insufficiently. Indeed, it could be useful for the doctrine but also for the lawyers of vulnerable countries and the judges to dispose of a legal notion in order to consider the reparation of the damages related to climate change under international law. Consequently, we propose in this article a definition of climate change damage that could be useful with regard to reparation under international law.

Description: Publication date: Available online 21 June 2016 Source: Climate Risk Management Author(s): Erin Towler, Heather Lazrus Tools are needed that can add value to existing drought information and customize it for specific drought management contexts. This study develops a generalized framework that can be used to link local impacts with readily available drought information, thus increasing the usability of existing drought products in decision making. We offer a three-step risk-based framework that can be applied to specific decision-making contexts: (i) identify hydrologic impact thresholds, (ii) develop threshold exceedance model, and (iii) evaluate exceedance likelihood. The framework is demonstrated using a study site in south-central Oklahoma, which is highly susceptible to drought and faces management challenges. Stakeholder input from interviews are used to identify “moderate” and “extreme” thresholds below which water needs are not met for important uses. A logistic regression model translates existing drought information to the likelihood of exceeding the identified thresholds. The logistic model offers an improvement over climatology, and the 12-month Standardized Precipitation Index is shown to be the best drought index predictor. The logistic model is used in conjunction with historical drought information to give a retrospective look at the risk of drought impacts from the beginning of the century. Results show the 1980s to early 2000s to be an anomalously wet period, and that recent drying trends and impacts do not appear to be unusual for the 20 th century. This drought risk analysis can be used as a baseline by local managers to guide future decision making under climate uncertainty.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Michael Abedi-Lartey, Dina K.N. Dechmann, Martin Wikelski, Anne K. Scharf, Jakob Fahr On-going fragmentation of tropical forest ecosystems and associated depletion of seed dispersers threatens the long-term survival of animal-dispersed plants. These threats do not only affect biodiversity and species abundance, but ultimately ecosystem functions and services. Thus, seed dispersers such as the straw-coloured fruit bat, E. helvum , which traverse long distances across fragmented landscapes, are particularly important for maintaining genetic connectivity and colonizing new sites for plant species. Using high-resolution GPS-tracking of movements, field observations and gut retention experiments, we quantify dispersal distances for small- and large-seeded fruits foraged by E. helvum during periods of colony population low (wet season) and high (dry season) in an urban and a rural landscape in the forest zone of Ghana. Gut passage time averaged 116 min (range 4–1143 min), comparable to other fruit bats. Movements were generally longer in the urban than in the rural landscape and also longer in the dry than in the wet season. As the majority of seeds are dispersed only to feeding roosts, median dispersal distances were similar for both large (42–67 m) and small (42–65 m) seeds. However, small seeds were potentially dispersed up to 75.4 km, four times further than the previous maximum distance estimated for a similar-sized frugivore. Maximum seed dispersal distances for small seeds were almost twice as long in the rural (49.7 km) compare to the urban (31.2 km) landscape. Within the urban landscape, estimated maximum dispersal distances for small seeds were three times longer during the dry season (75.4 km) compared to the wet season (22.8 km); in contrast, distances in the rural landscape were three times longer in the wet season (67 km) compared to the dry season (24.4). Dispersal distances for large seeds during the dry season (551 m) in the rural landscape were almost twice that in the wet season (319 m). We found no influence of food phenology on dispersal distances. The maximum likelihood for seed dispersal beyond feeding roosts (mean distance from food tree 263 m) was 4.7%. Small seeds were dispersed over even longer distances, >500 and >1000 m, with a likelihood of 3.0 % and 2.3 % respectively. Our data show that E. helvum retains ingested seeds for very long periods and may traverse large distances, probably making it an important long distance seed disperser in tropical Africa. We suggest E. helvum is important for ecosystem functioning and urge its conservation.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Merzougui Wafia, Belakehal Azeddine, Bennadji Amar The essence of architectural design rests upon in kind of manipulation between dualism central core and external envelope of any architectural composition; there are some compositions that are concerned with the external envelope,while other compositions the outer shell is result of the interned division. Besides there are other compositions that blend the central core and the external envelope in a harmonious dialogue. This combination between central core and the external envelope touch this diversity in houses of Biskra city through different periods of time to create a comfortable thermal environment. The dry areas, which are distributed on a large scale over the space of Algeria, characterized by climate is hot and dry. We found Morphological diversity in houses of this region that reflects primarily adaptation to climatic conditions, social and economic through different periods. In our research, we depend on the experimental method through digital simulation technology program ECOTECT to calculate data, for various thermal models. in addition in the selection of network studied models we adopted to the variables morphology of both core and the external envelope of the dwelling which are: 1) the oceanic layer, 2) type of the core 3) type of the external envelope. Then we calculated the temperature of various houses layers to make comparisons between various layers and various models. The results of this study came to show the laws that control heat in the atmosphere and that is affected by alphabet elements of local architecture of Biskra region. These laws allow the architect to manipulate to these elements to search for improved thermal yield of the building and control of energy consumption in the range of what is available to him.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim, Nanis Abd El Monem Mohamed The impact of waste accumulation can be highly drastic for many communities in developing countries. In Egypt, the issue gets more challenging as there are no clearly-defined strategies for an efficient management of solid waste, which inflicts serious environmental risks on Egyptian communities and drains a considerable portion of the local economy. This study aims to improve solid waste management in Egypt by exploring the options by which solid waste can be sustainably managed, and reviewing international models of sustainable management systems. Eventually, a strategy is formulated for the sustainable management of solid waste on the local scale of Egypt.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mona Azouz, Abeer Galal Tourism being a major sector of the Egyptian economy and with the increasing awareness of humanity's negative effect on the planet, the shift towards sustainability became a must. Egypt being blessed with a variety of sites, the research focuses on developing a tool for sustainable sites assessment for hotels to reduce negative impacts on the environment; maximize social and economic benefits for the local community. The research was based on an inductive approach through studying sustainable sites in different International Certification Systems. As a result, an excel sheet for site assessment for hotels is developed that could locally be applied.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Dina Naguib, Moemen Afifi, Sherine Wahba Lately, sustainability in eco-cities had been such an urgent topic. Development forces acts as a threat to eco-lands. This study aims to evaluate the use of different tools through out a comparative analysis of various case studies in order to guarantee their sustainability. A community vision based on sustainability will help align and motivate communities, governments and others and will provide a basis for developing a strategy to achieve this vision. This paper discusses the application of one of the regulatory tools for achieving sustainability in eco-cities which is TDR ‘Transfer of Developing Rights’ as an alternative method that has been applied in other cities, as a new promising solution and the possibilities of its application in future projects could be applied to maintain sustainability of eco-lands within the cities.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Christoph Banhardt, Felix Hartenstein This paper proposes a makeshift approach to carbon accounting in Egyptian towns, which takes into account the limited resources of local municipalities and the widespread lack of available data. Egypt is highly vulnerable to climate change. Escalating temperatures, water scarcity, and rising sea levels threaten all parts of society. Cities absorb a growing portion of the increasing population and are especially exposed to the precarious effects of global warming. Consequently, there is an emergent need for mitigation and adaptation measures in urban areas, which presuppose an adequate accounting of the local greenhouse gas emissions. This paper suggest a series of six steps that can be followed by municipal decision makers to estimate their emissions by collecting existing information on site and utilizing systematic approximations to make up for missing statistics.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Karim M. Ayyad, Ahmed A. Fekry Most green retrofitting efforts adopt case-by-case studies to evaluate retrofitting projects and the economic feasibility of greening a given existing building. These case-by-case studies can only be done by well-informed and well-trained architects or practitioners, and do not give a whole image that can help the decision-maker decide which building to green in a set of alternatives, hindering the spread of green retrofitting. A comprehensive framework with a standard reference index that can be easily computed for each building can help create an updatable database for existing buildings in each town/city, allowing owners, investors and decision-makers to evaluate the different alternatives themselves. This paper addresses the problem by presenting the suggested GRI reference index that can be used in the green retrofit decision-making process, and presents the different factors that affect it and how they can be computed.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hariwan N. Zebari, Rojhat K. Ibrahim Sustainable architecture is a way of prolonging the aging process of existing architecture. Architectural Sustainability in developing countries is still in its early stages compared to the developed countries. In this particular research, the methods and strategies for sustainable architecture will be addressed within the Kurdistan region of Iraq, specifically within the residential housing. This paper is an attempt to bring awareness to some common practical issues, and also provide simple solutions to make the buildings more efficient, functional, and comfortable.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hamzah Salman Al-Mamoori Courtyard is a basic element in our traditional buildings. Thermal comfort is very important in courtyard, and without that people cannot use courtyard. In traditional buildings the problem of thermal comfort is solved according to the mechanism of the global planning of the tissue. Thermal comfort is the core of the process and one major issue of sustainability. The mechanism of making courtyard of thermal comfort in modern building of grid iron planning pattern is the research problem. Experiential methodology with theoretical analysis depended to reach that, courtyard can be activated and be of thermal comfort depending on many indicators of type of penetration, staggering position, enclosure and orientation as findings.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mohammed El Barmelgy, Soheir Hawas, Shaimaa Ashour, Ghada Attiaa The Eastern Necropolis is part of the World Heritage property of Historic Cairo in the URHC 2010-2012. It underlies a diversity of forces that lead to urban informality and ruins the sky line of Old Historic Cairo. Applying a sustainable conservation strategy will supposedly stop further slum formation and achieve urban equality. The research is divided into: 1)Pilot study, 2) Field Work and Survey; Evaluation for the study zone and creating a Base Map for the Eastern Necropolis, 3) Documentary studies; Conservation of heritage areas as an approach to regional planning, 4)Research results and final conclusion.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Indjy M. Shawket Several educational methods are used in building up children; each has different settings accordingly different requirements. The research focuses on Montessori Method that presented innovation in the field of outdoor learning. Here comes a question ‘Does the educational system instruct the design of outdoor spaces?’ Accordingly, the research introduces Montessori principle ‘exploring surrounding environment’, comparing studies on children; finding out how educational system could achieve its objectives through its own settings’ requirements in outdoor spaces’ design. If so; spaces’ design principles should be for each educational system individually in order to reach maximum benefits of the educational process.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Nooshin Torabi, Luis Mata, Ascelin Gordon, Georgia Garrard, Wayne Wescott, Paul Dettmann, Sarah A. Bekessy Carbon farming programs typically aim to maximise landholder participation rates to achieve desired environmental outcomes. This is critical for programs aiming to tackle both climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously, as landholder participation in those schemes directly determines the level of carbon sequestered and the potential biodiversity gains. Biodiverse carbon planting is a key private land conservation practice that needs active stakeholder involvement to deliver successful policy design and implementation. In this study we developed a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) of landholder participation in biodiverse carbon planting schemes to determine factors most likely to influence program participation. An initial conceptual model was developed based on a review of the literature. The model was refined through interviews with participating landholders and other key stakeholders and, finally, parameterised using expert-elicited information. Our results indicate that participation rates are most influenced by program attractiveness and the identified values of co-benefits (such as biodiversity conservation) rather than financial incentives. Scenario evaluation revealed that providing a combination of biodiversity incentives with more flexible permanence options could increase the program adoption rate. Stacking or bundling credits combined with contract agreements is also likely to increase the participation rate. These findings can assist policy development by focusing on the aspects of policy design most likely to increase participation.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): C.E. Mancebo, G. De la Fuente de Val The Laguna Oca y Herradura del Río Paraguay Biosphere Reserve, have a Formosa City, as a part of the plain alluvial system and ecosystems, being observe serious issues to socioeconomic, cultural and environmental levels. According to the above, it was suggested that the habitants lifestyle from Biosphere Reserve, are unsustainable within the sustainability paradigm and by permacultural practices sustainable livelihoods will be generated. The study focused in assembling a database, about the reality experienced by these communities and the lifestyle of its habitants, was analyzed within the sustainability paradigm. The methodology used, was based on the territory diagnosis and model Survey Evaluation Sustentability Comunity, with a multivariate analysis information. It was found that the habitants living conditions of the communities Reserve are unsustainable, observed that by incorporating permacultural practices, these conditions will change in favor of sustainable development and it will provide capacities to climate change adapt. The study provides theoretical contributions, for conducting future research or prescriptive studies, on the basis of this study.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ebtesam M. Elgizawy During recent decades, green lawns have gradually become one of the main sources of greening in many cities in both developed and developing countries. Although, much research has received large attention to green lawns in residential places, few studies have addressed the benefits of having access to green lawns at workplaces to enhance the quality of life. More specifically, this study focused on the question of how employees view, socialize, and utilize their workplace green lawns. To provide some insight into this direction, the study was conducted in Smart Village, Egypt that uses green lawns as main form of greening.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Dilhan J. Thilakarathne, Jan Treur Energy management for domestic heating is a non trivial research challenge, especially given the dynamics associated to indoor and outdoor air temperatures, required comfortable temperature set points over time, parameters of the heating source and system, and energy loss rate and capacity of a house. In addition to all these factors, human influence or interaction is also a key aspect in this complex system. It is difficult and very costly to conduct experiments of this nature to scrutinize the dynamics and optimal efficiency of the system under all circumstances and constraints. This paper focuses on a domestic heating energy management system using an air to water heat pump and uses a pre-developed mathematical model for its performance. This mathematical model is integrated within a computational dynamic cognitive model which was developed based on neurocognitive evidence. An approach like this can be used as an experimental workbench for complex scenarios.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Doaa A.R. Mahmoud An economically attractive technique was adopted using date palm fibers as a new carrier for invertase adsorption and for invert sugar production. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the results of incubation of Baker's yeast with palm fibers in aqueous solution at 40° C for half an hour. CO2 produced from this reaction was employed as a reactant and it succeeded to modify the cellulosic surface of the palm fibers. This increased the capacity of invertase that had been secreted from Baker's yeast to be immobilized tightly on the cellulosic surface of the fibers. These results confirmed by FTIR and SEM. Characterization of the enzyme indicated that 1 gram of immobilized invertase on such wastes can produce 600 mg of invert sugar. By this technique, Egypt would be able to supply 6 million kg invert sugar per year. Molasses used instead of sucrose to assess the sustainability of the process.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hulya Kolozali This study proposes that the impact of the built environment on the natural environment can be mediated by adopting a sustainable approach to building material selection and specification, particularly when articulated at the design stage of the building process. The aim is to identify the main drivers and barriers to sustainable material specification by built environment design professionals. This study carried out for Cyprus where attempts have been made to uncover the attitudes of Cypriot built environment design professionals towards the natural environment, identify the process employed in specifying building materials, and the extent to which they draw inspirations from the natural environment.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ebtesam M. Elgizawy The rapid increase rate of urban population in developing cities causes the increasing of high buildings with dense constructions, and decreases the green areas which lead to a lot of environmental problems. Therefore, the urban landscape designs directed different searching produce important approaches based on ecological and environmental aspects, such as Vertical Garden. This paper will display the meaning, the advantages and the techniques of the green facades as a part of the sustainability strategy for the urban environment. The results confirm that the experience of using the Green facades in building environment is the source of positive ecological benefits.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Laila M. Khodeir, Dalia Aly, Shaimaa Tarek Heritage buildings are crucial to the human perception of culture. Sustainable retrofitting of such buildings represents an opportunity for their reuse while considering sustainability. HBIM tools (Historic building Information Modeling) can be used as a comprehensive data set of information, related particularly to the restoration of buildings. The aim of this paper is to integrate HBIM tools in the application of sustainable retrofitting of heritage buildings through a conservation framework. The paper provides a literature review and a qualitative analysis of worldwide examples. Findings of this paper provide useful framework for sustainable retrofitting of heritage buildings in the Egyptian context.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Magdy M. El-Bastawisy Incorporating local urban environmental conservation and regional development in Port Fouad town is the main concern of this paper. This paper focuses on investigating the regional development impact on local urban environment of Port Fouad town. The investigation of the national and regional development policies, particularly the current Suez Canal Zone Development policy, will be used to define goals, interests and objectives of the development of Port Fouad and adjacent. The analysis of these development policies will be explored along with the projects provided to Port Fouad area to define the urban planning and environmental issues that may arise in Port Fouad during the development process. The assessment of the potentials and constraints of Port Fouad development will be conducted to outline the criteria and guidelines for initiating the master plan of Port Fouad. A general development plan will be proposed to the area, particularly Port Fouad Island. In addition, a master plan for the development of Port Fouad Island, which could contribute to the conservation of urban environment of Port Fouad, will also be proposed. Finally, the environmental effect of the proposed master plan is also defined.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mahmoud Abd Al Rahman, Amro Ali Hassan, Gehad Genidey Mohamed, Eglal Maryiam Remon Many studies approved the unique properties of potassium ferrate as coagulant, disinfectant and oxidant at the same time. This paper represents an attempt to use this properties to remove ammonia from water resources using single dose of ferrate and hence save energy of chlorine and alum dosing. potassium ferrate prove itself as a possible replacement of conventional chemicals by improving water quality; potassium ferrate by 30 ppm dose achieve removal of ammonia, turbidity and total coliform by 92.2%, 82.1% and 99.99% respectively which is higher than using both alum and chlorine with doses 40 and 80 ppm.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): M.S. Md Noh, Z. Ahmad, A. Ibrahim, P. Walker Sustainability in construction industry has brought new materials to be used as a wall element in building construction in Malaysia. Wood-wool cement composite panel (WWCP) is the wood based product which manufactured from renewable resources, less embodied carbon emission, lightweight, easy to process and fabricate and available to the construction industry to replace less eco-friendly materials such as common brick and other masonry element. In Malaysia, there are increasing interest in using WWCP as a wall element in building construction, however the structural performance under imposed load and the installation technique using this material still not well established. Therefore, this study aims to improve the sustainability in building construction with the development of new prefabricated wall constructed using wood-wool cement composite panel. Two types of fabrication techniques are considered in fabricating prefabricated wallettes with dimension of 1200 mm x 1200 mm (± 30 mm). The wallettes type W1 is the current practiced technique, meanwhile wallettes type W2 is the new proposed fabrication technique. Three replicates of each type of wallettes were then tested under axial compression load in order to investigate their structural performance. The results of experimental testing showed that, the wallettes fabricated using the new fabrication technique significantly increased two times in load carrying capacity compared to wallettes with current practiced technique.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ahmed I. Amr, Shaimaa Kamel, Germin El Gohary, Johannes Hamhaber University Campuses are large entities with huge impacts on the environment and therefore on the overall urban sustainability. Soil is an essential element that is not obvious yet highly effective for a sustainable landscape. The paper tackles the lack of care towards sustainability issues on contemporary Egyptian campuses’ design and management. This research aims to define a checklist for sustainable landscape measures regarding soil on university campuses based on international best practice cases and literature. The study examines the state of campus landscapes in some of the contemporary campuses in Egypt and the application of sustainability criteria and measures.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ahmed El Kordy, Hesham Sobh, Amira Mostafa This paper will tends to contribute in solving the problem of applying sustainable landscape in developing countries through creating a framework covers all features and illustrates the features which must be applied in any landscape project and the others which require a future local plans or international cooperation to be applied. This framework can be formed to a check list which can help the decision makers to set obligatory standards which should be applied when they give an approval to any landscape projects. In the long run this approach can be economically, ecologically and socially (functionally and aesthetically) beneficial.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ahmed Khalil, Amr Abd El-Aal, Natacha Quintero, Hazem Aayash, Mohamed Abd El-Wahab, Mohamed Ibrahim, Kamal Marei El-Arab is an informal settlement in Hurghada that was the focus area of an urban upgrading project for the Master's students of the department of Urban Development at the Technische Universität Berlin Campus El-Gouna. Its main target was to develop the physical and economic conditions. The goal was to highlight the different potentials of the area and propose solutions to the already existing challenges based on the identified potentials. Three components were found the fittest: physical upgrading, solid waste management and urban agriculture. Those topics were elaborated in different, yet interconnected projects. Accordingly all three projects interact and complete an integrative approach towards the improvement of living conditions and livelihoods in El-Arab.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Amira Mersal Urban Design derived as a separate profession after the determinations of the international conference about the future of cities. City beautification was the fundamental purpose of urban design at the time it was introduced as a separate profession. Over time, the scope and objectives of the urban design have changed This poses great challenges, but also great opportunities in terms of tackling environmental degradation In recent years, cities show increasing signs of environmental problems due to the negative impacts of urban activities. The degradation and depletion of natural resources, climate change pressure on green areas have become major concerns for cities. In response to these problems, urban planning policies have shifted to a sustainable focus and cities have begun to develop new strategies for improving the quality of urban ecosystems. An extremely important function of an urban ecosystem is to provide healthy and sustainable environments for both natural systems and communities. Therefore, ecological planning is a functional requirement in the establishment of sustainable built environment. With ecological planning human needs are supplied while natural resources are used in the most effective and sustainable manner. And the maintenance of ecological balance is sustained. Protecting environmental health, having healthy ecosystems, eliminating environmental pollution and providing green spaces are just a few of the many benefits of ecological planning. In this context, the paper presents a short overview of the importance of the implementation of ecological planning into sustainable urban development. Furthermore, the paper defines conceptual framework of a new method for developing sustainable urban ecosystems through ecological planning approach. In the future of the research, this model will be developed as a guideline for the assessment of the ecological sustainability in built environments. An important goal in the new millennium is to make existing and new urban areas more self-sufficient and,sustainable.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Deniz Deniz Environmentally aware design aims to convert global socio-environmental concerns to investigate ecological principles and interactions with design decisions, which determine levels of sustainable usage of environmental resources. The aim of this study is to analyze the changing role and responsibility of designers and the importance of environmentally aware design education as crucial factors to acquire knowledge through the viewpoint of sustainability. The outputs and findings of the workshop conducted with design professionals and educators will be analyzed to consider the obstacles and fundamentals of sustainable design education for developing countries to create environments, buildings and products in a sustainable way.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ahmed S. Abd Elrahman Brownfields represent tremendous opportunities for re-development, particularly in locations close to the old city centers. These post-industrial sites are considered unused gaps with a very vital and important location inside the city. In Egypt, independent projects attempted to utilize these sites without a comprehensive approach for the optimal intervention with those sites. Different state governments identified various redevelopment aspects to deal with those sites, while others restrict the development to particular uses in order to minimize exposure to leftover containments on-site. In Egypt, Brownfields occupies various sites at different locations; these locations sometimes are unique for the development process for their locative potential as waterfronts, central business district or locations near by main transportation axes in the city, including excellent chances for redevelopment and, therefore, a key aspect of the success of redevelopment of these sites depends on the success of its spaces utilizations. This research is an attempt to explore all aspects affecting the re-exploitation of brownfields sites inside Egyptian cities that can contribute to a strategy of redevelopment of the brownfields sites and their surroundings.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Gehan.A.N. Radwan, Nouran Osama Since 1970, a major problem worldwide is energy shortage along with the high consumption of energy in buildings. Architects are attempting to find solutions for managing buildings energy consumption. One innovative approach is Biomimicry,Which is defined as the applied science that derives inspiration for solutions to human problems through the study of natural designs, systems, and process2. A subcategory of biomimicry is building skin which forms the entire exterior of the building. It is the boundary through which the buildings interaction with the environment occurs. Proper management of the building skin can significantly reduce the building's energy demand. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the ability of reducing energy consumption by applying the biomimicry approach on buildings skin design. In order To achieve this aim, a research methodology has been designed to accomplish four objectives. First, it will carry out an in depth research on biomimicry, skin, and biomimicry in building skin through the study of existing literature. Second, international case studies will be presented and analyzed in terms of usage of biomimicry, in addition to, the impact it had on reducing the buildings energy consumption. Finally it will conclude with guidelines for building skin biomimicry design for more efficient energy consumption in buildings.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Max Ritts, Stuart H. Gage, Chris R. Picard, Ethan Dundas, Steven Dundas This paper combines methodological discussion and scientific analysis to convey the results of an effort by the Gitga’at First Nation and academic partners to construct an acoustic baseline in Gitga’at Territory (aka. British Columbia, CA). Between June 2013 and 2014, we collected 257,327 field-recordings from eight sites as part of the Gitga’at Ecological and Cultural Monitoring Program. Our goals were: (1) to develop an acoustic baseline in a portion of Gitga’at Territory prioritized by local decision-makers, (2) to advance Gitga’at research capacity through the collaborative and reflexive structure of our approach. We argue that reorienting ecological knowledge production as praxis-based “Street Science” benefits resource management, as well as academic and local community interests. Gitga’at oral histories ( adawx ), and laws ( ayaawx ) guided our application of soundscape ecology, including our use of the normalized difference soundscape index (NDSI). Our results suggest Gitga’at Territory is a diverse acoustic-ecological space with numerous site-specific features. Significant differences were found between recording sites, with the greatest amount of biological activity noted June and July. We also found that the frequency and intensity of anthropogenic noise (i.e., technophony) in the Territory is currently very low, suggesting a low degree of anthropogenic disturbance. We conclude that soundscape ecology is well-suited for collaboration with indigenous communities, provided it is ‘attuned’ to the complex terms of engagement that constitute cross-cultural research.

Description: Publication date: November 2016 Source: Energy Reports, Volume 2 Author(s): Om Prakash, Anil Kumar, Vinod Laguri In this attempt, the main goal is to do annual performance, environomical analysis, energy analysis and exergy analysis of the modified greenhouse dryer (MGD) operating under active mode (AM) and passive mode (PM). Thermal storage is being applied on the ground of MGD. It is applied in three different ways namely barren floor, floor covered with black PVC sheet (PVC) and Black Coated. Experimental study of dryers in no-load conditions reveals that floor covered with a black PVC sheet is more conducive for drying purpose than other floors. The MGD under AM is found to be more effective as compared to PM for tomato and capsicum, which are high moisture content crops. For medium moisture content crop (potato chips), both dryers show relatively similar drying performance. Crops dried inside the greenhouse dryer are found to be more nutrient than open sun dried crops. The payback period of the modified greenhouse dryer under passive mode is found to be 1.11 years. However, for the active mode of the modified greenhouse dryer is only 1.89 years. The embodied energy of the passive mode of the dryer is a 480.277 kWh and 628.73 kWh for the active mode of the dryer. The CO 2 emissions per annum for passive and active mode greenhouse dryers are found to be 13.45 kg and 17.6 kg respectively. The energy payback time, carbon mitigation and carbon credit have been calculated based type of crop dried. The range of exergy efficiency is 29%–86% in MGD under PM and 30%–78% in the MGD under AM. The variation of Heat utilization factor (HUF) for MGD under PM is 0.12–0.38 and 0.26–0.53 for MGD under AM. The range of co-efficient of performances (COP) for MGD under PM is 0.55–0.87 and 0.58–0.73 for MGD under AM.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Bellemain Eva, Patricio Harmony, Gray Thomas, Guegan Francois, Valentini Alice, Miaud Claude, Dejean Tony Pressures on freshwater biodiversity in Southeast Asia are accelerating, yet the status and conservation needs of many of the region’s iconic fish species are poorly known. The Mekong is highly species diverse and supports four of the six largest freshwater fish globally, three of which, including Mekong giant catfish ( Pangasianodon gigas ), are Critically Endangered. Emerging environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques have potential for monitoring threatened freshwater biodiversity, yet have not been applied in complex and biodiverse tropical ecosystems such as the Mekong. We developed species-specific primers for amplifying Mekong giant catfish DNA. In situ validation demonstrated that the DNA amplification was successful for all samples taken in reservoirs with known presence of Mekong giant catfish independent of fish density. We collected water samples from six deep pools on the Mekong, identified through Local Ecological Knowledge, in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand. DNA was extracted and amplified from these samples using the designed primers and probes. Mekong giant catfish DNA was detected from one sample from the species’ presumed spawning grounds on the Mekong mainstream, near the border between northern Thailand and Lao PDR. eDNA sampling using species-specific primers has potential for surveying and monitoring poorly known species from complex tropical aquatic environments. However accounting for false absences is likely to be required for the method to function with precision when applied to extremely rare species that are highly dispersed within a large river system. We recommend that such approach be utilised more widely by freshwater conservation practitioners for specific applications. The method is best suited for baseline biodiversity assessments or to identify and prioritise locations for more rigorous sampling. Our methods are particularly relevant for systems or species with limited baseline data or with physical characteristics that logistically limit the application of conventional methods. Such attributes are typical of large tropical rivers such as the Mekong, Congo, or Amazon.

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 July 2016 Source: Water Science Author(s): Md. Bodrud-Doza, A.R.M. Towfiqul Islam, Fahad Ahmed, Samiran Das, Narottam Saha, M. Safiur Rahman This study investigates the groundwater quality in the Faridpur district of central Bangladesh based on preselected 60 sample points. Water evaluation indices and a number of statistical approaches such as multivariate statistics and geostatistics are applied to characterize water quality, which is a major factor for controlling the groundwater quality in term of drinking purposes. The study reveal that EC, TDS, Ca 2+ , total As and Fe values of groundwater samples exceeded Bangladesh and international standards. Ground water quality index (GWQI) exhibited that about 47% of the samples were belonging to good quality water for drinking purposes. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI), degree of contamination ( C d ), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) reveal that most of the samples belong to low level of pollution. However, C d provide better alternative than other indices. Principle component analysis (PCA) suggests that groundwater quality is mainly related to geogenic (rock–water interaction) and anthropogenic source (agrogenic and domestic sewage) in the study area. Subsequently, the findings of cluster analysis (CA) and correlation matrix (CM) are also consistent with the PCA results. The spatial distributions of groundwater quality parameters are determined by geostatistical modeling. The exponential semivariagram model is validated as the best fitted models for most of the indices values. It is expected that outcomes of the study will provide insights for decision makers taking proper measures for groundwater quality management in central Bangladesh.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Howard Peters, Bethan C. O’Leary, Julie P. Hawkins, Callum M. Roberts Cape Verde in the Eastern Atlantic is typical of many island groups in supporting a wealth of endemic species both terrestrial and marine. Marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Conus, commonly known as cone snails, occur in coastal tropical waters throughout the globe, but in Cape Verde their endemism reaches its apogee with 53 out of 56 species occurring nowhere else, the majority of which are restricted to single islands and frequently to single bays. However, Cape Verde is rapidly moving to a tourism-based economy with a projected boom in infrastructure development often coincidental with the shallow-water habitat of many range-restricted Conus . The conservation assessment of Conus to standards of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species, found that 45.3% of 53 species assessed from Cape Verde are threatened or near-threatened with extinction compared to 7.4% of 579 species in the rest of the world. The only three Conus species globally assessed as Critically Endangered and on the cusp of extinction are all endemic to Cape Verde. Our analysis of Conus species distribution, together with spatial data of coastal protected areas and tourism development zones, identify important areas for future research and new marine protection. Our findings show that endemism with its associated risks for Conus in Cape Verde has worldwide parallels with many non-marine taxa, while our proposed strategy for Conus conservation extends beyond the confines of the country and this taxonomic group.

Description: Publication date: July 2016 Source: Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 7 Author(s): Alicia Srinivas, Lian Pin Koh Oil palm is one of the world’s most rapidly expanding crops, replacing humid forests across tropical regions. Studies examining the effect of this land conversion on biodiversity have tended to focus predominantly on Southeast Asia, where the majority of the world’s oil palm is produced. Because the Amazon possesses the greatest area of suitable land for oil palm expansion, oil palm is considered an emerging threat to Amazonian biodiversity. This is the first study to examine how oil palm agriculture affects avian diversity within the context of Western Amazonia. We used mist nets to conduct avifaunal surveys of forest and oil palm habitat in the Pucallpa region of Peruvian Amazonia. Bird species richness, species evenness, and overall abundance were all significantly higher in the forest than in oil palm habitat. Strikingly, less than 5% of all captured species were common to both forest and oil palm habitat. The species absent from the oil palm plantations were disproportionately habitat specialists, forest interior birds, birds with high sensitivity to disturbance, and insectivores and frugivores. The results suggest that oil palm is particularly poor habitat for Amazonian birds, and that the species that are persist on them are of lower conservation value. Given the apparent lack of diversity on oil palm plantations, preventing further conversion of forests to oil palm should be prioritized.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 32 Author(s): Iuliana Vijulie, Gabriela Manea, Laura Tîrlă, Elena Matei, Mihaela Preda, Roxana Cuculici In Europe, the rice is presently cultivated on small areas. The south of Romania is one of the regions with tradition in rice agriculture, as the paddies are located at the northern rim of its European belt. The aim of the study is to bring arguments for the benefits of reviving the rice paddies in the Danube and its major tributaries floodplains, which are suitable for such kind of farming. The research methodology was based on direct field survey, map interpretation, diachronic analysis (1950-2014) and survey (semi-structured interview). Results have shown that a decay period in rice farming had occurred during 1990 to 2006 because of the misapplication of the agrarian policies in the rice-based agricultural societies. After 2006, a slight revival of the rice paddies has occurred in the south of Romania, with the help brought by foreign investors on the Romanian of the rice market. At the same time, a conflicting perception of the target groups on both the advantages and disadvantages of this process has been found: 75% pros and 25% cons. Economic and environmental advantages - new jobs, increasing income by collecting additional taxes, protecting biodiversity, and connection with Natura 2000 network - were argued by the local authorities, engineers and partially by farmers. On the other hand, the remaining farmers are against the revival of rice crops, alleging the reduction of grazing land. Among the environmental disadvantages, the high water demand for irrigations, use of herbicides, and methane release in the atmosphere are the most destructive.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 32 Author(s): Sorina-Mihaela Bogdan, Ileana Pătru-Stupariu, Liliana Zaharia The ecosystem services concept offers an interdisciplinary approach to the integrative study of both socio-economical and ecological systems. The sediment retention service is mentioned among the regulation ecosystem services in all the main international classifications (MA, TEEB, CICES). It refers to the capacity of ecosystems to regulate the quantity of eroded sediment reaching the stream network, and thus delivering benefits like maintaining soil and water quality and reservoir functions. This paper aims to assess the link between possible land cover changes and the sediment retention service provided by the vegetation cover. The analysis focuses on a mountain landscape from the upper catchment of Râul Târgului, Iezer Mountains in the Romanian Carpathians. To this purpose, we considered recent changes in the forest landscape (2005-2012) and, with the participation of local administrative stakeholders, we developed three land cover scenarios (Business-as-Usual, Conservation and Development). For each simulated land cover map we compared the supply of sediment retention services by using quantitative indicators: sediment retention, sediment export and the amount of potential soil loss. For the processing of spatial data we applied GIS techniques using the ArcGIS software (ESRI) and for the modeling we used the InVEST 3.2 software (Natural Capital Project). One of our major findings is that the landscape of 2012 retained approximately 3 million tons/year of sediment. Further on, our results show the highest decrease in the sediment retention service for the Development scenario and the highest increase for the Conservation scenario. However, these changes represent less than 2% of the 2012 values. Overall, our results show that the tools and models used proved to deliver credible and relevant results and can be used for future local landscape planning.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 32 Author(s): Gabriela Manea, Elena Matei, Iuliana Vijulie, Laura Tîrlă, Roxana Cuculici, Octavian Cocoş, Adrian Tişcovschi Protected areas should be considered as a complementary form of anthropogenic environmental intervention geared towards restoring its balance by removing the causes of its visible degradation. Taking into consideration the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, the aim of the study is to argue the importance of integrative management of urban protected areas, based on a case study with respect to the Romanian capital (Văcăreşti wetland, in the built-up area of Bucharest city). The study objects are: addressing the conceptual issues of protected areas and in particular in urban areas; analyzing the geographical evolution of the study area (since 1700), as a determinant of the present situation; highlighting the relationships among biodiversity, ecosystem services, public use and social perception, as strong arguments in favor of the integrative management of the investigated territory. The research methodology was focused on reviewing national and international literature regarding protected areas (especially urban ones); a diachronic analysis of the study area identifying the evolution of human-environment relationships over historical times; applying the survey method in order to analyze the target group perceptions on the constraints and opportunities stemming from the urban protected area status of theVăcăreşti wetland . The main techniques employed for our scientific approach were the following: using GIS applications for diachronic and synchronic analysis; processing the semi-structured interviews in QSR NVivo 11 software; monitoring newspapers, TV channels, social networks and discussion forums. This analyses offered us opportunity to set up the main arguments for integrative management of the study area, under the circumstances of contradictions between the valuable natural and semi-natural potential and current anthropogenic and heterogeneous exploitation, leaded by the group interests.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 32 Author(s): Marius Lucian Matache, Carmen Hura, Iulia Gabriela David The aim of this paper is to quantify the levels of DDT and its main metabolites (DDE, DDD) and also of the HCH congeners in biological samples collected from birds living in the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park, Romania. In order to limit the stress on the bird species, a non-invasive approach was performed using chorioallantoic membrane of the eggs and feathers as representative samples. DDTs are the main organohalogen compounds in both categories of samples. Differences appear between species and categories of samples; for Anas sp. , the concentration is up to 10 times higher in eggshells than feathers.