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Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2023) | Viewed by 5894

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Volker Lüderitz

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Guest Editor

Department of Restoration Ecology, School of Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg, 39114 Magdeburg, Germany
Interests: aquatic bioindication; ecology of macroinvertebrates and fish; restoration ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider

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Guest Editor

Department of Water, Environment, Civil Engineering, and Safety, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Breitscheidstr. 2, D-39114 Magdeburg, Germany
Interests: interdisciplinary research; ecological engineering; water and waste management; environmental assessment and impact mitigation; responsible use of resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental concerns are of increasing importance all over the world. In order to understand the environmental footprint of pressures on environmental factors, environmental assessment methods and routines have been developed, and partially standardized.

Environmental assessment is a methodology that ensures that the environmental effects of decisions are taken into account before the decisions are made. Different environmental assessment approaches are applied in practice, depending if the environmental consequences of a plan, project or product shall be considered. The main environmental assessment approaches comprise Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). While SEA and EIA are referring to the assessment of the environmental impacts of projects and plans, LCA refers to the assessment of the environmental impacts of products.

Environmental management is that part of the management of an organization that deals with the operational and official environmental (protection) concerns of the organization. It serves to ensure sustainable environmental compatibility of company products and processes on the one hand and the behavior of employees and stakeholders on the other. When formalized as Environmental Management System (EMS), the EMS is that part of the overall overarching management system, which includes the organizational structure, responsibilities, formal procedures, and means for the implementation of the environmental policy of a company. ISO 14001 specifies the conditions for an EMS that an organization can use to enhance its environmental performance.

The Special Issue deals with all dimensions of environmental assessment, its purpose, scope, methodologies, consequences, and key actors. Addressed issues are, but are not limited to:

Strategic Environmental Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment
Footprint Assessment
Environmental Management
Co-Management
Environmental Monitoring
Bioindication

Colleagues are invited to share experiences, opinions, case reports and reviews that address environmental assessment and management for sustainable development.

Prof. Dr. Volker Lüderitz
Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental assessment
environmental management
life cycle assessment
ecological engineering
ecosystem services

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 6405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecological Risk Zoning Control in Zhundong Economic Development Zone Based on Landscape Pattern Changes

by Bin Ou, Abudukeyimu Abulizi, Abudoukeremujiang Zayiti, Jiao Jiang, Adila Akbar and Tingting Yu

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15972; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215972 - 15 Nov 2023

Viewed by 571

Abstract

The Zhundong coalfield in Xinjiang, China, is rich in resources and has great significance to the development of the Xinjiang region, but its local ecological environment is fragile and its climate is particularly dry, so mining is very likely to introduce a series of ecological risks; there is an urgent need for us to provide scientific and feasible guidance for the conservation and development of coal resources in this region. Therefore, this paper is based on the land-use-type data concerning the Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone from 2000 to 2020, exploring the land use change characteristics in the Zhundong area during these 20 years and calculating the ecological risk index of each risky district according to an ecological risk index model. Afterward, this article uses kriging interpolation to carry out a risk classification analysis to explore changes in ecological risk in the Zhundong area during the last 20 years and to put forward ecological risk partition and control measures for areas of different levels of risk. Our research shows the following features: (1) The land use type in the Zhundong area changed obviously from 2000 to 2020, in which unused land has always occupied most of the area of the Zhundong coalfield. Grassland was the land use type with the greatest area transferred, 211,412.35 hm², accounting for 68.11% of the total transferred area, and it was mainly converted into unused and construction land. (2) In the last 20 years, the Zhundong coalfield has been dominated by higher-risk and high-risk areas, with obvious changes in the distribution of ecological risk levels. The low-risk, medium-risk, and higher-risk areas in the research zone have decreased and then increased; the lower-risk area has declined yearly, and the high-risk area has increased and then declined. Furthermore, overall, the ecological environment has transformed toward good condition. (3) High-risk and higher-risk areas still account for most of the research zone, and there is an urgent need for scientific and feasible programs to carry out ecological restoration in areas with different ecological risk levels to avoid further deterioration of the local environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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14 pages, 885 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Exploration of the Extent of Monitoring and Evaluation of Sustainable Construction in Kenya: A Landscape Architecture Perspective

by Sheila Jepkorir Tanui and Moffat Tembo

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14415; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914415 - 01 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1187

Abstract

The practice of landscape architecture in Kenya is growing alongside the country’s construction industry, which is currently experiencing exponential growth in tandem with construction trends globally. With the growth in the industry, there has been significant growth in the economy, high consumption of natural resources, a 50% increased contribution to the world’s landfill waste, and pollution of the adjacent environment. These have given rise to high pressure to adopt environmentally sensitive approaches in the construction industry to achieve competitive advantage. It is therefore crucial to address the need for sustainability measures for landscape architecture projects to increase knowledge and awareness, create incentives geared toward supporting sustainable practices, and leverage legal instruments and policies. The aim of this study was to identify the barriers to the adoption of and improvement in the monitoring and evaluation of sustainable practices in landscape architecture in Kenya that prevent the industry from achieving sustainability. The objective of this research was to critically analyze the many challenges and barriers to the achievement of sustainability in the Kenyan construction industry with a focus on landscape architecture practices. It also examined the overall extent of the adoption, monitoring, and evaluation of sustainability, and possible solutions were proposed for the management of and reduction in said barriers. The study was carried out through extensive research of secondary data sources on the average level of knowledge and technical know-how of sustainable construction, the level of perception of compliance, the average cost of construction vis à vis sustainable construction, and the level of sustainability in the construction sector in Kenya. The collected data were analyzed empirically and, through the use of descriptive statistics and findings, the data were discussed. The preliminary findings from this study indicate that there is an overall poor attitude toward M&E of sustainability in Kenya, indicating the need to further improve processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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15 pages, 2118 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Rare Earth Elements in Pteridophytes from the Historical Mining Area, Southwestern Japan

by Ainun Mardiyah, Muhammad Rio Syahputra and Motohiro Tsuboi

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13406; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813406 - 07 Sep 2023

Viewed by 705

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that various fern species can accumulate REEs in the soil and may be utilized as indicator plants. Athyrium yokoscense, commonly called hebino negoza in Japan, is a pteridophyte that is used as an indicator of metal-contaminated soils in Japan. Mining and mineral processing increase the potential of mine minerals to oxidize and change their chemical form. A study on the biogeochemical behavior of REEs in the mine area needs to be conducted due to the significant use of REEs as an essential material for various applications in the world. The REE content in sediment and pteridophytes under different mining areas was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The concentration of REEs contained in Athyrium yokoscense was analyzed and then compared to sediment to determine the ability of the plant to absorb and accumulate rare earth elements in the mine area. Sediment and plant samples were collected from three mining areas: Ikuno mine, Akenobe mine, and Tada mine. Athyrium yokoscense plants were collected and digested with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and nitric acid (HNO₃) at a ratio of 2:5. Sediment samples were taken and digested by the alkali fusion method using lithium tetraborate and then processed using the conventional column method. The present study determined that the concentration of REEs varies in every location, and light REEs tend to be more abundant in sediments than heavy REEs. The amount that can be transferred to ferns also varies. Athyrium yokoscense in the ex-mining area accumulates proportionately more LREEs than HREEs, specifically in the Athyrium yokoscense leaves. The characteristic of the element significantly contributes to the accumulation of REEs in pteridophytes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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13 pages, 3262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pollution and Health Risk Assessment of Hazardous Elements in Surface Dust along an Urbanization Gradient

by Nargiza Kavsar, Mamattursun Eziz and Nazupar Sidikjan

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11842; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511842 - 01 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 617

Abstract

The hazardous element (HE) pollution of urban surface dust is a serious environmental issue, due to its toxicity and potential hazardous effects. Surface dust samples were collected from core urban, urban, and suburban gradients in the city of Urumqi in arid northwestern China, and the concentrations of six HEs, such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and chromium (Cr) were determined. The pollution load index (PLI) and the US EPA health risk assessment model were applied, to assess and compare the pollution levels and the potential health risk of HEs in the surface dust in different urbanization gradients. The results indicated that the average concentrations of Hg, Cd, and Ni in the surface dust decreased in the order of core urban > urban > suburban, whereas the average concentrations of As, Cr, and Pb decreased in the order of urban > core urban > suburban. The PLI of HEs in surface dust decreased in the order of core urban > urban > suburban. The concentrations of HEs in the core urban and urban gradients were relatively higher than those in the suburban gradient. Furthermore, the total non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk index of the investigated HEs in surface dust decreased in the order of urban > core urban > suburban, for both adults and children. In addition, the pollution of surface dust by HEs in all urbanization gradients was more harmful to children’s health than to adults’. Overall, the potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk of the investigated HEs, instigated primarily via the oral ingestion of surface dust, was found to be within the acceptable range. However, urbanization has effected the accumulation of HEs in surface dust, and Cr was the main non-carcinogenic risk factor, whereas Cd was the main carcinogenic risk factor, among the analyzed HEs in surface dust in three urban gradients in the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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20 pages, 3485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Knowledge Granularity Entropy to Measure Eco-Environmental Impacts of Land Cover Changes in ASEAN from 2001 to 2020

by Weihua Liao

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 9067; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15119067 - 03 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1205

Abstract

The eco-environment is the basis for the political, economic and social development of any nation or group of nations, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). There is an inseparable association between land cover change (LCC) and eco-environmental change. The effects of the regional eco-environment are seen in the spatial and temporal variations in the eco-environment of different land cover types (LCTs). The Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI), which is based on information granulation and spatial information granules, is used in this study to characterize the ecosystem. This issue is solved by breaking down the intricate ecosystem structure into straightforward spatially granular computational units; this approach greatly reduces the complexity of spatial data computation. The main contributions of this study are as follows: (1) A model based on the concept of “granularity entropy” of the RSEI values of the different LCTs has been proposed by condensing and combining the spatial information granules. This model seeks to evaluate the stability or change of the eco-environment over time. (2) The main LCC factors for the decline in eco-environmental quality in ASEAN from 2001 to 2020 are the interval changes in eco-environmental indicator values caused by the decrease in forest area and the increase in grassland area; climate alteration is also a significant contributor to changes in regional eco-environmental quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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Other

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19 pages, 928 KiB

Open AccessEssay

An Analytic Hierarchy Process Method to Evaluate Environmental Impacts of In Situ Oil Shale Mining

by Xiaorong Wang, Boyue Liu, Shaolin He, Hongying Yuan, Dongli Ji, Li Qi, Yang Song and Wei Xu

Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1363; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041363 - 06 Feb 2024

Viewed by 966

Abstract

The great demand for oil shale resource development and the corresponding threats to the environment have resulted in the urgent need to assess the impact of oil shale in situ mining on the environment. In this paper, based on an analysis method developed by the previous literature and the Delphi technique, three secondary indicators and ten tertiary indicators were selected. The weights of the indicators at all levels were subsequently calculated. The results identify environmental capacity, groundwater risk and prevention, and cleaner production as having the largest weights in the indicator system. Following this, the typical three-level indicators with the largest weight and content related to carbon emissions were introduced in detail, and combined with the calculated weight of each indicator, the comprehensive evaluation index method was used to determine the comprehensive evaluation model for the environmental impact of oil shale in situ mining. The comprehensive evaluation model value, P_A, of the target layer (the primary indicator) under two different heating methods, combustion heating and electric heating, were then calculated based on the oil shale in situ mining area in Fuyu City, Jilin Province, China. This study introduces carbon-emission-related elements into the three-level indicator evaluation calculation model, which is a more accurate and advanced comprehensive evaluation method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Assessment and Management for Sustainable Development)

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