Search Results (4)

Whether environmental impacts, natural capital depreciation, and effective governance have impacted progress in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Agenda 2030 has become a significant policy topic. We determine estimates of the changes in net welfare that indicate progress over 2000–2019 in terms of meeting the 17 SDGs for 99 EMDEs. We compare these estimates with the environmental impacts associated with SDGs 11–15, natural resource depletion as a share of national income, and average institutional quality. Net SDG welfare gains over 2000–2019 were often accompanied by adverse environmental impacts, natural capital depletion, and poor-quality institutions. This is especially the case for low- and lower-middle-income economies. Higher net SDG welfare gains are correlated with reduced losses associated with SDGS 11–15, and larger welfare gains from attaining SDG 1 No Poverty are associated with better governance. These results suggest that long-term progress towards the SDGs in EMDEs hinges on improved management of natural capital and the environment, as well as more effective governance. Three policies can be implemented to achieve these objectives without additional financing or imposing fiscal burdens: fossil fuel subsidy swaps, tropical carbon taxes, and improved management and distribution of resource revenues. Full article

Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) population decline is a global problem experienced by various ocean basins worldwide, including Indramayu waters. As the regency known by its fishery barn that supplies 65% of captured fisheries in West Java, Indonesia, illegal fishing practices towards this protected species is inevitable. In 2017, 2869 tons of sharks were landed in Indramayu with the production value of IDR 44.01 billion, which hammerhead shark catch reaches 268 tons. This research aimed to observe the sustainability of hammerhead shark in Indramayu waters using a bio-economic model of Gordon Schaefer (GS) and Gompertz. The results showed the overfishing of hammerhead shark in Indramayu waters on actual conditions in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, both in the GS and Gompertz models. The abundant number of hammerhead sharks started to deplete from 2015 to 2018, and the highest depletion was found in 2017, with a depletion value of 16 tons and depreciation value of IDR 164 million. The depletion rate suffered the most significant decline in 2011 to 2012 for all types of sharks, including hammerhead. The prohibition of consistent fishing and more pronounced law enforcement for hammered shark fishing are needed to maintain the sustainability of this resource. Full article

Offshore oil multi-platform interconnected power system is developing rapidly. The proposal of an effective economic evaluation method that fits the actual production situation of offshore oilfields is very meaningful for the planning and construction of multi-platform interconnected power systems. This article proposes the electric depreciation, depletion, and amortization (DD&A) barrel oil cost S and maximum expected benefit per unit power generation I_e as economic indicators, considering the actual production characteristics and life cycle of the oil field. In order to build a complete economic evaluation system, this article also introduces the N−1 pass rate ${\mathsf{\eta }}_{\mathrm{N}-1}$, voltage qualification rate γ, power supply reliability ASAI (Average Service Availability Index), and other reliability indicators to evaluate the offshore power system. When calculating the weight of the indicators, analytic hierarchy method (AHP) was applied to calculate subjective weights, and an entropy method was applied to calculate objective weights. To unify the two weights, the ideal point method is proposed to obtain compound weights. Finally, this article selects an offshore oil field in Bohai Bay, China as example, and analyses short-term small-scale, long-term large-scale, and actual power system as calculation examples in different planning periods. The analysis result verifies the effectiveness of the economic evaluation method. Full article

To maintain the navigational depth, 1.15 million cubic meters (1.5 million cubic yards) of sediment is dredged out from the federal harbors every year from Lake Erie, Ohio Coast. Treating this huge amount of dredged material is a major challenge due to the mobilization of potential contaminants causing depreciation in water quality and depletion of valuable land. Rather than treating the dredged material as a waste, we suggest investigating alternative ways to recycle and reuse the material within Green Infrastructure (GI) and living architecture applications. This study identifies potential applications of the dredged material in bioretention and vegetative roof systems, and examines the role of dredged material in these edaphic conditions. The paper discusses the beneficial uses of dredged material in GI by investigating the quality of dredged material and performances of GI built using dredged material through laboratory and field-testing. Preliminary results of a growth media using dredged material for the vegetative roof have been developed in lab/field studies that possess the performance values comparable to the current commercial product. The growth media containing lightweight aggregate, made from the dredged material, is observed to have high water retention capacity and high unit weight in comparison to a commercial product. The growth media leachate water test demonstrated the water quality to be comparable to the drained water from the commercial product. The growth media overwintered and advanced a rare plant species, Viola pedatifida, which is similar to conventional media. The beneficial uses of dredged material in the GI will help maintain the economic viability of harbors and ports along the shoreline of Lake Erie in Ohio and GIs, which were built using dredged material that can help address storm water management issues in urban areas due to extensive impervious surfaces. Full article