Search Results (1,537)

Japan has largely achieved the “first half” of SDG 6—universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation—through decades of intensive investment in water supply and sewerage systems, implementation of the Total Pollutant Load Control System, and stringent regulation of industrial effluents. National indicators show that coverage of safely managed drinking water and sanitation services is nearly 99%, and domestic statistics report high compliance rates for BOD/COD-based environmental standards in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Conversely, the “second half” of SDG 6 reveals persistent gaps: ambient water quality (6.3.2) remains at 57% (2023 data), while water stress (6.4.2) is at approximately 21.6%. Furthermore, SDG 6.6.1 shows that 3% of water basins are experiencing rapid changes in surface water area (2020 data), with ecosystems increasingly threatened by hypoxia in enclosed bays and climate-induced vulnerabilities. Drawing on global comparisons, this review synthesizes Japan’s progress toward SDG 6, elucidates the structural drivers for remaining gaps, and proposes policy pathways for a nature-positive water future. Using national statistics (1970–2023) and the DPSIR framework, our analysis confirms that improvements in BOD/COD compliance plateaued around 2002, reinforcing concerns that point-source measures alone are insufficient to address diffuse pollution, groundwater nitrate contamination, and emerging contaminants like PFAS. We propose six strategic directions: (1) climate-resilient water systems leveraging groundwater; (2) smart infrastructure renewal; (3) advanced treatment for emerging contaminants; (4) basin-scale IWRM enhancing transboundary cooperation; (5) data transparency and citizen engagement; and (6) scaled nature-based solutions (NbS) integrated with green–gray infrastructure. The paper concludes by outlining priorities to close the gaps in SDG 6.3 and 6.6, advancing Japan toward a sustainable, nature-positive water cycle. Full article

Coral reef ecosystems represent one of the most biodiverse and productive marine habitats, yet they are increasingly threatened by a range of anthropogenic stressors. Among these, emerging contaminants including pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) have started to feature as contaminants of concern due to their persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and complex interactions within reef environments. This review synthesizes current research on the occurrence, transport pathways, and ecological impacts of emerging contaminants, specifically focusing on PPCPs on coral reef systems. Evidence indicates that compounds such as UV filters, antibiotics, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals can impair coral physiology, disrupt symbiotic relationships with zooxanthellae, and contribute to bleaching events. The review further highlights the variability in coral species’ sensitivity to these contaminants, with documented effects ranging from oxidative stress to reduced growth and reproductive capacity. Despite advances in detection and risk assessment, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding long-term exposure, mixture effects, and the influence of local environmental conditions on contaminant toxicity. By consolidating recent findings, this review underscores the urgent need for targeted research and policy action to mitigate the threat of emerging contaminants to coral reef ecosystems. Full article

Microplastics (MPs) and Antifouling Paint Particles (APPs) are pervasive anthropogenic pollutants that threaten global ecosystems, with distinct yet overlapping environmental behaviors and toxic impacts. MPs disperse widely in aquatic systems via runoff and wastewater; their toxicity stems from physical, chemical, and synergistic effects. APPs are concentrated in coastal zones, estuaries, and shipyard areas, and are acutely toxic due to their high metal and biocide content. This study systematically characterized the composition, concentration, and size distribution of common MPs and APPs in ship-hull derusting wastewater produced by ultra-high-pressure water jetting, using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) coupled with particle size analysis. The wastewater exhibited a total suspended solids (TSS) concentration of 20.04 g·L⁻¹, within which six types of MPs were identified at 3.29 mg·L⁻¹ in total and APPs were quantified at 330.25 mg·L⁻¹, representing 1.65% of TSS. The residual fraction primarily consisted of algae, biological debris, and inorganic particles. Particle size distribution ranged from 3.55 to 111.47 μm, with a median size (D50) of 31 μm, while APPs were mainly 5–100 μm, with 81.4% < 50 μm. Extrapolation to the annual treated ship-hull surface area in 2024 indicated the generation of ~57,440 m³ wastewater containing ~0.2 tons of MPs and ~19 tons of APPs. These findings highlight the magnitude of pollutant release from ship maintenance activities and underscore the urgent need for targeted treatment technologies and regulatory policies to mitigate microplastic pollution in marine environments. Full article

The study investigates the presence of emerging contaminants in a river within a watershed located in the Brazilian semiarid region, specifically within the Caatinga biome, emphasizing the importance of environmental monitoring in areas that have historically been underrepresented in scientific research. The analysis focused on the associations between microplastics and pharmaceutical compounds, demonstrating that the discharge of untreated domestic effluents and the low efficiency of sanitation systems increase water resource contamination and threaten water security. The interdependence between these variables underscores the need for integrated public policies for waste management, complemented by environmental education strategies and technological innovations. The work makes an unprecedented contribution to expanding knowledge about emerging pollutants in semiarid environments, highlighting the urgency of holistic approaches, continuous monitoring, and strengthening environmental governance to ensure the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems like the Caatinga in the face of the challenges posed by global environmental change, urban growth, and those outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Full article

Mine waste remains a persistent challenge for the minerals industry, posing significant environmental concerns if not properly managed. The 1996 Marcopper Mining Disaster in Marinduque, Philippines, left a legacy of mine tailings that continue to threaten local ecosystems and communities. This study investigates the valorization and stabilization of Marcopper river sediments laden with mine tailings using a combined geopolymerization and cement hydration approach. Hybrid mortar samples were prepared with 7.5%, 15%, 22.5%, and 30% mine tailings by weight, utilizing potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an alkaline activator at concentrations of 1 M and 3 M, combined with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The mechanical properties of the hybrid geopolymer cement mortars were assessed via unconfined compression tests, and their crystalline structure, phase composition, surface morphology, and chemical bonding were also analyzed. Static leaching tests were performed to evaluate heavy metal mobility in the geopolymer matrix. The compression tests yielded strength values ranging from 24.22 MPa to 53.99 MPa, meeting ASTM C150 strength requirements. In addition, leaching tests confirmed the effective encapsulation and immobilization of heavy metals, demonstrating the potential of this method for mitigating the environmental risks associated with mine tailings. Full article

Insect pollination, a critical ecological process, pre-dates the emergence of angiosperms by nearly 200 million years, with fossil evidence indicating pollination interactions between insects and non-angiosperm seed plants during the Late Paleozoic. This review examines the symbiotic relationships between insects and gymnosperms in pre-angiosperm ecosystems, highlighting the complexity of these interactions. Fossil records suggest that the mutualistic relationships between insects and gymnosperms, which facilitated plant reproduction, were as intricate and diverse as the modern interactions between angiosperms and their pollinators, particularly bees. These early pollination systems likely involved specialized behaviors and plant adaptations, reflecting a sophisticated evolutionary dynamic long before the advent of flowering plants. The Anthropocene presents a dichotomy: while climate change and anthropogenic pressures threaten insect biodiversity and risk disrupting angiosperm reproduction, such upheaval may simultaneously generate opportunities for novel plant–insect interactions as ecological niches are vacated. Understanding the deep evolutionary history of pollination offers critical insight into the mechanisms underlying the resilience and adaptability of these mutualisms. The evolutionary trajectory of bees—originating from predatory wasps, diversifying alongside angiosperms, and reorganizing after mass extinctions—exemplifies this dynamic, demonstrating how pollination networks persist and reorganize under environmental stress and underscoring the enduring health, resilience, and adaptability of these essential ecological systems. Full article

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PESs) have become a central instrument in global biodiversity finance, yet endangered species-specific PESs remain rare and poorly understood in implementation terms. Taiwan provides a revealing case: a three-year program paying farmers to conserve four threatened species—Prionailurus bengalensis, Lutra lutra, Tyto longimembris, and Hydrophasianus chirurgus—in working farmland across Taiwan and Kinmen island. Through semi-structured interviews with farmers, residents, and local conservation actors, we examine how payments are interpreted, rationalized, enacted, and emotionally experienced at the ground level. This study adopts Colaizzi’s data analysis method, the primary advantage of which lies in its ability to systematically transform fragmented and emotive interview narratives into a logically structured essential description. This is achieved through the rigorous extraction of significant statements and the subsequent synthesis of thematic clusters. Participants reported willingness to continue not only because subsidies offset losses, but because rarity, community pride, and the visible arc of “we helped this creature survive” became internalized rewards. NGOs amplified this shift by translating science into farm practice and “normalizing” coexistence. In practice, conservation work became a social project—identifying threats, altering routines, and defending habitat as a shared civic act. This study does not estimate treatment-effect size; instead, it delivers mechanistic insight at a live policy moment, as Taiwan expands PESs and the OECD pushes incentive reform. The finding is simple and strategically important: endangered-species PESs work best where payments trigger meaning—not where payments replace it. Full article

Surface water is essential for sustaining ecosystems and supporting human socio-economic development, yet pollution from urbanization increasingly threatens its ecological sustainability. The accurate prediction of dissolved oxygen (DO), as an important indicator of water quality, is crucial for water resource protection. To address the methodological gaps in current research, we propose a hybrid deep learning model (GCG) that integrates spatiotemporal correlations to enhance DO prediction accuracy through the systematic exploitation of latent data dependencies. This study proposes a three-stage modeling framework: (1) A novel adjacency matrix construction methodology based on Pearson correlation coefficients is developed to quantify spatial correlations between monitoring stations, enabling spatial feature aggregation via graph convolutional networks (GCNs); (2) the spatially enhanced features are subsequently processed through 1D convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to capture temporal local patterns; (3) model performance is comprehensively evaluated using four metrics: R², RMSE, MAE, and MAPE. The proposed model was implemented for DO prediction in Lake Taihu, China. Experimental results demonstrate that compared to conventional adjacency matrix construction methods, the Pearson correlation-based adjacency matrix confers advantages, achieving at least a 5% reduction in RMSE and over 10% improvement in MAE and MAPE. Furthermore, the GCG model outperformed the comparison model, with an R² enhancement of 8%, while reducing RMSE and MAE by over 70% and 60%, respectively. These results validate the model’s effectiveness in mining spatiotemporal correlations for regional water quality forecasting, offering a reliable tool toward sustainable water monitoring and ecosystem-based management. Full article

Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly threatened by pollution, hydromorphological alteration, invasive species, and loss of ecological connectivity, complicating the monitoring and conservation of native fish communities. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a sensitive, non-invasive, and cost-effective tool for detecting species, including rare or low-abundance taxa, overcoming several limitations of traditional methods. However, its rapid expansion has generated methodological dispersion and heterogeneity in protocols. This systematic review and bibliometric analysis synthesize 131 articles published between 2020 and 2025 on the use of eDNA in freshwater fish conservation. Due to the strong methodological heterogeneity among studies, the evidence was synthesized through a structured qualitative approach under PRISMA standards. Results show rapid growth in scientific output since 2023. eDNA has proven highly effective in identifying key ecological patterns such as migration and spawning, detecting critical habitats, and supporting temporal and spatial assessments. It has also facilitated early detection of invasive species including Oreochromis niloticus, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, and Chitala ornata, and improved monitoring of threatened native species, reinforcing conservation decision-making. Despite advances, challenges persist, including variability in eDNA persistence and transport, gaps in genetic reference databases, and a lack of methodological standardization. Future perspectives include detecting parasites, advancing trophic analyses, and integrating eDNA with ecological modeling and remote sensing. Full article

With the acceleration of digital transformation, open-source software has become a fundamental component of modern smart grids and other critical infrastructures. However, the complex dependency structures of open-source ecosystems and the continuous emergence of vulnerabilities pose substantial challenges to software supply chain security. In power information networks and cyber–physical control systems, vulnerabilities in open-source components integrated into Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Energy Management System (EMS), and Distribution Management System (DMS) platforms and distributed energy controllers may propagate along the supply chain, threatening system security and operational stability. In such application scenarios, large language models (LLMs) often suffer from limited semantic accuracy when handling domain-specific security terminology, as well as deployment inefficiencies that hinder their practical adoption in critical infrastructure environments. To address these issues, this paper proposes KD-SecBERT, a domain-specific semantic bidirectional encoder optimized through multi-level knowledge distillation for open-source software supply chain security in smart grid applications. The proposed framework constructs a hierarchical multi-teacher ensemble that integrates general language understanding, cybersecurity-domain knowledge, and code semantic analysis, together with a lightweight student architecture based on depthwise separable convolutions and multi-head self-attention. In addition, a dynamic, multi-dimensional distillation strategy is introduced to jointly perform layer-wise representation alignment, ensemble knowledge fusion, and task-oriented optimization under a progressive curriculum learning scheme. Extensive experiments conducted on a multi-source dataset comprising National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) entries, security-related GitHub code, and Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) test cases show that KD-SecBERT achieves an accuracy of 91.3%, a recall of 90.6%, and an F1-score of 89.2% on vulnerability classification tasks, indicating strong robustness in recognizing both common and low-frequency security semantics. These results demonstrate that KD-SecBERT provides an effective and practical solution for semantic analysis and software supply chain risk assessment in smart grids and other critical-infrastructure environments. Full article

Anthropogenic climate change represents a critical and complex threat to the health and resilience of aquatic ecosystems. This review aims to critically synthesise and evaluate the synergetic and antagonistic mechanisms through which rising water temperature, the most prominent climatic factor, modulates the host–parasite relationship. The systematic literature review was conducted across a high-impact database (Web of Science), focusing on the extraction and qualitative analysis of data concerning infection dynamics and both host and parasite interactions. The findings demonstrate that thermal stress imposes a dual penalty on host–parasite systems: (1) it confers a critical thermal advantage to direct-life cycle parasites, significantly accelerating their virulence, reproduction, and infective capacity; (2) simultaneously, it severely compromises the immunocompetence and physiological resilience of piscine hosts, often through immunometabolic trade-offs and inflammatory dysfunction. This toxic synergy is the root cause of the exponential disease prevalence/intensity of parasites and fish mass mortality events, directly impacting biodiversity and global aquaculture sustainability. In contrast, it may also cause the disruption of the transmission chains to threaten complex life cycle parasites with localised extinction. We conclude that climate mitigation must be urgently recognised and implemented as a primary strategy for biological risk management to secure aquatic health and global food safety. Full article

The Campos Rupestres, ancient and nutrient-poor mountaintop ecosystems in Brazil, harbor exceptional biodiversity and endemism but face severe threats from mining and urban expansion. Native grasses (Poaceae), represented by nearly 300 documented species—many of them poorly studied—are fundamental elements of these ecosystems. They provide critical ecological services, including soil stabilization, enhancing carbon storage and nutrient cycling, regulating water availability, and resilience to disturbances. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the diversity, functions, and propagation of Campos Rupestres grasses, with emphasis on their potential in ecological restoration. Despite their ecological importance, large-scale use of native grasses remains incipient, constrained by limited knowledge of reproductive biology, low seed viability, and scarce commercial seed availability. Advances in propagation include seedling and plug production, vegetative propagation, and rescue/reintroduction strategies, which have shown promising results in post-mining restoration. However, reliance on seed collection from natural populations risks depleting already limited genetic resources, highlighting the need for ex situ production systems. Expanding research on taxonomy, ecology, and cost-effective propagation methods, alongside supportive policy and market development, is crucial for integrating native grasses as cornerstone species in restoration programs. Bridging these gaps will enhance biodiversity conservation and restoration in one of the world’s most threatened megadiverse systems. Full article

The one health approach recognizes the interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health, emphasizing that human health should never be threatened in the pursuit of agricultural productivity. Indeed, within agricultural systems, this approach is particularly relevant, as the overuse of chemical inputs and the mismanagement of organic wastes can directly threaten human health. Overuse of chemical inputs can result in various health disturbances and contribute to the development of acute or chronic human diseases. Likewise, organic wastes constitute potential human health risks due to the presence of pathogens in these wastes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Despite increasing research, many studies often lack integrated risk assessments of agrochemicals and organic waste within a “One Health” framework, leaving gaps in practical guidance for safe agricultural management. This review was conducted to address these gaps and answer the following questions: What are the human health risks associated with agrochemicals and mismanaged organic wastes? How can composting/compost mitigate these risks and support sustainable agricultural production? It examines the role of composting in managing organic wastes, producing high-quality compost, and reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals and pathogens. Furthermore, it outlines key characteristics of compost required to ensure safety for humans, plants, soil, and ecosystems. By integrating evidence on human health and crop productivity, this review provides insights for safe, sustainable agricultural practices within a unified One Health framework. Full article

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), widespread in aquatic environments, interfere with endocrine function in organisms and threaten ecosystem stability. Rotifers, critical live feed for marine fish, shrimp, and crab larvae, link EDC-induced reproductive impairment to marine ecosystem stability and aquaculture sustainability. This PRISMA-compliant review synthesizes key findings, consequences, and gaps in EDC–rotifer reproductive toxicity research. Traditional EDCs (heavy metals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), phenols, phthalate esters, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and steroid hormones) and emerging EDCs (disinfection byproducts, microplastics, pharmaceutical metabolites) induce distinct reproductive harm—e.g., Hg²⁺ shows extreme toxicity (24 h LC₅₀ = 4.51 μg L⁻¹ in Brachionus plicatilis), BDE-47 damages ovaries, and microplastics cause transgenerational delays. Rotifer species and exposure duration affect sensitivity (e.g., BDE-47: 96 h LC₅₀ = 0.163 mg L⁻¹ vs. 24 h LC₅₀ > 22 mg L⁻¹ in B. plicatilis). Oxidative stress is a universal mechanism, and combined EDC exposure produces context-dependent synergistic/antagonistic effects. EDC-induced impairment reduces rotifer population density, alters structure, and propagates through food webs, threatening aquaculture and biodiversity; transgenerational toxicity (e.g., 4-nonylphenol: F₁ inhibition 28% vs. 12% in F₀) weakens resilience. This review supports EDC risk assessment, with gaps including long-term low-concentration data, transgenerational mechanisms, EDC–microbiome interactions, and emerging PFAS toxicity—priorities for future research. Full article

Soil contamination by heavy metals (HMs) threatens crop productivity, food safety, and ecosystem health, especially in intensively cultivated Mediterranean regions. This study investigated the influence of soil HM contamination on nutrient uptake, photosynthetic traits, and metal bioaccumulation in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) orchards. Twenty orchard sites were sampled, collecting paired soil and mature leaf samples. Soil physicochemical properties and HM concentrations were determined, while leaves were analyzed for macro- and micronutrients, photosynthetic pigments, and metal contents. Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs) were computed, and multivariate analyses (Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR)) were applied to assess soil–plant relationships, complemented by Monte Carlo simulations to quantify probabilistic contamination risks. Results revealed substantial inter-site variability, with leaf Cd and Pb concentrations reaching 0.92 and 3.54 mg/kg, and BAF values exceeding 1 in several orchards. PLSR models effectively predicted leaf Cd (R² = 0.789) and Pb (R² = 0.772) from soil parameters. Monte Carlo simulations indicated 15–25% exceedance of FAO/WHO safety limits for Cd and Pb. These findings demonstrate that soil metal accumulation substantially alters avocado nutrient balance and photosynthetic efficiency, highlighting the urgent need for site-specific soil monitoring and sustainable remediation strategies in contaminated orchards. Full article