Search Results (46)

The Sonora Estuarine Biocultural Corridor (CBES) is made up of six coastal wetlands with mangrove forest, internationally certified as Ramsar Sites. Four are part of indigenous territories whose inhabitants have serious development lags and low water security. Five are within one or more of six irrigation districts of national relevance. The objective is to learn about the socio-environmental problems of the CBES, focused on the issue of water, as well as community proposals for solutions. Intercultural, mixed methodology approach. Prospecting visits were carried out in the six estuaries of the CBES, and 84 semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from all social sectors who know the problems of the CBES in three (out of six) estuaries associated with indigenous territories. The main problem is centered on the issue of water: they receive contaminated water from agroindustry, aquaculture, and the municipal service; the fresh water of the rivers is almost nil, rainfall has decreased while the heat increases, and marine and terrestrial biodiversity decreases. This affects the food and economic security of the local population and generates conflicts between the different productive activities. A multisectoral organization that integrates the six estuaries would improve community wellbeing and, in turn, climate resilience. Full article

African cities are experiencing rapid, unregulated growth, characterized by high land pressure and growing demand for housing and urban infrastructure. New arrivals often settle in vulnerable areas (wetlands, hills, flood) where land is cheaper and unregulated by public authorities. This type of settlement is accompanied by numerous land conflicts, exacerbated by the coexistence of formal and customary land tenure systems, which struggle to harmonize. In this context, public land regulation policies often remain centralized and ill-adapted, revealing their limitations in ensuring equitable and sustainable management of urban land. Faced with this gap, our systematic study explores the socio-environmental dynamics of this normative pluralism in land governance within Cameroonian cities. Our findings highlight the tensions and opportunities of this complex coexistence, which vary significantly according to city size (small, medium, and large), the colonial heritage (Francophone and Anglophone), and the dominant legal framework (civil law and common law). The analysis highlights the need to take into account historical, linguistic, and politico-administrative roots, which profoundly influence local forms of the institutionalization of normative pluralism and the associated socio-environmental vulnerabilities. This normative plurality underlines the importance of a hybrid system of land governance capable of integrating local specificities while ensuring land security for all. Future research will include comparisons with other African countries in order to understand transferable mechanisms for better land governance. Full article

The Boronia Ridge palusmont, Walpole, in southern Western Australia, is situated in the most humid part of the State. It was a unique hilltop wetland complex and the only one of its type in the State. On its margins, the area also supports the ancient sedge Reedia spathacea, a Gondwanan relict endemic to humid southern Western Australia and the Walpole region and a plant that was ultimately recognised as being of national significance and protected under Australia’s strongest conservation law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act (1999). However, prior to the geoheritage and biodiversity values of the area being known, in the late 1980s, a pristine scenic area west of Walpole, adjacent to the Walpole River and Walpole Inlet, classified as a Class A national park, was earmarked for urban development, in spite of there being “very little demonstrated requirement for land in Walpole”. This appeared to be as a result of poor land-use planning, since the urbanisation proposed was to be located on the Walpole River delta and wetlands. Urban infrastructures would also impact on adjoining wetlands and the Walpole Inlet System. With new information available in relation to the soils, wetlands, and environmental values of the area, in 1993, community groups and scientists combined, at a public Local Government meeting, to demonstrate that the proposed urban development, referred to as Lot 650, and later Boronia Ridge, with its above-land surface wastewater treatment, was inappropriate, both from an engineering perspective and due to the high conservation values of the area. With the support of the local government of the day and expert scientists who confirmed local concerns, the community engaged in a 7-year conflict with the development proponent, government agencies involved in decision making, and politicians of the day. Ultimately, the use of state-of-the-art science and traditional geomorphic, stratigraphic, hydrological, and geoheritage principles failed to prevent the urbanisation of the area in favour of preserving the whole area as a wetland complex. The following three reasons for this failure are identified: 1. political, rather than science-based decision making, 2. government agencies staffed without the necessary training in biological or earth sciences to make informed decisions, and 3. little attention to environmental concerns due to a bias towards development. Walpole, with its population of 400, moved from a low priority on the wastewater treatment priority list in Western Australia to a high priority on the deep sewerage priority list to accommodate a proposed residential development. Full article

Irrational land use has triggered many serious ecological problems worldwide, especially in regions where human–land conflicts are prominent. However, the driving mechanisms at different spatiotemporal scales vary and have not been addressed in detail. This study explored the variations of land use and landscape patterns from 1990 to 2020 in the Dongting Lake Ecological Economic Zone (DLEEZ) by land-use transfer matrix, landscape pattern indices methods, etc. We also combined the geographical detector and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) methods to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in driving forces of land-use changes. The results indicated that forest land, cropland, and wetland were the predominant land-use types, accounting for nearly 90% of the total. Cropland decreased by a total of 1787.55 km² during the 30-year period, and land-use changes mainly involved the conversion of cropland to other land-use types. The overall fragmentation of the regional landscape increased, with the fragmentation of forest land and cropland increasing. Land-use changes were mainly influenced by human activities like socio-economic and policy factors. Notably, the development of agriculture and aquaculture poses a threat to the maintenance of the area of wetland in the DLEEZ. This study provides a reliable scientific basis for mitigating land-use conflicts and rationally planning land use to formulate a sustainable development strategy for land resources in the DLEEZ. Full article

The conflict between grain production and wetland resource protection in plain wetland is prominent. Understanding the future impacts of current land use policies on wetlands is the key to rationally evaluating and adjusting these policies. Therefore, the objective of the research was to predict the potential distribution of Sanjiang plain wetland under the current land use and protection policy using remote sensing images and CA Markov models. Methodologically, Landsat TM remote sensing images of the Sanjiang Plain (2010–2020) were used to extract wetland distribution based on object-oriented methods, and the characteristics and patterns of wetland change caused by the land use and protection policies during this period were analyzed. A CA–Markov model was used to predict the potential distribution of Sanjiang Plain wetland in 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2060. Then, we summarized the advantages and disadvantages of current land use policies and put forward adjustment measures. The results indicate that during 2010 and 2020, the wetland area of Sanjiang Plain decreased by 22.34%. The conversion ratio of wetland to non-wetland type (mainly farmland) in the first half and the second half of the decade was 46.41% and 15.31%, respectively, and the decrease in wetland showed an obvious slowing trend. The spatial distribution prediction in future showed that the wetland area will continue to decline in 2030, and the decline will basically stop in 2040. Finally, the proportion of wetland area will remain at 8.68% of the total area of Sanjiang Plain, with that of some counties and cities less than 5%. It is concluded that, although the current land use policies in Sanjiang Plain can effectively slow down the wetland area shrinking and stabilize the spatial pattern, a very low proportion of wetland area in some areas will make it difficult for the wetland ecosystem to exert ecological functions and ensure regional ecological security. The wetland conservation managers should adjust the current land use policies according to relevant requirements of farmland protection policies and restore the areal proportion and spatial pattern of wetland in order to help with regional sustainable development. Full article

Rural and semi-urban areas in arid/semi-arid regions are facing severe water scarcity and a series of environmental challenges nowadays, specifically due to rapid urbanization and economic development, climate change, population growth, increasing water demand, influxes of refugees caused by war and regional political conflict, etc. To solve the emerging problems, the safe reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture can provide an additional water resource for countries with high water scarcity. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment performance and effectiveness of small decentralized wastewater treatment (DWWT) technologies treating high-strength wastewater with concentrations far beyond the European Union testing ranges of parameters such as five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅ > 500 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (COD > 1000 mg/L), or total suspended solids (TSS > 700 mg/L). Four (4) commercially available DWWT technologies with a design capacity of 4–8 PE (population equivalent) were selected and operated with various wastewater compositions in Leipzig, Germany. The technologies were (i) the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), (ii) the sequencing batch reactor (SBR), (iii) the membrane bioreactor (MBR) and (iv) the aerated vertical-flow constructed wetland (AVFCW). This study results clearly demonstrated that the EU-certified small DWWT technologies are quite capable of treating high-strength wastewater and can provide high-quality treated water for safe reuse in rural communities of arid and semi-arid regions. During operation with high-strength wastewater with a mean inflow BOD₅, COD and TSS concentrations of 1532 ± 478, 2547 ± 830 and 546 ± 176 mg/L, a low mean BOD₅ (<10 mg/L), COD (<70 mg/L) and TSS (<15 mg/L) in the outflow of the four systems showed removal efficiency of BOD₅ (>99%), COD (>97%) and TSS (>97%), and met the maximum allowable limit value of water quality class A for reuse in agriculture according to Jordanian and Omani standard. The MBR showed almost a complete removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a range of 6.1–6.9-log removal in the outflow during all three experimental phases and performed best for BOD₅, COD, TSS and pathogen removal when treating high-strength wastewater if properly maintained to prevent potential fouling and clogging of the membrane. Before the final permitting process, long-term monitoring under local temperature and climatic conditions as well as guidelines based on local needs (e.g., in Jordan, Oman, etc.) should be developed to guarantee a minimum level of performance standards of such small DWWT technologies and requirements for operation and maintenance (O&M). Full article

Conflicts between human populations and Nile crocodiles are widespread with crocodiles posing significant threats to fisherfolk and riverine communities across r-Saharan Africa. Hundreds of deadly attacks take place annually, and mortality rates may range from 50% to 100%. Attitudes and perceptions towards crocodiles were studied using structured questionnaires among fisherfolk along the River Nile and the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan. Local communities used crocodiles for their meat and skin/leather trades. The meat is regarded to enhance longevity, sexual potency, and protection against witchcraft. Crocodiles are perceived as a main threat to lives and livelihoods as they restrict people’s freedom of movement along water bodies, attack livestock and humans, and devastate fishing equipment. To assess whether responses were influenced by the intensity of crocodile threats, published data on fatal crocodile attacks on humans and livestock were analysed using Generalised Linear Models (GLMs). This analysis indicated a direct link between the number of crocodile attacks and human attitudes. Crocodiles were generally feared and hated, and there was the agreement of the need to destroy breeding habitats. However, some attitudes were complex and nuanced as highlighted by the agreement of local communities on the need to destroy Nile Crocodile breeding habitats on the one hand and the need to establish crocodile sanctuaries as the the preferred strategy to mitigate risks and conflict on the other hand. There is a need for the creation of a crocodile sanctuary in the Sudd wetlands to minimise the risks of illegal hunting and to buffer the increasing pressure on crocodiles due to human population growth and economic upturn after the civil war. Full article

With climate change and urbanization expansion, wetlands, which are some of the largest carbon stocks in the world, are facing threats such as shrinking areas and declining carbon sequestration capacities. Wetland carbon stocks are at risk of being transformed into carbon sources, especially those of wetlands with strong land use–natural resource conservation conflict. Moreover, there is a lack of well-established indicators for evaluating the health of wetland carbon stocks. To address this issue, we proposed a novel framework for the safety assessment of wetland carbon stocks using the Super Slack-Based Measure (Super-SBM), and we then conducted an empirical study on the Quanzhou Bay Estuary Wetland (QBEW). This framework integrates the unexpected output indicator (i.e., carbon emissions), the expected output indicators, including the GDP per capita and carbon stock estimates calculated via machine learning (ML)-based remote sensing inversion, and the input indicators, such as environmental governance investigations, climate conditions, socio-economic activities, and resource utilization. The results show that the annual average safety assessment for carbon pools in the QBEW was a meager 0.29 in 2015, signaling a very poor state, likely due to inadequate inputs or excessive unexpected outputs. However, there has been a substantial improvement since then, as evidenced by the fact that all the safety assessments have exceeded the threshold of 1 from 2018 onwards, reflecting a transition to a “weakly effective” status within a safe and acceptable range. Moreover, our investigation employing the Super-SBM model to calculate the “slack variables” yielded valuable insights into optimization strategies. This research advances the field by establishing a safety measurement framework for wetland carbon pools that leverages efficiency assessment methods, thereby offering a quantitative safeguard mechanism that supports the achievement of the “3060” dual-carbon target. Full article

The ecosystem service value (ESV) is an important basis for measuring an ecological environment’s quality and the efficient management of ecosystems. It is particularly necessary to explore a proven methodology for assessing and predicting ESV dynamics coupled with policy-oriented scenarios that can provide a theoretical groundwork for macro decision, particularly in the context of implementing ecological protection and restoration projects. This study selected the land cover (LC) of Sichuan Province at five periods and the spatiotemporal dynamic equivalent factor method to assess the ESVs from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, the study coupled the Markov chain and GeoSOS-FLUS model, and predicted the future pattern of ESVs under four future development scenarios. The results show that (a) the areas of forests, shrubs, waters, wastelands, wetlands, and impervious areas showed a continuous increase from 2000 to 2020, with the most frequent interchanges occurring among croplands, forests, and grasslands. (b) The implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects led to a 13,083.32 × 10⁸ yuan increase in ESV, and barycenter of the ESVs is located in the northeastern part of Ya’an and exhibits a tendency to move towards the northeast. (c) The ESV aggregation pattern of each city has remained unchanged, with Ganzi being the only city with a high aggregation. Overall, there are more conflict cities than coordination cities between economic development and the ecological environment. (d) The total ESV in 2025 will continue to increase under all development scenarios, reaching a maximum of 50,903.37 × 10⁸ yuan under the EP scenario. This study can provide insights for ecological planning decisions and sustainable regional socio-economic development. Full article

The increasing number of visitors and conflicts resulting from shared use in valorising sensitive wetlands make effective visitor and site management measures essential. In the course of this research, the landscape pattern, the current spatial distribution of tourist activities and the possible arrangement of expedient further development were examined. The study area, Lake Tisza, is an artificial lowland reservoir established in the 1970s with an area of 127 km² in Hungary. Among its original functions, in addition to flood control, nature conservation and recreation have become the main profiles. The diverse hydro-ecological features and mosaic landscape structure allow for nature conservation and utilisation in tourism. This differentiated use is in line with the worldwide trend of favouring locations with multiple leisure activities in close proximity to each other. Based on the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) 2018 database, 12 different land use categories were identified in the study area. The largest proportion is represented by water bodies (53.29%), while inland marshes and broad-leaved forests cover 22.25% and 16.64%, respectively. The heterogeneity of the area is considerably enhanced by the high patch sizes of the categories pastures, broad-leaved forests and inland marshes. According to the Shannon diversity index, the most complex landscape diversity can be found in the Tiszavalk (1.5) and Poroszló (1.4) basins, considered to be the most suitable for ecotourism, while the lower values of the Sarud (1.1) and Abadszalók (1.1) basins provide suitable conditions for water sport activities and recreational tourism. Continuous adaptation to social needs and the joint protection of natural values is crucial for the sustainable development of Lake Tisza. Full article

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the sustainability of informal artisanal mining in the Peruvian Andean area until the year 2022. The research is basic and non-experimental in design and ex post facto in scope. The sample consisted of crime prevention statistics on socio-environmental conflict from guardianship institutions and a television program on mining. Our research procedure focused on gathering secondary information for a documentary review analysis based on past proven and disseminated facts. Informal artisanal mining is strengthened in the Peruvian Andean area due to the following influencing factors: support represented as the social license granted by communal assemblies; the flexibility of governmental management in relaxing compliance related to formalization and preventive laws regarding environmental protection; the resistance to formalization and the 50% increase in socio-environmental conflict; and the 25% increase in production costs related agricultural activities, which promotes the displacement towards mining activities. The environmental sustainability consequences are as follows: limited reconversion of agricultural land-use change in one-third of the communal territories at the headwaters of the basin, which generates the displacement of environmentally friendly economic activity, and a parallel positive action is the impossibility of modification or intervention affecting water surfaces and wetlands due to communal agreements that mining companies must respect during operation. Full article

With the continuous trend of urbanization, increase in industrial capacities, and expansion of agricultural areas, there is also a rise in the amount of wastewater. One of the effective and economical solutions for wastewater treatment has proven to be Constructed Wetlands (CWs). Defining the locations where CWs can be built is not an easy task and there are several criteria that need to be considered. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis—Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) are combined to select CW locations. AHP is one of the most commonly used methods in many environmental decision making problems, involving various conflicting criteria. In this case, conflicts arise between the evaluation of criteria that influence the selection of CW locations. The evaluation of selected criteria and sub-criteria resulted in a suitability map indicating that the first class represents 44%, the second class 37%, and the third class 16% of the total area. The fourth and fifth classes represent 3% of the total area. The criteria with the highest significance are land use, floodplains and distance of the location from populated places. This study has important implications for sustainable wastewater management in Serbia and provides guidelines for selecting locations for CWs. Full article

Using remote sensing and GIS techniques to monitor long time series land cover changes is of great significance to understanding the impact of human activities on spatiotemporal conflicts and changes in cropland and forest ecosystems in the black soil region of Northeast China. Spatial analysis and dynamic degree were used to analyze the evolutionary process and spatiotemporal association of land cover from 1990 to 2020; the transfer matrix was used to analyze and reveal dynamic conversions of land cover from 1990 to 2000, 2000 to 2010, and 2010 to 2020; and the GM (1,1) model was used to forecast the changes in land cover by 2025 based on historical data. The results indicated that the dominance of forest and cropland did not change from 1990 to 2020, and the average area of forest and cropland was 512,713 km² and 486,322 km², respectively. The mutual conversion between cropland, forest, grassland, and bare areas was the most frequent. The area of cropland converted into forest and grassland was 14,167 km² and 25,217 km², respectively, and the area of forest and grassland converted into cropland was 27,682 km² and 23,764 km², respectively, from 1990 to 2000. A similar law of land cover change was also presented from 2000 to 2020. In addition, the predicted values of cropland, forest, grassland, shrubland, wetland, water bodies, impervious surfaces, and bare areas were 466,942 km², 499,950 km², 231,524 km², 1329 km², 11,775 km², 18,453 km², 30,549 km², and 189,973 km², respectively, by 2025. The maximum and minimum residuals between the predicted and actual values were 6241 km² and −156 km² from 1990 to 2020. The evaluation results of the GM (1,1) model showed that all of the evaluation indices were within an acceptable range, and that the posteriori error ratio and class ratio dispersion were both less than 0.25. Through comparison with other studies, this study is not only able to provide some experience for further analyzing the spatial and temporal changes in land cover and its future prediction but also provide a basis for comprehensive management in Northeast China. Full article

In order to maintain the provision of high-quality ecosystem services in wetlands, it is important to protect the ecosystems through the designation of protected areas. However, the process of designating protected areas can potentially give rise to social conflicts or problems by the acquisition of private lands. As an alternative, the institution of payments for ecosystem services (PES) can be a more viable solution. This study intends to propose reasonable contract standards for PES that consider the preferences of both beneficiaries and providers, which are necessary for the successful introduction of PES in wetland protection areas in Korea. In doing so, we employed choice experiments to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) of different stakeholders. Our findings indicate that both beneficiaries and providers had a positive perception of PES contract terms. Moreover, the WTP and WTA values were comparable, suggesting that the unit price of PES could be determined within a reasonable range. These results can serve as a foundation for acquiring additional funds required for the introduction of PES in wetland protected areas. Full article

Wetland ecological compensation (WEC) is the key to the conflict between wetland conservation and economic development. While “conditionality” is critical to the efficiency and equity of WEC projects, supervision guarantees the conditionality and effects of WEC policies. Based on field research around the Poyang Lake, this paper applies game theory to systematically analyze WEC supervision and leverages the model of dynamic game with incomplete information to discuss the effects of weak supervision on rural households’ future behaviors. The results show that (1) weak supervision greatly dampens the effects of WEC projects; (2) the key underlying causes of weak supervision include low compensation rates, low default costs, and low probability of actual supervision, and the respective relevance of the three causes is not parallel but decreasing; (3) further analysis based on the model of dynamic game with incomplete information demonstrated that weak supervision affects rural households’ current and future behaviors. The paper concludes that, in order to address the roots of weak WEC supervision, appropriate compensation rates should be developed; default costs should be increased; and the actual supervision probability of authorities should be raised. The paper provides detailed explanations of real-life problems and fills the gap in the existing research by defining “weak regulation”, exploring its root causes, and comprehensively analyzing and forecasting its impacts. Full article