The theme for this week’s sustainability research is CLIMATE
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Research in Details:
Research #1
Analysis of the port sustainability parameters through Bayesian networks
Highlights
Ports are needed for a sustainable movement of goods
The methods to be used for the application of the ports have shortcomings
The Bayelsian Network is used to determine the relationship between variables graphically to measure their sustainability
The Bayelsian Network enable the port sector to rouse from the state of inactivity
Authors: Beatriz Molina Serranoa, Nicoletta González-Cancelasa, Francisco Soler-Flores
Date of publication: 14 March, 2020
Summary
Transport sector is an important component of the economy because it impacts on the development and well-being of population. However, it generates environmental needs and negative impacts, such as greenhouse gases emissions. A good transportation planning and management makes possible to reduce them.
In this context, ports are called upon to contribute to a more sustainable mobility of goods. The number of variables to be considered in order to carry out the decision making and to make the management of the ports sustainable is very large.
However, the strong methodological limitation existing has not allowed the application of this concept, still being a critical aspect.
The Bayesian networks are one of the possible methodologies to apply. These networks, allow to obtain the relations between variables graphically in order to determine a posteriori values that quantify their sustainability. Bayesian networks allow the relationships between the variables of port planning and operation related to sustainability to be obtained. These relationships, and especially their relationship through influence diagrams that categorize the role of the port sector as a revitalizer of port activity increases.
Research #2
Social and environmental analysis of food waste abatement via the peer-to-peer sharing economy
Highlights
Sharing economy can foster reduction of food wastage in an environmental way
Food exchange occurs mostly between users of the same income
Food insecurity and malnutrition affect the low , medium and the high income countries
Authors: Tamar Makov, Alon Shepon, Jonathan Krones, Clare Gupta & Marian Chertow
Date of publication: 10 March 2020
Summary
Reducing food waste is widely recognized as critical for improving resource efficiency and meeting the nutritional demand of a growing human population. Here we explore whether the sharing economy can provide meaningful assistance to reducing food waste in a relatively low-impact and environmentally-sound way. Analyzing 170,000 postings on a popular peer-to-peer food-sharing app, we find that over 19 months, 90t of food waste with an equivalent retail value of £0.7 million were collected by secondary consumers and diverted from disposal. An environmental analysis focused on Greater London reveals that these exchanges were responsible for avoiding emission of 87–156t of CO2eq. Our results indicate that most exchanges were among users associated with lower income yet higher levels of education. These findings, together with the high collection rates (60% on average) suggest that the sharing economy may offer powerful means for improving resource efficiency and reducing food waste.
Research #3
Assessment of riparian zone dynamics and its flood-related implications in Eleyele area of Ibadan, Nigeria
Highlights
The riparian zone increase the vulnerability level to flooding
The vulnerability of a riparian zone is analysed using remote sensing data sense
Flood vulnerability models were created according to the landcover type
The increase In the built up area over the period of the study show the most vulnerable zone to flood as at 2019
Authors: Oluwayemisi S. Olokeogun, Ayansina Ayanlade & Olusola O. Popoola
Date of publication: 10 March, 2020
Summary
This research focused on the assessment of riparian zone dynamics and its flood-related implications in the Eleyele area of Ibadan, Nigeria. The findings reveal the existence of land cover changes within RH and FA zones of the study area over a period of 20 years (1999 and 2019), in which the water body, grassland, and forest land cover class decreased while built-up area increased drastically. These changes are significantly human-induced. There is a significant level of structural change of the riparian zone which increases its vulnerability level to flooding.
This study aims at assessing how riparian zones have been altered through various land use activities and the implications of its capacity to mitigate flood. The study focused mainly on examining the land use/land cover changes within the riparian zone over a period of 20 years. The vulnerability of the riparian zone to flood were analyzed using remote sensing datasets. Flood vulnerability models were created based on the elevation and land cover type. A Euclidean distance (700 m) was created using the shuttle radar topographical mapping (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) of the lake and its riparian zone. The flood attenuation (150 m buffer) and riparian habitat (500 m) zones (areas) within the riparian zone of the lake were then created using the extracted lake boundary. Landsat 7 (for 1999) and 8 (for 2019) covering both zones were classified using the Maximum Likelihood Classification method. The results revealed that the built-up area increased from 2.04 to 4.54 km2 by 0.05 to 0.04 km2, 0.37 to 0.12 km2 and 1.84 to 1.82 km2 over the period of the study. The results further show that about 18.9% of built-up areas were within the very high vulnerability zone of flood as of the year 2019. The reping sediments and enhancing infiltration. The pattern of distribution of the land cover classes at different flood vulnerability levels within zones indicates that the more the alteration of both zones’ landscape, the more vulnerable they are to flood. The stuway concluded that there is a significant level of structural change of riparian zone which increases its vulnerability level to flooding.
Research #4
Feasible alternatives to green growth
Highlights
Climate change and increasing income inequality tends to affect standards if living
Dynamic macrosimulation model was developed to observe the long-term effects of green growth,policies for social equity and degrowth
The model was developed to manage a fair Low-carbon transition
Green growth policiesfir social equity and degrowth help in improving environmental performance by reducing emission of green house gas
Authors: Simone D’Alessandro, André Cieplinski, Tiziano Distefano & Kristofer Dittmer
Date of publication: 09 March 2020
Summary
Climate change and increasing income inequality have emerged as twin threats to contemporary standards of living, peace and democracy. These two problems are usually tackled separately in the policy agenda. A new breed of radical proposals have been advanced to manage a fair low-carbon transition. In this spirit, we develop a dynamic macrosimulation model to investigate the long-term effects of three scenarios: green growth, policies for social equity, and degrowth. The green growth scenario, based on technological progress and environmental policies, achieves a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at the cost of increasing income inequality and unemployment. The policies for social equity scenario adds direct labor market interventions that result in an environmental performance similar to green growth while improving social conditions at the cost of increasing public deficit. The degrowth scenario further adds a reduction in consumption and exports, and achieves a greater reduction in emissions and inequality with higher public deficit, despite the introduction of a wealth tax. We argue that new radical social policies can combine social prosperity and low-carbon emissions and are economically and politically feasible.
Research #5
Spatial and temporal drought incidence analysis in the northeastern highlands of Ethiopia
Highlights
The use of standardized precipitation index to present the spatio temporal drought risk event in the Northeast highlands of Ethiopia
Highly complex and localized temporal and spatial pattern of drought risk events were discovered
The frequency and magnitude of drought risk events were more strongly marked during rainy months
A complex spatial variations of drought risk events were observed between kiremt and belg
Documentation and assessment of drought risk events in relation to the zones livelihood is quite important for managing drought risk event
Author: Abebe Arega Mekonen, Arega Bazezew Berlie &Mehrete Belay Ferede
Date of publication: 03 March 2020
Summary
This study presented the spatiotemporal drought risk events in the northeastern highlands of Ethiopia using Standardized Precipitation Index, SPI. The results of the study confirm that highly complex and localized temporal and spatial patterns of drought risk events were detected. This helped to identify and characterize local droughts. The majority of 1–4- and 8-months timestep underwent severe and extreme (SPI ≤ − 1.50) drought events. However, the detected frequency and magnitude of drought risk events were more pronounced during the rainy months of the belg season. This study investigated the space-time drought incidence in the northeastern highlands of Ethiopia using monthly rainfall data. It also aims to predict drought events for 100 years. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was used to compute the drought severity classes of rainy months and seasons at 1-, 4- and 8-months timestep.
The Mann-Kendall’s test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to analyze the trends of drought events and to determine the magnitude of change. Inverse Distance Weighted spatial analysis tool was used to illustrate the spatial patterns of the drought risk events.The study detected extreme severe droughts in the belg rainy months in March 2008 and April 1984. However, during the belg season, the year 1999 was the driest for the recorded periods. On the other hand, the extremely severe droughts were observed during the kiremt rainy months of July 1987 and 2015, August 1984, and September 2009. In general, 1984, 1987 and 2015 were the driest years recorded in the kiremt season. The study noted that the drought risk events of months in the belg season were threefold greater than that of the months in kiremt season under moderate drought intensity class. Equally, the drought risk events of months in kiremt season were threefold greater than that of the belg season under extreme drought intensity class. Complex spatial variations of drought risk events were also observed in 1-, 4- and 8-months timesteps. During the belg seasons, the southern half was subjected to more frequent drought risk events while the northern half experienced more frequent drought risk events during kiremt season. Almost the eastern half of the livelihood zones experienced high rate to the rainfed agricultural practices that have a great influence on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Hence, documentation and assessmentHighlightsfihood zones are essential for drought risk management, early warning responses, local-scale planning and food security management. Finally, the study recommended further research on additional indices of climatic variables such as evapotranspiration and soil water content.