Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management最新文献

{"title":"The Impact of Wetland Utilisation on Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Nyando Wetland, Kenya","authors":"J. Maithya, F. L. M. Ming’ate, S. Letema","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500235","url":null,"abstract":"People’s livelihoods in developing countries are often directly dependent on wetlands and watersheds for the provision of food, water, fuel, wood, fibre, and genetic resources. The high rural population density within the Lake Victoria basin is facilitating the rapid conversion of land to settlement and agriculture. These activities have resulted in the depletion of wetland resources to the extent that they cannot replenish naturally, thus threatening the Nyando wetland ecosystem, potential recreational opportunities, and the livelihoods of local communities. This paper, therefore, examines the implication of Nyando wetland utilisation in provisioning ecosystem services. A case study survey design approach was employed for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to answer the study objectives. Stratified random sampling was conducted to collect data from 391 households using a structured questionnaire. An interview guide was also used to collect data from stakeholder representatives at the national and county governmental level, non-governmental organisations, and members of the local community. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, while qualitative data were analysed through content analysis by ordering distinct themes into similar categories. A land-use change analysis was performed using an unsupervised classification technique. The results show that the local community depends on the wetland for farming, firewood, settlement, roofing and mat-making materials, and fishing for domestic and commercial use. The local community’s increased demand and utilisation of Nyando wetland resources has contributed to a reduction in the size of the wetland and consequently affected the availability of ecosystem services. Thus, sustainable utilisation of the wetland is needed.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43923961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coastal Scenery Quality: A Management Tool for Sandy Beaches","authors":"Lorrana Lopes Diniz, P. Machado, J. S. Lima, L. L. Costa, I. D. Costa, I. Zalmon","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500247","url":null,"abstract":"Beaches are multidimensional environments, and their management must include the ecological, sociocultural and economic aspects. The continuous occupation of this ecosystem combined with the scarcity of adequate management plans has reduced the quality of coastal sceneries. Therefore, strategies are needed to ensure the perpetuity of resources and delivery of ecosystem services. The objective of this study was to assess the coastal scenery quality at three sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A quali-quantitative approach was applied using measurable aspects, considering eight categories as accessibility, water quality, scenic quality, infrastructure, safety and environmental education, based on 67 indicators. The beaches commonly presented higher values for water quality, while environmental education had the lowest ranks, indicating that this category should be prioritised in management strategies. In addition to the low cost of this effective tool for beach management, it is quick to apply, easy to analyse and represents an advancement in important issues about the use of integrative indicators to evaluate coastal sceneries, providing a scientific base that can offer evidence about the main management priorities in areas where coastal tourism has a significant role.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46098570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Energy and Environmental Efficiency in the Power Sectors: A Case Study of Singapore and China","authors":"Muhammad Mohsin, Han Phoumin, I. Youn, Farhad Taghizadeh‐Hesary","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500181","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the determinants of efficiency in the energy sectors of China and Singapore. It examines three possible futures for the electricity industry in China and Singapore: business as usual, energy efficiency improvement, and regulation and incentive improvement. A panel dataset was subjected to cross-sectional analysis using data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression. In the last 10 years, the electric power sector has reduced carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and mercury emission rates by 90%, 88%, and 95%, respectively, as a result of imperatives for the closing of small coal-fired power stations, air emissions regulations and the utilisation of renewable energy initiatives. Finally, it is suggested that the maximum capabilities of such expenditures can only be achieved if they are considered and involved in the project discovery process, rather than just as an add-on to initiatives initially planned as demand initiatives.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43810051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Interaction of Human Capital and Carbon Emission with Diminishing Economic Growth","authors":"Guanli Nu, Yessengali Oskenbayev, Galymzhan Zupiruly","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500223","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the relationships between carbon emissions, health outcomes, and economic growth. It has been argued that carbon emissions negatively affect health outcomes, which influences the aggregate productivity of countries. A general equilibrium model is constructed, with health and educational outcomes presented as inputs of human capital. The empirical part assesses the impact of health on economic development using carbon emissions and employs the IV model (2SLS) to avoid potential endogeneity. The analysis uses the data of 178 worldwide countries from 2010 to 2016. The findings suggest substantial effects of health as an input of human capital on per capita income. The results form the basis of important policy recommendations for policy- and decision-makers to increase the stock of human capital and sustainable economic growth.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46183871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How does Eco-Innovation Affect CO2 Emissions? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Aminatou Kemajou Pofoura, Huaping Sun, I. A. Mensah, Fengqing Liu","doi":"10.1142/s146433322250017x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s146433322250017x","url":null,"abstract":"Accurate implementation of eco-innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to mitigate climate change and related environmental turmoil emanating from economic activities is always ignored. The study seeks to investigate the role of eco-innovation in enhancing environmental sustainability; the effect of eco-innovation on carbon dioxide (CO[Formula: see text] emissions for the aggregated Sub-Saharan Africa panel of 35 countries and low-income and middle-income countries sub-panels over the period 1990–2017 is investigated. Bearing in mind the potential occurrence of residual cross-sectional reliance and heterogeneity, this extant study employed second-generation estimation approaches which include the cross-sectional Im, Pesaran and Shin and the cross-sectional augmented Dickey–Fuller unit root tests together with the Westerlund and Edgerton as well as the Durbin–Hausman panel cointegration tests. The augmented mean group long-run estimation method was finally employed to estimate the long-run liaison amid variables. Based on the outlined robust approaches, the main outcomes are elaborated as follows: (i) eco-innovation significantly reduces environmental pollution in all the panels Sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) income is revealed to have insignificant effect on environmental pollution across all panels, although a positive effect occurred in both the middle-income panel and aggregated panel, whereas an adverse effect is noted in the low-income panel of SSA nations; (iii) energy consumption and urbanisation contribute to environmental pollution in all the panels; (iv) trade openness contributes significantly to environmental pollution in the SSA aggregated panel but has insignificant effect in the sub-panels; and (v) foreign direct investment has no effect on carbon emissions among all panels. The findings also reveal invalid environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in the various country groups. Based on the findings, we recommend a solid policy framework for investments in more innovation activities that facilitate sustainability transition, prioritise green investments, reduce the importation of emissions-intensive technologies and encourage green production processes which in turn could guarantee sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49391030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainability Assessment of Renewable Energy Technologies in Context to India Using Multicriteria Analysis with and without Incorporating Risk Analysis","authors":"Anuja Shaktawat, S. Vadhera","doi":"10.1142/s146433322250020x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s146433322250020x","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainability assessment at a national scale is a complex task that ought to be seen with a range of conflicting indicators and multicriteria analysis (MCA) is the best approach that can address these conflicts. The study aims for a comprehensive sustainability assessment of renewable energy (RE) technologies in India based on MCA and examines the impact of associated social and environmental risks on the overall sustainability ranking. Large hydropower is evaluated as the most sustainable RE technology in context to India under selected indicators. Contrary to this, large hydropower has also been identified with the highest social and environmental risks. Therefore, in a developing country like India, the techno-economic advantages of large hydropower with its significant untapped potential cannot be overlooked. Hence, there arises a need to enhance the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. Thus, the study recommends a transparent process for public participation in EIA for comprehensive and effective social and environmental risk management of the project to achieve the goal of sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46158922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Driving Forces of Adaptation Decision and Strategies to Climate-Related Events: Case on Farming Households in South–West Coastal Bangladesh","authors":"K. Kabir, Md. Ayatullah Khan, K. Hasan, S. Aftab","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500193","url":null,"abstract":"This research aimed to identify the factors that influence farming households’ decisions on adaptation strategies and the highest priority strategy in South-Western coastal Bangladesh. Seven unions in Koyra Upazila were surveyed, and 60 households were interviewed from each union. The binary logit and multinomial logit models were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that 58.6% of farming households adopted climate-related adaptation strategies, with seasonal migration being the most top priority. Similarly, the data suggested that years of education of the household heads, number of household members, land tenure, farming experience, climatic event risk perception, and farmer-to-farmer extension influenced both farming households’ adaptation decisions and the likelihood of choosing the highest priority adaptation strategies. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) can integrate funds, knowledge, and power structures. It can also balance expenses, liabilities, and opportunities. So, the development of PPPs may promote suitable adaptation strategies.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41537797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Role of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in the Development of a Mine Closure Plan in Regional Australia","authors":"Zobaidul Kabir","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500156","url":null,"abstract":"Mine closure is an integral part of the lifecycle of a mining project. The closure of a mine has social impacts on the surrounding community and employees who have gradually become dependent on the mine financially, culturally and emotionally. By recognising the consequences of mine closure on local communities, companies respond to the assessment and management of the social impacts. While there are applications of social impact assessments (SIAs) for areas available in different sectors, there are limited practices of SIA for mine closure planning, and there is a lack of information on the role of SIA in mine closure planning. Importantly, there is a dearth of information on how SIA can play an important role to make a mine closure plan by bringing all stakeholders together. This empirical study investigated the contribution of SIA on the development of a coal mine closure plan in regional Queensland in Australia. By integrating social issues and community concerns into the closure planning process, through SIA of the closure planning, the mining company, its employee and the local community were collectively able to formulate the mine closure. This study shows how the SIA can be used to bring relevant stakeholders together to formulate the plan for mine closure and make it acceptable to the stakeholders including company, local communities and employees. Practical policy implications include community engagement through SIA and an assurance of the socioeconomic security of the local community and employees of the mine. It is crucial to undertake SIA at the beginning of the closure planning process and involve the relevant stakeholders to formulate closure plan acceptable to all relevant parties. For the development of a mine closure plan, particular attention is required to address the community’s concerns and the development of a solid relationship with the community through negotiations. It is expected that the findings of this study will be useful to researchers, practitioners and other interested persons, not only in Australia but also in other countries with a similar context.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46697857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food Security Assessment: An Exploration of Canadian Offshore Petroleum SEA Practice","authors":"Veronica Rohr, J. Blakley, P. Loring","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500168","url":null,"abstract":"Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has the potential to play a crucial role in addressing global food insecurity. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of 17 recent Canadian SEAs, conducted for offshore petroleum exploration, exploring the extent of consideration for food security in current SEA practice. Document analysis was used to appraise consideration of eight core food security elements and conformity to procedural and analytical elements recommended for effective food security assessment in regional SEA. Performance variation among the SEAs in was observed. Notable deficiencies include lack of explicit consideration for food security and lack of transparency around public participation, as well as limited characterisations of the socio-political environment. Some encouraging findings, however, suggest that food security can be successfully addressed in regional SEA. In particular, the ‘system analysis’ approach typically employed in SEA in the offshore petroleum exploration industry is well-suited to food security assessment. Certain aspects of food security are already indirectly considered and incorporated in SEA; yet, there is considerable scope for improvement of integrating food security effectively in SEA.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43671331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic Impacts of Carbon Tax in a General Equilibrium Framework: Empirical Study of Japan","authors":"N. Yoshino, E. Rasoulinezhad, Farhad Taghizadeh‐Hesary","doi":"10.1142/s1464333222500144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333222500144","url":null,"abstract":"This study tries to find new insights of implementations of carbon tax policy as a suitable way to reach the long-term zero-carbon plan. This paper explores how carbon tax can affect the macroeconomy in Japan through the structural vector autoregression (S-VAR) technique conducted for the quarterly data throughout 2005–2020. A theoretical general equilibrium model backs the empirical analysis. The major findings reveal that any increase in energy price from the carbon tax will lead to an increase in interest rate, exchange rate, and consumer price index while there is a negative relationship between energy price increase from carbon tax and real gross domestic product (GDP) in Japan. Carbon Policy Refolution ([Formula: see text]), refunding carbon tax revenues, and adaptation of long-term policy of net zero GHG emissions by 2050 with the current situation of Japan’s power sectors are the major practical policies of this study.","PeriodicalId":35909,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41807761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}