{"title":"Measuring forest ecosystem services in Aceh Province for inclusion to local forest resource management plans","authors":"J. Samek, A. Anhar, S. Maimunah, D. Skole","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1910","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1910","url":null,"abstract":"The project trained forest managers from Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan (KPH) and Social Forestry units in Aceh Province in forest resource data collection and the use of three tools that report important forest ecosystem services. Data were collected in systematic forest plots by local KPH staff and social forestry community members for measuring forest carbon, tree biodiversity and forest ecosystem health. Teams represented nine different forest ecosystems in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Average forest carbon estimates range from a low of 27.14 Mg C ha-1 in a coffee agroforestry system to a high of 446.93 Mg C ha-1 in a tropical forest area managed under social forestry. Tree biodiversity ranged from a low of one species as expected in a coastal mangrove forest to a high of 35 species in the tropical forest area managed under social forestry. Forest health conditions on average for the nine areas were mostly healthy, with a few noted in fair condition and one considered to be in poor condition. Resources provided at the local level would enable mainstreaming of field data collection for measuring these forest ecosystem services, and continued and expanded training should be considered to meet national demand.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"302 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116000025","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":"Smart city indicators: Towards exploring potential linkages to disaster resilience abilities","authors":"Ayyoob Sharifi","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1873","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1873","url":null,"abstract":"Recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have transformed all aspects of human life. Enabled by these advances, over the past few decades, many smart city initiatives have been developed across the world. Subsequently, various efforts have been made to develop indicators and frameworks for the assessment of smart cities. Generally, smart cities are expected to enhance the quality of life and provide solutions to deal with societal challenges. One major societal challenge is the increase in the frequency and intensity of disasters and adverse events. Therefore, smart cities are expected to contribute to enhancing disaster resilience. Integrating resilience thinking into smart city indicators and assessment frameworks is likely to promote better attention to the resilience contributions of smart cities. Against this background, through reviewing the literature, I first introduce a comprehensive list of indicators for assessing city smartness. Multiple indicators related to economy, people, governance, environment, mobility, living and data dimensions of a smart city are listed. Next, I explore if these indicators are aligned with the four resilience abilities: planning, absorption, recovery, and adaptation. Results show that smart city indicators are particularly linked to planning and absorption abilities. More attention to the recovery and adaptation abilities is, therefore, needed.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122408201","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}
N. Luong, N. Chuersuwan, Hoang Tuan Viet, Bui Quang Trung
{"title":"Impact of biomass burning sources during the high season on PM2.5 pollution observed at sampling sites in Hanoi, Vietnam and Chiang Rai, Thailand","authors":"N. Luong, N. Chuersuwan, Hoang Tuan Viet, Bui Quang Trung","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1849","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1849","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to assess PM2.5 concentration and the potential impacts of biomass burning sources on PM2.5 measured at the sampling sites in Hanoi, Vietnam and Chiang Rai, Thailand during the high season (from January to April) in 2021 in which intensive biomass burning activities occur in Southeast Asia (SEA) region. For this purpose, an integrated approach of PM2.5 in-situ measurement, receptor and trajectory modelling techniques and satellite remote sensing was employed. Results showed that the average value of PM2.5 daily concentrations measured at the sampling site in Hanoi was higher than that at the sampling site in Chiang Rai during January–February (winter) periods. In contrast, the average value of PM2.5 daily concentrations measured at the sampling site in Hanoi was slightly lower than the counterpart at the sampling site in Chiang Rai during March–April (spring) periods. Elevated concentrations of PM2.5 measured in Chiang Rai during March–April periods were largely associated with intensive biomass burning activities in the SEA region. Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) receptor model-based source apportionment results indicated a larger contribution of biomass burning sources to the PM2.5 measured at the sampling site in Chiang Rai compared to that at the sampling site in Hanoi. Analysis of MODIS cumulative fire radiative power maps in the SEA region and three-day air masses backward trajectories arrived at the sampling sites in Hanoi and Chiang Rai further suggested the potential impacts of biomass burning sources on the PM2.5 measured at the sampling sites in Hanoi during the winter periods and in Chiang Rai during the spring periods.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"95 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124287130","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":"Spatial variability of nutrient sources determining phytoplankton Chlorophyll-a concentrations in the Bay of Bengal","authors":"E. Siswanto, Md. Latifur Rahman Sarker, B. Peter","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1834","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1834","url":null,"abstract":"Primary production is a key marine ecosystem driver in the Bay of Bengal and is important for the societies and economies of the surrounding countries. Although the availability of inorganic nutrients is known to control primary production in this region, the specific nutrient sources that affect primary production in different parts of the bay have not been identified. In this study, we assess the importance of nutrients from different sources in determining chlorophyll-a concentration, an indicator of primary production, in the Bay of Bengal by conducting multiple linear regression of satellite-derived chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface height anomaly, and sea surface temperature; modelled dust deposition; and in situ river discharge from 1997 to 2016. River-borne nutrients were important up to approximately 200 km from the coast. Deep-ocean nutrients influenced chlorophyll-a concentrations mainly in the south-western and western bay, whereas wind-borne nutrients were more important in the central and eastern bay. Any attempt to understand the impact of nutrients from a certain source should also consider the potential impacts of other nutrient sources. Although climate impacts on chlorophyll-a concentrations through river discharge were observed in our study, future studies should investigate climate-change impacts through atmospheric aerosols and mesoscale eddies.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126772634","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":"Energy and water footprints comparison of East Asia: A heterogeneity analysis","authors":"Zixia Ding, Xiaowei Feng, Yangyang Dong, Yujiao Xian","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1816","url":null,"abstract":"Population and economic growth have posed serious challenges to meet global energy and water needs. With the formation of global value chains and regional economic models changing the location and scale of environmental pressures, East Asia deserves special attention because of its importance in world trade. This paper constructed a global multi-regional input-output table based on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) 10 database and innovatively matched the energy and water databases to analyze the issues in 2014. The results show that in East Asia, (1) China is a net exporter and presents unique embodied energy characteristics with a trade deficit of 392Mtoe. Moreover, trade is the main reason for embodied energy and water in countries other than China. (2) The electricity sector, petroleum and coal products sector, and the services sector are the main sectors of embodied energy use, in which the latter accounts for 25.9% - 43.9% of the total embodied energy use in major countries. (3) Paddy rice sector and processed foods sector produce lots of embodied water for production and consumption, respectively. And the embodied water of processed foods accounts for more than 40% of major countries consumption.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123881734","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}
L. Landicho, R. D. Cabahug, Romnick S. Baliton, Alberto B. Gonzales
{"title":"Rainwater harvesting for enhancing upland agriculture: Lessons and experiences in selected upland farming communities in Albay Province, Philippines","authors":"L. Landicho, R. D. Cabahug, Romnick S. Baliton, Alberto B. Gonzales","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1757","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1757","url":null,"abstract":"The upland farming communities in the Philippines are among the vulnerable sectors to climate change impacts. Their agricultural production is generally rainfed, and their farms are in marginal upland areas with steep slopes prone to soil erosion. Water scarcity is a common and perennial problem. To address the need expressed by the smallholder farmers, 11 rainwater harvesting facilities (RWHFs) were established in three upland farming communities in Albay Province, Philippines. The project team facilitated the establishment of RWHFs from two state universities, three local government units, and farming communities. Capacity development and participatory project planning and implementation were the important project approaches. This project generated several lessons. These include the essence of multisectoral collaboration, comprised of local government units, farming communities, and state colleges and universities; the value of collective action of farmers; effectiveness of cross-farm visits and on-site training; tapping locals for project monitoring; integration of sustainable land use management system to sustain RWHFs; and, the importance of resource sharing in carrying out project activities. The project experiences and lessons could be used as a reference by other development programs in replicating this initiative in other upland farming communities in the country.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130725497","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}
S. Babel, A. Ta, T. Nguyen, Emenda Sembiring, T. Setiadi, A. Sharp
{"title":"Microplastics pollution in selected rivers from Southeast Asia","authors":"S. Babel, A. Ta, T. Nguyen, Emenda Sembiring, T. Setiadi, A. Sharp","doi":"10.30852/sb.2022.1741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.1741","url":null,"abstract":"Microplastics have been found in all hemispheres of the world. However, studies on microplastics are mainly conducted in Europe, North America, and East Asia. Few studies are reported in the Southeast Asian region, where a large number of plastic waste is disposed of improperly into the water. This study investigated the abundance and characteristics of microplastics in the surface water of the Chao Phraya River (Thailand), Citarum River (Indonesia), and Saigon River (Vietnam). Samples were collected at urban and estuary zones of these rivers. The numbers of microplastics at the urban zones were 80±60, 12±6, and 68±20 items/m3 at the Chao Phraya, Citarum, and Saigon River, respectively. At the estuary zones, the numbers of microplastics were 48±8, 0±0 (0.08±0), and 42±5 items/m3 at the Chao Phraya, Citarum, and Saigon River, respectively. Microplastics with morphologies of fragments and fibres were mainly found in the rivers. Polypropylene and polyethylene particles were the most abundant in all collected samples. Since the selected rivers play important roles in water supply and aquaculture activities, the presence of microplastics in these rivers may negatively impact aquaculture and human health. Potential plastic management strategies to minimize microplastic problems in the selected rivers were also proposed in this study.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116713893","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}
K. Wanthongchai, V. Tanpipat, Prayoonyong Noochaiya, N. Sirimongkonlertkun, R. Macatangay, Lattana Thammavongsa, T. Oo, Sherin Hassan Bran, R. Solanki
{"title":"Integrated highland wildfire, smoke, and haze management in the Upper Indochina region","authors":"K. Wanthongchai, V. Tanpipat, Prayoonyong Noochaiya, N. Sirimongkonlertkun, R. Macatangay, Lattana Thammavongsa, T. Oo, Sherin Hassan Bran, R. Solanki","doi":"10.30852/sb.2021.1704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2021.1704","url":null,"abstract":"Fire has long been used in Southeast Asia for the purposes of cooking, protection, and warmth. However, climate change and economic pressure have modified the life of locals, including fire practices in daily life and other fire uses. The land use of forest cover in highland area (mostly deciduous forest) has shifted to cultivation, with the application of slash-and-burn techniques. This results in frequent unplanned fires causing pollution in the form of smoke and haze. A zero-burn policy has been implemented to tackle this problem but such a policy may not be appropriate as people still need fire as a basic tool for agriculture land preparation. Moreover, the deciduous forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem to maintain its ecosystem. Frequent burning by local people or excessive government intervention in preventing fires can impact this ecosystem. In the highlands, shifting cultivation has gradually been replaced by rotational agricultural practice with a cycle of 2 to 5 years. However, the fuel load for a 2-year rotation period is only 0.25 tha-1 higher than that of a mixed deciduous forest. New fire risk maps classified according to forest types were produced for Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. We report that the mixing layer (ML) height in Chiang Mai Province was, on average, 500 m during March, with common occurrence of subsidence inversion resulting in further lowering of air quality during this month. A participatory process to develop a Community Based Fire Management (CBFiM) was undertaken and it was observed that a successful implementation would need a community with a strong leadership.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123182193","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":"Co-production of knowledge and transformative learning towards a sustainable Asia","authors":"M. Indrawan, Dicky Sofjan","doi":"10.30852/sb.2021.1700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2021.1700","url":null,"abstract":"In Asia, sustainable development has yet to find its critical mass. Non-state actors have the opportunity to catalyse change by awakening their collective consciousness through mutual learning and shared experiences. Initiated by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) in Yogyakarta, a civic engagement project—involving partners and networks in Southeast Asia and Japan—was created to capture sustainable development initiatives from the ground, with a view towards strategic policy advocacy for a more sustainable Asia. The project aimed to bridge knowledge gaps by bringing together all relevant state and societal stakeholders to learn from one another and share their experiences, stories and narratives about change and self-transformation. Through a series of workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), NGO fora and mayors’ symposia since 2015, the project resulted in an accumulation of knowledge that has the potential to galvanise the various efforts to push the sustainable development agenda forward on the ground. The collaboration of many partners and relevant stakeholders overall met its intended outcome by generating an ad hoc centre for the co-production of knowledge on sustainability and a “transformative learning” (Mezirow, 1991) platform. This was achieved by acknowledging the existence of various systems of knowledge, disciplines, and occupations while appreciating the tacit knowledge and unique insights coming from all participating partners, including the mayors, regents and local officials, and their civil society counterparts.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"38 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120881326","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}
B. R. Shivakoti, F. Lopez-Casero, T. Maraseni, K. Pokharel
{"title":"Capacity building at community forestry level for synergistic implementation of NDCs’ adaptation and mitigation commitments","authors":"B. R. Shivakoti, F. Lopez-Casero, T. Maraseni, K. Pokharel","doi":"10.30852/sb.2021.1652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30852/sb.2021.1652","url":null,"abstract":"Conservation, restoration and management of forest resources are critical for addressing climate change. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a vehicle for targeted climate actions, including those related to forest management, by countries towards contributing global efforts agreed under the Paris Agreement. Operationalizing climate action stipulated in NDCs requires adequate preparedness and capacity, especially at the local level. This paper suggests a comprehensive framework of capacity building targeting at the community forestry level based on the findings of capacity needs assessments carried out in Nepal. The framework outlines a method to develop capacity among forest communities so they can carry out integrated assessments of the outcomes related to sustainable forest management, mitigation, adaptation and the quality of governance. Further, it outlines the capacity needed for integrated planning and implementation to consolidate the assessment process and make progress in an adaptive manner. By filling the capacity gaps at the community forestry level in a comprehensive manner, countries can narrow the existing divide between local-level climate actions and upper-level (national and international level) policy priorities, which is the major barrier for translating climate commitments into action.","PeriodicalId":415129,"journal":{"name":"APN Science Bulletin","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128067346","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}