scholarly journals Urbanising Delta: What Lessons Dhaka Offers to Face Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Md. Sadaf Abdullah ◽  
◽  
Sara Nowreen ◽  
Rashed Uz Zzaman ◽  
Sakib Hasnat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Common ◽  
Recommended Guidelines ◽  
The Ganges

Cities built on deltaic regions are always prone to environmental risks like aggravated flooding, wetland reduction, compromised water quality, continuing water scarcity, and tainted air and these have been remarkable as the challenges while urbanizing deltas. On top of that, rapid urbanization adds more to the deterioration of ecosystem functions. Drawing insights from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka lying in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna basin, this study basically appraises the common concerns of deltaic megapolises through a systematic literature review. The current literature has been brought up by analysing the status, factors, and impacts of the challenges and management by authorities. In addition, it is further updated with some urban experts' views, secondary records on groundwater levels, and remote sensing imageries. This paper also concludes with recommended guidelines from the reviews for more practical deltaic urbanization, especially when there is no turning back for urban transferability to a new region of the delta. Particularly, success demands (1) specifying current situation in quantifiable terms (e.g., numeric values, percentages, scores, indices), (2) practical but adaptive multi-objective plans/policies with a set of assessable targets, and (3) timely robust evaluation for tracking data for specific, measurable, and meaningful outcomes.

Forest Management In Mongolia – A Review Of Challenges And Lessons Learned With Special Reference To Degradation And Deforestation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gradel ◽  
Gerelbaatar Sukhbaatar ◽  
Daniel Karthe ◽  
Hoduck Kang
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Driven System ◽  
The Status

The natural conditions, climate change and socio-economic challenges related to the transformation from a socialistic society towards a market-driven system make the implementation of sustainable land management practices in Mongolia especially complicated. Forests play an important role in land management. In addition to providing resources and ecosystem functions, Mongolian forests protect against land degradation.We conducted a literature review of the status of forest management in Mongolia and lessons learned, with special consideration to halting deforestation and degradation. We grouped our review into seven challenges relevant to developing regionally adapted forest management systems that both safeguard forest health and consider socio-economic needs. In our review, we found that current forest management in Mongolia is not always sustainable, and that some practices lack scientific grounding. An overwhelming number of sources noticed a decrease in forest area and quality during the last decades, although afforestation initiatives are reported to have increased. We found that they have had, with few exceptions, only limited success. During our review, however, we found a number of case studies that presented or proposed promising approaches to (re-)establishing and managing forests. These studies are further supported by a body of literature that examines how forest administration, and local participation can be modified to better support sustainable forestry. Based on our review, we conclude that it is necessary to integrate capacity development and forest research into holistic initiatives. A special focus should be given to the linkages between vegetation cover and the hydrological regime.

scholarly journals Camera Trapping to Assess Status and Composition of Mammal Communities in a Biodiversity Hotspot in Myanmar

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 880
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cremonesi ◽  
Francesco Bisi ◽  
Lorenzo Gaffi ◽  
Thet Zaw ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Disturbed Area ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mammal Communities

Tropical forests comprise a critically impacted habitat, and it is known that altered forests host a lower diversity of mammal communities. In this study, we investigated the mammal communities of two areas in Myanmar with similar environmental conditions but with great differences in habitat degradation and human disturbance. The main goal was to understand the status and composition of these communities in an understudied area like Myanmar at a broad scale. Using camera trap data from a three-year-long campaign and hierarchical occupancy models with a Bayesian formulation, we evaluated the biodiversity level (species richness) and different ecosystem functions (diet and body mass), as well as the occupancy values of single species as a proxy for population density. We found a lower mammal diversity in the disturbed area, with a significantly lower number of carnivores and herbivores species. Interestingly, the area did not show alteration in its functional composition. Almost all the specific roles in the community were present except for apex predators, thus suggesting that the effects of human disturbance are mainly effecting the communities highest levels. Furthermore, two species showed significantly lower occupancies in the disturbed area during all the monitoring campaigns: one with a strong pressure for bushmeat consumption and a vulnerable carnivore threatened by illegal wildlife trade.

scholarly journals The Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern in the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Guo ◽  
Tong Wu ◽  
Mengran Liu ◽  
Mengshi Huang ◽  
Luigi Stendardo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agglomeration ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ecological Security ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Songhua River ◽  
Urban Agglomerations ◽  
Ecological Corridors ◽  
Ecological Protection ◽  
Security Pattern

Urban agglomerations have become a new geographical unit in China, breaking the administrative fortresses between cities, which means that the population and economic activities between cities will become more intensive in the future. Constructing and optimizing the ecological security pattern of urban agglomerations is important for promoting harmonious social-economic development and ecological protection. Using the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration as a case study, we have identified ecological sources based on the evaluation of ecosystem functions. Based on the resistance surface modified by nighttime light (NTL) data, the potential ecological corridors were identified using the least-cost path method, and key ecological corridors were extracted using the gravity model. By combining 15 ecological sources, 119 corridors, 3 buffer zones, and 77 ecological nodes, the ecological security pattern (ESP) was constructed. The main land-use types composed of ecological sources and corridors are forest land, cultivated land, grassland, and water areas. Some ecological sources are occupied by construction, while unused land has the potential for ecological development. The ecological corridors in the central region are distributed circularly and extend to southeast side in the form of tree branches with the Songhua River as the central axis. Finally, this study proposes an optimizing pattern with "four belts, four zones, one axis, nine corridors, ten clusters and multi-centers" to provide decision makers with spatial strategies with respect to the conflicts between urban development and ecological protection during rapid urbanization.

scholarly journals Operationalization of Remote Sensing Solutions for Sustainable Forest Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Gintautas Mozgeris ◽  
Ivan Balenović
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Development Trends ◽  
Comprehensive Information ◽  
The Status

The pre-requisite for sustainable management of natural resources is the availability of timely, cost-effective, and comprehensive information on the status and development trends of the management object [...]

Population abundance of the common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius in the Haut Niger National Park, Republic of Guinea / Abondance de la population d'hippopotame commun Hippopotamus amphibius dans le Parc National du Haut Niger, République de Guinée

Mammalia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brugière ◽  
Bakary Magassouba ◽  
Amidou Sylla ◽  
Halimou Diallo ◽  
Mamadou Sow
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Republic Of Guinea ◽  
Hippopotamus Amphibius ◽  
The Status ◽  
Grazing Area ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Republic

AbstractThe Republic of Guinea is thought to contain the largest population of common hippopotamus in West Africa. However, no systematic field survey has been carried out recently and the information available is limited to informal observations. To clarify the status of the common hippopotamus in Guinea, we carried out a biannual population survey along the section of the Niger River (the largest river in Guinea) within the Haut Niger National Park. We counted 93 hippopotamuses in 28 groups in the dry season and 77 hippopotamuses in 23 groups in the wet season. Mean group size and number of neonates did not change between the seasons. Hippopotomuses were more numerous along the river sections bordering uncultivated floodplains. This underlines the significance of this habitat (which is used as a grazing area) for conservation of this species. Haut Niger National Park is the most important protected area in Guinea for conservation of the common hippopotamus. Hippopotamus-human and -cattle conflicts in terms of floodplain use in the park's buffer zone should be closely monitored. Floodplain conversion to rice fields represents one of the most important threats to the long-term conservation of hippopotamus populations in Guinea.

scholarly journals Inferring Mixed Use of Buildings with Multisource Data Based on Tensor Decomposition

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Chenyang Zhang ◽  
Qingli Shi ◽  
Li Zhuo ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Haiyan Tao
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Recognition Rate ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Tensor Decomposition ◽  
Decomposition Algorithm ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Building Recognition ◽  
Planning Decisions ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
The Status

Information on the mixed use of buildings helps understand the status of mixed-use urban vertical land and assists in urban planning decisions. Although a few studies have focused on this topic, the methods they used are quite complex and require manual intervention in extracting different function patterns of buildings, while building recognition rates remain unsatisfying. In this paper, we propose a new method to infer the mixed use of buildings based on a tensor decomposition algorithm, which integrates information from both high-resolution remote sensing images and social sensing data. We selected the Tianhe District of Guangzhou, China to validate our method. The results show that the recognition rate of buildings can reach 98.67%, with an average recognition accuracy of 84%. Our study proves that the tensor decomposition algorithm can extract different function patterns of buildings unsupervised, while remote sensing data can provide key information for inferring building functions. The tensor decomposition-based method can serve as an effective and efficient way to infer the mixed use of buildings, which can achieve better results with simpler steps.

English Education Reform in Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyang Sun ◽  
Xue Lan Rong
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
The Status ◽  
Globalized World

Language education is becoming an increasingly important topic in education in Asian countries, especially as schools in Asian countries have become more multilingual and multicultural as a result of rapid urbanization and globalization. A comparative analysis of the issues in language education reform in Asian countries—using China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore as examples—shows that, historically and currently, English language education policies are shaped by various underpinning ideologies such as linguicism, nationalism, and neoliberalism. English can serve as a vehicle for upward socioeconomic mobility, or an instrument of linguistic imperialism, or both, in Asia contexts. These ideologies, through language education policies and reforms, impact the status as well as the pedagogy and promotion of the English language. There is a trend and a need with regard to addressing critical consciousness in English education in order to counter the forces of linguicism and neoliberalism in an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and globalized world.

A New Index for Steel Framed Roof Information Extraction Based on Remote Sensing

2013 ◽  
Vol 726-731 ◽  
pp. 4682-4685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Ying Xiao ◽  
Na Ji ◽  
Xing Li
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Threshold Method ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Surface Information ◽  
Remote Sensing Technology ◽  
Economic Significance ◽  
Tm Image ◽  
Sensing Technology

There are a great number of index methods used to extract impervious surface from satellite images. However, these indices are not robust enough to detect steel framed roof due to the diversity of impervious materials. The extraction of steel framed roof information by remote sensing technology is becoming increasingly important because of its environmental and socio-economic significance. A new index, Normalized Difference Steel framed roof Index (NDSI) is proposed to extract steel framed roof surface information from TM images. The NDSI was created based on its spectral characteristics of TM image and the steel framed roof information can be extracted fast by NDSI threshold method. Additionally, Shijiazhuang city, which has experienced rapid urbanization, was chosen as the study area. And the classification results show that the new index NDSI can effectively extract steel framed roof information with higher accuracy.

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