scholarly journals Challenges of Gauging the Impact of Area-Based Fishery Closures and OECMs: A Case Study Using Long-Standing Canadian Groundfish Closures

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy L. Shackell ◽  
David M. Keith ◽  
Heike K. Lotze
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Effective Area ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Marine Areas ◽  
The Impact

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1993. Canada is a signatory nation that has adopted, and exceeded, the UN Aichi biodiversity target to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas through marine protected areas or “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) by 2020. However, the science of OECMs as contributors to biodiversity conservation is relatively young and their definition and efficacy testing continue to evolve. Here, we examine whether areas closed to fishing on the Scotian Shelf in Atlantic Canada, where the groundfish community had collapsed in the early 1990s, have the potential to serve as OECMs for groundfish recovery. Using long-term research survey data, we show that three long-term area-based fishing fleet closures did not enhance per capita population growth rates of the majority of 24 common groundfish species. At a regional scale, 10 out of 24 species are currently at less than 50% of their pre-collapse (1979–1992) biomass, reflecting a sustained diminished productivity, even though fishing mortality has been drastically reduced through a moratorium in 1993. Additional measures are needed to protect severely depleted groundfish, especially when the causes of continued diminished productivity are still largely unresolved. The importance of OECMs as a risk-averse approach toward sustainability is globally accepted and they can be considered a tool toward the overarching UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-14). Our study provides further impetus toward articulating the criteria of OECMs and improving their design, monitoring, and testing, while placing OECMs within the broader context of sustainable ecosystem-based management.

The emerging threat of artificial intelligence on competition in liberalized electricity markets: A deep Q-network approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danial Esmaeili Aliabadi ◽  
Katrina Chan
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Markets ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
End Users ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Bidding Strategies ◽  
Q Learning ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Available Information ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundAccording to sustainable development goals (SDGs), societies should have access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. Deregulated electricity markets have been established to provide affordable electricity for end-users through advertising competition. Although these liberalized markets are expected to serve this purpose, they are far from perfect and are prone to threats, such as collusion. Tacit collusion is a condition, in which power generating companies (GenCos) disrupt the competition by exploiting their market power. MethodsIn this manuscript, a novel deep Q-network (DQN) model is developed, which GenCos can use to determine the bidding strategies to maximize average long-term payoffs using available information. In the presence of collusive equilibria, the results are compared with a conventional Q-learning model that solely relies on past outcomes. With that, this manuscript aims to investigate the impact of emerging DQN models on the establishment of collusive equilibrium in markets with repetitive interactions among players. Results and ConclusionsThe outcomes show that GenCos may be able to collude unintentionally while trying to ameliorate long-term profits. Collusive strategies can lead to exorbitant electric bills for end-users, which is one of the influential factors in energy poverty. Thus, policymakers and market designers should be vigilant regarding the combined effect of information disclosure and autonomous pricing, as new models exploit information more effectively.

Climate Conditions and Biodiversity Decline

2022 ◽  
pp. 748-763
Author(s):  
Ashok K. Rathoure ◽  
Unnati Rajendrakumar Patel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Fragile Environment ◽  
Impact On Biodiversity ◽  
The Impact

Many studies in recent years have investigated the effects of climate change on the future of biodiversity. In this chapter, the authors first examined the different possible effects of climate change that can operate at individual, population, species, community, ecosystem, notably showing that species can respond to climate challenges by shifting their climatic change. Climate change is one of the most important global environmental challenges that affect all the natural ecosystems of the world. Due to the fragile environment, mountain ecosystems are the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Climatic change will affect vegetation, humans, animals, and ecosystem that will impact on biodiversity. Mountains have been recognized as important ecosystems by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Climate change will not only threaten the biodiversity, but also affect the socio-economic condition of the indigenous people of the state. Various activities like habitat loss, deforestation, and exploitation amplify the impact of climate change on biodiversity.

Balancing Environmental Protection and Offshore Petroleum Developments in Guyana

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Alicia Elias-Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Effective Area ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
State Development ◽  
Green State ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

This paper reviews Guyana's challenge to regulate the new petroleum sector. The need to amend several pieces of legislation to be aligned with the Aichi targets for 2020 under the Convention on Biological Diversity are examined. Aichi Target 11 provides that ‘by 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape.’ The Government of Guyana's Green State Development Strategy which has sustainable development at its core is also examined along with several environmental law principles. The Green State Development Strategy and several environmental law principles are discussed to highlight their relevance to the protection of the marine environment and biodiversity conservation. Several recommendations are made to highlight relevant laws which should be updated for the State to achieve the right balance regarding protection of the environment and sustainable management of offshore petroleum projects in line with the obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Land Degradation

2019 ◽  
pp. 437-459
Author(s):  
Ben Boer ◽  
Ian Hannam
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
The World ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Land Farming ◽  
Laws And Policies

This chapter examines the international legal regime on land degradation. It first provides a brief overview of land degradation as a complex environmental issue around the world before discussing the causes and effects of land degradation. It then analyses a variety of legal responses to land degradation, from global initiatives such as the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the IUCN Covenant on Environment and Development; regional initiatives such as the World Soil Charter 2014 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015; and national laws and policies. The chapter also explores some of the main elements that need to be taken into consideration when designing legislation to address land degradation, including land tenure, access to land, farming systems and land use, the role of protected areas, and physical planning.

scholarly journals Drifting Effects of NOAA Satellites on Long-Term Active Fire Records of Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helga Weber ◽  
Stefan Wunderle
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Error Sources ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Active Fire ◽  
Maximum Delay ◽  
Orbital Drift ◽  
The Impact

Explicit knowledge of different error sources in long-term climate records from space is required to understand and mitigate their impacts on resulting time series. Imagery of the heritage Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) provides unique potential for climate research dating back to the 1980s, flying onboard a series of successive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Meteorological Operational (MetOp) satellites. However, the NOAA satellites are affected by severe orbital drift that results in spurious trends in time series. We identified the impact and extent of the orbital drift in 1 km AVHRR long-term active fire data. This record contains data of European fire activity from 1985–2016 and was analyzed on a regional scale and extended across Europe. Inconsistent sampling of the diurnal active fire cycle due to orbital drift with a maximum delay of ∼5 h over NOAA-14 lifetime revealed a ∼90% decline in the number of observed fires. However, interregional results were less conclusive and other error sources as well as interannual variability were more pronounced. Solar illumination, measured by the sun zenith angle (SZA), related changes in background temperatures were significant for all regions and afternoon satellites with major changes in −0.03 to −0.09 K deg − 1 for ▵ B T 34 (p ≤ 0 . 001). Based on example scenes, we simulated the influence of changing temperatures related to changes in the SZA on the detection of active fires. These simulations showed a profound influence of the active fire detection capabilities dependent on biome and land cover characteristics. The strong decrease in the relative changes in the apparent number of active fires calculated over the satellites lifetime highlights that a correction of the orbital drift effect is essential even over short time periods.

Biodiversity: Implementation of the 1992 CBD in Malaysia†

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 273-308
Author(s):  
Tanya Marie Lopez ◽  
Rajesvaran Nagarajan ◽  
Sobana Swarta Thevi
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
The World ◽  
State Of The Environment ◽  
Mother Earth

Of late, particularly since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), there has been some recognition of the relevance of biological resources and the need to protect and conserve these resources for the benefit of humankind. Natural disasters which have been occurring around the world, such as the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, the 2009 earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan and the mystery surrounding the fallen dead birds from the sky en masse in Arkansas have raised concerns on the state of the environment in which we live in today. The resultant long-term effects of such natural disasters is colossal to the inhabitants of mother Earth although those who are not directly affected by such disasters are rarely of the view that they have, in some way, contributed to the happenings of such disasters. In Europe and parts of America, winter temperatures plummeted towards the end of 2010 recording some of the lowest temperatures in history whilst in the southern hemisphere, cyclones and floods have plagued Australia thereby giving rise to prophecies that perhaps, the world may be coming to an end.

Patterns in data of extreme droughts/floods and harvest grades derived from historical documents in eastern China during 801–1910

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhixin Hao
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Extreme Drought ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Extreme Flood ◽  
The Impact

<p>In China, historical documents record a large quantity of information related to climate change and grain harvest. This information can help to explore the impacts of extreme drought or flood on crop production, which can provide implications for the adaptation of agriculture to higher-probability extreme climate in the context of global warming. In this paper, reported extreme drought/flood chronologies and reconstructed grain harvest series derived from historical documents were adopted in order to investigate the association between the reported frequency of extreme drought/flood in eastern China and reconstructed poor harvests during 801–1910. The results show that extreme droughts were reported more often in 801–870, 1031–1230, 1481–1530, and 1581–1650 over the whole of eastern China. On a regional scale, extreme droughts were reported more often in 1031–1100, 1441–1490, 1601–1650, and 1831–1880 in the North China Plain, 801–870, 1031–1120, 1161–1220, and 1471–1530 in Jianghuai, and 991–1040, 1091–1150, 1171–1230, 1411–1470, and 1481–1530 in Jiangnan. The grain harvest was reconstructed to be generally poor in 801–940, 1251–1650, and 1841–1910, but the reconstructed harvests were bumper in 951–1250 and 1651–1840, approximately. During the entire period from 801 to 1910, the frequency of reporting of extreme droughts in any subregion of eastern China was significantly associated over the long term with lower reconstructed harvests. The association between reported frequency of extreme floods and reconstructed low harvests appeared to be much weaker, while reconstructed harvest was much worse when extreme drought and extreme flood in different subregions were reported in the same year. The association between reconstructed poor harvests and reported frequency of regional extreme droughts was weak during the warm epoch of 920–1300 but strong during the cold epoch of 1310–1880, which could imply that a warm climate could weaken the impact of extreme drought on poor harvests; yet other historical factors may also contribute to these different patterns extracted from the two datasets.</p>

Is existing scientific knowledge sufficient to provide the basis for reliable monitoring of achieving land degradation neutrality?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Grainger
Keyword(s):  
Land Degradation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Land Restoration ◽  
Degraded Land ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Dry Areas ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Environmental Concepts

<p>A goal of Land Degradation Neutrality by the year 2030 was agreed by the Rio+20 conference in 2012, and subsequently included in the Sustainable Development Goals. It dilutes earlier goals of unrestricted control of desertification, for example, by proposing that the rate of land degradation should be reduced and the rate of restoration of degraded land increased so they offset each other by 2030. As with many environmental concepts that have emerged in recent decades, Land Degradation Neutrality was proposed in the political arena, and scientific study is only now starting to evolve. Yet distinct positions are already forming within the scientific community, for example, on the feasibility of monitoring land degradation neutrality in dry areas when there are no reliable estimates for the rate of desertification, and on what constitutes land restoration in dry areas. Land degradation neutrality is also yet to be put in the wider context of environmental degradation as a whole, e.g. how does it relate to the forest degradation component of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to degradation of biodiversity which the Convention on Biological Diversity is seeking to reduce. This session will allow scientists working in the field of land degradation neutrality to share their perspectives in this emerging field.</p>

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