scholarly journals Protection of Water Resources from Agriculture Pollution: An Integrated Methodological Approach for the Nitrates Directive 91–676-EEC Implementation

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13323
Author(s):  
Carmine Massarelli ◽  
Daniela Losacco ◽  
Marina Tumolo ◽  
Claudia Campanale ◽  
Vito Felice Uricchio
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Environmental Issue ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Gis Environment ◽  
Vulnerable Zones ◽  
Nitrates Directive

Nitrogen is a vital nutrient helpful to plants and crop growth. However, among the leading causes of water resources pollution is the excess nitrogen from agricultural sources. In European Union countries, the Nitrates Directive has been approved to reduce this problem monitoring of water bodies with regard to nitrate concentrations, designation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), and establishing codes of good agricultural practices and measures to prevent and reduce water pollution from nitrates. In light of this, we propose an integrated methodological approach to better manage a environmental issue as the perimeter of NVZs with the prospective that our approach could be used in the future by other member states representing a Best Practice in that direction. The methodology is based on data integration applied in a GIS environment. Different available data representing the knowledge of the territory were harmonised, systematised and georeferenced, in order to increase the environmental framework, preserve the contamination of the water resource and give indications on the measures to be implemented to apply in the best way possible the Nitrates Directive. Finally, it was also possible to overcome the infringement procedure in progress for Italy and the Puglia region and proceed to new designation of NVZs.

scholarly journals The EU Nitrates Directive: A European Approach to Combat Water Pollution from Agriculture

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 927-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert J. Monteny
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Good Agricultural Practice ◽  
Nitrates Directive

From 1991 onward, the European Union (EU) member states have had to comply with the Nitrates Directive. The aim of this directive is to sustainably protect ground and surface waters from pollution with nitrogen (nitrate) originating from agriculture. Agriculture is, on an EU level, the largest single source of nitrate (runoff, leaching) pollution, although households and industries also contribute to some extent. An important element in the directive is the reporting every 4 years on the monitoring of ground- and surface-water quality. Furthermore, all 15 member states are compelled to designate so-called Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs). These are regions where the nitrate concentrations in the groundwater amount to 50 mg/l or more. In addition to Codes of Good Agricultural Practice, valid on a countrywide basis and often consisting of voluntary-based measures, specific Action Programmes with mandatory measures have to be developed for the NVZs. The first reporting period ended in 1995. This paper describes the progress in member states’ compliance with the Nitrates Directive during the second period (1996–1999), with a focus on the agricultural practices and action pro- grammes. An evaluation of the member states’ reports shows that good progress is being made on the farmers’ awareness of the need to comply with EU regulations on the protection of the aquatic environment. Action programmes are valuable tools to enforce measures that lead to a reduction of the water pollution by agricultural activities. Regional projects show that significant improvements can be achieved (e.g., reduced fertiliser inputs) while maintaining crop yields and thus maintaining the economic potential of agriculture.

scholarly journals Flood vulnerability mapping using the spatial multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) method in the Minraleng Watershed, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi

2020 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fadhil ◽  
Yoanna Ristya ◽  
Nahra Oktaviani ◽  
Eko Kusratmoko
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Rainfall Intensity ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Flood Vulnerability ◽  
South Sulawesi ◽  
Multi Criteria Evaluation ◽  
Gis Environment ◽  
Very High ◽  
Vulnerable Zones

This study focuses on the assessment of flood-vulnerable areas in the Minraleng watershed, Maros Regency, where the area experiences floods every year. Spatial analysis in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment has been applied to estimate flood-vulnerable zones using six relevant physical factors, such as rainfall intensity, slope, Elevation, distance from the rivers, land use and soil type. The relative importance of physical factors has been compared in paired matrices to obtain weight values using the Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) method. The result showed that the areas located in Camba sub-district had the high vulnerability. The region with a high and very high vulnerability to flood were spread with an area of 436 ha (0,84 %) and 6.168 ha (11.8%).

Off-office audit of natural resource assets and water pollution: a quasi-natural experiment in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Ma ◽  
Muhammad Shahbaz ◽  
Malin Song
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Dynamic Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit System ◽  
And Control

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big data using a differences-in-differences model.Design/methodology/approachThis study constructs a differences-in-differences model to evaluate the policy effects of off-office audit based on panel data from 11 cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2011 to 2017, and analyzes the dynamic effect of the audit and intermediary effect of industrial structure.FindingsThe implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution. Dynamic effect analysis showed that the audit policy can not only improve the quality of water resources but can also have a cumulative effect over time. That is, the prevention and control effect on water pollution is getting stronger and stronger. The results of the robustness test verified the effectiveness of water pollution prevention and control. However, the results of the influence mechanism analysis showed that the mediating effect of the industrial structure was not obvious in the short term.Practical implicationsThese findings shed light on the effect of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution, and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant environmental policies. Furthermore, these findings show that the implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy against the background of big data.Originality/valueThis study quantitatively analyzes the policy effect of off-office auditing from the perspective of water resources based on a big data background, which differs from the existing research that mainly focuses on basic theoretical analysis.

scholarly journals The water crisis and its implications in Brazilian agribusiness: A bibliographic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
O. S. Fagundes ◽  
L. C. A. Oliveira ◽  
O. M. Yamashita ◽  
I. V. Silva ◽  
M. A. C. Carvalho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Industrial Effluents ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Basic Sanitation ◽  
Environmental Good

Water scarcity has become one of the main global problems, since of all the water of the terrestrial surface, only 2.5% represents fresh water, and of this, only 0.3% corresponds to the water of the rivers and lakes that are available to supply the demand for food production and other uses. The present work consisted in surveying the scenario related to the global water crisis and presenting evidence that even Brazil being abundant in the amount of water available, tends to face serious problems because of its scarcity, affecting two of the main economic pillars, agribusiness and industry. It was observed that the main negative effects on water resources occur due to urban occupation and agricultural practices in a disorderly way, causing destruction of natural resources through the discharge of domestic sewage, industrial effluents and agrochemicals. In general, the lack of control of the use of the water directed to the productive processes is one of the major generators of the water shortage, since 69% of the water derived from rivers, lakes and aquifers underground is turned to irrigated agriculture, using 70 times more water than for domestic purposes. Thus, it is necessary to adopt policies aimed at the conservation and efficient use of water resources, to value water as a social, social and environmental good, since their scarcity can generate instability in economic sectors such as agriculture, generating production insecurity in industry, as well as affecting the supply of drinking water, basic sanitation and public health.

scholarly journals FAKTOR-FAKTOR PENYEBAB TERJADINYA PENCEMARAN AIR DI SUNGAI BINDU

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135
Author(s):  
I Wayan Eka Artajaya, Ni Kadek Felyanita Purnama Putri
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Renewable Natural Resources

Indonesia is a very large and wide country, consisting of many islands and abundant natural resources. Natural resources in Indonesia are everything that comes from nature that is used to meet the needs of human life. Generally, natural resources in Indonesia can be classified based on their nature, namely renewable natural resources and non-renewable natural resources. Humans are very dependent on natural resources and the sustainability of natural resources is strongly influenced by human activities. Watershed is one of the natural resources that is very complex and consists of various components that make it up. The functions and benefits of water resources themselves, including rivers, require various efforts to improve and protect water so that it is efficient and effective for living things and the surrounding environment. One of them is the Bindu river in the Kesiman Traditional Village. The Bindu River is widely used by the community, causing water pollution in the Bindu river, such as the Kesiman Traditional Village which has an important role in suppressing the occurrence of water pollution that occurs in the Bindu river.   Negara Indonesia merupakan negara yang sangat besar dan luas, terdiri dari banyak pulau dan sumber daya alam yang melimpah. Sumber daya alam di Indonesia merupakan segala sesuatu yang berasal dari alam yang digunakan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup manusia. Umumnya sumber daya alam di Indonesia dapat digolongkan berdasarkan sifatnya yaitu sumber daya alam yang dapat diperbaharui dan sumber daya alam yang tidak dapat diperbaharui. Manusia sangat bergantung pada sumber daya alam dan kelestarian sumber daya alam sangat dipengaruhi oleh aktivitas manusia. Daerah aliran sungai merupakan salah satu sumber daya alam yang sangat kompleks dan terdiri dari berbagai komponen yang menyusunnya. Fungsi dan manfaat sumber daya air sendiri termasuk sungai memerlukan berbagai upaya untuk peningkatan dan perlindungan air agar berdaya guna dan berhasil guna bagi makhluk hidup dan lingkungan sekitar. Salah satunya adalah sungai Bindu yang berada di Desa Adat Kesiman. Sungai Bindu banyak dimanfaatkan oleh masyarakat sehingga menyebabkan terjadinya pencemaran air di sungai Bindu, seperti Desa Adat Kesiman memiliki peranan penting dalam menekan terjadinya pencemaran air yang terjadi di sungai Bindu.

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