Case studies: landscape development in Sardinia at regional and local level

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Guzik ◽  
Krzysztof Galos ◽  
Alicja Kot-Niewiadomska ◽  
Toni Eerola ◽  
Pasi Eilu ◽  
...  

Major benefits and constraints related to mineral extraction within the EU have been identified on the examples of selected critical raw materials’ deposits. Analyzed case studies include the following ore deposits: Myszków Mo-W-Cu (Poland), Juomasuo Au-Co (Finland), S. Pedro das Águias W-Sn (Portugal), Penouta Nb-Ta-Sn (Spain), Norra Kärr REEs (Sweden) and Trælen graphite (Norway). They represent different stages of development, from the early/grassroot exploration stage, through advanced exploration and active mining, up to reopening of abandoned mines, and refer to different problems and constraints related to the possibility of exploitation commencement. The multi-criteria analysis of the cases has included geological and economic factors as well as environmental, land use, social acceptance and infrastructure factors. These factors, in terms of cost and benefit analysis, have been considered at three levels: local, country and EU levels. The analyzed cases indicated the major obstacles that occur in different stages of deposit development and need to be overcome in order to enable a new deposit exploitation commencement. These are environmental (Juomasuo and Myszków), spatial (Juomasuo) as well as social constraints (Norra Kärr, Juomasuo). In the analyzed cases, the most important constraints related to future deposit extraction occur primarily at a local level, while some important benefits are identified mainly at the country and the EU levels. These major benefits are related to securing long-term supplies for the national industries and strategically important EU industry sectors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Dudek ◽  
Wioletta Wrzaszcz

The aim of the study was to provide the examples of eco-innovations in agriculture relating to the concept of sustainable development and the indication of their conditions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to the research, namely: descriptive statistical and economic analysis of the Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data and Statistics Poland data, as well as case studies of organic food producers, covering the years 2005–2019. Indicated information sources, encompassing long time span of analysis and various data collections, allowed presenting the complementary picture of eco-innovations at the sector and farm levels. The research examined the different types of ecological innovations in Polish agriculture, including: (1) organisational innovations with an institutional background (e.g., the organic farming support and greening mechanism of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—implemented in the family farming sector); and (2) the product, marketing, process and organisational innovations in selected organic farms that were individual farmers’ initiatives. On the one hand, the research documented the effectiveness of new agricultural policy solutions in the agricultural sector that are examples of organisational eco-innovations. During 2005–2016, the certification system, as well as policy support, contributed to the development of organic farms in Poland in terms of the growth in the share of this type of holdings in total (from 0.5% to 4.6%) and in the overall utilised agricultural area (UAA) (from 0.3% to 3.7%). Moreover, during 2014–2015, as a result of the greening in agricultural holdings, the area sown with pulses and papilionaceous, i.e., crops improving soil structure and protecting soils, rose by 174% and 161%, respectively. On the other hand, the case studies conducted showed that the food producers’ knowledge and skills combined with a favourable local economic and social situation, as well as institutional support, played a key role in the process of the emergence of eco-innovations. Among those factors, the respondents’ individual characteristics associated with attitudes towards farming and the social, human and physical capital passed on by family members should be highlighted. This paper contributes to existing literature in two ways. First, this study combines both quantitative and qualitative (including in-depth interviews) approaches to eco-innovations at the micro and macro level of analysis. Second, by differentiating two approaches to ecological innovations, namely the conventional and the sustainable, the article indicates and considers the key factors favourable to the latter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2484
Author(s):  
Vladimír Falťan ◽  
František Petrovič ◽  
Ján Oťaheľ ◽  
Ján Feranec ◽  
Michal Druga ◽  
...  

Monitoring of land cover (LC) provides important information of actual land use (LU) and landscape dynamics. LC research results depend on the size of the area, purpose and applied methodology. CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data is one of the most important sources of LU data from a European perspective. Our research compares official CLC data (third hierarchical level of nomenclature at a scale of 1:100,000) and national statistics (NS) of LU in Slovakia between 2000 and 2018 at national, county, and local levels. The most significant differences occurred in arable land and permanent grassland, which is also related to the recording method and the development of agricultural land management. Due to the abandonment of agricultural areas, a real recorded increase in forest cover due to forest succession was not introduced in the official records of Land register. New modification of CLC methodology for identifying LC classes at a scale of 1:10,000 and fifth hierarchical level of CLC is firstly applied for local case studies representing lowland, basin, and mountain landscape. The size of the least identified and simultaneously recorded area was established at 0.1 ha the minimum width of a polygon was established at 10 m, the minimum recorded width of linear elements such as communications was established at 2 m. The use of the fifth CLC level in the case studies areas generated average boundary density 17.2 km/km2, comparing to the 2.6 km/km2 of the third level. Therefore, when measuring the density of spatial information by the polygon boundary lengths, the fifth level carries 6.6 times more information than the third level. Detailed investigation of LU affords better verification of national statistics data at a local level. This study also contributes to a more detailed recording of the current state of the Central European landscape and its changes.


Author(s):  
W Saleh ◽  
J D Nelson

Many challenges are associated with the ever increasing level of energy consumption and the damage to the environment caused by the pollutants from all sectors, On the local level the problem is associated with matters such as noise and air pollution, while on the global level the problems are associated with acid rain, ozone layer depletion and the greenhouse effect (global warming). The transport sector is a major contributor in this respect. The use of appropriate decision-making tools to assist in the assessment of alternative transport policies is required urgently. One such tool is the TEMIS program which was described in Part 1 of this investigation, where the methodology for the enhancement of TEMIS was reported. The enhanced version of TEMIS has subsequently been used to model the effects of different transport scenarios in order to improve future fuel economy and the adverse effects of air emissions as well as the greenhouse gases. In the present paper, three main case studies have been considered to test the effect of different scenarios (in terms of alternative fuels and technical advances) on energy consumption and emissions: firstly, the switch to alternative fuels, through investigating the effects of switching from petrol to diesel, secondly, the effects of switching from diesel to bio-diesel (for buses) and, finally, the effects of technical advances (three-way catalytic converters) and the effects on fuel consumption and emissions are considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (13) ◽  
pp. 1805-1819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Menjívar

This article discusses what we know about immigration law in the lives of Latinos today and what we learn from this knowledge to possibly establish links beyond specific case studies. We know a great deal about the multilayered enforcement regime in place today—the federal, state, and local level laws and ordinances and the various enforcement strategies—which act all at once in highly articulated fashion to affect the lives of immigrants, their families, and communities. What we learn from this accumulated knowledge—the unevenness of enforcement across contexts, the heterogeneity of experiences among Latinos as not all are affected in the same way, and the short- and possible long-term effects—can be helpful for theorizing more broadly about immigrant incorporation and can also serve to formulate sound policy reform.


1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Brenda Levin ◽  
Margaret Bach

The need to reconcile seismic strengthening and other code-related issues with historic preservation objectives poses a variety of challenges for the design professional. A thorough knowledge of the local, state and national regulatory contexts, along with an understanding of two underlying principles, equivalency and life safety, provide a necessary framework for undertaking renovation projects. Two case studies involving important Los Angeles historic buildings, the Wiltern Theater and Grand Central Square, illustrate the complexities of code compliance with respect to preservation and programmatic goals, specifically in the areas of seismic retrofit, fire-life safety and disabled access. Successful historic preservation projects can benefit from a thorough pre-design phase and an experienced project team. Modifications and refinements to regulatory procedures, particularly at the local level, could also significantly facilitate restoration, renovation and re-use of historic buildings.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yousef Forti

The assessment of eGovernment capability has often focused on assessing website functions and their use, whereas relatively little attention has been given to other aspects of local authority operations, particularly back-office processes. The study provides a literature review, from which a model for the assessment of eGovernment at individual process level is derived. The study provides a maturity stage model for analysing eGovernment based on technology deployment, organisational capability and process efficiency dimensions. For each of these three dimensions, a number of key change factors are identified and assessed to allow a positioning of the organisation in the stage model; and this is applied at individual process level within the organisation, as well as for the organisation as a whole. This research reports on the use of the model in two case studies - Sabratha local authority and Rujban local authority in Libya. The study illustrates the potential of the model in assessing eGovernment readiness and identifying opportunities for investment and change. It highlights the need for process improvement to accompany technology deployment, and the key role of organisational factors in bringing about the necessary change for the move to e-Government. The potential of the three-dimensional maturity model for developing appropriate strategies and plans for a transition to eGovernment is evidenced in the case studies. At Sabratha and Rujban local authorities, processes are generally not well developed, although in terms of technology deployment and organisational capability, there are some processes which have a reasonable basis from which to move forward. It is clear, however, that process maturity is generally weak in the local authorities studied, and this area needs appropriate focus and investment to allow the authorities to transition to an eGovernment in a planned and effective manner.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-418
Author(s):  
Kristina Wencki ◽  
Verena Thöne ◽  
Dennis Becker ◽  
Kerstin Krömer ◽  
Isabelle Sattig ◽  
...  

Abstract Treated wastewater is expected to constitute an essential part of the urban water cycle as an additional water resource in water-scarce or densely populated regions in the future. As decisions on the implementation of water recycling measures should always consider local conditions, the project ‘MULTI-ReUse: Modular treatment and monitoring for wastewater reuse’ has developed a comprehensive sustainability assessment tool, designed to support decision-makers in examining the technical feasibility, economic viability, ecological compatibility and social acceptance of alternative service water supply solutions at local level. This article describes the structure of this sustainability assessment tool and its underlying multi-criteria assessment approach based on 23 evaluation criteria. Already in the development phase, the tool was tested in a German and a Namibian case study. Both case studies are presented with a special focus on the technologies used and the results of the analysis with the sustainability assessment tool. Case study testing proved that the tool is applicable in various environmental and societal settings with widely differing climatic conditions, limited resource availability, for varying feed water qualities and water quality requirements. The comprehensive, straightforward assessment approach enabled the local users to identify the most sustainable supply system or strategy for their decision case.


2014 ◽  
pp. 11-32
Author(s):  
James P. Bowen

This article examines the local impact of cottage building on common wasteland in the wood-pasture countryside of the county of Shropshire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Based on the study of written documentary records, contemporary accounts and original maps, it examines the process of cottage building on commons in both rural agrarian and industrial contexts, exploring case studies of cottage settlement in a range of localities within Shropshire including forest, heathland, woodland and wetland areas. It outlines the character of the cottage economy and considers the regulation of cottages in relation to statute law concerning cottage building, poor relief and vagrancy. It complements the existing body of local and regional studies of cottage building, providing insight into the everyday lives of cottagers who built their cottages and encroached on common land, relying on commons access for their survival. Despite the informal existence of cottages and the fragile lives of those who inhabited them, it argues that it is possible to recover a picture of the impact of cottage settlement at a local level, and its significance as part of the development of the landscape.


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