Evaluation and analysis of riparian vegetation through satellite images

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xana Alvarez ◽  
Paula Rivas ◽  
Carolina Acña-Alonso ◽  
Enrique Valero
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Political Agenda

<p>One of the main goals of the EU political agenda, supported by the green agenda, and one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services. Within these ecosystems is the riparian vegetation, an essential element in river ecosystems that influences the processes related to the surface and underground flow, modifying the temperature and humidity, it also functions as a filtering tool for the water. The riparian vegetation has been degraded as a cause of changes in land use, or the increase in population. In order to guarantee the biodiversity of ecosystems, as well as guarantee water security, it is necessary to explore environmental governance solutions. In this sense, new technologies can be useful tools that facilitate their characterization. For this reason, the feasibility of using satellite images has been evaluated to characterize the degradation of the riparian vegetation, facilitating decision-making by the administration. In this way, the improvement of riparian vegetation can be promoted, as a nature-based solution (NBs) with multiple environmental, social and economic benefits. Nowadays, there are multiples indices for determining the quality of riparian vegetation but all of them involve a high time, technical and economic effort. The implementation of solutions based on satellite images will improve and facilitate these actions. For this purpose, the images from the WorldView 2 satellite were analysed. The treating these images through geographic information systems, a scale is obtained that adapts to existing indices. With these new methods it would no longer be necessary to visit all the sample points, thus reducing the time to obtain results. The verification of the data obtained through the mapping of images (Riparian Strip Quality Index) was compared with data taken in the field (QBR index), obtaining a value of 92% of truthfulness, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.88 (very good). In other words, a methodology with high concordance with the data collected in situ was obtained. The application of this index through satellite images will facilitate the environmental governance of multiple ecosystems. Providing tools to implement best practices allowing an improvement of the NBs. In this way, biodiversity will be improved, and water quality will be improved, guaranteeing or improving water security, contributing to the achievement of the SDGs.</p>

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

Smart Cities and Smart Regulation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Rønne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Smart Regulation

Increasing focus on sustainable societies and ‘smart cities’ due to emphasis on mitigation of climate change is simultaneous with ‘smart regulation’ reaching the forefront of the political agenda. Consequently, the energy sector and its regulation are undergoing significant innovation and change. Energy innovations include transition from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources and application of new computer technology, interactively matching production with consumer demand. Smart cities are growing and projects are being initiated for development of urban areas and energy systems. Analysis from ‘Smart Cities Accelerator’, developed under the EU Interreg funding programme that includes Climate-KIC,——provides background for the focus on a smart energy system. Analysis ensures the energy supply systems support the integration of renewables with the need for new technologies and investments. ‘Smart’ is trendy, but when becoming ‘smart’ leads to motivation that is an important step towards mitigating climate change.

scholarly journals The Digitalization of the European Agri-Food Cooperative Sector. Determining Factors to Embrace Information and Communication Technologies

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 514
Author(s):  
Javier Jorge-Vázquez ◽  
Mª Peana Chivite-Cebolla ◽  
Francisco Salinas-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
High Performance ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Technological Adoption ◽  
Synthetic Index ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
Information And Communication

The digitization of the agri-food sector is a strategic priority in the political agenda of European institutions. The opportunity to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the sector offered by new technologies comes together with its potential to face new economic and environmental challenges. This research aims to analyze the level of digitalization of the European agri-food cooperative sector from the construction of a composite synthetic index. Such an index is to be based on a diverse set of variables related to electronic commerce and the services offered through the internet. It also evaluates how European cooperatives influence the degree of technological adoption depending on their size or the wealth of the country where they carry out their activity. The empirical analytical method is thus used, through the analysis of frequencies and correlations. The results obtained reveal the existence of a suboptimal and heterogeneous degree of digitization of European agri-food cooperatives, clearly conditioned by their size and the wealth of the country where they operate. In this situation, it is recommended to promote public policies that guarantee high-performance digital connectivity, an improvement in training in digital skills and the promotion of cooperative integration processes.

scholarly journals IoT Platform for Energy Sustainability in University Campuses

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Pedro Moura ◽  
José Ignacio Moreno ◽  
Gregorio López López ◽  
Manuel Alvarez-Campana
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Energy Sustainability ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Iot Platform

University campuses are normally constituted of large buildings responsible for high energy demand, and are also important as demonstration sites for new technologies and systems. This paper presents the results of achieving energy sustainability in a testbed composed of a set of four buildings that constitute the Telecommunications Engineering School of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. In the paper, after characterizing the consumption of university buildings for a complete year, different options to achieve more sustainable use of energy are presented, considering the integration of renewable generation sources, namely photovoltaic generation, and monitoring and controlling electricity demand. To ensure the implementation of the desired monitoring and control, an internet of things (IoT) platform based on wireless sensor network (WSN) infrastructure was designed and installed. Such a platform supports a smart system to control the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems in buildings. Furthermore, the paper presents the developed IoT-based platform, as well as the implemented services. As a result, the paper illustrates how providing old existing buildings with the appropriate technology can contribute to the objective of transforming such buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) at a low cost.

scholarly journals Contextualizing Security Innovation: Responsible Research and Innovation at the Smart Border?

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Klimburg-Witjes ◽  
Frederik C. Huettenrauch
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Border Security ◽  
Responsible Research And Innovation ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Security Technologies ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Responsible Research

AbstractCurrent European innovation and security policies are increasingly channeled into efforts to address the assumed challenges that threaten European societies. A field in which this has become particularly salient is digitized EU border management. Here, the framework of responsible research and innovation (RRI) has recently been used to point to the alleged sensitivity of political actors towards the contingent dimensions of emerging security technologies. RRI, in general, is concerned with societal needs and the engagement and inclusion of various stakeholder groups in the research and innovation processes, aiming to anticipate undesired consequences of and identifying socially acceptable alternatives for emerging technologies. However, RRI has also been criticized as an industry-driven attempt to gain societal legitimacy for new technologies. In this article, we argue that while RRI evokes a space where different actors enter co-creative dialogues, it lays bare the specific challenges of governing security innovation in socially responsible ways. Empirically, we draw on the case study of BODEGA, the first EU funded research project to apply the RRI framework to the field of border security. We show how stakeholders involved in the project represent their work in relation to RRI and the resulting benefits and challenges they face. The paper argues that applying the framework to the field of (border) security lays bare its limitations, namely that RRI itself embodies a political agenda, conceals alternative experiences by those on whom security is enacted upon and that its key propositions of openness and transparency are hardly met in practice due to confidentiality agreements. Our hope is to contribute to work on RRI and emerging debates about how the concept can (or cannot) be contextualized for the field of security—a field that might be more in need than any other to consider the ethical dimension of its activities.

scholarly journals Technology and Corporate Social Responsibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8658
Author(s):  
Vojko Potocan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Interdisciplinary Treatment ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Corporate Social

This study examined the importance of technologies in advancing modern organizations’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). Drawing upon environmentalist and technological theories, we analyzed the shift from the traditional development of technology to the development of sustainable technologies for the further sustainable advancement of organizations. Technology has decisively influenced the development of humankind, but its research has traditionally excluded sustainable development issues. Newer technological visions have addressed the incorporation of technologies in all industries more comprehensively to solve social issues related to environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Such an orientation is followed by several conceptual solutions, such as the sustainable use of traditional technologies, development of sustainable technologies, and interdisciplinary treatment of sustainable technology to extend the CSR model. The results of our study have theoretical implications, highlighting the effects of technological development and new technologies on the course of further societal sustainable development. Practical implications include extending CSR’s Triple Bottom model with a technological dimension to improve organizations’ further sustainable operating and behavior.

scholarly journals Neoteric Fuzzy control stratagem and design of Chopper fed Multilevel Inverter for enhanced Voltage Output involving Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) applications

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunddararaj ◽  
Rangarajan ◽  
Gopalan
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicle ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Multilevel Inverter ◽  
Control Logic ◽  
Bidirectional Converters ◽  
Hybrid Controller ◽  
And Control ◽  
Novel Design

The utilization of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) has started to garner more attention worldwide considering the environmental and economic benefits. This has led to the invention of new technologies and motifs associated with batteries, bidirectional converters and inverters for Electric Vehicle applications. In this paper, a novel design and control of chopper circuit is proposed and configured with the series and parallel connection of the power electronic based switches for two-way operation of the converter. The bidirectional action of the proposed converter makes it suitable for plug-in electric vehicle applications as the grid is becoming smarter. The DC–DC converter is further interfaced with the designed multilevel inverter (MLI). The reduced switches associated with the novel design of MLI have overcome the cons associated with the conventional inverters in terms of enhanced performance in the proposed design. Further, novel control strategies have been proposed for the DC–DC converter based on Proportional Integral (PI) and Fuzzy based control logic. For the first time, the performance of the entire system is evaluated based on the comparison of proposed PI, fuzzy, and hybrid controllers. New rules have been formulated for the Fuzzy based controllers that are associated with the Converter design. This has further facilitated the interface of bidirectional DC–DC converter with the proposed MLI for an enhanced output voltage. The results indicate that the proposed hybrid controller provides better performance in terms of voltage gain, ripple, efficiency and overall aspects of power quality that forms the crux for PEV applications. The novelty of the design and control of the overall topology has been manifested based on simulation using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

scholarly journals Saving a species threatened by trade: a network study of Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi conservation

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Jepson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Conservation Policy ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Central Tenet ◽  
Regulatory Flexibility ◽  
Government Authority

AbstractSaving species from extinction is a central tenet of conservation, yet success in this endeavour remains unpredictable and elusive, especially where wildlife trade is involved. Influential conservation policy actors operating internationally advocate strong regulatory and enforcement approaches to governance of wildlife trade. However, a broad body of evidence suggests that in some situations positive incentives for sustainable use may achieve better conservation outcomes. This analysis of efforts over 3 decades to avoid the extinction of the Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi draws on network perspectives from environmental governance and geography, and shows how an international project adopting traditional enforcement approaches generated a ‘prestige of ownership’ dynamic among local elites. This placed trade in Bali starlings above the enforcement competencies of the relevant government authority, leading to the demise of the species. Subsequently, two separate Indonesian initiatives created spaces of regulatory flexibility and embraced traits of the starling's phenotype to construct identities for the species suited to the local context. This enrolled a wider range of stakeholders in the conservation of the species, including bird-keeping elites, and led to significant successes in restoring captive and free-flying populations. This case study highlights the potential of conservation networks that involve non-establishment personnel and, while recognizing the appeal of generic enforcement approaches to politicians, funders and the urban public, it adds to an increasing body of evidence that suggests top-down prescriptive conservation frameworks may undermine the ability of situated conservationists to develop interventions appropriate to their political and cultural realities.

The Future of Water

2019 ◽  
pp. 227-232
Author(s):  
Edward B. Barbier
Keyword(s):  
Water Security ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystem ◽  
World Population ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Global Management ◽  
Market Signals ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The One

This concluding chapter looks at the future of water. There are two possible paths for managing water. First, if the world continues with inadequate governance and institutions, incorrect market signals, and insufficient innovations to improve efficiency and manage competing demands, most chronic water and scarcity problems will continue to worsen. The world will see a future of declining water security, freshwater ecosystem degradation, and increasing disputes and conflicts over remaining water resources. The alternative path to managing water is the one offered by this book. If, in anticipation of the coming decades of increasing water scarcity, humankind is able to develop appropriate governance and institutions for water management, instigate market and policy reforms, and address global management issues, then improved innovation and investments in new water technologies and better protection of freshwater ecosystems should secure sufficient beneficial water use for a growing world population.

scholarly journals Adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the Development of Smart Buildings: A Review of Enabling Applications and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Ang Yang ◽  
Mingzhe Han ◽  
Qingcheng Zeng ◽  
Yuhui Sun
Keyword(s):  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Smart Buildings ◽  
Smart Building ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

The construction industry is undergoing a digital revolution due to the emergence of new technologies. A significant trend is that construction projects have been transformed and upgraded to the digital and smart mode in the whole life cycle. As a critical technology for the construction industry’s innovative development, building information modeling (BIM) is widely adopted in building design, construction, and operation. BIM has gained much interest in the research field of smart buildings in recent years. However, the dimensions of BIM and smart building applications have not been explored thoroughly so far. With an in-depth review of related journal articles published from 1996 to July 2020 on the BIM applications for smart buildings, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding and critical thinking about the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. This paper proposes a framework with three dimensions for the nexus of BIM application in smart buildings, including BIM attributes, project phases, and smart attributes. According to the three dimensions, this paper elaborates on (1) the advantages of BIM for achieving various smartness; (2) applications of BIM in multiple phases of smart buildings; and (3) smart building functions that be achieved with BIM. Based on the analysis of the literature in three dimensions, this paper presents the cross-analysis of the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. Lastly, this paper proposes the critical insights and implications about the research gaps and research trends: (1) enhancing the interoperability of BIM software; (2) further exploring the role of BIM in the operation and refurbishment phase of smart buildings; (3) paying attention to BIM technology in the field of transportation infrastructure; (4) clarifying the economic benefits of BIM projects; and (5) integrating BIM and other technologies.

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