The International responsibility of Israeli Occupation for Natural Resources Exploitation in Palestinian Territories: المسؤولية الدوليّة للاحتلال الإسرائيليّ عن استغلال الثّروات الطبيعيّة في الأراضي الفلسطينيّة

The Israeli Occupation tends from the first moment of occupying Palestinian lands to seize and loot all the natural wealth and resources depriving the Palestinians of exploitation them and sovereignty on them by its executive, legislative and military policies despite INALIENABLE RIGHT in the rules of international law and the resolutions United Nations that caused severe effects and damages on the Palestinians. After the General Assembly of the United Nations recognition of the state of occupied Palestine on 29/11/2012 and becoming an observer member state which is considered as a very important step to put The State of Palestine in the frame of international law which enables it to join international entities that are under the United Nation system; joining Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; It opens the way for the prosecution of the Israeli occupation for its multiple crimes such seizing and wasting the Palestinian natural wealth and to demand compensation for the full damage caused to wealth, the loss of profit and income on the Palestinian state; They are the axes that the research aims to shed light on.

Greening Factor Framework Integrating Sustainability, Green Supply Chain Management, and Circular Economy: The Chilean Case

This paper focuses on two main topics: presenting a novel framework for assessing the sustainability of a productive process and the application of the framework to the specific case of Chile. The proposed framework integrates green supply chain management and circular economy within the sustainability perspective as drivers for improvements in sustainable development. Within the framework, the greening factor is introduced as a new concept that measures the required effort for a productive process to become sustainable. On one hand, the framework aims at computing the greening factor based on the impacts of resources exploitation and products generation. Additionally, the greening factor computation was designed based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of economic, social, and environmental mainstays. On the other hand, this paper presents a general application of the framework on the five biggest Chilean industries, i.e., mining, wine, forest, agriculture, and aquaculture. Based on the presented generalized application, it is possible to foresee the potentiality of Chile becoming a green country in spite of its productive matrix being mainly based on primary industries.

Noise pollution generated by motor vehicles at different times on Avenue Paulista, municipality of São Paulo / SP

Cities have shown high rates of population growth since the beginning of the twentieth century (at a greater intensity when compared to their development), which puts pressure on the environment intensifying the need of natural resources exploitation, as well as creating infrastructure problems. Among the impacts caused by the high densification of the population, noise pollution caused mainly by motor vehicles can be highlighted. This kind of urban impact, often ignored by the population and government, in addition to reducing people's quality of life and depreciating urban areas, can cause irreversible damage to public health. In this regard, this research brings, through measurements "in loco", the generation of noise by motor vehicles, in one of the main roads of the city of São Paulo. In addition to the data obtained, this research also analyzes them in the light of recommendations for technical standards and resolutions aimed at noise control. Through the analyzes conducted, it was found that the noise due to traffic, which is subject to the population that occupies (permanently or transiently) the surroundings of the road in studies, is above the recommended levels. In addition to momentary discomfort, the noise levels obtained have the potential to cause damage to the health of the population, such as hearing loss, attention deviations and even psychological problems. Therefore, it is hoped that this research will help to foster the debate about the impacts of noise pollution on the urban environment and the need for measures to be taken by municipal managers.

Exploitation of Antarctic Iced Freshwater: A Call To Unfreeze Legal Discourse

While discussed within the Antarctic Treaty System during the 1970s-1980s, the idea of iceberg harvesting was laid on ice due to the lack of adequate technologies and scientific knowledge on the potential environmental implications. However, the State Parties to the ATS envisioned the possibility of reopening the legal discourse. For that purpose, iced freshwater resources exploitation was excluded from the scope of the Madrid Protocol containing a ban on all mineral mining activities within the scope ratione loci of the ATS. However, during the negotiations, it was agreed that if the prospect of iceberg harvesting was ever to be realised, the environmental protection provisions under the Madrid Protocol should apply. The present paper provides an analysis of whether the potential exploitation of iced freshwater resources proves realistic within the existing legal framework under the Antarctic Treaty System and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and discusses which rules States would need to adhere to when engaging in such activities. It arrives at the conclusion that, as to now, there is no prohibition of iceberg harvesting for freshwater use under international law. Nevertheless, both within the scope of the ATS and in the high seas, environmental regulations restrict the implementation of the activity and, therefore, require comprehensive environmental impact assessments to be conducted before the commencement of the activity. Furthermore, as ownership allocation of icebergs is not regulated under the relevant treaties, the present paper examines two legal regimes that may potentially govern iceberg acquisition in the high seas, namely, res nullius and res communis. Finally, as private efforts have become more far-reaching in the recent decades, an overview of the current state of practice is presented, highlighting the observed advantages and potential drawbacks. Conclusively, the present paper advocates for the reopening of the legal discourse on the subject matter before the commencement of exploitation activities so as to ensure that the fragile Antarctic environment is protected and preserved for the benefit of all humankind in accordance with the object and purpose of the ATS.

BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN CONTEXT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

With the beginning of Anthropocene epoch, nature is facing a lot of environmental problems that drastically increased in the last century. On the current rate of resource consumption, soon nature will lose the ability for self-restoration. In order to avoid inevitable consequences of resources exploitation, new approaches should be developed in all areas of human life. Linear economy concepts that were utilized for a long time and were based on use and disposal of each separate resource depending on the purpose is not sufficient anymore. More holistic approach should be applied to overcome the challenges that we are facing now. Application of circular economy concepts for wastewater treatment facilities has a great potential to enhance sustainability of water management. This paper will focus on circular economy concepts applied for modern pilot installation that combines biological treatment and membrane separation and discusses the potential for the full-scale implementation. Since, pilot plant was operated without any chemicals addition it eases the use of the waste sludge that is received as a by-product for different purposes as agricultural application and biogas production.

Scientometric Analysis of Diesel Pollutions in Antarctic Territories: A Review of Causes and Potential Bioremediation Approaches

Despite the continuous enforcement of Antarctic Treaty System, ATS (1961), today Antarctica is constantly plagued by hydrocarbon pollution from both legacy and present-day wastes, especially near where anthropogenic activities are the most intense. The advances of science have led to multiple breakthroughs to bolster bioremediation techniques and revamp existing laws that prevent or limit the extent of hydrocarbon pollution in Antarctica. This review serves as the extension of collective efforts by the Antarctic communities through visual representation that summarizes decades of findings (circa 2000–2020) from various fields, pertinent to the application of microbe-mediated hydrocarbons remediation. A scientometric analysis was carried out based on indexed, scientific repositories (ScienceDirect and Scopus), encompassing various parameters, including but not limited to keywords co-occurrences, contributing countries, trends and current breakthroughs in polar researches. The emergence of keywords such as bioremediation, biosurfactants, petroleum hydrocarbons, biodiesel, metagenomics and Antarctic treaty policy portrays the dynamic shifts in Antarctic affairs during the last decades, which initially focused on exploration and resources exploitation before switching to scientific research and the more recent ecotourism. This review also presents the hydrocarbonoclastic microbes studied in the past, known and proposed metabolic pathways and genes related to hydrocarbon biodegradation as well as bacterial adaptations to low-temperature condition.

REFOS: A Renewable Energy Multi-Purpose Floating Offshore System

The present paper deals with the development of a multi-purpose floating tension leg platform (TLP) concept suitable for the combined offshore wind and wave energy resources exploitation, taking into account the prevailing environmental conditions at selected locations along the European coastline. The examined Renewable Energy Multi-Purpose Floating Offshore System (REFOS) platform encompasses an array of hydrodynamically interacting oscillating water column (OWC) devices, moored through tensioned tethers as a TLP platform supporting a 10 MW wind turbine (WT). The system consists of a triangular platform supported by cylindrical floaters, with the WT mounted at the deck’s center and the cylindrical OWC devices at its corners. Details of the modelling of the system are discussed and hydro-aero-elastic coupling between the floater; the mooring system; and the WT is presented. The analysis incorporates the solutions of the diffraction; the motion- and the pressure-dependent radiation problems around the moored structure, along with the aerodynamics of the WT into an integrated design approach validated through extensive experimental hydrodynamic scaled-down model tests. The verified theoretical results attest to the importance of the WT loading and the OWC characteristics on the dynamics of the system.