Municipal solid waste management in Russia: potentials of climate change mitigation

The goal of this study was to assess the impact of the introduction of various waste management methods on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from these activities. The assessment was carried out on the example of the Russian waste management sector. For this purpose, three scenarios had been elaborated for the development of the Russian waste management sector: Basic scenario, Reactive scenario and Innovative scenario. For each of the scenarios, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated during waste management was calculated. The calculation was based on the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The results of the greenhouse gas net emissions calculation are as follows: 64 Mt CO2-eq./a for the basic scenario, 12.8 Mt CO2-eq./a for the reactive scenario, and 3.7 Mt CO2-eq./a for the innovative scenario. An assessment was made of the impact of the introduction of various waste treatment technologies on the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions generated in the waste management sector. An important factor influencing the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from landfills is the recovery and thermal utilization of 60% of the generated landfill gas. The introduction of a separate collection system that allows to separately collect 20% of the total amount of generated municipal solid waste along with twofold increase in the share of incinerated waste leads to a more than threefold reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions from the waste management sector.

Livestock Trails as Keystone Structural Connectors for Pastureland Analysis Based on Remote Sensing and Structural Connectivity Assessment

This paper presents a methodology to study the connectivity that livestock trails can offer to guarantee the transit of organisms and access to pasturelands. In this regard, a connectivity analysis was carried out in two scenarios: Basic Scenario (Scenario 1: pasture) and Extended Scenario (Scenario 2: pasture + livestock trails) by using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA). The result of structural connectivity analysis, MSPA, showed that livestock trails reduce the fragmentation of the optimal terrain (pasturelands) for livestock activity, since the effective corridors are more numerous, and the edge effect is also reduced. Therefore, MSPA analysis allows the classification of any landscape typology at the pixel level and mapping of corridor structures (connecting elements) and other categories of spatial patterns on a continental scale. The results of the study show the importance of carrying out this type of analysis in different times of the year, detecting the evolution of connectivity throughout the year. Spring months and larger areas of pastureland offer the best conditions for the movements of organisms. This study aims to provide useful information for landscape or territorial planning, and it could be used to improve the management of wildlife dependent on high quality pastures, as well as to promote the management of semi-extensive livestock.

Main directions of financing agriculture in accordance with the parameters of the three-year budget

The article examines the main parameters of the republican budget for 2021–2023, which were approved on December 2, 2020, in conjunction with the forecast indicators of the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan for 2021–2025, taking into account the updated forecast of macroeconomic indicators for 2020. The issues of the formation of the republican budget on the basis of the basic scenario of the country's economic development are considered. A sufficiently detailed comparative characteristic of the volume and structure of income sources of the republican budget with the allocation of the most significant receipts in the structure of income has been studied and presented. The volume, structure and main directions of financing the costs of the republican budget in the context of the main functional groups of the budget are comparatively analyzed. The main budgetary programs for financing agriculture are highlighted in more detail. It is noted that there is a slight decrease in funding for the main budget programs. For such programs as improving the availability of financial services, the availability of knowledge and scientific research for 2023, there is no provision for allocating funds from the republican budget at all. It is noted that the reduction in the volume of budget financing with a simultaneous decrease in the amount of budget lending may lead not to growth, but to a decrease in the volume of gross agricultural output.

The assessment of collaboration quality: a case of sugar supply chain in Indonesia

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate the collaboration quality performance of sugar company Z and its stakeholders (farmers and distributors) by considering the sustainability aspects. This assessment shall be able to integrate qualitative and quantitative factors in the model, which is critical in sugar supply chains involving multi-stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachIntegration of quality function deployment (QFD), the fuzzy analytical network process (FANP) and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) is administered to assess the efficiency score of each stakeholder involved. The evaluation encompasses collaboration behaviour factors since the input of collaboration activities will result in sustainability aspects such as revenue, green house gas (GHG) emissions and social impact. The analysis has been conducted in two scenarios, those are the basic scenario by utilising original data and the extended scenario by using projection data.FindingsThe result clarifies that the most influential behaviour factor in the collaboration activities is commitment (0.116), while the least important behaviour factors are power (0.008) and adaptation (0.008). Furthermore, by using the extended scenario, the overall efficiency for each benchmarking is higher compared to the condition before the improvement (basic scenario).Research limitations/implicationsThe result of this study is only relevant to the particular sugar supply chain and involving limited sustainability variables. Therefore, in a further study, more variables such as technical and financial aspects could be explored further in the assessment process.Practical implicationsThe result of this study is available for each stakeholder and can be fundamental for the constant improvement in sustainable supply chain (SSC) practices. It shows that an improvement of one stakeholder will positively impact the entire system.Social implicationsSmallholders and sugarcane farmers will recognise the significance of collaboration behaviour. Thus, they can enhance their mutual benefits by using the existing resources.Originality/valueThis paper arranges for a practical contribution by implementing advanced assessment methods in the sugar supply chain by taking into account the economic, environmental and social aspects. This comprehensive assessment process in the sugar supply chain is the novelty of this paper.

Costing of helicopter emergency services- a strategic simulation based on the example of a German rural region

Background Helicopter emergency services (HEMS) are of increasing relevance for emergency medical services (EMS) of developed countries. Despite the known cost intensity of HEMS, there is only very limited knowledge of its cost dynamics and structures. This averts an efficient resource allocation of scarce EMS resources in an environment that is characterized by socio-political, medical and economic challenges. The objective of this study is the exemplary modeling of HEMS cost structures. Methods We defined three scenarios with each five variations to illustrate different models of HEMS provision. Into these, we included varying availability times, technical features for off-shore or alpine rescue and differing numbers of operations. Cost data is based on a broad literature review and primary data from a German HEMS organization resulting in a cost function. We calculated average costs per primary missions and total costs, whilst differentiating between fixed, jump-fixed, variable and maintenance costs for every scenario variation. The costs were further used to evaluate the profitability of operations by executing a break-even analysis. Results Average costs per HEMS operation decrease with increasing number of operations due to the digression of fixed costs. Depending on special equipment, availability times or other assumptions, total costs differ significantly with the different scenario variations. For the basic scenario (12 h of operations per day), the total costs per year of HEMS are 1,697,546.20 € and the unit costs are 763.41 € per primary mission at 1200 primary and 92 secondary operations. At an engine-runtime based revenue of 70 € per minute, global cost covering is possible after 728 missions (c.p.). Conclusions Considering a revenue of 70 € per minute of engine run-time, HEMS can be operated at a profit for companies. However, the necessary remuneration represents a high financial effort for the societal cost bearers of helicopter emergency services. This leads to the question of the cost-benefit ratio of HEMS, which could be approached in further researches by using this model. The valuation of mission costs also opens a new view to the framework of HEMS disposition procedures and criteria. This cost analysis enhances the necessity of better planning of HEMS networks to use available resources efficiently in order to improve social welfare.

Vietnam’s future public debt: Prospects and implicantions

By the end of 2017, VietNam's public debt had reached 3.1 million billion VND; 2.2 times higher than the end of 2011 (1,393 million VND). The ratio of public debt/GDP of Vietnam has increased rapidly in recent year, since 2011. Specifically, within only 5 years from 2011 to 2015, the ratio of public debt / GDP of Vietnam increased by 12.2 percentage points, from 50% to 62.2%. Although, the Government of Vietnam has made strong commitments to control public debt. But the actual results are not as expected and tend to get worse. With the current trend of increasing the size and risk of public debt, it is necessary to forecast the public debt and make policy implications on public debt management. Therefore, the author analyzed the state of Vietnam's budget deficit and public debt. Since the author used dynamic models Cechetti, Mohanty and Zampolli (2010) to forecast Vietnam's public debt trends to 2030, with three scenarios: The basic scenario is that there is no improvement in the balance of budget the Basic scenario is no improvement in the basic budget balance, the Bad scenario is the high budget deficit. From there, implications on public debt management that aim to increase the sustainability of public debt in VietNam.

Analysis of Trade Flows of Ornamental Citrus Fruits and Other Rutaceae in the Mediterranean Basin and Potential for Xantomonas citri Introduction

In this study, we built a basic scenario for risk assessment of the introduction of Xantomonas citri (X. citri), an agent of bacterial citrus canker, through international trade activities. According to the international phytosanitary authority European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), X. citri is currently included in the European Union A1 list (quarantine pests not present in the area) of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Therefore, at the moment, to counter the spread of X. citri, some pest-specific phytosanitary requirements are foreseen in the case of citrus fruit commercial activities. One possible introduction route is through some ornamental Rutaceae, which are widely cultivated in Mediterranean countries, where they are economically important and have a social impact on the employees involved and the related industries. To assess the risk of introducing X. citri, we distinguished the import and export territories and the type of import material, and formulated a basic hypothesis linked to the positive correlation between commercial dependence on citrus imports from countries of the Mediterranean Basin and potential risk of invasion.

"Bare soil" detection addressing agricultural production optimization throughout the year: case study in Emilia Romagna using Sentinel-2 images.

<p>Changes in soil practices and management policies are fundamental in order to satisfy future growing food and energy demand, limiting risks of soil depletion. To this purpose remote sensed data are proving crucial for precision farming and for soil characterization and monitoring. In regions where agronomic rotations are adopted, soils experience unproductive periods between two main crops ("bare soil"), causing nutrient leaching, erosion and acceleration of organic matter consumption. Although the presence of "bare soil" period is evident and well known, there are no studies able to provide a dedicated regional framework to draw attention to this issue.</p><p>This study aims at mapping soils cultivated but unproductive during certain times of the year ("bare soil") using satellite images. Once detected, "bare soils" are deeply investigated to define their surface and the time duration of the bare soil status. Thereafter, valorization scenarios for these "bare soil" are proposed considering an optimized mix of energy and cover crops.</p><p>The applied methodology includes Sentinel-2, 5-days-return-time optical images, with 20 m ground spatial resolution acquired during 2017. The images were pre-processed using the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper™ (SIAM™) and outputs subsequently processed on the QGIS platform and validated with ground truths provided by the regional agriculture authority.</p><p>Of the total Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA), results show that up to 20% is "bare soil" from July to October and about 10% is unproductive from November to April. The size of most plots varies from 0.5-2 ha, however, about 30% of the "bare soil" fields have surface size from 3 to 50 ha, sufficient to justify their agronomic exploitation. In a basic scenario where biomass sorghum is cultivated from July to October, 50% of the bioenergy demand can be met through anaerobic digestion.</p><p>This study proposes a digital soil mapping methodology able to answer several questions: if yields can be improved, in what period of the year, in which area, how large are the plots. Therefore, the potential of "bare soils" for increasing food or energy crops and to store more carbon in soils is highlighted.</p>

Modelling the Development Dynamics of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Russia

The paper explores the factors in the development of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship (SME) in Russia over the past 13 years. The purpose of the article is to identify the patterns and current trends in the dynamics of the number of SMEs. The present study carries out correlation and regression analysis of the factors using the statistical data for 2006–2018. The number of the employed and the average nominal wage are the factors that exert a positive effect on the number of small enterprises, whereas tax burden, the weighted average rate for short-term loans and the inflation rate have a negative impact. The research results allowed forecasting the development dynamics of SMEs for 2020–2024. Providing that Russia follows the basic scenario of the socio-economic development and the existing trends persist, the total number of SMEs is expected to grow to 3,636 thousand (1.37 times) by 2024.

Multi-Vehicle Trajectory Design During Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Platoon Formation

Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) organizes connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) in platoons to improve traffic flow and reduce fuel consumption. Platoon formation involves a very complex process, however, because lateral and longitudinal misbehavior of CAVs results in greater fuel consumption and risk of collision. This study aims to design optimal vehicle trajectories of CAVs during CACC platoon formation. First, a basic scenario and a destination-based protocol are described to determine vehicle sequence in the platoon. A space-time lattice based model is then formulated to construct vehicle trajectories considering boundary conditions of kinematic limits, vehicle-following safety, and lane-changing rules. The objective is to optimize the vehicle sequence and fuel consumption simultaneously. A two-phase algorithm is proposed to solve this model, where the first phase is a heuristic algorithm that determines vehicle sequence and in the second phase dynamic programming is adapted to optimize fuel consumption based on the determined sequence. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model in designing CAV trajectories, extensive experimental tests have been conducted in this study. Results show that the proposed model and algorithm can effectively optimize CAV sequence in the platoon based on their destinations. After optimization, CAV fuel consumption was reduced by 42%, 46%, and 43%, respectively, in three different tested scenarios.