During emergency response to oil spills incident accurate information is required in order to reduce the risk associated with oil spill disasters. This study focuses on Environmental Sensitivity mapping for sustainabl...During emergency response to oil spills incident accurate information is required in order to reduce the risk associated with oil spill disasters. This study focuses on Environmental Sensitivity mapping for sustainable environmental clean-up and contingency planning along the 3.0 km of AGIP pipeline at Asemoku in Delta State, Nigeria. Geographic information systems (GIS) techniques were used to create an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map in the study area. A 2018 Google Earth Satellite imagery of the study area was downloaded, and landuse/cover classification scheme comprising of Vegetation, Farmland, Water Body, Wetland, built up area and Bare Surface was adopted. Existing categorization, ranking and classification of the inland habitat were adopted and used to create a Landuse/cover Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map, while the buffer zones of 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were adopted. In the ArcGIS 10.8 environment, the landuse/cover map was generated and buffer distances of 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were created on the landuse/cover map to ascertain the features that are vulnerable and could be at risk in the event of oil spill. This study established that the Natural Vegetation areas are the most vulnerable and sensitive feature as a result of their size along the created buffer zones. Findings from this study thus provide insight into the most sensitive land-use/land-cover, in the event of a spill or emergency oil spill clean-up response.展开更多
Peri-urban areas are playing an increasingly crucial role in the agricultural development and intensification in Indonesia.Peri-urban agriculture is highly vulnerable to change compared with urban and rural agricultur...Peri-urban areas are playing an increasingly crucial role in the agricultural development and intensification in Indonesia.Peri-urban agriculture is highly vulnerable to change compared with urban and rural agriculture,due to its location in transitional areas.Indicators of peri-urban agricultural intensity can help guide regional development.In this study,we assessed the sustainability of peri-urban areas based on agricultural intensity in Karawang Regency,Indonesia.We developed a village-based index to assess the region’s agricultural intensity by rescaling the village agriculture index(VAI)and combining the local sustainability index(LSI)with factor analysis.Since the unit of analysis is the village,we modified the LSI to the village sustainability index(VSI).In addition,we also developed a logical matrix analysis to determine the level of agricultural sustainability(LoAS)of each village.The combined results of the three indices(VAI,VSI,and LoAS)generated information about agricultural sustainability.The results indicated that peri-urban villages with high agricultural intensity tended to exhibit low levels of social welfare,economic development,and disaster risk.Moreover,high agricultural intensity did not necessarily ensure the prosperity of the people.Instead,there was the economic disparity among the villages in the study area.Encouraging diversity of agricultural intensity seems to be more critical than promoting agricultural intensity itself.Overall,this study highlights the distinctive characteristics and dynamic of peri-urban areas.New approaches,variables,and information regarding the combination of agricultural intensity and sustainability need to be developed as valuable tools for regional planning.展开更多
Shape irregularity,a sub-factor of parcel fragmentation is a problem that hinders sustainable agriculture and is solved using land consolidation projects.Determination of the parcel shape degree contributes significan...Shape irregularity,a sub-factor of parcel fragmentation is a problem that hinders sustainable agriculture and is solved using land consolidation projects.Determination of the parcel shape degree contributes significantly to spatial prioritization where there is also a high probability of achieving positive effects of consolidation projects.This study aims to determine the shape degree of the agricultural parcels both at singular and rural county scales in Tekirdag Province,Turkey in 2020 by combining the parcel shape index(PSI) with the minimum bounding geometry index(MBG) to improve parcel scores.Hot-spot zones of the highly irregular and near optimum parcels were also determined using Getis-Ord G_(i)^(*) statistic.The parcel degrees were classified into four categories,namely highly irregular,irregular,regular and near optimum.The obtained unweighted scores of the parameters exhibit deviations from the expected values.After weighting by pairwise comparison,the values approached ideal scores.Among 346 740 parcels,53% were highly irregular and irregular and 47% were regular and near optimum shapes after weighting whereas these were 70% and 30%,respectively before weighting.The average parcel degree of 63 rural counties was regular while the average parcel degree of the remaining 264 rural counties was irregular.The combined use of PSI and MBG index improved the correctness of the parcel shape score.It could be suggested to use as a tool in land consolidation prioritization.展开更多
This paper proposes a new index for assessing sustainability of the industrial sector i.e. the Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI) and demonstrates its utility by applying it to an energy intensive industry. The pro...This paper proposes a new index for assessing sustainability of the industrial sector i.e. the Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI) and demonstrates its utility by applying it to an energy intensive industry. The proposed index incorporates all the three major dimensions of sustainability viz. economic, environmental, and social. It represents the socio-economic benefit of an industry per unit of its carbon emissions. The specific energy consumption or energy intensity (with commensurate carbon emissions), which is usually reported as a measure of environmental impact of various industries, does not include the social and economic parameters. The proposed ISI also overcomes the difficulties in assessing specific energy consumption such as allocation in case of multiple products and its variability with the type and scale of production. To illustrate, the proposed index has been evaluated for a typical paper industry in India. Further, opportunities for its improvement by fuel substitution and repowering through combined cycle power generation have been examined. With existing ISI of 16 units to an improved ISI of 78 units, approximately five times improvement in ISI was observed, indicating a potential for significant improvement in industrial sustainability through such measures.展开更多
An assessment index system including environment, socio-culture, economy and technology was established for evaluating environmental construction level of community （objective construction）, and questionnaire was de...An assessment index system including environment, socio-culture, economy and technology was established for evaluating environmental construction level of community （objective construction）, and questionnaire was designed according to paper review for evaluating residential satisfaction （subjective satisfaction）. The index system was divided into four layers： system （A）, subsystems （B）, categories （C）, and indicators （D）, and in total of 38 indicators was established. The Xihe community, affiliated to Nanfen district, Benxi City, Liaoning Province, China was selected as a case study. Results indicated that the community sustainability index related to objective environmental construction was 0.4355 and was classified as class Ⅲ （moderate）; the community sustainability index related to the residential satisfaction was 0.4255, belonging to class Ⅲ. In conclusion, the sustainability of Xihe community was moderate and needed to be improved. Residential satisfaction was lower than objective environmental construction. The assessment index system established in this study is able to reflect the comprehensive sustainability of community and can be used to evaluate other similar communities＇ sustainability.展开更多
In this study, we developed a comprehensive index system for forestry sustainability of Heilongjiang Province, which includes forest resources sustainability,sustainable economic development, sustainable social develo...In this study, we developed a comprehensive index system for forestry sustainability of Heilongjiang Province, which includes forest resources sustainability,sustainable economic development, sustainable social development and sustainable advancement in science and technology. Based on this system and the regional forest development, we further evaluated the sustainability of Heilongjiang Province for year 2008-2013. The results show that even though the regional forestry has been preliminarily on the track of sustainable development, it is fragile. Four indicators, e.g. soil and water retention rate,forest stand growth（per unit area）, the proportion of national investment and the annual carbon sequestration have important impact on the sustainability, with a weight of 39.0 % in all the indicators. We also analyzed the factors hindering the sustainable development. It turns out that soil and water retention rate, forest stand growth（per unit area）,the proportion of science and technology funds, per capita GDP and the proportion of the tertiary industry production are the main factors hindering regional sustainable development, which accounts for 50.94 % of the total obstacle degrees in the system. At last, we discussed how to promote the regional sustainable development from the perspectives of forest resources sustainability, economic development sustainability, society development sustainability and the sustainable advancement of science and technology.展开更多
Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives.However,accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different ...Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives.However,accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different factors.This study provides a new suite of quantitative indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels,involving environmental sustainability,social security,and economic security.Combining the PressureState-Response(PSR)model and indicator approach,this study creates a composite agricultural sustainability index for the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions of India.The results of this study show that the Trans-Gengatic Plain Region(TGPR)ranks first in agricultural sustainability among India's 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions,while the Eastern Himalayan Region(EHR)ranks last.Higher livestock ownership,cropping intensity,per capita income,irrigation intensity,share of institutional credit,food grain productivity,crop diversification,awareness of minimum support price,knowledge sharing with fellow farmers,and young and working population,as well as better transportation facilities and membership of agricultural credit societies are influencing indicators responsible for higher agricultural sustainability in TGPR compared with EHR.Although,the scores of environmental sustainability indicators of EHR are quite good,its scores of social and economic security indicators are fairly low,putting it at the bottom of the rank of agricultural sustainability index among the 14 mainstream agroclimatic regions in India.This demonstrates the need of understanding agricultural sustainability in relation to social and economic dimensions.In a nation as diverse and complicated as India,it is the social structure that determines the health of the economy and environment.Last but not least,the sustainability assessment methodology may be used in a variety of India's agro-climatic regions.展开更多
In order to objectively and reasonably evaluate the actual and potential value of cultivated land, both social and ecological values are introduced into the classification and grading index system of cultivated land b...In order to objectively and reasonably evaluate the actual and potential value of cultivated land, both social and ecological values are introduced into the classification and grading index system of cultivated land based on the viewpoint of sustainable development, after considering the natural and economic values of cultivated land. Index system construction of the sustainable utilization of cultivated land should follow the principles of economic viability, social acceptability, and ecological protection. Classification of cultivated land should take into account the soil fertility of cultivated land. Then, grading of cultivated land is carried out from the practical productivity (or potential productivity) of cultivated land. According to the existing classification index system of cultivated land, the soil, natural and environmental factors in plains, mountains and hills are mainly modified in the classification index system of cultivated land. And index systems for the cultivated land classification in plains, mountains and hills are set up. The grading index system of cultivated land is established based on the economic viability (economic value), social acceptability (social value) and protection of cultivated land (ecological value). Quantitative expression of cultivated land grading index is also carried out.展开更多
In this article,we present a theoretical study on the sub-bandgap refractive indexes and optical properties of Sidopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films based on newly developed models.The measured sub-bandgap refractive index...In this article,we present a theoretical study on the sub-bandgap refractive indexes and optical properties of Sidopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films based on newly developed models.The measured sub-bandgap refractive indexes ofβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film are explained well with the new model,leading to the determination of an explicit analytical dispersion of refractive indexes for photon energy below an effective optical bandgap energy of 4.952 eV for theβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film.Then,the oscillatory structures in long wavelength regions in experimental transmission spectra of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films with different Si doping concentrations are quantitively interpreted utilizing the determined sub-bandgap refractive index dispersion.Meanwhile,effective optical bandgap values of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films are further determined and are found to decrease with increasing the Si doping concentration as expectedly.In addition,the sub-bandgap absorption coefficients of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film are calculated under the frame of the Franz–Keldysh mechanism due to the electric field effect of ionized Si impurities.The theoretical absorption coefficients agree with the available experimental data.These key parameters obtained in the present study may enrich the present understanding of the sub-bandgap refractive indexes and optical properties of impurity-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films.展开更多
The ever-increasing human population has resulted in political pressure to increase crop production. Currently, smallholder farmers are expected to be environmentally considerate, adapt to extreme climatic conditions ...The ever-increasing human population has resulted in political pressure to increase crop production. Currently, smallholder farmers are expected to be environmentally considerate, adapt to extreme climatic conditions and deal with financial instability. Despite these recent developments, farmers and their farming activities in these rural environs of developing countries need to improve household food and income security on a sustainable basis. A minimum data set selected from extensive data was used to determine indicators for soil sustainability assessment. This method involved expert opinion and statistical data reduction techniques. The results indicated that SOC, MBC, BS, EC, Spo and sand were the most important variables selected as MDS using PC analysis. Forest and Grassland had a high sustainability index (SI) while Savannah woodland, Fallow and Cropland were rated not sustainable (NS). For Cumulative rating using the total dataset (CR-TDS), Forest had a high sustainability index (HS), Savannah woodland and Grassland were sustainable (S) compared to Fallow and Cropland, which were sustainable with high input (SWHI). Also, for cumulative rating using the minimum dataset (CR-MDS), Forest, Savannah woodland and Grassland had high sustainability (SH) indices compared to Fallow and Cropland, which were considered sustainable with high input (SWHI). Sustainability index (SI) and Cumulative rating (CR) using the total dataset (CR-TDS) had a strong correlation (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.91, p < 0.05) compared to SI versus CR-MDS (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.44, p < 0.05) and CR-TDS versus CR-MDS (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.60, p < 0.05). These methods consider that these management goals dictate soil functions affecting the selection of indicators. Using PCA and variance analysis, silt, clay, EC, SOC, MBC and CEC relating to soil texture and fertility were identified as the most influential (sensitive) indicators for soil sustainability assessment. The selected soil attributes can serve as target indicators for soil fertility restoration, erosion control and management in the Nkoranza district. Therefore, a farm-level sustainability index for small-scale and commercial farms is proposed based on readily available data for the Savannah Transition Agro-ecozone of Ghana.展开更多
This paper proposes a simple low cost SIR （sustainability index for roads） that can be easily implemented by any local government that has a flexible pavement road network. The SIR includes the three pillars of sust...This paper proposes a simple low cost SIR （sustainability index for roads） that can be easily implemented by any local government that has a flexible pavement road network. The SIR includes the three pillars of sustainability, economic, social and environmental. The economic pillar is development from a new perspective of pavement deterioration from the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation＇s Pavement Management System. The new perspective is easily seen when the deterioration is plotted in three dimensions. This new exponential curve provides an equation for the return on investment in a road network, in terms of a future pavement condition index versus the annual rehabilitation budget. The environmental pillar will be developed by determining which road rehabilitation treatments cause the most environmental damage and recreating the new curve with these treatments being incrementally removed. The resulting curves will provide the annual cost of minimizing environmental damage and the loss of pavement condition index for minimizing environmental damage. The social pillar is, consultation with the community on what pavement condition index they are willing to fund, that is, balancing annual cost, environmental damage and desired pavement condition. This more efficient reporting conforms with the USA Government Accounting Standards Board requirements but not necessarily with the International Financial Reporting Standards. This new SIR reduces the current financial reporting requirement for local govemments in Queensland, Australia and can greatly improve comparability of financial reporting, where local governments calibrate the pavement deterioration factors in their Pavement Management Systems and use the newly developed regional rulebase.展开更多
This paper quantitatively examines the impact of industrial symbiosis on sustainability. The quantitative approach, as developed by the authors, is based on the concept of Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI), which ...This paper quantitatively examines the impact of industrial symbiosis on sustainability. The quantitative approach, as developed by the authors, is based on the concept of Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI), which represents the socio-economic benefit of an industry per unit of its carbon emissions. The ISI was evaluated for a chemical production plant both in independent and symbiotic modes with different energy technologies. The ISI value for the chemical production plant in independent mode was found to be 6 units. This was three times more than in the case of the existing symbiotic mode with an adjacent pulp & paper industry having coal fired CHP plant. With the adoption of more energy efficient technologies e.g. natural gas based combined cycle power plant and solar PV electricity generation;the ISI in the modified symbiotic mode can be increased to 18 units. The results indicate that industrial symbiosis can help in sustainability improvement when the technologies used by the industries are energy efficient.展开更多
To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely acc...To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely accepted and practiced by many people such as academicians, politicians, and donor organizations. However, though the development of HDI has gone through many revisions since its formulation in 1990, even the current version of the index formulation published in 2016 needs research to better understand and to gap-fill the knowledge base that can enhance the index formulation to facilitate the direction of attention such as release of funds. Therefore, in this paper, based on principal component analysis and K-means clustering algorithm, the data that reflect the measures of life expectancy index (LEI), education index (EI), and income index (II) are analyzed to categorize and to rank the member states of the UN using R statistical software package, an open source extensible programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The outcome of the study shows that the proportion of total eigen value (i.e., proportion of total variance) explained by PCA-1 (i.e., first principal component) accounts for more than 85% of the total variation. Moreover, the proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 increases with time (i.e., yearly) though the amount of increase with time is not significant. However, the proportions of total eigen value explained by PCA-2 and PCA-3 decrease with time. Therefore, the loss of information in choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables (i.e., LEI, EI, and II) may diminish with time if the trend of increasing pattern of proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 with time continues in the future as well. On the other hand, the correlation between EI and PCA-1 increases with time although the magnitude of increase is not that significant. This same trend is observed in II as well. However, in contrast to these observations, the correlation between PCA-1 and LEI decreases with time. These findings imply that the contributions of EI and II to PCA-1 increase with time, but the contribution of LEI to PCA-1 decreases with time. On top of these, as per Hopkins statistic, the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA-1 alone is far better than the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA scores (i.e., PCA-1, PCA-2, and PCA-3) and the explanatory variables. Therefore, choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables is becoming more concrete.展开更多
A proper infrastructure assessment in the contemporary engineering world has become very crucial due to the palpable resources challenges. Therefore, from the design, construction, operation and maintenance stages of ...A proper infrastructure assessment in the contemporary engineering world has become very crucial due to the palpable resources challenges. Therefore, from the design, construction, operation and maintenance stages of the built infrastructural systems; cognizance must be taken of the associated factors and their significance. In considering these indices, the experts will save lots of resources wastage thereby integrating new technologies into the full life cycle of the infrastructure. In this paper, two sets of building infrastructure professionals were assessed. These are the corporate building organization （CBO） and the Operators from two shopping malls within the UK. Thirty-four factors regarding the sustainable building infrastructure appraisal were identified through literature reviews. These characteristics were accordingly classified into two factors （group I and II） and a comparative analysis of their influence conducted. Priority rating of the factors assessment on building infrastructure was through structured, administered survey amongst professionals within these organizations. Information of this survey revealed that the experts maintained a strong concordance in rating these factors. As a result, the associated factors have relatively substantial degree of influence in this context. Further indications of the result in groups I and II are that the CBO experts have indicated the infrastructure size, planning and design as the key factors. Also, the type of building characteristic was among others as the top and bottom marked cases. Similarly, the Operators too have maintained that a proper infrastructure design should incorporate a good policy framework for efficient energy saving fixtures and conservation. Additionally, the installation of quality equipment promotes cost savings of the resources and a just-in-time maintenance of the infrastructure at large. The maintain as-we-go philosophy characteristic was not strongly encouraged in this case.展开更多
The growth of wind energy penetration level in distribution system raises the concern about its impact on the operation of the power system, especially voltage stability and power loss. Among the major concerns, this ...The growth of wind energy penetration level in distribution system raises the concern about its impact on the operation of the power system, especially voltage stability and power loss. Among the major concerns, this paper studied the impact of connecting wind Turbine (WT) in radial distribution system with different penetration levels and different power factor (lead and lag) on power system voltage stability and power loss reduction. Load flow calculation was carried out using forward-backward sweep method. The analysis proceeds on 9- and 33-bus radial distribution systems. Results show that voltage stability enhancement and power loss reduction should be considered as WT installation objective.展开更多
Community-based forest management agreement in the country is a needed instrument in attaining sustainability of mangrove management.Sadly,there is no assurance that the system implemented in the mangrove forest manag...Community-based forest management agreement in the country is a needed instrument in attaining sustainability of mangrove management.Sadly,there is no assurance that the system implemented in the mangrove forest management is sustainable.So,evaluating the mangrove management sustainability of the local tribe is a viable avenue for the appropriate management.In this study,the sustainability of the mangrove management system of the Tagbanua tribe in Bgy.Manalo,Puerto Princesa City,Palawan was evaluated.The study utilized various criteria with relevant indicators of sustainable mangrove forest management in assessing the mangrove forest management system.Focused group discussions were conducted to identify the relevant sustainable mangrove forest management C&I and verifiers.Each indicator was rated using the formulated verifiers in the form of the rating scale.Through household interviews,FGD,KII,mangrove assessment,and secondary data analysis,this study also used a mathematical model on the Sustainability Index for Individual Criteria(SIIC)to evaluate the scores for individual criteria and the Overall Sustainability Index(OSI)of the community.As a result,there are a total of seven relevant criteria,and 35 relevant indicators for Mangrove Management in Barangay Manalo.Based on the individual rating of seven criteria,the overall rating of the sustainable mangrove management system is 1.80,which implies a fairly sustainable mangrove management system.Also,the computed overall sustainability index is 0.26,which is fairly or moderately sustainable.Each criterion has strengths and weaknesses and needs to be improved to have a highly sustainable mangrove management system.展开更多
文摘During emergency response to oil spills incident accurate information is required in order to reduce the risk associated with oil spill disasters. This study focuses on Environmental Sensitivity mapping for sustainable environmental clean-up and contingency planning along the 3.0 km of AGIP pipeline at Asemoku in Delta State, Nigeria. Geographic information systems (GIS) techniques were used to create an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map in the study area. A 2018 Google Earth Satellite imagery of the study area was downloaded, and landuse/cover classification scheme comprising of Vegetation, Farmland, Water Body, Wetland, built up area and Bare Surface was adopted. Existing categorization, ranking and classification of the inland habitat were adopted and used to create a Landuse/cover Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map, while the buffer zones of 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were adopted. In the ArcGIS 10.8 environment, the landuse/cover map was generated and buffer distances of 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were created on the landuse/cover map to ascertain the features that are vulnerable and could be at risk in the event of oil spill. This study established that the Natural Vegetation areas are the most vulnerable and sensitive feature as a result of their size along the created buffer zones. Findings from this study thus provide insight into the most sensitive land-use/land-cover, in the event of a spill or emergency oil spill clean-up response.
文摘Peri-urban areas are playing an increasingly crucial role in the agricultural development and intensification in Indonesia.Peri-urban agriculture is highly vulnerable to change compared with urban and rural agriculture,due to its location in transitional areas.Indicators of peri-urban agricultural intensity can help guide regional development.In this study,we assessed the sustainability of peri-urban areas based on agricultural intensity in Karawang Regency,Indonesia.We developed a village-based index to assess the region’s agricultural intensity by rescaling the village agriculture index(VAI)and combining the local sustainability index(LSI)with factor analysis.Since the unit of analysis is the village,we modified the LSI to the village sustainability index(VSI).In addition,we also developed a logical matrix analysis to determine the level of agricultural sustainability(LoAS)of each village.The combined results of the three indices(VAI,VSI,and LoAS)generated information about agricultural sustainability.The results indicated that peri-urban villages with high agricultural intensity tended to exhibit low levels of social welfare,economic development,and disaster risk.Moreover,high agricultural intensity did not necessarily ensure the prosperity of the people.Instead,there was the economic disparity among the villages in the study area.Encouraging diversity of agricultural intensity seems to be more critical than promoting agricultural intensity itself.Overall,this study highlights the distinctive characteristics and dynamic of peri-urban areas.New approaches,variables,and information regarding the combination of agricultural intensity and sustainability need to be developed as valuable tools for regional planning.
文摘Shape irregularity,a sub-factor of parcel fragmentation is a problem that hinders sustainable agriculture and is solved using land consolidation projects.Determination of the parcel shape degree contributes significantly to spatial prioritization where there is also a high probability of achieving positive effects of consolidation projects.This study aims to determine the shape degree of the agricultural parcels both at singular and rural county scales in Tekirdag Province,Turkey in 2020 by combining the parcel shape index(PSI) with the minimum bounding geometry index(MBG) to improve parcel scores.Hot-spot zones of the highly irregular and near optimum parcels were also determined using Getis-Ord G_(i)^(*) statistic.The parcel degrees were classified into four categories,namely highly irregular,irregular,regular and near optimum.The obtained unweighted scores of the parameters exhibit deviations from the expected values.After weighting by pairwise comparison,the values approached ideal scores.Among 346 740 parcels,53% were highly irregular and irregular and 47% were regular and near optimum shapes after weighting whereas these were 70% and 30%,respectively before weighting.The average parcel degree of 63 rural counties was regular while the average parcel degree of the remaining 264 rural counties was irregular.The combined use of PSI and MBG index improved the correctness of the parcel shape score.It could be suggested to use as a tool in land consolidation prioritization.
文摘This paper proposes a new index for assessing sustainability of the industrial sector i.e. the Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI) and demonstrates its utility by applying it to an energy intensive industry. The proposed index incorporates all the three major dimensions of sustainability viz. economic, environmental, and social. It represents the socio-economic benefit of an industry per unit of its carbon emissions. The specific energy consumption or energy intensity (with commensurate carbon emissions), which is usually reported as a measure of environmental impact of various industries, does not include the social and economic parameters. The proposed ISI also overcomes the difficulties in assessing specific energy consumption such as allocation in case of multiple products and its variability with the type and scale of production. To illustrate, the proposed index has been evaluated for a typical paper industry in India. Further, opportunities for its improvement by fuel substitution and repowering through combined cycle power generation have been examined. With existing ISI of 16 units to an improved ISI of 78 units, approximately five times improvement in ISI was observed, indicating a potential for significant improvement in industrial sustainability through such measures.
基金This study was supported by the National Key Tech-nologies R & D Program of China (2006BAD03A09)Agrifund of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (2006GB24910472)
文摘An assessment index system including environment, socio-culture, economy and technology was established for evaluating environmental construction level of community （objective construction）, and questionnaire was designed according to paper review for evaluating residential satisfaction （subjective satisfaction）. The index system was divided into four layers： system （A）, subsystems （B）, categories （C）, and indicators （D）, and in total of 38 indicators was established. The Xihe community, affiliated to Nanfen district, Benxi City, Liaoning Province, China was selected as a case study. Results indicated that the community sustainability index related to objective environmental construction was 0.4355 and was classified as class Ⅲ （moderate）; the community sustainability index related to the residential satisfaction was 0.4255, belonging to class Ⅲ. In conclusion, the sustainability of Xihe community was moderate and needed to be improved. Residential satisfaction was lower than objective environmental construction. The assessment index system established in this study is able to reflect the comprehensive sustainability of community and can be used to evaluate other similar communities＇ sustainability.
文摘In this study, we developed a comprehensive index system for forestry sustainability of Heilongjiang Province, which includes forest resources sustainability,sustainable economic development, sustainable social development and sustainable advancement in science and technology. Based on this system and the regional forest development, we further evaluated the sustainability of Heilongjiang Province for year 2008-2013. The results show that even though the regional forestry has been preliminarily on the track of sustainable development, it is fragile. Four indicators, e.g. soil and water retention rate,forest stand growth（per unit area）, the proportion of national investment and the annual carbon sequestration have important impact on the sustainability, with a weight of 39.0 % in all the indicators. We also analyzed the factors hindering the sustainable development. It turns out that soil and water retention rate, forest stand growth（per unit area）,the proportion of science and technology funds, per capita GDP and the proportion of the tertiary industry production are the main factors hindering regional sustainable development, which accounts for 50.94 % of the total obstacle degrees in the system. At last, we discussed how to promote the regional sustainable development from the perspectives of forest resources sustainability, economic development sustainability, society development sustainability and the sustainable advancement of science and technology.
文摘Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives.However,accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different factors.This study provides a new suite of quantitative indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels,involving environmental sustainability,social security,and economic security.Combining the PressureState-Response(PSR)model and indicator approach,this study creates a composite agricultural sustainability index for the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions of India.The results of this study show that the Trans-Gengatic Plain Region(TGPR)ranks first in agricultural sustainability among India's 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions,while the Eastern Himalayan Region(EHR)ranks last.Higher livestock ownership,cropping intensity,per capita income,irrigation intensity,share of institutional credit,food grain productivity,crop diversification,awareness of minimum support price,knowledge sharing with fellow farmers,and young and working population,as well as better transportation facilities and membership of agricultural credit societies are influencing indicators responsible for higher agricultural sustainability in TGPR compared with EHR.Although,the scores of environmental sustainability indicators of EHR are quite good,its scores of social and economic security indicators are fairly low,putting it at the bottom of the rank of agricultural sustainability index among the 14 mainstream agroclimatic regions in India.This demonstrates the need of understanding agricultural sustainability in relation to social and economic dimensions.In a nation as diverse and complicated as India,it is the social structure that determines the health of the economy and environment.Last but not least,the sustainability assessment methodology may be used in a variety of India's agro-climatic regions.
基金Supported by the Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education ( 108098)the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 40671078,40771088)the Dangui Plan of Huazhong Normal University
文摘In order to objectively and reasonably evaluate the actual and potential value of cultivated land, both social and ecological values are introduced into the classification and grading index system of cultivated land based on the viewpoint of sustainable development, after considering the natural and economic values of cultivated land. Index system construction of the sustainable utilization of cultivated land should follow the principles of economic viability, social acceptability, and ecological protection. Classification of cultivated land should take into account the soil fertility of cultivated land. Then, grading of cultivated land is carried out from the practical productivity (or potential productivity) of cultivated land. According to the existing classification index system of cultivated land, the soil, natural and environmental factors in plains, mountains and hills are mainly modified in the classification index system of cultivated land. And index systems for the cultivated land classification in plains, mountains and hills are set up. The grading index system of cultivated land is established based on the economic viability (economic value), social acceptability (social value) and protection of cultivated land (ecological value). Quantitative expression of cultivated land grading index is also carried out.
基金This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12074324)the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Council(No.JCJY20180508163404043).
文摘In this article,we present a theoretical study on the sub-bandgap refractive indexes and optical properties of Sidopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films based on newly developed models.The measured sub-bandgap refractive indexes ofβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film are explained well with the new model,leading to the determination of an explicit analytical dispersion of refractive indexes for photon energy below an effective optical bandgap energy of 4.952 eV for theβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film.Then,the oscillatory structures in long wavelength regions in experimental transmission spectra of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films with different Si doping concentrations are quantitively interpreted utilizing the determined sub-bandgap refractive index dispersion.Meanwhile,effective optical bandgap values of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films are further determined and are found to decrease with increasing the Si doping concentration as expectedly.In addition,the sub-bandgap absorption coefficients of Si-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin film are calculated under the frame of the Franz–Keldysh mechanism due to the electric field effect of ionized Si impurities.The theoretical absorption coefficients agree with the available experimental data.These key parameters obtained in the present study may enrich the present understanding of the sub-bandgap refractive indexes and optical properties of impurity-dopedβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) thin films.
文摘The ever-increasing human population has resulted in political pressure to increase crop production. Currently, smallholder farmers are expected to be environmentally considerate, adapt to extreme climatic conditions and deal with financial instability. Despite these recent developments, farmers and their farming activities in these rural environs of developing countries need to improve household food and income security on a sustainable basis. A minimum data set selected from extensive data was used to determine indicators for soil sustainability assessment. This method involved expert opinion and statistical data reduction techniques. The results indicated that SOC, MBC, BS, EC, Spo and sand were the most important variables selected as MDS using PC analysis. Forest and Grassland had a high sustainability index (SI) while Savannah woodland, Fallow and Cropland were rated not sustainable (NS). For Cumulative rating using the total dataset (CR-TDS), Forest had a high sustainability index (HS), Savannah woodland and Grassland were sustainable (S) compared to Fallow and Cropland, which were sustainable with high input (SWHI). Also, for cumulative rating using the minimum dataset (CR-MDS), Forest, Savannah woodland and Grassland had high sustainability (SH) indices compared to Fallow and Cropland, which were considered sustainable with high input (SWHI). Sustainability index (SI) and Cumulative rating (CR) using the total dataset (CR-TDS) had a strong correlation (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.91, p < 0.05) compared to SI versus CR-MDS (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.44, p < 0.05) and CR-TDS versus CR-MDS (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.60, p < 0.05). These methods consider that these management goals dictate soil functions affecting the selection of indicators. Using PCA and variance analysis, silt, clay, EC, SOC, MBC and CEC relating to soil texture and fertility were identified as the most influential (sensitive) indicators for soil sustainability assessment. The selected soil attributes can serve as target indicators for soil fertility restoration, erosion control and management in the Nkoranza district. Therefore, a farm-level sustainability index for small-scale and commercial farms is proposed based on readily available data for the Savannah Transition Agro-ecozone of Ghana.
文摘This paper proposes a simple low cost SIR （sustainability index for roads） that can be easily implemented by any local government that has a flexible pavement road network. The SIR includes the three pillars of sustainability, economic, social and environmental. The economic pillar is development from a new perspective of pavement deterioration from the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation＇s Pavement Management System. The new perspective is easily seen when the deterioration is plotted in three dimensions. This new exponential curve provides an equation for the return on investment in a road network, in terms of a future pavement condition index versus the annual rehabilitation budget. The environmental pillar will be developed by determining which road rehabilitation treatments cause the most environmental damage and recreating the new curve with these treatments being incrementally removed. The resulting curves will provide the annual cost of minimizing environmental damage and the loss of pavement condition index for minimizing environmental damage. The social pillar is, consultation with the community on what pavement condition index they are willing to fund, that is, balancing annual cost, environmental damage and desired pavement condition. This more efficient reporting conforms with the USA Government Accounting Standards Board requirements but not necessarily with the International Financial Reporting Standards. This new SIR reduces the current financial reporting requirement for local govemments in Queensland, Australia and can greatly improve comparability of financial reporting, where local governments calibrate the pavement deterioration factors in their Pavement Management Systems and use the newly developed regional rulebase.
文摘This paper quantitatively examines the impact of industrial symbiosis on sustainability. The quantitative approach, as developed by the authors, is based on the concept of Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI), which represents the socio-economic benefit of an industry per unit of its carbon emissions. The ISI was evaluated for a chemical production plant both in independent and symbiotic modes with different energy technologies. The ISI value for the chemical production plant in independent mode was found to be 6 units. This was three times more than in the case of the existing symbiotic mode with an adjacent pulp & paper industry having coal fired CHP plant. With the adoption of more energy efficient technologies e.g. natural gas based combined cycle power plant and solar PV electricity generation;the ISI in the modified symbiotic mode can be increased to 18 units. The results indicate that industrial symbiosis can help in sustainability improvement when the technologies used by the industries are energy efficient.
文摘To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely accepted and practiced by many people such as academicians, politicians, and donor organizations. However, though the development of HDI has gone through many revisions since its formulation in 1990, even the current version of the index formulation published in 2016 needs research to better understand and to gap-fill the knowledge base that can enhance the index formulation to facilitate the direction of attention such as release of funds. Therefore, in this paper, based on principal component analysis and K-means clustering algorithm, the data that reflect the measures of life expectancy index (LEI), education index (EI), and income index (II) are analyzed to categorize and to rank the member states of the UN using R statistical software package, an open source extensible programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The outcome of the study shows that the proportion of total eigen value (i.e., proportion of total variance) explained by PCA-1 (i.e., first principal component) accounts for more than 85% of the total variation. Moreover, the proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 increases with time (i.e., yearly) though the amount of increase with time is not significant. However, the proportions of total eigen value explained by PCA-2 and PCA-3 decrease with time. Therefore, the loss of information in choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables (i.e., LEI, EI, and II) may diminish with time if the trend of increasing pattern of proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 with time continues in the future as well. On the other hand, the correlation between EI and PCA-1 increases with time although the magnitude of increase is not that significant. This same trend is observed in II as well. However, in contrast to these observations, the correlation between PCA-1 and LEI decreases with time. These findings imply that the contributions of EI and II to PCA-1 increase with time, but the contribution of LEI to PCA-1 decreases with time. On top of these, as per Hopkins statistic, the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA-1 alone is far better than the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA scores (i.e., PCA-1, PCA-2, and PCA-3) and the explanatory variables. Therefore, choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables is becoming more concrete.
文摘A proper infrastructure assessment in the contemporary engineering world has become very crucial due to the palpable resources challenges. Therefore, from the design, construction, operation and maintenance stages of the built infrastructural systems; cognizance must be taken of the associated factors and their significance. In considering these indices, the experts will save lots of resources wastage thereby integrating new technologies into the full life cycle of the infrastructure. In this paper, two sets of building infrastructure professionals were assessed. These are the corporate building organization （CBO） and the Operators from two shopping malls within the UK. Thirty-four factors regarding the sustainable building infrastructure appraisal were identified through literature reviews. These characteristics were accordingly classified into two factors （group I and II） and a comparative analysis of their influence conducted. Priority rating of the factors assessment on building infrastructure was through structured, administered survey amongst professionals within these organizations. Information of this survey revealed that the experts maintained a strong concordance in rating these factors. As a result, the associated factors have relatively substantial degree of influence in this context. Further indications of the result in groups I and II are that the CBO experts have indicated the infrastructure size, planning and design as the key factors. Also, the type of building characteristic was among others as the top and bottom marked cases. Similarly, the Operators too have maintained that a proper infrastructure design should incorporate a good policy framework for efficient energy saving fixtures and conservation. Additionally, the installation of quality equipment promotes cost savings of the resources and a just-in-time maintenance of the infrastructure at large. The maintain as-we-go philosophy characteristic was not strongly encouraged in this case.
文摘The growth of wind energy penetration level in distribution system raises the concern about its impact on the operation of the power system, especially voltage stability and power loss. Among the major concerns, this paper studied the impact of connecting wind Turbine (WT) in radial distribution system with different penetration levels and different power factor (lead and lag) on power system voltage stability and power loss reduction. Load flow calculation was carried out using forward-backward sweep method. The analysis proceeds on 9- and 33-bus radial distribution systems. Results show that voltage stability enhancement and power loss reduction should be considered as WT installation objective.
文摘Community-based forest management agreement in the country is a needed instrument in attaining sustainability of mangrove management.Sadly,there is no assurance that the system implemented in the mangrove forest management is sustainable.So,evaluating the mangrove management sustainability of the local tribe is a viable avenue for the appropriate management.In this study,the sustainability of the mangrove management system of the Tagbanua tribe in Bgy.Manalo,Puerto Princesa City,Palawan was evaluated.The study utilized various criteria with relevant indicators of sustainable mangrove forest management in assessing the mangrove forest management system.Focused group discussions were conducted to identify the relevant sustainable mangrove forest management C&I and verifiers.Each indicator was rated using the formulated verifiers in the form of the rating scale.Through household interviews,FGD,KII,mangrove assessment,and secondary data analysis,this study also used a mathematical model on the Sustainability Index for Individual Criteria(SIIC)to evaluate the scores for individual criteria and the Overall Sustainability Index(OSI)of the community.As a result,there are a total of seven relevant criteria,and 35 relevant indicators for Mangrove Management in Barangay Manalo.Based on the individual rating of seven criteria,the overall rating of the sustainable mangrove management system is 1.80,which implies a fairly sustainable mangrove management system.Also,the computed overall sustainability index is 0.26,which is fairly or moderately sustainable.Each criterion has strengths and weaknesses and needs to be improved to have a highly sustainable mangrove management system.
