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Marine law and designations
Published in David R. Green, Jeffrey L. Payne, Marine and Coastal Resource Management, 2017
To guide further implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, a Strategic Plan for Biodiversity was adopted by the Conference of Parties in 2002, aiming to make a significant reduction in biodiversity loss at all levels of governance (UNEP/CBD/COP/6/20). This was endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. However, by 2004, despite coverage of protected areas increasing, it was still insufficient to halt the rate of biodiversity loss; and the marine environment was considered to be ‘particularly under represented’ with only 1 per cent covered in comparison to 11 per cent of the terrestrial environment. Therefore, a programme of work was agreed to ‘enhance evaluation’ of progress towards the aim of the Strategic Plan. Programme 1 focused on ‘actions for planning, selecting, establishing, strengthening and managing protected area systems and sites’. Suggested actions for state parties of relevance to the marine environment included creating ‘a global network of comprehensive, representative and effectively managed national and regional protected area system’ by 2012. Specific measures were identified to assist progress towards the overall aim; for example, by 2006, state parties were encouraged to perform gap analysis and set regional and national targets; by 2008, state parties were encouraged to ‘take action to address the under-representation of marine and inland water ecosystems’ and by 2009 to
The Biosphere
Published in John C. Ayers, Sustainability, 2017
In summary, human well-being and ecosystem well-being are tightly coupled. Sustainable development requires that ecosystems be protected. Biodiversity loss is both an indicator and a cause of ecosystem degradation and collapse. Effective conservation policies are needed to ensure that our rich biological heritage and the ecosystem services it provides are preserved for posterity.
Environment
Published in Hemanta Doloi, Ray Green, Sally Donovan, Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for Smart Villages, 2018
Hemanta Doloi, Ray Green, Sally Donovan
Indicators of biodiversity loss include habitat loss and degradation; climate change impacts; pollution and nutrient loss; overexploitation and unsustainable land use and invasive alien species. Biodiversity consists of three components – species diversity, ecosystem diversity and genetic diversity. Of the examples of LCA reviewed genetic diversity indicators in some were lacking. There are also many other stresses on biodiversity caused by development, such as noise and odour nuisance, which are not addressed in LCA. Another notable omission in many LCA models is diversity of assessment in relation to biotic resources (Crenna et al., 2018). The reason for this seems obvious, biotic resources are renewable and therefore do not need to be accounted for in the same way as abiotic resources. However, their renewability is variable. For example, while all LCAs include wood, and may even specify type, none consider whether the wood was obtained from a forest area or a dedicated plantation even though each of these processes has vastly different environmental impacts. Crenna et al. (2018) suggest that establishing a renewability rate for biotic resources could help account for these more appropriately. For animals this could be their population doubling rate, while for plants it could be their rotation period. This article also suggests other factors as being important, such as the notion of resilience – the ability of a natural resource to recover after extraction by human interference, vulnerability and so on. Overall, incorporating biodiversity indicators into LCA will be important to help bring the issue onto the same footing as GHG emissions in the eyes of industry and policy makers.
Community structure of aquatic invertebrates associated with Elodea canadensis in its native and invasive range
Published in Inland Waters, 2023
Jennifer N. Piacente, Martin B. Berg
Considerable research has been conducted on invasive species because of their economic and ecological impacts in non-native ranges (Madsen et al. 1991, Stiers et al. 2011, Cuthbert et al. 2021, Fantle-Lepczyk et al. 2022). Economic costs (US$) of invasive species in the United States between 1960 and 2020 approximate $1.22 trillion. More specifically, during the same time period, invaders from aquatic environments cost the United States $13.45 billion (Fantle-Lepczyk et al. 2022). In addition, invasive species are believed to be a major leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, second only to habitat loss, because native species are often at risk of becoming endangered or extinct due to predation from or competition with invasive species (Wilcove et al. 1998). For example, Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) suppresses the growth of native macrophytes, resulting in a decrease in native macrophyte richness (Madsen et al. 1991), and diminishes lakefront property values by as much as 16% (Zhang and Boyle 2010). Furthermore, Stiers et al. (2011) examined the impact of 3 aquatic invasive plants on macroinvertebrate communities and found that invaded ponds had lower invertebrate abundance, richness, and diversity, which altered the taxonomic composition of invertebrate assemblages.
Soil erodibility mapping using watershed prioritization and morphometric parameters in conjunction with WSA, SPR and AHP-TOPSIS models in Mandakini basin, India
Published in International Journal of River Basin Management, 2022
Atul Kumar, Sunil Singh, Malay Pramanik, Shairy Chaudhary, Mahabir Singh Negi
Conserve, preserve and encourage sustainable land ecosystems, maintain forests sustainably and counter desertification, prevent and reverse land depletion and combat biodiversity loss due to high yield of erosive rates (Bezak et al., 2021; Chaudhary et al., 2021; Keesstra et al., 2016; Pramanik et al., 2021b). These soil conservation principles are essential in maintaining the neutrality of soil erosion at all levels: local, state, national and global (Lal et al., 2018). Adoption of these principles is essential because the degradation of soil resources can degrade and lead to inadequate soil-based ecosystem services (e.g. food, fuel, fibre, clean air, water, medicinal produces, climate and biodiversity etc.) for the continually growing human population and ever-declining natural resources on the planet (Lal et al., 2018).
Sustainability-oriented assessment of external thermal insulation composite systems: A case study from Poland
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2021
Bartosz Michałowski, Jacek Michalak
Degradation of the natural environment and climate change present an existential threat to the world. According to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) report (EEA, 2019b), Europe will not achieve its 2030 goals without urgent action during the next 10 years. The main problems are an alarming rate of biodiversity loss, increasing impacts of climate change, and the overconsumption of natural resources. Due to that, recently, the EU Commission has announced the new strategy to overcome this challenge - The European Green Deal (EC, 2019b). The document sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The construction, use, and renovation of buildings require significant amounts of energy. In the European Union, buildings are consuming 40% of all energy (EC, 2019a). Heating and cooling account for about two-thirds of energy consumption in buildings. Energy efficiency issues are fundamental to the energy policy of the EU, and the External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) is essential to achieve Europe’s ambitious goals (Kienzlen et al., 2014). The application of ETICS improves the energy efficiency of both new and existing buildings. ETICS are kit in the sense of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) consisting of specified prefabricated components being applied directly to the facade on site (The European Parliament and the European Council, 2011). CPR defines the basis for assessing the performance of construction products.