Description:    Pesticides are widely used in modern agriculture to minimize financial losses and maintain food supplies. In southeast Asia, where agriculture is the principal economic activity, pesticides are considered essential, particularly in tropical regions seeking to enter the global economy by providing off-season fresh fruits and vegetables. The absence of a strong legal framework for pesticides facilitated a significant increase in the use of low-quality pesticides. Farmers ignore the risks, safety instructions, and protective directives when using pesticides. They are only concerned about the effectiveness of the pesticides for killing pests, without paying attention to the effects on their health and the environment. The improper usage of pesticides and the incorrect disposal of pesticide wastes contributed to the pollution of groundwater, surface water, and soil, and induced health problems in local communities. This paper describes the impact of the exposure of pesticides on human health and water resources in connection with the usage of pesticides and their management. Because of availability, the data are mainly taken for Northern Vietnam, and applied to the water quality in the delta; nevertheless, the problem relates to all countries in the delta, and similar situations may be found in other regions, particularly in Asia. Content Type Journal Article Category ORIGINAL ARTICLE Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s10163-012-0081-x Authors Pham Thi Thuy, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Steven Van Geluwe, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Viet-Anh Nguyen, Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hanoi, Vietnam Bart Van der Bruggen, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957

Description:    Reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) policies form the basis of waste management and global warming countermeasures globally, so we conducted a comparative study of 3R and waste management policies in the European Union (EU), USA, Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. An international workshop for 3R and waste management policymakers was held in Kyoto, Japan, and a bibliographic survey was also conducted to collect data. 3R policies are clearly given priority in the hierarchy of waste management in every country studied. Thermal recovery, which includes power generation from waste heat and methane gas collected from organic waste, is also a priority; this is consistent with the increased use of countermeasures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the EU, waste management is characterized by practical and effective 3R policies through the development of realistic regulations and by the policymakers’ desire to simplify management systems. The policy ideal in China, however, is the development of a circular economy that targets reductions in the amount and hazardousness of waste. Limits on the number of final disposal sites, strategies for procuring resources, and GHG emission countermeasures are closely linked with 3R policies, and further development of 3R policies in parallel with such issues is expected. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s10163-011-0009-x Authors Shin-ichi Sakai, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Hideto Yoshida, Japan Environmental Safety Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Yasuhiro Hirai, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Misuzu Asari, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Hidetaka Takigami, Research Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan Shin Takahashi, Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan Keijirou Tomoda, Towa Technology, Hiroshima, Japan Maria Victoria Peeler, Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction, Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA Jakub Wejchert, Sector in Unit G.4, Sustainable Production and Consumption, DG Environment, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium Thomas Schmid-Unterseh, Division of Product Responsibility, Avoidance, Recovery and Utilization of Product Waste, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Berlin, Germany Aldo Ravazzi Douvan, Italian Environmental Authority for EU Structural Funds, Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea, Rome, Italy Roy Hathaway, Waste Management Division, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK Lars D. Hylander, Department of Earth Sciences, Air and Water Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden Christian Fischer, European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, Copenhagen, Denmark Gil Jong Oh, Resource Recirculation Center, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea Li Jinhui, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Ngo Kim Chi, Union for Scientific Research and Production on Chemical Engineering, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), Hanoi, Vietnam Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957

Description:    The condition of many wetlands across Australia has deteriorated due to increased water regulation and the expansion and intensification of agriculture and increased urban and industrial expansion. Despite this situation, a comprehensive overview of the distribution and condition of wetlands across Australia is not available. Regional analyses exist and several exemplary mapping and monitoring exercises have been maintained to complement the more general information sets. It is expected that global climate change will exacerbate the pressures on inland wetlands, while sea level rises will adversely affect coastal wetlands. It is also expected that the exacerbation of these pressures will increase the potential for near-irreversible changes in the ecological state of some wetlands. Concerted institutional responses to such pressures have in the past proven difficult to sustain, although there is some evidence that a more balanced approach to water use and agriculture is being developed with the provision of increasing funds to purchase water for environmental flows being one example. We identify examples from around Australia that illustrate the impacts on wetlands of long-term climate change from palaeoecological records (south-eastern Australia); water allocation (Murray-Darling Basin); dryland salinisation (south-western Australia); and coastal salinisation (northern Australia). These are provided to illustrate both the extent of change in wetlands and the complexity of differentiating the specific effects of climate change. An appraisal of the main policy responses by government to climate change is provided as a basis for further considering the opportunities for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Content Type Journal Article Category Effects of Climate Change on Wetlands Pages 1-21 DOI 10.1007/s00027-011-0232-5 Authors C. M. Finlayson, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia J. A. Davis, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia P. A. Gell, Centre for Environmental Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Ballarat, PO Box 663, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia R. T. Kingsford, Australian Rivers and Wetland Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia K. A. Parton, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 883, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia Journal Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries Online ISSN 1420-9055 Print ISSN 1015-1621

Description:    The conversion of biomass waste into resources as a recycling process is receiving increased interest due to the perceived need for a sustainable global carbon cycle and environmental considerations. Several treatment processes are being developed. Hydrothermal treatment is one of the most effective approaches, because water at high temperatures and high pressures behaves as a reaction medium with remarkable properties. In this work, the reaction behavior of guaiacol as a biomass model compound was studied in subcritical water at 483–563 K and in supercritical water at 653–673 K using a batch reactor. Guaiacol can be considered representative of the aromatic ring structures present in lignin, a major component of woody biomass. The chemical species formed in aqueous products were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. The effect of pressure and reaction time on the conversion process of guaiacol is discussed. The results obtained indicate that this method has potential for efficient organic waste conversion. Content Type Journal Article Pages 68-79 DOI 10.1007/s10163-010-0309-6 Authors Wahyudiono, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto, 860-8555 Japan Mitsuru Sasaki, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto, 860-8555 Japan Motonobu Goto, Bioelectrics Research Center, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957 Journal Volume Volume 13 Journal Issue Volume 13, Number 1

Description:    This review reports background information on wetlands in the Northeast Asia and High Asia areas, including wetland coverage and type, significance for local populations, and threats to their vitality and protection, with particular focus on the relationship of how global change influenced wetlands. Natural wetlands in these areas have been greatly depleted and degraded, largely due to global climate change, drainage and conversion to agriculture and silviculture, hydrologic alterations, exotics invasions, and misguided management policies. Global warming has caused wetland and ice-sheet loss in High Asia and permafrost thawing in tundra wetlands in Northeast Asia, and hence induced enormous reductions in water-storage sources in High Asia and carbon loss in Northeast Asia. This, in the long term, will exacerbate chronic water shortage and positively feed back global warming. Recently, better understanding of the vital role of healthy wetland ecosystems to Asia’s sustainable economic development has led to major efforts in wetland conservation and restoration. Nonetheless, collaborative efforts to restore and protect the wetlands must involve not only the countries of Northeast and High Asia but also international agencies. Research has been productive but the results should be more effectively integrated with policy-making and wetland restoration practices under future climatic scenarios. Content Type Journal Article Category Research Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s00027-012-0281-4 Authors Shuqing An, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Ziqiang Tian, River and Coastal Environment Research Center, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012 People’s Republic of China Ying Cai, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Teng Wen, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Delin Xu, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Hao Jiang, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Zhigang Yao, The Wetland Management Station, Jiangsu Administrate of Forestry, Nanjing, 210036 People’s Republic of China Baohua Guan, The Institute of Geography and Limnology, China Academy of Science, Nanjing, 210008 People’s Republic of China Sheng Sheng, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Yan Ouyang, The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, The Institute of Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 People’s Republic of China Xiaoli Cheng, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074 People’s Republic of China Journal Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries Online ISSN 1420-9055 Print ISSN 1015-1621

Description:    This study uses a bibliometric approach in identifying global research trends related to the anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production using related literature in the Science Citation Index Expanded database, retrieved from the ISI Web of Science. The data used covers the period 1994–2011. The articles acquired from such literature were concentrated on the general analysis by scientific output, the research performances by countries, institutes, and collaborations, and the research trends by the frequency of author keywords, words in title, words in abstract, and ‘KeyWords plus’. The research outputs of anaerobic digestion for methane had notably increased in the field of environmental sciences, biotechnology and applied microbiology, environmental engineering, energy and fuels, and microbiology, while increased slightly in water resources. The USA with most publications and China with the highest growth rate were compared. Finally, author keywords, words in title and ‘KeyWords plus’ were analyzed contrastively, with the recent hotspots provided. Content Type Journal Article Category REVIEW Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s10163-012-0094-5 Authors Li-Hong Wang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Qunhui Wang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Xiao Zhang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Weiwei Cai, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Xiaohong Sun, Beijing Agro-Biotechnology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100089 People’s Republic of China Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957