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: The ability of management strategies to achieve the fishery management goals are impacted by environmental variation and, therefore, also by global climate change. Management strategies can be modified to use environmental data using the "dynamic B 0 " concept, and changing the set of years used to define biomass reference points. Two approaches have been developed to apply management strategy evaluation to evaluate the impact of environmental variation on the performance of management strategies. The "mechanistic approach" estimates the relationship between the environment and elements of the population dynamics of the fished species and makes predictions for population trends using the outputs from global climate models. In contrast, the "empirical approach" examines possible broad scenarios without explicitly identifying mechanisms. Many reviewed studies have found that modifying management strategies to include environmental factors does not improve the ability to achieve management goals much, if at all, and only if the manner in which these factors drive the system is well known. As such, until the skill of stock projection models improves, it seems more appropriate to consider the implications of plausible broad forecasts related to how biological parameters may change in the future as a way to assess the robustness of management strategies, rather than attempting specific predictions per se .

Description:    Climate change is an issue of great importance for human rights, public health, and socioeconomic equity because of its diverse consequences overall as well as its disproportionate impact on vulnerable and socially marginalized populations. Vulnerability to climate change is determined by a community’s ability to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of major weather events. Climate change will affect industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as transportation, health, and energy infrastructure. These shifts will have significant health and economic consequences for diverse communities throughout California. Without proactive policies to address these equity concerns, climate change will likely reinforce and amplify current as well as future socioeconomic disparities, leaving low-income, minority, and politically marginalized groups with fewer economic opportunities and more environmental and health burdens. This review explores the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups in California and investigates the costs and benefits of the climate change mitigation strategies specified for implementation in the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). Lastly, knowledge gaps, future research priorities, and policy implications are identified. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s10584-011-0310-7 Authors Seth B. Shonkoff, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Division of Society and Environment, University of California, Berkeley, 137 Mulford Hall, MC 3144, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Rachel Morello-Frosch, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management & School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 137 Mulford Hall, MC 3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Manuel Pastor, Departments of Geography and American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California, 3620 S. Vermont Ave, KAP-462, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0255, USA James Sadd, Department of Environmental Science and Geology, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90041, USA Journal Climatic Change Online ISSN 1573-1480 Print ISSN 0165-0009

Description: Purpose   The main goal of this paper was to analyse the environmental profile of a structural component of a wooden house: a ventilated wooden wall, by combining two environmental methodologies: one quantitative, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and another qualitative, the design for the environment (DfE). Methods   The LCA study covers the whole life cycle of the ventilated wall manufacture as well as its distribution, installation and maintenance. To carry out this analysis, a Galician wood company was assessed in detail, dividing the process into four stages: the assembling stage, the packing stage, the distribution to clients as well as the final installation and maintenance of the wooden wall. Ten impact categories have been assessed in detail in the LCA study: abiotic depletion (AD), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EP), global warming (GW), ozone layer depletion (OD), human toxicity (HT), fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity (FE), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (ME), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE) and photochemical oxidant formation (PO). Results and discussion   According to the environmental results, the assembling stage was the most important contributor to the environmental profile with contributions from 57% to 87%, followed by the production of the electricity required. The detailed analysis of the assembling stage identified the most important environmental hot spots: the production of boards used in the structure [oriented strand board and medium density fibreboard (MDF)] as well as the transportation of the cedar sheets from Brazil. Concerning the results of the DfE, a selection of different eco-design strategies was proposed from technological, economic and social points of view by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and company´s workers. The eco-design strategy considered the following improvement actions: (i) the substitution of the MDF in the wall structure; (ii) the use of German red pine sheets; (iii) the installation of solar panels in the facilities; (iv) the use of Euro 5 transport vehicles, (v) the use of biodiesel for transport; (vi) the definition of a maintenance protocol for the wooden materials; and (vii) the definition of a protocol for the separation of materials before disposal. Conclusions   The results obtained in this work allow predicting the influence of the selection and origin of the raw materials used on the environmental burdens associated with the process. Future work will focus on the manufacturing of a prototype of an eco-designed ventilated wooden wall. Content Type Journal Article Category WOOD AND OTHER RENEWABLE RESOURCES Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s11367-012-0384-0 Authors Sara González-García, Department of Life Sciences, Division of Biology, Imperial College of London, South Kensington Campus, Sir Alexander Fleming Buildings, London, SW7 2AZ UK Raúl García Lozano, SosteniPrA (UAB-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus de la UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Javier Costas Estévez, Quality Management Department, Las cinco Jotas, Avda. Camelias No 1, 6203 Vigo, Spain Rosario Castilla Pascual, Innovation and Technology Area, CIS MADEIRA, Galician Park of Technology, Avenida de Galicia 5, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32901 Ourense, Spain Ma. Teresa Moreira, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Xavier Gabarrell, SosteniPrA (UAB-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus de la UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Joan Rieradevall i Pons, SosteniPrA (UAB-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus de la UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Gumersindo Feijoo, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Journal The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Online ISSN 1614-7502 Print ISSN 0948-3349

Description: Purpose   At present, many urban areas in Mediterranean climates are coping with water scarcity, facing a growing water demand and a limited conventional water supply. Urban design and planning has so far largely neglected the benefits of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in the context of a sustainable management of this resource. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the most environmentally friendly strategy for rainwater utilization in Mediterranean urban environments of different densities. Materials and methods   The RWH systems modeled integrate the necessary infrastructures for harvesting and using rainwater in newly constructed residential areas. Eight scenarios were defined in terms of diffuse (D) and compact (C) urban models and the tank locations ((1) underground tank, (2) below-roof tank, (3) distributed-over-roof tank, and (4) block tank). The structural and hydraulic sizing of the catchment, storage, and distribution subsystems was taken into account using an average Mediterranean rainfall, the area of the harvesting surfaces, and a constant water demand for laundry. The quantification of environmental impacts was performed through a life cycle assessment, using CML 2001 Baseline method. The necessary materials and processes were considered in each scenario according to the lifecycle stages (i.e., materials, construction, transportation, use, and deconstruction) and subsystems. Results and discussion   The environmental characterization indicated that the best scenario in both urban models is the distributed-over-roof tank (D3, C3), which provided a reduction in impacts compared to the worst scenario of up to 73% in diffuse models and even higher in compact ones, 92% in the most dramatic case. The lower impacts are related to the better distribution of tank weight on the building, reducing the reinforcement requirements, and enabling energy savings. The storage subsystem and the materials stage contributed most significantly to the impacts in both urban models. In the compact density model, the underground-tank scenario (C1) presented the largest impacts in most categories due to its higher energy consumption. Additionally, more favorable environmental results were observed in compact densities than in diffuse ones for the Global Warming Potential category along with higher water efficiencies. Conclusions   The implementation of one particular RWH scenario over another is not irrelevant in drought-stress environments. Selecting the most favorable scenario in the development of newly constructed residential areas provides significant savings in CO 2 emissions in comparison with retrofit strategies. Therefore, urban planning should consider the design of RWH infrastructures using environmental criteria in addition to economic, social, and technological factors, adjusting the design to the potential uses for which the rainwater is intended. Recommendations and perspectives   Additional research is needed to quantify the energy savings associated with the insulation caused by using the tank distributed over the roof. The integration of the economic and social aspects of these infrastructures in the analysis, from a life cycle approach, is necessary for targeting the planning and design of more sustainable cities in an integrated way. Content Type Journal Article Category WATER USE IN LCA Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11367-011-0330-6 Authors Sara Angrill, Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering (EE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Ramon Farreny, Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering (EE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Carles M. Gasol, Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering (EE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Xavier Gabarrell, Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering (EE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Bernat Viñolas, Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB), Technical University of Catalonia—Barcelona Tech (UPC), Campus Nord, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D2, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Alejandro Josa, Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB), Technical University of Catalonia—Barcelona Tech (UPC), Campus Nord, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D2, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Joan Rieradevall, Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), School of Engineering (EE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Journal The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Online ISSN 1614-7502 Print ISSN 0948-3349

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 tree species composition of a forested landscape may respond to climate change through two primary successional mechanisms: (1) colonization of suitable habitats and (2) competitive dynamics of established species. In this study, we assessed the relative importance of competition and colonization in forest landscape response (as measured by the forest type composition change) to global climatic change. Specifically, we simulated shifts in forest composition within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of northern Minnesota during the period 2000–2400  AD . We coupled a forest ecosystem process model, PnET-II, and a spatially dynamic forest landscape model, LANDIS-II, to simulate landscape change. The relative ability of 13 tree species to colonize suitable habitat was represented by the probability of establishment or recruitment. The relative competitive ability was represented by the aboveground net primary production. Both competitive and colonization abilities changed over time in response to climatic change. Our results showed that, given only moderate-frequent windthrow (rotation period = 500 years) and fire disturbances (rotation period = 300 years), competition is relatively more important for the short-term (〈100 years) compositional response to climatic change. For longer-term forest landscape response (〉100 years), colonization became relatively more important. However, if more frequent fire disturbances were simulated, then colonization is the dominant process from the beginning of the simulations. Our results suggest that the disturbance regime will affect the relative strengths of successional drivers, the understanding of which is critical for future prediction of forest landscape response to global climatic change. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-31 DOI 10.1007/s10584-011-0098-5 Authors Chonggang Xu, Division of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA George Z. Gertner, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, W-523 Turner Hall, MC-047, 1102 South Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Robert M. Scheller, Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207, USA Journal Climatic Change Online ISSN 1573-1480 Print ISSN 0165-0009

Description:    This paper explores two issues that have been receiving increasing attention in recent decades, climate change adaptation and natural disaster risk reduction. An examination of the similarities and differences between them reveals important linkages but also significant differences, including the spectrum of threats, time and spatial scales, the importance of local versus global processes, how risks are perceived, and degree of uncertainty. Using a risk perspective to analyze these issues, preferential strategies emerge related to choices of being proactive, reactive, or emphasizing risk management as opposed to the precautionary principle. The policy implications of this analysis are then explored, using Canada as a case study. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s10584-011-0259-6 Authors David Etkin, Disaster and Emergency Management, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 J. Medalye, Political Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada K. Higuchi, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Journal Climatic Change Online ISSN 1573-1480 Print ISSN 0165-0009

Description: Welcomme, R. L. 2011. An overview of global catch statistics for inland fish. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1751–1756. The reported global inland fish catch passed 10 million tonnes in 2008, after almost linear growth from the early 1950s. The rise coincides with an increasing number of reports of falling catches resulting from environmental degradation. It is thought that catches from inland waters were underreported in the past because of constraints on collecting the relevant data. National approaches to data collection are not generally comparable and their accuracy not usually assessed. National data processing and reporting should be audited, and training undertaken to harmonize these activities. The apparently bigger catches probably result from better reporting of actual catches rather than any increase in the amount of fish landed. Current data are sufficient only for a general overview of global inland catches of fish, rather than for the detailed analysis needed for management, policy formulation, and the valuation of inland fisheries. There is a need for improved approaches to data collection and for historical catches to be corrected to account for changes in methodologies and reporting procedures.