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: The fisheries sector is crucial to the Bangladeshi economy and wellbeing, accounting for 4.4% of national gross domestic product and 22.8% of agriculture sector production, and supplying ca. 60% of the national animal protein intake. Fish is vital to the 16 million Bangladeshis living near the coast, a number that has doubled since the 1980s. Here, we develop and apply tools to project the long-term productive capacity of Bangladesh marine fisheries under climate and fisheries management scenarios, based on downscaling a global climate model, using associated river flow and nutrient loading estimates, projecting high-resolution changes in physical and biochemical ocean properties, and eventually projecting fish production and catch potential under different fishing mortality targets. We place particular interest on Hilsa shad ( Tenualosa ilisha ), which accounts for ca. 11% of total catches, and Bombay duck ( Harpadon nehereus ), a low price fish that is the second highest catch in Bangladesh and is highly consumed by low-income communities. It is concluded that the impacts of climate change, under greenhouse emissions scenario A1B, are likely to reduce the potential fish production in the Bangladesh exclusive economic zone by 〈10%. However, these impacts are larger for the two target species. Under sustainable management practices, we expect Hilsa shad catches to show a minor decline in potential catch by 2030 but a significant (25%) decline by 2060. However, if overexploitation is allowed, catches are projected to fall much further, by almost 95% by 2060, compared with the Business as Usual scenario for the start of the 21st century. For Bombay duck, potential catches by 2060 under sustainable scenarios will produce a decline of 〈20% compared with current catches. The results demonstrate that management can mitigate or exacerbate the effects of climate change on ecosystem productivity.

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: 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.

Description: United Nations General Assembly resolution 69/292 provides that in developing an internationally legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the process should “not undermine” relevant existing legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, and sectoral bodies. An analysis of the varied interpretations of this ambiguous expression and its surrounding language raises questions about the role envisaged for such existing architecture. This article considers the practice of regional fisheries management organizations as an illustration of the possibilities and potential for improved practices generated from within existing architecture. It reviews measures taken to protect biodiversity and innovative applications of international law that have improved the ability of RFMOs to take such environmental measures. It seeks to highlight the importance of avoiding too narrow an interpretation of the notion of “not undermining”, and of recognizing the potential in existing architecture when designing an improved regime for the protection of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.

Description: On 24 February 2017, a workshop entitled “Law Beyond Boundaries: innovative mechanisms for the integrated management of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction” was held in Wollongong, Australia hosted by the Oceans and International Environmental Law Interest Group of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, in association with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong. The aim of the workshop was to address the question, how can international law be used in innovative ways to effectively conserve and sustainably manage marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ)? In this introduction, we briefly summarize five of the papers developed for the workshop, highlighting the way in which they address three important themes: the promise and limits of existing institutional mechanisms governing activities in ABNJ; interactions between established principles and regimes for ABNJ; and the lessons that can be drawn from existing global and regional approaches to ABNJ. We hope that the ideas developed in this article theme set will contribute to the ongoing discussions at the United Nations General Assembly, as the international community works toward the development of an international legally binding instrument to govern activities in ABNJ.

Description: Purpose   Land use is a main driver of global biodiversity loss and its environmental relevance is widely recognized in research on life cycle assessment (LCA). The inherent spatial heterogeneity of biodiversity and its non-uniform response to land use requires a regionalized assessment, whereas many LCA applications with globally distributed value chains require a global scale. This paper presents a first approach to quantify land use impacts on biodiversity across different world regions and highlights uncertainties and research needs. Methods   The study is based on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) land use assessment framework and focuses on occupation impacts, quantified as a biodiversity damage potential (BDP). Species richness of different land use types was compared to a (semi-)natural regional reference situation to calculate relative changes in species richness. Data on multiple species groups were derived from a global quantitative literature review and national biodiversity monitoring data from Switzerland. Differences across land use types, biogeographic regions (i.e., biomes), species groups and data source were statistically analyzed. For a data subset from the biome (sub-)tropical moist broadleaf forest, different species-based biodiversity indicators were calculated and the results compared. Results and discussion   An overall negative land use impact was found for all analyzed land use types, but results varied considerably. Different land use impacts across biogeographic regions and taxonomic groups explained some of the variability. The choice of indicator also strongly influenced the results. Relative species richness was less sensitive to land use than indicators that considered similarity of species of the reference and the land use situation. Possible sources of uncertainty, such as choice of indicators and taxonomic groups, land use classification and regionalization are critically discussed and further improvements are suggested. Data on land use impacts were very unevenly distributed across the globe and considerable knowledge gaps on cause–effect chains remain. Conclusions   The presented approach allows for a first rough quantification of land use impact on biodiversity in LCA on a global scale. As biodiversity is inherently heterogeneous and data availability is limited, uncertainty of the results is considerable. The presented characterization factors for BDP can approximate land use impacts on biodiversity in LCA studies that are not intended to directly support decision-making on land management practices. For such studies, more detailed and site-dependent assessments are required. To assess overall land use impacts, transformation impacts should additionally be quantified. Therefore, more accurate and regionalized data on regeneration times of ecosystems are needed. Content Type Journal Article Category GLOBAL LAND USE IMPACTS ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN LCA Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11367-012-0412-0 Authors Laura de Baan, Institute for Environmental Decisions, Natural and Social Science Interface, ETH Zurich, Universitaetsstr. 22, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland Rob Alkemade, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P. O. Box 303, 3720 AH Bilthoven, The Netherlands Thomas Koellner, Professorship of Ecological Services, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth, GEO II, Room 1.17, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany Journal The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Online ISSN 1614-7502 Print ISSN 0948-3349

Description:    Gross primary productivity (GPP) is a major component of carbon exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems and a key component of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Because of the large spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics of ecosystems, it is a challenge to estimate GPP accurately at global or regional scales. The 8-day MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) GPP product provides a near real time estimate of global GPP. However, previous studies indicated that MODIS GPP has large uncertainties, partly caused by biases in parameterization and forcing data. In this study, MODIS GPP was validated using GPP derived from the eddy covariance flux measurements at five typical forest sites in East Asia. The validation indicated that MODIS GPP was seriously underestimated in these forest ecosystems of East Asia, especially at northern sites. With observed meteorological data, fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by the plant canopy (fPAR) calculated using smoothed MODIS leaf area index, and optimized maximum light use efficiency ( ε max ) to force the MOD17 algorithm, the agreement between predicted GPP and tower-based GPP was significantly improved. The errors of MODIS GPP in these forest ecosystems of East Asia were mainly caused by uncertainties in ε max , followed by those in fPAR and meteorological data. The separation of canopy into sunlit and shaded leaves, for which GPP is individually calculated, can improve GPP simulation significantly. Content Type Journal Article Category Special Feature: Original Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s10310-012-0369-7 Authors Mingzhu He, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, 901 Mengminwei Building, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, 210093 China Yanlian Zhou, School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 China Weimin Ju, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, 901 Mengminwei Building, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, 210093 China Jingming Chen, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, 901 Mengminwei Building, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, 210093 China Li Zhang, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China Shaoqiang Wang, Qianyanzhou Ecological Experimental Station, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China Nobuko Saigusa, Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506 Japan Ryuichi Hirata, Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506 Japan Shohei Murayama, Research Institute for Environmental Management Technology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), AIST Tsukuba West, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8569 Japan Yibo Liu, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, 901 Mengminwei Building, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, 210093 China Journal Journal of Forest Research Online ISSN 1610-7403 Print ISSN 1341-6979

Description: Purpose   The aim of this paper is to provide science-based consensus and guidance for health effects modelling in comparative assessments based on human exposure and toxicity. This aim is achieved by (a) describing the USEtox™ exposure and toxicity models representing consensus and recommended modelling practice, (b) identifying key mechanisms influencing human exposure and toxicity effects of chemical emissions, (c) extending substance coverage. Methods   The methods section of this paper contains a detailed documentation of both the human exposure and toxic effects models of USEtox™, to determine impacts on human health per kilogram substance emitted in different compartments. These are considered as scientific consensus and therefore recommended practice for comparative toxic impact assessment. The framework of the exposure model is described in details including the modelling of each exposure pathway considered (i.e. inhalation through air, ingestion through (a) drinking water, (b) agricultural produce, (c) meat and milk, and (d) fish). The calculation of human health effect factors for cancer and non-cancer effects via ingestion and inhalation exposure respectively is described. This section also includes discussions regarding parameterisation and estimation of input data needed, including route-to-route and acute-to-chronic extrapolations. Results and discussion   For most chemicals in USEtox™, inhalation, above-ground agricultural produce, and fish are the important exposure pathways with key driving factors being the compartment and place of emission, partitioning, degradation, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration, and dietary habits of the population. For inhalation, the population density is the key factor driving the intake, thus the importance to differentiate emissions in urban areas, except for very persistent and mobile chemicals that are taken in by the global population independently from their place of emission. The analysis of carcinogenic potency (TD 50 ) when volatile chemicals are administrated to rats and mice by both inhalation and an oral route suggests that results by one route can reasonably be used to represent another route. However, we first identify and mark as interim chemicals for which observed tumours are directly related to a given exposure route (e.g. for nasal or lung, or gastrointestinal cancers) or for which absorbed fraction by inhalation and by oral route differ greatly. Conclusions   A documentation of the human exposure and toxicity models of USEtox™ is provided, and key factors driving the human health characterisation factor are identified. Approaches are proposed to derive human toxic effect factors and expand the number of chemicals in USEtox™, primarily by extrapolating from an oral route to exposure in air (and optionally acute-to-chronic). Some exposure pathways (e.g. indoor inhalation, pesticide residues, dermal exposure) will be included in a later stage. USEtox™ is applicable in various comparative toxicity impact assessments and not limited to LCA. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11367-011-0316-4 Authors Ralph K. Rosenbaum, Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Produktionstorvet, Building 426, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Andrew D. Henderson, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Manuele Margni, Department of Chemical Engineering, CIRAIG, École Polytechnique de Montréal, 2900 Édouard-Montpetit, P.O. Box 6079, Stn. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3A7, Canada Thomas E. McKone, University of California Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Dik van de Meent, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Michael Z. Hauschild, Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Produktionstorvet, Building 426, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark Shanna Shaked, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Ding Sheng Li, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Lois S. Gold, University of California Berkeley, and Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), Oakland, CA, USA Olivier Jolliet, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Journal The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Online ISSN 1614-7502 Print ISSN 0948-3349