Description: Introduction   The paper analyses the environment pollution state in different case studies of economic activities (i.e. co-generation electric and thermal power production, iron profile manufacturing, cement processing, waste landfilling, and wood furniture manufacturing), evaluating mainly the environmental cumulative impacts (e.g. cumulative impact against the health of the environment and different life forms). Materials and methods   The status of the environment (air, water resources, soil, and noise) is analysed with respect to discharges such as gaseous discharges in the air, final effluents discharged in natural receiving basins or sewerage system, and discharges onto the soil together with the principal pollutants expressed by different environmental indicators corresponding to each specific productive activity. The alternative methodology of global pollution index ( I GP * ) for quantification of environmental impacts is applied. Results and discussion   Environmental data analysis permits the identification of potential impact, prediction of significant impact, and evaluation of cumulative impact on a commensurate scale by evaluation scores (ES i ) for discharge quality, and global effect to the environment pollution state by calculation of the global pollution index ( I GP * ). Conclusions   The I GP * values for each productive unit (i.e. 1.664–2.414) correspond to an ‘environment modified by industrial/economic activity within admissible limits, having potential of generating discomfort effects’. The evaluation results are significant in view of future development of each productive unit and sustain the economic production in terms of environment protection with respect to a preventive environment protection scheme and continuous measures of pollution control. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Research and Discussion Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s11356-012-0883-3 Authors Carmen Zaharia, Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ Technical University of Iasi, 73 Prof. Dr. docent D. Mangeron Blvd, 700050 Iasi, Romania Journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research Online ISSN 1614-7499 Print ISSN 0944-1344

Description: The need for an integrated approach to the global challenge of POPs management Content Type Journal Article Category Editorial Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s11356-012-1247-8 Authors Roland Weber, International HCH and Pesticide Association, Elmevej 14, 2840 Holte, Denmark Gulchohra Aliyeva, International HCH and Pesticide Association, Elmevej 14, 2840 Holte, Denmark John Vijgen, International HCH and Pesticide Association, Elmevej 14, 2840 Holte, Denmark Journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research Online ISSN 1614-7499 Print ISSN 0944-1344

Description: Introduction   The Consolider-Ingenio 2010 project SCARCE, with the full title “Assessing and predicting effects on water quantity and quality in Iberian Rivers caused by global change” aims to examine and predict the relevance of global change on water availability, water quality, and ecosystem services in Mediterranean river basins of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as their socio-economic impacts. Starting in December 2009, it brought together a multidisciplinary team of 11 partner Spanish institutions, as well as the active involvement of water authorities, river basin managers, and other relevant agents as stakeholders. Methods   The study areas are the Llobregat, Ebro, Jucar, and Guadalquivir river basins. These basins have been included in previous studies and projects, the majority of whom considered some of the aspects included in SCARCE but individually. Historical data will be used as a starting point of the project but also to obtain longer time series. The main added value of SCARCE project is the inclusion of scientific disciplines ranging from hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, chemistry, and ecotoxicology, to engineering, modeling, and economy, in an unprecedented effort in the Mediterranean area. The project performs data mining, field, and lab research as well as modeling and upscaling of the findings to apply them to the entire river basin. Results   Scales ranging from the laboratory to river basins are addressed with the potential to help improve river basin management. The project emphasizes, thus, linking basic research and management practices in a single framework. In fact, one of the main objectives of SCARCE is to act as a bridge between the scientific and the management and to transform research results on management keys and tools for improving the River Basin Management Plans. Here, we outline the general structure of the project and the activities conducted within the ten Work Packages of SCARCE. Content Type Journal Article Category Research Article Pages 918-933 DOI 10.1007/s11356-011-0566-5 Authors Alícia Navarro-Ortega, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain Vicenç Acuña, ICRA, Edifici H2O, Emili Grahit, 101, 17003 Girona, Spain Ramon J. Batalla, UdL/CTFC, Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain Julián Blasco, ICMAN-CSIC, Campus Rio San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain Carlos Conde, UPM, Avda. Ramiro de Maeztu 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain Francisco J. Elorza, UPM, Avda. Ramiro de Maeztu 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain Arturo Elosegi, UPV/EHU, Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain Félix Francés, UPV, Camino de Vera s/n, Valencia, Spain Francesc La-Roca, UV, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez 13, Valencia, Spain Isabel Muñoz, UB, Av. Diagonal, 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain Mira Petrovic, ICRA, Edifici H2O, Emili Grahit, 101, 17003 Girona, Spain Yolanda Picó, UV, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez 13, Valencia, Spain Sergi Sabater, ICRA, Edifici H2O, Emili Grahit, 101, 17003 Girona, Spain Xavier Sanchez-Vila, UPC, Carrer Jordi Girona 31, Barcelona, Spain Marta Schuhmacher, ETSEQ, URV, Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain Damià Barceló, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain Journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research Online ISSN 1614-7499 Print ISSN 0944-1344 Journal Volume Volume 19 Journal Issue Volume 19, Number 4

Description:    Within climate change impact research, the consideration of socioeconomic processes remains a challenge. Socioeconomic systems must be equipped to react and adapt to global change. However, any reasonable development or assessment of sustainable adaptation strategies requires a comprehensive consideration of human-environment interactions. This requirement can be met through multi-agent simulation, as demonstrated in the interdisciplinary project GLOWA-Danube (GLObal change of the WAter Cycle; www.glowa-danube.de ). GLOWA-Danube has developed an integrated decision support tool for water and land use management in the Upper Danube catchment (parts of Germany and Austria, 77,000 km 2 ). The scientific disciplines invoked in the project have implemented sixteen natural and social science models, which are embedded in the simulation framework DANUBIA. Within DANUBIA, a multi-agent simulation approach is used to represent relevant socioeconomic processes. The structure and results of three of these multi-agent models, WaterSupply, Household and Tourism, are presented in this paper. A main focus of the paper is on the development of global change scenarios (climate and society) and their application to the presented models. The results of different simulation runs demonstrate the potential of multi-agent models to represent feedbacks between different water users and the environment. Moreover, the interactive usage of the framework allows to define and vary scenario assumptions so as to assess the impact of potential interventions. It is shown that integrated modelling and scenario design not only provide valuable information, but also offer a platform for discussing complex human-environment-interactions with stakeholders. Content Type Journal Article DOI 10.1007/s11027-010-9274-6 Authors Anja Soboll, Department of Geography, University of Munich, Luisenstrasse 37, 80333 Munich, Germany Michael Elbers, Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Kurt-Wolters-Strasse 3, 34109 Kassel, Germany Roland Barthel, Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7a, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany Juergen Schmude, Department of Geography, University of Munich, Luisenstrasse 37, 80333 Munich, Germany Andreas Ernst, Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Kurt-Wolters-Strasse 3, 34109 Kassel, Germany Ralf Ziller, Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7a, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany Journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Online ISSN 1573-1596 Print ISSN 1381-2386

Description:    To avoid dangerous changes to the climate system, the global mean temperature must not rise more than 2 °C from the 19th century level. The German Advisory Council on Global Change recommends maintaining the rate of change in temperature to within 0.2 °C per decade. This paper supposes that a geoengineering option of solar radiation management (SRM) by injecting aerosol into the Earth’s stratosphere becomes applicable in the future to meet those temperature conditions. However, a failure to continue the use of this option could cause a rapid temperature rebound, and thus we propose a principle of SRM use that the temperature conditions must be satisfied even after SRM termination at any time. We present economically optimal trajectories of the amounts of SRM use and the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions under our principle by using an economic model of climate change. To meet the temperature conditions described above, the SRM must reduce radiative forcing by slightly more than 1 W/m 2 at most, and industrial CO 2 emissions must be cut by 80 % by the end of the 21st century relative to 2005, assuming a climate sensitivity of 3 °C. Lower-level use of SRM is required for a higher climate sensitivity; otherwise, the temperature will rise faster in the case of SRM termination. Considering potential economic damages of environmental side effects due to the use of SRM, the contribution of SRM would have to be much smaller. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-26 DOI 10.1007/s11027-012-9414-2 Authors Takanobu Kosugi, College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, 56-1 Toji-in Kitamachi, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8577 Japan Journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Online ISSN 1573-1596 Print ISSN 1381-2386

Description: Background,   aim, and scope Fujian reservoirs in southeast China are important water resources for economic and social sustainable development, although few have been studied previously. In recent years, growing population and increasing demands for water shifted the focus of many reservoirs from flood control and irrigation water to drinking water. However, most of them showed a rapid increase in the level of eutrophication, which is one of the most serious and challenging environmental problems. In this study, we investigated the algae community characteristics, trophic state, and eutrophication control strategies for typical subtropical reservoirs in southeast Fujian. Materials and methods   Surface water samples were collected using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic bottles from 11 Fujian reservoirs in summer 2010. Planktonic algae were investigated by optical microscopy. Water properties were determined according to the national standard methods. Results and discussion   Shallow reservoirs generally have higher values of trophic state index (TSI) and appear to be more susceptible to anthropogenic disturbance than deeper reservoirs. A total of 129 taxa belonging to eight phyla (i.e., Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Cryptophyta, Cyanophyta, Euglenophyta, Pyrrophyta, Xanthophyta) were observed and the most diverse groups were Chlorophyta (52 taxa), Cyanophyta (20 taxa), Euglenophyta (17 taxa), Chrysophyta (14 taxa). The dominant groups were Chlorophyta (40.58%), Cyanophyta (22.91%), Bacillariophyta (21.61%), Chrysophyta (6.91%). The species richness, abundance, diversity, and evenness of algae varied significantly between reservoirs. TSI results indicated that all 11 reservoirs were eutrophic, three of them were hypereutrophic, six were middle eutrophic, and two were light eutrophic. There was a strong positive correlation between algal diversity and TSI at P  〈 0.05. Our canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) results illustrated that temperature, transparency, conductivity, DO, TC, NH 4 -N, NO x -N, TP, and chlorophyll a were significant environmental variables affecting the distribution of algae communities. The transparency and chlorophyll a were the strongest environmental factors in explaining the community data. Furthermore, the degradation of water quality associated with excess levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in Fujian reservoirs may be impacted by interactions among agriculture and urban factors. A watershed-based management strategy, especially phosphorus control, should be developed for drinking water source protection and sustainable reservoirs in the future. Conclusion and recommendations   All investigated reservoirs were eutrophicated based on the comprehensive TSI values; thus, our results provided an early warning of water degradation in Fujian reservoirs. Furthermore, the trophic state plays an important role in shaping community structure and in determining species diversity of algae. Therefore, long-term and regular monitoring of Euglenophyta, Cyanophyta, TN, TP and chlorophyll a in reservoirs is urgently needed to further understand the future trend of eutrophication and to develop a watershed-based strategy to manage the Cyanophyta bloom hazards. Content Type Journal Article Category Urbanization in China and its Environmental Impact Pages 1432-1442 DOI 10.1007/s11356-011-0683-1 Authors Jun Yang, Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021 China Xiaoqing Yu, Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021 China Lemian Liu, Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021 China Wenjing Zhang, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Marine Biodiversity and Global Change Center, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, 108 Daxue Road, Xiamen, 361005 China Peiyong Guo, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021 Fujian, China Journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research Online ISSN 1614-7499 Print ISSN 0944-1344 Journal Volume Volume 19 Journal Issue Volume 19, Number 5

Description:    This paper reviewed 42 studies of how local knowledge contributes to adaptation to climate and climate change in the Asia-Pacific Region. Most studies focused on traditional ecological or indigenous knowledge. Three simple questions were addressed: (1) How are changes in climate recognized? (2) What is known about how to adapt to changes in climate? (3) How do people learn about how to adapt? Awareness of change is an important element of local knowledge. Changes in climate are recognized at multiple time scales from observations that warn of imminent extreme weather through expectations for the next season to identification of multi-year historical trends. Observations are made of climate, its impact on physical resources, and bio-indicators. Local knowledge about how to adapt can be divided into four major classes: land and water management, physical infrastructure, livelihood strategies, and social institutions. Adaptation actions vary with time scale of interest from dealing with risks of disaster from extreme weather events, through slow onset changes such as seasonal droughts, to dealing with long-term multi-year shifts in climate. Local knowledge systems differ in the capacities and ways in which they support learning. Many are dynamic and draw on information from other places, whereas others are more conservative and tightly institutionalized. Past experience of events and ways of learning may be insufficient for dealing with a novel climate. Once the strengths and limitations of local knowledge (like those of science) are grasped the opportunities for meaningful hybridization of scientific and local knowledge for adaptation expand. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s11027-012-9407-1 Authors Louis Lebel, Unit for Social and Environmental Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand Journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Online ISSN 1573-1596 Print ISSN 1381-2386

Description:    Socio-economic and climatic stresses affect local communities’ vulnerability to flooding. Better incorporation of socio-economic stress in local vulnerability assessments is important when planning for climate adaptation. This is rarely done due to insufficient understanding of their interaction, in both theory and practice. The omission leads to critical weaknesses in local adaptation strategies. This study analyses how socio-economic stress interact with climatic stress and shape local vulnerability to flooding, and how such stress can be more efficiently managed within local government organisations. A framework containing potential stresses was developed and applied to investigate how socio-economic stress affected exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity in two case studies, using interview and group exercise transcripts. Cases consisted of major development projects in two Swedish municipalities, Gothenburg and Lilla Edet. The cases were similarly exposed to climatic stress but differed in socio-economic context, and previous professional climate change experience. Fierce foreign competition and market structure were seen as the two most significant socio-economic stresses influencing local vulnerability to flooding through shaping the ‘local’ worldview. In falling order sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity were seen to be influenced by the socio-economic stresses. Two approaches to efficiently incorporate climatic and socio-economic stress in local management are proposed: shifting the focus of vulnerability assessments towards future sensitivity of people and settlements, rather than on the current infrastructure’s sensitivity, would facilitate their use in planning and by ‘mainstreaming’ adaptation into long-term strategic planning vulnerability would be more dynamically addressed and periodically revised. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11027-011-9337-3 Authors Mattias Hjerpe, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research and Water and Environmental Studies - Department for Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Nya Kåkenhus, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden Erik Glaas, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research and Water and Environmental Studies - Department for Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Nya Kåkenhus, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden Journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Online ISSN 1573-1596 Print ISSN 1381-2386

Description:    Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers (α-, β- and γ- HCH [lindane]) were recently added to the list of persistent organic pollutants regulated by the Stockholm Convention, and therefore, the legacy of HCH and lindane production has become an issue of global relevance. The production of lindane with the much larger quantities of associated waste isomers has generated large waste deposits and contaminated sites. This article presents an overview of HCH-polluted sites in Brazil as a basis for further activities related to the Stockholm Convention. The locations of HCH stockpiles and contaminated sites in Brazil arising from production and formulation have been compiled and mapped. This shows that the measures taken over the past 25 years have not resulted in remediation of the HCH pollution. An exposure risk study has been summarised for one major site and is included to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the contamination. Major site remediation efforts are planned at one site but people live close to several other sites, and there is an urgent need of further assessments and remediation to ensure the protection of human health and the environment. The Stockholm Convention requires a systematic approach and should be adopted for the assessment of all sites and appropriate isolation/remediation measures should be facilitated. The appropriate planning of these activities for the production site in Rio de Janeiro could be a positive contribution for Rio+20 highlighting that green economy and sustainable production also include the appropriate management of legacies of historic production of an industrial sector (here the organochlorine industry). Content Type Journal Article Category 11th Forum of the International HCH and Pesticide Association Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s11356-012-1089-4 Authors J. P. M. Torres, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil C. I. R. Fróes-Asmus, Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil R. Weber, POPs Environmental Consulting, Göppingen, Germany J. M. H. Vijgen, International HCH and Pesticides Association, Holte, Denmark Journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research Online ISSN 1614-7499 Print ISSN 0944-1344