• Energy Research
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• 11. Sustainability close
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Water is the key limiting factor in socioeconomic and ecological development, but it is adversely affected by climate change. The novel virtual water (VW) concept and water, energy, food, biodiversity, and human health (WEFBH) nexus approach are powerful tools to assess the sustainability of a region through the lens of climate change. Climate change-related challenges and water are complex and intertwined. This paper analyzed the significant WEFBH sectors using the multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. The AHP model demonstrated quantitative relationships among WEFBH nexus sustainability indicators in the Greater Horn of Africa countries. Besides, the net VW imports and water footprints of major staple crops were assessed. The composite WEFBH nexus indices varied from 0.10 to 0.14. The water footprint of crops is increasing period by period. The results also revealed that most countries in the study area are facing WEFBH domains unsustainability due to weak planning or improper management strategies. The strong policy constancy among the WEFBH sector is vital for dissociating the high-water consumption from crop production, energy, environmental, and human health system. Thus, this study enhances insights into the interdependencies, interconnectedness, and interactions of sectors thereby strengthening the coordination, complementarities, and synergies among them. To attain sustainable development, we urgently call all public and private entities to value the amount of VW used in their daily activities and design better policies on the complex WEFBH nexus and future climate change.

Les montagnes abritent une part considérable de la population humaine. Environ un milliard de personnes vivent dans des zones montagneuses, qui abritent une riche diversité naturelle et socioculturelle. Aujourd'hui, de nombreuses personnes vivant dans des zones montagneuses du monde entier sont confrontées à des changements fondamentaux de leurs conditions de vie culturelles et économiques. Dans le même temps, les communautés de montagne ont défié les environnements difficiles dans le passé en s'adaptant aux conditions naturelles changeantes et en faisant preuve de niveaux remarquables de résilience. Dans cet article de synthèse, nous fournissons un aperçu complet de la littérature scientifique de langue anglaise sur les sujets liés à la résilience dans les zones de montagne sur la base d'une revue systématique de la base de données documentaire Scopus®. Nous proposons un point de départ structuré pour les interactions science-pratique et les activités concrètes basées sur l'action pour soutenir les moyens de subsistance et renforcer la résilience dans les zones de montagne. Nous suggérons que les lacunes existantes en matière de connaissances puissent être comblées en s'appuyant sur les connaissances locales et en co-créant des solutions avec les communautés. De cette façon, nous pouvons renforcer les capacités d'innovation et amortir activement l'impact des crises tout en soutenant la transformation délibérée vers la durabilité et la régénération pour améliorer davantage la résilience. Las montañas son el hogar de una parte considerable de la población humana. Alrededor de mil millones de personas viven en zonas montañosas, que albergan una rica diversidad natural y sociocultural. Hoy en día, muchas personas que viven en zonas montañosas de todo el mundo se enfrentan a cambios fundamentales en sus condiciones de vida culturales y económicas. Al mismo tiempo, las comunidades de montaña han desafiado los entornos hostiles en el pasado al adaptarse a las condiciones naturales cambiantes y mostrar niveles notables de resiliencia. En este documento de revisión, proporcionamos una descripción general completa de la literatura científica en inglés sobre temas relacionados con la resiliencia en áreas montañosas basada en una revisión sistemática de la base de datos de literatura Scopus®. Proponemos un punto de partida estructurado para las interacciones entre la ciencia y la práctica y actividades concretas basadas en la acción para apoyar los medios de vida y fortalecer la resiliencia en las zonas montañosas. Sugerimos que las brechas de conocimiento existentes se pueden abordar confiando en el conocimiento local y cocreando soluciones con las comunidades. De esta manera, podemos crear capacidad innovadora y amortiguar activamente el impacto de las crisis, al tiempo que apoyamos la transformación deliberada hacia la sostenibilidad y la regeneración para mejorar aún más la resiliencia. Mountains are home to a considerable share of the human population. Around a billion people live in mountainous areas, which harbor rich natural and sociocultural diversity. Today, many people living in mountainous areas worldwide face fundamental changes to their cultural and economic living conditions. At the same time, mountain communities have defied harsh environments in the past by adapting to changing natural conditions and showing remarkable levels of resilience. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of English-language scientific literature on resilience-related topics in mountain areas based on a systematic review of the Scopus® literature database. We propose a structured starting point for science–practice interactions and concrete action-based activities to support livelihoods and strengthen resilience in mountain areas. We suggest that existing knowledge gaps can be addressed by relying on local knowledge and cocreating solutions with communities. In this way, we can build innovative capacity and actively buffer against the impact of crises while supporting deliberate transformation toward sustainability and regeneration to further enhance resilience. الجبال هي موطن لنسبة كبيرة من السكان. يعيش حوالي مليار شخص في المناطق الجبلية، التي تضم تنوعًا طبيعيًا واجتماعيًا ثقافيًا غنيًا. اليوم، يواجه العديد من الأشخاص الذين يعيشون في المناطق الجبلية في جميع أنحاء العالم تغييرات جوهرية في ظروفهم المعيشية الثقافية والاقتصادية. وفي الوقت نفسه، تحدت المجتمعات الجبلية البيئات القاسية في الماضي من خلال التكيف مع الظروف الطبيعية المتغيرة وإظهار مستويات ملحوظة من المرونة. في ورقة المراجعة هذه، نقدم نظرة عامة شاملة على الأدبيات العلمية باللغة الإنجليزية حول الموضوعات المتعلقة بالمرونة في المناطق الجبلية بناءً على مراجعة منهجية لقاعدة بيانات أدبيات Scopus®. نقترح نقطة انطلاق منظمة للتفاعلات بين العلوم والممارسات والأنشطة العملية الملموسة لدعم سبل العيش وتعزيز القدرة على الصمود في المناطق الجبلية. نقترح أنه يمكن معالجة الفجوات المعرفية الحالية من خلال الاعتماد على المعرفة المحلية وإيجاد حلول مشتركة مع المجتمعات. وبهذه الطريقة، يمكننا بناء قدرات مبتكرة والوقاية بنشاط من تأثير الأزمات مع دعم التحول المتعمد نحو الاستدامة والتجديد لزيادة تعزيز المرونة.

The quality of the indoor microclimate in museums is a problem of great interest to the contemporary society, given that it is in close connection with the health and comfort of visitors and employees, as well as with the integrity of the exhibits. Taking into account the fact that museums are places that have a special role in the community’s life and therefore attract a very large number of visitors of all ages, a very important issue is to determine the degree of safety that the indoor microclimate presents. Thus, the quality of the indoor microclimate was investigated inside an iconic museum in Romania, dating back to the 19th century, because pollutants from external or internal sources of the building, generated secondary, often anthropogenic, as a tendency to defend/adapt to climate change (CC), contribute to both local and regional pollution, but also lead to challenges in identifying links between air quality (AQ) and and climate change (CC). The methodology used was based on monitoring the main parameters of the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity and CO2) over a period of between October 2020 and March 2021, 21 weeks, as well as on determining the microbiological contamination of the air and some indoor exhibits located in three different areas of the museum. At the same time, the study aims to identify cheap, easy to implement and non-invasive solutions for removing fungi identified on exhibits for long-term preservation and reducing the risk of various pathologies in humans following prolonged exposure. The results obtained show that the indoor microclimate in the old heritage building favours the development of fungi, which have a high degree of contamination of the air (over 800 CFU/m3) and of the exhibits, representing a potential risk for the health of the visitors and museum workers. Thus, six species of yeast and five different fungi genera were identified in the air, while on the exhibits were individualised six fungi genera, a species of yeast and a bacterium. The most viable solution for cleaning materials, prolonging their lifespan and reducing the risk of disease in humans was represented by the use of essential oils (EO). Three essential oils (lavender, mint and lemon) were applied on an exhibit with five different microorganism genera, and it was observed that they have the ability to inhibit the spores from moulds and bacteria, being a very good alternative to the usual chemical treatments that are used in the cultural heritage field.

Climate change is affecting human and geophysical systems in a variety of complex and interdependent ways. For nature-based tourism-dependent communities like those along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, impacts to the region’s abundant natural resources can subsequently affect the livelihoods of individuals who depend upon those resources to provide essential ecosystem services and support the region’s economy. Many of the area’s natural and outdoor recreation resources are collaboratively managed, making cooperation essential to address climate change impacts. In this study, we engaged North Shore stakeholders in a climate change risk assessment process through an exploratory application of participatory geographic information systems (PGIS). Stakeholder involvement allows for the co-production of science to deliver locally-relevant data and information. Involving stakeholders through a PGIS-based climate change risk assessment process allows locally-relevant data and information to be represented and visualized spatially. We used PGIS focus groups, as well as pre- and post-surveys, to solicit stakeholders’ perceptions of risk thresholds (i.e., the time scale of impacts) and climate-related risk severity to sites with built infrastructure, natural amenities, and recreation and tourism destinations. The stakeholders’ knowledge, as well as their commitment to their communities and local environments, influenced general perceptions of region-wide climate-related vulnerabilities. The PGIS exercises generated important discussion among stakeholders and shed light on how to more efficiently collect spatially-explicit data and information from stakeholders that can be used to inform mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Cultural heritage-specific research is scarce within the climate change literature and climate change policy documents, challenging climate adaptation efforts to minimize adverse impacts on cultural heritage. Engaging and assessing diverse stakeholders' values and integrating those with evidence-based knowledge is critical for timely, effective and transparent preservation and climate adaptation of coastal cultural heritage. This study assessed technical experts' and community groups' opinions about the importance of value-based prioritization considerations to provide more immediate guidance adaptation planning and decision making. The findings from four separate elicitation surveys demonstrated substantial consistency in value-based climate adaptation prioritization preferences for one type of vulnerable cultural heritage: historic buildings in coastal zones in the United States. In particular, the samples of cultural heritage professionals and members of community groups consistently rated spatial importance, uniqueness, and scientific value of historic buildings as very important considerations for climate adaptation prioritization decision-making. Also, consistently evaluated but of relatively low importance were considerations related to the cost of preservation and adaptation treatments, including previous investments. Few statistically significant differences were found among our samples in their perceptions of importance. These findings provide initial guidance to cultural heritage managers, particularly those with scarce financial resources to allocate for adapting coastal historic buildings, and demonstrate the need for continued development of approaches that provide rapid assessment of coastal heritage stakeholders' adaptation priorities.

Technological innovations have been a matter of contention, and their environmental consequences remain unresolved. Moreover, studies have extensively evaluated environmental challenges using metrics such as nitrogen oxide emissions, sulfur dioxide, carbon emissions, and ecological footprint. The environment has the supply and demand aspect, which is not a component of any of these indicators. By measuring biocapacity and ecological footprint, the load capacity factor follows a certain ecological threshold, allowing for a thorough study on environmental deterioration. With the reduction in load capacity factor, the environmental deterioration increases. In the context of the environment, the interaction between technological innovation and load capacity covers the demand and supply side of the environment. In light of this, employing the dataset ranging from 1980 to 2017 for the case of South Africa, the bound cointegration test in conjunction with the critical value of Kripfganz and Schneider showed cointegration in the model. The study also employed the ARDL, whose outcome revealed that nonrenewable energy usage and economic growth contribute to environmental deterioration, whereas technological innovation and globalization improve the quality of the environment. This study validated the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve for South Africa, as the short-term coefficient value was lower than the long-term elasticity. Furthermore, using the frequency-domain causality test revealed that globalization and economic growth predict load capacity in the long term, and nonrenewable energy predicts load capacity factors in the long and medium term. In addition, technological innovation predicts load capacity factors in the short and long term. Based on the findings, we propose that policymakers should focus their efforts on increasing funding for the research and development of green technologies.

Undoubtedly, fossil fuel energy consumption causes global warming. The question at the core is whether or not we want to quit energy consumption? The obvious answer to this question is “no.” Therefore, the necessity for innovation is curial to attain green energy and sustainable growth. This research specifically focused on Colombia, which represents the aforementioned threats to a large extent as the trajectory of economic expansion is characterized by significant CO2 emissions in Colombia. In this regard, we examine the association between globalization, renewable energy, natural resources rent, economic growth, and CO2 emissions from 1970 to 2017. The cointegration test confirmed a long association between the considered variables. This study employed the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, and Autoregressive Distributed Lag estimators for the long-run analysis. The long-run empirical results uncovered growth-induced emissions in Colombia. The result illustrated that the path of development is unsustainable in Columbia. In contrast, globalization and renewable energy demonstrated a favorable contribution to environmental quality. The outcomes of the Gradual Shift Causality indicated that globalization, natural resource rent, and economic growth Granger cause CO2 emissions. The findings highlight the need to enact well-coordinated measures to reduce environmental deterioration in Colombia. Colombia must aggressively promote the development of renewable energy and also foster a better viable environment for renewable energy investment to mitigate environmental damage caused by economic growth.