The COVID-19 pandemic developed the severest public health event in recent history. The first stage for defence has already been documented. This paper moves forward to contribute to the second stage ...for offensive by assessing the energy and environmental impacts related to vaccination. The vaccination campaign is a multidisciplinary topic incorporating policies, population behaviour, planning, manufacturing, materials supporting, cold-chain logistics and waste treatment. The vaccination for pandemic control in the current phase is prioritised over other decisions, including energy and environmental issues. This study documents that vaccination should be implemented in maximum sustainable ways. The energy and related emissions of a single vaccination are not massive; however, the vast numbers related to the worldwide production, logistics, disinfection, implementation and waste treatment are reaching significant figures. The preliminary assessment indicates that the energy is at the scale of ~1.08 × 1010 kWh and related emissions of ~5.13 × 1012 gCO2eq when embedding for the envisaged 1.56 × 1010 vaccine doses. The cold supply chain is estimated to constitute 69.8% of energy consumption of the vaccination life cycle, with an interval of 26–99% depending on haul distance. A sustainable supply chain model that responds to an emergency arrangement, considering equality as well, should be emphasised to mitigate vaccination's environmental footprint. This effort plays a critical role in preparing for future pandemics, both environmentally and socially. Research in exploring sustainable single-use or reusable materials is also suggested to be a part of the plans. Diversified options could offer higher flexibility in mitigating environmental footprint even during the emergency and minimise the potential impact of material disruption or dependency.
•The fight with the COVID-19 pandemics is entering the offensive stage.•The global vaccination campaign is a large and demanding operation.•It requires substantial energy and related emissions.•It is a strong need to minimise the environmental impacts now and for the future.•Assessments indicate ~1.08 × 1010 kWh and emissions of ~5.13 × 1012 gCO2eq for 1.56 × 1010 vaccines.
Introducción: Los servicios ecosistémicos (SE) de provisión suministrados por los agroecosistemas de huertos familiares (AEHF) se refieren a los beneficios tangibles que las personas obtienen del ...ecosistema. Aunque los AEHF, han sido ampliamente estudiados, pocos son los trabajos que evidencian su abordaje desde una perspectiva integral, la cual incorpore características biofísicas y económicas al mismo tiempo. Objetivo: Realizar un análisis integral los servicios ecosistémicos de provisión suministrados por agroecosistemas de huertos familiares del Estado de México. Métodos: Se recopilo información sobre los SE de provisión (identificación, usos, destinos y generación de ingresos) mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas, cuestionarios, inventarios de especies, observaciónes directas, y recorridos en campo entre Marzo a Diciembre de 2019 en tres comunidades rurales, con la participación de 42 familias propietarias de los huertos familiares. Resultados: Se identificaron un total de seis SE de provisión asociados a 212 especies, las cuales fueron distribuidas en 172 géneros y 82 familias. Los Principales usos que los propietarios de los huertos dieron a los SE de provisión fueron ornamentales (51 %), seguidos de los alimenticios (39 %) y medicinales (32 %), donde especies como Cymbopogon citratus, Persea americana, Punica granatum, Zea mays e Inga jinicuil, tuvieron los mayores valores de uso (V. U. = 4). El destino de la producción fue autoconsumo, venta e intercambio; siendo el primero, la principal estrategia de sobrevivencia utilizada por los hogares. La venta de productos comestibles en fresco, así como de sus derivados represento ingresos brutos promedio de 1 333.47 USD/año para los propietarios de los huertos familiares. Conclusiones: Los servicios ecosistémicos de provisión proporcionados por los huertos familiares son vistos como una fuente importante de recursos, los cuales permiten satisfacer necesidades múltiples de los hogares rurales, catalogados en pobreza extrema.
Bastion castle ensemble is a complex structure that belongs to defensive residences, which usually include the historic gardens and play an important role in the formation of the townscape. The two ...main structural components of such built complexes are palatial body and bastion fortifications. However, some bigger ensembles can also include other functional buildings. Due to the nature of the structure, namely the presence of defensive elements, which followed military development, many bastion castles underwent huge transformations. They were built and rebuilt because of the outdated design or destruction by the enemy. That is why studying such ensembles only from a historical perspective or analyzing only their fortification part is not enough to understand the whole complex, which is much more than a single-type building. In contrast, this paper proposes an interdisciplinary approach to studying bastion castles on the example of a bastion castle in Zheshov (Poland). Specifically, this paper uses a combined strategy that includes interpretative–historical and qualitative-computational strategies as a systematic and comprehensive approach to the research. This strategy consists of seven points of analysis: historical transformations, composition, situation, landscape, fortifications, typomorphology, and space syntax. This work represents a methodological framework that can be used for the analysis of any bastion castle ensemble in the world.
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is claimed to make rice more sustainable by increasing yields while reducing water demand. However, there remains a shortage of high quality data to test ...these assertions, and a major research gap exists concerning the wider social and economic implications of SRI techniques.
Using primary data we developed a model to simultaneously analyse social, economic and environmental sustainability (greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ground water abstracted, energy use, costs, profit, gender, employment quality and employment quantity) to compare SRI to conventional flooded-rice production systems (control). Data was based on farmer-recall questionnaires in Andhra Pradesh, India. Analysis was per hectare and per kg of paddy.
SRI offered substantial environmental and economic benefits: >60% yield gain; GHG emissions, ground-water, fossil energy down by 40%, 60%, and 74% kg−1 respectively. SRI costs reduced significantly ha−1, and returns after costs increased by over 400%ha−1.
However, the socio-economic benefits accrued to the farmer at the expense of landless labourers. Employed labour demand (hha−1) reduced to 45% of control, with the greatest decline in female employment — rural India's most vulnerable sector. SRI reduced casual labour remuneration per hectare by 50%. Doubling rates of pay maintain total casual-labour remuneration, and only reduces SRI farm returns by 10%. Yet with no policy support it is unlikely that the private economic benefits of SRI will be shared to landless labourers.
Internalising environmental externalities (electricity and GHG) impacted control farms more than SRI farms, including producing negative economic returns when electricity was charged at INR4.7unit−1 for control farms. Increasing the farm gate price for paddy by 10% increased control farm returns by 38%, yet even with this substantial increase control farm returns were only a third of SRI returns without a price increase.
Identifying and understanding the trade-offs associated with SRI is essential for policy management — while it is not possible to eliminate all trade-offs, identifying them allows for the mitigation of losers.
•Environmental, economic & social data was collected for SRI farms in India.•SRI reduces the environmental footprint of rice.•SRI reduces costs and increases profits for rice farmers.•SRI reduces labour demand, reducing income to the most vulnerable in Indian society.•Understanding interdisciplinary trade-offs allows policy makers to compensate losers.
Mountain sites are usually seen as sites connected to pastoral or transhumant activities. This paper proposes an alternative interpretation for Neolithic mountain sites found in the southern Pyrenean ...slopes. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoological record of highland and lowland sites from this region is compared in order to observe any differences in crop and animal husbandry. Available data indicate that mountain sites present a similar record to the one observed in the lowlands. Most sites show clear evidence of permanent activity, including agriculture, as well as other practices connected to medium- to long-term strategies like storage of plant products. We propose that more integrated analyses are needed in this and other regions to fully characterize mountain economy during the Neolithic, since no clear evidence of pastoralism or transhumance has been found.
En este trabajo se muestra el reto que supone formar al futuro profesorado en ciencias en una lengua extranjera, a partir de un recurso que fomenta la creatividad, la motivación, así como el trabajo ...cooperativo y participativo. Se trata de que el alumnado de tercero de Grado en Educación Primaria (Itinerario Bilingüe) desarrolle y exponga cuentos para enseñar temas de ciencias curriculares de Educación Primaria durante las prácticas de la asignatura Didáctica de Ciencias Experimentales en Educación Primaria. La actividad se ha desarrollado durante tres cursos académicos y han participado un total de 162 estudiantes. La opinión del alumnado ha sido testada mediante un cuestionario diseñado para la práctica, con fiabilidad estadísticamente probada y con resultados muy satisfactorios. Además, los productos generados por el alumnado han sido evaluados por un equipo interdisciplinar por medio de escalas de valoración obtenidas ex profeso. Por último, se puede concluir que el storytelling resulta un recurso adecuado para la formación inicial del profesorado en didáctica de las ciencias en inglés, por su utilidad para el aprendizaje de la asignatura, por su futura aplicabilidad en las aulas de Primaria y por el fomento de la creatividad y de la formación competencial holística. El idioma utilizado no ha influido en la calidad de las producciones.
•Competing approaches to food security exist, with nontrivial differences.•We used a “conceptual triangulation” to explore four divergent approaches.•We found synergies that illuminate food ...availability and access challenges.•Results justify cross-disciplinary approaches to food security intervention.
Motivated by donor interest in innovative thinking on food security, we conducted an interdisciplinary, triangulation analysis of four divergent conceptual frameworks, each relevant to diagnosing food insecurity in developing countries. We found notable tensions as well as synergistic interactions between agroecology, agricultural innovation systems, social–ecological systems, and political ecology. Cross-framework interactions enhance our understanding of how sectoral and macro-economic development strategies impact on livelihoods, availability, and access. Re-invigorated, more profound dialog between divergent conceptual frameworks enables diagnosis of complex food insecurity problems, and context-specific interventions and innovations. Informed use of divergent approaches constitutes a new ambition for research and practice.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has magnified the insufficient readiness of humans in dealing with such an unexpected occurrence. During the pandemic, sustainable development goals ...have been hindered severely. Various observations and lessons have been highlighted to emphasise local impacts on a single region or single sector, whilst the holistic and coupling impacts are rarely investigated. This study overviews the structural changes and spatial heterogeneities of changes in healthcare, energy and environment, and offers perspectives for the in-depth understanding of the COVID-19 impacts on the three sectors, in particular the cross-sections of them. Practical observations are summarised through the broad overview. A novel concept of the healthcare-energy-environment nexus under climate change constraints is proposed and discussed, to illustrate the relationships amongst the three sectors and further analyse the dynamics of the attention to healthcare, energy and environment in view of decision-makers. The society is still on the way to understanding the impacts of the whole episode of COVID-19 on healthcare, energy, environment and beyond. The raised nexus thinking could contribute to understanding the complicated COVID-19 impacts and guiding sustainable future planning.
This study develops and implements an interdisciplinary framework to provide a holistic examination of the potential for tidal stream turbines (TST) to displace diesel generated electricity in remote ...coastal First Nations communities in British Columbia. In doing so it seeks to answer the following research questions: what is the distribution of practical tidal resources in the study region, for which communities is tidal energy a potentially viable electricity source, and what are the benefits and challenges of TST development. GIS Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and interviews with high level marine spatial planning decision makers are used to identify practical resource sites, bridge knowledge gaps, assess views towards TST development, and understand the desired characteristics of community energy systems. Additional techno-economic criteria for tidal site identification are included to identify communities that may be candidates for TST integration. Results illustrate the need for information provision to communities from resource quantification to characteristics of renewable energy technologies; self sufficiency as being the primary electrification driver; and funding/human resource capacity as being substantial barriers to development. Approximately 89.8 km2 of practical tidal resource is identified, with ≈21.9 km2 of techno-economically feasible practical resource in proximity to nine communities. Four communities appear to be promising candidates for tidal development, and overall results indicate significant interest within the study region for TST development. The interdisciplinary framework presented here provides a methodology that can be adapted and implemented in other jurisdictions to identify practical resources and incorporate social dimensions into MRE decision making.
•A holistic interdisciplinary framework for identifying practical resources and views towards tidal energy.•Approximately 89.8 km2 of practical resource is identified in the region and nine candidate communities.•Funding and information to assess renewable energy options are the greatest barriers to electrification.•Self-sufficiency and community autonomy are the greatest drivers for TST development.•Support and buy in for tidal energy development is identified in the study region from First Nations and planning authorities.
The growing chicken industry in Viet Nam has an increasingly important contribution to the country’s food security, but its development requires careful planning to prevent disease risks. This study ...characterizes the chicken production and distribution networks in Vietnam and identifies potential factors that could promote disease emergence and transmission. Qualitative data were collected from interviews with 29 key informants from five stakeholder groups representing the main nodes from chicken production and distribution networks (PDN). Three main networks were identified based on production type: a colored broiler and spent hen network, a white (or exotic) broiler network, and an egg network. Colored chickens and spent hens are the most preferred commodity by vietnamese consumers and their PDN is composed of production units differing in their scale and management and with long distribution chains involving numerous small-scale independent stakeholders. Live bird markets plays a central role in this network, which is driven by consumers’ preference for live chickens. The white chicken network presents an important duality, as it is composed of both a large number of independent household farms and traders operating independently with little chain coordination, and of large farms contracted by vertically-integrated companies. The egg PDN was the most organized network, being mostly controlled by large vertically-integrated companies. High level specialization and diversification of stakeholders is found in all three networks. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the main factors promoting disease risk along the PDN were the low biosecurity in household farms and live bird markets, mobile traders, the informal slaughter of birds and the management of sick birds. Findings from this study can be used to plan future studies to support food system planners in the development of safer poultry production and distribution in Vietnam.
•Colored broiler network is dominated by independent stakeholders with limited integration, and live bird markets.•White broiler network,s composed of large-scale farms, presents a duality between vertically-integrated and informal operations.•Egg network is dominated by large companies and large-scale traders.•Disease risks perception is linked to low biosecurity , the informal slaughter of birds and the management of sick birds.•Vietnam poultry system is perceived to suffer organizational deficiencies.
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