Objective Although industrial sectors involving semiconductors; memory and storage technologies; display, optical, and photonic technologies; energy; biotechnology; and health care produce the most products that contain nanomaterials, nanotechnology is also used as an environmental technology to protect the environment through pollution prevention, treatment, and cleanup. In this review, we focus on environmental cleanup and provide a background and overview of current practice; research findings; societal issues; potential environment, health, and safety implications; and future directions for nanoremediation. We do not present an exhaustive review of chemistry/engineering methods of the technology but rather an introduction and summary of the applications of nanotechnology in remediation. We also discuss nanoscale zerovalent iron in detail. Data sources We searched the Web of Science for research studies and accessed recent publicly available reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies and organizations that addressed the applications and implications associated with nanoremediation techniques. We also conducted personal interviews with practitioners about specific site remediations. Data synthesis We aggregated information from 45 sites, a representative portion of the total projects under way, to show nanomaterials used, types of pollutants addressed, and organizations responsible for each site. Conclusions Nanoremediation has the potential not only to reduce the overall costs of cleaning up large-scale contaminated sites but also to reduce cleanup time, eliminate the need for treatment and disposal of contaminated soil, and reduce some contaminant concentrations to near zero—all in situ. Proper evaluation of nanoremediation, particularly full-scale ecosystem-wide studies, needs to be conducted to prevent any potential adverse environmental impacts.
Adaptive management has the potential to make environmental management more democratic through the involvement of different stakeholders. In this article, we examine three case studies at different scales that followed adaptive management processes, critically reflecting upon the role of stakeholder participation in each case. Specifically, we examine at which stages different types of stakeholders can play key roles and the ways that each might be involved. We show that a range of participatory mechanisms can be employed at different stages of the adaptive cycle, and can work together to create conditions for social learning and favorable outcomes for diverse stakeholders. This analysis highlights the need for greater reflection on case study research in order to further refine participatory processes within adaptive management. This should not only address the shortcomings and successes of adaptive management as a form of democratic environmental governance, but should also unpack the links between science, institutions, knowledge, and power.
Abstract Background The western Himalayan forest ecosystem faces escalating pressures from climate change and anthropogenic activities, demanding improved conservation strategies. Effective management requires understanding the seasonal fluctuations in vegetation, soil properties and microbial communities, but they remain poorly characterized across high altitude forests. We assessed these variables in 10 forest sites during the winter of 2023 and summer of 2024, analysing vegetation diversity, soil parameters, and microbial metagenomics. Results We found pronounced seasonal shifts in plant and microbial diversities, and in soil properties. Plant species richness, and Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were higher (p < 0.001) in summer than in winter while the community maturity index was higher (p < 0.02) in winter than in summer. Soil properties exhibited clear seasonal patterns: pH, available phosphorus (AP), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were higher (p < 0.05) in summer, whereas soil moisture (SM) and soil organic carbon (SOC) were higher (p < 0.05) in winter. Microbial alpha diversity indices (Shannon, Chao, and Sobs) were elevated (p < 0.05) in summer, while the Simpson index was elevated in winter, indicating a shift in community dominance. Beta diversity analyses revealed a significant seasonal shift in overall metabolic potential (KEGG orthologs; ANOSIM R = 0.222, p = 0.016), but not in general protein functions (COG), carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZy), or taxonomic composition (RefSeq). Therefore, despite taxonomic turnover, core metabolic functions were maintained, indicating strong functional redundancy. Structural equation models (SEM) confirmed distinct seasonal dynamics, revealing stronger plant-soil-microbe interactions and a greater proportion of variance explained by the model in summer (R2=0.64–0.72 for key paths) than in winter (R2=0.52–0.63). Conclusions The findings demonstrate that the western Himalayan ecosystem undergoes a fundamental seasonal reorganization. Summer is characterized by increased biodiversity, distinct soil conditions, and more dynamic microbial-ecosystem interactions, while winter exhibits greater community maturity and functional stability. The resilience of core ecosystem processes is underpinned by microbial functional redundancy, which ensures metabolic continuity despite taxonomic shifts. We recommend that forest management strategies account for these seasonal dynamics and focus on preserving the conditions that support this critical functional redundancy.
Integration of AI into environmental regulation represents a significant advancement in data management. It offers promising results in both data protection plus algorithmic fairness. This research addresses the critical need for sustainable data protection in the era of ever evolving cyber threats. Traditional encryption methods face limitations in handling the dynamic nature of environmental data. This necessitates the exploration of advanced cryptographic techniques. The objective of this study is to evaluate how AI can enhance these techniques to ensure robust data protection while facilitating fair algorithmic management. The methodology involves a comprehensive review of current advancements in AI-enhanced homomorphic encryption (HE) and multi-party computation (MPC). It is coupled with an analysis of how these techniques can be applied to environmental data regulation. Key findings indicate that AI-driven dynamic key management, adaptive encryption schemes, and optimized computational efficiency in HE, alongside AI-enhanced protocol optimization and fault mitigation in MPC, significantly improve the security of environmental data processing. These findings highlight a crucial research gap in the intersection of AI, cyber laws, and environmental regulation, particularly in terms of addressing algorithmic bias, transparency, and accountability. The implications of this research underscore the need for stricter cyber laws. Also, the development of comprehensive regulations to safeguard sensitive environmental data. Future efforts should focus on refining AI systems to balance security with privacy and ensuring that regulatory frameworks can adapt to technological advancements. This study provides a foundation for future research aimed at achieving secure sustainable environmental data management through AI innovations.
Zainab Tahir, Muhammad Haseeb, Syed Amer Mahmood
et al.
Abstract This study addresses the significant issue of rapid land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Lahore District, which is critical for supporting ecological management and sustainable land-use planning. Understanding these changes is crucial for mitigating adverse environmental impacts and promoting sustainable development. The main goal is to evaluate historical LULC changes from 1994 to 2024 and forecast future trends for 2034 and 2044 utilizing the CA-Markov hybrid model combined with GIS methodologies. Landsat images from various sensors (TM, OLI) were employed for supervised classification, attaining high accuracy (> 90%). Historical LULC changes from 1994 to 2024 were analyzed, revealing significant transformations in Lahore. The build-up area expanded by 359.8 km², indicating rapid urbanization, while vegetation cover decreased by 198.7 km² and barren lands by 158.5 km². Water bodies remained relatively stable during this period. Future LULC trends were projected for 2034 and 2044 using the CA-Markov hybrid model (CA-MHM), which achieved a high prediction accuracy with a kappa coefficient of 0.92. The research indicated significant urban growth at the expense of vegetation and barren land. Future forecasts suggest ongoing urbanization, underscoring the necessity for sustainable land management techniques. This research is a significant framework for urban planners, providing insights that combine development with ecological conservation. The results highlight the necessity of incorporating predictive models into urban policy to promote sustainable development and environmental preservation in quickly changing areas such as Lahore.
This EPTCS volume contains the post-proceedings of the Twelfth International Workshop on Fixed Points in Computer Science, presenting a selection of the works presented during the workshop that took place in Naples (Italy) on the 19th and 20th of February 2024 as a satellite of the International Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2024).
Against the macro-background of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals, eco-environment protection regulations are increasingly stricter. Facing high government regulatory risks and frequent environment lawsuits, corporate environmental compliance starts to play a vital role in healthy corporate operation. Law fulfillment routes constitute a critical part in corporate environmental compliance. Few academic scholars have conducted a profound analysis or discussion of legal accomplishment routes for corporate environmental compliances. As a matter of fact, legal routes for accomplishing corporate environmental compliance should be based proper theories concerning corporate environmental rights and obligations as well as dual layer nested governance structure (government environmental power and corporate environmental liabilities). Under the guidance of environmental jurisprudence, enterprises are responsible for setting up practical legal fulfillment routes for their environmental compliance-related rights and obligations. A diversified environmental governance layout composed of government regulation, enterprise self-discipline and social participation should be established. Within enterprises, effective legal routes should be developed for dealing with government regulatory risks and environment lawsuit risks at the same time.
Jun-Hyeok Son, Christian L. E. Franzke, Han-Kyoung Kim
et al.
Abstract The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall interannual variability is known to be strongly linked to the El-Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This linear relationship is the primary factor in controlling the interannual variation in ISM precipitation. However, there are many outlier cases, and such deviations pose significant challenges in seasonal prediction over this region. Here we show that such challenges can be attributed to anomalous atmospheric pressure patterns in the Western North Pacific (WNP) region. The anticyclonic circulation anomaly over WNP region causes the easterly wind toward the Indian subcontinent, leading to positive precipitation anomalies with stronger low-level moist convergence, while the cyclonic circulation decreases ISM precipitation. The linear baroclinic model simulation results further support that the WNP circulation pattern can serve as an independent factor for forecasting precipitation over India. The WNP circulation anomaly play the crucial role generating ISM precipitation particularly for July and September. Our study suggests that the role of the WNP circulation anomaly should be carefully considered as the secondary prevailing mechanism on the subseasonal timescale during the boreal summer in addition to the ENSO signal.