Environmental protection and the freedom of the high seas: The Baltic Sea as a PSSA from a Swedish perspective

In 2005, the Baltic Sea, except for its Russian waters, was designated as a particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The previous designation of the Western European waters as a PSSA—intensely debated within the IMO—had repercussions for this process. Reviewing the case exposes the conflict between the fundamental principles, territorial sovereignty, and freedom of the high seas that international law seeks to balance. Likewise, review indicates that the PSSA concept is under almost constant reconceptualization as it is put to test in practice.     

The role of biological research in supporting policy needs

Within the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is one of several government departments which undertakes research in support of its policy aims. For example, DEFRA has responsibility for licensing the deposit of materials in the sea in order to protect the environment, public health and prevent interference with other uses of the sea. This includes assessment of pollutant responses in marine organisms. The objectives include assessment of the sub-lethal effect that pollutants have at the cellular, organ and individual level, for example in normal genetic, behavioural and reproductive activity and extrapolation of the potential impact of pollutants to populations. This work helps DEFRA to establish whether individually or in combination, pollutants have an adverse effect on the environment. This paper gives some examples of the research undertaken and demonstrates how biological research can provide cost effective solutions to analytical problems and an opportunity to predict the way in which proposed disposal operations may have an impact on the marine environment. The way such research may influence policy is also discussed.     

Predicting the capability-polar-plots for dynamic positioning systems for offshore platforms using artificial neural networks

As the capability of polar plots becomes better understood, improved dynamic positioning (DP) systems are possible as the control algorithms greatly depend on the accuracy of the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic models. The measurements and estimation of the environmental disturbances have an important role in the optimal design and selection of a DP system for offshore platforms. The main objective of this work is to present a new method of predicting the Capability-Polar-Plots for offshore platforms using the combination of the artificial neural networks (NNs) and the capability polar plots program (CPPP). The estimated results from a case study for a scientific drilling vessel are presented. A trained artificial NN is designed in this work and is able to predict the maximum wind speed at which the DP thrusters are able to maintain the offshore platform in a station-keeping mode in the field site. This prediction for the maximum wind speed will be a helpful tool for DP operators in managing station-keeping for offshore platforms in an emergency situation where the automation of the DP systems is disabled. It is obvious from the obtained results that the developed technique has potential for the estimation of the capability-polar-plots for offshore platforms. This tool would be suitable for DP operators to predict the maximum wind speed and direction in a very short period of time.     

The joint long-term distribution of design environmental factors for offshore structures Multivariate probabilities and simulating method

With the development of ocean engineering, it is one of the most important factors which determine the structural safety, cost and suitable forms of engineerings to select the ocean environmental design criteria. Owing to the complexity , variation and randomness of ocean environmental conditions, the commonly used methods for determining design criteria cannot consider the joint occurring probabilities of several environmental factors ,therefore, lead to overestimate design criteria of them and result in an unnecessary overspend invest in engineering. On the basis of the measured and hindcasting data and the multi-demension joint probability theory, this paper presented the study of the joint loads of wind , wave and current on the offshore structures and its responsible joint probability level with the application of random simulation techniques, and presented the joint design criteria of environmental loads for the realistic design of engineerings.     

Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature,together, are related to ecological behaviour

The promotion of environmental knowledge is viewed as a fundamental component of environmental education and a necessary prerequisite to ecological behaviour; however, it has little effect on actual behaviour. Nature-based environmental education, which combines the acquisition of environmental knowledge with the promotion of an intrinsic driver, namely connectedness to nature, is proposed as a holistic approach to increase ecological behaviour. This paper evaluates the effect of participation in nature-based environmental education in 4th to 6th graders (N = 255). As expected, increased participation in nature-based environmental education was related to greater ecological behaviour, mediated by increases in environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature. While both factors were similarly predicted by participation in nature-based environmental education, connectedness to nature explained 69% and environmental knowledge 2% of the variance in ecological behaviour. However, the design of our data do not evidence the causality of these relations, which are solely based on theoretical assumptions supported by literature. Nevertheless, the importance of fostering both environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature as complementary drivers of ecological behaviour, as offered by nature-based environmental education, should be researched further as a highly promising approach to fostering ecologically-motivated individuals.     

Effect of the Israeli “Green Schools” Reform on Pupils’ Environmental Attitudes and Behavior

The objective of this study was to explore the mechanism through which a reform in environmental education (EE) programs affects pupils’ relation to the environment. We surveyed 589 pupils aged 9–12 years in three types of Israeli elementary school: regular schools, schools that implement an EE program (designated “green schools”), and schools that implement a more intensive EE program (designated “persistent green schools”). Analyzing the results obtained from our questionnaire, we found that both EE programs had a positive effect on environmental attitudes. Importantly, however, only persistent green schools showed a direct positive effect on environmental behavior. In addition, we assessed the influences of various demographic and other factors on pupils’ relation to the environment. Of note, we found that students who spent their leisure time watching TV or engaging with other electronic media expressed less concern about the environment.     

Social and Geographic Contexts of Water Concerns in Utah

Public concerns about water issues are key considerations in responding to changing hydrologic conditions. Literature is mixed on the social profiles associated with resource-related risks. Using data from a household survey, we compare concerns about water shortage, climate change impacts on water supply, poor water quality, and flooding. We assess the combined influence of social and locational factors on each concern and variations across three valleys in northern Utah. Generalized linear mixed modeling is used, given the ordinal nature of most variables. Water shortage was the greatest concern, and female, older, nonwhite, and recreationally active respondents were generally more concerned about water issues than their counterparts. Education, income, and religious identity presented more complicated relationships with water concerns, with significant interaction effects with valley geography. This study has implications for improving public involvement in risk management and engendering support for future water policy and planning strategies to address these risks.     

Coverage inequality and quality of volunteered geographic features in Chinese cities: Analyzing the associated local characteristics using geographically weighted regression

The volunteered geographic information (VGI) gains increasing popularity with the general public and scientific community. However, the optimism about the VGI has been tempered by two critical issues: inequality in data coverage (social justice) and data quality. It therefore requires a better understanding of the mechanism driving VGI contributions and content quality. With a case of China, this paper demonstrates one potential avenue, examining the associations between VGI coverage/quality and local demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. In particular, VGI data are harvested from the OpenStreetMap for 333 cities in China. VGI coverage is measured by the total volume of different geographic features (point, line and polygon); and VGI quality is described from two aspects: completeness and accuracy. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) shows that both demographic and socioeconomic factors have statistically significant influences on VGI coverage and quality. More specifically, densely populous cities with more young, educated and non-agricultural people enjoy higher VGI coverage and quality. Cities with lower VGI coverage and quality are primarily located in the western and southwestern regions where the ethnic minorities concentrate. High VGI coverage and quality are possibly observed in economically developed cities with high marketization degree. Besides, possibility of high VGI coverage and quality occurs in cities with more labor in scientific research and greater percentage of employers in the tertiary industry. The GWR also demonstrates that the strength and nature of the obtained relationships vary across the 333 cities. The spatial non-stationary relationships may partially answer for the controversial empirical conclusions in earlier case studies at different scales. Quantitative analysis (Gini index, Lorenz curve and Moran's I index) further evidences the great inequality in VGI coverage and quality. It can be safely inferred that the differences in engagement and use of VGI, as a new digital divide, can raise troubling concerns on the social justice implications.     

Equity in the distribution of urban environmental amenities: the case of Washington,D.C.

This study examines equity issues in access to urban environmental amenities using Washington, D.C. as a case study. The amenities that are the focus of this study, urban trees and urban parks, have a range of social and health benefits for city dwellers, and Washington, D.C. is a major city with a large, diverse population and long-standing geographic divisions by race and class. Using spatial regression techniques, the study examines disparities in access to these amenities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status at citywide and sub-city scales. Mixed evidence is found for disparities in access across amenities and across scales. The results emphasize the need for studies of access to urban environmental amenities to pay closer attention to the differences between amenities and to issues of scale.     

Effect of environmental conditions on variation in the sediment-water interface created by complex macrofaunal burrows on a tidal flat

We quantified the increase in the sediment-water interface created by the burrowing activities of the resident macrofaunal community and its variation with respect to the physical conditions of the habitat on a tidal fat. We investigated environmental factors and dimensions of macrofaunal burrows with respect to tidal height and vegetation during spring and summer at three sites. A resin-casting method was used to quantify the dimensions of all burrows at each site. The dimensions of macrofaunal burrows varied both temporally and spatially and the increase in the sediment-water interface reached a maximum of 311%, ranging from 20 to 255% under different habitat conditions. The sediment-water interface depended on the duration of exposure resulting from tidal height, increased temperatures resulting from seasonality, and marsh plant density. Burrows were deeper and more expansive at both higher tidal levels and higher temperatures in summer. Burrow dimensions were sharply reduced with the disappearance of adult macrofauna in areas where the roots of the marsh plant Suaeda japonica were dense. The significance of this study lies in quantifying the burrow dimensions of the entire macrofaunal community, rather than just a single population, and confirming their spatial and temporal variation with respect to physical conditions of the habitat. Environmental factors responsible for variation in burrow dimensions are discussed.