Sustainable

Sustainable design is a phrase commonly used in the realms of design practice and yet the definition of the same remains quite fuzzy, thus providing the motivation for this research. The paper looks at contemporary sustainable design practices in the area of architecture design, building construction and landscape architecture. The objective is to understand what the term “sustainable design” really means as used in practice and what strategies are being employed towards the goal of sustainable development. The ...

Abstract: In the construction industry, project site operatives see resources wastefulness as inevitable. Moreover, there is often an absence of appropriate resources to support waste management. This notion makes participants to a project exhibit nonchalantly towards ...

Reductionism in rural development policymaking can have serious practical ramifications for human life and well-being. Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) are two approaches that have been assisting development practitioners to avoid reductionism and to take complexity seriously. Both of these approaches have primarily been applied at relatively small scales, and the application of SL at policy level has been largely in terms of the substance of policyconsidering the impacts of policy on livelihoods. Nevertheless, we argue that they offer insights for policy processes, as well. Drawing on these insights we outline factors that should be considered in an ecosystem approach to policy process. This is an approach that would be characterized by a set of nested deliberation and decision-making processes, by a method of problem definition, analysis and solution seeking that is iterative and based on negotiation among multiple stakeholders, and by careful attention to the cross-scale aspects of decision-making processes and the flow of information.

Sustainable development has become a central focal area in the global strategy for the development of the education sector's future. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to enable the recognition of Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) as major contributors to society's efforts at achieving sustainability.

In Africa, most events are crowned by political overtones. If these forums can be used to communicate information for development purposes, the continent could be far in terms of development.  A number of mass media scholars (Bennett, 2003; Diamond, 2004; Graber, 2010) have noted that democratization and the processes of achieving it must be tailored toward increasing domestic and global awareness and developing sophisticated citizenry. More than ever before, African governments have consistently indicated their commitment to political and economic development, but this laudable objective seems far-fetched as a result of the minimal role of the media in educating the public and encouraging effective participation and responsiveness.This paper is geared towards investigating how political communication and messages can be utilized for development purposes. With the globalization of economies over the past two decades, there has been an increasing surge in Africa for strategic politic...

There is a great need to reduce energy consumption in high-rise office buildings due to escalating environmental problems such as Urban Heat Island effect and global warming. The creation of landscape spaces in high-rise buildings today is not only for reducing building heat but to provide views and psychological getaway spaces for its occupants. This paper focuses on thermal comfort and users' perception of three different landscape gardens in a 21-storey high-rise office building in Penang, Malaysia. The four parameters of thermal comfort that were measured are: air temperature, wind velocity, humidity, and solar radiation. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate occupants' perceptions of comfort, use of the garden space and landscape preference. The findings from the field measurement reveal significant differences in all four thermal comfort parameters measured in the three landscape gardens. However, users only perceived lighting and wind velocity to be different.

Urban growth has been fast for decades. Because money is very important in this urban-based world, humanity focuses on economic development, and is often too busy to deal with sustainability. Therefore, in a world that is constantly changing, creating sustainable cities that contain a diverse range of habitats supporting plant establishment is essential. Some surprising urban habitats in which plants can grow, such as cracks on pavements and walls, rocky areas, abandoned places and roofs might be extremely important for sustainability, while urban spaces are under artificial pressure. In this study, which suggesting a method to create more sustainable green roofs for urban areas, and considering roof vegetation is already important for supporting the ecology of urban areas, we surveyed 37 roofs in an urban part of Trabzon city focusing on the habitat effect. We found 51 plant species growing on these 37 roofs, and determined five different roof vegetation typologies in the research ...

The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more im-portance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing trends in business and social environments, growing environmental consciousness in the society and government legislations to protect the environment as well as the business. In this context, this paper considers a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain network design with forward and reverse logistics components. An attempt has been made to develop a mixed integer non-linear programming model for this problem with different costs so that the sum of the total cost is minimized subject to different constraints pertaining to capacities of the entities of the system, demands of first customers and second customers. A generalized model is presented and then its application is illustrated using an example problem by solving the model using LINGO14. This model forms as a to...

Developing new and improved grazing systems for crop–livestock farms where crop production is the major driver of farm management decisions presents a unique research and development challenge. In southern Australia, a substantial proportion of animal production from grazing comes from regions and farms where cropping is the major enterprise. In this paper, we describe a multi-disciplinary farming-systems research approach (EverCrop) aimed at improving farm profitability, risk management and environmental impacts through the development and integration of new grazing options with an emphasis on perennial species. It has been used to analyse and target new opportunities for farmers to benefit from perennial species across dry Mediterranean-type and temperate regions of southern Australia. It integrates field experimentation, on-farm trialling, farmer participatory research, soil–plant–climate biophysical modelling, whole-farm bioeconomic analysis and evaluations of adoptability. Mult...

Agriculture is highly dependent on the social sustainability inherent in rural communities. Yet too often we focus on the economic and environmental drivers relating to agricultural production, ignoring the social and community aspects that make rural livelihood not only possible but also rewarding and nurturing. In this paper I focus on climate change as yet another factor associated with rural restructuring that defrays community wellbeing. I argue that attention to social factors and a stronger role for government in assisting communities will enable greater adaptation and enhance resilience in what are essentially very uncertain times.

In the Malaysian context, the designers of many office buildings are largely unaware of the effect of colour in the working environment. The choice of colours is made without further study of the problems that might arise from unsuitable colour choices. Employers should therefore be advised to improve the surroundings of the office in order to meet the needs and comfort of the employees. This study was conducted to enhance the awareness of both the building users and the facility managers on the importance of colour schemes in productivity. Three case study buildings were chosen, consisting of three office buildings in the capital city of Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed in each case study and feedback from the respondents was gathered. This data was then analyzed and the findings are presented. In Malaysia nowadays, there is a lack of awareness about the preference of colour schemes for office buildings. Many are unaware of the effect of the colour scheme on the employees' productivity. It is anticipated that this study will enhance the awareness and encourage the correlation between the working environment and colour matters amongst building users and management.

Urban growth has been fast for decades. Because money is very important in this urban-based world, humanity focuses on economic development, and is often too busy to deal with sustainability. Therefore, in a world that is constantly changing, creating sustainable cities that contain a diverse range of habitats supporting plant establishment is essential. Some surprising urban habitats in which plants can grow, such as cracks on pavements and walls, rocky areas, abandoned places and roofs might be extremely important for sustainability, while urban spaces are under artificial pressure. In this study, which suggesting a method to create more sustainable green roofs for urban areas, and considering roof vegetation is already important for supporting the ecology of urban areas, we surveyed 37 roofs in an urban part of Trabzon city focusing on the habitat effect. We found 51 plant species growing on these 37 roofs, and determined five different roof vegetation typologies in the research ...

Dans cette contribution, nous positionnons le champ de recherche qui concerne l'étude des microclimats urbains par rapport aux problématiques actuelles du développement urbain durable et par rapport aux champs de recherche voisins. En effet, pour proposer des solutions en réponse au changement climatique, ce champ de recherche doit aborder ses objets de recherche (forme urbaine, occupation des sols, trame vert, activités humaines…) différemment. Par ailleurs, dans un contexte de développement durable, ces objets sont maintenant étudiés comme étant au croisement de multiples enjeux environnementaux, sociaux et économiques. Nous explorons ces échanges entre disciplines en nous intéressant plus particulièrement au cas de l'objet de recherche que constituent les trames vertes. Dans un premier temps, nous expliquons en quoi les trames vertes intéressent les sciences du microclimat urbain. Nous faisons à cette occasion un point sur les connaissances actuelles du rôle climatique des trames vertes et les perspectives de recherche. Ces perspectives mettent en évidence la nécessité qui s'impose aux chercheurs de disposer de connaissances, méthodes et techniques venant d'autres champs disciplinaires. Nous explicitons certains des points d'articulation avec la géomatique, la biologie végétale, l'hydrologie, etc. occasionnés par cet objet d'étude. Nous montrons également en quoi les connaissances issues de la micro-climatologie urbaine peuvent être utiles dans d'autres domaines.

Abstract
Background: Kutai National Park (KNP) is a national park of lowland tropical rain forest that rich with biodiversity and conservation area comprising of terrestrial and coastal areas. It is one among those 50 national parks in Indonesia that has been muted, degraded, and encroached due to road built across the park connecting and transporting oil and gas, intermittent forest fires and local plus immigrant people. Since the existence of the national park, conflict of interest involved many stakeholders. Based on the current data, during 63 years from 1934 until 1997, this area has been drastically reduced from approximately 2 million ha into only above 200 thousand hectares This reduction was due to the change their land appropriation from park into partially mining concessions, settlement and agriculture. Objective: the aims of study were to analyze the needs of the future management of KNP and make a management model that can guarantee the existence of KNP in the future. Result: Prospective analysis result showed that the factors of institutional strengthening and partner engagement were determinant factors for civil-military based management model of KNP, while the driving factors to succeed the model were re-organization, law enforcement, and area security patrol. The result of combined scenario applied with intervention and tested with sustainable socio-economy aspect, protection and area security as well as management aspect and sustainable financing. Thus, the KNP management model used civil-military scenario. This model could ensure sustainable socio-economic of the community, protection, and security of KNP as well as the
management and sustainable funding for the future of the National Park.
Conlusion: the result of prospective analysis showed that the future needs for the existence of KNP were with setting the factors of institutional strengthening and engagement of Kutai Partner as the determinant factors; and factors of institutional re-organization, security patrol, and law enforcement as the driving factors for KNP civil-military based management model.
Keywords: Kutai National Park, Eastern Borneo, Civil–Military Based Model

The sustainable management of the destinations is essential for the development of tourism, especially through the planning of the efficient usage of the space and of the land, as well as through the control of the development and through the decisions to invest in infrastructure and services. Granting the fact that the new development of tourism is, as a scale and a type, adequate for the needs of the local community and for the natural environment, the sustainable development can consolidate the economic performances and the competitive position of a destination on a long term. This needs a support frame that implicates all the interested parties at regional and local levels, as well as an efficient structure that facilitates the efficient partnership and management. A basic request for the quality existence and perenniality of the tourist destinations from Romania is to remain competitive. The actions undertaken for this purpose should be considered as a part of the process of creation of a sustainable character, which represents one of the most important advantages in the competition. Thus, in order to ensure competitiveness, viability and prosperity on a long term, the tourist destinations should emphasize the full integration of the preoccupations regarding the sustainability within the decisional process and within their management practices and instruments.

To study possible biocontrol agents against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on potato plants in Hamadan, Iran, a sampling of sclerotia was conducted in potato fields, and after culturing one of these sclerotia on potato dextrose agar, a coelomycetous fungus was observed. After fulfilment of Koch’s postulates and assessment of morphological characteristics, this fungus was identified as Coniothyrium minitans. This is reported for the first time in Iran.

The survey showed that a total number of 109 species of NTFPs were traded locally in the tamu (open market), comprising 35 species of wild edible plants, 32 species of medicinal plants, 8 species of orchids, 4 species of bamboos, 6 species of rattans, 8 species of fish, 8 species of wild fruit trees and 8 species of other products. This survey covered ten most common tamu and major ethnic groups in Sabah, mainly Kadazandusun, Rungus and Murut.

Scarcity of water is a severe environmental constraint to plant productivity. Drought-induced loss in crop yield probably exceeds losses from all other causes, since both the severity and duration of the stress are critical. Here, we have reviewed the effects of drought stress on the growth, phenology, water and nutrient relations, photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, and respiration in plants. This article also describes the mechanism of drought resistance in plants on a morphological, physiological and molecular basis. Various management strategies have been proposed to cope with drought stress. Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency. Plants display a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole-organism levels towards prevailing drought stress, thus making it a complex phenomenon. CO2 assimilation by leaves is reduced mainly by stomatal closure, membrane damage and disturbed activity of various enzymes, especially those of CO2 fixation and adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Enhanced metabolite flux through the photorespiratory pathway increases the oxidative load on the tissues as both processes generate reactive oxygen species. Injury caused by reactive oxygen species to biological macromolecules under drought stress is among the major deterrents to growth. Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought stress. The major mechanisms include curtailed water loss by increased diffusive resistance, enhanced water uptake with prolific and deep root systems and its efficient use, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce the transpirational loss. Among the nutrients, potassium ions help in osmotic adjustment; silicon increases root endodermal silicification and improves the cell water balance. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline and other amino acids, organic acids, and polyols, are crucial to sustain cellular functions under drought. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, auxins, gibberrellins, cytokinin and abscisic acid modulate the plant responses towards drought. Polyamines, citrulline and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce the adverse effects of water deficit. At molecular levels several drought-responsive genes and transcription factors have been identified, such as the dehydration-responsive element-binding gene, aquaporin, late embryogenesis abundant proteins and dehydrins. Plant drought tolerance can be managed by adopting strategies such as mass screening and breeding, marker-assisted selection and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seed or growing plants, as well as engineering for drought resistance.

Scarcity of water is a severe environmental constraint to plant productivity. Drought-induced loss in crop yield probably exceeds losses from all other causes, since both the severity and duration of the stress are critical. Here, we have reviewed the effects of drought stress on the growth, phenology, water and nutrient relations, photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, and respiration in plants. This article also describes the mechanism of drought resistance in plants on a morphological, physiological and molecular basis. Various management strategies have been proposed to cope with drought stress. Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency. Plants display a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole-organism levels towards prevailing drought stress, thus making it a complex phenomenon. CO2 assimilation by leaves is reduced mainly by stomatal closure, membrane damage and disturbed activity of various enzymes, especially those of CO2 fixation and adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Enhanced metabolite flux through the photorespiratory pathway increases the oxidative load on the tissues as both processes generate reactive oxygen species. Injury caused by reactive oxygen species to biological macromolecules under drought stress is among the major deterrents to growth. Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought stress. The major mechanisms include curtailed water loss by increased diffusive resistance, enhanced water uptake with prolific and deep root systems and its efficient use, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce the transpirational loss. Among the nutrients, potassium ions help in osmotic adjustment; silicon increases root endodermal silicification and improves the cell water balance. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline and other amino acids, organic acids, and polyols, are crucial to sustain cellular functions under drought. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, auxins, gibberrellins, cytokinin and abscisic acid modulate the plant responses towards drought. Polyamines, citrulline and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce the adverse effects of water deficit. At molecular levels several drought-responsive genes and transcription factors have been identified, such as the dehydration-responsive element-binding gene, aquaporin, late embryogenesis abundant proteins and dehydrins. Plant drought tolerance can be managed by adopting strategies such as mass screening and breeding, marker-assisted selection and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seed or growing plants, as well as engineering for drought resistance.

There is a pressing need to explore alternate energy options which are sustainable, locally available and eco-friendly. About 70% of all air pollution (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates) comes from our use of fossil fuels for generating electricity, transportation, and hot water heating. Thus we moved to Non-Conventional Energy Sources. Energy is the gift of nature to the mankind in various forms. The development of mankind is directly proportional to the consumption of energy. There are various Non-Conventional Energy Sources such as wind energy, tidal energy, and geo-thermal energy, energy from biomass and most important solar energy. The world population and living standard of mankind is growing fast thus urbanization and industrialization of the developing countries such as India, demand for energy is expected to rise. The solar energy is more efficient, environment friendly and fastest growing sources because it overcome too many problems that seen in other sources. Some main disadvantage of sources as Wind energy is more costly, produce noise, require more open space. Biomass also faces some challenges as biodiversity, food security managing balance for land and water, controlling pollution of air, water and soils. Geo-thermal energy is the heat of the earth's interior. This energy is manifested in the hot springs. India is not very rich in this source.

Tourism development must be based on sustainability criteria, be long term bearable economically and ethically and socially equitable for the local populations of the destinations. Tourism forms identified by the literature as being “sustainable” are numerous: ecological tourism (ecotourism), green tourism, soft, rural tourism and agrotourism, community tourism, solidarity and responsible tourism, all these opposing to the traditional, mass tourism. According to some specialists only tourism in natural reservations or national parks is considered to be ecological. A larger concept of ecological tourism refers to that form of responsible travel, developed in natural spaces, that contributes to environment protection and local population life conditions improvement and wellbeing. Equitable tourism is a form of sustainable tourism aiming at applying in the tourism sector the principles of equitable commerce, respecting a series of criteria, that focus on respect of the residents and th...

In the fiercely competitive globalized tourism industry, where there is growing concern for the development of sustainable tourism, tourism stakeholders are confronted with the challenge of creating innovative product differentiation and effective marketing that will increase yield and promote sustainable tourism development. Food is a fundamental part of the tourist experience. Increasingly, local food is used in tourism as an integral part of the visitor attraction to enrich tourist experiences. Local food acts as a differentiating feature for destinations and can play an important role in increasing visitor yield, stimulating growth in other economic sectors and promoting sustainable occupations. The close relationship between local food and culture enables the promotion of cultural heritage by promoting local food. Thus, linking local food and tourism has the potential to create more sustainable tourism practices and outcomes. This study evaluates the role of local food in touri...

Barbados is almost wholly reliant on groundwater as its source of water largely due to replenishment during the wettest 1-3 months of the year. Annual renewable freshwater resources place it in the top 15 of the world's most water scarce countries. Acknowledging the scope of the problem, government officials have noted that the amount of water available for economic activity has become very limited and might therefore affect future development. Most of the proposed measures to date have focused on mains replacement and increased energy efficiency but little thought has been given to demand-side management. This study therefore attempts to provide a framework for managing the water resources in the island's single largest industry: tourism. It is conceptualised that a system of tradable permits would not only enhance the management of water resources, but should also reduce the cost of water resources to hotels.

Olive has been widely grown around the Mediterranean Basin for around 5000 years, where productivity and survival of this long-lived evergreen tree in environments of low and variable rainfall depend on physiological characteristics but also on management. The tree exercises effective control of water loss by transpiration and can also withstand intense internal water deficit that in turn increases extraction of water from soil. Critical aspects of management that maintain, albeit limited, transpiration and metabolic activity during hot dry summer months, are directed at both crop and understorey. Strategic decisions are selection of cultivar, tree density, and canopy size, together with surface management as tilled soil or as cover crop of selected species. Tactical adjustments are seen in extra pruning of olives and timing of tillage, or of grazing, mowing, or herbicides to restrict growth and water use of the understorey, especially following dry winters and during dry summers. S...

Economic prescriptions for the sustainable management of fisheries have typically been framed in the context of commercial fisheries. Fishery management failures have been characterized as a consequence of disjointedness between individually rational decisions and globally sensible outcomes-the "tragedy of the commons." The solutions proposed by economists flow from the insight that rational self-interest can lead to socially beneficial outcomes when ownership is secure and prices reflect the opportunity cost of resource use. Theoretical and empirical analyses have demonstrated that sole ownership, individual quotas, territorial use rights, fishing cooperatives, and common property management regimes can promote biologically and economically sustainable fisheries. Nevertheless, implementation of these "solutions" has met with resistance, due in part to the impossibility of uncoupling species within ecological systems and conflict between the proposed solutions and broadly accepted concepts of social justice. The problem of devising a sustainable management strategy is exacerbated in fisheries with diverse consumptive and non-consumptive users. An empirically based simulation-optimization model is used to characterize the biological and economic effects of alternative management regimes in a fishery with commercial and sport fishers. The results are generalized to the case of additional use and nonuse values.

Olive has been widely grown around the Mediterranean Basin for around 5000 years, where productivity and survival of this long-lived evergreen tree in environments of low and variable rainfall depend on physiological characteristics but also on management. The tree exercises effective control of water loss by transpiration and can also withstand intense internal water deficit that in turn increases extraction of water from soil. Critical aspects of management that maintain, albeit limited, transpiration and metabolic activity during hot dry summer months, are directed at both crop and understorey. Strategic decisions are selection of cultivar, tree density, and canopy size, together with surface management as tilled soil or as cover crop of selected species. Tactical adjustments are seen in extra pruning of olives and timing of tillage, or of grazing, mowing, or herbicides to restrict growth and water use of the understorey, especially following dry winters and during dry summers. S...

In the advent of oil discovery, the boom of infrastructure development in the country is always phenomenal and if it’s sustainably planned and properly implemented can change the socio-economic fortunes of the country. The case varies for various countries due to some action and inactions of its policy makers and this become evident in the spatial disposition of its infrastructure as well as the growth of the city as a whole. The euphoria and excitement surrounding Ghana’s oil discovery have reach a state which calls for policy makers to take a break from the jubilation and plan for its infrastructure development in the next few decades. The type of plans instituted would determine whether important cities like Tema would develop to be like Port Harcourt of Nigeria or Masdar of Abu-Dhabi. As the treasures base of the nation, and the fact that it is the centre of the oil and gas industry-technology in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region; Port Harcourt holds the largest accumulation of heavy and light industry-technology in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. As a city which was original founded and planned by the colonial masters to export coal to England is also nicknamed the Garden City. It has a vibrant oil economy; offering myriad opportunities for business, investment and tourism but also have its own infrastructural and physical development challenges that do not reflect the apparent wealth accrued from the oil.
Masdar City on the other hand is a young city which was master planned by the Brit-ish Architectural firm Norman Forster and Partners in 2008 and is also growing fast due to the revenues from the 1971 oil discovery in United Arab Emirates. Abu-Dhabi, the capital state of the UAE sprang from a fishermen and hunters community by applying the latest principles of sustainability, explore renewable resources of energy that has transform it to an open, industrious, progressive and tourist capital. Masdar City a part of Abu-Dhabi urban utopia (as described by some urban and development planners) represent a new type of urban setting and lifestyles that blend innovation, technology and sustainability in the harsh desert climatic condition. Just as C.A. Doxiadis planned Tema (the industrial city and largest port in Ghana) in the 1960’s with the Garden-City concept, the construction of Masdar City is also being heralded as "the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city". It is therefore prudent to critically interrogate the underlying issues and principles that informed the infrastructure development and planning of the two cities (Masdar and Port Harcourt) which have dictated the final disposition of the urban fabric.
In this paper, the current trends of sustainable infrastructure planning and develop-ment in Post-Oil Cities with reference to Port Harcourt and Masdar City would be discussed. The issue of relevance of Masdar City Infrastructure Development and Port Harcourt Current state of Infrastructure would be critically analysed as well. Finally, recommendations from lessons gleaned from both Masdar City and Port Harcourt would be made for the future infrastructure planning and development of Tema Metropolitan area when the oil revenues in Ghana start to manifest in Ghana’s economy.

Key Words: Sustainable, Infrastructure Planning, Development

Little is known about the factors underlying the pro-environmental behaviour of marketing managers. This paper explores the determinants of green marketing practices in the Red Sea hotel sector in Egypt. The research model assesses green marketing practices against the personal and organisational values of the marketing managers, together with a range of organisational and demographic variables expected to influence hotels' environmental behaviour. From a valid sample of 89 marketing managers responsible for 194 hotels, it was found that organisational contextual variables, and in particular targeting Western tourists, being affiliated to an international hotel chain and the marketers' own demographics, including age, academic subject studied and gender, were the best predictors of more proactive green marketing. Personal environmental values did not explain the pro-environmental behaviour of marketers, and the organisational environmental values that had explained part of their ethical behaviour had resulted from voluntarism rather than utilitarian or conformance-based values. Government policies also appeared to be ineffective determinants. The implications for green marketing practices are also discussed.

The pursuit of sustainability in particular places and sectors often unravels at the edges. Efforts to tackle environmental problems in one place shift them somewhere else or are overwhelmed by external changes in drivers. Gains in energy efficiency of appliances used in houses are offset by greater total numbers or compensating changes in patterns of use. Analytical perspectives and practical initiatives, which treat production and consumption jointly, are needed to complement experiences and efforts with sector-, place-, product-and consumer-oriented approaches.

A research was undertaken to investigate sustainable utilisation of a wetland in Mwaonazvawo Village in Mutasa District of Manicaland Province. A questionnaire survey triangulated with interviews, field observations and measurements were used to collect data. The average land area per farmer was 352,9 m 2 and most farmers grew vegetables, citrus fruits, tubers, sugar cane and bananas and also reared cattle and fish to supplement their diets. Soil and moisture conservation practices identified included mulching; crop rotation and storm drain construction. These conservation practices and site-specific pressure state response indicators should be developed for monitoring sustainable wetland utilisation.

Shell group and specifically the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in Nigeria may require an alternative approach to sustainable development if they wish to merit the full confidence of communities in areas of the world as complex and distressed as Ogoni.

The education system is witnessing a change from traditional talk and chalk method to newly invented concepts and culture. There are forces which shape the educational innovation; competition and options necessarily leading to innovations in the education system. This paper tries to outline the different types of innovations that could be made to education sector to make it more competitive and the challenges or hurdles that exist restrict to innovations. To make the education system a sustainable entity it needs to focus on areas which can add value to society. Innovat ion in the educational field represents the ideas changing the traditional culture into new and creative ones. This step has been taken in order to offer a large platform for academic and expert's discussions to create knowledge and exchange of ideas.

Sustainable development is a widely used term, which has been increasingly infl uential on UK planning, housing and urban policy in recent years. Debates about sustainability no longer consider sustainability solely as an environmental concern, but also incorporate economic and social dimensions. However, while a social dimension to sustainability is widely accepted, exactly what this means has not been very clearly defi ned or agreed. This paper aims to address this disparity through a detailed exploration and defi nition of the concept of social sustainability within the urban context. The relationship between urban form and social sustainability is explored and two main dimensions of social sustainability are identifi ed and discussed in detail: equitable access and the sustainability of the community itself. aspects of social sustainability and concepts such as the 'sustainable community', which is underpinned by, among other factors, social equity and justice. Such communities are widely envisaged to provide a setting for long-term human activity and interaction that is equitable, inclusive and sustainable in the broader sense of the term (economically and environmentally as well as socially). This paper examines the underlying principles of social sustainability and their interpretation and provides a defi nition of social sustainability with particular reference to the British urban context. This paper calls on research carried out by the CityForm: Sustainable Urban Form Consortium, which examined the relationship between urban form and sustainability in UK neighbourhoods over a four-year period. Its starting point was the testing of the claim that more compact, high-density and mixed-use urban forms are environmentally sound, effi cient for transport, socially benefi cial and economically viable. From this standpoint, sustainable development, sustainability and associated aspects were examined in specifi c relation to the built environment. While an overall defi nition of sustainability was sought for the purposes of the wider research project, this paper focuses on social sustainability in the neighbourhood. The broad discussions of sustainability herein pinpoint not only a defi nition of social sustainability at the scale of the neighbourhood but specifi cally highlight those aspects of social sustainability that are claimed to be infl uenced by the built environment at this scale. The following section provides such an examination of existing interpretations of social sustainability and related concepts within the urban context.

A healthy Environment is essential for the growth and survival of all living things. The growing concern on environment calls for a new direction to address developmental issues in a more scientific manner. Sustainable development requires economic growth, social and cultural progress and protection of environment. Conservation of environment has become a challenge to development due to population growth and consequent pressure on natural resources. As life-sustaining systems are threatened by growing pressure of human activity, it is imperative to become proactive and to contribute to reduce global warming, pollution, scarcity of fresh water and the loss of biodiversity. The future of mankind is inevitably linked to the sustenance of plants, animals and ecosystems.

Day by day the quality of drinking water is deteriorating. Hence it is a need of the time to supply clean and safe drinking water to the public. Sand filtration is one of the techniques used for to obtain the clean water. According to the World Health Organization, water and sanitation are the primary drivers of public health. The main objective of this research work is to improve the filtration technologies to make them more sustainable and accessible for the public. This study focused on developing improved modified operating methods for rapid sand filtration technology. In this an attempt is made one modified rapid sand filter and compare with conventional rapid sand filter. The main objective to increase the overall efficiency of conventional rapid sand filters by some modification. For construction of modified filter PVC granules are used as capping material as well as ferric chloride also used. Both the material help to achieve the lower turbidity and total dissolved solid concentration.

Scarcity of water is a severe environmental constraint to plant productivity. Drought-induced loss in crop yield probably exceeds losses from all other causes, since both the severity and duration of the stress are critical. Here, we have reviewed the effects of drought stress on the growth, phenology, water and nutrient relations, photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, and respiration in plants. This article also describes the mechanism of drought resistance in plants on a morphological, physiological and molecular basis. Various management strategies have been proposed to cope with drought stress. Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency. Plants display a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole-organism levels towards prevailing drought stress, thus making it a complex phenomenon. CO2 assimilation by leaves is reduced mainly by stomatal closure, membrane damage and disturbed activity of various enzymes, especially those of CO2 fixation and adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Enhanced metabolite flux through the photorespiratory pathway increases the oxidative load on the tissues as both processes generate reactive oxygen species. Injury caused by reactive oxygen species to biological macromolecules under drought stress is among the major deterrents to growth. Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought stress. The major mechanisms include curtailed water loss by increased diffusive resistance, enhanced water uptake with prolific and deep root systems and its efficient use, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce the transpirational loss. Among the nutrients, potassium ions help in osmotic adjustment; silicon increases root endodermal silicification and improves the cell water balance. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline and other amino acids, organic acids, and polyols, are crucial to sustain cellular functions under drought. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, auxins, gibberrellins, cytokinin and abscisic acid modulate the plant responses towards drought. Polyamines, citrulline and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce the adverse effects of water deficit. At molecular levels several drought-responsive genes and transcription factors have been identified, such as the dehydration-responsive element-binding gene, aquaporin, late embryogenesis abundant proteins and dehydrins. Plant drought tolerance can be managed by adopting strategies such as mass screening and breeding, marker-assisted selection and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seed or growing plants, as well as engineering for drought resistance.

An assessment of some heavy metals concentrations in lettuce in irrigated with waste water in Tamale Metropolis in Ghana has been carried out. Analysis of water and lettuce samples revealed that the mean concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in lettuce were 0.436, 0.345, 0.068, 0.017, 0.04 and 0.038 mg/L and 0.167, 0.163, 0.104, 0.127, 0.142 respectively. With exception of Mn and Cd, the concentrations of heavy metals in the irrigation water, irrigated soils and irrigated lettuce, were within the FAO recommended levels. The mean concentrations of nutrients (NO 3 -N, SO 4 and PO 4 -P) in the wastewater-irrigated lettuce, and well water-irrigated lettuce were 15.36, 0.88, 0.28 and 19.09, 1.117, 0.0573 respectively. Though, heavy metals concentrations in the lettuce were low, regular monitoring are required to prevent heavy metal accumulation with their attendant health implications in the consuming public.

This paper is related to a project I have made during the erasmus studying in İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi, for the lecture in Sustainable Energy Development.
It explains what Fossil Fuels means; it classifies Fossil Fuels on the earth, and makes a comparisons among countries; it identifies the Fossil Fuels Life Cycle, and it compares the countries consumption of Fossil Fuels.

In light of Estidama Guidelines, assessment method, and other documents (building code, standards, and design guidance), a sustainable house was designed following an integrated process of design and performance evaluation. The design achieved considerable improvement over a typical Emirati house case; 59% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and utility bill. Such a methodology could be valuable to other building professionals in the UAE who might search for a clear application model.

Sustainability as a concept has created enormous pressure on supply chain management. During the last few decades companies from all sectors of industry have not only needed to deliver quality products right on time, but they now also have to comply with environmental, economical, ethical and the social pressures placed on the business. To improve supply chain performance, managers should know exactly what is happening along their supply chain. It is therefore argued that supply chain mapping will deliver insights into the complexity of a supply network and should be the first step in any business if performance or overall sustainability is to be improved. This paper focuses on the role of supply chain mapping in relation to establishing a framework for sustainability. Current research results show that supply chain mapping can provide a significant insight into the complexity and hidden details of a supply network. To-date, this research has demonstrated that, in the context of Sri Lankan tea supply chain, the network is non-rational and does not display a linear graphic, but rather a complex network that is intertwined with many player and stakeholder interactions outside of typical value creation perspectives.