Laws, Institutions and Transboundary Pasture Management in the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountain Ecosystem of Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Lim

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Enhanced rangeland governance is a priority for the governments of the post-Soviet Central Asian states of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Major transitional challenges confront the newly independent states of Central Asia. These challenges include the withdrawal of subsidies previously provided by the centralised Soviet government; moves towards privatisation and the conversion of administrative boundaries to international boundaries. In this context transboundary approaches to rangeland management are essential. This paper highlights the challenges for effective pasture management in the Pamir, Pamir-Alai ecosystem; the inadequacies of pasture-related legal instruments and the absence of institutions for the implementation of these instruments. Transboundary management is hampered by the lack of agreements between the two countries and the differences between national level laws and institutions. Meaningful transboundary agreements and the harmonization of national level laws would be a significant step towards achieving sustainable transboundary pasture management. However, on their own these legal tools are insufficient. Long-term effective pasture management in the Pamir, Pamir-Alai ecosystem necessitates that the causes of degradation are addressed. Mountain communities would also need to be convinced of economic and other benefits before current resource-use practices could be expected to change. Institutional and capacity building and adequate funding are also fundamental to ensuring the effectiveness of any legal instruments that are developed and any strategies that are employed.

Governance of transboundary waters - roles of young professionals

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Patrick, MJ

2006-10-01

Full Text Available governance of transboundary waters, this integrated and interdisciplinary approach poses some challenges. Young professionals need to develop the ability to understand the epistemologies of the natural, social, economic and political sciences in order...

Climate change impacts on boundary and transboundary water management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce, J.P.; Martin, H.; Colucci, P. [Global Change Strategies International, Ottawa, ON (Canada); McBean, G. [Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Toronto, ON (Canada); McDougall, J.; Shrubsole, D.; Whalley, J. [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada); Halliday, R. [R. Halliday and Associates, Saskatoon, SK (Canada); Alden, M.; Mortsch, L.; Mills, B. [Environment Canada, Downsview, ON (Canada). Meteorological Service of Canada; Coleman, C.; Zhang, Y.; Jia, J.; Porco, M.; Henstra, S.

2003-06-30

Climate change will have an impact on water cycles, with increased river flows in some areas, and decreased river flows in others. This report focuses on climate change related issues of water management in boundary and transboundary areas between Canada and the United States. Water resources in these areas are governed by agreements between provinces, territories and the federal governments of Canada and the United States. The Climate Change Action Fund and Natural Resources Canada launched a project through a partnership between the Global Change Strategies International (GCSI), the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and the Meteorological Services of Canada (MSC). The objective was to address potential difficulties in water management resources within North America. This report presents the results of the collaboration. It includes climate scenarios and climate model outputs on future temperature and precipitation by 2050, under a range of emission scenarios. It also includes an analysis of Canada-United States transboundary water instruments for vulnerability to climate change, as well as perceptions of fairness in allocating water in the Saskatchewan River Basin. This report also includes a review of the terms of existing Treaties and Agreements of 11 river basins between Canada and the United States on boundary and transboundary waters. The report concludes that it is very likely that much of Canada will see increased intense precipitation events while the interior regions will have increased risk of drought. These two projections will have major implications for river flows and the management of water resource. Seven recommendations were presented to ensure that water is allocated fairly and responsibly. refs., tabs., figs.

Water stress in global transboundary river basins : Significance of upstream water use on downstream stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H A; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka, M.; Wada, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analysed in many of these international river basins, this has

Hydro-hegemony : a framework for analysis of trans-boundary water conflicts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeitoun, M.; Warner, J.F.

2006-01-01

The increasing structural and physical scarcity of water across the globe calls for a deeper understanding of trans-boundary water conflicts. Conventional analysis tends to downplay the role that power asymmetry plays in creating and maintaining situations of water conflict that fall short of the

Transboundary EIA: Iberian experiences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albergaria, Rita; Fidelis, Teresa

2006-01-01

The 1314 km border shared by Portugal and Spain is simultaneously a conflict generator, due to joint access to common resources such as water, and a motive for transboundary cooperation in terms of development projects based on common concerns. Transboundary cooperation associated with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) has been encouraged through the enactment of the Espoo Convention (1997). The European Union has adopted a Directive (97/11/CE Directive) under which taking transboundary impacts into consideration during EIA processes has become mandatory for member states. As a consequence, Portugal and Spain have approved related provisions. This paper aims to critically analyse the legal and procedural features of bilateral cooperation through the comparison of two case studies related to water management projects (the Sela and Alqueva dams). The paper highlights procedural weaknesses and puts forward a 'Good Practice Model' for cooperation under transboundary EIA processes. The model focuses on the ways in which EIA-based bilateral cooperation should proceed through the specification of phases and procedures for collaboration between Portugal and Spain in the identification and evaluation of transboundary impacts, as well in the public participation procedures

Transboundary water interaction II: the influence of 'soft' power

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeitoun, M.; Mirumachi, N.; Warner, J.F.

2011-01-01

This paper seeks to broaden the analysis of transboundary water interaction, by examining and interpreting the influence of ‘soft’ power therein. The ‘soft’ power of persuasion is understood to be exercised through discursive and to a lesser extent ideational means, and is interpreted in terms of

Resilience in Transboundary Water Governance: the Okavango River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivia O. Green

2013-06-01

Full Text Available When the availability of a vital resource varies between times of overabundance and extreme scarcity, management regimes must manifest flexibility and authority to adapt while maintaining legitimacy. Unfortunately, the need for adaptability often conflicts with the desire for certainty in legal and regulatory regimes, and laws that fail to account for variability often result in conflict when the inevitable disturbance occurs. Additional keys to resilience are collaboration among physical scientists, political actors, local leaders, and other stakeholders, and, when the commons is shared among sovereign states, collaboration between and among institutions with authority to act at different scales or with respect to different aspects of an ecological system. At the scale of transboundary river basins, where treaties govern water utilization, particular treaty mechanisms can reduce conflict potential by fostering collaboration and accounting for change. One necessary element is a mechanism for coordination and collaboration at the scale of the basin. This could be satisfied by mechanisms ranging from informal networks to the establishment of an international commission to jointly manage water, but a mechanism for collaboration at the basin scale alone does not ensure sound water management. To better guide resource management, study of applied resilience theory has revealed a number of management practices that are integral for adaptive governance. Here, we describe key resilience principles for treaty design and adaptive governance and then apply the principles to a case study of one transboundary basin where the need and willingness to manage collaboratively and iteratively is high - the Okavango River Basin of southwest Africa. This descriptive and applied approach should be particularly instructive for treaty negotiators, transboundary resource managers, and should aid program developers.

The Navruz Project: Cooperative transboundary monitoring data sharing and modeling of water resources in Central Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passell, Howard David; Barber, David S.; Solodukhin, V.; Khazekhber, S.; Pozniak, V.; Vasiliev, I.; Alekhina, V.; Djuraev, Akram; Radyuk, R.; Suozzi, D.

2006-01-01

The Navruz Project engages scientists from nuclear physics research institutes and water science institutions in the Central Asia Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and Sandia National Laboratories. The project uses standardized methods to monitor basic water quality parameters, radionuclides, and metals in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. Phase I of the project was initiated in 2000 with 15 sampling points in each of the four countries with sample analysis performed for over 100 parameters. Phase II of the project began in 2003 and expanded sampling to include at least 30 points in each country in an effort to characterize ''hot spots'' and to identify sources. Phase III of the project began in 2006 and will integrate decision support modeling with the existing monitoring. Overall, the project addresses four main goals: to create collaboration among Central Asian scientists and countries; to help increase capabilities in Central Asian nations for sustainable water resources management; to provide a scientific basis for supporting nuclear transparency and nonproliferation in the region; and to help reduce the threat of conflict in Central Asia over water resources. Contamination of these rivers is a result of growing population, urbanization, and agricultural activities, as well as radioactive contamination from a legacy of uranium mining and related activities of the former Soviet Union. The project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of the importance of these contaminants to public health and political stability in Central Asia.

Local and Transboundary Sharing of Water Resources: Legal and Equity Issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mumma, A

2001-01-01

The article reviewed the law on water in local and transboundary contexts.The aim was to highlight the mechanisms for facilitating equity in the allocation and sharing of the resource. It has been demonstrated that, the relevant local and transboundary laws are in need for further urgent development in order to be able to achieve their objectives. The objective that will be of greatest importance in the 21. century is that of ensuring that, water conservation is fostered and promoted. The effort to meet the increasing demand for water, on the whole, have focused on attempts to increase supply to water users. In the era of increasing water scarcity, the management of demand and development of legal and other mechanisms to ensure efficient utilisation of the available water resources will become the central issue of the day. Equity in allocation will take, as it's central premises the conservation of the limited resource. The law will therefore need to develop increasingly in the direction of fostering a conservation ethic

What role for law in achieving transboundary drainage basin security?--the development and testing of the Legal Assessment Model (LAM) for transboundary watercourse states.

Science.gov (United States)

Wouters, P K

2004-01-01

The beneficial use of the world's transboundary waters raises difficult issues for drainage basin security on most parts of the globe. International law provides that each transboundary watercourse State is entitled to, and obliged to ensure, an "equitable and reasonable use" of these shared waters. The IWLRI developed and tested a Legal Assessment Model (LAM) through the work of interdisciplinary teams working in three different transboundary situations--China (upstream), Mozambique (downstream) and Palestine (shared groundwater). The LAM provides a tool for transboundary watercourse States to use in the preparation of their national water strategy for use at the national and international levels. The model should now be tested at the basin level, with a view to assisting to accomplish the peaceful and rational use of transboundary waters in line with the governing rule of international law and thereby to facilitate the overall policy objective of drainage basin security.

A market-based approach to share water and benefits in transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, Diane; Tilmant, Amaury; Herrmann, Markus

2016-04-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived as efficient, as well as equitable, in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature falls short of providing practical, institutional arrangements that ensure maximum economic welfare as well as collaboratively developed methods for encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits. In this study we define an institutional arrangement that distributes welfare in a river basin by maximizing the economic benefits of water use and then sharing these benefits in an equitable manner using a method developed through stakeholder involvement. In this methodology (i) a hydro-economic model is used to efficiently allocate scarce water resources to water users in a transboundary basin, (ii) water users are obliged to pay for water, and (iii) the total of these water charges are equitably redistributed as monetary compensation to users. The amount of monetary compensation, for each water user, is determined through the application of a sharing method developed by stakeholder input, based on a stakeholder vision of fairness, using an axiomatic approach. The whole system is overseen by a river basin authority. The methodology is applied to the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The technique ensures economic efficiency and may lead to more equitable solutions in the sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins because the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as would be the case if existing methods, such as game theory, were applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness.

A Gendered Analysis of the Brahmaputra Dialogue : A study of the relation between transboundary water management and gender norms

OpenAIRE

Lexén, Tove

2017-01-01

Transboundary water management (TWM) regards how internationally shared waters are managed. Recently, TWM processes have been researched from the perspective of gender inclusivity. In line with this trend, this thesis is investigating to what extent the Transboundary Policy Dialogue for Improved Water Governance in Brahmaputra River (the Brahmaputra Dialogue) about the Brahmaputra River is gender sensitive. The Brahmaputra River is shared by China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The management...

Assessment of transboundary aquifers of the world—vulnerability arising from human water use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wada, Yoshihide; Heinrich, Lena

2013-01-01

Internationally shared, or transboundary, aquifers (TBAs) have long played an important role in sustaining drinking water supply and food production, supporting livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Rapidly growing populations and their food demands cast significant doubt on the sustainability of TBAs. Here, this study provides a first quantitative assessment of TBAs worldwide with an aquifer stress indicator over the period 1960–2010 using groundwater abstraction, groundwater recharge, and groundwater contribution to environment flow. The results reveal that 8% of TBAs worldwide are currently stressed due to human overexploitation. Over these TBAs the rate of groundwater pumping increased substantially during the past fifty years, which worsened the aquifer stress condition. In addition, many TBAs over Europe, Asia and Africa are not currently stressed, but their aquifer stress has been increasing at an alarming rate (>100%) for the past fifty years, due to the increasing reliance on groundwater abstraction for food production. Groundwater depletion is substantial over several TBAs including the India River Plain (India, Pakistan), the Paleogene and Cretaceous aquifers (the Arabian Peninsula), and a few TBAs over the USA–Mexico border. Improving irrigation efficiency can reduce the amount of groundwater depletion over some TBAs, but it likely aggravates groundwater depletion over TBAs where conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater is prevalent. (letter)

The Navruz Project: Transboundary Monitoring for Radionuclides and Metals in Central Asia Rivers. Data Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Passell, Howard D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Barber, David S. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Betsill, J. David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Littlefield, Adriane C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mohagheghi, Amir H. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shanks, Sonoya T. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Yuldashev, Bekhzad [Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Saalikhbaev, Umar [Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Radyuk, Raisa [Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Djuraev, Akram [Tajik Academy of Sciences, Dushanbe (Tajikistan); Djuraev, Anwar [Tajik Academy of Sciences, Dushanbe (Tajikistan); Vasilev, Ivan [Inst. of Physics, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan); Tolongutov, Bajgabyl [Inst. of Physics, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan); Valentina, Alekhina [Inst. of Physics, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan); Solodukhin, Vladimir [Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Pozniak, Victor [Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Almaty (Kazakhstan)

2003-04-01

The Navruz Project is a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. The Project also collects data on basic water quality parameters. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through a world-wide web site (http://www.cmc.sandia.org/Central/centralasia.html), and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. This report includes graphs showing selected data from the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 sampling seasons. These data include all parameters grouped into six regions, including main rivers and some tributaries in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river systems. This report also assembles all data (in tabular form) generated by the project from Fall 2000 through Fall 2001. This report comes as the second part of a planned three-part reporting process. The first report is the Sampling and Analysis Plan and Operational Manual, SAND 2002-0484. This is the second report.

Could Changing Power Relationships Lead to Better  Water Sharing in Central Asia?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aibek Zhupankhan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Even though Central Asia is water rich, water disputes have characterized the region after crumbling of the Soviet Union in 1991. The uneven spatial distribution and complex pattern of transboundary water sources with contrasting national water needs have created an intricate water dilemma. Increasing national water needs, water claims by surrounding countries, uncertainties in renewable water volumes, and effects of climate change will put further strain on the future water use in Central Asia. We argue that the present power distribution with three downstream hegemons (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and two upstream much poorer countries with less political influence (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is not likely to lead forward to a greater willingness to share water. We discuss this situation with the analogue Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia in the Nile Basin. Thus, as in the case of Ethiopia in the Nile Basin, gradually economically stronger upstream countries Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan due to hydropower development are likely to eventually re-define the hydropolitical map of Central Asia. As in the case of the Nile Basin, a more even power balance between upstream and downstream countries may lead to an improved political structure for a much-needed better collaboration on water issues.

Radioecological monitoring of transboundary rivers of the Central Asian Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuldashev, B.S.; Salikhbaev, U.S.; Kist, A.A.; Radyuk, D.S.; Vdovina, E.D.; Zhuk, L.I.

2005-01-01

Results of radioecological investigation of Central Asian rivers are presented. Investigation was done as part of the Navruz Project, a cooperative, transboundary river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the United States. The study of waterborne radionuclides and metals concentrations in Central Asia is of particular interest because of the history of nuclear materials mining, fabrication, transport, and storage there, when it was part of the Soviet Union. This development left a legacy of radionuclides and metals contamination in some Central Asian regions, which poses a clear health hazard to populations who rely heavily upon surface water for agricultural irrigation and direct domestic consumption. (author)

Central Asia's raging waters the prospects of water conflict in Central Asia

OpenAIRE

Hartman, William B.

2007-01-01

This thesis examines the prospects of conflict caused by water scarcity in Central Asia. The thesis analyzes the three most recent political eras of Central Asia, Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and independence, utilizing indicators of water tensions including: water quality, water quantity, the management of water for multiple uses, the political divisions and geopolitical setting, state institutions and national water ethos. Although water is not likely to be the sole cause of a majo...

Transboundary water issues: The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Debasri; Goswami, A.B.; Bose, Balaram

2004-01-01

Sharing of water of transboundary rivers among riparian nations has become a cause of major concern in different parts of the globe for quite sometime. The issue in the recent decades has been transformed into a source of international tensions and disputes resulting in strained relationships between riparian nations. Conflicts over sharing of water of the international rivers, like the Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan in the Middle East, the Nile in Northern Africa, the Mekong in South-East Asia, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna in the Indian subcontinent are widely known. The present paper discusses the water sharing -issue in the Ganga- Brahmaputra-Meghna basin located in the Indian sub continent covering five sovereign countries (namely India, Nepal, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh). Rapidly growing population, expanding agricultural and industrial activities besides the impacts of climate change have resulted in stressed condition in the arena of fresh water availability in the basin. Again occurrence of arsenic in sub-surface water in the lower reaches of the basin in India and Bangladesh has also added a new dimension to the problem. All the rivers of the GBM system exhibit wide variations between peak and lean flows as major part of the basin belongs to the monsoon region, where 80%-90 % of annual rainfall is concentrated in 4-5 months of South -West monsoon in the subcontinent. Over and above, the rivers in GBM system carry huge loads of sediments along with the floodwater and receive huge quantum of different kinds of wastes contaminating the water of the rivers. Again high rate of sedimentation of the major rivers and their tributaries have been affecting not only the carrying capacity of the rivers but also drastically reduced their retention capacity. Almost every year during monsoon about 27% and nearly 60% of the GBM basin lying in India and Bangladesh respectively experience flood. The year round navigation in many rivers has also been affected. All these have

Climate and transboundary water management issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjonback, D.

1991-01-01

The potential effects of climate change on transboundary river systems, major water uses, interjurisdictional arrangements, and water issues affecting water management in the Great Plains of Canada are discussed. Three atmospheric general circulation models (GCM) have been applied for a two times carbon dioxide concentration scenario for the Saskatchewan River system. The models were the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) model, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model, and the Oregon State University (OSU) model. For all models, soil moisture on the plains was reduced. The GISS model predicted slightly higher runoff for plains-originating streams, and a substantial increase in runoff (32%) in the Rockies. The GFDL model predicted lower runoffs in the plains and Rockies, with some locations near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border indicating zero runoff. The OSU model results generally bracketed the GISS and GFDL results, with total runoff approximating 1951-1980 mean. The GISS model indicated an increase in net basin supply of 28%, while the GFDL model, due to lower runoff and high soil moisture defecits, showed a decrease of 38%. For policy making, monitoring, and research, the GFDL model results can provide important guidelines. Greater attention to demand management and conservation will have short-term benefits in stretching the limited water resource base to support a larger economy, while providing flexibility to cope with future climate as it evolves. 1 ref

Analysis of key thresholds leading to upstream dependencies in global transboundary water bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, Hafsa Ahmed; Guillaume, Joseph; Kummu, Matti; Mirumachi, Naho; Wada, Yoshihide

2017-04-01

Transboundary water bodies supply 60% of global fresh water flow and are home to about 1/3 of the world's population; creating hydrological, social and economic interdependencies between countries. Trade-offs between water users are delimited by certain thresholds, that, when crossed, result in changes in system behavior, often related to undesirable impacts. A wide variety of thresholds are potentially related to water availability and scarcity. Scarcity can occur because of the country's own water use, and that is potentially intensified by upstream water use. In general, increased water scarcity escalates the reliance on shared water resources, which increases interdependencies between riparian states. In this paper the upstream dependencies of global transboundary river basins are examined at the scale of sub-basin areas. We aim to assess how upstream water withdrawals cause changes in the scarcity categories, such that crossing thresholds is interpreted in terms of downstream dependency on upstream water availability. The thresholds are defined for different types of water availability on which a sub-basin relies: - reliable local runoff (available even in a dry year), - less reliable local water (available in the wet year), - reliable dry year inflows from possible upstream area, and - less reliable wet year inflows from upstream. Possible upstream withdrawals reduce available water downstream, influencing the latter two water availabilities. Upstream dependencies have then been categorized by comparing a sub-basin's scarcity category across different water availability types. When population (or water consumption) grows, the sub-basin satisfies its needs using less reliable water. Thus, the factors affecting the type of water availability being used are different not only for each type of dependency category, but also possibly for every sub- basin. Our results show that, in the case of stress (impacts from high use of water), in 104 (12%) sub- basins out of

Simulation of Intra- or transboundary surface-water-rights hierarchies using the farm process for MODFLOW-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, W.; Hanson, R.T.

2007-01-01

Water-rights driven surface-water allocations for irrigated agriculture can be simulated using the farm process for MODFLOW-2000. This paper describes and develops a model, which simulates routed surface-water deliveries to farms limited by streamflow, equal-appropriation allotments, or a ranked prior-appropriation system. Simulated diversions account for deliveries to all farms along a canal according to their water-rights ranking and for conveyance losses and gains. Simulated minimum streamflow requirements on diversions help guarantee supplies to senior farms located on downstream diverting canals. Prior appropriation can be applied to individual farms or to groups of farms modeled as "virtual farms" representing irrigation districts, irrigated regions in transboundary settings, or natural vegetation habitats. The integrated approach of jointly simulating canal diversions, surface-water deliveries subject to water-rights constraints, and groundwater allocations is verified on numerical experiments based on a realistic, but hypothetical, system of ranked virtual farms. Results are discussed in light of transboundary water appropriation and demonstrate the approach's suitability for simulating effects of water-rights hierarchies represented by international treaties, interstate stream compacts, intrastate water rights, or ecological requirements. ?? 2007 ASCE.

Radiation risks and monitoring of transboundary rivers of Kazakhstan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadyrzhanov, K.K.; Solodukhin, V.P.; Khazhekber, S.; Poznyak, V.L.; Chernykh, E.E.; Passell, H.D.

2006-01-01

Full text: The condition of the water resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan is characterized with their whole deficiency as well as their high pollution and desiccation. The situation is also aggravated with much relaxation of work coordination on regulation of trans-boundary river flows and control of their water quality as a result of the USSR collapse and isolation of separate republics. The absence of objective information on water condition of rivers and their contamination sources creates a danger of high ecological risk and psychological stress for inhabitants, localities of that related to the basins of these rivers, and serves as reasoning for claims (occasionally unreasonable) to neighboring countries. Following rivers are the largest trans-boundary ones in Kazakhstan: Ile, Syrdarya, Ural and Irtysh. All these rivers are of great importance for people's life-support of the republic. At the same time presence of a number of large industrial centers, agricultural enterprises and radiation-dangerous objects in the basins of these rivers creates a potential danger of chemical and radiation contamination for their water flows. Objective information on its influence rate is required. The most acceptable form of the control of radiation and hydro-chemical situation in the basins of transboundary rivers is their monitoring based on modern nuclear-and-physical methods of analysis. Very important factor in organization of such monitoring system is participation of all the countries concerned with the basin of the river under the control. There is a work experience of many years in Central Asia on monitoring of large Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers. These works have been carried out since 2000 with the framework of the International project NAVRUZ. Participants of this project are organizations of nuclear profile from Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. The collaborator of this project is the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), USA. Experience of these

Identifying and characterizing transboundary aquifers along the Mexico-US border: An initial assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Rosario; Lopez, Victoria; Eckstein, Gabriel

2016-04-01

The transboundary nature of water dividing Mexico and the United States (U.S.) transforms the entire border region into an instrument of cooperation, a source of conflict, a national security issue, and an environmental concern. Reasonable data collection and research analysis have been conducted for surface waters by joint governmental institutions and non-governmental bodies. However, with the exception of the U.S. Transboundary Assessment Act Program (TAAP) (focusing on the Hueco Bolson, Mesilla Bolson, San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers), there is no comparable research, institutional development, or assessment of transboundary groundwater issues on the frontier. Moreover, data collection and methodologies vary between the two countries, there is no broadly accepted definition of the transboundary nature of an aquifer, and available legal and policy frameworks are constrained by non-hydrological considerations. Hence, there is a conceptual and institutional void regarding transboundary groundwater resources between Mexico and the U.S. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this void and characterize transboundary aquifers on the Mexico-US border. It reviews existing international frameworks for identifying hydrological and social criteria that characterize an aquifer as transboundary. It then assesses data from both countries to propose where and which aquifers could be considered transboundary. Finally, the paper proposes an agenda for assessing Mexico-US transboundary aquifers as a means for improving groundwater management in the border region.

Cooperative and adaptive transboundary water governance in Canada's Mackenzie River Basin: status and prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Morris

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Canada's Mackenzie River Basin (MRB is one of the largest relatively pristine ecosystems in North America. Home to indigenous peoples for millennia, the basin is also the site of increasing resource development, notably fossil fuels, hydroelectric power resources, minerals, and forests. Three provinces, three territories, the Canadian federal government, and Aboriginal governments (under Canada's constitution, indigenous peoples are referred to as "Aboriginal" have responsibilities for water in the basin, making the MRB a significant setting for cooperative, transboundary water governance. A framework agreement that provides broad principles and establishes a river basin organization, the MRB Board, has been in place since 1997. However, significant progress on completing bilateral agreements under the 1997 Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement has only occurred since 2010. We considered the performance of the MRB Board relative to its coordination function, accountability, legitimacy, and overall environmental effectiveness. This allowed us to address the extent to which governance based on river basin boundaries, a bioregional approach, could contribute to adaptive governance in the MRB. Insights were based on analysis of key documents and published studies, 19 key informant interviews, and additional interactions with parties involved in basin governance. We found that the MRB Board's composition, its lack of funding and staffing, and the unwillingness of the governments to empower it to play the role envisioned in the Master Agreement mean that as constituted, the board faces challenges in implementing a basin-wide vision. This appears to be by design. The MRB governments have instead used the bilateral agreements under the Master Agreement as the primary mechanism through which transboundary governance will occur. A commitment to coordinating across the bilateral agreements is needed to enhance the prospects for

Focus on CSIR research in water resources: Inter-SEDE: a new tool for interrogating transboundary basins

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Turton, A

2007-08-01

Full Text Available the potential for benefit-sharing (as opposed to the volumetric allocation of trans-boundary waters). Three case studies were included: the Jordan River; the Kagera River, extending to the Nile as a whole; and the Mekong River...

Transboundary Groundwater Along the Canadian-American Border

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, A.

2009-05-01

Canada does not have obvious problems as a consequence of the intensive use of surface water or groundwater. Canada mostly struggles to keep the quality of its waters, in the highest standards, and to overcome the knowledge gaps of its groundwater resources. In assessing water resources, it has become obvious that both surface and groundwater resources are equally important. Because of this shift, Canada is interested in transboundary groundwater issues, both between provinces and internationally. There is no competition in Canada for groundwater resources between provinces or internationally. When an aquifer extends beneath the border of two jurisdictions, conflict may arise when one jurisdiction depletes groundwater resources that affect the quantity and quality of water available to the other jurisdiction. The most important cases of transboundary aquifers within Canada are located in the Prairie Provinces, but no competition has been reported. The equitable and "reasonable" use of shared waters is the most essential principle considered when negotiating a groundwater apportionment method. Other factors considered are: the priority use, the sustainable yield of the aquifer, and the joint apportionment of surface water and groundwater Over 20 million Canadians live in watersheds that cross the Canada-US border (over 17 million of them in the Great Lakes-St Lawrence watershed), and are therefore affected by American policies, or else affect American water quality. The International Joint Commission is one well-developed and valuable mechanism for coordinating policies between Canada and the United States. Other mechanisms include provisions under the North American Free Trade Agreement, supported by its environmental commission, which attempt to ensure that the Agreement's policies are consistent with environmental protection and conservation as well as strengthening the development and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. Policies affecting

Hydropolitics and Conflict Management in Transboundary River Basins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mianabadi, H.

2016-01-01

This thesis set out to develop methodologies that promote cooperation, peace and development instead of conflict and violence in transboundary water resources management. In particular, its objectives were the following: o To examine and understand the complexity of water systems and water conflict

Water Pollution and Water Quality Assessment of Major Transboundary Rivers from Banat (Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea-Mihaela Dunca

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on water resources management and shows the need to enforce the existing international bilateral agreements and to implement the Water Framework Directive of the European Union in order to improve the water quantity and quality received by a downstream country of a common watershed, like Timiş-Bega hydrographical basin, shared by two countries (Romania and Serbia. The spatial trend of water quality index (WQI and its subindexes are important for determining the locations of major pollutant sources that contribute to water quality depletion in this basin. We compared the values of WQI obtained for 10 sections of the two most important rivers from Banat, which have a great importance for socioeconomic life in southwestern part of Romania and in northeastern part of Serbia. In order to assess the water quality, we calculated the WQI for a long period of time (2004–2014, taking into account the maximum, minimum, and the mean annual values of physical, chemical, and biological parameters (DO, pH, BOD5, temperature, total P, N-NO2−, and turbidity. This article highlights the importance of using the water quality index which has not been sufficiently explored in Romania and for transboundary rivers and which is very useful in improving rivers water quality.

Hotspots within the Transboundary Selenga River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kasimov, Nikolay; Lychagin, Mikhail; Chalov, Sergey

2013-04-01

Gathering the efficient information on water pollution of transboundary river systems remains the crucial task in international water management, environmental pollution control and prevention health problems. Countries, located in the low parts of the river basins, depend on the water strategy and water use in the adjacent countries, located upstream. Surface water pollution is considered to be the most serious problem, facing the above-mentioned countries. Large efforts in terms of field measurement campaigns and (numerical) transport modeling are then typically needed for relevant pollution prediction and prevention. Russian rivers take inflow from 8 neighboring countries. Among them there are 2 developing economies - People Republic of China and Mongolia, which are located in water-scarce areas and thus solve their water-related problems through the consumption of international water. Negative change of water runoff and water quality in the foreign part of transboundary river is appeared inside Russian territory with more or less delay. The transboundary river system of Selenga is particularly challenging, being the biggest tributary of Lake Baikal which is the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Selenga River contributes about 50 % of the total inflow into Baikal. It originates in the mountainous part of Mongolia and then drains into Russia. There are numerous industries and agricultural activities within the Selenga drainage basin that affect the water quality of the river system. Absence of the single monitoring system and predictive tools for pollutants transport in river system requires large efforts in understanding sources of water pollution and implemented data on the relevant numerical systems for the pollution prediction and prevention. Special investigations in the Selenga river basin (Mongolia and Russia) were done to assess hot spots and understand state-of-the art in sediment load, water chemistry and hydrobiology of transboundary systems

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Jie [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); Kang, Shichang, E-mail: shichang.kang@lzb.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Tian, Lide [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Guo, Junming [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Sillanpää, Mika [Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); and others

2016-10-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH{sub 4}{sup +} in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L{sup −1}, with an average of 12.5 ng L{sup −1}. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH{sub 4}{sup +}. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH{sub 4}{sup +} was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Jie; Kang, Shichang; Tian, Lide; Guo, Junming; Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan; Sillanpää, Mika

2016-01-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH_4"+ in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L"−"1, with an average of 12.5 ng L"−"1. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH_4"+. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH_4"+ was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Water and Benefit Sharing in Transboundary River Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, D.; Tilmant, A.; Herrmann, M.

2015-12-01

Growing water scarcity underlies the importance of cooperation for the effective management of river basins, particularly in the context of international rivers in which unidirectional externalities can lead to asymmetric relationships between riparian countries. Studies have shown that significant economic benefits can be expected through basin-wide cooperation, however, the equitable partitioning of these benefits over the basin is less well studied and tends to overlook the importance of stakeholder input in the definition of equitability. In this study, an institutional arrangement to maximize welfare and then share the scarcity cost in a river basin is proposed. A river basin authority plays the role of a bulk water market operator, efficiently allocating bulk water to the users and collecting bulk water charges which are then equitably redistributed among water users. This highly regulated market restrains the behaviour of water users to control externalities and to ensure basin-wide coordination, enhanced efficiency, and the equitable redistribution of the scarcity cost. The institutional arrangement is implemented using the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The importance of this arrangement is that it can be adopted for application in negotiations to cooperate in trans-boundary river basins. The benefit sharing solution proposed is more likely to be perceived as equitable because water users help define the sharing rule. As a result, the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as it would be if existing rules, such as bankruptcy rules or cooperative game theory solutions, are applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness. Results of the case study show that the sharing rule is predictable. Water users can expect to receive between 93.5% and 95% of their uncontested benefits (benefits that they expect to receive if water was not rationed), depending on the hydrologic scenario.

Water-Energy Nexus in Shared River Basins: How Hydropower Shapes Cooperation and Coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouangpalath Phimthong

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The construction of hydropower plants on transboundary rivers is seldom done with equal benefits to all riparians, and therefore presents coordination and cooperation challenges. Without a supra-national authority in charge of transboundary river basins, coordination between sectors (water, energy and environment and cooperation between countries largely depends on willingness of the individual nation states and the power relations between these countries. This paper discusses how the interests and relative power positions of actors in transboundary water management shape the outcomes, and what roles are played by River Basin Organisations and foreign investors (especially in hydropower development. These issues are illustrated with examples from the Mekong river in Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, the Euphrates-Tigris (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait and the Çoruh in Turkey and Georgia.

An integrated model of water resources optimization allocation based on projection pursuit model - Grey wolf optimization method in a transboundary river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Sen; Lu, Hongwei

2018-04-01

Under the effects of global change, water crisis ranks as the top global risk in the future decade, and water conflict in transboundary river basins as well as the geostrategic competition led by it is most concerned. This study presents an innovative integrated PPMGWO model of water resources optimization allocation in a transboundary river basin, which is integrated through the projection pursuit model (PPM) and Grey wolf optimization (GWO) method. This study uses the Songhua River basin and 25 control units as examples, adopting the PPMGWO model proposed in this study to allocate the water quantity. Using water consumption in all control units in the Songhua River basin in 2015 as reference to compare with optimization allocation results of firefly algorithm (FA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms as well as the PPMGWO model, results indicate that the average difference between corresponding allocation results and reference values are 0.195 bil m3, 0.151 bil m3, and 0.085 bil m3, respectively. Obviously, the average difference of the PPMGWO model is the lowest and its optimization allocation result is closer to reality, which further confirms the reasonability, feasibility, and accuracy of the PPMGWO model. And then the PPMGWO model is adopted to simulate allocation of available water quantity in Songhua River basin in 2018, 2020, and 2030. The simulation results show water quantity which could be allocated in all controls demonstrates an overall increasing trend with reasonable and equal exploitation and utilization of water resources in the Songhua River basin in future. In addition, this study has a certain reference value and application meaning to comprehensive management and water resources allocation in other transboundary river basins.

Modelling as a means to promote water diplomacy in Southern Africa: the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System case study

Science.gov (United States)

De Filippis, Giovanna; Carvalho Resende, Tales; Filali-Meknassi, Youssef; Puri, Shaminder; Kenabatho, Piet; Amakali, Maria; Majola, Kwazikwakhe; Rossetto, Rudy

2017-04-01

Within the framework of the "Governance of Groundwater Resources in Transboundary Aquifers" (GGRETA) project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Governments of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, jointly with the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) are undertaking an assessment of the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System (STAS). The importance of the STAS to the region draws from the fact that it is the only permanent and dependable water resource in the area, which covers 87000 km2 from Central Namibia into Western Botswana and South Africa's Northern Cape Province. The first phase of the project (2013-2015) focused on an assessment of the STAS which allowed establishing a shared science based understanding of the resource. The activities of the second phase of the project (2016-2018) will consolidate the technical results achieved and the tools developed in the first phase, and will strengthen capacity on groundwater governance at the national and transboundary levels to support the process of establishment of a multi-country cooperation mechanism (MCCM). The establishment of the STAS MCCM would be the first example of a mechanism for the management and governance of a transboundary aquifer in Southern Africa. The joint development of a numerical model is crucial to foster such cooperation as it provides a baseline for the formulation of sound policies for the governance of the STAS. The model is being developed through the application of the FREEWAT platform (within the H2020 FREEWAT project - FREE and open source software tools for WATer resource management; Rossetto et al., 2015), an open source and public domain GIS-integrated modelling environment for the simulation of the hydrological cycle. The FREEWAT project aims at improving water resource management by simplifying the application of water-related regulations through the use of modeling environments and GIS tools for storage, management and

A Regional Strategy for the Assessment and Management of Transboundary Aquifer Systems in the Americas

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, R. T.; Rivera, A.; Tujchneider, O.; Guillén, C.; Campos, M.; Da Franca, N.; May, Z.; Aureli, A.

2015-12-01

The UNESCO-IHP ISARM-Americas technical committee has developed a regional strategy for the assessment and management of transboundary aquifer systems in the Americas as part of their ongoing cooperative assistance to help neighboring countries sustain water resources and reduce potential conflict. The fourth book in the series of publications sponsored by UNESCO and OAS documents this strategy. The goal of this strategy is the collective understanding, developing, managing, and protecting of the transboundary aquifers in the Americas This strategy includes technical, social, and governance recommendations for an integrated resource management of groundwater based on flexible arrangements that not only manage but also demand social participation in solving problems, consider changes in land use and water use and promote the increase of water sustainability for all transboundary neighbors. The successful implementation of this strategy starts with sharing information of the status and use of land and water as well as intergovernmental partnerships to link science and policy with existing instruments for managing the water resources. International organizations such as UNESCO and OAS also can help facilitate the development of transboundary agreements and establish cooperation on transboundary aquifers between neighbors. The UNESCO-IHP ISARM-Americas technical committee has been successful in creating a network of partners from 24 countries and in translating existing aquifer knowledge into a meaningful strategy for the American hemisphere. The strategy aims to explain and develop the role of science and the informed-decision approach. Examples from North and South America show how the process has begun to develop for selected transboundary aquifers. These include the Milk River basin between the US and Canada, the Rio Grande and Colorado River basins between the US and Mexico, and the Guarani River basin in South America.

Five-year interim report of the United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program: 2007--2012

Science.gov (United States)

Alley, William M.

2013-01-01

Transboundary aquifers are an essential, and in many cases, singular source of water for United States – Mexico border communities, particularly in arid regions. Declining water levels, deteriorating water quality, and increasing use of groundwater resources by municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users on both sides of the international border have raised concerns about the long-term availability of this supply. Water quantity and quality are determining and limiting factors that ultimately control agriculture, future economic development, population growth, human health, and ecological conditions along the border. Knowledge about the extent, depletion rates, and quality of transboundary aquifers, however, is limited and, in some areas, completely absent. The U.S. – Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act (Public Law 109-448), referred to in this report as “the Act,” was signed into law by the President of the United States on December 22, 2006, to conduct binational scientific research to systematically assess priority transboundary aquifers and to address water information needs of border communities. The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to collaborate with the States of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas through their Water Resources Research Institutes (WRRIs) and with the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), stakeholders, and Mexican counterparts to provide new information and a scientific foundation for State and local officials to address pressing water-resource challenges along the U.S. – Mexico border.

Control of Pollutants in the Trans-Boundary Area of Taihu Basin, Yangtze Delta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Wang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This work focuses on pollution control in the trans-boundary area of Taihu Basin. Considering the unique characteristics of the river network in the study area, a new methodology of pollution control is proposed aiming at improving the water quality in the trans-boundary area and reducing conflicts between up and downstream regions. Based on monitoring data and statistical analysis, important trans-boundary cross sections identified by the regional government were selected as important areas for consideration in developing management objectives; using a 1-D mathematicmodel and an effective weight evaluation model, the trans-boundary effective control scope (TECS of the study area was identified as the scope for pollutant control; the acceptable pollution load was then estimated using an established model targeting bi-directional flow. The results suggest that the water environmental capacity for chemical oxygen demand (COD, in order to guarantee reaching the target water quality standard in the TECS, is 160,806 t/year, and amounts to 16,098 t/year, 3493 t/year, and 39,768 t/year for ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, respectively. Our study method and results have been incorporated into the local government management project, and have been proven to be useful in designing a pollution control strategy and management policy.

Paradigm for Distributive & Procedural Justice in Equitable Apportionment of Transboundary Ganges Waters Under Changing Climate & Landuse

Science.gov (United States)

Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.; Anand, J.

2015-12-01

Rivers have no regard for human demarcated boundaries. Besides, ever increasing demand-supply gap & vested riparian interests, fuel transboundary water conflicts. For resolving such disputes, appropriation doctrines advocating equity & fairness have received endorsement in the Helsinki Rules-1966 & UN Convention-1997. Thus, current study proposes the principle of equitable apportionment for sharing Ganges waters as it balances the interests & deservedness of all stakeholders, namely, India & its 11 states, Bangladesh, Nepal, & China. The study endeavors to derive a reasonable share of each co-basin state by operationalizing the vague concepts of fairness & equity through an objective & quantitative framework encompassing proportionality & egalitarianism for distributive & procedural justice. Equal weightage factors reflecting hydrology, geography & water use potential are chosen for fair share computation, wherein each contender ranks these factors to maximize his entitlement. If cumulative claims exceed the water availability, each claimant puts forth next ranked factor & this process continues till the claims match availability. Due to inter-annual variability in few factors, scenarios for Rabi & Kharif seasons are considered apart from cases for maximum, upper quartile, median, lower quartile & minimum. Possibility of spatial homogeneity & heterogeneity in factors is also recognized. Sometimes lack of technical information hinders transboundary dispute resolution via legal mechanisms. Hence, the study also attempts to bridge this gap between law & technology through GIS-based SWAT hydrologic model by estimating the Ganges water yield, & consequent share of each riparian for range of flows incorporating e-flows as well, under present & future climate & landuse scenarios. 82% of India's territory lies within interstate rivers, & therefore this research is very pertinent as it can facilitate the decision makers in effective interstate water conflict resolution.

Essentials of Endorheic Basins and Lakes: A Review in the Context of Current and Future Water Resource Management and Mitigation Activities in Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vadim Yapiyev

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Endorheic basins (i.e., land-locked drainage networks and their lakes can be highly sensitive to variations in climate and adverse anthropogenic activities, such as overexploitation of water resources. In this review paper, we provide a brief overview of one major endorheic basin on each continent, plus a number of endorheic basins in Central Asia (CA, a region where a large proportion of the land area is within this type of basin. We summarize the effects of (changing climate drivers and land surface–atmosphere feedbacks on the water balance. For the CA region, we also discuss key anthropogenic activities, related water management approaches and their complex relationship with political and policy issues. In CA a substantial increase in irrigated agriculture coupled with negative climate change impacts have disrupted the fragile water balance for many endorheic basins and their lakes. Transboundary integrated land and water management approaches must be developed to facilitate adequate climate change adaptation and possible mitigation of the adverse anthropogenic influence on endorheic basins in CA. Suitable climate adaptation, mitigation and efficient natural resource management technologies and methods are available, and are developing fast. A number of these are discussed in the paper, but these technologies alone are not sufficient to address pressing water resource issues in CA. Food–water–energy nexus analyses demonstrate that transboundary endorheic basin management requires transformational changes with involvement of all key stakeholders. Regional programs, supported by local governments and international donors, which incorporate advanced adaptation technologies, water resource research and management capacity development, are essential for successful climate change adaptation efforts in CA. However, there is a need for an accelerated uptake of such programs, with an emphasis on unification of approaches, as the pressures

Sharing water and benefits in transboundary river basins

OpenAIRE

D. Arjoon; A. Tilmant; M. Herrmann

2016-01-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to solve disputes among riparian countries and to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit-sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived not only as efficient, but also as equitable in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature mainly describes what is meant by the term benefit sharing in the cont...

Relationship between trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning in Southeast Asia using satellite and emission data

Science.gov (United States)

Azuma, Yoshimi; Nakamura, Maya; Kuji, Makoto

2012-11-01

Southeast Asia is one of the biggest regions of biomass burning with forest fires and slash-and-burn farming. From the fire events, a large amount of air pollutants are emitted such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and aerosol (black carbon; BC). Biomass burning generally causes not only local, but also transboundary air pollution, and influences the atmospheric environment in the world accordingly. However, impact of air pollutants' emissions from large-scale fire in Southeast Asia is not well investigated compared to other regions such as South America and Africa. In this study, characteristics of the atmospheric environment were investigated with correlative analyses among several satellite data (MOPITT, OMI, and MODIS) and emission inventory (GFEDv3) in Southeast Asia from October 2004 to June 2008 on a monthly basis. As a result, it is suggested that the transboundary air pollution from the biomass burning regions occurred over Southeast Asia, which caused specifically higher air pollutants' concentration at Hanoi, Vietnam in spring dry season.

Trans-Boundary Haze Pollution in Southeast Asia: Sustainability through Plural Environmental Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Saidul Islam

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Recurrent haze in Southeast Asian countries including Singapore is largely attributable to rampant forest fires in Indonesia due to, for example, extensive slash-and-burn (S & B culture. Drawing on the “treadmill of production” and environmental governance approach, we examine causes and consequences of this culture. We found that, despite some perceived benefits, its environmental consequences include deforestation, soil erosion and degradation, global warming, threats to biodiversity, and trans-boundary haze pollution, while the societal consequences comprise regional tension, health risks, economic and productivity losses, as well as food insecurity. We propose sustainability through a plural coexistence framework of governance for targeting S & B that incorporates strategies of incentives, education and community resource management.

Natural radionuclides and toxic elements in transboundary rivers of Kazakhstan.

Science.gov (United States)

Solodukhin, V; Poznyak, V; Kabirova, G; Stepanov, V; Ryazanova, L; Lennik, S; Liventsova, A; Bychenko, A; Zheltov, D

2015-06-01

The paper reports on the study of radionuclide and elemental composition of water, bottom sediment and soil samples collected at the border areas of the following transboundary rivers in Kazakhstan: Chagan, Ural, Ilek, Tobol, Ayat, Irtysh, Emel, Ili, Tekes, Shu, Karabalta, Talas and Syrdarya. The employed analyses include the following methods: instrumental gamma-ray spectrometry, radiochemical analysis, neutron activation analysis, XRF and the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Evidence of water environment contamination with radionuclides and toxic elements has been revealed in many of the studied rivers both in Kazakhstan and in adjacent countries. Transboundary transfer of the contaminants is most likely related to local industry (uranium mining and processing) and the presence of radioactive substances in the river basins. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Transboundary Pollution, Trade Liberalization, and Environmental Taxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baksi, S.; Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2008-01-01

In a bilateral trade framework, we examine the impact of tariff reduction on the optimal pollution tax and social welfare when pollution is transboundary. Strategic considerations lead countries to distort their pollution tax in the non-cooperative equilibrium. Trade liberalization changes the distortion, and consequently the pollution tax and welfare, in ways that depend on the extent to which pollution is transboundary. We find that when the pollution damage parameter is sufficiently small (large), bilateral tariff reduction always decreases (increases) the pollution tax, irrespective of the value of the transboundary pollution parameter. However, when the pollution damage parameter takes intermediate values, bilateral tariff reduction decreases the pollution tax if and only if the transboundary pollution parameter is sufficiently large (or even sufficiently small, in certain cases). Moreover, with pollution being transboundary, the impact of trade liberalization on welfare is non-monotonic and concave. The greater the extent to which pollution crosses borders, the more likely is trade liberalization to reduce welfare

Transboundary Pollution, Trade Liberalization, and Environmental Taxes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baksi, S. [Department of Economics, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg (Canada); Ray Chaudhuri, A. [Department of Economics, CentER, TILEC, Tilburg University, Tilburg (Netherlands)

2008-08-15

In a bilateral trade framework, we examine the impact of tariff reduction on the optimal pollution tax and social welfare when pollution is transboundary. Strategic considerations lead countries to distort their pollution tax in the non-cooperative equilibrium. Trade liberalization changes the distortion, and consequently the pollution tax and welfare, in ways that depend on the extent to which pollution is transboundary. We find that when the pollution damage parameter is sufficiently small (large), bilateral tariff reduction always decreases (increases) the pollution tax, irrespective of the value of the transboundary pollution parameter. However, when the pollution damage parameter takes intermediate values, bilateral tariff reduction decreases the pollution tax if and only if the transboundary pollution parameter is sufficiently large (or even sufficiently small, in certain cases). Moreover, with pollution being transboundary, the impact of trade liberalization on welfare is non-monotonic and concave. The greater the extent to which pollution crosses borders, the more likely is trade liberalization to reduce welfare.

Paradigm Shift in Transboundary Water Management Policy: Linking Water Environment Energy and Food (weef) to Catchment Hydropolitics - Needs, Scope and Benefits

Science.gov (United States)

RAI, S.; Wolf, A.; Sharma, N.; Tiwari, H.

2015-12-01

The incessant use of water due to rapid growth of population, enhanced agricultural and industrial activities, degraded environment and ecology will in the coming decades constrain the socioeconomic development of humans. To add on to the precarious situation, political boundaries rarely embrace hydrological boundaries of lakes, rivers, aquifers etc. Hydropolitics relate to the ability of geopolitical institutions to manage shared water resources in a politically sustainable manner, i.e., without tensions or conflict between political entities. Riparian hydropolitics caters to differing objectives, needs and requirements of states making it difficult to administer the catchment. The diverse riparian objectives can be merged to form a holistic catchment objective of sustainable water resources development and management. It can be proposed to make a paradigm shift in the present-day transboundary water policy from riparian hydropolitics (in which the focal point of water resources use is hinged on state's need) to catchment hydropolitics (in which the interest of the basin inhabitants are accorded primacy holistically over state interests) and specifically wherein the water, environment, energy and food (WEEF) demands of the catchment are a priority and not of the states in particular. The demands of the basin pertaining to water, food and energy have to be fulfilled, keeping the environment and ecology healthy in a cooperative political framework; the need for which is overwhelming. In the present scenario, the policy for water resources development of a basin is segmented into independent uncoordinated parts controlled by various riparians; whereas in catchment hydropolitics the whole basin should be considered as a unit. The riparians should compromise a part of national interest and work in collaboration on a joint objective which works on the principle of the whole as against the part. Catchment hydropolitics may find greater interest in the more than 250

Mapping Monthly Water Scarcity in Global Transboundary Basins at Country-Basin Mesh Based Spatial Resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Degefu, Dagmawi Mulugeta; Weijun, He; Zaiyi, Liao; Liang, Yuan; Zhengwei, Huang; Min, An

2018-02-01

Currently fresh water scarcity is an issue with huge socio-economic and environmental impacts. Transboundary river and lake basins are among the sources of fresh water facing this challenge. Previous studies measured blue water scarcity at different spatial and temporal resolutions. But there is no global water availability and footprint assessment done at country-basin mesh based spatial and monthly temporal resolutions. In this study we assessed water scarcity at these spatial and temporal resolutions. Our results showed that around 1.6 billion people living within the 328 country-basin units out of the 560 we assessed in this study endures severe water scarcity at least for a month within the year. In addition, 175 country-basin units goes through severe water scarcity for 3-12 months in the year. These sub-basins include nearly a billion people. Generally, the results of this study provide insights regarding the number of people and country-basin units experiencing low, moderate, significant and severe water scarcity at a monthly temporal resolution. These insights might help these basins' sharing countries to design and implement sustainable water management and sharing schemes.

Cryosphere, climate and capitalism: drivers of Central Asian water stress

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, A. F.; Minbaeva, C.; Wilson, A. M.; Satylkanov, R.; Armstrong, R. L.

2017-12-01

The importance of meltwater to Central Asia's trans-boundary rivers and groundwater reserves suggests future water stress for the region. Climate is likely to induce shifts in water supply volume and delivery timing, while a complex fabric of socio-political factors complicates water management and adaptation strategies. To clarify the drivers of water stress over a large scale (440km, 4,200m elevation change), we conducted a socio-hydrologic study of Krygyzstan's Naryn River in the Tien Shan mountains, headwater stem of the Syr Darya and source of the disappearing Aral Sea. Using a combination of geochemical sampling, hydro-chemical mixing models, remote sensing image processing and community surveys, we characterized both the social and hydrologic controls of water supplies from glacier snout to downstream areas where people, hydropower and agriculture utilize water. We find melt-sourced water dominates hydrologic inputs to both surface flow and groundwater from headwaters to reservoir, suggesting high sensitivity of water supply to a warming climate. On a regional scale, the importance of melt to trans-boundary river flow serving thirsty downstream countries may increase hostility between already tense neighbors. Water stress on the basin level, however, is currently less impacted by supply than by access, agricultural knowledge deficiencies and infrastructure issues that are relic from the post-Soviet transition in the 1990s. The interplay of these factors suggests the need for creative and proactive water management adaptation planning in the Naryn basin and throughout similar melt-reliant areas of arid Central Asia.

A Holistic Framework for Deriving Equitable Apportionments and Resolving Conflicts in Transboundary Watercourses

Science.gov (United States)

Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.

2017-12-01

Climate uncertainty & perpetually rising freshwater demands have emerged as the biggest threat to global water security. Consequently, water disputes have become more frequent & intense. If such conflicts remain unresolved for long, eventually they may cause severe socio-political damage to the riparians. The present study develops a comprehensive framework for conflict resolution & equitable allocation in transboundary Ganges watercourse with 4 stakeholder nations: China (Tibet), Nepal, India & Bangladesh. Scientific spatio-temporal information can be of great help in transboundary dispute resolution. Hence, this study employs a GIS-based semi-distributed SWAT hydrologic model for estimating water balance at different scales within the basin for present & future climate, landuse, storage & water use efficiency scenarios. The study analyses pertinent provisions of the Indian Constitution & examines the rulings of Indian water tribunals. It also critically compares various water dispute resolution mechanisms & doctrines on the barometer of equity & fairness to arrive at a procedurally & distributionally just water apportionment policy. The study makes use of Methods of Apportionments, Operations Research & Bankruptcy Rules to operationalize the chosen doctrine by devising an objective & quantifiable formulae for water allocation amongst the co-basin states for a range of flows. Furthermore, Game Theoretic and multi-optimization techniques have been used to rank the appropriateness of the above mentioned methods according to aggregate satisfaction/resentment of the stakeholders computed by equating their respective water claims with actual water shares obtained by them under different methods. Moreover, several Social Choice Theory methods have been employed to rate the performance of water allotment methods in a socio-political setting. The developed framework can thus be of great help for decision makers in effective water conflict resolution as transboundary

Simulating Water Resource Disputes of Transboundary River: A Case Study of the Zhanghe River Basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Liang; He, Weijun; Liao, Zaiyi; Mulugeta Degefu, Dagmawi; An, Min; Zhang, Zhaofang

2018-01-01

Water resource disputes within transboundary river basin has been hindering the sustainable use of water resources and efficient management of environment. The problem is characterized by a complex information feedback loop that involves socio-economic and environmental systems. This paper presents a system dynamics based model that can simulate the dynamics of water demand, water supply, water adequacy and water allocation instability within a river basin. It was used for a case study in the Zhanghe River basin of China. The base scenario has been investigated for the time period between 2000 and 2050. The result shows that the Chinese national government should change the water allocation scheme of downstream Zhanghe River established in 1989, more water need to be allocated to the downstream cities and the actual allocation should be adjusted to reflect the need associated with the socio-economic and environmental changes within the region, and system dynamics improves the understanding of concepts and system interactions by offering a comprehensive and integrated view of the physical, social, economic, environmental, and political systems.

Source contribution analysis of surface particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in northeastern Asia by source–receptor relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inomata, Yayoi; Kajino, Mizuo; Sato, Keiichi; Ohara, Toshimasa; Kurokawa, Jun-ichi; Ueda, Hiromasa; Tang, Ning; Hayakawa, Kazuichi; Ohizumi, Tsuyoshi; Akimoto, Hajime

2013-01-01

We analyzed the source–receptor relationships for particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in northeastern Asia using an aerosol chemical transport model. The model successfully simulated the observed concentrations. In Beijing (China) benzo[a]pyren (BaP) concentrations are due to emissions from its own domain. In Noto, Oki and Tsushima (Japan), transboundary transport from northern China (>40°N, 40–60%) and central China (30–40°N, 10–40%) largely influences BaP concentrations from winter to spring, whereas the relative contribution from central China is dominant (90%) in Hedo. In the summer, the contribution from Japanese domestic sources increases (40–80%) at the 4 sites. Contributions from Japan and Russia are additional source of BaP over the northwestern Pacific Ocean in summer. The contribution rates for the concentrations from each domain are different among PAH species depending on their particulate phase oxidation rates. Reaction with O 3 on particulate surfaces may be an important component of the PAH oxidation processes. -- Highlights: •Source–receptor analysis was conducted for investigating PAHs in northeast Asia. •In winter, transboundary transport from China is large contribution in leeward. •Relative contribution from Korea, Japan, and eastern Russia is increased in summer. •This seasonal variation is strongly controlled by the meteorological conditions. •The transport distance is different among PAH species. -- Transboundary transport of PAHs in northeast Asia was investigated by source–receptor analysis

Transboundary water pollution management
Lessons learned from river basin management in China, Europe and the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Yu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Transboundary water pollution management is a challenge for China at this moment in time. By introducing relevant legal arrangements, we mainly discuss the competent authorities, the legal instruments and dispute settlement procedures concerning this issue in China. The experiences from international, EU and Dutch water law gives us a comparative perspective. As a conclusion, we agree that China has set up a basic legal system to solve the problem, but a greater effort can still be made, for instance including more public opinion, clearly defining the competent authorities, and enacting more legislation. At the same time, the Chinese experience, such as a new model for a monitoring system and a target responsibility system, also provides the rest of the world with a new approach.

A South African Perspective on a Possible Benefit-Sharing Approach for Transboundary Waters in the SADC Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Turton

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The concept of benefit-sharing is emerging in the international discourse on transboundary water resource management with greater intensity than a decade ago. While it sounds simple, the concept is complex and benefits are difficult to quantify and thus the concept remains unconvincing to potentially sceptical negotiating partners. Any discourse on water resource management is based on a core logic. This paper tries to distil some elements of a proposed benefit-sharing approach, presenting an alternative core logic, showing how these differ from what can be thought of as the traditional paradigm. This work is linked to ongoing research at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, into benefit-sharing and processes of policy harmonisation, within the context of developing countries.

Nuclear safety cooperation in Southeast Asia. Lessons from Asia's regional networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trajano, Julius Cesar I.

2017-01-01

Debate has been ongoing among key stakeholders on whether South-east Asia should use or reject nuclear power. However, there are still significant regional concerns over nuclear safety and security in South-east Asia. As some ASEAN countries plan to pursue nuclear power, they need to create and maintain a pool of local nuclear professionals with actual relevant experience in the nuclear industry. While the IAEA does not influence a country's decision on introducing nuclear power, it supports Member States' efforts to evaluate all options towards making a knowledgeable decision. Nuclear safety is the responsibility of every nation that utilizes nuclear technology. National governments are responsible for regulations that govern how safety at nuclear facilities is maintained, as well as to reduce radiation risks, including emergency response and recovery actions. But nuclear energy has transboundary/ regional implications if nuclear safety in each member state is not strengthened. ASEAN countries share a common goal in achieving high level of public safety and confidence in nuclear and radiation related issues. Can regional cooperation help ASEAN Member-States strengthen nuclear safety? The paper examines the importance of regional cooperation on nuclear energy governance and the role of regional organisations in Asia in strengthening nuclear safety cooperation and emergency preparedness and response in Southeast Asia. (author)

Leveraging Earth Observations to Improve Data Resolution and Tracking of Sustainable Development Goals in Water Resources and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Akanda, A. S.; Nusrat, F.; Hasan, M. A.; Fallatah, O.

2017-12-01

Water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the world population and is projected to rise substantially, affecting safe water and sanitation access globally. The recently released WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2017 report on global water and sanitation access paints a grim picture across the planet; approximately 30% people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, still lack access to safe, readily available clean water, and 60% people worldwide, or 4.5 billion ppl, lack safely managed sanitation. Meanwhile, demand for water and competition for water resources are sharply rising amid growing uncertainty of climate change and its impacts on water resources. The United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for substantially increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensuring sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity, providing clean water and sanitation for all, increasing international cooperation over transboundary surface and groundwater resources (under Goal 6), as well as ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, and end the epidemics of neglected tropical and water-borne diseases (under Goal 3). Data availability in developing regions, especially at the appropriate resolution in both space and time, has been a recurring problem for various technological and institutional reasons. Earth observation techniques provide the most cost-effective and encompassing tool to monitor these regions, large transboundary river basins and aquifer systems, and water resources vulnerabilities to climate change around the globe. University of Rhode Island, with US and international collaborators, is using earth observations to develop tools to analyze, monitor and support decision-makers to track their progress towards SDGs with better data resolution and accuracy. Here, we provide case studies on 1) providing safe water and sanitation access South Asia through safe water

The transboundary nature of seabird ecology: Chapter 8

Science.gov (United States)

Jodice, Patrick G.R.; Suryan, Robert M.

2015-01-01

The term ‘seabird’ is generally applied to avian species that forage in the marine environment over open water. Seabirds typically nest in colonies and are long-lived species with low annual reproductive rates. Seabird breeding sites typically occur on islands or along coasts and as such are often at the boundaries of ecological or political zones. During the breeding season, seabirds cross a very distinct terrestrial/marine ecological boundary on a regular basis to forage. Even relatively ‘local’ species cross multiple jurisdictions within a day (e.g., state lands and waters, and federal waters) while pelagic species may transit through international waters on a daily, weekly, or monthly time-frame. Seabird life-histories expose individuals and populations to environmental conditions affecting both terrestrial and marine habitats. The wide-ranging and transboundary nature of seabird ecology also exposes these species to various environmental and anthropogenic forces such as contamination, commercial fisheries and climate forcing that also are transboundary in nature. Therefore, wherever conservation of seabirds or the management of their populations is the goal, consideration must be given to ecosystem dynamics on land and at sea. Because the jurisdiction of agencies does not cross the land-sea boundary in the same manner as the seabirds they are managing, these efforts are facilitated by multi-agency communication and collaboration. By their very nature and by the nature of the systems that they must function within, seabirds embody the complexity of wildlife ecology and conservation in the twenty-first century.

Inter-annual variability of air mass and acidified pollutants transboundary exchange in the north-eastern part of the EANET region

Science.gov (United States)

Gromov, Sergey A.; Trifonova-Yakovleva, Alisa; Gromov, Sergey S.

2016-04-01

Anthropogenic emissions, be it exhaust gases or aerosols, stem from multitude of sources and may survive long-range transport within the air masses they were emitted into. So they follow regional and global transport pathways varying under different climatological regimes. Transboundary transfer of pollutants occurs this way and has a significant impact on the ecological situation of the territories neighbouring those of emission sources, as found in a few earlier studies examining the environmental monitoring data [1]. In this study, we employ a relatively facile though robust technique for estimating the transboundary air and concomitant pollutant fluxes using actual or climatological meteorological and air pollution monitoring data. Practically, we assume pollutant transfer being proportional to the horizontal transport of air enclosed in the lower troposphere and to the concentration of the pollutant of interest. The horizontal transport, in turn, is estimated using the mean layer wind direction and strength, or their descriptive statistics at the individual transects of the boundary of interest. The domain of our interest is the segment of Russian continental border in East Asia spanning from 88° E (southern Middle Siberia) to 135° E (Far East at Pacific shore). The data on atmospheric pollutants concentration are available from the Russian monitoring sites of the region-wide Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET, http://www.eanet.asia/) Mondy (Baikal area) and Primorskaya (near Vladivostok). The data comprises multi-year continuous measurement of gas-phase and particulate species abundances in air with at least biweekly sampling rate starting from 2000. In the first phase of our study, we used climatological dataset on winds derived from the aerological soundings at Russian stations along the continental border for the 10-year period (1961-1970) by the Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Centre (RIHMI-WDC) [3

Transboundary Extraction of Groundwater in the Presence of Hydraulic Fracturing

OpenAIRE

Poudel, Biswo N.; Paudel, Krishna P.; Zilberman, David

2013-01-01

We studied transboundary ground water management problems in the presence of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We found that the presence of risk suggests a need to exercise caution in fracking. We also found that a cooperative outcome implies the decrease in fracking and the increase in steady state survival rate of groundwater. However, water extraction rates remained the same in both cooperative and noncooperative solutions. We also argue that a Pigouvian type tax could be imposed on the na...

Response to a radioactive materials release having a transboundary impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

Compared with an accidental release of radioactive material which is confined to the accident State, a transboundary release has added dimensions which were not fully anticipated in publications dealing with response to accidents at nuclear facilities. The new aspects to the problem may be summarized as follows: (1) A transboundary release of radioactive material, as distinct from a release which affects only the accident State, has international repercussions in the following ways: Potentially at least, the difficulties associated with a transboundary release may be magnified in those States that have no nuclear facilities of their own and may, therefore, have foreseen no need for resources to assess and deal with radioactive contamination of their food supplies, their water and their environment appropriately. International trade, in food commodities particularly, may be severely affected. Issues of compensation may arise for which the dispute settlement mechanisms are weak or non-existent. (2) Many Member States are in such geographic locations that they could be affected by a transboundary release occurring in any of their surrounding neighbour States. Planning for and responding to such an event is necessarily more difficult than planning for an accidental release from a single, identified nuclear facility. (3) Deposits of radioactive material from a distant source are apt to be highly unpredictable. Depending on weather conditions, they may be localized in a random fashion or widespread. Because of the international dimension of the problem and its essentially unpredictable character it is recommended here that planning for such events should be carried at the national or federal government level rather than at provincial government level. 14 refs

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Michel, A.L.; Rutten, V.P.M.G.; Helden van, P.D.

2013-01-01

This supplement to Transboundary and Emerging Diseases is a compilation of selected papers presented at the International Wildlife Tuberculosis Conference, held from 9 to 12 September 2012 in Skukuza, South Africa.

Water Security in Periurban South Asia : Adapting to Climate ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Adapting to climate change and water security in Asia : proceedings from the Regional Meeting for IDRC-funded partners in Asia working on climate change ... L'honorable Chrystia Freeland, ministre du Commerce international, a annoncé le lancement d'un nouveau projet financé par le Centre de recherches pour le ...

Bilateral and multilateral agreements and other arrangements in Europe and North America on the protection and use of transboundary waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The present document presents in a chronological order existing bilateral and multilateral legally binding agreements and other arrangements in Europe and North America on the protection and use of transboundary waters, which had been concluded by may 1992. These include agreements, treaties, conventions, protocols, orders and exchanges of notes. For each agreement the following information is given: title of the agreement, field of application, river basin, area of application, contracting parties, date of agreement and place of signature, joint body, and reference

Security of water, energy, and food nexus in the Asia-Pacific region

Science.gov (United States)

Taniguchi, M.; Endo, A.; Fujii, M.; Shoji, J.; Baba, K.; Gurdak, J. J.; Allen, D. M.; Siringan, F. P.; Delinom, R.

2014-12-01

Water, energy, and food are the most important and fundamental resources for human beings and society. Demands for these resources are escalating rapidly because of increases in populations and changes in lifestyles. Therefore intensive demand for those resources makes conflicts between resources. Securities of water, energy, and food are treated separately, however they should be considered as one integrated matter, because water-energy-food are connected and it makes nexus and tradeoff. Security in terms of self-production, diversity of alternatives, and variability are evaluated for water, energy and food for thirty two countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The water and energy nexus includes water consumption for the cooling of power plant systems, water use for hydro power generation, and energy consumption for water allocation and pumping. The water and food nexus consists of water consumption for agriculture and aquaculture. The energy and food nexus includes energy consumption for food production and biomass for energy. Analyses of 11 countries within the Asia- Pacific region show that energy consumption for fish is the largest among foods in Japan, Philippines, and Peru, while energy consumption for cereals is the largest among foods in Canada, US, Indonesia, and others. Water consumption for different types of food and energy are also analyzed, including nexus ratio to total water consumption. The water-energy-food nexus at a local level in the Asia Pacific region are examined by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature project "Human environmental security in Asia Pacific Ring of Fire". Themes including geothermal power plants for energy development and hot springs as water, shale gas for energy development and water consumption/contamination, aquaculture for food and water contamination are used to evaluate the water-energy-food nexus in the Asia-Pacific region.

Defining a stable water isotope framework for isotope hydrology application in a large trans-boundary watershed (Russian Federation/Ukraine).

Science.gov (United States)

Vystavna, Yuliya; Diadin, Dmytro; Huneau, Frédéric

2018-05-01

Stable isotopes of hydrogen ( 2 H) and oxygen ( 18 O) of the water molecule were used to assess the relationship between precipitation, surface water and groundwater in a large Russia/Ukraine trans-boundary river basin. Precipitation was sampled from November 2013 to February 2015, and surface water and groundwater were sampled during high and low flow in 2014. A local meteoric water line was defined for the Ukrainian part of the basin. The isotopic seasonality in precipitation was evident with depletion in heavy isotopes in November-March and an enrichment in April-October, indicating continental and temperature effects. Surface water was enriched in stable water isotopes from upstream to downstream sites due to progressive evaporation. Stable water isotopes in groundwater indicated that recharge occurs mainly during winter and spring. A one-year data set is probably not sufficient to report the seasonality of groundwater recharge, but this survey can be used to identify the stable water isotopes framework in a weakly gauged basin for further hydrological and geochemical studies.

Gains from trans-boundary water quality management in linked catchment and coastal socio-ecological systems: a case study for the Minho region

Science.gov (United States)

Roebeling, P. C.; Brito, A. G.; Rocha, J.; Alves, H.; Mamede, J.

2012-04-01

Worldwide, aquatic and coastal ecosystems are affected by point and diffuse source water pollution originating from rural, urban and industrial land uses in catchments, even though these ecosystems are of vital importance from an environmental and economic perspective. Integrated Catchment and Coastal Zone Management (ICCZM) specifically takes into account this inherent relationship between terrestrial land use, surface and ground water pollution, aquatic and coastal ecosystem state, and associated environmental values. To warrant sustainable regional economic development, we need to balance the marginal costs from terrestrial water pollution abatement and the associated marginal benefits from aquatic and coastal resource appreciation. In doing so, however, we need to differentiate between intra- and trans-boundary catchments because benefactors and beneficiaries from water quality improvement are not one and the same. In trans-boundary catchments, private (national) welfare maximizing rates of water quality improvement differ across nations as benefits from water quality improvement generally accrue to one nation while the costs are paid by multiple nations. While approaches for water quality management in linked catchment and coastal socio-ecological systems are fairly recent though existent, water quality management in trans-boundary catchments poses additional challenges. The objective of this paper is to develop and apply a deterministic optimal control approach that allows us to explore private and social welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement in linked catchment and coastal socio-ecological systems. For a case study of the Minho region in the Iberian Peninsula, we estimate nation-specific water pollution abatement cost (based on management practice adoption) and benefit (based on aquatic and coastal environmental values) functions, to determine as well as compare private (national) and social (trans-national) welfare maximizing rates of water

Transboundary Pollution, Trade Liberalization, and Environmental Taxes

OpenAIRE

Baksi, S.; Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2008-01-01

In a bilateral trade framework, we examine the impact of tari¤ reduction on the op- timal pollution tax and social welfare when pollution is transboundary. Strategic considerations lead countries to distort their pollution tax in the non-cooperative equilibrium. Trade liberalization changes the distortion, and consequently the pol- lution tax and welfare, in ways that depend on the extent to which pollution is transboundary. We find that when the pollution damage parameter is sufficiently sma...

Advances in the Knowledge of Transboundary Aquifers Shared by Canada and the USA, through the UNESCO's IHP ISARM Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, A.

2015-12-01

Canada's involvement in the UNESCO IHP ISARM initiative prompted an accrued analysis on the knowledge and state of transboundary aquifers located along the Canada-USA border. As a result, 10 Transboundary Aquifer Systems (TAS) were identified and some have been assessed in cooperation with the United States. This study is a review of the current state of the 10 TAS. Documentation of scientifically-based knowledge on TAS is an important step in identifying potential issues in policies that might be adopted to address shared water-resource issues. The newly acquired hydrological insights for this very long international border emphasizes the need for more scientific data, widespread communication and information sharing between Canadian and American organizations, and a more clearly defined governments' role to manage groundwater at the international level. The study reviews the legal frameworks and summarises the current scientific knowledge for the TAS with respect to the hydrologic and geologic framework as well as some of the major drivers for supply and demand. It also describes the links, approach and relevance of studies on the TAS to the UN Law of Transboundary Aquifers and on how these might fit in the ISARM's regional strategy for the assessment and management of the TAS. Clear communication, shared knowledge and common objectives in the management of TAS will prepare the countries for future negotiations and cooperative binational programs. Encouraged by the ISARM approach of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO, Canada is now looking forward to playing a key regional role in improving water management, facilitating transboundary water sharing, and enhancing water research and data sharing in future relations between these two nations.

Relationship between urbanisation and pollutant emissions in transboundary river basins under the strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Sen; Lu, Hongwei

2018-07-01

Urbanisation has increased the discharge of pollutants, altered water flow regimes, and modified the morphology of transboundary river basins. All these actions have resulted in multiple pressures on aquatic ecosystems of transboundary river basins, undermining the healthy development of their aquatic ecosystems as well as impairing the sustainable economic and social development associated therewith. Quantifying the relationship between socio-economic factors, and water environment systems, and understanding the multiple pressures in their combined impact on environmental fairness of transboundary river basins is challenging, and it is crucial to the strategic planning of the Belt and Road strategy. Here, the Songhua River basin, which is the largest branch of the China-Russia boundary river is taken as the study area. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model, which is coupled with the integrated model (pollutant emissions intensity, pollutant discharge efficiency, and pollutant emissions per capita), are used to reveal the spatio-temporal variations in regional pollutant emissions in the SRB. The results show that the features of the EKC are present in the pollutant emissions during economic development of the SRB. It also demonstrates that the turning point value of the EKC appeared when the GDP per capita is around ¥40,000 (CNY) in the SRB, which means that the pollutant emissions show an increasing trend, when the GDP per capita is less than ¥40,000. Our findings could contribute to a better understanding of the coupling relationship between pollutant emissions in transboundary river basins and urbanisation process in water stress to help address water allocation problems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of transboundary environmental issues in Central Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engi, D. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Corporate Planning and Strategic Business Development Div.; Kapustka, L.A.; Williams, B.A.; Meganck, R.A.; Garrison, J.G. [Ecological Planning and Toxicology, Inc., Corvallis, OR (United States); Glicken, J. [Ecological Planning and Toxicology, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hostetler, C.J.; Lawrence, S. [Columbia Environmental Services, Inc., Kennewick, WA (United States)

1997-05-01

Central Europe has experienced environmental degradation for hundreds of years. The proximity of countries, their shared resources, and transboundary movement of environmental pollution, create the potential for regional environmental strife. The goal of this project was to identify the sources and sinks of environmental pollution in Central Europe and evaluate the possible impact of transboundary movement of pollution on the countries of Central Europe. In meeting the objectives of identifying sources of contaminants, determining transboundary movement of contaminants, and assessing socio-economic implications, large quantities of disparate data were examined. To facilitate use of the data, the authors refined mapping procedures that enable processing information from virtually any map or spreadsheet data that can be geo-referenced. Because the procedure is freed from a priori constraints of scale that confound most Geographical Information Systems, they have the capacity to generate new projections and apply sophisticated statistical analyses to the data. The analysis indicates substantial environmental problems. While transboundary pollution issues may spawn conflict among the Central European countries and their neighbors, it appears that common environmental problems facing the entire region have had the effect of bringing the countries together, even though opportunities for deteriorating relationships may still arise.

Water Resources of Tajikistan and Water Use Issues in Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. M. Mukhabbatov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the formation and use of water resources in Tajikistan. The natural and geographic conditions as well as distribution of water resources across the economic regions are analyzed. It is stressed that after breakup of the Soviet Union the water use issues in Central Asia have acquired the dimensions of the interstate economic and political problems. Demographic growth, activation of desertification, global warming make most relevant the issue of equitable redistribution of water resources as the most valuable resource for economy.

The convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrage, W.

2000-01-01

The ECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (EIA Convention) is the first multilateral treaty to specify the procedural rights and duties of Parties with regard to transboundary impacts of proposed activities and to provide procedures, in a transboundary context, for the consideration of environmental impacts in decision-making. The EIA Convention, elaborated under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), was adopted at Espoo, Finland, in February 1991. Obligations stipulated, and measures and procedures provided for in this Convention are described. (author)

Assessment of transboundary environmental effects in the Pearl River Delta Region: Is there a role for strategic environmental assessment?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marsden, Simon

2011-01-01

China's EIA Law does not require transboundary proposals to be assessed, despite recognition of this globally, for example in the Espoo Convention and Kiev Protocol, and in the European EIA and SEA Directives. In a transboundary context assessment within a state is unusual, as regulating these effects is primarily about the relationship between states. However where a state has more than one legal system such as in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region of southern China, transboundary effects should also be addressed. Yet despite the geographical connections between Guangdong Province in mainland China (where the EIA Law applies) and the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions (which have their own provisions, neither of which requires transboundary assessments), EIA and SEA are carried out separately. Coordinated or joint approaches to transboundary assessment are generally absent, with the legal autonomy of Hong Kong and Macau a major constraint. As a result institutional responses at the policy level have developed. The article considers global experiences with regulating transboundary EIA and SEA, and analyses potential application to land use, transport and air and water planning in the PRD Region. If applied, benefits may include prevention or mitigation of cumulative effects, broader public participation, and improvements to environmental governance. The PRD Region experience may encourage China to conduct and coordinate EIA and SEA processes with neighbouring states, which has been non-existent or extremely limited to date.

Legal approaches to transboundary pollution - relating to nuclear activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hintsteiner, G.

2000-05-01

This work examines the legal approaches to pollution in a transboundary context. Particular consideration is given to transboundary pollution that is related to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Since I have chosen to approach the very topic not so much in the hope of finding a single and unequivocal answer but rather by building a circumstantial case, the present work naturally relies to a great extent on decisions of international courts and tribunals, as well as on principles and rules stemming from international law in general. The international norm that basically guides the topic is the prohibition of transboundary pollution, or, expressed as a positive duty, i.e. the obligation to prevent transboundary harm, which has found expression in Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment. The very obligation is relevant from the perspective of prevention of environmental harm, as well as reparation when harm has actually occurred. One of the primary issues of this work accordingly relates to the obligation's preventive function, thus its extent, meaning and scope are examined, and in particular its approach to transboundary risk-creation. In the overall context of transboundary pollution the principle of the sovereign equality of states and other basic rules that directly emanate from it are of continuos importance. This work is further strongly impacted by notions of equity together with the establishment of a balancing of interests test which application merits special consideration in cases where a conflict between two states cannot be solved by mere reliance on their sovereign rights. Rules relating to the prevention of environmental harm, now increasingly guided by the Precautionary Principle, are also relevant under the law of state responsibility for wrongful acts and in the context of defining obligations erga omnes. (author)

The Security Implications of Water: Prospects for Instability or Cooperation in South and Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-01

and import enough fuels for its winter needs.” And,The World Bank, “ Water Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Improving Regional Cooperation in the Syr...94 “ Water Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Improving Regional Cooperation in the Syr Darya Basin,” World Bank Report...10. 95 All statistics are attributed from Water Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Improving Regional Cooperation in the Syr Darya Basin,” World Bank

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in a Transboundary River Basin: The Case of Tonle Sap Lake, Mekong River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko Keskinen

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The water-energy-food nexus is promoted as a new approach for research and policy-making. But what does the nexus mean in practice and what kinds of benefits does it bring? In this article we share our experiences with using a nexus approach in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake area. We conclude that water, energy and food security are very closely linked, both in the Tonle Sap and in the transboundary Mekong River Basin generally. The current drive for large-scale hydropower threatens water and food security at both local and national scales. Hence, the nexus provides a relevant starting point for promoting sustainable development in the Mekong. We also identify and discuss two parallel dimensions for the nexus, with one focusing on research and analysis and the other on integrated planning and cross-sectoral collaboration. In our study, the nexus approach was particularly useful in facilitating collaboration and stakeholder engagement. This was because the nexus approach clearly defines the main themes included in the process, and at the same time widens the discussion from mere water resource management into the broader aspects of water, energy and food security.

A coupled modeling framework for sustainable watershed management in transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Furqan Khan, Hassaan; Yang, Y. C. Ethan; Xie, Hua; Ringler, Claudia

2017-12-01

There is a growing recognition among water resource managers that sustainable watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans benefit from the environment, but also incorporate the impact of human actions on the natural system. Coupled natural-human system modeling through explicit modeling of both natural and human behavior can help reveal the reciprocal interactions and co-evolution of the natural and human systems. This study develops a spatially scalable, generalized agent-based modeling (ABM) framework consisting of a process-based semi-distributed hydrologic model (SWAT) and a decentralized water system model to simulate the impacts of water resource management decisions that affect the food-water-energy-environment (FWEE) nexus at a watershed scale. Agents within a river basin are geographically delineated based on both political and watershed boundaries and represent key stakeholders of ecosystem services. Agents decide about the priority across three primary water uses: food production, hydropower generation and ecosystem health within their geographical domains. Agents interact with the environment (streamflow) through the SWAT model and interact with other agents through a parameter representing willingness to cooperate. The innovative two-way coupling between the water system model and SWAT enables this framework to fully explore the feedback of human decisions on the environmental dynamics and vice versa. To support non-technical stakeholder interactions, a web-based user interface has been developed that allows for role-play and participatory modeling. The generalized ABM framework is also tested in two key transboundary river basins, the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia and the Niger River basin in West Africa, where water uses for ecosystem health compete with growing human demands on food and energy resources. We present modeling results for crop production, energy generation and violation of eco

Implementing the Espoo Convention in transboundary EIA between Germany and Poland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, Eike

2008-01-01

Poland and Germany have a long common border which leads to the necessity to cooperate and consult each other in the case of large-scale projects or infrastructure measures likely to cause negative transboundary effects on the environment. There are already binding provisions for transboundary EIA. In the area of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), transboundary EIA is intended to be legally binding for the Member States by the Espoo Convention which was ratified by Germany 8.8.2002 and by Poland 12.6.1997. Due to corresponding directives, the same is applicable in the context of the European Union. In German legislation, this issue is regulated by Art. 8 of the Federal EIA Act in regard to transboundary participation of administration and by Art. 9a in respect of transboundary public participation. However, these EIA regulations on transboundary participation do not surpass a certain detail level, as they have to be applied between Germany and all neighbouring states. Therefore both countries decided to agree on more detailed provisions in particular regarding procedural questions. During the 12th German-Polish Environmental Council, Germany and Poland reached an agreement on 11.4.2006 in Neuhardenberg/Brandenburg an agreement upon the implementation of the Espoo Convention, the so called Neuhardenberg Agreement. This article assesses the agreement under consideration of already existing law and discusses major improvements and problems

How downstream sub-basins depend on upstream inflows to avoid scarcity: typology and global analysis of transboundary rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, Hafsa Ahmed; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Mirumachi, Naho; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, Matti

2018-05-01

Countries sharing river basins are often dependent upon water originating outside their boundaries; meaning that without that upstream water, water scarcity may occur with flow-on implications for water use and management. We develop a formalisation of this concept drawing on ideas about the transition between regimes from resilience literature, using water stress and water shortage as indicators of water scarcity. In our analytical framework, dependency occurs if water from upstream is needed to avoid scarcity. This can be diagnosed by comparing different types of water availability on which a sub-basin relies, in particular local runoff and upstream inflows. At the same time, possible upstream water withdrawals reduce available water downstream, influencing the latter water availability. By developing a framework of scarcity and dependency, we contribute to the understanding of transitions between system regimes. We apply our analytical framework to global transboundary river basins at the scale of sub-basin areas (SBAs). Our results show that 1175 million people live under water stress (42 % of the total transboundary population). Surprisingly, the majority (1150 million) of these currently suffer from stress only due to their own excessive water use and possible water from upstream does not have impact on the stress status - i.e. they are not yet dependent on upstream water to avoid stress - but could still impact on the intensity of the stress. At the same time, 386 million people (14 %) live in SBAs that can avoid stress owing to available water from upstream and have thus upstream dependency. In the case of water shortage, 306 million people (11 %) live in SBAs dependent on upstream water to avoid possible shortage. The identification of transitions between system regimes sheds light on how SBAs may be affected in the future, potentially contributing to further refined analysis of inter- and intrabasin hydro-political power relations and strategic planning

Central Asia Water (CAWa) - A visualization platform for hydro-meteorological sensor data

Science.gov (United States)

Stender, Vivien; Schroeder, Matthias; Wächter, Joachim

2014-05-01

Water is an indispensable necessity of life for people in the whole world. In central Asia, water is the key factor for economic development, but is already a narrow resource in this region. In fact of climate change, the water problem handling will be a big challenge for the future. The regional research Network "Central Asia Water" (CAWa) aims at providing a scientific basis for transnational water resources management for the five Central Asia States Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. CAWa is part of the Central Asia Water Initiative (also known as the Berlin Process) which was launched by the Federal Foreign Office on 1 April 2008 at the "Water Unites" conference in Berlin. To produce future scenarios and strategies for sustainable water management, data on water reserves and the use of water in Central Asia must therefore be collected consistently across the region. Hydro-meteorological stations equipped with sophisticated sensors are installed in Central Asia and send their data via real-time satellite communication to the operation centre of the monitoring network and to the participating National Hydro-meteorological Services.[1] The challenge for CAWa is to integrate the whole aspects of data management, data workflows, data modeling and visualizations in a proper design of a monitoring infrastructure. The use of standardized interfaces to support data transfer and interoperability is essential in CAWa. An uniform treatment of sensor data can be realized by the OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) , which makes a number of standards and interface definitions available: Observation & Measurement (O&M) model for the description of observations and measurements, Sensor Model Language (SensorML) for the description of sensor systems, Sensor Observation Service (SOS) for obtaining sensor observations, Sensor Planning Service (SPS) for tasking sensors, Web Notification Service (WNS) for asynchronous dialogues and Sensor Alert Service

Trade agreements, domestic environmental regulation, and transboundary pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lai, Yu-Bong; Hu, Chia-Hsien [Department of Public Finance, National Taipei University (China)

2008-05-15

This paper investigates a second-best trade agreement between two countries that takes the distortion arising from their non-coordinated environmental policies into consideration. In a reciprocal-markets model with bidirectional transboundary pollution, we find that if the transboundary pollution is sufficiently strong, the second-best trade agreement requires that both countries subsidize the imported goods whose consumption gives rise to pollution. We also find that a bilateral tariff reduction is beneficial to the global environment. (author)

Trade agreements, domestic environmental regulation, and transboundary pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Yu-Bong; Hu, Chia-Hsien

2008-01-01

This paper investigates a second-best trade agreement between two countries that takes the distortion arising from their non-coordinated environmental policies into consideration. In a reciprocal-markets model with bidirectional transboundary pollution, we find that if the transboundary pollution is sufficiently strong, the second-best trade agreement requires that both countries subsidize the imported goods whose consumption gives rise to pollution. We also find that a bilateral tariff reduction is beneficial to the global environment. (author)

A coupled modeling framework for sustainable watershed management in transboundary river basins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. F. Khan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There is a growing recognition among water resource managers that sustainable watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans benefit from the environment, but also incorporate the impact of human actions on the natural system. Coupled natural–human system modeling through explicit modeling of both natural and human behavior can help reveal the reciprocal interactions and co-evolution of the natural and human systems. This study develops a spatially scalable, generalized agent-based modeling (ABM framework consisting of a process-based semi-distributed hydrologic model (SWAT and a decentralized water system model to simulate the impacts of water resource management decisions that affect the food–water–energy–environment (FWEE nexus at a watershed scale. Agents within a river basin are geographically delineated based on both political and watershed boundaries and represent key stakeholders of ecosystem services. Agents decide about the priority across three primary water uses: food production, hydropower generation and ecosystem health within their geographical domains. Agents interact with the environment (streamflow through the SWAT model and interact with other agents through a parameter representing willingness to cooperate. The innovative two-way coupling between the water system model and SWAT enables this framework to fully explore the feedback of human decisions on the environmental dynamics and vice versa. To support non-technical stakeholder interactions, a web-based user interface has been developed that allows for role-play and participatory modeling. The generalized ABM framework is also tested in two key transboundary river basins, the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia and the Niger River basin in West Africa, where water uses for ecosystem health compete with growing human demands on food and energy resources. We present modeling results for crop production, energy generation and violation of

Managing transboundary crises: Identifying building blocks of an effective response system.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ansell, C; Boin, R.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/161938876; Keller, A

2010-01-01

In recent years, crises have become increasingly transboundary in nature. This exploratory paper investigates whether and how the transboundary dimensions of crises such as pandemics, cyber attacks and prolonged critical infrastructure failure accentuate the challenges that public and private

Solidarity in transboundary flood risk management: A view from the Dutch North Rhine–Westphalian catchment area

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Eerd, M.C.J.; Wiering, M.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/181450100; Dieperink, C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/074013130

2017-01-01

limate change is putting pressure on water systems, and its effects transcend man-made boundaries, making cooperation across territorial borders essential. The governance of transboundary flood risk management calls for solidarity among riparians, as climate change will make river basins more prone

Regional cost-effectiveness in transboundary water quality management for the Baltic Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasler, Berit; Smart, James Christopher Rudd; Fonnesbech-Wulff, Anders

In 2007 HELCOM launched a plan for transboundary management of the Baltic Sea. This plan, called the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), aims amongst other things, to reduce eutrophication in the different regions of the Baltic Sea by reducing incoming nutrient loads from all discharging drainage basins...... difficult to achieve, and that additional abatement measures are likely to be required to fulfil these targets. The minimised total cost of delivering the achievable load reductions across the 9 Baltic littoral countries is estimated to be 4.69 billion Euros, annually, with substantial differences...

Rio Grande transboundary integrated hydrologic model and water-availability analysis, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Randall T.; Ritchie, Andre; Boyce, Scott E.; Ferguson, Ian; Galanter, Amy; Flint, Lorraine E.; Henson, Wesley

2018-05-31

Changes in population, agricultural development and practices (including shifts to more water-intensive crops), and climate variability are increasing demands on available water resources, particularly groundwater, in one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Southwest—the Rincon and Mesilla Valley parts of Rio Grande Valley, Doña Ana and Sierra Counties, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas. The goal of this study was to produce an integrated hydrological simulation model to help evaluate water-management strategies, including conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater for historical conditions, and to support long-term planning for the Rio Grande Project. This report describes model construction and applications by the U.S. Geological Survey, working in cooperation and collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation.This model, the Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model, simulates the most important natural and human components of the hydrologic system, including selected components related to variations in climate, thereby providing a reliable assessment of surface-water and groundwater conditions and processes that can inform water users and help improve planning for future conditions and sustained operations of the Rio Grande Project (RGP) by the Bureau of Reclamation. Model development included a revision of the conceptual model of the flow system, construction of a Transboundary Rio Grande Watershed Model (TRGWM) water-balance model using the Basin Characterization Model (BCM), and construction of an integrated hydrologic flow model with MODFLOW-One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (referred to as One Water). The hydrologic models were developed for and calibrated to historical conditions of water and land use, and parameters were adjusted so that simulated values closely matched available measurements (calibration). The calibrated model was then used to assess the use and movement of water in the Rincon Valley, Mesilla Basin

Characterization of rainwater chemical composition after a Southeast Asia haze event: insight of transboundary pollutant transport during the northeast monsoon.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadzir, Mohd Shahrul Mohd; Lin, Chin Yik; Khan, Md Firoz; Latif, Mohd Talib; Dominick, Doreena; Hamid, Haris Hafizal Abdul; Mohamad, Noorlin; Maulud, Khairul Nizam Abdul; Wahab, Muhammad Ikram Abdul; Kamaludin, Nurul Farahana; Lazim, Mohamad Azwani Shah Mat

2017-06-01

Open biomass burning in Peninsula Malaysia, Sumatra, and parts of the Indochinese region is a major source of transboundary haze pollution in the Southeast Asia. To study the influence of haze on rainwater chemistry, a short-term investigation was carried out during the occurrence of a severe haze episode from March to April 2014. Rainwater samples were collected after a prolonged drought and analyzed for heavy metals and major ion concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC), respectively. The chemical composition and morphology of the solid particulates suspended in rainwater were examined using a scanning electron microscope coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The dataset was further interpreted using enrichment factors (EF), statistical analysis, and a back trajectory (BT) model to find the possible sources of the particulates and pollutants. The results show a drop in rainwater pH from near neutral (pH 6.54) to acidic (

Transboundary environmental problems in international politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goerrissen, T.

1993-01-01

Transboundary environmental problems with their far-reaching consequences impinge on vital interests of the affected countries. As states interdepend not only ecologically but also, or even primarily, economically, environmental problems usually engender a clash between ecological and economic interests. Although economic power is central to getting one's way, economically powerful states by no means always succeed in realising their aims. This topical monograph deals with the subject of regional and global debates and conflicts about transboundary environmental problems. The author points out the prerequisites for realising ecological interests in conditions of complex interdependence, illustrating his findings with two case studies. One is about the establishment of a regime for climate protection, while the other concerns the new ruling on transalpine commercial road transport. (orig./HP) [de

Water Management for Competing Uses: Environmental Flows in the Transboundary Rio Grande/Rio Bravo

Science.gov (United States)

Sandoval Solis, S.; McKinney, D. C.

2011-12-01

Introduction Due to high water demand, the scarcity of water, and the complexity of water allocation, environmental flows have not been considered as an integral part of the water management in the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo transboundary basin. The Big Bend reach is located between the cities of Presidio/Ojinaga to Amistad international reservoir, along the main stream (Fig. 1). Important environmental habitats such as the Big Bend National and State Park in the U.S., the Maderas del Carmen, Cañon de Santa Elena and Ocampo natural reserved areas in Mexico are ecologically threatened because of the lack of environmental water management policies. Several efforts have been undertaken by scientists, government agencies and NGOs to determine the environmental flows for this reach and water management policies that can provide these flows. Objective The objective of this research is to describe a water management policy that can conciliate environmental and human water uses in the Big Bend region. In other words, define a policy that can provide environmental flows without harming water supply for stakeholders or increasing flood risk, within legal and physical constraints of the system. Methodology First, the system was characterized identifying water users, hydraulic infrastructure, and water allocation according to state, federal and international regulations. Second, a hydrograph for environmental flows was proposed that mimics the hydrologic characteristics of the prior dam alteration. Third, a water planning model was constructed to evaluate alternative policies. Fourth, the water management is proposed to provide environmental restoration flows from Luis L. Leon reservoir. This policy considers mechanisms that reduce flooding and drought risks, while meting national and international water regulations. Results Three types of natural flow regimes are considered: (1) median flows aimed to provide the base flow in the region, (2) high flows to provide transversal

TRANSBOUNDARY DAMAGE IN THE LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Maria HANCIU

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Some activities that are useful for economic and social development of a State even if are not prohibited by national or international law can cause transboundary damages to other countries. This kind of transboundary damages have given rise to theories of State responsibility and a worldwide demand for increased environmental protection. "Under the principles of international law...no State has the right to use or permit the use of its territory in such a manner as to cause [environmental] injury ... in or to the territory of another or the properties of persons therein, when the case is of serious consequence and the injury is established by clear and convincing evidence." (Stockholm Principle 21 The paper analyses the impact of transboundary damage in the light of international environmental law and the increasing concern among States for environmental protection.

Integrating EO data for applying the Nexus of water, energy and agriculture to monitor SDG Indicators within transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Zalidis, G.; Kavvada, A.; Crisman, T.

2016-12-01

The NEXUS of water, energy and agriculture is widely recognized as an integrated approach for innovative management solutions and actions to protect natural resources. Soil Spectral Libraries (SSL) implement the NEXUS approach by combining Earth Observation (EO) and Geospatial Information (GI) data and tools to extract information on soil attributes rapidly, reliably and cost effectively. NEXUS approach for soil resources at large scales- across landscapes or regions- remains a challenge however, especially for stakeholders, and in regards to promoting the concept, disseminating the methodology, and discussing potential benefits at both local and transboundary river basin levels. The CEOS Data Cube is an excellent tool for collecting, processing and disseminating EO data, and providing `Analysis Ready Data' utilized both as a management tool for policy makers, and a tool boosting economic activity and supporting end-users. Thus, it helps supporting the tracking of, and reporting on, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and promoting targeted approaches to address specific SDG Indicators. Although several European projects in the Balkan transboundary river basin areas focus on existing/potential ties to specific SDG Indicators under the leadership of i-BEC, data are lacking for some regions, and there is an exigent need for country/region - specific case studies. A case study in Albania, the 3rd for CEOS and the 1st for Europe, will seek to build synergies between different sectors and activities (water, energy, food) and natural resources, while also accounting for ecosystem climate- regulating functions. This will contribute to the global expansion of the Data Cube initiative, while adding high quality datasets in GEOSS. Engagement of EO ecosystem stakeholders, together with National Statistical Offices, regionally and globally, should exploit the networking capacities of multipliers, maximizing the impact and reach of SSL. The H2020 project GEOCRADLE has

South Asia Water Resources Workshop: An effort to promote water quality data sharing in South Asia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

RAJEN,GAURAV; BIRINGER,KENT L.; BETSILL,J. DAVID

2000-04-01

To promote cooperation in South Asia on environmental research, an international working group comprised of participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the US convened at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 12 to 14, 1999. The workshop was sponsored in part by the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, through funding provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. The CMC promotes collaborations among scientists and researchers in regions throughout the world as a means of achieving common regional security objectives. In the long term, the workshop organizers and participants are interested in the significance of regional information sharing as a means to build confidence and reduce conflict. The intermediate interests of the group focus on activities that might eventually foster regional management of some aspects of water resources utilization. The immediate purpose of the workshop was to begin the implementation phase of a project to collect and share water quality information at a number of river and coastal estuary locations throughout the region. The workshop participants achieved four objectives: (1) gaining a better understanding of the partner organizations involved; (2) garnering the support of existing regional organizations promoting environmental cooperation in South Asia; (3) identifying sites within the region at which data is to be collected; and (4) instituting a data and information collection and sharing process.

The Water Efficiency Paradox, a study of Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Merks, Joreen; Bastiaanssen, Wim

2017-04-01

Water scarcity is a rapidly growing concern in the semi-arid areas of Central Asia. Water savings and efficiency improvement programs are promoted as a possibility to save the Aral Sea. The Aral Seas lost 92% of its volume between 1960 and 2009. Projects on rehabilitating the Aral Sea and increasing the efficiency of water use in the irrigation sector are, however, not making progress. In Central Asia, 90% of the water withdrawal is allocated to agriculture. Irrigation efficiency programs often disregard the downstream connectivity of the water flow path. Not all water being applied is consumed by crop evapotranspiration and in fact an equally great portion of water returns back into the river basin system and is reused downstream. This cascade effect implies that results in one location can induce a scarcity of water in another location. The cascade effect in the Syr Darya has been studied by means of the Aral Sea Basin Management Model (ASBMM) designed by SIC-ICWC and remote sensing data produced by UNESCO-IHE. We will demonstrate the impact of increasing irrigation efficiency locally on the overall water consumption in the basin. We will show that efficiency increases with larger areas, and that there are caps to the maximum efficiency at basin scale. Increasing efficiency is thus not self-evident. Classical solutions on promoting increase of efficiency and water savings are therefore outdated and misleads stakeholders. We will look into the misconceptions and challenges in the communication between researchers and policy makers regarding increasing efficiency.

Study on resources and environmental data integration towards data warehouse construction covering trans-boundary area of China, Russia and Mongolia

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Song, J.; Gao, M.; Zhu, L.

2014-02-01

The trans-boundary area between Northern China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia of Russia is a continuous geographical area located in north eastern Asia. Many common issues in this region need to be addressed based on a uniform resources and environmental data warehouse. Based on the practice of joint scientific expedition, the paper presented a data integration solution including 3 steps, i.e., data collection standards and specifications making, data reorganization and process, data warehouse design and development. A series of data collection standards and specifications were drawn up firstly covering more than 10 domains. According to the uniform standard, 20 resources and environmental survey databases in regional scale, and 11 in-situ observation databases were reorganized and integrated. North East Asia Resources and Environmental Data Warehouse was designed, which included 4 layers, i.e., resources layer, core business logic layer, internet interoperation layer, and web portal layer. The data warehouse prototype was developed and deployed initially. All the integrated data in this area can be accessed online.

Study on resources and environmental data integration towards data warehouse construction covering trans-boundary area of China, Russia and Mongolia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J; Song, J; Gao, M; Zhu, L

2014-01-01

The trans-boundary area between Northern China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia of Russia is a continuous geographical area located in north eastern Asia. Many common issues in this region need to be addressed based on a uniform resources and environmental data warehouse. Based on the practice of joint scientific expedition, the paper presented a data integration solution including 3 steps, i.e., data collection standards and specifications making, data reorganization and process, data warehouse design and development. A series of data collection standards and specifications were drawn up firstly covering more than 10 domains. According to the uniform standard, 20 resources and environmental survey databases in regional scale, and 11 in-situ observation databases were reorganized and integrated. North East Asia Resources and Environmental Data Warehouse was designed, which included 4 layers, i.e., resources layer, core business logic layer, internet interoperation layer, and web portal layer. The data warehouse prototype was developed and deployed initially. All the integrated data in this area can be accessed online

Assessing Management Regimes in Transboundary River Basins: Do They Support Adaptive Management?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.T. (Tom Raadgever

2008-06-01

Full Text Available River basin management is faced with complex problems that are characterized by uncertainty and change. In transboundary river basins, historical, legal, and cultural differences add to the complexity. The literature on adaptive management gives several suggestions for handling this complexity. It recognizes the importance of management regimes as enabling or limiting adaptive management, but there is no comprehensive overview of regime features that support adaptive management. This paper presents such an overview, focused on transboundary river basin management. It inventories the features that have been claimed to be central to effective transboundary river basin management and refines them using adaptive management literature. It then collates these features into a framework describing actor networks, policy processes, information management, and legal and financial aspects. Subsequently, this framework is applied to the Orange and Rhine basins. The paper concludes that the framework provides a consistent and comprehensive perspective on transboundary river basin management regimes, and can be used for assessing their capacity to support adaptive management.

Advancing Regional and Transboundary Cooperation in the Conflict-Prone Hindu Kush–Himalaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Molden

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD supports regional and transboundary cooperation to meet challenges of climate change, disaster risks, and sustainable development in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya (HKH. Action to sustain the HKH has the potential to directly improve the lives of more than one fourth of the world's population. However, facilitating cooperation and policy coherence among the countries sharing HKH resources is a persistent challenge in a region that is prone to conflict and is highly variable regarding development. At ICIMOD, we work across HKH countries to help attain common goals related to sustainable development, using our skills in bringing together different groups within programmatic transboundary approaches covering topics such as river basins or transboundary landscapes. In addition, the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme and the Himalayan University Consortium have made strides in promoting regional and transboundary cooperation among HKH countries, particularly emphasizing research synthesis and the role of academia.

Lead isotope ratios in six lake sediment cores from Japan Archipelago: Historical record of trans-boundary pollution sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosono, Takahiro; Alvarez, Kelly; Kuwae, Michinobu

2016-07-15

Sediment cores from six lakes situated from north to south on the Japanese Archipelago were collected during 2009-2010 to investigate the hypothesis that deposition of lead (Pb) was coming from East Asia (including China, South Korea and eastern part of Russia). Accumulation rates and ages of the lake sediment were estimated by the (210)Pb constant rate of supply model and (137)Cs inputs to reconstruct the historical trends of Pb accumulation. Cores from four lakes located in the north and central Japan, showed clear evidence of Pb pollution with a change in the (206)Pb/(207)Pb and (208)Pb/(207)Pb ratios in the recent sediment as compared to the deeper sediment. Among the six studied lakes, significant inputs of anthropogenic lead emissions were observed at Lake Mikazuki (north Hokkaido in north Japan), Lake Chokai (north of Honshu), and Lake Mikuriga (central part of Honshu). Pb isotopic comparison of collected core sediment and previously reported data for wet precipitation and aerosols from different Asian regions indicate that, before 1900, Pb accumulated in these three lakes was not affected by trans-boundary sources. Lake Mikazuki started to receive Pb emissions from Russia in early 1900s, and during the last two decades, this lake has been affected by trans-boundary Pb pollution from northern China. Lake Chokai has received Pb pollutant from northern China since early 1900s until 2009, whereas for the Lake Mikuriga the major Pb contaminant was transported from southern China during the past 100years. The results of our study demonstrate that Japan Archipelago has received trans-boundary Pb emissions from different parts of East Asian region depending on location, and the major source region has changed historically. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water Security in Periurban South Asia : Adapting to Climate ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Chargé(e) de projet. Prof. Ashutosh Kumar Shukla. Institution. Nepal Engineering College. Pays d' institution. Nepal. Site internet. http://www.nec.edu.np. Extrants. Études. Communication strategy in action research on water security in four South Asian peri-urban locations : CCW Asia Regional Partners Meeting, June ...

Daily and hourly chemical impact of springtime transboundary aerosols on Japanese air quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Moreno

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The regular eastward drift of transboundary aerosol intrusions from the Asian mainland into the NW Pacific region has a pervasive impact on air quality in Japan, especially during springtime. Analysis of 24-h filter samples with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES and Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS, and hourly Streaker with Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE samples collected continuously for six weeks reveal the chemistry of successive waves of natural mineral desert dust ("Kosa" and metalliferous sulphatic pollutants arriving in western Japan during spring 2011. The main aerosol sources recognised by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF analysis of Streaker data are mineral dust and fresh sea salt (both mostly in the coarser fraction PM_2.5–10, As-bearing sulphatic aerosol (PM_0.1–2.5, metalliferous sodic particulate matter (PM interpreted as aged, industrially contaminated marine aerosol, and ZnCu-bearing aerosols. Whereas mineral dust arrivals are typically highly transient, peaking over a few hours, sulphatic intrusions build up and decline more slowly, and are accompanied by notable rises in ambient concentrations of metallic trace elements such as Pb, As, Zn, Sn and Cd. The magnitude of the loss in regional air quality due to the spread and persistence of pollution from mainland Asia is especially clear when cleansing oceanic air advects westward across Japan, removing the continental influence and reducing concentrations of the undesirable metalliferous pollutants by over 90%. Our new chemical database, especially the Streaker data, demonstrates the rapidly changing complexity of ambient air inhaled during these transboundary events, and implicates Chinese coal combustion as the main source of the anthropogenic aerosol component.

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Asia-Pacific Ring of Fire

Science.gov (United States)

Taniguchi, M.; Endo, A.; Gurdak, J. J.; Allen, D. M.; Siringan, F.; Delinom, R.; Shoji, J.; Fujii, M.; Baba, K.

2013-12-01

Climate change and economic development are causing increased pressure on water, energy and food resources, presenting communities with increased levels of tradeoffs and potential conflicts among these resources. Therefore, the water-energy-food nexus is one of the most important and fundamental global environmental issues facing the world. For the purposes of this research project, we define human-environmental security as the joint optimization between human and environmental security as well as the water-energy-food nexus. To optimize the governance and management within these inter-connected needs, it is desirable to increase human-environmental security by improving social managements for the water-energy-food nexus. In this research project, we intend to establish a method to manage and optimize the human-environmental security of the water-energy-food nexus by using integrated models, indices, and maps as well as social and natural investigations with stakeholder analyses. We base our approach on the viewpoint that it is important for a sustainable society to increase human-environmental security with decreasing risk and increasing resilience by optimizing the connections within the critical water-energy and water-food clusters. We will take a regional perspective to address these global environmental problems. The geological and geomorphological conditions in our proposed study area are heavily influenced by the so-called 'Ring of Fire,' around the Pacific Ocean. Within these areas including Japan and Southeast Asia, the hydro-meteorological conditions are dominated by the Asia monsoon. The populations that live under these natural conditions face elevated risk and potential disaster as negative impacts, while also benefitting from positive ecological goods and services. There are therefore tradeoffs and conflicts within the water-energy-food nexus, as well as among various stakeholders in the region. The objective of this project is to maximize human

Assessing the Ecological Integrity of a Major Transboundary Mediterranean River Based on Environmental Habitat Variables and Benthic Macroinvertebrates (Aoos-Vjose River, Greece-Albania)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chatzinikolaou, Y.; Dakos, V.; Lazaridou-Dimitriadou, M.

2008-01-01

Ecological integrity has become a primary objective in monitoring programs of surface waters according to the European Water Framework Directive. For this reason we propose a scheme for assessing the ecological integrity of a major transboundary river, the Aoos-Vjose (Greece-Albania), by analysing

Hydrological picture of Nišava trans-boundary catchment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hristova Nelly

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This work focuses on hydrographic and hydrological specific of Nišava River. It uses all hydrometric and cartographic information for the Bulgarian part of the catchment. Trans-boundary catchment of Nišava River includes four sub-basins, which are trans-borders too. There are a lot of karst areas in the river basin. The drainage density is 1.09 km/km2. Water resources of Nišava River are 170 million m3. They vary between 300.0 and 84.0 million m3. The period of high water appears in March/April and finishes in June. The frequency of monthly maximum is biggest in April or May. The monthly minimum appears most often in September or October. Floods in the catchment of the river Nišava are most often in March, May and June. Some of the rivers lose its waters in the karst areas and dries up during the summer. The average number of days with ice is between 10 and 70. The chemical and ecological status of river water is good. .

Predicting the Occurrence of Haze Events in Southeast Asia using Machine Learning Algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, H. H.; Chulakadabba, A.; Tonks, A.; Yang, Z.; Wang, C.

2017-12-01

Severe local- and regional-scale air pollution episodes typically originate from 1) high emissions of air pollutants, 2) poor dispersion conditions, and 3) trans-boundary pollutant transport. Biomass burning activities have become more frequent in Southeast Asia, especially in Sumatra, Borneo, and the mainland Southeast. Trans-boundary transport of biomass burning aerosols often lead to air quality problems in the region. Furthermore, particulate pollutants from human activities besides biomass burning also play an important role in the air quality of Southeast Asia. Singapore, for example, has a dynamic industrial sector including chemical, electric and metallurgic industries, and is the region's major petroleum-refining center. In addition, natural gas and oil power plants, waste incinerators, active port traffic, and a major regional airport further complicate Singapore's air quality issues. In this study, we compare five Machine Learning algorithms: k-Nearest Neighbors, Linear Support Vector Machine, Decision Tree, Random Forest and Artificial Neural Network, to identify haze patterns and determine variable importance. The algorithms were trained using local atmospheric data (i.e. months, atmospheric conditions, wind direction and relative humidity) from three observation stations in Singapore (Changi, Seletar and Paya Labar). We find that the algorithms reveal the associations in data within and between the stations, and provide in-depth interpretation of the haze sources. The algorithms also allow us to predict the probability of haze episodes in Singapore and to determine the correlation between this probability and atmospheric conditions.

Data sharing in international transboundary contexts: The Vietnamese perspective on data sharing in the Lower Mekong Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Thu, Hang Ngo; Wehn, Uta

2016-05-01

Transboundary data sharing is widely recognised as a necessary element in the successful handling of water-related climate change issues, as it is a means towards integrated water resources management (IWRM). However, in practice it is often a challenge to achieve it. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), an inter-governmental agency established by Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam, has adopted IWRM in its water strategy plan in order to properly manage the transboundary waters of the Mekong River. In this context, data sharing procedures were institutionalised and have been officially implemented by the four member countries since 2001. This paper uses a systematic approach to identify the extent of data sharing and the factors influencing the willingness of key individuals in the Vietnam National Mekong Committee and its Primary Custodians to share data. We find that the initial objectives of the Procedures for Data and Information Exchange and Sharing (PDIES) have not been fully achieved and, further, that Vietnam has much to gain and little to lose by engaging in data sharing in the MRC context. The primary motivation for data sharing stems from the desire to protect national benefits and to prevent upstream countries from overexploiting the shared water resources. However, data sharing is hindered by a lack of national regulations in the Vietnam context concerning data sharing between state agencies and outdated information management systems.

EU-Russia Relations Regarding Water Resources in Central Asia

OpenAIRE

Anastasia Likhacheva

2014-01-01

In Central Asia, the water deficit and water-energy problem have been one of among the most acute and conflict-ridden challenges for the sustainable development of the region and for regional security. Key trade and investment partners, including Russia and the European Union, could play a considerable role in influencing this issue, due to the long-lasting status quo, the inability to find a solution through intra-regional dialogue and the region’s rising dependence on foreign trade. Indeed,...

Bilateral and multilateral agreements and other arrangements in Europe and North America on the protection and use of transboundary waters. Addendum. 1994 Update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The present document is issued pursuant to the decision taken by the Committee on Environmental Policy at its first session (ECE/CEP/1) to revise and update annually the 1993 list of Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements and Other Arrangements in Europe and North America on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Waters (ECE/ENVWA/32) and to publish a completely revised and updated version of the consolidated list of agreements at three-yearly intervals. By 31 December 1994, additions and amendments to this document had been submitted by the delegations of Austria, Croatia, Netherlands, Russian Federation and Slovakia. These have been incorporated into the present document

Canada-United States Transboundary Particulate Matter Science Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

This 2004 document summarizes the findings of the Canada-U.S. subcommittee on Scientific Cooperation concerning the transboundary transport of particulate matter (PM) and PM precursors between the two countries.

Transboundary Pollution, Trade Liberalization and Environmental Taxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baksi, S.; Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2008-01-01

In a bilateral trade framework, we examine the impact of tariff reduction on the optimal pollution tax and social welfare when pollution is transboundary. Strategic considerations lead countries to distort their pollution tax in the non-cooperative equilibrium. Trade liberalization changes the

Groundwater Depletion in the Middle East from GRACE with Implications for Transboundary Water Management in the Tigris-Euphrates-Western Iran Region

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, Katalyn A.; Famiglietti, James S.; Lo, MinHui; De Linage, Caroline; Rodell, Matthew; Swenson, Sean C.

2013-01-01

In this study, we use observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission to evaluate freshwater storage trends in the north-central Middle East, including portions of the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins and western Iran, from January 2003 to December 2009. GRACE data show an alarming rate of decrease in total water storage of approximately -27.2 plus or minus 0.6 millimeters per year equivalent water height, equal to a volume of 143.6 cubic kimometers during the course of the study period. Additional remote-sensing information and output from land surface models were used to identify that groundwater losses are the major source of this trend. The approach used in this study provides an example of ''best current capabilities'' in regions like the Middle East, where data access can be severely limited. Results indicate that the region lost 17.3 plus or minus 2.1 millimeters per year equivalent water height of groundwater during the study period, or 91.3 plus or minus 10.9 cubic kilometers in volume. Furthermore, results raise important issues regarding water use in transboundary river basins and aquifers, including the necessity of international water use treaties and resolving discrepancies in international water law, while amplifying the need for increased monitoring for core components of the water budget.

EU-Russia Relations Regarding Water Resources in Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasia Likhacheva

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In Central Asia, the water deficit and water-energy problem have been one of among the most acute and conflict-ridden challenges for the sustainable development of the region and for regional security. Key trade and investment partners, including Russia and the European Union, could play a considerable role in influencing this issue, due to the long-lasting status quo, the inability to find a solution through intra-regional dialogue and the region’s rising dependence on foreign trade. Indeed, water-related interactions between Russia and the EU have been developing in a complementary manner. The EU possesses new technologies and its members have access to long-term capital markets, while Russia carries influence through providing security, regulating migration and holding a favourable political position for offering mediation services to the republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This article examines EU-Russia relations regarding water issues in Central Asia over the medium term. By analyzing cooperative and non-cooperative strategies used by the major stakeholders in the water conflict (the five republics and the third parties of Russia and the EU, it confirms the continuous complementary character of EU and Russian activities in this context. Russia will take responsibility for moderating the principal questions (as with the construction of big dams such as Rogunor Kambarata, as they relate to the provision of security guarantees. The EU will act through providing support for water companies from small and medium-sized enterprises, and promoting the European Water Initiative principles and by developing its investment policy. The intersection of interests is possible when if Russia will attracts an independent arbiter, such as an actor available to provide guarantees related to the values of professional objectivism, human rights support and environment protection. These issues inevitably arise with

Transboundary Pollution, Trade Liberalization, and Environmental Taxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baksi, S.; Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2008-01-01

In a bilateral trade framework, we examine the impact of tari¤ reduction on the op- timal pollution tax and social welfare when pollution is transboundary. Strategic considerations lead countries to distort their pollution tax in the non-cooperative equilibrium. Trade liberalization changes the

Sustainable Urban Water Management: Application for Integrated Assessment in Southeast Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shokhrukh-Mirzo Jalilov

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The design, development, and operation of current and future urban water infrastructure in many parts of the world increasingly rely on and apply the principles of sustainable development. However, this approach suffers from a lack of the necessary knowledge, skills, and practice of how sustainable development can be attained and promoted in a given city. This paper presents the framework of an integrated systems approach analysis that deals with the abovementioned issues. The “Water and Urban Initiative” project, which was implemented by the United Nations University’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, focused on urban water and wastewater systems, floods, and their related health risk assessment, and the economics of water quality improvements. A team of researchers has investigated issues confronting cities in the developing countries of Southeast Asia, in relation to sustainable urban water management in the face of such ongoing changes as rapid population growth, economic development, and climate change; they have also run future scenarios and proposed policy recommendations for decision-makers in selected countries in Southeast Asia. The results, lessons, and practical recommendations of this project could contribute to the ongoing policy debates and decision-making processes in these countries.

Tree Shelterbelts as an Element to Improve Water Resource Management in Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niels Thevs

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In Central Asia, agriculture, notably irrigated agriculture, is the largest water consumer. Currently, flood and furrow irrigation are the dominant irrigation methods in Central Asia, in particular in the post-Soviet countries. Against the background of current and increasing competition for water—e.g., through reduced river runoffs in the course of climate change—water consumption of agriculture needs to be reduced. On the field plot level, improved irrigation technologies, like drip irrigation or plastic mulch, can reduce water consumption substantially. Alternatively, tree lines as wind breaks (shelterbelts also can reduce crop water consumption, as shown by research from many drylands around the world. As previous research has concentrated on crop water consumption and not on tree water consumption, this paper brings the two together, in order to approach a more holistic picture, in how far shelterbelt systems, including the trees, may have the potential to save water or not. Crop water consumption was assessed through the Penman–Monteith approach for corn, wheat, potato, barley, and pear under open field conditions and under an assumed influence of a tree shelterbelt. Tree water consumption was investigated through sap flow measurements. Crop water consumption was reduced by 10–12% under influence of a shelterbelt compared to open field conditions. When water consumption of shelterbelts was added, a slight reduction of water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was found for corn, potato, and pear under the assumption 25 ha (500 × 500 m field sizes. Under an assumption of 4 ha (200 × 200 m field size, water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was higher for all crops investigated except for pear. The results suggest that shelterbelts may play a role in improving water resource management in Central Asia in the context of water demanding crops, like corn or cotton. In further research, other effects of

Drinking water vulnerability to climate change and alternatives for adaptation in coastal South and South East Asia

OpenAIRE

Hoque, M. A.; Scheelbeek, P. F. D.; Vineis, P.; Khan, A. E.; Ahmed, K. M.; Butler, A. P.

2016-01-01

Drinking water in much of Asia, particularly in coastal and rural settings, is provided by a variety of sources, which are widely distributed and frequently managed at an individual or local community level. Coastal and near-inland drinking water sources in South and South East (SSE) Asia are vulnerable to contamination by seawater, most dramatically from tropical cyclone induced storm surges. This paper assesses spatial vulnerabilities to salinisation of drinking water sources due to meteoro...

Los retos de la cooperación regional en Asia central: Más sombras que luces en la gestión de los recursos hídricos compartidos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mar Campins Eritja

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Examining the situation in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tayikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is an interesting excercice in order to analyze the evolution of the international environmental security concept. As an exemple of how environmental changes may come to acquire an entity such as to be perceived as a threat when they combine with inequitable allocation of resources, we focus on shared water resources management. The framework at international level should be the two main instruments in this field, the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. On the one hand, Central Asian States have shown only a weak commitment to these international regimes. On the contrary, they have prioritized the former URSS’s model of water and energy exchange. This model, as being unsustainable and inequitable, favors the extreme dichotomy between the two major competing uses of water in the region (irrigation and hydropower production. On the other hand, some sub-regional institutions served to clarify the articulation of water management structures. However, because of important issues on their internal organization, they have not been able to achieve their mission and their efforts seems to be directed to seek stability and the status quo in Central Asia.

Reinforcement Learning Multi-Agent Modeling of Decision-Making Agents for the Study of Transboundary Surface Water Conflicts with Application to the Syr Darya River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Riegels, N.; Siegfried, T.; Pereira Cardenal, S. J.; Jensen, R. A.; Bauer-Gottwein, P.

2008-12-01

-cooperative environment with which different institutional setups and incentive systems can be studied so to identify reasonable ways to reach desirable, Pareto--optimal allocation outcomes. Preliminary results from an application to the Syr Darya river basin in Central Asia will be presented and discussed. The Syr Darya River is a classic example of a transboundary river basin in which basin-wide efficiency gains identified in optimization studies have not been sufficient to induce cooperative management of the river by the riparian states.

South Asia river flow projections and their implications for water resources

Science.gov (United States)

Mathison, C.; Wiltshire, A. J.; Falloon, P.; Challinor, A. J.

2015-06-01

South Asia is a region with a large and rising population and a high dependance on industries sensitive to water resource such as agriculture. The climate is hugely variable with the region relying on both the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) and glaciers for its supply of fresh water. In recent years, changes in the ASM, fears over the rapid retreat of glaciers and the increasing demand for water resources for domestic and industrial use, have caused concern over the reliability of water resources both in the present day and future for this region. The climate of South Asia means it is one of the most irrigated agricultural regions in the world, therefore pressures on water resource affecting the availability of water for irrigation could adversely affect crop yields and therefore food production. In this paper we present the first 25 km resolution regional climate projections of river flow for the South Asia region. ERA-Interim, together with two global climate models (GCMs), which represent the present day processes, particularly the monsoon, reasonably well are downscaled using a regional climate model (RCM) for the periods; 1990-2006 for ERA-Interim and 1960-2100 for the two GCMs. The RCM river flow is routed using a river-routing model to allow analysis of present day and future river flows through comparison with river gauge observations, where available. In this analysis we compare the river flow rate for 12 gauges selected to represent the largest river basins for this region; Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra basins and characterize the changing conditions from east to west across the Himalayan arc. Observations of precipitation and runoff in this region have large or unknown uncertainties, are short in length or are outside the simulation period, hindering model development and validation designed to improve understanding of the water cycle for this region. In the absence of robust observations for South Asia, a downscaled ERA-Interim RCM simulation provides a

Will climate change exacerbate water stress in Central Asia?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siegfried, Tobias; Bernauer, Thomas; Guiennet, Renaud

2012-01-01

the Soviet Union collapsed. Will climate change exacerbate water stress and thus conflicts? We have developed a coupled climate, land-ice and rainfall-runoff model for the Syr Darya to quantify impacts and show that climatic changes are likely to have consequences on runoff seasonality due to earlier snow......-melt. This will increase water stress in unregulated catchments because less water will be available for irrigation in the summer months. Threats from geohazards, above all glacier lake outbursts, are likely to increase as well. The area at highest risk is the densely populated, agriculturally productive, and politically......Millions of people in the geopolitically important region of Central Asia depend on water from snow- and glacier-melt driven international rivers, most of all the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. The riparian countries of these rivers have experienced recurring water allocation conflicts ever since...

Applications of NASA GSFC's Land Information System (LIS) for water resources management in Korea and East-Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, D. H.; Hwang, E.; Jung, H. C.; Kim, E. J.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Kumar, S.; Chae, H.; Baeck, S. H.

2017-12-01

NASA has contributed to resolve global water issues by utilizing their long-term legacy of remote sensing technologies supported by a state of art software engineering. In this context, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a land surface model framework to monitor and predict water hazards such as flood and drought with the Land Information System (hereafter LIS) applied to North America and beyond it to include a global coverage. However, it is still challenging to apply the LIS to East-Asia where a rice-paddy agriculture is prevalent compared to other parts of the world, but retains a high population density in this region. Thus, this paper introduces recent efforts from the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) in S. Korea to establish the LIS in East-Asia including Korea, aiming at producing surface hydrology datasets in Asia. One of the ultimate goals of this project is to manage the water hazards in Korea and to provide the water resources dataset in East-Asia by adapting the LIS with their abundantly available hydrometeorological observations to support the LIS applications. Preliminary results from initiating efforts since the beginning of 2017 between NASA and K-water are addressed in the paper to review the possible outcomes after this ongoing project to benefit both entities. Acknowledgements This research was supported by a grant (17AWMP-B079625-04) from Water Management Research Program sponsored by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Sustainable management of transboundary water resources (Belgium/France): Characterization and modelling of the Carboniferous aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Bastien, J.; Picot-Colbeaux, G.; Crastes de Paulet, F.; Rorive, A.; Bouvet, A.; Goderniaux, P.; Thiery, D.

2016-12-01

The Carboniferous Limestone groundwater extends from East to West across Belgium and the North of France (1420 km²). In a high population density and industrial activity region, it represents huge volumes of abstracted groundwater (98 Mm³). The aquifer thus constitutes a critical reserve for public distribution and industrial uses. This water reservoir is intensively exploited from both sides of the border since the end of the 19th century. Historically, this transboundary aquifer was overexploited, due to the massive requirements of the industry. As a consequence, a substantial piezometric level decrease was observed (up to 50 m). Due to the karstic nature of the aquifer, many sinkhole collapses were induced in the studied area. A reduction of the abstracted volumes was implemented in the 90s, which contributed to the relative stabilization of the piezometric levels, but the equilibrium remains uncertain. Due to complex political, urbanistic and industrial developments across this region, a reasonable and long-term management model was needed, involving all concerned countries and regions. Within the framework of the Interreg ScaldWIN Project, a belgo-french collaboration allowed the acquisition of new sets of geological and hydrogeological data. A new piezometric map was established and correlated with chemical and isotopic analyses. It enabled a more accurate knowledge on the main flow directions within the aquifer, and the relation between recharge area and the confined area, where groundwater is aged up to 10000 years. A new numerical model of the aquifer was implemented and calibrated by using the MARTHE code. This 4 layer-model includes a part of the French chalk aquifer and integrates all abstracted groundwater volumes (wells and quarries) from 1900 to 2010. Atmospheric and surface waters and potential evapotranspiration are included in relation to the groundwater. This model is used by the different partners to consider globally and locally the impact of

Water and environment news. No. 22, May 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-05-01

This edition of the Newsletter brings together developments at the IAEA in global isotope data management, laboratory facilities and projects related to transboundary groundwater management. For several years we have strived to improve the availability and accessibility of isotope data and I am happy to note that a new web-based platform - WISER - is now ready that allows searching, downloading and manipulation of isotope data from precipitation, surface water, and groundwater sources. GIS functionalities would allow better integration of spatial and/or temporal components into research investigations. A set of gridded values for the GNIP data is also available through WISER. Isotope data from surface water and groundwater studies in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, collected mostly through IAEA projects over the last 50 years, are also being made available WISER and as an Atlas of Isotope Data in hard copy. The Africa atlas contains over 10,000 data points. Most of these surface and groundwater data were previously not accessible and were never synthesized and evaluated on a regional or continental scale. Availability of these global data should facilitate the integration of isotopes into regional and transboundary groundwater studies. This edition of the Newsletter contains a number of examples where the IAEA is collaborating with other organizations to fully integrate isotopes for developing resource management and policy options. The 12th IAEA symposium will be held in Vienna from 21 to 25 May and I hope to see many of you then

Forecasting the Depletion of Transboundary Groundwater Resources in Hyper-Arid Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzoni, A.; Heggy, E.

2014-12-01

The increase in awareness about the overexploitation of transboundary groundwater resources in hyper-arid environments that occurred in the last decades has highlighted the need to better map, monitor and manage these resources. Climate change, economic and population growth are driving forces that put more pressure on these fragile but fundamental resources. The aim of our approach is to address the question of whether or not groundwater resources, especially non-renewable, could serve as "backstop" water resource during water shortage periods that would probably affect the drylands in the upcoming 100 years. The high dependence of arid regions on these resources requires prudent management to be able to preserve their fossil aquifers and exploit them in a more sustainable way. We use the NetLogo environment with the FAO Aquastat Database to evaluate if the actual trends of extraction, consumption and use of non-renewable groundwater resources would remain feasible with the future climate change impacts and the population growth scenarios. The case studies selected are three: the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, shared between Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Chad; the North Western Sahara Aquifer System, with Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and the Umm Radhuma Dammam Aquifer, in its central part, shared between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. The reason these three fossil aquifers were selected are manifold. First, they represent properly transboundary non-renewable groundwater resources, with all the implications that derive from this, i.e. the necessity of scientific and socio-political cooperation among riparians, the importance of monitoring the status of shared resources and the need to elaborate a shared management policy. Furthermore, each country is characterized by hyper-arid climatic conditions, which will be exacerbated in the next century by climate change and lead to probable severe water shortage periods. Together with climate change, the rate of population

Canada-United States Transboundary Particulate Matter Science Assessment 2013

Science.gov (United States)

This 2013 document summarizes the findings of the Canada-U.S. subcommittee on Scientific Cooperation concerning the transboundary transport of particulate matter (PM) and PM precursors between the two countries.

Assessing the effects of transboundary ozone pollution between Ontario, Canada and New York, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brankov, Elvira; Henry, Robert F.; Civerolo, Kevin L.; Hao, Winston; Rao, S.T.; Misra, P.K.; Bloxam, Robert; Reid, Neville

2003-01-01

Observations and modeling results were used to examine spatial scales and transport patterns of ozone pollution in the Ontario-New York region. - We investigated the effects of transboundary pollution between Ontario and New York using both observations and modeling results. Analysis of the spatial scales associated with ozone pollution revealed the regional and international character of this pollutant. A back-trajectory-clustering methodology was used to evaluate the potential for transboundary pollution trading and to identify potential pollution source regions for two sites: CN tower in Toronto and the World Trade Center in New York City. Transboundary pollution transport was evident at both locations. The major pollution source areas for the period examined were the Ohio River Valley and Midwest. Finally, we examined the transboundary impact of emission reductions through photochemical models. We found that emissions from both New York and Ontario were transported across the border and that reductions in predicted O 3 levels can be substantial when emissions on both sides of the border are reduced

South Asia river-flow projections and their implications for water resources

Science.gov (United States)

Mathison, C.; Wiltshire, A. J.; Falloon, P.; Challinor, A. J.

2015-12-01

South Asia is a region with a large and rising population, a high dependence on water intense industries, such as agriculture and a highly variable climate. In recent years, fears over the changing Asian summer monsoon (ASM) and rapidly retreating glaciers together with increasing demands for water resources have caused concern over the reliability of water resources and the potential impact on intensely irrigated crops in this region. Despite these concerns, there is a lack of climate simulations with a high enough resolution to capture the complex orography, and water resource analysis is limited by a lack of observations of the water cycle for the region. In this paper we present the first 25 km resolution regional climate projections of river flow for the South Asia region. Two global climate models (GCMs), which represent the ASM reasonably well are downscaled (1960-2100) using a regional climate model (RCM). In the absence of robust observations, ERA-Interim reanalysis is also downscaled providing a constrained estimate of the water balance for the region for comparison against the GCMs (1990-2006). The RCM river flow is routed using a river-routing model to allow analysis of present-day and future river flows through comparison with available river gauge observations. We examine how useful these simulations are for understanding potential changes in water resources for the South Asia region. In general the downscaled GCMs capture the seasonality of the river flows but overestimate the maximum river flows compared to the observations probably due to a positive rainfall bias and a lack of abstraction in the model. The simulations suggest an increasing trend in annual mean river flows for some of the river gauges in this analysis, in some cases almost doubling by the end of the century. The future maximum river-flow rates still occur during the ASM period, with a magnitude in some cases, greater than the present-day natural variability. Increases in river flow

Non-transboundary pollution and the efficiency of international environmental co-operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kox, H.L.M.; Van der Tak, C.M. [Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

1995-10-01

The increased awareness of the transboundary pollution problems resulted in a number of international treaties, such as the Montreal protocol on ozone-depleting substances (1987), and the Basel Convention on hazardous waste (1989). Most authors writing on efficient environmental instruments make a sharp distinction between domestic and transboundary environmental problems. While the former should be abated by domestic environmental instruments, an efficient treatment of the latter requires international instruments. The underlying logic is that in case of non-transboundary pollution both the costs and benefits of environmental policies are strictly domestic, the trade-off between benefits and costs of abatement should also be a strictly domestic issue. In contrast, with transboundary pollution the trade-off between abatement costs and benefits becomes an international issue. In this paper we analyse four cases where international environmental co-ordination is required to achieve an efficient outcome, even though the environmental externality is non-transboundary in nature. Section two sketches the standard view on efficient intervention levels with regard to transborder and non-transborder pollution. In the third section we deal with cases where environmental policy is used in a trade-strategic way. The section pays attention to the motives for using domestic environmental policy as a disguise for trade policies. It will be argued that the resulting allocative efficiency can be improved upon by international co-operation. Sections 4-6 analyse three cases where international co-operation may improve the international outcome on the basis of non-coordinated domestic allocation decisions. These cases refer in particular to the situation of developing countries, when there is a high export dependency on the polluting good in combination with the existence of discrete technologies, set-up costs of environment-friendly technologies, and the existence of increasing

Non-transboundary pollution and the efficiency of international environmental co-operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kox, H.L.M.; Van der Tak, C.M.

1995-10-01

The increased awareness of the transboundary pollution problems resulted in a number of international treaties, such as the Montreal protocol on ozone-depleting substances (1987), and the Basel Convention on hazardous waste (1989). Most authors writing on efficient environmental instruments make a sharp distinction between domestic and transboundary environmental problems. While the former should be abated by domestic environmental instruments, an efficient treatment of the latter requires international instruments. The underlying logic is that in case of non-transboundary pollution both the costs and benefits of environmental policies are strictly domestic, the trade-off between benefits and costs of abatement should also be a strictly domestic issue. In contrast, with transboundary pollution the trade-off between abatement costs and benefits becomes an international issue. In this paper we analyse four cases where international environmental co-ordination is required to achieve an efficient outcome, even though the environmental externality is non-transboundary in nature. Section two sketches the standard view on efficient intervention levels with regard to transborder and non-transborder pollution. In the third section we deal with cases where environmental policy is used in a trade-strategic way. The section pays attention to the motives for using domestic environmental policy as a disguise for trade policies. It will be argued that the resulting allocative efficiency can be improved upon by international co-operation. Sections 4-6 analyse three cases where international co-operation may improve the international outcome on the basis of non-coordinated domestic allocation decisions. These cases refer in particular to the situation of developing countries, when there is a high export dependency on the polluting good in combination with the existence of discrete technologies, set-up costs of environment-friendly technologies, and the existence of increasing

A dynamic game of a transboundary pollutant with asymmetric players

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, W.E.; Patrick, R.H.; Tolwinski, B.

1993-01-01

Modeling transboundary pollutants in a dynamic game framework provides a foundation for analyzing the impact of various policy options. The focus of this analysis is on the results of a tax/subsidy scheme used to address the transboundary problem of global climate change. A nonzero-sum dynamic game with asymmetric players is used to evaluate the policy impact of the tax/subsidy scheme on the respective player's value functions and strategies as determined by a Nash equilibrium feedback solution. The asymmetry of the players is reflected in their respective attitudes toward global climate change with one player benefiting from the change and the other losing. 17 refs., 5 tabs

Global Water Issues and Insights

OpenAIRE

Grafton, Quentin R.; Wyrwoll, Paul; White , Chris; Allendes, David

2014-01-01

This book brings together some of the world’s leading water researchers with an especially written collection of chapters on: water economics; transboundary water; water and development; water and energy; and water concepts.

On Cleaner Technologies in a Transboundary Pollution Game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benchekroun, H.; Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2009-01-01

We show that in a non-cooperative transboundary pollution game, a cleaner technology (i.e., a decrease in the emission to output ratio) induces each country to increase its emissions and ultimately can yield a higher level of pollution and reduce social welfare.

Moving boundaries in transboundary air pollution co-production of science and policy under the convention on long range transboundary air pollution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tuinstra, W.; Hordijk, L.; Kroeze, C.

2006-01-01

This article focuses on the science-policy interaction in international negotiations in the context of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Convention for Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). It addresses the question how participants in the assessment process divide and

Anticipating Central Asian Water Stress: Variation in River Flow Dependency on Melt Waters from Alpine to Plains in the Remote Tien Shan Range, Kyrgyzstan Using a Rapid Hydro Assessment Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, A. F.; Wilson, A. M.; Williams, M. W.

2016-12-01

The future of mountain water resources in High Asia is of high interest to water managers, development organizations and policy makers given large populations downstream reliant on snow and ice sourced river flow. Together with historical and cultural divides among ex-Soviet republics, a lack of central water management following the Soviet break-up has led to water stress as trans-boundary waters weave through and along borders. New upstream hydropower development, a thirsty downstream agricultural sector and a shrinking Aral Sea has led to increasing tension in the region. Despite these pressures and in contrast to eastern High Asia's Himalayan basins (Ganges, Brahmaputra), little attention has been given to western High Asia draining the Pamir and Tien Shan ranges (Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins) to better understand the hydrology of this vast and remote area. Difficult access and challenging terrain exacerbate challenges to working in this remote mountain region. As part of the Contributions to High Asia Runoff from Ice and Snow (CHARIS) project, we asked how does river flow source water composition change over an alpine-to-plains domain of Kyrgyzstan's Naryn River in the Syr Darya basin? In addition, what may the future hold for river flow in Central Asia given the differing responses of snow and ice to climate changes? Utilizing a Rapid Hydrologic Assessment methodology including a suite of pre-field mapping techniques we collected in situ water chemistry data at targeted, remote mountain sites over 450km of the Naryn River over an elevation gradient from glacial headwaters to the lower lying areas - places where people, hydropower and agriculture utilize water. Chemical and isotope tracers were used to separate stream flow to understand relative dependency on melt waters as the river moves downstream from glaciers and snow covered areas. This case study demonstrates a technique to acquire field data over large scales in remote regions that facilitates

Crop-specific seasonal estimates of irrigation-water demand in South Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biemans, Hester; Siderius, Christian; Mishra, Ashok; Ahmad, Bashir

2016-01-01

Especially in the Himalayan headwaters of the main rivers in South Asia, shifts in runoff are expected as a result of a rapidly changing climate. In recent years, our insight into these shifts and their impact on water availability has increased. However, a similar detailed understanding of the

Flow status of three transboundary rivers in Northern Greece as a tool for hydro-diplomacy

Science.gov (United States)

Hatzigiannakis, Eyaggelos; Hatzispiroglou, Ioannis; Arampatzis, Georgios; Ilia, Andreas; Pantelakis, Dimitrios; Filintas, Agathos; Panagopoulos, Andreas

2015-04-01

The aim of this paper is to examine how the river flow monitoring consists a tool for hydro-diplomacy. Management of transboundary catchments and the demand of common water resources, often comprise the cause of conflicts and tension threatening the peaceful coexistence of nations. The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EU sets a base for water management contributing to common approaches, common goals, common principles as well as providing new definitions and measures for Europe's water resources. In northern Greece the main renewable resources are "imported" (over 25% of its water reserves) and for this reason the implementation of continuous flow measurements throughout the year is necessary, even though difficult to achieve. This paper focuses on the three largest transboundary rivers in Northern Greece. Axios and Strymonas river flow across the region of Central Macedonia in Northern Greece. Axios flows from FYROM to Greece, and Strymonas from Bulgaria to Greece. Nestos river flows from Bulgaria to Greece. The Greek part is in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece. Significant productive agricultural areas around these rivers are irrigated from them so they are very important for the local society. Measurements of the river flow velocity and the flow depth have been made at bridges. The frequency of the measurements is roughly monthly, because it is expected a significant change in the depth flow and discharge. A series of continuously flow measure-ments were performed during 2013 and 2014 using flowmeters (Valeport and OTT type). The cross-section characteristics, the river flow velocity of segments and the mean water flow velocity and discharge total profile were measured and calculated re-spectively. Measurements are conducted in the framework of the national water resources monitoring network, which is realised in compliance to the Water Framework Directive under the supervision and coordination of the Hellenic Ministry for the

Transboundary cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rauber, D.

2006-01-01

The operation of nuclear power plants near national borders requires a close bilateral co-operation to cope with accidents having off-site radiological impacts. For example in 1978 such an agreement was signed by the German and Swiss government. The accident at the Chernobyl NPP changed the international co-operation in the framework of international consequence management. International conventions were agreed to insure a timely notification and international assistance in case of an accident with transboundary effects. In order to fulfill these conventions several procedures were introduced. In addition, bilateral agreements were signed also with countries which are not operating nuclear power plants near national borders. Since then no accident took place that would have required any notification. However, following the experience the expectations to these networks have changed considerably and hence sustainable development is required to cope with new challenges such as long term consequences management, new radiological threats, faster international assistance, media and public concerns, and technical evolution of communications systems. (author)

Some aspects of integrated water resources management in central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Khaydarova, V.; Penkova, N.; Pak, E.; Poberejsky, L.; Beltrao, J.

2003-04-01

Two main tasks are to be implemented for elaboration of the governmental water distribution criteria in Central Asia: 1 -development of the common methodological basis for the intergovernmental water distribution; and 2 - to reopen and continue both theoretical and experimental researches of various aspects of the wastewater reuse. The prospects of socio economic development of all Central Asian countries are substantially defined by the water resources availability. The water resources of Central Asia belong, mainly, watersheds of the Syr-Darya and Amu Darya rivers. The basic flow of Amu Darya is formed in territory of Tajikistan. Then the Amu Darya river proceeds along border of Afghanistan with Uzbekistan, crosses Turkmenistan and again comes back to Uzbekistan and then runs into the Aral Sea. The Syr-Darya is second river on the water discharge and is first river on length in Central Asia. The basic flow of Syr Darya is formed in territory of Kyrgyzstan. Then the Syr-Darya river crosses of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and runs into the Aral Sea in territory of Kazakhstan. During the Soviet Union the water resources of two river watersheds were divided among the Central Asian republics on the basis of the general plans developed by the center in Moscow. In the beginning of 90s years, after taking of sovereignty by the former Soviet republics, the unified control system of water resources management was abolished and the various approaches to its transformation caused by features of the national economy developing, elected models of transition from command to market mechanisms of economic activity, and also specificity of political and social processes in each of the states of region were planned. The distinctions of modern priorities of economic development of the states of region have generated the contradiction of interests in the intergovernmental water distribution that can in the long term become complicated even more in connection with the increasing of water

Assessment of the uncertainties in air mass and pollutants transboundary exchange over the continental part of the EANET region

Science.gov (United States)

Gromov, Sergey S.; Trifonova-Yakovleva, Alisa; Gromov, Sergey A.

2017-04-01

dynamics that favour non-equilibrium air transport mostly at daytime. The BL transport reaches at most 2\\cdot 106 km3/month in April-May during air export from Russia at the IR segment and re-import from China at the VL, respectively. A non-negligible BL air import from China into Russia occurs also over the IR segment throughout winter (at a 0.7-1.5 of 106 km3/month rate). Using the data from the stations of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET, www.eanet.asia), we estimate the transboundary pollution fluxes of S- and N-bearing gaseous compounds (SO2, NOx, etc.) and particulate matter (SO4-, ammonia nitrate). The co-occurrence of the high pollutants load and significant non-equilibrium air exchange renders pollutant net transport a rather non-linear problem. We derive the uncertainties associated with different assumptions on plum vertical location (i.e., in the BL-only vs. free troposphere). Finally, we derive the transient record of pollution transport for 2000-2015 for the IR and VL transboundary segments. References: Brukhan, F.F.: Aeroclimatic Characteristics of the Mean Winds over USSR (ed. Ignatjushina E.N.). Gidrometeoizdat, Moscow, 54 p., 1984 (in Russian).Izrael, Yu.A., et al.: Monitoring of the Transboundary Air Pollution Transport. Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 303 p., 187 (in Russian). em Dee, D. P., et al.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Quart. J. Royal Met. Soc., 137, 553-597, doi: 10.1002/qj.828, 2011.

Climate and land use controls over terrestrial water use efficiency in monsoon Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanqin Tian; Chaoqun Lu; Guangsheng Chen; Xiaofeng Xu; Mingliang Liu; et al

2011-01-01

Much concern has been raised regarding how and to what extent climate change and intensive human activities have altered water use efficiency (WUE, amount of carbon uptake per unit of water use) in monsoon Asia. By using a process-based ecosystem model [dynamic land ecosystem model (DLEM)], we examined effects of climate change, land use/cover change, and land...

Combining Expert and Stakeholder Knowledge to Define Water Management Priorities in the Mékrou River Basin

OpenAIRE

Adandedji, Firmin M.; Afouda, Abel; Agbossou, Euloge Kossi; Carmona Moreno, Cesar; Mama, Daouda; Markantonis, Vasileios; N’Tcha M’Po, Yèkambèssoun; Reynaud, Arnaud; Sambienou, Gédéon Wèré

2015-01-01

Participatory approaches to water management, and specifically to transboundary river management, have been widely applied over recent decades. Regarding transboundary rivers, the active involvement of key actors in policy planning is of great importance. In this context, a participatory approach has been used to identify sectors of interest and priorities related to water and development in the Mékrou transboundary River Basin involving three countries: Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. We cond...

Assigning a value to transboundary radiation exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

The document offers guidance on the application of the Basic Safety Standards with regard to the particular problem of using differential cost-benefit analysis in the optimization of radiation protection in the case of transboundary radioactive pollution. Examples of optimization of 14 C retention at a nuclear power plant and of 85 Kr retention at a reprocessing plant are presented

Institutional design and regime effectiveness in transboundary river management – the Elbe water quality regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Dombrowsky

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The literature on transboundary river management suggests that institutions play an important role in bringing about cooperation. However, knowledge about how such institutions should be designed in order to do so remains limited. One way to learn more about adequate institutional design is to assess the effectiveness of existing regimes, and to trace the causal relationships that lead to the respective outcomes. In order to gain further insights into the relationship between institutional design and regime effectiveness, this paper presents a study on the water quality regime of the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe (ICPE. The analysis is based on a review of pertinent documents and ten qualitative interviews with Czech and German Commission members and NGO representatives. Particular emphasis has been put on determining the ICPE's specific contribution and the no-regime counterfactual as well as on the perceived expediency of the institutional arrangements. The study shows overall that the countries were relatively successful in improving water quality in the Elbe basin. However, this outcome can only partly be attributed to the ICPE itself. Furthermore, the ICPE's contribution towards achieving the various goals varied significantly between the different areas of activity: it was relatively significant where the main responsibility for action lay with the public authorities, such as in the area of wastewater treatment and the establishment of an international alarm plan and model, but was practically non-existent in the reduction of non-point pollution from agriculture, where success depended on the behavior of individual private actors (farmers. The commission contributed towards problem solving by serving as a forum for the joint identification of priorities for action from a basin-wide perspective. The resulting international obligations increased the power of national water administrations and their access to funds

Use of Atmospheric Budget to Reduce Uncertainty in Estimated Water Availability over South Asia from Different Reanalyses

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian, Dawn Emil; Pathak, Amey; Ghosh, Subimal

2016-07-01

Disagreements across different reanalyses over South Asia result into uncertainty in assessment of water availability, which is computed as the difference between Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (P-E). Here, we compute P-E directly from atmospheric budget with divergence of moisture flux for different reanalyses and find improved correlation with observed values of P-E, acquired from station and satellite data. We also find reduced closure terms for water cycle computed with atmospheric budget, analysed over South Asian landmass, when compared to that obtained with individual values of P and E. The P-E value derived with atmospheric budget is more consistent with energy budget, when we use top-of-atmosphere radiation for the same. For analysing water cycle, we use runoff from Global Land Data Assimilation System, and water storage from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. We find improvements in agreements across different reanalyses, in terms of inter-annual cross correlation when atmospheric budget is used to estimate P-E and hence, emphasize to use the same for estimations of water availability in South Asia to reduce uncertainty. Our results on water availability with reduced uncertainty over highly populated monsoon driven South Asia will be useful for water management and agricultural decision making.

Use of Atmospheric Budget to Reduce Uncertainty in Estimated Water Availability over South Asia from Different Reanalyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian, Dawn Emil; Pathak, Amey; Ghosh, Subimal

2016-07-08

Disagreements across different reanalyses over South Asia result into uncertainty in assessment of water availability, which is computed as the difference between Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (P-E). Here, we compute P-E directly from atmospheric budget with divergence of moisture flux for different reanalyses and find improved correlation with observed values of P-E, acquired from station and satellite data. We also find reduced closure terms for water cycle computed with atmospheric budget, analysed over South Asian landmass, when compared to that obtained with individual values of P and E. The P-E value derived with atmospheric budget is more consistent with energy budget, when we use top-of-atmosphere radiation for the same. For analysing water cycle, we use runoff from Global Land Data Assimilation System, and water storage from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. We find improvements in agreements across different reanalyses, in terms of inter-annual cross correlation when atmospheric budget is used to estimate P-E and hence, emphasize to use the same for estimations of water availability in South Asia to reduce uncertainty. Our results on water availability with reduced uncertainty over highly populated monsoon driven South Asia will be useful for water management and agricultural decision making.

Transforming Atmospheric and Remotely-Sensed Information to Hydrologic Predictability in South Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Hopson, T. M.; Riddle, E. E.; Broman, D.; Brakenridge, G. R.; Birkett, C. M.; Kettner, A.; Sampson, K. M.; Boehnert, J.; Priya, S.; Collins, D. C.; Rostkier-Edelstein, D.; Young, W.; Singh, D.; Islam, A. S.

2017-12-01

South Asia is a flashpoint for natural disasters with profound societal impacts for the region and globally. Although close to 40% of the world's population depends on the Greater Himalaya's great rivers, $20 Billion of GDP is affected by river floods each year. The frequent occurrence of floods, combined with large and rapidly growing populations with high levels of poverty, make South Asia highly susceptible to humanitarian disasters. The challenges of mitigating such devastating disasters are exacerbated by the limited availability of real-time rain and stream gauge measuring stations and transboundary data sharing, and by constrained institutional commitments to overcome these challenges. To overcome such limitations, India and the World Bank have committed resources to the National Hydrology Project III, with the development objective to improve the extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information and to strengthen the capacity of targeted water resources management institutions in India. The availability and application of remote sensing products and weather forecasts from ensemble prediction systems (EPS) have transformed river forecasting capability over the last decade, and is of interest to India. In this talk, we review the potential predictability of river flow contributed by some of the freely-available remotely-sensed and weather forecasting products within the framework of the physics of water migration through a watershed. Our specific geographical context is the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river basin and a newly-available set of stream gauge measurements located over the region. We focus on satellite rainfall estimation, river height and width estimation, and EPS weather forecasts. For the later, we utilize the THORPEX-TIGGE dataset of global forecasts, and discuss how atmospheric predictability, as measured by an EPS, is transformed into hydrometeorological predictability. We provide an overview of the strengths and

Lead isotope ratios in six lake sediment cores from Japan Archipelago: Historical record of trans-boundary pollution sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosono, Takahiro; Alvarez, Kelly; Kuwae, Michinobu

2016-01-01

Sediment cores from six lakes situated from north to south on the Japanese Archipelago were collected during 2009–2010 to investigate the hypothesis that deposition of lead (Pb) was coming from East Asia (including China, South Korea and eastern part of Russia). Accumulation rates and ages of the lake sediment were estimated by the "2"1"0Pb constant rate of supply model and "1"3"7Cs inputs to reconstruct the historical trends of Pb accumulation. Cores from four lakes located in the north and central Japan, showed clear evidence of Pb pollution with a change in the "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb and "2"0"8Pb/"2"0"7Pb ratios in the recent sediment as compared to the deeper sediment. Among the six studied lakes, significant inputs of anthropogenic lead emissions were observed at Lake Mikazuki (north Hokkaido in north Japan), Lake Chokai (north of Honshu), and Lake Mikuriga (central part of Honshu). Pb isotopic comparison of collected core sediment and previously reported data for wet precipitation and aerosols from different Asian regions indicate that, before 1900, Pb accumulated in these three lakes was not affected by trans-boundary sources. Lake Mikazuki started to receive Pb emissions from Russia in early 1900s, and during the last two decades, this lake has been affected by trans-boundary Pb pollution from northern China. Lake Chokai has received Pb pollutant from northern China since early 1900s until 2009, whereas for the Lake Mikuriga the major Pb contaminant was transported from southern China during the past 100 years. The results of our study demonstrate that Japan Archipelago has received trans-boundary Pb emissions from different parts of East Asian region depending on location, and the major source region has changed historically. - Highlights: • Historical trend of Pb pollution was recorded in six Japanese Lakes. • Pb concentration and Pb isotope ratios were determined for sediment cores. • High [Pb] and less radiogenic Pb isotope ratios were observed since

Lead isotope ratios in six lake sediment cores from Japan Archipelago: Historical record of trans-boundary pollution sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hosono, Takahiro, E-mail: hosono@kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Alvarez, Kelly [Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Kuwae, Michinobu [Senior Research Fellow Center, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577 (Japan)

2016-07-15

Sediment cores from six lakes situated from north to south on the Japanese Archipelago were collected during 2009–2010 to investigate the hypothesis that deposition of lead (Pb) was coming from East Asia (including China, South Korea and eastern part of Russia). Accumulation rates and ages of the lake sediment were estimated by the {sup 210}Pb constant rate of supply model and {sup 137}Cs inputs to reconstruct the historical trends of Pb accumulation. Cores from four lakes located in the north and central Japan, showed clear evidence of Pb pollution with a change in the {sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb and {sup 208}Pb/{sup 207}Pb ratios in the recent sediment as compared to the deeper sediment. Among the six studied lakes, significant inputs of anthropogenic lead emissions were observed at Lake Mikazuki (north Hokkaido in north Japan), Lake Chokai (north of Honshu), and Lake Mikuriga (central part of Honshu). Pb isotopic comparison of collected core sediment and previously reported data for wet precipitation and aerosols from different Asian regions indicate that, before 1900, Pb accumulated in these three lakes was not affected by trans-boundary sources. Lake Mikazuki started to receive Pb emissions from Russia in early 1900s, and during the last two decades, this lake has been affected by trans-boundary Pb pollution from northern China. Lake Chokai has received Pb pollutant from northern China since early 1900s until 2009, whereas for the Lake Mikuriga the major Pb contaminant was transported from southern China during the past 100 years. The results of our study demonstrate that Japan Archipelago has received trans-boundary Pb emissions from different parts of East Asian region depending on location, and the major source region has changed historically. - Highlights: • Historical trend of Pb pollution was recorded in six Japanese Lakes. • Pb concentration and Pb isotope ratios were determined for sediment cores. • High [Pb] and less radiogenic Pb isotope ratios

Transboundary EIA in the Barents Region

OpenAIRE

Koivurova, Timo; Masloboev, Vladimir; Petrétei, Anna; Nygaard, Vigdis; Hossain, Kamrul

2015-01-01

The article examines how transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA) is organised in an area where international borders are close to each other, that is, in North Calotte/Kola Peninsula. It shows that a dense set of international legal obligations requires the region’s states to undertake TEIA. The paper examines the important question how TEIA can be done in an ideal manner in the region via the available best practise documents, such as the Guidelines fo...

Projected impacts of climate change on hydrology, water resource use and adaptation needs for the Chu and Talas cross-border rivers basin, Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Shamil Iliasov, Shamil; Dolgikh, Svetlana; Lipponen, Annukka; Novikov, Viktor

2014-05-01

The observed long-term trends, variability and projections of future climate and hydrology of the Chu and Talas transboundary rivers basin were analysed using a common approach for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan parts of the basin. Historical, current and forecasted demands and main uses of water in the basin were elaborated by the joint effort of both countries. Such cooperative approach combining scientific data, water practitioners' outlook with decision making needs allowed the first time to produce a comprehensive assessment of climate change impacts on water resources in the Chu-Talas transboundary rivers basin, identify future needs and develop the initial set of adaptation measures and recommendations. This work was carried out under the project "Promoting Cooperation to Adapt to Climate Change in the Chu and Talas Transboundary Basin", supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Climate change projections, including air temperatures and rainfall in the 21st century were determined with a spatial resolution 0.5 degrees based on the integration of 15 climate change model outputs (derived from IPCC's 4th Assessment Report, and partially 5th Assessment Report) combined with locally-designed hydrology and glacier models. A significant increase in surface air temperatures by 3-6°C may be expected in the basin area, especially in summer and autumn. This change is likely to be accompanied by rainfall increase during the cold season and a decrease in the warm half of the year. As a result, a deterioration of moisture conditions during the summer-autumn period is possible. Furthermore, milder winters and hotter summers can be expected. Mountains will likely receive more liquid precipitation, than snow, while the area and volume of glaciers may significantly reduce. Projected changes in climate and glaciers have implications for river hydrology and different sectors of the economy dependent

Why a regional approach to postgraduate water education makes sense - the WaterNet experience in Southern Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Jonker, L.; van der Zaag, P.; Gumbo, B.; Rockström, J.; Love, D.; Savenije, H. H. G.

2012-03-01

This paper reports the experience of a regional network of academic departments involved in water education that started as a project and evolved, over a period of 12 yr, into an independent network organisation. The paper pursues three objectives. First, it argues that it makes good sense to organise postgraduate education and research on water resources on a regional scale. This is because water has a transboundary dimension that poses delicate sharing questions, an approach that promotes a common understanding of what the real water-related issues are, results in future water specialists speaking a common (water) language, enhances mutual respect, and can thus be considered an investment in future peace. Second, it presents the WaterNet experience as an example that a regional approach can work and has an impact. Third, it draws three generalised lessons from the WaterNet experience. Lesson 1: For a regional capacity building network to be effective, it must have a legitimate ownership structure and a clear mandate. Lesson 2: Organising water-related training opportunities at a regional and transboundary scale makes sense - not only because knowledge resources are scattered, but also because the topic - water - has a regional and transboundary scope. Lesson 3: Jointly developing educational programmes by sharing expertise and resources requires intense intellectual management and sufficient financial means.

The disappearing Environmental Kuznets Curve: a study of water quality in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB).

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Yoon Loong Andrew; Lewis, Lynne

2013-12-15

The literature is flush with articles focused on estimating the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for various pollutants and various locations. Most studies have utilized air pollution variables; far fewer have utilized water quality variables, all with mixed results. We suspect that mixed evidence of the EKC stems from model and error specification. We analyze annual data for four water quality indicators, three of them previously unstudied - total phosphorus (TOTP), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonium (NH4) and nitrites (NO2) - from the Lower Mekong Basin region to determine whether an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is evident for a transboundary river in a developing country and whether that curve is dependent on model specification and/or pollutant. We build upon previous studies by correcting for the problems of heteroskedasticity, serial correlation and cross-sectional dependence. Unlike multi-country EKC studies, we mitigate for potential distortion from pooling data across geographically heterogeneous locations by analyzing data drawn from proximate locations within a specific international river basin in Southeast Asia. We also attempt to identify vital socioeconomic determinants of water pollution by including a broad list of explanatory variables alongside the income term. Finally, we attempt to shed light on the pollution-income relationship as it pertains to trans-boundary water pollution by examining data from an international river system. We do not find consistent evidence of an EKC for any of the 4 pollutant indicators in this study, but find the results are entirely dependent on model and error specification as well as pollutant. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Basin-wide water accounting using remote sensing data: the case of transboundary Indus Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, P.; Bastiaanssen, W. G. M.; Molden, D.; Cheema, M. J. M.

2012-11-01

The paper describes the application of a new Water Accounting Plus (WA+) framework to produce spatial information on water flows, sinks, uses, storages and assets, in the Indus Basin, South Asia. It demonstrates how satellite-derived estimates of land use, land cover, rainfall, evaporation (E), transpiration (T), interception (I) and biomass production can be used in the context of WA+. The results for one selected year showed that total annual water depletion in the basin (502 km3) plus outflows (21 km3) exceeded total precipitation (482 km3). The deficit in supply was augmented through abstractions beyond actual capacity, mainly from groundwater storage (30 km3). The "landscape ET" (depletion directly from rainfall) was 344 km3 (69% of total consumption). "Blue water" depletion ("utilized flow") was 158 km3 (31%). Agriculture was the biggest water consumer and accounted for 59% of the total depletion (297 km3), of which 85% (254 km3) was through irrigated agriculture and the remaining 15% (44 km3) through rainfed systems. While the estimated basin irrigation efficiency was 0.84, due to excessive evaporative losses in agricultural areas, half of all water consumption in the basin was non-beneficial. Average rainfed crop yields were 0.9 t ha-1 and 7.8 t ha-1 for two irrigated crop growing seasons combined. Water productivity was low due to a lack of proper agronomical practices and poor farm water management. The paper concludes that the opportunity for a food-secured and sustainable future for the Indus Basin lies in focusing on reducing soil evaporation. Results of future scenario analyses suggest that by implementing techniques to convert soil evaporation to crop transpiration will not only increase production but can also result in significant water savings that would ease the pressure on the fast declining storage.

Environmental evaluation of Turkey's transboundary rivers' hydropower systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkun, M.

2010-01-01

The hydroelectric power and potential environmental impacts of hydroelectric projects in 2 transboundary rivers in Turkey were assessed. The southeastern Anatolia project (GAP) is expected to encompass 27 dams and 19 hydroelectric power plants. The large-scale project will increase domestic electricity production and help to provide irrigation for large agricultural schemes. The Coruh project will consist of 27 dams and hydroelectric power plants, which are expected to have serious environmental impacts in both upstream Turkey and downstream Georgia. A slowing down of each river's velocity will cause changes in sediment transport, while the storage of water in large reservoirs will alter water quality and cause changes in local micro-climates. Irrigation methods may cause soil erosion and salinization. The construction of 2 GAP dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has caused protest from Syria and Iraq. Economic development in the regions caused by the proposed hydroelectric projects is expected to have significant environmental impacts on woodland and grassland areas. The projects are expected to adversely affect threatened plant, mammal, and fish species. More detailed cumulative impact and environmental impact assessments are needed to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social problems that are likely to arise as a result of the projects. 17 refs., 3 tabs., 6 figs.

Integrated Soil, Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Rice–Wheat Cropping Systems in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-08-01

The rice-wheat system is a predominant cropping system in Asia providing food, employment and income, ensuring the livelihoods of about 1 billion of resource poor rural and urban people. However, the productivity of the current rice-wheat systems is seriously threatened by increasing land degradation and scarcity of water and labour, inefficient cropping practices and other emerging socio economic and environmental drivers. Responding to the need to develop alternate crop establishment methods and improved cropping practices, this publication summarizes the results from a joint FAO/IAEA coordinated research project on optimizing productivity and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems. It provides relevant information on how to modify existing water and nutrient management systems and improve soil management in both traditional and emerging crop establishment methods for sustainable intensification of cereal production in Asia

The state of transboundary air pollution. Report prepared within the framework of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This twelfth volume of the series of Air Pollution Studies, published under the auspices of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, contains the documents reviewed and approved for publication at the thirteenth session of the Executive Body held at Geneva from 28 November to 1 December 1995. Part One is the Annual Review of Strategies and Policies for Air Pollution Abatement. Part Two is an executive summary of the 1994 Report on the Forest Condition in Europe. The main objective of this report is to give a condensed description of the condition of forests in Europe, as it has been assessed by the transnational and national annual surveys, carried out jointly by ECE under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and by the European Community (EC). Part Three is a summary report on the development of a library of default values for each of the input variables to the simple mass balance equation for the calculation of critical loads of nitrogen and for a range of ecosystems. Part Four presents the modelling results of European sulphur and nitrogen emissions, depositions for 1980 and 1993, and export/import budgets

The transboundary non-renewable Nubian Aquifer System of Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan: classical groundwater questions and parsimonious hydrogeologic analysis and modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, Clifford I.; Soliman, Safaa M.

2014-03-01

Parsimonious groundwater modeling provides insight into hydrogeologic functioning of the Nubian Aquifer System (NAS), the world's largest non-renewable groundwater system (belonging to Chad, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan). Classical groundwater-resource issues exist (magnitude and lateral extent of drawdown near pumping centers) with joint international management questions regarding transboundary drawdown. Much of NAS is thick, containing a large volume of high-quality groundwater, but receives insignificant recharge, so water-resource availability is time-limited. Informative aquifer data are lacking regarding large-scale response, providing only local-scale information near pumps. Proxy data provide primary underpinning for understanding regional response: Holocene water-table decline from the previous pluvial period, after thousands of years, results in current oasis/sabkha locations where the water table still intersects the ground. Depletion is found to be controlled by two regional parameters, hydraulic diffusivity and vertical anisotropy of permeability. Secondary data that provide insight are drawdowns near pumps and isotope-groundwater ages (million-year-old groundwaters in Egypt). The resultant strong simply structured three-dimensional model representation captures the essence of NAS regional groundwater-flow behavior. Model forecasts inform resource management that transboundary drawdown will likely be minimal—a nonissue—whereas drawdown within pumping centers may become excessive, requiring alternative extraction schemes; correspondingly, significant water-table drawdown may occur in pumping centers co-located with oases, causing oasis loss and environmental impacts.

Composition and mixing states of brown haze particle over the Himalayas along two transboundary south-north transects

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhiwen; Kang, Shichang; Guo, Junming; Zhang, Qianggong; Wang, Xuejia; Qin, Dahe

2017-05-01

Pollutants that are usually transported from southern Asia to the Tibetan Plateau deposit on the Plateau surface, change snow albedo and thereby surface radiative flux. This results numerous climatic implications like as erratic monsoon, perturbation in hydrological cycle, etc. However, the accurate estimation of these climatic implications is not well understood, because the atmospheric pollution is a heterogeneous mixture of various particle types. Therefore, this part of climate research requires a detailed investigation of physical and chemical properties of atmospheric pollutants. This study aimed to examine the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric pollutants across the Himalayan regions along two transboundary south-north transects. The information of individual-particles was obtained using microscopy-based techniques that comprises transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). Study capture the signatures of various types of atmospheric species such as black carbon (BC), mineral dust, fly ash, organic matter, sulfate, nitrite, ammonium, and NaCl. Microscopy-based techniques confirm that these particles were generally in mixing state, for example salt-coated particles accounting for 25-56% of the total particles in sampled locations. Our analysis shows that urban and rural locations are characterized with atmospheric particles which sourced from anthropogenic activities, whereas remote locations with those released from natural crustal. However, the relative contributions of anthropogenic particles were higher than that of particles released from natural crustal. The presence of such particles over remote locations of Himalayan region provides an evidence of prevailing atmospheric transport processes, which further need to be well understood. It is expected that this work would be helpful in understanding the regional atmospheric conditions and the transboundary transport process of haze particles. As these

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal: Final Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-03-01

The Conference on Plenipotentiaries on the Global Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes was convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) pursuant to decision 14/30, adopted by the Governing Council of UNEP on 17 June 1987. The Conference adopted the Global Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. In the 29 articles of this Convention the definitions of hazardous wastes, the scope of the Convention, general obligations of the signatory parties, transboundary waste movement between Parties as well as through states which are not parties, illegal traffic, international control, liabilities, financial aspects, verification, accession and withdrawal of the Parties are defined in detail. There are 6 Annexes, including specifications of hazardous wastes, information requirements, notification rules, etc

Contemporary changes of water resources, water and land use in Central Asia based on observations and modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiklomanov, A. I.; Prousevitch, A.; Sokolik, I. N.; Lammers, R. B.

2015-12-01

Water is a key agent in Central Asia ultimately determining human well-being, food security, and economic development. There are complex interplays among the natural and anthropogenic drivers effecting the regional hydrological processes and water availability. Analysis of the data combined from regional censuses and remote sensing shows a decline in areas of arable and irrigated lands and a significant decrease in availability of arable and irrigated lands per capita across all Central Asian countries since the middle of 1990thas the result of post-Soviet transformation processes. This change could lead to considerable deterioration in food security and human system sustainability. The change of political situation in the region has also resulted in the escalated problems of water demand between countries in international river basins. We applied the University of New Hampshire - Water Balance Model - Transport from Anthropogenic and Natural Systems (WBM-TrANS) to understand the consequences of changes in climate, water and land use on regional hydrological processes and water availability. The model accounts for sub-pixel land cover types, glacier and snow-pack accumulation/melt across sub-pixel elevation bands, anthropogenic water use (e.g. domestic and industrial consumption, and irrigation for most of existing crop types), hydro-infrastructure for inter-basin water transfer and reservoir/dam regulations. A suite of historical climate re-analysis and temporal extrapolation of MIRCA-2000 crop structure datasets has been used in WBM-TrANS for this project. A preliminary analysis of the model simulations over the last 30 years has shown significant spatial and temporal changes in hydrology and water availability for crops and human across the region due to climatic and anthropogenic causes. We found that regional water availability is mostly impacted by changes in extents and efficiency of crop filed irrigation, especially in highly arid areas of Central Asia

A New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space in East Asia: Korea's Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and an Integrated Korea-US Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, J.; Hong, Y.; Song, C. K.; Kim, S. K.; Chang, L. S.; Lim, J.; Ahn, J.; Park, J. H.; Kim, J. Y.; Han, Y. J.; Kim, J.; Park, R.; Lee, G.; Lefer, B. L.; Al-Saadi, J. A.; Crawford, J. H.

2015-12-01

Due to remarkable economic growth over the last two decades, East Asia has become a region experiencing some of the poorest air quality in the world. In addition to local sources of pollution, the Korea peninsula is downwind of the largest emission sources in East Asia, complicating the understanding of air quality over Korea. Thus, knowing the factors controlling changes in air pollution across urban-rural and marine-continental interfaces, in addition to the contributions from local emissions and transboundary transport, is important for building effective management strategies and improving air quality in East Asia. GEMS (Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer) is a satellite instrument planned for launch in 2019 by the Republic of Korea. The instrument will observe East Asia and the western Pacific region, providing real-time monitoring of air quality (e.g. O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, AOD, etc.) and enabling better scientific understanding of the transboundary transport of air pollutants. The KORUS-AQ (the Korea and U.S. Air Quality) field campaign will take place in May - June 2016 and will employ an integrated observing strategy including multiplatform observations (i.e. ground stations, aircraft, ships, and satellites) and chemical transport models. This mission aims to not only strengthen our knowledge of atmospheric chemistry but also provide important data sets for validating GEMS retrieval algorithms. In preparation for KORUS-AQ, a pre-campaign has been successfully conducted in Korea during early summer 2015 with observations from multiple ground sites and a small aircraft. A brief summary of pre-field campaign results will be presented. Moving forward, the GEMS mission and KORUS-AQ study will lead to a new era of air quality monitoring in East Asia. GEMS will also make critical contributions to the global air quality perspective working in concert with geostationary missions launched by the U.S. (TEMPO: Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of

Exploring the Potential Impact of Serious Games on Social Learning and Stakeholder Collaborations for Transboundary Watershed Management of the St. Lawrence River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wietske Medema

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The meaningful participation of stakeholders in decision-making is now widely recognized as a crucial element of effective water resource management, particularly with regards to adapting to climate and environmental change. Social learning is increasingly being cited as an important component of engagement if meaningful participation is to be achieved. The exact definition of social learning is still a matter under debate, but is taken to be a process in which individuals experience a change in understanding that is brought about by social interaction. Social learning has been identified as particularly important in transboundary contexts, where it is necessary to reframe problems from a local to a basin-wide perspective. In this study, social learning is explored in the context of transboundary water resource management in the St. Lawrence River Basin. The overarching goal of this paper is to explore the potential role of serious games to improve social learning in the St. Lawrence River. To achieve this end, a two-pronged approach is followed: (1 Assessing whether social learning is currently occurring and identifying what the barriers to social learning are through interviews with the region’s water resource managers; (2 Undertaking a literature review to understand the mechanisms through which serious games enhance social learning to understand which barriers serious games can break down. Interview questions were designed to explore the relevance of social learning in the St. Lawrence River basin context, and to identify the practices currently employed that impact on social learning. While examples of social learning that is occurring have been identified, preliminary results suggest that these examples are exceptions rather than the rule, and that on the whole, social learning is not occurring to its full potential. The literature review of serious games offers an assessment of such collaborative mechanisms in terms of design principles

Waters without borders: Transboundary water governance and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Water resources in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) play an intrinsic role in regional development. As a result, water is a highly sensitive issue, complex to understand and demanding to govern, in terms of effective and equitable use and distribution. Growing awareness of the complex challenges ...

Long-range Transport Modeling System and its Application over the Northeast Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Il-Soo Park

2006-06-01

Full Text Available A Comprehensive Acid Deposition Modeling (CADM was developed at the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER and Yonsei University in South Korea in order to simulate the long-range transboundary air pollutants and regional acid deposition processes over the Northeast Asia. The modeling system CADM is composed of a real-time numerical weather forecasting model (RAMS and an Eulerian air pollution transport/dispersion/deposition model including gas- and aqueous-phase atmospheric chemical processes for the real-time acquisition of model results and prediction of acidic pollutants. The main objective of CADM is to facilitate an efficient assessment tools by providing the explicit information on the acidic deposition processes. This paper introduces the components of CADM, and describes the comprehensive atmospheric modeling system including atmospheric chemistry for the simulation of acidic processes over the Eastern Asia. The presently developed modeling system CADM has been used to simulate long-range transport over the Northeast Asian region during the spring season from March 5 to 15 2002. For the model validation, the simulated results are compared with both aircraft measurements and surface monitoring observations, and discussed for its operational consideration in Korea

Estimating continental water storage variations in Central Asia area using GRACE data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dapeng, Mu; Zhongchang, Sun; Jinyun, Guo

2014-01-01

The goal of GRACE satellite is to determine time-variations of the Earth's gravity, and particularly the effects of fluid mass redistributions at the surface of the Earth. This paper uses GRACE Level-2 RL05 data provided by CSR to estimate water storage variations of four river basins in Asia area for the period from 2003 to 2011. We apply a two-step filtering method to reduce the errors in GRACE data, which combines Gaussian averaging function and empirical de-correlation method. We use GLDAS hydrology to validate the result from GRACE. Special averaging approach is preformed to reduce the errors in GLDAS. The results of former three basins from GRACE are consistent with GLDAS hydrology model. In the Tarim River basin, there is more discrepancy between GRACE and GLDAS. Precipitation data from weather station proves that the results of GRACE are more plausible. We use spectral analysis to obtain the main periods of GRACE and GLDAS time series and then use least squares adjustment to determine the amplitude and phase. The results show that water storage in Central Asia is decreasing

Impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on land use and transboundary freshwater resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Marc François; Yoon, Jim; Gorelick, Steven M; Avisse, Nicolas; Tilmant, Amaury

2016-12-27

Since 2013, hundreds of thousands of refugees have migrated southward to Jordan to escape the Syrian civil war that began in mid-2011. Evaluating impacts of conflict and migration on land use and transboundary water resources in an active war zone remains a challenge. However, spatial and statistical analyses of satellite imagery for the recent period of Syrian refugee mass migration provide evidence of rapid changes in land use, water use, and water management in the Yarmouk-Jordan river watershed shared by Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Conflict and consequent migration caused ∼50% decreases in both irrigated agriculture in Syria and retention of winter rainfall in Syrian dams, which gave rise to unexpected additional stream flow to downstream Jordan during the refugee migration period. Comparing premigration and postmigration periods, Syrian abandonment of irrigated agriculture accounts for half of the stream flow increase, with the other half attributable to recovery from a severe drought. Despite this increase, the Yarmouk River flow into Jordan is still substantially below the volume that was expected by Jordan under the 1953, 1987, and 2001 bilateral agreements with Syria.

Drinking water vulnerability to climate change and alternatives for adaptation in coastal South and South East Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoque, M A; Scheelbeek, P F D; Vineis, P; Khan, A E; Ahmed, K M; Butler, A P

Drinking water in much of Asia, particularly in coastal and rural settings, is provided by a variety of sources, which are widely distributed and frequently managed at an individual or local community level. Coastal and near-inland drinking water sources in South and South East (SSE) Asia are vulnerable to contamination by seawater, most dramatically from tropical cyclone induced storm surges. This paper assesses spatial vulnerabilities to salinisation of drinking water sources due to meteorological variability and climate change along the (ca. 6000 km) coastline of SSE Asia. The risks of increasing climatic stresses are first considered, and then maps of relative vulnerability along the entire coastline are developed, using data from global scale land surface models, along with an overall vulnerability index. The results show that surface and near-surface drinking water in the coastal areas of the mega-deltas in Vietnam and Bangladesh-India are most vulnerable, putting more than 25 million people at risk of drinking 'saline' water. Climate change is likely to exacerbate this problem, with adverse consequences for health, such as prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. There is a need for identifying locations that are most at risk of salinisation in order for policy makers and local officials to implement strategies for reducing these health impacts. To counter the risks associated with these vulnerabilities, possible adaptation measures are also outlined. We conclude that detailed and fine scale vulnerability assessments may become crucial for planning targeted adaptation programmes along these coasts.

The impacts of CO2 capture technologies on transboundary air pollution in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Harmelen, T.; Van Horssen, A.; Van Gijlswijk, R.; Koornneef, J.; Ramirez Ramirez, A.

2008-05-01

The objective of the inventory phase 1 of the project on the title subject is two-fold: (1) to assess the impacts of different CO2 capture technologies on transboundary air pollution in the Netherlands in 2020. Other possible environmental impacts such as toxic emissions and safety are considered qualitatively; and (2) to provide recommendations for further research in the in-depth phase 2 in order to address the current knowledge gaps found in this area. The inventory summarises all (public) available information that is relevant for transboundary air pollution and presents it in understandable terms for environmental experts and policymakers who are not CCS (carbon dioxide capture and storage) experts. The project surveys the present scientific literature and interviews key players in the carbon capture community in the Netherlands to present the current insights and state of capture technology, particularly with respect to transboundary air pollution. This has been done taking into account the angles of both research and policy needs. The information gathered is combined with scenario information for the year 2020 on carbon capture technology and transboundary air pollution in order to sketch ranges of possible impacts of carbon capture technologies in the Netherlands in this year. Chapter 2 explains the methodology and the research process taken in the project. Chapter 3 introduces the different capture technologies in the form a structured description. Chapter 4 describes the results of the assessment of capture technologies in terms of a comparative analysis and a what-if emission scenario analysis for the Netherlands. Chapter 5 closes the report with conclusions and recommendations for further research

Drivers of illegal livelihoods in remote transboundary regions: the case of the Trans-Fly region of Papua New Guinea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Busilacchi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Remote transboundary regions in developing countries often contain abundant natural resources. Many of these resources are being overexploited to supply an ever-increasing demand from Asia, often via illegal cross-border trade. Understanding the systemic issues that drive households to engage in illegal activities in transboundary regions is a prerequisite for designing effective interventions and diverting livelihoods toward sustainable trajectories, but is rarely applied. This study analyzed the drivers of illegal trade in marine products, e.g. sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish bladders, among coastal villages in Papua New Guinea that border Indonesia and Australia in the Trans-Fly region. Mixed-methods (household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were applied to triangulate results and minimize denial bias, which is a challenge when studying illegality. Results indicated that distance from markets and economic centers was the main driver for engagement in illegal activity, and distance from a center was also the main driver of poverty. Contrary to studies elsewhere, we found that poverty did not generally drive households' engagement in illegal trade. Only in Daru, the primary economic hub, where immigrants from the areas impacted by the Ok Tedi mine operations have resettled, were the poorest households likely to be involved in illegal trade, because they had no alternative sources of livelihood. Weak governance exacerbates the situation, which includes corruption, a lack of enforcement, and poor coordination among government levels, and a breakdown of traditional resource management systems. Respondents highlighted that current bilateral border agreements are outdated and cannot account for modernization, a globalizing economy, and communities' rapid transition to a cash economy. Our findings emphasize the need to find innovative governance solutions to manage this stressed social

Camel as a transboundary vector for emerging exotic Salmonella serovars.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghoneim, Nahed H; Abdel-Moein, Khaled A; Zaher, Hala

2017-05-01

The current study was conducted to shed light on the role of imported camels as a transboundary vector for emerging exotic Salmonella serovars. Fecal samples were collected from 206 camels directly after slaughtering including 25 local camels and 181 imported ones as well as stool specimens were obtained from 50 slaughterhouse workers at the same abattoir. The obtained samples were cultured while Salmonella serovars were identified through Gram's stain films, biochemical tests and serotyping with antisera kit. Moreover, the obtained Salmonella serovars were examined by PCR for the presence of invA and stn genes. The overall prevalence of Salmonella serovars among the examined camels was 8.3%. Stn gene was detected in the vast majority of exotic strains (11/14) 78.6% including emerging serovars such as Salmonella Saintpaul, S. Chester, S. Typhimurium whereas only one isolate from local camels carried stn gene (1/3) 33.3%. On the other hand, none of the examined humans yielded positive result. Our findings highlight the potential role of imported camels as a transboundary vector for exotic emerging Salomenella serovars.

The state of transboundary air pollution: 1989 update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This sixth volume of the series of Air Pollution Studies published under the auspices of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, contains the documents reviewed and approved for publication at the seventh session of the Executive Body held at Geneva from 21 to 24 November 1989. Part one is the annual review of strategies and policies for air pollution abatement. Country by country, recent legislative and regulatory developments are summarized, including ambient-air quality standards, fuel-quality standards, emission standards, as well as economic instruments for air pollution abatement. Part two is an executive summary of the 1988 forest damage survey in Europe, carried out under the International Co-operative Programme for Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests which was established by the Executive Body for the Convention in 1985. A total of 25 countries participated in the survey, conducted in accordance with common guidelines laid down in an ECE manual on methodologies and criteria for harmonized sampling, assessment, monitoring and analysis of the effects of air pollution on forests. Parts three and four describe the effects of mercury and some other heavy metals related to the long-range atmospheric transport of pollution. The section on mercury describes the environmental effects and the causes of mercury pollution in air and atmospheric deposition, including its sources and its transport from forest soils into fresh water and aquatic organisms. The section dealing with other heavy metals (such as asbestos, cadmium and lead) describes the process of atmospheric transport and deposition, the effects on forest ecosystems, ground water, surface water and agricultural products. Refs, figs and tabs

Simulating carbon and water cycles of larch forests in East Asia by the BIOME-BGC model with AsiaFlux data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ueyama

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Larch forests are widely distributed across many cool-temperate and boreal regions, and they are expected to play an important role in global carbon and water cycles. Model parameterizations for larch forests still contain large uncertainties owing to a lack of validation. In this study, a process-based terrestrial biosphere model, BIOME-BGC, was tested for larch forests at six AsiaFlux sites and used to identify important environmental factors that affect the carbon and water cycles at both temporal and spatial scales.

The model simulation performed with the default deciduous conifer parameters produced results that had large differences from the observed net ecosystem exchange (NEE, gross primary productivity (GPP, ecosystem respiration (RE, and evapotranspiration (ET. Therefore, we adjusted several model parameters in order to reproduce the observed rates of carbon and water cycle processes. This model calibration, performed using the AsiaFlux data, substantially improved the model performance. The simulated annual GPP, RE, NEE, and ET from the calibrated model were highly consistent with observed values.

The observed and simulated GPP and RE across the six sites were positively correlated with the annual mean air temperature and annual total precipitation. On the other hand, the simulated carbon budget was partly explained by the stand disturbance history in addition to the climate. The sensitivity study indicated that spring warming enhanced the carbon sink, whereas summer warming decreased it across the larch forests. The summer radiation was the most important factor that controlled the carbon fluxes in the temperate site, but the VPD and water conditions were the limiting factors in the boreal sites. One model parameter, the allocation ratio of carbon between belowground and aboveground, was site-specific, and it was negatively correlated with the annual climate of annual mean air temperature and total precipitation

Simulating carbon and water cycles of larch forests in East Asia by the BIOME-BGC model with AsiaFlux data

Science.gov (United States)

Ueyama, M.; Ichii, K.; Hirata, R.; Takagi, K.; Asanuma, J.; Machimura, T.; Nakai, Y.; Ohta, T.; Saigusa, N.; Takahashi, Y.; Hirano, T.

2010-03-01

Larch forests are widely distributed across many cool-temperate and boreal regions, and they are expected to play an important role in global carbon and water cycles. Model parameterizations for larch forests still contain large uncertainties owing to a lack of validation. In this study, a process-based terrestrial biosphere model, BIOME-BGC, was tested for larch forests at six AsiaFlux sites and used to identify important environmental factors that affect the carbon and water cycles at both temporal and spatial scales. The model simulation performed with the default deciduous conifer parameters produced results that had large differences from the observed net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE), and evapotranspiration (ET). Therefore, we adjusted several model parameters in order to reproduce the observed rates of carbon and water cycle processes. This model calibration, performed using the AsiaFlux data, substantially improved the model performance. The simulated annual GPP, RE, NEE, and ET from the calibrated model were highly consistent with observed values. The observed and simulated GPP and RE across the six sites were positively correlated with the annual mean air temperature and annual total precipitation. On the other hand, the simulated carbon budget was partly explained by the stand disturbance history in addition to the climate. The sensitivity study indicated that spring warming enhanced the carbon sink, whereas summer warming decreased it across the larch forests. The summer radiation was the most important factor that controlled the carbon fluxes in the temperate site, but the VPD and water conditions were the limiting factors in the boreal sites. One model parameter, the allocation ratio of carbon between belowground and aboveground, was site-specific, and it was negatively correlated with the annual climate of annual mean air temperature and total precipitation. Although this study substantially

Measuring the Impacts of Water Safety Plans in the Asia-Pacific Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Kumpel

2018-06-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effectiveness of Water Safety Plans (WSP implemented in 99 water supply systems across 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. An impact assessment methodology including 36 indicators was developed based on a conceptual framework proposed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC and before/after data were collected between November 2014 and June 2016. WSPs were associated with infrastructure improvements at the vast majority (82 of participating sites and to increased financial support at 37 sites. In addition, significant changes were observed in operations and management practices, number of water safety-related meetings, unaccounted-for water, water quality testing activities, and monitoring of consumer satisfaction. However, the study also revealed challenges in the implementation of WSPs, including financial constraints and insufficient capacity. Finally, this study provided an opportunity to test the impact assessment methodology itself, and a series of recommendations are made to improve the approach (indicators, study design, data collection methods for evaluating WSPs.

8th Annual report 1999. UN ECE convention on long-range transboundary air pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleemola, S.; Forsius, M. [eds.

1999-07-01

The Integrated Monitoring Programme (ICP IM) is part of the Effects Monitoring Strategy under the UN ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The main aim of ICP IM is to provide a framework to observe and understand the complex changes occurring in the external environment. This report summarizes the work carried out by the ICP IM Programme Centre and several collaborating institutes. The emphasis of the report is in the work done during the programme year 1998/99 including: - a short summary of previous data assessments - a short status report of the ICP IM activities, content of the IM database, and the present geographical coverage of the monitoring network - a documentation of the scientific strategies to carry out data assessment on two priority topics: - assessment of heavy metal pools and fluxes - assessment of cause-effect relationships for understorey vegetation - a description of the WATBAL-model for estimating monthly water balance components, including soil water fluxes. (orig.)

Impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on land use and transboundary freshwater resources

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Marc François; Yoon, Jim; Gorelick, Steven M.; Avisse, Nicolas; Tilmant, Amaury

2016-01-01

Since 2013, hundreds of thousands of refugees have migrated southward to Jordan to escape the Syrian civil war that began in mid-2011. Evaluating impacts of conflict and migration on land use and transboundary water resources in an active war zone remains a challenge. However, spatial and statistical analyses of satellite imagery for the recent period of Syrian refugee mass migration provide evidence of rapid changes in land use, water use, and water management in the Yarmouk–Jordan river watershed shared by Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Conflict and consequent migration caused ∼50% decreases in both irrigated agriculture in Syria and retention of winter rainfall in Syrian dams, which gave rise to unexpected additional stream flow to downstream Jordan during the refugee migration period. Comparing premigration and postmigration periods, Syrian abandonment of irrigated agriculture accounts for half of the stream flow increase, with the other half attributable to recovery from a severe drought. Despite this increase, the Yarmouk River flow into Jordan is still substantially below the volume that was expected by Jordan under the 1953, 1987, and 2001 bilateral agreements with Syria. PMID:27930317

Pathogenic landscape of transboundary zoonotic diseases in the Mexico-US border along the Rio Grande

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Maria Dolores Esteve-Gasent

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus, and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. Global change is intensifying transboundary problems including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. The complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Not only millions of people live in this transboundary region but also a substantial movement of goods and people pass through it everyday. Moreover, it occurs over a region that functions as a corridor for animal migrations, and thus links the Neotropic and Nearctic biogeographic zones, with the latter being a known foci of zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of important zoonotic diseases in the south Texas-Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. An international perspective on the interplay between disease systems, ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors is applied here to analyze landscape and spatial features of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme Borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identifying opportunities to mitigate the health burden of those diseases on human and animal populations. It is proposed that the Mexico-US border, along the Rio Grande region be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic pathogens circulate regardless of national borders.

Pathogenic Landscape of Transboundary Zoonotic Diseases in the Mexico–US Border Along the Rio Grande

Science.gov (United States)

Esteve-Gassent, Maria Dolores; Pérez de León, Adalberto A.; Romero-Salas, Dora; Feria-Arroyo, Teresa P.; Patino, Ramiro; Castro-Arellano, Ivan; Gordillo-Pérez, Guadalupe; Auclair, Allan; Goolsby, John; Rodriguez-Vivas, Roger Ivan; Estrada-Franco, Jose Guillermo

2014-01-01

Transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. Global change is intensifying transboundary problems, including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. The complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Not only do millions of people live in this transboundary region, but also a substantial amount of goods and people pass through it everyday. Moreover, it occurs over a region that functions as a corridor for animal migrations, and thus links the Neotropic and Nearctic biogeographic zones, with the latter being a known foci of zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of important zoonotic diseases in the south Texas–Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. An international perspective on the interplay between disease systems, ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors is applied here to analyze landscape and spatial features of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme Borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identifying opportunities to mitigate the health burden of those diseases on human and animal populations. It is proposed that the Mexico–US border along the Rio Grande region be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic pathogens circulate regardless of national borders. PMID:25453027

Managing the water-energy-food nexus: Opportunities in Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Jalilov, Shokhrukh-Mirzo; Amer, Saud A.; Ward, Frank A.

2018-02-01

This article examines impacts of infrastructure development and climate variability on economic outcomes for the Amu Darya Basin in Central Asia. It aims to identify the most economically productive mix of expanded reservoir storage for economic benefit sharing to occur, in which economic welfare of all riparians is improved. Policies examined include four combinations of storage infrastructure for each of two climate futures. An empirical optimization model is developed and applied to identify opportunities for improving the welfare of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. The analysis 1) characterizes politically constrained and economically optimized water-use patterns for these combinations of expanded reservoir storage capacity, 2) describes Pareto-Improving packages of expanded storage capacity that could raise economic welfare for all four riparians, and accounts for impacts for each of two climate scenarios. Results indicate that a combination of targeted water storage infrastructure and efficient water allocation could produce outcomes for which the discounted net present value of benefits are favorable for each riparian. Results identify a framework to provide economic motivation for all riparians to cooperate through development of water storage infrastructure. Our findings illustrate the principle that development of water infrastructure can expand the negotiation space by which all communities can gain economic benefits in the face of limited water supply. Still, despite our optimistic findings, patient and deliberate negotiation will be required to transform potential improvements into actual gains.

Comparative water law, policies, and administration in Asia: Evidence from 17 countries

Science.gov (United States)

Araral, Eduardo; Yu, David J.

2013-09-01

Conventional wisdom suggests that improving water governance is the key to solving water insecurity in developing countries but there are also many disagreements on operational and methodological issues. In this paper, we build on the work of Saleth and Dinar and surveyed 100 water experts from 17 countries in Asia to compare 19 indicators of water laws, policies, and administration among and within countries from 2001 to 2010. We present the results of our study in a comparative dashboard and report how water governance indicators vary with a country's level of economic development, which ones do not and how and why some indicators change overtime in some countries. We have two main results. First, our initial findings suggest the possibility of water Kuznet's curve, i.e., certain water governance indicators vary with a country's level of economic development. However, more studies are needed given the caveats and limitations of our study. Second, the results have practical value for policy makers and researchers for benchmarking with other countries and tracking changes within their countries overtime. We conclude with implications for a second-generation research agenda on water governance.

Research into fisheries equity and fairness—addressing conservation burden concerns in transboundary fisheries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hanich, Q.; Campbell, B.; Bailey, M.L.; Molenaar, E.

2015-01-01

Conservation and management of transboundary fisheries must account for diverse national interests while adopting compromises necessary to develop and implement robust conservation and management measures. The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement requires states to ensure that conservation and

Current policies, strategies and aspects of environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has already shown its value for implementing and strengthening sustainable development, as it combines the precautionary principles with the principle of preventing environmental damage and also arranges for public participation. EIA is already used as an effective instrument for improving the quality of the environment at the national level and it is understood that the EIA Convention will lead to environmentally sound and sustainable development by providing information on the interrelationship between economic activities and their environmental consequences in particular in a transboundary context. The Convention obliges Parties to assess the environmental impacts at an early stage of planning and includes measures and procedures to prevent, control or reduce any significant adverse effect on the environment, particularly any transboundary effect, which is likely to be caused by a proposed activity or any major change to an existing activity

Transboundary Collaborations to Enhance Wildfire Suppression in Protected Areas of the Black Sea Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. N. Zaimes

2016-05-01

Full Text Available For the most effective and efficient management of certain natural resources (e.g. protected areas and disasters (e.g. wildfires transboundary approaches are needed. In addition in the management of protected areas, the role of wildfire should be incorporated, something that was ignored in the past and led to catastrophic wildfires. The Black Sea is a region that wildfires in the protected areas are expected to increase. This has to do with the abandonment of rural areas and the higher temperatures, especially during summer, due to climate change. Interesting is also the fact that some countries of the region have extensive experience while other do not have neither the experience nor the necessary infrastructures to face large wildfires. A transboundary collaboration would be very beneficial to the countries with limited experiences and capacities to suppress wildfires. The objective of this study is to be proactive by developing innovative tools to help suppress wildfires and enhancing the knowledge on wildfires and protected areas. The innovative tools included 4 different research activities and products. Firstly, an online Digital Geodatabase for the six pilot areas was developed. Next forest fire fuels and maps were developed while a forest fire behavior model was run to create the overall fire risk maps for the pilot areas. To estimate water resources and watershed streamflows the hydrologic model SWAT was validated and calibrated for the pilot areas. The final activities included a multi-criteria decision analysis to select the optimal location of the water reservoirs and the use of spatial analyst to provide the optimal routes to reach reservoirs by the fire vehicles. To enhance the responsible agency personnel along with stakeholders knowledge of the region, a Neighborhood Network with regular quarterly meetings was established. Participants for all six project countries were present in the meetings. Overall, new tool that will enhance

Impact of climate change on the hydrology of High Mountain Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lutz, A.

2016-01-01

In Asia, water resources largely depend on water generated in the mountainous upstream parts of several large river basins and hundreds of millions of people depend on their waters downstream. The large-scale impacts of climate change for the water resources in High Mountain Asia are poorly

Inventory of current environmental monitoring projects in the US-Canadian transboundary region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glantz, C.S.; Ballinger, M.Y.; Chapman, E.G.

1986-05-01

This document presents the results of a study commissioned to survey and summarize major environmental monitoring projects in the US-Canadian transboundary region. Projects with field sites located within 400 km (250 mi) of the border and active after 1980 were reviewed. The types of projects included: ambient air-quality monitoring, ambient water-quality monitoring, deposition monitoring, forest/vegetation monitoring and research, soil studies, and ecosystem studies. Ecosystem studies included projects involving the measurement of parameters from more than one monitoring category (e.g., studies that measured both water and soil chemistry). Individual descriptions were formulated for 184 projects meeting the spatial and temporal criteria. Descriptions included the official title for the project, its common abbreviation, program emphasis, monitoring site locations, time period conducted, parameters measured, protocols employed, frequency of sample collection, data storage information, and the principal contact for the project. A summary inventory subdivided according to the six monitoring categories was prepared using a computerized data management system. Information on major centralized data bases in the field of environmental monitoring was also obtained, and summary descriptions were prepared. The inventory and data base descriptions are presented in appendices to this document.

Determination of dominant sources of nitrate contamination in transboundary (Russian Federation/Ukraine) catchment with heterogeneous land use.

Science.gov (United States)

Vystavna, Y; Diadin, D; Grynenko, V; Yakovlev, V; Vergeles, Y; Huneau, F; Rossi, P M; Hejzlar, J; Knöller, K

2017-09-18

Nitrate contamination of surface water and shallow groundwater was studied in transboundary (Russia/Ukraine) catchment with heterogeneous land use. Dominant sources of nitrate contamination were determined by applying a dual δ 15 N-NO 3 and δ 18 O-NO 3 isotope approach, multivariate statistics, and land use analysis. Nitrate concentration was highly variable from 0.25 to 22 mg L -1 in surface water and from 0.5 to 100 mg L -1 in groundwater. The applied method indicated that sewage to surface water and sewage and manure to groundwater were dominant sources of nitrate contamination. Nitrate/chloride molar ratio was added to support the dual isotope signature and indicated the contribution of fertilizers to the nitrate content in groundwater. Groundwater temperature was found to be an additional indicator of manure and sewerage leaks in the shallow aquifer which has limited protection and is vulnerable to groundwater pollution.

Trans-boundary movement of mercury in the Northeast Asian region predicted by CAMQ-Hg from anthropogenic emissions distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Jin-Ho; Roy, Debananda; Oh, Joo-Sung; Back, Seung-Ki; Jang, Ha-Na; Kim, Seong-Heon; Seo, Yong-Chil; Kim, Jeong-Hun; Lee, Chong Bum; Han, Young-Ji

2018-05-01

The percentage contribution of trans-boundary mercury (Hg) from China at different locations in South Korea was estimated from Hg anthropogenic emission distributions using the Hg dispersion model, CMAQ-Hg. This investigation quantifies the trans-boundary Hg emissions as contribution ratios. In addition, the long-range transportation frequency is also calculated, to verify inflow cases from China. The seasonal distribution of the Hg contribution ratio was found to be highest in winter (40%), followed by fall (16%). Seasonal observations of Hg inflow frequencies were estimated as 40%, 25%, 21%, and 4% in winter, fall, summer, and spring, respectively, at the same location. Such results would be produced by the wind generally blowing from the west and north-west with a speed of 5.0 m/s and 4.5 m/s, respectively, during winter and fall, around the study area. This study made an effort to quantify the trans-boundary Hg transport and to plot Hg anthropogenic emissions distribution in the region.

Transboundary data management for nuclear plants near national borders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narrog, J.; Obrecht, R.

1998-01-01

Transboundary data management was decided in the EU in case of incidents and accidents. The information is sent by codified messages in accordance with the Convention Information Structure (CIS). Within the international collaboration regarding nuclear installations near national borders, fixed telephone and tele-copy connections are used. In addition to that an online data exchange between France and Germany is being installed. This facilitates and accelerates ascertaining the radiological situation for both partners across the national borders. (author)

Transboundary brand: European and Ukrainian experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tykhomyrova Yevheniya Borysivna

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The article presents a study of the concept "cross-border brand" and the analysis of the formation of cross-border branding practices in transboundary territory of Europe and Ukraine. Today the cross-border territories united by common economic, social, cultural and political life strive to be transformed into a brand. That is why the issues related to their positioning and branding are of great importance. According to the author cross-border / inter-regional brand, an intangible asset of cross-border cooperation, which provides the promotion of the interests of cross-border areas, both inside and outside the cross-border. In recent years, such brands as part of Euroregions are being formed with the participation of many European countries.

Building European Union capacity to manage transboundary crises : Network or lead-agency model?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boin, Arjen; Busuioc, Madalina; Groenleer, Martijn

2014-01-01

In recent years, the European continent has witnessed a substantial number of "transboundary crises" - crises that cross geographical borders and affect multiple policy domains. Nation states find it hard to deal with such crises by themselves. International cooperation, thus, becomes increasingly

The Practice of Transboundary Decision Making on the Incomati River: Elucidating Underlying Factors and their Implications for Institutional Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jill H. Slinger

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The Incomati River Basin is shared by Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. In August 2002, the groundbreaking "Tripartite Interim Agreement on Water Sharing of the Maputo and Incomati Rivers" (the IncoMaputo agreement was signed. Following reports that the use, availability, and adequacy of information posed problems for future decision making on this transboundary river, the Delft University of Technology initiated a 6-month study in 2003 in which 25 southern African researchers and officials were interviewed. The Joint Incomati Basin Study (Phase I from 1992-1995, and Phase II from 2000-2001 formed a central component in the investigation, because it was viewed by the parties involved as a successful experience that paved the way for the IncoMaputo agreement. Knowledge of the role that information played in this process and how decision making occurred was collated and analyzed. Network theory provided the guiding theoretical framework in interpreting the results. A number of problems related to information use in decision making were identified. More importantly, a web of underlying causes was identified, such as cultural and language differences, differences in perception, inadequacy of stakeholder involvement, variability in political commitment, lack of capacity, absence of operational experience, the weak mandate of the international decision-making body, and the paradoxical South African-Mozambican relationship. Two groups of factors in this web were identified as needing to change if the management of this transboundary river is to comply with the IncoMaputo agreement, namely the situational or institutional factors and the cognitive factors (particularly the perceptions each country holds of the other and the way they treat one another. Our analysis shows that, contrary to current international practice, when designing international institutional arrangements for water management, the sociopolitical interface should be considered

Observations and lessons learnt from more than a decade of water safety planning in South-East Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, David

2017-09-01

In many countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region, drinking water is not used directly from the tap and faecal contamination of water sources is prevalent. As reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 6, access to safer drinking water is one of the most successful ways of preventing disease. The WHO Water Safety Framework promotes the use of water safety plans (WSPs), which are structured tools that help identify and mitigate potential risks throughout a water-supply system, from the water source to the point of use. WSPs not only help prevent outbreaks of acute and chronic waterborne diseases but also improve water-supply management and performance. During the past 12 years, through the direct and indirect work of a water quality partnership supported by the Australian Government, more than 5000 urban and rural WSPs have been implemented in the region. An impact assessment based on pre- and post-WSP surveys suggests that WSPs have improved system operations and management, infrastructure and performance; leveraged donor funds; increased stakeholder communication and collaboration; increased testing of water quality; and increased monitoring of consumer satisfaction. These achievements, and their sustainability, are being achieved through national legislation and regulatory frameworks for water supply, including quality standards for drinking water; national training tools and extensive training of sector professionals and creation of WSP experts; model WSPs; WSP auditing systems; and the institution of longterm training and support. More than a decade of water safety planning using the WSP approach has shown that supplying safe drinking water at the tap throughout the WHO South-East Asia Region is a realistic goal.

Advancing Evaluation Theory and Practice in South Asia ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Advancing Evaluation Theory and Practice in South Asia: Community of ... evidence-based policy development, decision-making, and practice in South Asia. ... International Water Resources Association, in close collaboration with IDRC, ...

The Impact of Climate Change on Water Resource Availability in a Trans-Boundary Basin in West Africa: The Case of Sassandra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naga Coulibaly

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the context of climate change in West Africa characterized by a reduction of precipitation, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of climate change on water resources from now to the end of the 21st century in the transboundary watershed of the Sassandra River shared by Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. Historical and future climate data of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5 were projected with the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP Regional Climate Model (RegCM4. The hydrological modeling of the river basin was carried out with the conceptual hydrological model, GR2M, a monthly time steps model that allows for the assessment of the discharge of the Sassandra River for each climate scenario according to the time periods 2021–2040 (Horizon 2030, 2041–2060 (Horizon 2050, 2061–2080 (Horizon 2050, and 2061–2080 (Horizon 2090. The results show a reduction in annual discharge when compared to the baseline (1961–1980. For RCP 4.5, the observed values go from −1.2% in 2030 to −2.3% in 2070 and rise to −2.1% in 2090. Concerning RCP 8.5, we saw a variation from −4.2 to −7.9% in Horizons 2030 and 2090, respectively. With the general decrease in rainfall in West Africa, it is appropriate to assess the impact on water resources of the largest rivers (Niger, Gambia, and Senegal that irrigate the Sahelo–Saharian zone.

Hunza Landslide and Monsoon Flooding in Pakistan Call for International Attention to Transboundary Natural Hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Kargel, J. S.; Fink, W.; Furfaro, R.; Leonard, G. J.; Patterson, M.; Glims, Gaphaz

2010-12-01

rockslide-formed Lake Gojal and of the region’s glacier dynamics seen by satellite to show the promise of remote sensing to address disaster management and hazard identification. However, the biggest role of remote sensing should be in the identification of hazard-prone situations, such as areas where landslides or the development of dangerous glacier lakes is likely. Increased satellite surveillance and deployment of air- and land surface-borne sensor platforms, and in some cases surface or subsurface watercraft, may aid the characterization of the landscape, identify geologic and climatic instabilities, and identify vulnerabilities among the people and infrastructure. A broad-based remote sensing program should fit within a coherent regional/international approach to the key related issues of natural hazards, water resources, urban planning, food security, hydropower, and environmental conservation. Notably, these issues all are interlinked to transboundary hydrology and climate change.

Effects of climate change and population growth on the transboundary Santa Cruz aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Christopher A.; Megdal, Sharon; Oroz, Lucas Antonio; Callegary, James; Vandervoet, Prescott

2012-01-01

The USA and Mexico have initiated comprehensive assessment of 4 of the 18 aquifers underlying their 3000 km border. Binational management of groundwater is not currently proposed. University and agency researchers plus USA and Mexican federal, state, and local agency staff have collaboratively identified key challenges facing the Santa Cruz River Valley Aquifer located between the states of Arizona and Sonora. The aquifer is subject to recharge variability, which is compounded by climate change, and is experiencing growing urban demand for groundwater. In this paper, we briefly review past, current, and projected pressures on Santa Cruz groundwater. We undertake first-order approximation of the relative magnitude of climate change and human demand drivers on the Santa Cruz water balance. Global circulation model output for emissions scenarios A1B, B1, and A2 present mixed trends, with annual precipitation projected to vary by ±20% over the 21st century. Results of our analysis indicate that urban water use will experience greater percentage change than climate-induced recharge (which remains the largest single component of the water balance). In the Mexican portion of the Santa Cruz, up to half of future total water demand will need to be met from non-aquifer sources. In the absence of water importation and with agricultural water use and rights increasingly appropriated for urban demand, wastewater is increasingly seen as a resource to meet urban demand. We consider decision making on both sides of the border and conclude by identifying short- and longer-term opportunities for further binational collaboration on transboundary aquifer assessment.

Modeling water scarcity over south Asia: Incorporating crop growth and irrigation models into the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model

Science.gov (United States)

Troy, Tara J.; Ines, Amor V. M.; Lall, Upmanu; Robertson, Andrew W.

2013-04-01

Large-scale hydrologic models, such as the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, are used for a variety of studies, from drought monitoring to projecting the potential impact of climate change on the hydrologic cycle decades in advance. The majority of these models simulates the natural hydrological cycle and neglects the effects of human activities such as irrigation, which can result in streamflow withdrawals and increased evapotranspiration. In some parts of the world, these activities do not significantly affect the hydrologic cycle, but this is not the case in south Asia where irrigated agriculture has a large water footprint. To address this gap, we incorporate a crop growth model and irrigation model into the VIC model in order to simulate the impacts of irrigated and rainfed agriculture on the hydrologic cycle over south Asia (Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra basin and peninsular India). The crop growth model responds to climate signals, including temperature and water stress, to simulate the growth of maize, wheat, rice, and millet. For the primarily rainfed maize crop, the crop growth model shows good correlation with observed All-India yields (0.7) with lower correlations for the irrigated wheat and rice crops (0.4). The difference in correlation is because irrigation provides a buffer against climate conditions, so that rainfed crop growth is more tied to climate than irrigated crop growth. The irrigation water demands induce hydrologic water stress in significant parts of the region, particularly in the Indus, with the streamflow unable to meet the irrigation demands. Although rainfall can vary significantly in south Asia, we find that water scarcity is largely chronic due to the irrigation demands rather than being intermittent due to climate variability.

Hydrologic effects of land and water management in North America and Asia: 1700–1992

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Haddeland

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The hydrologic effects of land use changes, dams, and irrigation in North America and Asia over the past 300 years are studied using a macroscale hydrologic model. The simulation results indicate that the expansion of croplands over the last three centuries has resulted in 2.5 and 6 percent increases in annual runoff volumes for North America and Asia, respectively, and that these increases in runoff to some extent have been compensated by increased evapotranspiration caused by irrigation practices. Averaged over the year and the continental scale, the accumulated anthropogenic impacts on surface water fluxes are hence relatively minor. However, for some regions within the continents human activities have altered hydrologic regimes profoundly. Reservoir operations and irrigation practices in the western part of USA and Mexico have resulted in a 25 percent decrease in runoff in June, and a 9 percent decrease in annual runoff volumes reaching the Pacific Ocean. In the area in South East Asia draining to the Pacific Ocean, land use changes have caused an increase in runoff volumes throughout the year, and the average annual increase in runoff is 12 percent.

Mitigating the risk of extreme water scarcity and dependency: the case of Jordan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schyns, Joseph Franciscus; Hamaideh, A.; Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert; Mekonnen, Mesfin; Schyns, M.

2015-01-01

Jordan faces great internal water scarcity and pollution, conflict over trans-boundary waters, and strong dependency on external water resources through trade. This paper analyzes these issues and subsequently reviews options to reduce the risk of extreme water scarcity and dependency. Based on

Importance of transboundary transport of biomass burning emissions to regional air quality in Southeast Asia during a high fire event

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aouizerats, B.; van der Werf, G.R.; Balasubramanian, R.; Betha, R.

2015-01-01

Smoke from biomass and peat burning has a notable impact on ambient air quality and climate in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. We modeled a large fire-induced haze episode in 2006 stemming mostly from Indonesia using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). We

European transboundary acidifying air pollution. Ten years calculated fields and budgets to the end of the first Sulphur Protocol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrett, K.; Seland, Oe.; Foss, A.; Mylona, S.; Sandnes, H.; Styve, H.; Tarrason, L.

1995-07-01

The Cooperative Programme for the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long Range Transmission and Air Pollutants in Europe, EMEP, plays an integral part in data collection and scientific cooperation for implementation of the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution. Within EMEP, the Meteorological Synthesizing Centre - West (MSC-W) is an international technical centre. The purpose of the MSC-W, focusing in part on acidifying substances, is to estimate the concentrations of relevant sulphur and nitrogen pollutants across Europe on the basis of emission information and meteorological data, and to estimate the transboundary fluxes of these substances. Responding to these specific obligations, the report presents calculations of sulphur and nitrogen concentrations and depositions and of their transboundary fluxes. The calculations are performed by the receptor oriented one layer trajectory (Lagrangian) acid deposition model, which during 1995 has been used to estimate acidifying pollutant fluxes for the ten year period 1985-1994. This corresponds to the period between initial signing and conclusion of the first Sulphur Protocol, signed in Helsinki in 1985. 90 refs., 42 figs., 43 tabs.

Eradication of Transboundary Animal Diseases: Can the Rinderpest Success Story be Repeated?

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, G R; Penrith, M-L

2017-04-01

A matrix system was developed to aid in the evaluation of the technical amenability to eradication, through mass vaccination, of transboundary animal diseases (TADs). The system involved evaluation of three basic criteria - disease management efficiency, surveillance and epidemiological factors - each in turn comprised of a number of elements (17 in all). On that basis, 25 TADs that have occurred or do occur in southern Africa and for which vaccines are available, in addition to rinderpest (incorporated as a yardstick because it has been eradicated worldwide), were ranked. Cluster analysis was also applied using the same criteria to the 26 diseases, creating division into three groups. One cluster contained only diseases transmitted by arthropods (e.g. African horse sickness and Rift Valley fever) and considered difficult to eradicate because technologies for managing parasitic arthropods on a large scale are unavailable, while a second cluster contained diseases that have been widely considered to be eradicable [rinderpest, canine rabies, the Eurasian serotypes of foot and mouth disease virus (O, A, C & Asia 1) and peste des petits ruminants] as well classical swine fever, Newcastle disease and lumpy skin disease. The third cluster contained all the other TADs evaluated with the implication that these constitute TADs that would be more difficult to eradicate. However, it is acknowledged that the scores assigned in the course of this study may be biased. The point is that the system proposed offers an objective method for assessment of the technical eradicability of TADs; the rankings and groupings derived during this study are less important than the provision of a systematic approach for further development and evaluation. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Integrated soil, water and nutrient management for sustainable rice-wheat cropping systems in Asia. Report of a FAO/IAEA consultants' meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

A Consultants' Meeting on 'Integrated soil, water and nutrient management for sustainable rice-wheat cropping systems in Asia' was held at FAO, Rome, August 22-25, 2000. Five consultants, together with one staff from IAEA headquarters, one staff from IAEA Laboratories, Seibersdorf, five staff from FAO headquarters, two staff from FAO regional offices, one observer from ACIAR, one observer from Cornell University with expertise in crop, nutrient, soil and water management, attended the meeting. The consultants presented reviews of the situation regarding studies of water and nutrient dynamics in rice-wheat systems in South Asia. These were complemented by a paper on the development of 15 N techniques to study the contribution of N from legumes. The consultants also provided recommendations on the formulation and implementation of an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP). Refs, figs, tabs

Emerging Pollutant of Concern: Occurrence of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Asia with Particular Preference to Southeast Asia Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hashim Nor Haslina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Southeast Asia countries were developing countries, with the rapid development for a better living condition leads to longer life expectancy, which increased total population. It may result in increased the demand of pharmaceutical in domestic use and or in hospital. Although most wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs met the local authority’s regulatory requirement, there are still many pharmaceutical compound incompletely removed and discharge to the water stream and enter the environment. Recently many studies and researches have published on the occurrence and source as well as the fate of pharmaceuticals all over the world including Asia. As part of Asia region, Southeast Asia countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, and Lao PDR seem has lack of research knowledge and information regarding this emerging pollutant issues compared to developed Asia country as China, Korea and Hong Kong. In this paper, it will review recent studies occurrences (surface and wastewater on most common pharmaceuticals with several recommendations to overcome and thus summarise the actual situation in Southeast Asia.

Changing Professional Demands in Sustainable Regional Development: A Curriculum Design Process to meet Transboundary Competence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lansu, Angelique; Boon, Jo; Sloep, Peter; van Dam-Mieras, Rietje

2012-01-01

Lansu, A., Boon, J., Sloep, P. B., & Van Dam-Mieras, R. (Accepted). Changing Professional Demands in Sustainable Regional Development: A Curriculum Design Process to meet Transboundary Competence. Journal of Cleaner Production. [Special Issue: Learning for Sustainable Development in Regional

Trophic State Evolution and Nutrient Trapping Capacity in a Transboundary Subtropical Reservoir: A 25-Year Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, Davi Gasparini Fernandes; Benassi, Simone Frederigi; de Falco, Patrícia Bortoletto; Calijuri, Maria do Carmo

2016-03-01

Artificial reservoirs have been used for drinking water supply, other human activities, flood control and pollution abatement worldwide, providing overall benefits to downstream water quality. Most reservoirs in Brazil were built during the 1970s, but their long-term patterns of trophic status, water chemistry, and nutrient removal are still not very well characterized. We aimed to evaluate water quality time series (1985-2010) data from the riverine and lacustrine zones of the transboundary Itaipu Reservoir (Brazil/Paraguay). We examined total phosphorus and nitrogen, chlorophyll a concentrations, water transparency, and phytoplankton density to look for spatial and temporal trends and correlations with trophic state evolution and nutrient retention. There was significant temporal and spatial water quality variation (P water quality and structure of the reservoir were mainly affected by one internal force (hydrodynamics) and one external force (upstream cascading reservoirs). Nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations tended to be lower in the lacustrine zone and decreased over the 25-year timeframe. Reservoir operational features seemed to be limiting primary production and phytoplankton development, which exhibited a maximum density of 6050  org/mL. The relatively small nutrient concentrations in the riverine zone were probably related to the effect of the cascade reservoirs upstream of Itaipu and led to relatively low removal percentages. Our study suggested that water quality problems may be more pronounced immediately after the filling phase of the artificial reservoirs, associated with the initial decomposition of drowned vegetation at the very beginning of reservoir operation.

The relationship between air pollution, fossil fuel energy consumption, and water resources in the panel of selected Asia-Pacific countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafindadi, Abdulkadir Abdulrashid; Yusof, Zarinah; Zaman, Khalid; Kyophilavong, Phouphet; Akhmat, Ghulam

2014-10-01

The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between air pollution, fossil fuel energy consumption, water resources, and natural resource rents in the panel of selected Asia-Pacific countries, over a period of 1975-2012. The study includes number of variables in the model for robust analysis. The results of cross-sectional analysis show that there is a significant relationship between air pollution, energy consumption, and water productivity in the individual countries of Asia-Pacific. However, the results of each country vary according to the time invariant shocks. For this purpose, the study employed the panel least square technique which includes the panel least square regression, panel fixed effect regression, and panel two-stage least square regression. In general, all the panel tests indicate that there is a significant and positive relationship between air pollution, energy consumption, and water resources in the region. The fossil fuel energy consumption has a major dominating impact on the changes in the air pollution in the region.

Transboundary Movement of Radioactively Contaminated Scrap Metal - Lessons Learned

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nizamska, M., E-mail: m.nimzamska@bnra.bg [Emergency Planning and Preparedness Division, Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Sofia (Bulgaria)

2011-07-15

Starting in 1989, Bulgaria has undergone a comprehensive transformation of its economy and social conditions. Part of this process is related to the intensive privatization that started in 2001. This privatization included facilities, as well as sites that use radioactive material for different applications - industry, medicine, agriculture, science, etc. The rapid change of property ownership and, in some cases, the resulting bankruptcy, has caused difficulties in tracing and identifying radioactive sources and materials and a deterioration of the system of safety, physical protection, etc. of radioactive material. In some cases, radioactive sources were stolen because of the value of their protective containers and sold for scrap metal. This led to the occurrence of different types of radiation incidents, mainly related to the discovery of radioactive sources in scrap metal. The consequences of these incidents include the risk of radiation exposure of the workers at scrap metal yards or reprocessing facilities and of members of the public and, in addition, radioactive contamination of the environment. The Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (BNRA) has been responding to these incidents and has carried out a series of measures to improve the control over materials (e.g. activated or surface contaminated materials) and radioactive sources and to strengthen the preventive, monitoring, emergency preparedness and mitigating measures at facility, national and transboundary levels. This paper presents an analysis of the lessons learned by the BNRA and of the control of the transboundary movement of radioactively contaminated scrap metal through the territory of Bulgaria. (author)

75 FR 1235 - Revisions to the Requirements for: Transboundary Shipments of Hazardous Wastes Between OECD...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-08

..., Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway... Requirements for: Transboundary Shipments of Hazardous Wastes Between OECD Member Countries, Export Shipments of Spent Lead- Acid Batteries, Submitting Exception Reports for Export Shipments of Hazardous Wastes...

Dialogues on air pollution: an Asian example

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kroeze, C.; Stalpers, S.I.P.

2013-01-01

The efficient reduction of transboundary air pollution requires dialogue on emission reduction at an international level. A model is under construction to facilitate such dialogues for Asia. This is the Regional Air pollution Information System (RAINS-Asia), developed at the International Institute

Black Carbon Measurements From Ireland's Transboundary Network (TXB)

Science.gov (United States)

Spohn, T. K.; Martin, D.; O'Dowd, C. D. D.

2017-12-01

Black Carbon (BC) is carbonaceous aerosol formed by incomplete fossil fuel combustion. Named for its light absorbing properties, it acts to trap heat in the atmosphere, thus behaving like a greenhouse gas, and is considered a strong, short-lived climate forcer by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Carbonaceous aerosols from biomass burning (BB) such as forest fires and residential wood burning, also known as brown carbon, affect the ultra violet (UV) light absorption in the atmosphere as well. In 2016 a three node black carbon monitoring network was established in Ireland as part of a Transboundary Monitoring Network (TXB). The three sites (Mace Head, Malin Head, and Carnsore Point) are coastal locations on opposing sides of the country, and offer the opportunity to assess typical northern hemispheric background concentrations as well national and European pollution events. The instruments deployed in this network (Magee Scientific AE33) facilitate elimination of the changes in response due to `aerosol loading' effects; and a real-time calculation of the `loading compensation' parameter which offers insights into aerosol optical properties. Additionally, these instruments have an inbuilt algorithm, which estimates the difference in absorption in the ultraviolet wavelengths (mostly by brown carbon) and the near infrared wavelengths (only by black carbon).Presented here are the first results of the BC measurements from the three Irish stations, including instrument validation, seasonal variation as well as local, regional, and transboundary influences based on air mass trajectories as well as concurrent in-situ observations (meteorological parameters, particle number, and aerosol composition). A comparison of the instrumental algorithm to off-line sensitivity calculations will also be made to assess the contribution of biomass burning to BC pollution events.

Survival of viral pathogens in animal feed ingredients under transboundary shipping models

Science.gov (United States)

Bauermann, Fernando V.; Niederwerder, Megan C.; Singrey, Aaron; Clement, Travis; de Lima, Marcelo; Long, Craig; Patterson, Gilbert; Sheahan, Maureen A.; Stoian, Ana M. M.; Petrovan, Vlad; Jones, Cassandra K.; De Jong, Jon; Ji, Ju; Spronk, Gordon D.; Minion, Luke; Christopher-Hennings, Jane; Zimmerman, Jeff J.; Rowland, Raymond R. R.; Nelson, Eric; Sundberg, Paul; Diel, Diego G.

2018-01-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate survival of important viral pathogens of livestock in animal feed ingredients imported daily into the United States under simulated transboundary conditions. Eleven viruses were selected based on global significance and impact to the livestock industry, including Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), Influenza A Virus of Swine (IAV-S), Pseudorabies virus (PRV), Nipah Virus (NiV), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), Swine Vesicular Disease Virus (SVDV), Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV), Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) and Vesicular Exanthema of Swine Virus (VESV). Surrogate viruses with similar genetic and physical properties were used for 6 viruses. Surrogates belonged to the same virus families as target pathogens, and included Senecavirus A (SVA) for FMDV, Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) for CSFV, Bovine Herpesvirus Type 1 (BHV-1) for PRV, Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) for NiV, Porcine Sapelovirus (PSV) for SVDV and Feline Calicivirus (FCV) for VESV. For the remaining target viruses, actual pathogens were used. Virus survival was evaluated using Trans-Pacific or Trans-Atlantic transboundary models involving representative feed ingredients, transport times and environmental conditions, with samples tested by PCR, VI and/or swine bioassay. SVA (representing FMDV), FCV (representing VESV), BHV-1 (representing PRV), PRRSV, PSV (representing SVDV), ASFV and PCV2 maintained infectivity during transport, while BVDV (representing CSFV), VSV, CDV (representing NiV) and IAV-S did not. Notably, more viruses survived in conventional soybean meal, lysine hydrochloride, choline chloride, vitamin D and pork sausage casings. These results support published data on transboundary risk of PEDV in feed, demonstrate survival of certain viruses in specific feed ingredients (“high-risk combinations”) under conditions simulating transport between

River water quality in the northern sugarcane-producing regions of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2011-02-16

Feb 16, 2011 ... Sugarcane production in South Africa occurs exclusively in the eastern regions of ... transboundary rivers, making their management internation- ...... KOEGELENBERG FH (2004) Irrigation User's Manual – Chapter 5: Water.

Long-range transport of mutagens and other air pollutants from mainland East Asia to western Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Coulibaly, Souleymane; Minami, Hiroki; Abe, Maho; Hasei, Tomohiro; Oro, Tadashi; Funasaka, Kunihiro; Asakawa, Daichi; Watanabe, Masanari; Honda, Naoko; Wakabayashi, Keiji; Watanabe, Tetsushi

2015-01-01

Asian dust events, transport of dust particles from arid and semi-arid areas in China and Mongolia to the east by prevailing westerlies, are often observed in Japan in spring. In recent decades, consumption of fossil fuels has markedly increased in mainland East Asia with rapid economic growth, and severe air pollution has occurred. A part of air pollutants including mutagens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), generated in mainland East Asia are thought to be transported to Japan by the prevailing westerlies, like Asian dust, and winter monsoon. The objective of this study was to clarify the long-range transport of mutagens and other air pollutants in East Asia. Thus, we collected total suspended particles (TSP) at a rural town in western Japan, namely, Yurihama in Tottori Prefecture, for 1 year (June 2012-May 2013), and investigated their chemical constituents and mutagenicity. Many TSP collected from January to March showed high mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium YG1024 with and without S9 mix, and high levels of lead (Pb) and sulfate ions (SO4 (2-)), which are indicators of transboundary air pollutions from mainland East Asia, were detected in those TSP. A large amount of iron, which is an indicator of sand, was found in highly mutagenic TSP collected in March, but not in TSP collected in January and February. High levels of PAHs were detected in highly mutagenic TSP collected from January to March. The ratios of the concentration of fluoranthene to those of fluoranthene and pyrene suggested that the main source of PAHs in TSP collected in winter and spring was coal and biomass combustion. Backward trajectories of air masses on days when high levels of mutagenicity were found indicated that these air masses had traveled from eastern or northern China to Yurihama. These results suggest that high levels of mutagens were transported from mainland East Asia to western Japan, and this transportation accompanied Asian dust in March, but not in

Securing water quality and quantity: Research and development perspective

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pienaar, H

2012-10-01

Full Text Available : ? economic growth & development ? human & environmental needs ? meeting international obligations ? energy needs (strategic water users) ? ensuring availability and allocation (all other users) ? CSIR 2012 Slide 3 Background ? SA 30th driest country... and quantity: Research and development perspective 4th Biennial Conference Harrison Pienaar 10 October 2012 Presentation outline ? Introduction and background to water in South Africa ? Transboundary water resource aspects ? Water related challenges...

Projections of Water Stress Based on an Ensemble of Socioeconomic Growth and Climate Change Scenarios: A Case Study in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Fant, Charles; Schlosser, C Adam; Gao, Xiang; Strzepek, Kenneth; Reilly, John

2016-01-01

The sustainability of future water resources is of paramount importance and is affected by many factors, including population, wealth and climate. Inherent in current methods to estimate these factors in the future is the uncertainty of their prediction. In this study, we integrate a large ensemble of scenarios--internally consistent across economics, emissions, climate, and population--to develop a risk portfolio of water stress over a large portion of Asia that includes China, India, and Mainland Southeast Asia in a future with unconstrained emissions. We isolate the effects of socioeconomic growth from the effects of climate change in order to identify the primary drivers of stress on water resources. We find that water needs related to socioeconomic changes, which are currently small, are likely to increase considerably in the future, often overshadowing the effect of climate change on levels of water stress. As a result, there is a high risk of severe water stress in densely populated watersheds by 2050, compared to recent history. There is strong evidence to suggest that, in the absence of autonomous adaptation or societal response, a much larger portion of the region's population will live in water-stressed regions in the near future. Tools and studies such as these can effectively investigate large-scale system sensitivities and can be useful in engaging and informing decision makers.

Understanding Emissions in East Asia - The KORUS 2015 Emissions Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, J. H.; Kim, Y.; Park, R.; Choi, Y.; Simpson, I. J.; Emmons, L. K.; Streets, D. G.

2017-12-01

The air quality over Northeast Asia have been deteriorated for decades due to high population and energy use in the region. Despite of more stringent air pollution control policies by the governments, air quality over the region seems not been improved as much - even worse sometimes. The needs of more scientific understanding of inter-relationship among emissions, transport, chemistry over the region are much higher to effectively protect public health and ecosystems. Two aircraft filed campaigns targeting year 2016, MAPS-Seoul and KORUS-AQ, have been organized to study the air quality of over Korea and East Asia relating to chemical evolution, emission inventories, trans-boundary contribution, and satellite application. We developed a new East-Asia emissions inventory, named KORUS2015, based on NIER/KU-CREATE (Comprehensive Regional Emissions inventory for Atmospheric Transport Experiment), in support of the filed campaigns. For anthropogenic emissions, it has 54 fuel classes, 201 sub-sectors and 13 pollutants, including CO2, SO2, NOx, CO, NMVOC, NH3, PM10, and PM2.5. Since the KORUS2015 emissions framework was developed using the integrated climate and air quality assessment modeling framework (i.e. GAINS) and is fully connected with the comprehensive emission processing/modeling systems (i.e. SMOKE, KU-EPS, and MEGAN), it can be effectively used to support atmospheric field campaigns for science and policy. During the field campaigns, we are providing modeling emissions inventory to participating air quality models, such as CMAQ, WRF-Chem, CAMx, GEOS-Chem, MOZART, for forecasting and post-analysis modes. Based on initial assessment of those results, we are improving our emissions, such as VOC speciation, biogenic VOCs modeling. From the 2nditeration between emissions and modeling/measurement, further analysis results will be presented at the conference. Acknowledgements : This subject is supported by Korea Ministry of Environment as "Climate Change

Integration of models of various types of aquifers for water quality management in the transboundary area of the Soča/Isonzo river basin (Slovenia/Italy).

Science.gov (United States)

Vižintin, Goran; Ravbar, Nataša; Janež, Jože; Koren, Eva; Janež, Naško; Zini, Luca; Treu, Francesco; Petrič, Metka

2018-04-01

Due to intrinsic characteristics of aquifers groundwater frequently passes between various types of aquifers without hindrance. The complex connection of underground water paths enables flow regardless of administrative boundaries. This can cause problems in water resources management. Numerical modelling is an important tool for the understanding, interpretation and management of aquifers. Useful and reliable methods of numerical modelling differ with regard to the type of aquifer, but their connections in a single hydrodynamic model are rare. The purpose of this study was to connect different models into an integrated system that enables determination of water travel time from the point of contamination to water sources. The worst-case scenario is considered. The system was applied in the Soča/Isonzo basin, a transboundary river in Slovenia and Italy, where there is a complex contact of karst and intergranular aquifers and surface flows over bedrock with low permeability. Time cell models were first elaborated separately for individual hydrogeological units. These were the result of numerical hydrological modelling (intergranular aquifer and surface flow) or complex GIS analysis taking into account the vulnerability map and tracer tests results (karst aquifer). The obtained cellular models present the basis of a contamination early-warning system, since it allows an estimation when contaminants can be expected to appear, and in which water sources. The system proves that the contaminants spread rapidly through karst aquifers and via surface flows, and more slowly through intergranular aquifers. For this reason, karst water sources are more at risk from one-off contamination incidents, while water sources in intergranular aquifers are more at risk in cases of long-term contamination. The system that has been developed is the basis for a single system of protection, action and quality monitoring in the areas of complex aquifer systems within or on the borders of

Public concerns about transboundary haze: a comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Tim Forsyth

2014-01-01

Public concerns about environmental problems create narrative structures that influence policy by allocating roles of blame, responsibility, and appropriate behavior. This paper presents an analysis of public concerns about transboundary haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia for crises experienced in 1997, 2005 and 2013. The source of the information is content analysis of 2231 articles from representative newspapers in each country. The study shows that newsp...

The impacts of CO2 capture on transboundary air pollution in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koornneef, J.M.; van Harmelen, T.; van Horssen, A.; van Gijlswijk, R.; Ramirez-Ramirez, A.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Turkenburg, W.C.

2009-01-01

The focus of this research is to develop a first assessment of the impacts of the implementation of CO2 capture technologies in the Dutch power sector on the transboundary air pollution (SO2,NOX,NH3,NMV OC,PM10 and PM2.5) levels in 2020. Results show that for the power sector SO2 emissions will be

Water-energy-food nexus for adopting sustainable development goals in Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Taniguchi, M.

2016-12-01

Water, energy, and food are the most essential and fundamental resources for human well-beings, a sustainable society, and global sustainability. These are inextricably linked, and there are complex synergies and tradeoffs among the three resources. More issues arise and attention must be paid when it comes to the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus. Lack of integrated research between a nexus and policy implementation is the most concerning. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all, and are scheduled to be achieved by 2030. Of the 17 SDGs, Goal 2, 6 and 7 are directly related to food, water, and energy sectors. However, there are no integrated SDGs related to the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. Two different directions of nexus research exist in developing and industrialized worlds, and synthesis of both are needed. Developing countries are striving to increase their Human Development Index (HDI) while keeping Ecological Footprints, including Nexus Footprint, low. On the other hand, industrialized countries are targeting to maintain their high HDI and reduce their Ecological Footprints. Both are challenging tasks under the restrictions of planetary boundaries (limited nature) and doughnut economy (limited society). In this study, WEF Nexus research in Asian countries, including developing and industrialized countries, demonstrates the different types of nexus approaches to achieve SDGs through renewable energy, agriculture and aquaculture as food, and water management in Monsoon and semi-arid Asia. Mutual learning between the two types of nexus approaches can be made in the Asian area.

Mercury in products - a source of transboundary pollutant transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munthe, J; Kindbom, K [Swedish Environmental Research Inst., Stockholm (Sweden)

1997-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize current knowledge on product-related emissions of mercury to air on a European scale, and to estimate the contribution from mercury contained in products, to the total anthropogenic emissions of mercury to air and transboundary transport of mercury in Europe. Products included in this study are batteries, measuring and control instruments, light sources and electrical equipment, all intentionally containing mercury. The main result of this study is that product-related emission of mercury can contribute significantly to total emissions and transboundary transport of mercury in the European region and that measures to limit the use of mercury in products can contribute to an overall decrease of the environmental input of mercury in Europe. It is concluded that: -Mercury contained in products may be emitted to air during consumption, after disposal when incinerated or when volatilized from landfill. Mercury may also be emitted to air during recycling of scrap metal or when accumulated (stored) in society. -The amount of mercury consumed in batteries and in measuring and control instruments had decreased since the late 1980`s. The total use of mercury in light sources and electrical equipment has not changed significantly during the same time period. The contribution to total anthropogenic emissions of mercury to air in Europe in the mid 1990`s is estimated to be: for batteries 4%; for measuring and control instruments 3%; for lighting and electrical equipment 11%. -Mercury in products leads to significant wet deposition input in Scandinavia. The relative amount of the total deposition flux attributable to products is estimated to be 10-14% 26 refs, 4 figs, 10 tabs

Transboundary fisheries science: Meeting the challenges of inland fisheries management in the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Midway, Stephen R.; Wagner, Tyler; Zydlewski, Joseph D.; Irwin, Brian J.; Paukert, Craig P.

2016-01-01

Managing inland fisheries in the 21st century presents several obstacles, including the need to view fisheries from multiple spatial and temporal scales, which usually involves populations and resources spanning sociopolitical boundaries. Though collaboration is not new to fisheries science, inland aquatic systems have historically been managed at local scales and present different challenges than in marine or large freshwater systems like the Laurentian Great Lakes. Therefore, we outline a flexible strategy that highlights organization, cooperation, analytics, and implementation as building blocks toward effectively addressing transboundary fisheries issues. Additionally, we discuss the use of Bayesian hierarchical models (within the analytical stage), due to their flexibility in dealing with the variability present in data from multiple scales. With growing recognition of both ecological drivers that span spatial and temporal scales and the subsequent need for collaboration to effectively manage heterogeneous resources, we expect implementation of transboundary approaches to become increasingly critical for effective inland fisheries management.

Transboundary Clusters in the Coastal Zones of the European Part of Russia: Inventory, Typology, Factors, and Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Druzhinin A. G.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents an inventory and a typology of the existing and emerging economic clusters in the coastal zone of the European part of Russia. The authors hold that transboundary clustering takes priority in the Baltic coastal region — nine of the 56 clusters identified are located in the Kaliningrad region and another eight in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The authors describe major catalysts and immanent inhibitors in coastal zones. The former include a high density of coastal economies, proximity to international markets, and better logistics and communications. The inhibitors comprise geopolitical risks and institutional barriers. It is shown that the potential and prospects of transboundary clustering are affected by both global integration and disintegration patterns, coastal infrastructure, geopolitical and geoeconomic ‘neighbourhood’, cultural excellence, and business and investment environment.

The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade in South-East Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-01-01

The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, 1981-90, which has a diversity of objectives, takes a different form in each country. What makes this decade different from previous actions for water and sanitation is the way in which the programs, projects, and servces are to be conceived, planned, implemented, managed, operated, and maintained. The urban population to be covered by water and sanitation services, in the developing nations that have prepared plans for the Decade, is roughly between 280-290 million people. In rural areas, some 750 million people are to be provided with drinking water and around 300 million with sanitation facilities. The initial goal of 100% of the population to be provided with water and sanitation by 1990 is proving difficult to realize. Only a small proportion of developing nations have even planned for 100% coverage by 1990. The initial optimism arising from the declaration of the Decade and the expectations of increased aid has given way to realism in the face of the global recession and the scarcity of development capital. The Southeast Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) covers 11 member countries with a combined population of over 1000 million people. Among the countries in Southeast Asia that have prepared Decade plans, the following populations are to be covered by 1990: urban water supply, 126 million; urban sanitation, 156 million; rural water supply, 585 million; and rural sanitation, 212 million. Such a challenge calls for a stock taking of the real issues in order to identify what action can be taken. The lack of up-to-date and comprehensive databases is a serious problem. The information system for the Decade should be and integral part of it, be timed to keep pace with it, and be developed from the lowest level. The annual investment needed during the Decade is estimated at over 4 times that prior to the Decade. The accepted strategy is to meet the minimum needs of the largest number of

Dynamic optimal strategies in transboundary pollution game under learning by doing

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shuhua; Qin, Weihua; Wang, Xinyu

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present a transboundary pollution game, in which emission permits trading and pollution abatement costs under learning by doing are considered. In this model, the abatement cost mainly depends on the level of pollution abatement and the experience of using pollution abatement technology. We use optimal control theory to investigate the optimal emission paths and the optimal pollution abatement strategies under cooperative and noncooperative games, respectively. Additionally, the effects of parameters on the results have been examined.

Transboundary smoke haze pollution in Malaysia: Inpatient health impacts and economic valuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Othman, Jamal; Sahani, Mazrura; Mahmud, Mastura; Sheikh Ahmad, Md Khadzir

2014-01-01

This study assessed the economic value of health impacts of transboundary smoke haze pollution in Kuala Lumpur and adjacent areas in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Daily inpatient data from 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 for 14 haze-related illnesses were collected from four hospitals. On average, there were 19 hazy days each year during which the air pollution levels were within the Lower Moderate to Hazardous categories. No seasonal variation in inpatient cases was observed. A smoke haze occurrence was associated with an increase in inpatient cases by 2.4 per 10,000 populations each year, representing an increase of 31 percent from normal days. The average annual economic loss due to the inpatient health impact of haze was valued at MYR273,000 ($91,000 USD). - Highlights: • Transboundary smoke haze is an annual phenomenon in Malaysia. • No evidence of seasonal factors in smoke haze related inpatient cases. • Inpatient rates during a haze event increased by 31% relative to normal days. • Annual economic loss due to inpatient health impact of haze valued at $91,000. • Present value of economic loss estimated at $1.1 million to $1.7 million. - Inpatient rates soared by 31% while economic loss valued at USD91,000 annually

Estimation of transboundary SO2 fluxes in Siberia and Russian Far East using EANET and OMI observations

Science.gov (United States)

Trifonova-Yakovleva, Alisa; Gromov, Sergey S.; Gromov, Sergey A.

2017-04-01

transport, respectively). This implies that the available satellite data covers well the periods of non-equilibrium air transport with elevated SO2 burdens, which to a certain extent is intrinsic to the PBL diurnal dynamics. The largest SO2 PBL import flux into Russia of about 80•103 tons/month is diagnosed in April and is nearly equally shared between the border segments with Chinese North and Russian Far East. The general circulation pattern renders import of SO2 into Russia prevailing throughout April-June and September-October, whilst smaller export fluxes of up to 20•103 tons/month are reckoned for February and November, respectively. Owing to the more scarcely available OMI data (corresponding to air transport), SO2 transport in January and December is poorly quantifiable. At last, we verify the reconstructed PBL mixing ratios from OMI and EI data against the SO2 observations available at selected background monitoring stations of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET, http://www.eanet.asia/). Taking into account the substantial uncertainties (noise levels) inherited from the OMI-derived data, we ascertain that realistic distributions (viz. medians and interquartile ranges) were used for the calculations in this study. Overall, we conclude that similar analysis may be employed for other species of interest (e.g. ozone or ammonia), and the first attempt was already done [3]. Conjoint use of the EI, OMI and EANET data allows analysing transboundary fluxes of SO2 for the period extending beyond past decade. 0.1 References 1. Dee, D. P., et al.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Quart. J. Royal Met. Soc., 137, 553597, doi: 10.1002/qj.828, 2011. 2. Krotkov, N. A., et al.: Aura OMI observations of regional SO2 and NO2 pollution changes from 2005 to 2015, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4605-4629, doi: 10.5194/acp-16-4605-2016, 2016. 3. Gromov, S. A., et al.: Evaluation of tropospheric ozone

Investigating the haze transport from 1997 biomass burning in Southeast Asia: its impact upon Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Koe, Lawrence C. C.; Arellano, Avelino F.; McGregor, John L.

The 1997 Indonesia forest fires was an environmental disaster of exceptional proportions. Such a disaster caused massive transboundary air pollution and indiscriminate destruction of biodiversity in the world. The immediate consequence of the fires was the production of large amounts of haze in the region, causing visibility and health problems within Southeast Asia. Furthermore, fires of these magnitudes are potential contributors to global warming and climate change due to the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases and other pyrogenic products.The long-range transport of fire-related haze in the region is investigated using trajectories from the CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research Limited Area Model (DARLAM). Emission scenarios were constructed for hotspot areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan for the months of September and October 1997 to determine the period and fire locations most critical to Singapore. This study also examines some transport issues raised from field observations. Results show that fires in the coastal areas of southeast Sumatra and southwest Kalimantan can be potential contributors to transboundary air pollution in Singapore. Singapore was directly affected by haze from these areas whereas Kuala Lumpur was heavily affected by the haze coming from Sumatra. In most cases, Singapore was more affected by fires from Kalimantan than was Kuala Lumpur. This was mainly a result of the shifting of monsoons. The transition of monsoons resulted in weaker low-level winds and shifted convergence zones near to the southeast of Peninsular Malaysia. In addition to severe drought and massive fire activity in 1997, the timing of the monsoon transition has a strong influence on haze transport in the region.

Central Asia's Raging Waters: The Prospects of Water Conflict in Central Asia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hartman, William B

2007-01-01

.... The thesis analyzes these three political eras of Central Asian history using indicators of water conflict, including water quality, water quantity, water management for multiple uses, political...

Nuclear power developments in the Asia-Pacific region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, T.

2001-01-01

There are 438 nuclear power reactors operating in the world. Of these, 95 are in the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 36 reactors currently under construction in the world, 19 are in the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 44 planned reactors in the world, 36 are in this region. At the start of the 'New Nuclear Century' the Asia-Pacific region has become the main area for growth and innovation in nuclear power. This paper describes the nuclear power developments in each country and examines the status of the construction programme and the planned projects. Countries included are China, India, Japan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Taiwan. New projects include the HTR in China, Advance Breeder Water Reactors in Japan, KEDO in the DPRK and the Advance Pressurised Water Reactor in the Republic of Korea

Spatial distribution of fall out 137Cs in the marine environment of Kudankulam and its comparison with Indian and Asia Pacific Regional sea water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayakumar, B.; Thomas, G.; Selvi, B.S.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2017-01-01

Benchmarking the fallout 137 Cs in the coastal marine environment assumes significance in view of expansion of nuclear power plants in India and the Asia-Pacific region. This paper presents a snapshot of 137 Cs activity in marine coastal water samples collected around Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant site across a 50 km stretch from Kanyakumari to Uvari and attempts to compare with the 137 Cs concentration observed across Indian coastal region and Asia Pacific regional sea water. 137 Cs activity of the Kudankulam coast ranges from ≤ 0.40 - 1.92 mBq/L with a GM value of 1.0 mBq/L. In general, 137 Cs activity in sea water of the entire Indian coastal region varies from 0.30 - 1.25 mBq/L, which may be considered as global fallout. (author)

Towards a sustainable Asia. Environment and climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

This series of books are the output of the research project called ''Sustainable Development in Asia (SDA)'', which was initiated by the Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia (AASA). They are comprised of one synthesis report, which entitled ''Towards a Sustainable Asia: Green Transition and Innovation'', and four thematic reports on natural resources, energy, the environment and climate change, and culture from particular perspectives of agriculture. They aim to: (1) investigate common sustainability issues faced by all Asian countries, including population increase, poverty alleviation, pollution control, ecological restoration, as well as regional problems, such as water shortage in West and Central Asia, energy security in Northeast Asia, development model and transformation in East Asia; (2) analyze and summarize of best practices towards sustainable development in Asia; (3) bring forward suggestions and policy options for promoting green transition, system innovation and sustainable development of Asia. With best practice guidelines for a sustainable Asia, this series of reports, for the first time systematically address the common challenges and regional problems in regard to Asia's natural resources use, pollution reduction and climate protection, sustainable energy development, and innovations for environment-friendly and culture-compatible agriculture. They will provide handy and useful information to researchers, government policy makers and the general public who have concerns about Asia's sustainable development. AASA is a scientific and technological organization in Asia, established in 2000, comprising of 26 member academies all over Asia. Its vision is to provide a forum for the discussion of all issues relevant to science and technology development and its application on national level within Asia. (orig.)

Nitrogen input inventory in the Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Region: Key component of an international nitrogen management study

Science.gov (United States)

The Nooksack-Abbotsford-Sumas (NAS) Transboundary Watershed, spanning which spans a portion of the western interface of British Columbia, Washington State, and the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribal lands , supports agriculture, estuarine fisheries, diverse wildlife, and urban ...

Building joint capacity: the role of European Union agencies in the management of trans-boundary crises

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boin, A.; Busuioc, M.; Groenleer, M.

2011-01-01

This paper focuses on the growing role of European Union (EU) agencies in the management of trans-boundary crises. It makes this development explicit, demonstrating that the emergence of multiple agencies with specific crisis preparation or response tasks has transformed the EU’s crisis management

A NEW APPROACH TO ESTIMATE WATER OUTPUT FROM THE MOUNTAIN GLACIERS IN ASIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir G. Konovalov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Regional data on climate, river runoff and inventory of glaciers within High Mountainous Asia were used as informational basis to elaborate new approach in computing components of the hydrological cycle (glaciers runoff, evaporation, precipitation. In order to improve and optimize the calculation methodology, 4 675 homogeneous groups of glaciers were identified in the largest Asian river basins, i.e., Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Tarim, and others. As the classification criteria for 53 225 glaciers located there, the author consistently used 8 gradations of orientation (azimuth and 23 gradations of area. Calculating of the hydrological regime of glaciers was performed on the example of several Asian river basins. It has been shown that in the drainless basins in Asia, the only potential factor of the glacial influence on the changes in global Ocean level is the seasonal amount of evaporation from the melted surface of perennial ice and old firn. These results and published sources were used for re-evaluation of the previous conclusions on the influence of glacier runoff on change of the Ocean level. Comparison of measured and calculated annual river runoff, which was obtained by means of modeling the components of water-balance equation, showed good correspondence between these variables.

Proceedings of a USGS Workshop on Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Along the U.S.-Mexico Border - Monitoring, Modeling, and Forecasting Change Within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Laura M.; Hirsch, Derrick D.; Ward, A. Wesley

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Competition for water resources, habitats, and urban areas in the Borderlands has become an international concern. In the United States, Department of Interior Bureaus, Native American Tribes, and other State and Federal partners rely on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide unbiased science and leadership in the Borderlands region. Consequently, the USGS hosted a workshop, ?Facing Tomorrow?s Challenges along the U.S.-Mexico Border,? on March 20?22, 2007, in Tucson, Ariz., focused specifically on monitoring, modeling, and forecasting change within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

Major atmospheric emissions from peat fires in Southeast Asia during non-drought years: evidence from the 2013 Sumatran fires

Science.gov (United States)

Gaveau, David L. A.; Salim, Mohammad A.; Hergoualc'h, Kristell; Locatelli, Bruno; Sloan, Sean; Wooster, Martin; Marlier, Miriam E.; Molidena, Elis; Yaen, Husna; Defries, Ruth; Verchot, Louis; Murdiyarso, Daniel; Nasi, Robert; Holmgren, Peter; Sheil, Douglas

2014-08-01

Trans-boundary haze events in Southeast Asia are associated with large forest and peatland fires in Indonesia. These episodes of extreme air pollution usually occur during drought years induced by climate anomalies from the Pacific (El Niño Southern Oscillation) and Indian Oceans (Indian Ocean Dipole). However, in June 2013 - a non-drought year - Singapore's 24-hr Pollutants Standards Index reached an all-time record 246 (rated ``very unhealthy''). Here, we show using remote sensing, rainfall records and other data, that the Indonesian fires behind the 2013 haze followed a two-month dry spell in a wetter-than-average year. These fires were short-lived (one week) and limited to a localized area in Central Sumatra (1.6% of Indonesia): burning an estimated 163,336 ha, including 137,044 ha (84%) on peat. Most burning was confined to deforested lands (82%; 133,216 ha). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during this brief, localized event were considerable: 172 +/- 59 Tg CO2-eq (or 31 +/- 12 Tg C), representing 5-10% of Indonesia's mean annual GHG emissions for 2000-2005. Our observations show that extreme air pollution episodes in Southeast Asia are no longer restricted to drought years. We expect major haze events to be increasingly frequent because of ongoing deforestation of Indonesian peatlands.

Articulating a trans-boundary infrastructure supply chain greenhouse gas emission footprint for cities: Mathematical relationships and policy relevance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavez, Abel; Ramaswami, Anu

2013-01-01

This paper compares the policy relevance and derives mathematical relationships between three approaches for GHG emissions accounting for cities. The three approaches are: (a) Purely-Geographic Inventory, (b) Trans-boundary Community-Wide Infrastructure Footprint (CIF), and (c) Consumption-Based Footprint (CBF). Mathematical derivations coupled with case study of three US communities (Denver Colorado, Routt Colorado, and Sarasota Florida), shows that no one method provides a larger or more holistic estimate of GHG emissions associated with communities. A net-producing community (Routt) demonstrates higher CIF GHG emissions relative to the CBF, while a net-consuming community (Sarasota) yields the opposite. Trade-balanced communities (Denver) demonstrate similar numerical estimates of CIF and CBF, as predicted by the mathematical equations. Knowledge of community typology is important in understanding trans-boundary GHG emission contributions

Effects and control of long-range transboundary air pollution. Report prepared within the framework of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

This tenth volume of the series of Air Pollution Studies, published under the auspices of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, contains the documents reviewed and approved for publication at the eleventh session of the Executive Body held at Geneva from 1 to 3 December 1993. Part One is the Annual Review of Strategies and Policies for Air Pollution Abatement. National emission data and forecasts for sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia (NH 3 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from 1980 to 2005 are presented. Conclusions are drawn concerning the status of implementation of the sulphur and nitrogen oxides protocols on the basis of these data. Part Two is an executive summary of the 1992 Report on the Forest Condition in Europe. The main objective of this report is to give a condensed description of the condition of forests in Europe, as it has been assessed by the transnational and national annual surveys, carried out jointly by the ECE under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and by the European Community (EC). Part Three is a summary report that focuses on the reduction of air pollution from heat and electric energy production. It is based on discussion papers submitted to the fifth ECE Seminar on Emission Control Technology for Stationary Sources, held in Nuremberg (Germany) from 10 to 14 June 1991. This chapter presents the main control techniques to reduce emissions from fuel combustion, which is a major contribution in most ECE countries to air pollution by sulphur and nitrogen compounds, carbon oxides, organic compounds, as well as heavy metals. Three principal abatement options are reviewed: fuel cleaning and fuel conversion, low-emission combustion processes, and flue gas cleaning processes. Both technical and economic aspects of the different measures are discussed

Economic Policy Instruments and Evaluation Methods in Dutch Water Management: An analysis of their contribution to an integrated approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.P. Boot (Sander Paul)

2007-01-01

textabstractIn international water policy, a trend can be observed towards more attention for economic approaches in water management. In 1992, at the International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE) in Dublin, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Water Courses and

Water for a Thirsty Sahel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quevenco, Rodolfo

2013-01-01

In 2012, the IAEA launched a large scale, four-year, technical cooperation project to promote the integrated management and development of shared groundwater resources in the Sahel region. The project supports the use of isotope techniques in hydrological studies to map underground water, and to identify and understand the root causes of the main threats to the five transboundary aquifers. Isotope hydrology techniques can also provide useful information about the quality and availability of water hidden underground, and can be used to investigate the impact of climate change on water resources

Estimation of water storage changes in small endorheic lakes in Burabay National Nature Park (Northern Kazakhstan, Central Asia); the effect of climate change and anthropogenic influences

Science.gov (United States)

Yapiyev, Vadim; Sagintayev, Zhanay; Verhoef, Anne; Samarkhanov, Kanat; Jumassultanova, Saltanat

2017-04-01

Both climate change and anthropogenic activities contribute to deterioration of terrestrial water resources and ecosystems worldwide. It has been observed in recent decades that water-limited steppe regions of Central Asia are among ecosystems found to exhibit enhanced responses to climate variability. In fact, the largest share of worldwide net loss of permanent water extent is geographically concentrated in the Central Asia and Middle East regions attributed to both climate variability/change and human activities impacts. We used a digital elevation model, digitized bathymetry maps and high resolution Landsat images to estimate the areal water cover extent and volumetric storage changes in small terminal lakes in Burabay National Nature Park (BNNP), located in Northern Central Asia, for the period 2000-2016. Based on the analysis of long-term climatic data from meteorological stations, hydrometeorological network observations as well as regional climate model projections we evaluate the impacts of past thirty years and future climatic conditions on the water balance of BNNP lake catchments. The anthropogenic water consumption was estimated based on data collected at a local water supply company and regulation authorities. One the one hand historical in-situ observations and future climate projections do not show a significant change in precipitation in BNNP. On the other hand both observations and the model demonstrate steadily rising air temperatures in the area. It is concluded that the long-term decline in water levels for most of these lakes can be largely attributed to climate change (but only via changes in air temperature, causing evaporation to exceed precipitation) and not to direct anthropogenic influences such as increased water withdrawals. In addition, the two largest lakes, showing the highest historical water level decline, do not have sufficient water drainage basin area to sustain water levels under increased evaporation rates.

Growing importance of atmospheric water demands on the hydrologcial condition of East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C. E.; Ho, C. H.; Jeong, S. J.; Park, H.

2015-12-01

As global temperature increases, enhanced exchange of fresh water between the surface and atmosphere expected to make dry regions drier and wet regions wetter. This concept is well fitted for the ocean, but oversimplified for the land. How the climate change causes the complex patterns of the continental dryness change is one of challenging questions. Here we investigate the observed dryness changes of the land surface by examining the quantitative influence of several climate parameters on the background aridity changes over East Asia, containing various climate regimes from cold-arid to warm-humid regions, using observations of 189 stations covering the period from 1961 to 2010. Overall mean aridity trend is changed from negative to positive around early 1990s. The turning of dryness trend is largely influenced by sharp increase in atmospheric water demands, regardless of the background climate. The warming induced increase in water demands is larger in warm-humid regions than in cold-arid region due to the Clausius-Clapeyron relation between air temperature and saturation vapor pressure. The results show the drying of anthropogenic warming already begins and influences on the patterns of dryness change over the land surface.

High-resolution near real-time drought monitoring in South Asia

OpenAIRE

Aadhar, Saran; Mishra, Vimal

2017-01-01

Drought in South Asia affect food and water security and pose challenges for millions of people. For policy-making, planning, and management of water resources at sub-basin or administrative levels, high-resolution datasets of precipitation and air temperature are required in near-real time. We develop a high-resolution (0.05°) bias-corrected precipitation and temperature data that can be used to monitor near real-time drought conditions over South Asia. Moreover, the dataset can be used to m...

A study on the uncertainty based on Meteorological fields on Source-receptor Relationships for Total Nitrate in the Northeast Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Sunwoo, Y.; Park, J.; Kim, S.; Ma, Y.; Chang, I.

2010-12-01

Northeast Asia hosts more than one third of world population and the emission of pollutants trends to increase rapidly, because of economic growth and the increase of the consumption in high energy intensity. In case of air pollutants, especially, its characteristics of emissions and transportation become issued nationally, in terms of not only environmental aspects, but also long-range transboundary transportation. In meteorological characteristics, westerlies area means what air pollutants that emitted from China can be delivered to South Korea. Therefore, considering meteorological factors can be important to understand air pollution phenomena. In this study, we used MM5(Fifth-Generation Mesoscale Model) and WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting Model) to produce the meteorological fields. We analyzed the feature of physics option in each model and the difference due to characteristic of WRF and MM5. We are trying to analyze the uncertainty of source-receptor relationships for total nitrate according to meteorological fields in the Northeast Asia. We produced the each meteorological fields that apply the same domain, same initial and boundary conditions, the best similar physics option. S-R relationships in terms of amount and fractional number for total nitrate (sum of N from HNO3, nitrate and PAN) were calculated by EMEP method 3.

Coordination of environmental policy for transboundary environmental problems?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoel, M.

1996-01-01

In order to reach a Pareto optimal outcome with transboundary environmental problems, there must be some kind of international agreement. One possibility would be an international agreement focusing directly on emissions in each country. Given such an agreement, an important issue is whether one should supplement the agreement with some kind of policy coordination, or if the choice of environmental policies should be left for each country to decide for itself. The present paper shows that under ``ideal`` conditions, policies need not be coordinated across countries. Such ideal conditions include, among other things, that all markets, including the labour market, are competitive. However, if one has imperfect competition in goods markets, or unemployment, it may be desirable to let an international environmental agreement not only specify emission levels, but also the policy mix between emission taxes and direct regulation. 16 refs.

Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-11-01

On 21 September 1990, the General Conference, by resolution GC(XXXIV)/RES/530, adopted a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste and requested the Director General - inter alia - to take all necessary steps to ensure wide dissemination of the Code of Practice at both the national and the international level. The Code of Practice was elaborated by a Group of Experts established pursuant to resolution GC(XXXII)/RES/490 adopted by the General Conference in 1988. The text of the Code of Practice is reproduced herewith for the information of all Member States

Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

On 21 September 1990, the General Conference, by resolution GC(XXXIV)/RES/530, adopted a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste and requested the Director General - inter alia - to take all necessary steps to ensure wide dissemination of the Code of Practice at both the national and the international level. The Code of Practice was elaborated by a Group of Experts established pursuant to resolution GC(XXXII)/RES/490 adopted by the General Conference in 1988. The text of the Code of Practice is reproduced herewith for the information of all Member States [fr

Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-11-14

On 21 September 1990, the General Conference, by resolution GC(XXXIV)/RES/530, adopted a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste and requested the Director General - inter alia - to take all necessary steps to ensure wide dissemination of the Code of Practice at both the national and the international level. The Code of Practice was elaborated by a Group of Experts established pursuant to resolution GC(XXXII)/RES/490 adopted by the General Conference in 1988. The text of the Code of Practice is reproduced herewith for the information of all Member States.

Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-11-15

On 21 September 1990, the General Conference, by resolution GC(XXXIV)/RES/530, adopted a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste and requested the Director General - inter alia - to take all necessary steps to ensure wide dissemination of the Code of Practice at both the national and the international level. The Code of Practice was elaborated by a Group of Experts established pursuant to resolution GC(XXXII)/RES/490 adopted by the General Conference in 1988. The text of the Code of Practice is reproduced herewith for the information of all Member States.

Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

On 21 September 1990, the General Conference, by resolution GC(XXXIV)/RES/530, adopted a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste and requested the Director General - inter alia - to take all necessary steps to ensure wide dissemination of the Code of Practice at both the national and the international level. The Code of Practice was elaborated by a Group of Experts established pursuant to resolution GC(XXXII)/RES/490 adopted by the General Conference in 1988. The text of the Code of Practice is reproduced herewith for the information of all Member States

The juridic control of transboundary shipments of hazardous waste in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juergensmeyer, J.C.

1989-01-01

An intergovernmental conflict over location of disposal of hazardous waste is discussed; the several definitions of hazardous waste in the United States are analysed; moreover the American Law Regulating the transport and disposal of hazardous waste as well is put in question; also the restrictions an disposal of waste are examined in light of the Constitution of the United States, finally, transboundary shipments of hazardous waste and international agreements on hazardous waste shipment are considered [pt

Terrestrial hydro-climatic change, lake shrinkage and water resource deterioration: Analysis of current to future drivers across Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Jarsjo, J.; Beygi, H.; Thorslund, J.

2016-12-01

Due to overlapping effects of different anthropogenic pressures and natural variability, main drivers behind on-going changes in the water cycle have in many cases not been identified, which complicates management of water resources. For instance, in many parts of the world, and not least in semi-arid and arid parts of Asia, lowered groundwater levels and shrinkage of surface water bodies with associated salinization and water quality deterioration constitute great challenges. With the aim to identify main drivers and mechanisms behind such changes, we here combine (i) historical observations of long-term, large scale change, (ii) ensemble projections of expected future change from the climate models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP 5) and (iii) output from water balance modelling. Our particular focus is on regions near shrinking lakes. For the principal Lake Urmia in Iran, results show that agricultural intensification including irrigation expansion has clearly contributed to the surprisingly rapid water quality deterioration and lake shrinkage, from 10% lake area reduction in 2002 to the current value of about 75% (leaving billion of tons of salt exposed in its basin). Nevertheless, runoff decrease due to climate change has had an even larger effect. For the Aral Sea in Central Asia, where problems accelerated much earlier (in the 1990's), land-use change and irrigation expansion can fully explain the disastrous surface water deficits and water quality problems in the extensive low-lying parts of the basin. However, projections show that climate-driven runoff decrease in the headwaters of the Aral Sea basin may become a dominant driver of continued change in the near-future. More generally, present results illustrate that mitigation measures that compensate only for land-use driven effects may not reverse current trends of decreasing water availability, due to increasingly strong impacts of climate-driven runoff decrease. This has

Mitigating trans-boundary movement of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) on Mentha sp. by pre-shipping treaments of biopesticides

Science.gov (United States)

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a major pest of several important crops including vegetables, cereals, fruits, and ornamentals grown worldwide. One important mode of its dispersal is through the trans-boundary movement of infested plant materials. In order to prevent the sprea...

Water-Energy Nexus: Examining The Crucial Connection Through Simulation Based Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Erfani, T.; Tan, C. C.

2014-12-01

With a growing urbanisation and the emergence of climate change, the world is facing a more water constrained future. This phenomenon will have direct impacts on the resilience and performance of energy sector as water is playing a key role in electricity generation processes. As energy is becoming a thirstier resource and the pressure on finite water sources is increasing, modelling and analysing this closely interlinked and interdependent loop, called 'water-energy nexus' is becoming an important cross-disciplinary challenge. Conflict often arises in transboundary river where several countries share the same source of water to be used in productive sectors for economic growth. From the perspective of the upstream users, it would be ideal to store the water for hydropower generation and protect the city against drought whereas the downstream users need the supply of water for growth. This research use the case study on the transboundary Blue Nile River basin located in the Middle East where the Ethiopian government decided to invest on building a new dam to store the water and generate hydropower. This leads to an opposition by downstream users as they believe that the introduction of the dam would reduce the amount of water available downstream. This calls for a compromise management where the reservoir operating rules need to be derived considering the interdependencies between the resources available and the requirements proposed by all users. For this, we link multiobjective optimization algorithm to water-energy use simulation model to achieve effective management of the transboundary reservoir operating strategies. The objective functions aim to attain social and economic welfare by minimizing the deficit of water supply and maximizing the hydropower generation. The study helps to improve the policies by understanding the value of water and energy in their alternative uses. The results show how different optimal reservoir release rules generate different

LAND USE CHANGES IN THE TRANS-BOUNDARY AMUR RIVER BASIN IN THE 20TH CENTURY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Ermoshin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available All distinctions in the economic and nature protection policy of the neighboring states are well reflected and shown within trans-boundary river basins. The parts of trans-boundary geosystem of one country can experience an essential negative influence from rash decisions in the field of nature use and nature protection policy of the neighboring state. The Amur River Basin covers the territories of Russia, the Peoples Republic of China, Mongolia and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and occupies more than 2 million km2. The most intensive development of the basin territory has started since the middle of the 19th century. We compiled two maps of land use in the Amur River basin in the 1930–1940s and in the early 21st century. Results showed that, negative dynamics is marked for forest lands, meadows, wetlands and mountain tundra. The basic features in the change of land use within national parts of the basin in Russia, China and Mongolia are analyzed. The comparative analysis of land use peculiarities of the countries for the last 70 years has been done.

Modeling and Computation of Transboundary Industrial Pollution with Emission Permits Trading by Stochastic Differential Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shuhua; Wang, Xinyu; Wang, Zheng

2015-01-01

Transboundary industrial pollution requires international actions to control its formation and effects. In this paper, we present a stochastic differential game to model the transboundary industrial pollution problems with emission permits trading. More generally, the process of emission permits price is assumed to be stochastic and to follow a geometric Brownian motion (GBM). We make use of stochastic optimal control theory to derive the system of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations satisfied by the value functions for the cooperative and the noncooperative games, respectively, and then propose a so-called fitted finite volume method to solve it. The efficiency and the usefulness of this method are illustrated by the numerical experiments. The two regions' cooperative and noncooperative optimal emission paths, which maximize the regions' discounted streams of the net revenues, together with the value functions, are obtained. Additionally, we can also obtain the threshold conditions for the two regions to decide whether they cooperate or not in different cases. The effects of parameters in the established model on the results have been also examined. All the results demonstrate that the stochastic emission permits prices can motivate the players to make more flexible strategic decisions in the games.

NASA's East and Southeast Asia Initiatives: BASE-ASIA and EAST-AIRE

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, S.; Maring, H.

2005-01-01

Airborne dust from northern China influences air quality and regional climate in Asia during springtime. However, with the economic growth in China, increased emission of particulate air pollutants from industrial and vehicular sources will not only impact the earth's radiation balance, but also adversely affect human health year round. In addition, both of dust and aerosol pollutants can be transported swiftly across the Pacific affecting North America within a few days. Asian dust and pollutant aerosols can be detected by their colored appearance using current Earth observing satellites (e.g., MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS, etc.) and by sunphotometers deployed on the surface of the earth. Biomass burning has been a regular practice for land clearing and conversion in many countries, especially those in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. However, the climatology of Southeast Asia is very different than that of Africa and South America, such that large-scale biomass burning causes smoke to interact extensively with clouds during the peak-burning season of March to April. Globally significant sources of greenhouse gases (eg., CO2, CH4), chemically active gases (e.g., NO, CO, HC, CH3Br), and atmospheric aerosols are produced by biomass burning. These gases influence the Earth-atmosphere system, impacting both global climate and tropospheric chemistry. Some aerosols can serve as cloud condensation nuclei, which play a role in determining cloud lifetime and precipitation, altering the earth's radiation and water budgets. Biomass burning also affects the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and carbon compounds; the hydrological cycle; land surface reflectivity and emissivity; and ecosystem biodiversity and stability. Two NASA initiatives, EAST-AIRE (East Asian Study of Tropospheric Aerosols: an International Regional Experiment) and BASE-ASIA (Biomass-burning Aerosols in South East-Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment) will be presented. The objectives of these initiatives is to

Transboundary protected area proposals along the Southern Andes of Chile and Argentina: Status of current efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Peter Keller

2007-01-01

An evolving network of protected areas along the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina-the heart of Patagonia-are in various stages of evaluation and potential Transboundary Protected Area designations. This paper examines three such efforts. The first proposal is the North Andean-Patagonia Regional Eco-Corridor, which was the subject of a recent bilateral meeting...

Climate politics in the Lower Mekong Basin. National interests and transboundary cooperation on climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baadsgaard Lange, R.; Moerck Jensen, K.

2013-09-01

Climate change is expected to intensify water security concerns in international river basins. UNFCCC and DAC-donors have been important generators of political attention to the climate agenda among governments in the Mekong Basin in relation to regional cooperation, national policy-making and capacity building. However, the formal commitment to climate action is not necessarily reflected in the everyday business of development. In this paper we use a political economy approach to understand when and how climate change becomes a political priority for the governments of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and for transboundary cooperation. Uneven distribution of climate hazards and vulnerabilities create different national risk perceptions and commitment to climate action. Donor funding and national development strategies are also strong drivers of climate action and inaction. Climate change is sometimes used as a scapegoat for domestic policy failures and as a tool to acquire donor funding. We recommend prioritizing climate action in the context of immediate development challenges and 'no regrets' interventions that are likely to enhance adaptive capacity and governments' commitment. (Author)

Major atmospheric emissions from peat fires in Southeast Asia during non-drought years: evidence from the 2013 Sumatran fires.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaveau, David L A; Salim, Mohammad A; Hergoualc'h, Kristell; Locatelli, Bruno; Sloan, Sean; Wooster, Martin; Marlier, Miriam E; Molidena, Elis; Yaen, Husna; DeFries, Ruth; Verchot, Louis; Murdiyarso, Daniel; Nasi, Robert; Holmgren, Peter; Sheil, Douglas

2014-08-19

Trans-boundary haze events in Southeast Asia are associated with large forest and peatland fires in Indonesia. These episodes of extreme air pollution usually occur during drought years induced by climate anomalies from the Pacific (El Niño Southern Oscillation) and Indian Oceans (Indian Ocean Dipole). However, in June 2013--a non-drought year--Singapore's 24-hr Pollutants Standards Index reached an all-time record 246 (rated "very unhealthy"). Here, we show using remote sensing, rainfall records and other data, that the Indonesian fires behind the 2013 haze followed a two-month dry spell in a wetter-than-average year. These fires were short-lived (one week) and limited to a localized area in Central Sumatra (1.6% of Indonesia): burning an estimated 163,336 ha, including 137,044 ha (84%) on peat. Most burning was confined to deforested lands (82%; 133,216 ha). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during this brief, localized event were considerable: 172 ± 59 Tg CO2-eq (or 31 ± 12 Tg C), representing 5-10% of Indonesia's mean annual GHG emissions for 2000-2005. Our observations show that extreme air pollution episodes in Southeast Asia are no longer restricted to drought years. We expect major haze events to be increasingly frequent because of ongoing deforestation of Indonesian peatlands.

Harmful Algal Blooms in Asia: an insidious and escalating water pollution phenomenon with effects on ecological and human health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia M Glibert

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs, those proliferations of algae that causeenvironmental, economic, or human health problems, are increasing in frequency,duration, and geographic extent due to nutrient pollution. The scale of the HABproblem in Asia has escalated in recent decades in parallel with the increase in useof agricultural fertilizer, the development of aquaculture, and a growing population.Three examples, all from China but illustrative of the diversity of events and theirecological, economic, and human health effects throughout Asia, are highlightedhere. These examples include inland (Lake Tai or Taihu as well as offshore (EastChina Sea and Yellow Sea waters. The future outlook for controlling these bloomsis bleak. The effects of advancing industrialized agriculture and a continually growingpopulation will continue to result in more nutrient pollution and more HABs—-and more effects - in the foreseeable future.

Evidence of transboundary mercury and other pollutants in the Puyango-Tumbes River basin, Ecuador-Peru.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Bruce G; Veiga, Marcello M; Kaplan, Robert J; Adler Miserendino, Rebecca; Schudel, Gary; Bergquist, Bridget A; Guimarães, Jean R D; Sobral, Luis G S; Gonzalez-Mueller, Carolina

2018-04-25

In Portovelo in southern Ecuador, 87 gold processing centers along the Puyango-Tumbes River produce an estimated 6 tonnes of gold per annum using a combination of mercury amalgamation and/or cyanidation and processing poly-metallic ores. We analysed total Hg, Hg isotopes, total arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in water and sediment along the Puyango in 2012-2014. The highest total mercury (THg) concentrations in sediments were found within a 40 km stretch downriver from the processing plants, with levels varying between 0.78-30.8 mg kg-1 during the dry season and 1.80-70.7 mg kg-1 during the wet season, with most concentrations above the CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment) Probable Effect Level (PEL) of 0.5 mg kg-1. Data from mercury isotopic analyses support the conclusion that mercury use during gold processing in Portovelo is the source of Hg pollution found downstream in the Tumbes Delta in Peru, 160 km away. The majority of the water and sediment samples collected from the Puyango-Tumbes River had elevated concentrations of, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc exceeding the CCME thresholds for the Protection of Aquatic Life. At monitoring points immediately below the processing plants, total dissolved concentrations of these metals exceeded the thresholds by 156-3567 times in surface waters and by 19-740 times in sediment. The results illustrate a significant transboundary pollution problem involving Hg and other toxic metals, amplified by the fact that the Puyango-Tumbes River is the only available water source in the semi-arid region of northern Peru.

Code of practice on the international transboundary movement of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-11-01

This Code of Practice should serve as guidelines of the IAEA to the States for the development and harmonization of policies and laws on the international transboundary movement of radioactive wastes. It relies on international standards for the safe transport of radioactive material and the physical protection of nuclear material, as well as the standards for basic nuclear safety and radiation protection and radioactive waste management; it does not establish separate guidance in these areas. Furthermore, this Code, which is advisory, does not affect in any way existing and future arrangements among States which relate to matters covered by it and are compatible with its objectives

Transboundary Air-Pollution Transport in the Czech-Polish Border Region between the Cities of Ostrava and Katowice.

Science.gov (United States)

Černikovský, Libor; Krejčí, Blanka; Blažek, Zdeněk; Volná, Vladimíra

2016-12-01

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) estimated the transboundary transport of air pollution between the Czech Republic and Poland by assessing relationships between weather conditions and air pollution in the area as part of the "Air Quality Information System in the Polish-Czech border of the Silesian and Moravian-Silesian region" project (http://www.air-silesia.eu). Estimation of cross-border transport of pollutants is important for Czech-Polish negotiations and targeted measures for improving air quality. Direct measurement of PM 10 and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) concentrations and the direction and wind speed from measuring stations in the vicinity of the Czech-Polish state border in 2006-2012. Taking into account all the inaccuracies, simplifications and uncertainties, by which all of the measurements are affected, it is possible to state that the PM 10 transboundary transport was greater from the direction of Poland to the Czech Republic, rather than the other way around. Nevertheless, the highest share of the overall PM 10 concentration load was recorded on days with a vaguely estimated airflow direction. This usually included days with changing wind direction or days with a distinct wind change throughout the given day. A changeable wind is most common during low wind speeds. It can be assumed that during such days with an ambiguous daily airflow, the polluted air saturated with sources on both sides of the border moves from one country to the other. Therefore, we could roughly ascribe an equal level of these concentrations to both the Czech and Polish side. PM 10 transboundary transport was higher from Poland to the Czech Republic than from the opposite direction, despite the predominant air flow from the Czech Republic to Poland. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2016

Nanotechnology in South Asia : Building Capabilities and Governing ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Nanotechnology in South Asia : Building Capabilities and Governing the Technology ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open ... IWRA/IDRC webinar on climate change and adaptive water management.

Spatiotemporal hazard mapping of a flood event "migration" in a transboundary river basin as an operational tool in flood risk management

Science.gov (United States)

Perrou, Theodora; Papastergios, Asterios; Parcharidis, Issaak; Chini, Marco

2017-10-01

Flood disaster is one of the heaviest disasters in the world. It is necessary to monitor and evaluate the flood disaster in order to mitigate the consequences. As floods do not recognize borders, transboundary flood risk management is imperative in shared river basins. Disaster management is highly dependent on early information and requires data from the whole river basin. Based on the hypothesis that the flood events over the same area with same magnitude have almost identical evolution, it is crucial to develop a repository database of historical flood events. This tool, in the case of extended transboundary river basins, could constitute an operational warning system for the downstream area. The utility of SAR images for flood mapping, was demonstrated by previous studies but the SAR systems in orbit were not characterized by high operational capacity. Copernicus system will fill this gap in operational service for risk management, especially during emergency phase. The operational capabilities have been significantly improved by newly available satellite constellation, such as the Sentinel-1A AB mission, which is able to provide systematic acquisitions with a very high temporal resolution in a wide swath coverage. The present study deals with the monitoring of a transboundary flood event in Evros basin. The objective of the study is to create the "migration story" of the flooded areas on the basis of the evolution in time for the event occurred from October 2014 till May 2015. Flood hazard maps will be created, using SAR-based semi-automatic algorithms and then through the synthesis of the related maps in a GIS-system, a spatiotemporal thematic map of the event will be produced. The thematic map combined with TanDEM-X DEM, 12m/pixel spatial resolution, will define the non- affected areas which is a very useful information for the emergency planning and emergency response phases. The Sentinels meet the main requirements to be an effective and suitable

Enhancing capacities of riparian professionals to address and resolve transboundary issues in international river basins: experiences from the Lower Mekong River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Douven, W.; Mul, M. L.; Fernández-Álvarez, B.; Hung, S. Lam; Bakker, N.; Radosevich, G.; van der Zaag, P.

2012-09-01

This paper analyses the design and impact of capacity building programmes aimed at enhancing capacities of riparian professionals to address and resolve transboundary issues in international river basins. The case study is a programme developed by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). A post-training evaluation was applied to assess its impact in terms of individual capacity enhancement and change (use and application of knowledge, factors hampering application, and change in function and opportunities within the organisation). The design of the Capacity Building Programme of the MRC Flood Management and Mitigation Programme required a well balanced range of subjects (such as IWRM (integrated water resources management), model and decision support systems, and international water law). The post-training evaluation, 6 months after the last training workshop, showed an increase in familiarity with the topics for all 37 respondents, with the highest increase for the respondents with few years of working experience and from training and education institutions. The relevance of the subjects taught was highlighted by 95% of the respondents, and 78% of the participants had already used some of the acquired knowledge in their job. The respondents indicated that they did not have sufficient opportunities to apply all knowledge. The phased implementation and training of lecturers during the training workshops had a good impact, directly through increasing involvement in facilitation and delivery of the capacity building programme and through the use of the knowledge gained in short courses and development of curricula at their institute. For these types of capacity building programmes, a few recommendations can be made. The selection of participants is crucial for the application of the learned knowledge in their work. The integrative nature of transboundary water issues calls for a capacity building programme addressing a wide range of subjects, which can be understood by a

A Multihazard Regional Level Impact Assessment for South Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Amarnath, Giriraj; Alahacoon, Niranga; Aggarwal, Pramod; Smakhtin, Vladimir

2016-04-01

spatial distribution of various climate-related hazards in 1,398 subnational areas of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. An analysis of country-level population exposure showed that approximately 750 million people are affected from combined climate-hazards. Of the affected population 72% are in India, followed by 12% each from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Due in part to the economic importance of agriculture, it was found to be most vulnerable and exposed to climate extremes. An analysis of individual hazards indicates that floods and droughts) are the dominant hazards impacting agricultural areas followed by extreme rainfall, extreme temperature and sea-level rise. Based on this vulnerability assessment, all the regions of Bangladesh and the Indian States in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Orissa; Ampara, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Mannar and Batticaloa in Sri Lanka; Sind and Baluchistan in Pakistan; Central and East Nepal; and the transboundary river basins of Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra are among the most vulnerable regions in South Asia.

Projected effect of 2000-2050 changes in climate and emissions on aerosol levels in China and associated transboundary transport

Science.gov (United States)

We investigate projected 2000–2050 changes in concentrations of aerosols in China and the associated transboundary aerosol transport by using the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem driven by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) 3 at 4° × ...

Human Rights and Peace Audit on Partition in South Asia - Phase I ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Human Rights and Peace Audit on Partition in South Asia - Phase I ... the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) to examine the efficacy of partition as a method ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open ... IWRA/IDRC webinar on climate change and adaptive water management.

Modeling and Computation of Transboundary Industrial Pollution with Emission Permits Trading by Stochastic Differential Game.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuhua Chang

Full Text Available Transboundary industrial pollution requires international actions to control its formation and effects. In this paper, we present a stochastic differential game to model the transboundary industrial pollution problems with emission permits trading. More generally, the process of emission permits price is assumed to be stochastic and to follow a geometric Brownian motion (GBM. We make use of stochastic optimal control theory to derive the system of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB equations satisfied by the value functions for the cooperative and the noncooperative games, respectively, and then propose a so-called fitted finite volume method to solve it. The efficiency and the usefulness of this method are illustrated by the numerical experiments. The two regions' cooperative and noncooperative optimal emission paths, which maximize the regions' discounted streams of the net revenues, together with the value functions, are obtained. Additionally, we can also obtain the threshold conditions for the two regions to decide whether they cooperate or not in different cases. The effects of parameters in the established model on the results have been also examined. All the results demonstrate that the stochastic emission permits prices can motivate the players to make more flexible strategic decisions in the games.

Central Asia | Page 104 | IDRC - International Development ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Language French. Read more about Démarginalisation des travailleurs pauvres par le droit. Language French. Read more about Legal Empowerment of the Working Poor. Language English. Read more about Water Security in Periurban South Asia : Adapting to Climate Change and Urbanization. Language English.

Europe’s Wild Heart - still beating' Experiences from a new transboundary wilderness area in the middle of the Old Continent

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Křenová, Zdeňka; Kiener, H.

2012-01-01

Roč. 2, č. 2 (2012), s. 115-124 ISSN 1805-0174 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : wilderness * transboundary cooperation * national park * biodiversity * Natura 2000 Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour

Assessing the Total Economic Value of Improving Water Quality to Inform Water Resources Management: Evidence and Challenges from Southeast Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Jalilov, S.; Fukushi, K.

2016-12-01

Population growth, high rates of economic development and rapid urbanization in the developing countries of Southeast Asia (SEA) have resulted in degradation and depletion of natural resources, including water resources and related ecosystem services. Many urban rivers in the region are highly polluted with domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes. Policymakers are often aware of the direct value of water resources for domestic and industrial consumption, but they often underestimate the indirect value of these functions, since they are not exchanged in the market and do not appear in national income accounts. Underestimation of pollution and over-exploitation of water resources result in a loss of these benefits and have adverse impacts on nearby residents, threatening the long-term sustainable development of natural resources in the region. Behind these constraints lies a lack of knowledge (ignorance) from governments that a clean water environment could bring significant economic benefits. This study has been initiated to tackle this issue and to foster a more rational approach for sustainable urban development in Metro Manila in the Philippines. We applied a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) based on Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technique. Results show that users are willing to pay up to PHP 102.42 (2.18) monthly to improve quality of urban waterbodies whereas nonusers are willing to pay up to PHP 366.53 (7.80) as one-time payment towards water quality improvement. The estimated monetary value of water quality improvements would be a useful variable in cost-benefit analyses of various water quality-related policies, in both public and private sectors in Metro Manila. This survey design could serve as a useful template for similar water quality studies in other SEA countries.

The transboundary EIA convention in the context of private sector operations co-financed by an International Financial Institution: two case studies from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazari, Mehrdad M.

2003-01-01

This paper presents two case studies involving private sector, offshore, oil field developments in the Caspian Sea. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) of these operations indicated that major and unmitigated oil spills could potentially result in transboundary impacts. Both projects were co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an International Financial Institution (IFI). Project review and financing decision by the EBRD occurred when neither country hosting the projects was a Party to the 1991 Convention on EIA in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention). Discussions with government agencies during project review highlighted their limited institutional capacity to pursue transboundary notification and consultation activities. However, without being formal Parties or having clearly defined roles under the Convention, the combined presence of the EBRD, the private sector developer and its project needing financing became important drivers to promote the Espoo Convention. Surveying for similar IFI-project combinations in developing and transition economies could provide a 'bottom up' input to further optimise the Convention Secretariat's awareness raising, intervention design, and alliance-building strategies. The knowledge management model and user-friendly Web site of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity highlight approaches that may also prove effective for the Espoo Convention

Nitrogen Assessment in the Nooksack-Abbotsford-Sumas Transboundary Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, J.; Compton, J.; Baron, J.; Schwede, D. B.; Bittman, S.; Hooper, D. U.; Kiffney, P.; Embertson, N.; Carey, B.; MacKay, H.; Black, R.; Bahr, G.; Harrison, J.; Davidson, E. A.

2017-12-01

The Nooksack-Abbotsford-Sumas (NAS) Transboundary Watershed, which spans a portion of the western interface of British Columbia, Washington State, as well as the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribal lands, supports agriculture, estuarine fisheries, diverse wildlife, and urban areas. Excess N has contributed to surface and ground water pollution, shellfish closure, and impaired air quality (such as haze or smog) in some areas in the watershed. The goal of this project is to determine the distribution and quantities of N fluxes of the watershed using site-specific and high-resolution data on N that originates from energy use, transportation, fertilization, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), animal feeding and manure production, crops and more. This project is one of seven international demonstration projects contributing knowledge of regional N budgets and collaborative approaches toward N management as part of the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS). Successful N reduction relies on the partnership of all stakeholders with appropriate institutions to integrate science, outreach and management efforts. This project will bring together stakeholders on both sides of the international border for a first comprehensive, quantitative characterization of all N inventories and fluxes across this international watershed. Using crop-specific fertilizer application rates and wind-shield-survey land use data, we estimated that the annual fertilizer N input to the U.S. portion of the watershed was about 3779 metric tons (MT), which is very close to the USGS estimate of 3955 MT. Based on county level animal census data, we estimated total excretion N from major livestock (cattle) to be 7895 MT on the U.S. side. Using existing model results from other studies, we estimated that the annual N loading on the U.S. side was about 351 MT from point sources, 527 MT from atmospheric deposition, and about 7 MT from alder fixation. The preliminary results demonstrate an

Public comment draft : the stakeholder workgroup review of planning and response capabilities for a marine oil spill on the U.S/Canadian transboundary areas of the Pacific coast project report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-12-01

This stakeholder review discussed the planning and response capabilities for marine oil spills on the United States and Canadian transboundary areas of the Pacific coast. An overview of the transboundary area was presented, as well as details of the area's climate, demographics, and economics. Historical and cultural features of the region were discussed, and the environmental impacts of actual and potential oil spills were evaluated. Risks related to increased marine traffic and development of new harbours and inland railways were discussed along with issues related to First Nations groups in the region. This document also reviewed spill notification procedures and presented oil spill response recommendations. It also outlined transboundary coordination procedures and incident investigation procedures. Issues related to fisheries were also discussed, with particular reference to oil spill response training procedures and available oil spill response software. Response funding regimes were also discussed. refs., tabs., figs.

Improved Specification of Transboundary Air Pollution over the Gulf of Mexico Using Satellite Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Pour Biazar, A.; Khan, M. N.; Park, Y. H.; McNider, R. T.; Cameron, B.

2010-12-01

The assessment of potential environmental impact of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and in particular the onshore air quality impact of such operations is important to State and Federal regulatory agencies. In adapting sound policies for control strategies, it is crucial to assess the impact of local pollution versus transboundary air pollution, and in a region such as GoM with scarce monitoring capability over open waters such distinctions represents a challenge. Furthermore, GoM region can be impacted by the recirculation of pollution in the southeastern United States. The current study examines the efficacy of utilizing the newly available satellite observations of aerosols and trace gases in air quality impacts assessment for addressing these issues. In particular, ozone profiles from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard Aura and aerosol products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Terra and Aqua satellites were utilized in a modeling study during August 2006. The satellite observations were used in the specification of the background and lateral boundary and also once daily for the re-adjustment of the concentration fields. The results were then evaluated against ozonesonde and surface observations. The utilization of OMI ozone profiles significantly improved model performance in the free troposphere and the use of MODIS aerosol products substantially enhanced model prediction of aerosols in the boundary layer. Neither OMI nor TES provide adequate information in the boundary layer with respect to O3 and as a result they can only marginally impact ozone predictions in the boundary layer. The utilization of the satellite data for lateral boundary condition (BC) was helpful in the realization of transboundary transport of pollution. The hypothesis that the recirculation of pollution from Northeast Corridor can play a role over the Gulf of Mexico was tested and

Border Security Fencing and Wildlife: The End of the Transboundary Paradigm in Eurasia?

Science.gov (United States)

Linnell, John D. C.; Trouwborst, Arie; Boitani, Luigi; Kaczensky, Petra; Kusak, Josip; Skrbinsek, Tomaz; Buuveibaatar, Bayarbaatar; Bischof, Richard; Breitenmoser, Urs

2016-01-01

The ongoing refugee crisis in Europe has seen many countries rush to construct border security fencing to divert or control the flow of people. This follows a trend of border fence construction across Eurasia during the post-9/11 era. This development has gone largely unnoticed by conservation biologists during an era in which, ironically, transboundary cooperation has emerged as a conservation paradigm. These fences represent a major threat to wildlife because they can cause mortality, obstruct access to seasonally important resources, and reduce effective population size. We summarise the extent of the issue and propose concrete mitigation measures. PMID:27331878

Border Security Fencing and Wildlife: The End of the Transboundary Paradigm in Eurasia?

Science.gov (United States)

Linnell, John D C; Trouwborst, Arie; Boitani, Luigi; Kaczensky, Petra; Huber, Djuro; Reljic, Slaven; Kusak, Josip; Majic, Aleksandra; Skrbinsek, Tomaz; Potocnik, Hubert; Hayward, Matt W; Milner-Gulland, E J; Buuveibaatar, Bayarbaatar; Olson, Kirk A; Badamjav, Lkhagvasuren; Bischof, Richard; Zuther, Steffen; Breitenmoser, Urs

2016-06-01

The ongoing refugee crisis in Europe has seen many countries rush to construct border security fencing to divert or control the flow of people. This follows a trend of border fence construction across Eurasia during the post-9/11 era. This development has gone largely unnoticed by conservation biologists during an era in which, ironically, transboundary cooperation has emerged as a conservation paradigm. These fences represent a major threat to wildlife because they can cause mortality, obstruct access to seasonally important resources, and reduce effective population size. We summarise the extent of the issue and propose concrete mitigation measures.

Design, construction and operation of a new filter approach for treatment of surface waters in Southeast Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Frankel, R. J.

1981-05-01

A simple, inexpensive, and efficient method of water treatment for rural communities in Southeast Asia was developed using local materials as filter media. The filter utilizes coconut fiber and burnt rice husks in a two-stage filtering process designed as a gravityfed system without the need for backwashing, and eliminates in most cases the need of any chemicals. The first-stage filter with coconut fiber acts essentially as a substitute for the coagulation and sedimentation phases of conventional water-treatment plants. The second-stage filter, using burnt rice husks, is similar to slow sand filtration with the additional benefits of taste, color and odor removals through the absorption properties of the activated carbon in the medium. This paper reports on the design, construction costs, and operating results of several village size units in Thailand and in the Philippines.

Ecohealth research helps prevent liver cancer in Southeast Asia ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-04-29

Apr 29, 2016 ... It is transmitted to humans and animals when they consume raw or undercooked fish. ... environment when contaminated feces enter local water sources. ... Emerging Disease Research Initiative (Eco EID) in Southeast Asia.

Data collection for cooperative water resources modeling in the Lower Rio Grande Basin, Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Passell, Howard David; Pallachula, Kiran (GRAM, Inc., Albuquerque, NM); Tidwell, Vincent Carroll; Villalobos, Joshua (Texas A& M University); Piccinni, Giovanni (Texas A& M University); Brainard, James Robert; Gerik, Thomas (Texas A& M University); Morrison, Wendy (Texas A& M University); Serrat-Capdevila, Aleix (University of Arizona); Valdes, Juan (University of Arizona); Sheng, Zhuping (Texas A& M University); Lovato, Rene (Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua); Guitron, Alberto (Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua); Ennis, Martha Lee; Aparicio, Javier (Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua); Newman, Gretchen Carr (GRAM, Inc., Albuquerque, NM); Michelsen, Ari M. (Texas A& M University)

2004-10-01

Water resource scarcity around the world is driving the need for the development of simulation models that can assist in water resources management. Transboundary water resources are receiving special attention because of the potential for conflict over scarce shared water resources. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo along the U.S./Mexican border is an example of a scarce, transboundary water resource over which conflict has already begun. The data collection and modeling effort described in this report aims at developing methods for international collaboration, data collection, data integration and modeling for simulating geographically large and diverse international watersheds, with a special focus on the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. This report describes the basin, and the data collected. This data collection effort was spatially aggregated across five reaches consisting of Fort Quitman to Presidio, the Rio Conchos, Presidio to Amistad Dam, Amistad Dam to Falcon Dam, and Falcon Dam to the Gulf of Mexico. This report represents a nine-month effort made in FY04, during which time the model was not completed.

Statistical prediction of seasonal discharge in the Naryn basin for water resources planning in Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Apel, Heiko; Gafurov, Abror; Gerlitz, Lars; Unger-Shayesteh, Katy; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Merkushkin, Aleksandr; Merz, Bruno

2016-04-01

The semi-arid regions of Central Asia crucially depend on the water resources supplied by the mountainous areas of the Tien-Shan and Pamirs. During the summer months the snow and glacier melt water of the rivers originating in the mountains provides the only water resource available for agricultural production but also for water collection in reservoirs for energy production in winter months. Thus a reliable seasonal forecast of the water resources is crucial for a sustainable management and planning of water resources.. In fact, seasonal forecasts are mandatory tasks of national hydro-meteorological services in the region. Thus this study aims at a statistical forecast of the seasonal water availability, whereas the focus is put on the usage of freely available data in order to facilitate an operational use without data access limitations. The study takes the Naryn basin as a test case, at which outlet the Toktogul reservoir stores the discharge of the Naryn River. As most of the water originates form snow and glacier melt, a statistical forecast model should use data sets that can serve as proxy data for the snow masses and snow water equivalent in late spring, which essentially determines the bulk of the seasonal discharge. CRU climate data describing the precipitation and temperature in the basin during winter and spring was used as base information, which was complemented by MODIS snow cover data processed through ModSnow tool, discharge during the spring and also GRACE gravimetry anomalies. For the construction of linear forecast models monthly as well as multi-monthly means over the period January to April were used to predict the seasonal mean discharge of May-September at the station Uchterek. An automatic model selection was performed in multiple steps, whereas the best models were selected according to several performance measures and their robustness in a leave-one-out cross validation. It could be shown that the seasonal discharge can be predicted with

Measuring Pre-Service Teachers' Asia Literacy and Their Preparedness to Teach Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Grainger, Peter; Christie, Michael

2016-01-01

Asia literacy is a growing concern of the Federal Government in relation to the development of an Asia literate workforce. Despite 30 years of funded initiatives, the thought of teaching about Asia is a daunting one for pre-service teachers. This is due to the lack of Asia foci in university pre-service courses and complicated by the definition of…

High-Resolution Near Real-Time Drought Monitoring in South Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Aadhar, S.; Mishra, V.

2017-12-01

Drought in South Asia affect food and water security and pose challenges for millions of people. For policy-making, planning and management of water resources at the sub-basin or administrative levels, high-resolution datasets of precipitation and air temperature are required in near-real time. Here we develop a high resolution (0.05 degree) bias-corrected precipitation and temperature data that can be used to monitor near real-time drought conditions over South Asia. Moreover, the dataset can be used to monitor climatic extremes (heat waves, cold waves, dry and wet anomalies) in South Asia. A distribution mapping method was applied to correct bias in precipitation and air temperature (maximum and minimum), which performed well compared to the other bias correction method based on linear scaling. Bias-corrected precipitation and temperature data were used to estimate Standardized precipitation index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to assess the historical and current drought conditions in South Asia. We evaluated drought severity and extent against the satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) anomalies and satellite-driven Drought Severity Index (DSI) at 0.05˚. We find that the bias-corrected high-resolution data can effectively capture observed drought conditions as shown by the satellite-based drought estimates. High resolution near real-time dataset can provide valuable information for decision-making at district and sub- basin levels.

Conservation biology in Asia: the major policy challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

McNeely, Jeffrey A; Kapoor-Vijay, Promila; Zhi, Lu; Olsvig-Whittaker, Linda; Sheikh, Kashif M; Smith, Andrew T

2009-08-01

With about half the world's human population and booming economies, Asia faces numerous challenges to its biodiversity. The Asia Section of the Society for Conservation Biology has identified some key policy issues in which significant progress can be made. These include developing new sources of funding for forest conservation; identifying potential impacts of energy alternatives on the conservation of biodiversity; curbing the trade in endangered species of plants and animals; a special focus on the conservation of mountain biodiversity; enhancing relevant research; ensuring that conservation biology contributes to major international conventions and funding mechanisms; using conservation biology to build a better understanding of zoonotic diseases; more effectively addressing human-animal conflicts; enhancing community-based conservation; and using conservation biology to help address the pervasive water-deficit problems in much of Asia. These challenges can be met through improved regional cooperation among the relevant stakeholders.

Movements of Birds and Avian Influenza from Asia into Alaska

OpenAIRE

Winker, Kevin; McCracken, Kevin G.; Gibson, Daniel D.; Pruett, Christin L.; Meier, Rose; Huettmann, Falk; Wege, Michael; Kulikova, Irina V.; Zhuravlev, Yuri N.; Perdue, Michael L.; Spackman, Erica; Suarez, David L.; Swayne, David E.

2007-01-01

Asian-origin avian influenza (AI) viruses are spread in part by migratory birds. In Alaska, diverse avian hosts from Asia and the Americas overlap in a region of intercontinental avifaunal mixing. This region is hypothesized to be a zone of Asia-to-America virus transfer because birds there can mingle in waters contaminated by wild-bird?origin AI viruses. Our 7 years of AI virus surveillance among waterfowl and shorebirds in this region (1998?2004; 8,254 samples) showed remarkably low infecti...

State Succession in Int'l Transboundary Water Obligations: South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abiy Chelkeba

7 International Crisis Group (2006), Sudan Comprehensive Peace ... the case of South Sudan has examined the theories of state succession and it reached at .... Case Study of the Nile Water Treaties, Published by Konrad Adenauer Foundation and ... The treaty is also reproduced in Office of Legal Affairs, cited above in this.

Neurology in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Chong-Tin

2015-02-10

Asia is important as it accounts for more than half of the world population. The majority of Asian countries fall into the middle income category. As for cultural traditions, Asia is highly varied, with many languages spoken. The pattern of neurologic diseases in Asia is largely similar to the West, with some disease features being specific to Asia. Whereas Asia constitutes 60% of the world's population, it contains only 20% of the world's neurologists. This disparity is particularly evident in South and South East Asia. As for neurologic care, it is highly variable depending on whether it is an urban or rural setting, the level of economic development, and the system of health care financing. To help remedy the shortage of neurologists, most counties with larger populations have established training programs in neurology. These programs are diverse, with many areas of concern. There are regional organizations serving as a vehicle for networking in neurology and various subspecialties, as well as an official journal (Neurology Asia). The Asian Epilepsy Academy, with its emphasis on workshops in various locations, EEG certification examination, and fellowships, may provide a template of effective regional networking for improving neurology care in the region. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

Asia-MIP: Multi Model-data Synthesis of Terrestrial Carbon Cycles in Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Ichii, K.; Kondo, M.; Ito, A.; Kang, M.; Sasai, T.; SATO, H.; Ueyama, M.; Kobayashi, H.; Saigusa, N.; Kim, J.

2013-12-01

Asia, which is characterized by monsoon climate and intense human activities, is one of the prominent understudied regions in terms of terrestrial carbon budgets and mechanisms of carbon exchange. To better understand terrestrial carbon cycle in Asia, we initiated multi-model and data intercomparison project in Asia (Asia-MIP). We analyzed outputs from multiple approaches: satellite-based observations (AVHRR and MODIS) and related products, empirically upscaled estimations (Support Vector Regression) using eddy-covariance observation network in Asia (AsiaFlux, CarboEastAsia, FLUXNET), ~10 terrestrial biosphere models (e.g. BEAMS, Biome-BGC, LPJ, SEIB-DGVM, TRIFFID, VISIT models), and atmospheric inversion analysis (e.g. TransCom models). We focused on the two difference temporal coverage: long-term (30 years; 1982-2011) and decadal (10 years; 2001-2010; data intensive period) scales. The regions of covering Siberia, Far East Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia (60-80E, 10S-80N), was analyzed in this study for assessing the magnitudes, interannual variability, and key driving factors of carbon cycles. We will report the progress of synthesis effort to quantify terrestrial carbon budget in Asia. First, we analyzed the recent trends in Gross Primary Productivities (GPP) using satellite-based observation (AVHRR) and multiple terrestrial biosphere models. We found both model outputs and satellite-based observation consistently show an increasing trend in GPP in most of the regions in Asia. Mechanisms of the GPP increase were analyzed using models, and changes in temperature and precipitation play dominant roles in GPP increase in boreal and temperate regions, whereas changes in atmospheric CO2 and precipitation are important in tropical regions. However, their relative contributions were different. Second, in the decadal analysis (2001-2010), we found that the negative GPP and carbon uptake anomalies in 2003 summer in Far East Asia is one of the largest

Armenia-To Trans-Boundary Fault: AN Example of International Cooperation in the Caucasus

Science.gov (United States)

Karakhanyan, A.; Avagyan, A.; Avanesyan, M.; Elashvili, M.; Godoladze, T.; Javakishvili, Z.; Korzhenkov, A.; Philip, S.; Vergino, E. S.

2012-12-01

Studies of a trans-boundary active fault that cuts through the border of Armenia to Georgia in the area of the Javakheti volcanic highland have been conducted since 2007. The studies have been implemented based on the ISTC 1418 and NATO SfP 983284 Projects. The Javakheti Fault is oriented to the north-northwest and consists of individual segments displaying clear left-stepping trend. Fault mechanism is represented by right-lateral strike-slip with normal-fault component. The fault formed distinct scarps, deforming young volcanic and glacial sediments. The maximum-size displacements are recorded in the central part of the fault and range up to 150-200 m by normal fault and 700-900 m by right-lateral strike-slip fault. On both flanks, fault scarps have younger appearance, and displacement size there decreases to tens of meters. Fault length is 80 km, suggesting that maximum fault magnitude is estimated at 7.3 according to the Wells and Coppersmith (1994) relation. Many minor earthquakes and a few stronger events (1088, Mw=6.4, 1899 Mw=6.4, 1912, Mw=6.4 and 1925, Mw=5.6) are associated with the fault. In 2011/2012, we conducted paleoseismological and archeoseismological studies of the fault. By two paleoseismological trenches were excavated in the central part of the fault, and on its northern and southern flanks. The trenches enabled recording at least three strong ancient earthquakes. Presently, results of radiocarbon age estimations of those events are expected. The Javakheti Fault may pose considerable seismic hazard for trans-boundary areas of Armenia and Georgia as its northern flank is located at the distance of 15 km from the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

A new multi-criteria method for the ecological assessment of lakes: A case study from the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve ‘West Polesie’ (Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Sender

2017-03-01

Full Text Available A new multi-criteria method of evaluation and assessment of the ecological status of lakes is proposed. It is based on macrophytes analysis integrated with geomorphological, landscape and catchment sources of threats. A total of 22 lakes in the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve ‘West Polesie’ (Poland were investigated along trophic (available nutrients and human pressure gradients, testing the proposed method with ESMI and TRS indices. Therefore, the present indexation included 22 criteria (i.e., catchment land use, phytolittoral area, number of plant species concerning three different assessing zones (lakeshore, littoral and surrounding area, and provided a five-class ecological classification. The proposed index, in addition to the general ecological conditions assessment of lakes, allows to point out a zonal evaluation, identifying the most critic zones in terms of ecological status. The proposed method can be universally adapted for any type of lakes, regardless of their geographical characteristics. It can be applied to system monitoring, and to support lakes biodiversity, functionality, conservation, restoration, water protection and uses, as well as water, territory and landscape management actions.

Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology in East Asia, South East Asia and South Asia: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskandarieh, Sharareh; Heydarpour, Pouria; Minagar, Alireza; Pourmand, Shadi; Sahraian, Mohammad Ali

2016-01-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic immune-mediated diseases of the human central nervous system and an important cause of non-traumatic neurologic disability among young population in several countries. Recent reports from East Asia, South East Asia and South Asia have proposed a low to moderate prevalence of MS in these countries. A literature review search was carried out in December 2014 in Medline, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane library to recover original population-based studies on MS epidemiology in East Asia, South East Asia and South Asia countries published between January 1, 1950 and December 30, 2014. We intended search strategies using the key words: multiple sclerosis, prevalence, incidence and epidemiology. Based on our inclusion criteria, 68 epidemiologic studies were included in this systematic review. The most extensively used diagnostic criteria in the studies were McDonald's criteria. Most studies were performed in a multi-center hospital setting. The female to male ratio varied and ranged from 0.7 in India to 9.0 in China. The mean age at disease onset ranged from the lowest age of 25.3 in Iran to the highest age of 46.4 in China. MS prevalence ranged from 0.77 in 100,000 populations in Hong Kong (1999) to 85.80 in 100,000 in Iran (2013). Advances in MS registries around the globe allow nationwide population-based studies and will allow worldly comparisons between the prevalence and incidence in different regions that are provided to monitor estimation. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

NASA's Impacts Towards Improving International Water Management Using Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Toll, D. L.; Doorn, B.; Searby, N. D.; Entin, J. K.; Lawford, R. G.; Mohr, K. I.; Lee, C. M.

2013-12-01

Key objectives of the NASA's Water Resources and Capacity Building Programs are to discover and demonstrate innovative uses and practical benefits of NASA's advanced system technologies for improved water management. This presentation will emphasize NASA's water research, applications, and capacity building activities using satellites and models to contribute to water issues including water availability, transboundary water, flooding and droughts to international partners, particularly developing countries. NASA's free and open exchange of Earth data observations and products helps engage and improve integrated observation networks and enables national and multi-national regional water cycle research and applications that are especially useful in data sparse regions of most developing countries. NASA satellite and modeling products provide a huge volume of valuable data extending back over 50 years across a broad range of spatial (local to global) and temporal (hourly to decadal) scales and include many products that are available in near real time (see earthdata.nasa.gov). To further accomplish these objectives NASA works to actively partner with public and private groups (e.g. federal agencies, universities, NGO's, and industry) in the U.S. and internationally to ensure the broadest use of its satellites and related information and products and to collaborate with regional end users who know the regions and their needs best. The event will help demonstrate the strong partnering and the use of satellite data to provide synoptic and repetitive spatial coverage helping water managers' deal with complex issues. This presentation will outline and describe NASA's international water related research, applications and capacity building programs' efforts to address developing countries critical water challenges in Asia, African and Latin America. This will specifically highlight impacts and case studies from NASA's programs in Water Resources (e.g., drought, snow

Legal issues in the transboundary movement of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelzer, N.

2000-01-01

The transboundary movement of radioactive waste is a politically sensitive issue, which implies the raising of complex legal questions. Transborder transportation may be governed by various national jurisdictions on its way from the State of origin via the transit States to the State of destination. The overall goal to be achieved is safe management during all the necessary steps of transport, handling, storage and disposal. Far-reaching approximation or harmonization of national law applicable is to be aimed at in order to facilitate transboundary movement. Article 27 of the 1997 Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (Joint Convention) provides for a regime which, in principle, is appropriate. However, there are still open questions and, perhaps, lacunae remaining. Low risk materials exempt or released from regulatory control create specific problems owing to the fact that there are no agreed exemption or clearance levels which could be the base for unified legal provisions. The carrier may face different levels from State to State. The movement of radioactive waste by sea or air outside national jurisdictions is governed by the rules of Public International Law, especially by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which in major parts is a codification of existing International Customary Law. During transport on the high seas, the ship is under the jurisdiction of the State under which flag she is sailing. If the nuclear cargo is loaded onto a ship sailing under the flag of a non-contracting party to the Joint Convention, there may be legal problems with regard to whether and to what extent the Joint Convention is applicable, even if the State of origin or the State of destination is a contracting party to the Joint Convention. If a nuclear incident occurs during the movement of the waste, complicated questions of nuclear liability law will have to be solved. As far as the

Review article: Hydrological modeling in glacierized catchments of central Asia - status and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yaning; Li, Weihong; Fang, Gonghuan; Li, Zhi

2017-02-01

Meltwater from glacierized catchments is one of the most important water supplies in central Asia. Therefore, the effects of climate change on glaciers and snow cover will have increasingly significant consequences for runoff. Hydrological modeling has become an indispensable research approach to water resources management in large glacierized river basins, but there is a lack of focus in the modeling of glacial discharge. This paper reviews the status of hydrological modeling in glacierized catchments of central Asia, discussing the limitations of the available models and extrapolating these to future challenges and directions. After reviewing recent efforts, we conclude that the main sources of uncertainty in assessing the regional hydrological impacts of climate change are the unreliable and incomplete data sets and the lack of understanding of the hydrological regimes of glacierized catchments of central Asia. Runoff trends indicate a complex response to changes in climate. For future variation of water resources, it is essential to quantify the responses of hydrologic processes to both climate change and shrinking glaciers in glacierized catchments, and scientific focus should be on reducing uncertainties linked to these processes.

EDGARv4 Gridded Anthropogenic Emissions of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) from Power Generation, Residential and Transport Sectors: Regional Trends Analysis in East Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Muntean, M.; Janssens-Maenhout, G.; Guizzardi, D.; Crippa, M.; Schaaf, E.; Olivier, J. G.; Dentener, F. J.

2016-12-01

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic substances and so harmful for human health. Mitigation of these emissions are internationally addressed by the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and by the Stockholm Convention. A global insight on POPs emissions evolution is essential since they can be transported long distances, they bio-accumulate and damage the environment. The Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGARv4) is currently updated with POPs. We have estimated the global emissions of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (IcdP)) and Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) from fuel combustion in the power generation, residential and transport sectors. This emissions inventory has been developed by using as input to the EDGAR technology-based emissions calculation algorithm the fossil fuel consumption data from International Energy Agency (2014) and the emission factors from EMEP/EEA (2013). We provide a complete emission time series for the period 1970-2010 and discuss the trends. A comprehensive analysis of the contribution of East Asia region to the total global will be provided for each substance of the POPs group. An example is presented in Figure 1 for BaP emissions from residential sector; with emissions mainly from China, the East Asia region has a great share (32%) in the total global. We distributed the POPs emissions on gridmaps of 0.1°x0.1° resolution. Areas with high emissions in East Asia will be presented and discussed; Figure 2 shows the hot-spots in East Asia for BaP emissions from the residential sector. These emission gridmaps, used as input for the chemical transport models, contribute to the improvement of impact evaluation, which is a key element in measuring the effectiveness of mitigation

Transboundary water resources management and livelihoods: interactions in the Senegal river

Science.gov (United States)

Bruckmann, Laurent; Beltrando, Gérard

2016-04-01

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 90 % of wetlands provide ecosystem services to societies, especially for agriculture and fishing. However, tropical rivers are increasingly regulated to provide hydroelectricity and irrigated agriculture. Modifications of flows create new hydrological conditions that affect floodplains ecology and peoples' livelihoods. In the Senegal river valley, large dams were built during the 1980's to secure water resources after a decade of water scarcity in the 1970's: Manantali in the upper basin with a reservoir of 12km3 and Diama close to estuary to avoid saltwater intrusion during dry season. Senegal river water resources are known under the supervision of Senegal River Basin Development Organization (OMVS), which defines water allocation between different goals (electricity, irrigation, traditional activities). This study, based on the concept of socio-hydrology, analyses socio-ecological changes following thirty years of dam management. The work enlightens adaptation mechanisms of livelihoods from people living along the river floodplain and feedback on water ressources. The study uses a mixed method approach, combining hydrological analyses, literature review and data collection from surveys on stakeholders and key informants level in the middle Senegal valley. Our results suggest that in all the Senegal river valley, socio-ecological changes are driven by new hydrological conditions. If dam management benefit for peoples with electrification and development of an irrigated agriculture, it has also emphasized the floodplain degradation. Flooded area has decline and are more irregular, causing an erosion of floodplain supporting services (traditional activities as fishing, grazing and flood-recession agriculture). These conditions reduce peoples' livelihood possibilities and irrigation is the only regular activity. As a feedback, irrigated agriculture increases withdrawals in the river and, recently, in aquifers posing a new uncertainty on water

Theming Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erb, Maribeth; Ong, Chin Ee

2017-01-01

This paper introduces a special issue on Theme Parks in Asia with reflections on how the various theoretical ideas on theming and theme parks that are found in the social science literature can help us to understand the proliferation of theming and theme parks in contemporary Asia. How does theming

Does the Limpopo River Basin have sufficient water for massive irrigation development in the plains of Mozambique?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zaag, van der P.; Juizo, D.; Vilanculos, A.; Bolding, J.A.; Post Uiterweer, N.C.

2010-01-01

This paper verifies whether the water resources of the transboundary Limpopo River Basin are sufficient for the planned massive irrigation developments in the Mozambique part of this basin, namely 73,000 ha, in addition to existing irrigation (estimated at 9400 ha), and natural growth of common use

Evapotranspiration of rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ) cultivated at two plantation sites in Southeast Asia: RUBBER EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN SE ASIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giambelluca, Thomas W. [Department of Geography, University of Hawai' i at Mānoa, Honolulu Hawai' i USA; Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya Japan; Mudd, Ryan G. [Department of Geography, University of Hawai' i at Mānoa, Honolulu Hawai' i USA; Liu, Wen [Department of Geography, University of Hawai' i at Mānoa, Honolulu Hawai' i USA; Ziegler, Alan D. [Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore Singapore; Kobayashi, Nakako [Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya Japan; Kumagai, Tomo' omi [Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya Japan; Miyazawa, Yoshiyuki [Department of Geography, University of Hawai' i at Mānoa, Honolulu Hawai' i USA; Research Institute of East Asia Environments, Kyushu University, Fukuoka Japan; Lim, Tiva Khan [Cambodian Rubber Research Institute, Phnom Penh Cambodia; Huang, Maoyi [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Fox, Jefferson [East-West Center, Honolulu Hawai' i USA; Yin, Song [Cambodian Rubber Research Institute, Phnom Penh Cambodia; Mak, Sophea Veasna [Cambodian Rubber Research Institute, Phnom Penh Cambodia; Kasemsap, Poonpipope [Department of Horticulture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok Thailand

2016-02-01

The expansion of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) cultivation to higher latitudes and higher elevations in southeast Asia is part of a dramatic shift in the direction of rural land cover change in the region toward more tree covered landscapes. To investigate the possible effects of increasing rubber cultivation in the region on ecosystem services including water cycling, eddy covariance towers were established to measure ecosystem fluxes within two rubber plantations, one each in Bueng Kan, northeastern Thailand, and Kampong Cham, central Cambodia. The results show that evapotranspiration (ET) at both sites is strongly related to variations in available energy and leaf area, and moderately controlled by soil moisture. Measured mean annual ET was 1128 and 1272 mm for the Thailand and Cambodia sites, respectively. After adjustment for energy closure, mean annual was estimated to be 1211 and 1459 mm yr at the Thailand and Cambodia sites, respectively. Based on these estimates and that of another site in Xishuangbanna, southwestern China, it appears that of rubber is higher than that of other tree dominated land covers in the region, including forest. While measurements by others in non rubber tropical ecosystems indicate that at high net radiation sites is at most only slightly higher than for sites with lower net radiation, mean annual rubber increases strongl with increasing net radiation across the three available rubber plantation observation sites. With the continued expansion of tree dominated land covers, including rubber cultivation, in southeast Asia, the possible association between commercially viable, fast growing tree crop species Giambelluca et al. Evapotranspiration of rubber (Havea brasiliensis) cultivated at two sites in southeast Asia and their relatively high water use raises concerns about potential effects on water and food security.

Digital Review of Asia Pacific (DirAP) - Phase II | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

The Digital Review of Asia Pacific (DirAP) has a mission to generate new knowledge ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open ... IWRA/IDRC webinar on climate change and adaptive water management.

The international legal position on transboundary shipments of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimston, M.C.

1997-01-01

The recent decision not to grant planning permission for construction of a Rock Characterisation Facility near Sellafield has reopened the question of long-term radioactive waste disposal policy in the UK. One possible solution would be the construction and operation of a small number of international radioactive waste disposal facilities, taking waste from several countries. Such an approach would allow pooling of international expertise; would allow the choice of excellent sites from geological and demographical standpoints; and may be economically attractive depending on economies of scale. However, the approach would also increase the amount of waste transport, and may reduce the pressure on producers to reduce the volumes of waste arising. This paper traces the development of international legal attitudes to transboundary transport of radioactive and other hazardous waste. It concludes that as international law now stands it would be very difficult to establish a network of international waste disposal facilities, and therefore strategies which are developed will be nationally based. (Author)

Asia Pacific energy derivatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fusaro, P.C.

1997-09-01

Asia Pacific Energy Derivatives, from FT Energy, is the first report of its kind to examine the growth of energy derivatives within Asia Pacific and their increasing importance within this region. It provides a comprehensive overview of the subject, including analysis of: deregulation as a market driver; the impact of privatisation; the future for energy risk management tools; the unique characteristics of the Asia Pacific energy market; the role of futures exchanges in Asia; existing indexes and their performance; the differences between the Asia Pacific markets and their more mature counterparts in London and New York; non-oil derivatives, project finance and cross commodity arbitrage; the thriving Pacific Rim Over the Counter (OTC) markets. (author)

ASIAS - Some History

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The ASIAS effort builds on demonstrations that an open exchange of information contributes to improved aviation safety. ASIAS is a comprehensive effort, covering the...

Transboundary transport of anthropogenic sulfur in PM2.5 at a coastal site in the Sea of Japan as studied by sulfur isotopic ratio measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inomata, Yayoi; Ohizumi, Tsuyoshi; Take, Naoko; Sato, Keiichi; Nishikawa, Masataka

2016-01-01

Sulfur isotopic ratios (δ"3"4S) in size separated aerosol particles (PM2.5 and coarse particles) were measured at Niigata-Maki facing the Sea of Japan. Non-sea salt δ"3"4S (δ"3"4S_n_s_s) in PM2.5 showed seasonal variations with relatively high values in winter (1.0–3.9‰ in spring, 2.8–4.5‰ in summer, 1.3–4.5‰ in autumn, 3.7–5.7‰ in winter). Taking into consideration air mass transport routes, δ"3"4S_n_s_s in the air masses which originated in the Asian continent and were transported over the Sea of Japan to the monitoring sites were higher than those values for air masses which were transported over the Japanese islands after leaving the Asian continent for each season. Considering that the δ"3"4S_n_s_s in sulfuric acid derived from domestic emissions in Japan are lower than those of δ"3"4S_n_s_s in coal, the lower δ"3"4S_n_s_s for the air mass transported over the Japanese islands suggest that sulfuric acid in PM2.5 modified the δ"3"4S_n_s_s due to aerosol mixing with sulfuric acid in Japan. Material balance calculations suggested that the relative contribution of transboundary transport in winter was also higher than for other seasons (40–75% in spring, 51–63% in summer, 45–73% in autumn, and 53–81% in winter). In particular, the contribution to the air masses which were transported directly from the Asian continent was relatively large (75% in spring, 59% in autumn, 78% in winter) in comparison with that for the air masses which were transported over Japan. - Highlights: • δ"3"4Snss in PM2.5 is effective to estimate contribution of anthropogenic sulfur. • δ"3"4Snss have characterized with seasonal variation with high values in winter. • The contribution of transboundary transport is 39-81% at the site facing to the Sea of Japan. • δ"3"4Snss in PM2.5 are modified during transport with mixing of domestic sources. • Map of δ"3"4S distribution originated from coal in Northeast Asia is developed.

Transboundary transport of anthropogenic sulfur in PM2.5 at a coastal site in the Sea of Japan as studied by sulfur isotopic ratio measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inomata, Yayoi, E-mail: inomata@acap.asia [Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, 1182, Sowa, Niigata, Niigata 950-2144 (Japan); Ohizumi, Tsuyoshi [Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, 1182, Sowa, Niigata, Niigata 950-2144 (Japan); Niigata Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 314-1, Sowa, Niigata, Niigata 950-2144 (Japan); Take, Naoko; Sato, Keiichi [Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, 1182, Sowa, Niigata, Niigata 950-2144 (Japan); Nishikawa, Masataka [National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 (Japan); Tokyo University of Science, 12-1, Ichigaya Funakawara, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0826 (Japan)

2016-05-15

Sulfur isotopic ratios (δ{sup 34}S) in size separated aerosol particles (PM2.5 and coarse particles) were measured at Niigata-Maki facing the Sea of Japan. Non-sea salt δ{sup 34}S (δ{sup 34}S{sub nss}) in PM2.5 showed seasonal variations with relatively high values in winter (1.0–3.9‰ in spring, 2.8–4.5‰ in summer, 1.3–4.5‰ in autumn, 3.7–5.7‰ in winter). Taking into consideration air mass transport routes, δ{sup 34}S{sub nss} in the air masses which originated in the Asian continent and were transported over the Sea of Japan to the monitoring sites were higher than those values for air masses which were transported over the Japanese islands after leaving the Asian continent for each season. Considering that the δ{sup 34}S{sub nss} in sulfuric acid derived from domestic emissions in Japan are lower than those of δ{sup 34}S{sub nss} in coal, the lower δ{sup 34}S{sub nss} for the air mass transported over the Japanese islands suggest that sulfuric acid in PM2.5 modified the δ{sup 34}S{sub nss} due to aerosol mixing with sulfuric acid in Japan. Material balance calculations suggested that the relative contribution of transboundary transport in winter was also higher than for other seasons (40–75% in spring, 51–63% in summer, 45–73% in autumn, and 53–81% in winter). In particular, the contribution to the air masses which were transported directly from the Asian continent was relatively large (75% in spring, 59% in autumn, 78% in winter) in comparison with that for the air masses which were transported over Japan. - Highlights: • δ{sup 34}Snss in PM2.5 is effective to estimate contribution of anthropogenic sulfur. • δ{sup 34}Snss have characterized with seasonal variation with high values in winter. • The contribution of transboundary transport is 39-81% at the site facing to the Sea of Japan. • δ{sup 34}Snss in PM2.5 are modified during transport with mixing of domestic sources. • Map of δ{sup 34}S distribution originated

Causes of early Holocene desertification in arid central Asia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Liya [Lanzhou University, Key Laboratory of Western China' s Environmental System, Lanzhou, Gansu (China); University of Kiel, Institute of Geosciences, Kiel (Germany); Chen, Fahu [Lanzhou University, Key Laboratory of Western China' s Environmental System, Lanzhou, Gansu (China); Morrill, Carrie [University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Boulder, CO (United States); NOAA' s National Climatic Data Center, Paleoclimatology Branch, Boulder, CO (United States); Otto-Bliesner, Bette L.; Rosenbloom, Nan [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, Boulder, CO (United States)

2012-04-15

Paleoclimate records of effective moisture (precipitation minus evaporation, or P-E) show a dry (low effective moisture) period in mid-latitude arid/semi-arid central Asia during the early Holocene (11,000-8,000 years ago) relative to the middle and late Holocene, in contrast to evidence for greater-than-present precipitation at the same time in the south and east Asian monsoonal areas. To investigate the spatial differences in climate response over mid-latitude central Asia and monsoonal Asia we conducted a series of simulations with the Community Climate System Model version 3 coupled climate model for the early, middle and late Holocene. The simulations test the climatic impact of all important forcings for the early Holocene, including changes in orbital parameters, the presence of the remnant Laurentide ice sheet and deglacial freshening of the North Atlantic. Model results clearly show the early Holocene patterns indicated by proxy records, including both the decreased effective moisture in arid central Asia, which occurs in the model primarily during the winter months, and the increase in summer monsoon precipitation in south and east Asia. The model results suggest that dry conditions in the early Holocene in central Asia are closely related to decreased water vapor advection due to reduced westerly wind speed and less evaporation upstream from the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas in boreal winter. As an extra forcing to the early Holocene climate system, the Laurentide ice sheet and meltwater fluxes have a substantial cooling effect over high latitudes, especially just over and downstream of the ice sheets, but contribute only to a small degree to the early Holocene aridity in central Asia. Instead, most of the effective moisture signal can be explained by orbital forcing decreasing the early Holocene latitudinal temperature gradient and wintertime surface temperature. We find little evidence for regional subsidence related to a stronger summer Asian

Water Availability in the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin and the Middle East from GRACE

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, K.; Famiglietti, J. S.; Lo, M.; de Linage, C.; Swenson, S. C.; Rodell, M.

2010-12-01

As water security becomes more tenuous, conflicts and disputes over the appropriate management and allocation of transboundary water resources are sure to arise. In particular, the Middle East faces extreme scarcity as a result of both natural climate variations and the impacts of water management decisions and policies. A recent drought, which began in 2007, caused regional hardships as precious water resources dwindled and collaboration between nations failed to accommodate shared needs. In this work, the area surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates River Basin was selected as a case study to evaluate trends in fresh water availability. Because few complete datasets exist for precipitation, streamflow, evapotranspiration, groundwater or surface water in the area, remote sensing techniques, including GRACE and altimetry, as well as land-surface models were utilized to develop an understanding of the regional hydrology. These observations and model results were used to estimate trends in total water storage and its individual components - soil moisture, snow water equivalent, surface water and groundwater. GRACE data show a clear decrease in total water storage in the Middle East from January 2003 to December 2009, and indicate that the selected region experienced a total volume loss of 143 km3 of water. Supporting datasets suggest that approximately two-thirds of this was a loss of groundwater. These results highlight the impacts of drought conditions on groundwater consumption and of agricultural expansion on available water resources in the region. Furthermore, they raise important political issues regarding water use in transboundary river basins and aquifers, while amplifying the need for increased monitoring and datasets for the core components of the water budget.

Seasonal changes in antifreeze protein gene transcription and water content of beetle Microdera punctipennis (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) from Gurbantonggut desert in Central Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, F; Ma, J; Liu, X; Wang, Y; Liu, X N; Zhang, F C

2010-01-01

Desert beetle Microdera punctipennis (Coleoptera: Tenebriondae) is a special species in Gurbantonggut Desert in Central Asia. To investigate the possible strategy it employs for cold survival, seasonal changes in supercooling point (SCP), body water content, haemolymph osmolality and antifreeze protein gene (Mpafp) expression were measured over 13 months. Our results show SCPs in M. punctipennis adults changed from -8.0°C in summer to -18.7°C in winter. During winter, adults endured modest water loss; total water decreased from 65.4 percent in summer to 55.9% in winter. Mpafp mRNAs level increased by 13.1 fold from summer to early winter, and haemolymph osmolality increased accordingly from 550 mOsm to 1486 mOsm. Correlation coefficient of Mpafp mRNAs level and SCP indicates that Mpafp mRNA explained 65.3 percent of the variation in SCPs. The correlation between Mpafp mRNA level and total water reflected an indirect influence of antifreeze protein on water content via reducing SCP.

Central Asia in Asia: Charting growing trans-regional linkages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola P. Contessi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As the so-called ‘Asian Century’ unfolds, Central Asian countries are increasingly directing their foreign relations eastward. Meanwhile, Asian states are equally turning to Central Asia in their search for energy resources and new markets. This dual dynamic is giving rise to closer and deeper ties in three key areas. As far as infrastructures are concerned, various Asian powers have adopted Silk Road policies that see Central Asia as a fundamental transit route for their long-haul connectivity projects. In the field of trade, Central Asia's exchanges with other Asian countries have been growing steadily since the 1990s, in some cases even coming to rival, in comparative terms, exchanges with the West. Lastly, in terms of multilateralism, Central Asia is increasingly enmeshed in a web of overlapping institutions with a strong Asian identity, coexisting with the region's Western institutional references. The article then problematizes this emerging pattern by sketching out some of the possible ramifications that could stem from the sustainment and consolidation of these trends for the international order and the global balance of power.

The Asia 2 specific signal peptide region and other domains in fusion protein genes characterized Asia 1 and Asia 2 canine distemper viruses

Science.gov (United States)

Sultan, Serageldeen; Charoenvisal, Nataya; Lan, Nguyen Thi; Yamaguchi, Ryoji; Maeda, Ken; Kai, Kazushige

2009-01-01

Background Although the presence of Asia 2 group of canine distemper virus (CDV) was known by the sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of hemagglutinin (H) gene, the fusion (F) protein gene sequence of Asia 2 group had not been identified. So, the sequence analysis of F gene was carried out to elucidate the genotypic varaitons among Asian isolates. Results The phylogenetic analysis of F and H gene sequences from fourteen CDV isolates obtained from diseased dogs in Japan and Thailand indicated that the F genes had a new initiation codon and extra 27 nucleotides upstream of the usual open reading frame (ORF) and the F proteins had extra 9 amino acids at the N-terminal position only in Asia 2 isolates. On the contrary, the Asia 1 isolates had three extra putative N-glycosylation sites (two sites in the signal peptide region and one site in the F1 region) except for two strains of Th12 and Ac96I (two sites in signal peptide region) adding to four putative N-glycosylation sites that were conserved among all Asian isolates and Onderstepoort strain. In addition to this difference in N-glycosylation sites, the signal peptide region had a great diversity between Asia 1 and Asia 2 isolates. Also, characteristic amino acids were detected for some strains. Conclusion Asia 2 isolates were distinguished from other CDV lineages by the extra 27 nucleotide sequence. The signal peptide region of F gene gives a remarkable differentiation between Asia 1 and Asia 2 isolates. Strains Th12 and Ac96I were differentiated from other Asia 1 strains by the F protein glycosylation sites. PMID:19807927

Transboundary aquifers along the Canada–USA border: Science, policy and social issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonso Rivera

2015-09-01

New hydrological insights for the region: This analysis emphasizes the need for more scientific data, widespread education and training, and a more clearly defined governments’ role to manage groundwater at the international level. The study reviews the current legal framework and summarises the current scientific knowledge for the TAS with respect to the hydrologic and geologic framework as well as some of the major drivers for supply and demand. It also describes the links, approach and relevance of studies on the TAS to the UN Law of Transboundary Aquifers and on how these might fit in the regional strategy for the assessment and management of the TAS. Clear communication, shared knowledge and common objectives in the management of TAS will prepare the countries for future negotiations and cooperative binational programs.

Bridging the Water Policy and Management Silos: An Opportunity for Leveraged Capacity Building

Science.gov (United States)

Wegner, D. L.

2017-12-01

The global community is challenged by increasing demand and decreasing water supplies. Historically nations have focused on local or regional water development projects that meet specific needs, often without consideration of the impact on downstream transboundary water users or the watershed itself. Often these decisions have been based on small sets of project specific data with little assessment on river basin impacts. In the United States this disjointed approach to water has resulted in 26 federal agencies having roles in water management or regulation, 50 states addressing water rights and compliance, and a multitude of tribal and local entities intersecting the water process. This approach often manifests itself in a convoluted, disjointed and time-consuming approach. The last systematic and comprehensive review of nationwide water policy was the 1973 National Water Commission Report. A need exists for capacity building collaborative and integrative leadership and dialogue. NASA's Western Water Applications Office (WWAO) provides a unique opportunity to leverage water and terrain data with water agencies and policy makers. A supported WWAO can provide bridges between federal and state water agencies; provide consistent integrated hydrologic and terrain based data set acquired from multiple earth orbiting satellites and airborne platforms; provide data sets leveraged with academic and research based entities to develop specific integrative predictive tools; and evaluate hydrology information across multiple boundaries. It is the author's conclusion that the Western Water Applications Office can provide a value-added approach that will help translate transboundary water and earth terrain information to national policy decisions through education, increased efficiency, increased connectivity, improved coordination, and increased communication. To be effective the WWAO should embrace five objectives: (1) be technically and scientifically valid; (2

The nuclear Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordonnier, I.; Tertrais, B.

2001-01-01

Since the demolition of the Berlin wall, Asia has become the theater of nuclear rivalry, with as main actors: india, Pakistan, China and South Korea. This book analyzes the geo-political situation in this region of the world and asks some important questions about the new strategic map of Asia: what is the impact of the development of nuclear activities on the security of Asia? Will the deployment of anti-missile defenses lead to a new weapons rush? Is there a nuclear warfare risk? (J.S.)

Impacts of Global Change on Water Resources in Dryland East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Xiaoming Feng; Jingfeng Xiao; Alex Shiklomanov; Shengping Wang; Zhiqiang Zhang; Nan Lu; Shuai Wang; Liding Chen; Bojie Fu; Yaning Chen; Jiquan Chen

2013-01-01

The vast Dryland East Asia (DEA) area consists of several large geographic regions including the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Loess Plateau, and Mongolia Plateau. T he region is of great importance to the functioning of the earth system under a changing climate. In the past three decades, due to the unprecedented land use/land cover change, urbanization, industrialization...

Statistical prediction of seasonal discharge in Central Asia for water resources management: development of a generic (pre-)operational modeling tool

Science.gov (United States)

Apel, Heiko; Baimaganbetov, Azamat; Kalashnikova, Olga; Gavrilenko, Nadejda; Abdykerimova, Zharkinay; Agalhanova, Marina; Gerlitz, Lars; Unger-Shayesteh, Katy; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Gafurov, Abror

2017-04-01

The semi-arid regions of Central Asia crucially depend on the water resources supplied by the mountainous areas of the Tien-Shan and Pamirs. During the summer months the snow and glacier melt dominated river discharge originating in the mountains provides the main water resource available for agricultural production, but also for storage in reservoirs for energy generation during the winter months. Thus a reliable seasonal forecast of the water resources is crucial for a sustainable management and planning of water resources. In fact, seasonal forecasts are mandatory tasks of all national hydro-meteorological services in the region. In order to support the operational seasonal forecast procedures of hydromet services, this study aims at the development of a generic tool for deriving statistical forecast models of seasonal river discharge. The generic model is kept as simple as possible in order to be driven by available hydrological and meteorological data, and be applicable for all catchments with their often limited data availability in the region. As snowmelt dominates summer runoff, the main meteorological predictors for the forecast models are monthly values of winter precipitation and temperature as recorded by climatological stations in the catchments. These data sets are accompanied by snow cover predictors derived from the operational ModSnow tool, which provides cloud free snow cover data for the selected catchments based on MODIS satellite images. In addition to the meteorological data antecedent streamflow is used as a predictor variable. This basic predictor set was further extended by multi-monthly means of the individual predictors, as well as composites of the predictors. Forecast models are derived based on these predictors as linear combinations of up to 3 or 4 predictors. A user selectable number of best models according to pre-defined performance criteria is extracted automatically by the developed model fitting algorithm, which includes a test

Arsenic geochemistry of groundwater in Southeast Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyoung-Woong; Chanpiwat, Penradee; Hanh, Hoang Thi; Phan, Kongkea; Sthiannopkao, Suthipong

2011-12-01

The occurrence of high concentrations of arsenic in the groundwater of the Southeast Asia region has received much attention in the past decade. This study presents an overview of the arsenic contamination problems in Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Thailand. Most groundwater used as a source of drinking water in rural areas has been found to be contaminated with arsenic exceeding the WHO drinking water guideline of 10 μg·L(-1). With the exception of Thailand, groundwater was found to be contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic in the region. Interestingly, high arsenic concentrations (> 10 μg·L(-1)) were generally found in the floodplain areas located along the Mekong River. The source of elevated arsenic concentrations in groundwater is thought to be the release of arsenic from river sediments under highly reducing conditions. In Thailand, arsenic has never been found naturally in groundwater, but originates from tin mining activities. More than 10 million residents in Southeast Asia are estimated to be at risk from consuming arsenic-contaminated groundwater. In Southeast Asia, groundwater has been found to be a significant source of daily inorganic arsenic intake in humans. A positive correlation between groundwater arsenic concentration and arsenic concentration in human hair has been observed in Cambodia and Vietnam. A substantial knowledge gap exists between the epidemiology of arsenicosis and its impact on human health. More collaborative studies particularly on the scope of public health and its epidemiology are needed to conduct to fulfill the knowledge gaps of As as well as to enhance the operational responses to As issue in Southeast Asian countries.

Draft protocol to the 1979 convention on long-range transboundary air pollution to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-10-15

The draft Protocol to be tabled as item 2 of the seventeenth session of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, (29 November - 3 December 1999) has the objective of controlling and reducing emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds caused by anthropogenic activities and likely to cause adverse effects due to acidification, eutrophication or ground-level ozone as a result of long-range transboundary atmospheric transport and to ensure that atmospheric depositions or concentrations do not exceed, for Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP (the programme for monitoring and evaluation of long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe), and Canada, the critical loads of acidity for EMEP countries as described in Annex I of the document; the critical loads of nutrient nitrogen as described in Annex I, and, for ozone, the critical levels as described in Annex I for EMEP countries, for Canada, the Canada-wide Standard for ozone, and for the USA, the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. It specifies limit values for boilers rated at {gt} 50 MW{sub th}. 9 apps.

Confronting water in an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, David; Trottier, Julie

2010-03-01

SummaryTrans-boundary water agreements are usually conceived as allocation agreements. In other words, water is treated as if it were a pie to be divided among the riparian states. The treatment of water as if it were as immobile as land may be useful in the short term, but it is fundamentally flawed as a means to avoid conflict as well as to ensure efficient, equitable, and sustainable management of water over the long term. This article proposes to avoid quantitative allocations within international water agreements, whether they be presented as percentage or fixed allocations or whether or not accompanied by a periodic revision clause. It proposes instead an ongoing joint management structure that allows for continuous conflict resolution concerning water demands and uses in a manner that effectively de-nationalises water uses. As well, it builds on existing, functioning institutions that are already active over a variety of scalar levels. It disaggregates what is usually perceived as a national water demand into its component institutions and re-aggregates them within an international institutional context. Though this approach for building trans-boundary water agreements can prove useful in any geographical situation, this article uses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a model. It proposes to respect the existing differences in the institutional management of water between the two entities and to reach four general objectives: economic efficiency, social and political equity, ecological sustainability, and the ability to implement the agreement in practice. The institutional design and proposed mechanisms follow five key principles for shared management: water allocations that are not fixed but variable over time; equality in rights and responsibilities; priority for demand management over supply management; continuous monitoring of water quality and quantity; and mediation among competing uses of fresh water. This institutional structure balances water

Monitoring lake level changes by altimetry in the arid region of Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Y.; Liao, J. J.; Shen, G. Z.; Zhang, X. L.

2017-07-01

The study of lake level changes in arid region of Central Asia not only has important significance for the management and sustainable development of inland water resources, but also provides the basis for further study on the response of lakes to climate change and human activities. Therefore, in this paper, eleven typical lakes in Central Asia were observed. The lake edges were obtained through image interpretation using the quasi-synchronous MODIS image, and then water level information with long period (2002-2015) was acquired using ENVISAT/RA-2 and Cryosat-2 satellite borne radar altimeter data. The results show that these 11 lakes all have obvious seasonal changes of water level in a year with a high peak at different month. During 2002 - 2015, their water levels present decreased trend generally except Sarygamysh Lake, Alakol Lake and North Aral Sea. The alpine lakes are most stables, while open lakes’ levels change the most violently and closed lakes change diversely among different lakes.

TRANSBOUNDARY IMPACT OF THE CHERNAVODSKA NPP ON TRITIUM POLLUTION OF THE DANUBE RIVER ON THE TERRITORY OF UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. VIT`KO

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article reviews the influence of the Chernavodska nuclear power plant on the aquatic environment of the Danube River in the transboundary context. Data of tritium discharges, dependence of volume activity of tritium in the Danube River, and its inflows from the surrounding areas to its mouth. The average annual volume activities of tritium are provided. Assessments of the impact of the Chernavodska NPP in conditions that are different from the norm have been given.

BAHAYA LATEN INFEKSI GONORE DAN KLAMIDIA DI ASIA SELATAN & ASIA TENGGARA, DI INDONESIA DAN KOTA MANADO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aron Pirade

2014-04-01

menempati urutan tertinggi. Wilayah Asia Selatan dan Asia Timur-Selatan (juga disebut Asia Tenggara adalah wilayah dengan prevalensi Gonore dan Klamidia terbesar. Prevalensi Gonore di tahun 1995 dan 1999 yaitu 29.11 dan 27.2 juta penduduk wilayah Asia Selatan dan Asia Tenggara. Klamidia, di tahun 1995 dan tahun 1999 yaitu 40.48 dan 42.89 juta penduduk wilayah Asia Selatan dan Asia Tenggara. Di Indonesia sendiri, pada 11 area penelitian menunjukkan bahwa prevalensi Gonore dalam wilayah Indonesia menunjukkan rata-rata prosentasenya 20%-40% dari keseluruhan STI pada wanita beresiko tinggi terkena STI. Sedangkan infeksi oleh Klamidia prosentasenya 15%- 45% dari keseluruhan STI pada wanita beresiko tinggi terkena penyakit kelamin. Prosentase Gonore dan Klamidia di Kota Manado rata-rata 15-30%. Tingginya prevalensi infeksi Gonore dan Klamidia di Asia Tenggara, ternyata diikuti juga dengan tingginya perkembangan infeksi Gonore dan Klamidia di Indonesia dan Kota Manado.

How can Small Countries in South Asia benefit from Biotechnology ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This grant will help small developing countries in South Asia develop ... and Development) countries and emerging economies like India and China. The second concerns a plan to implement agro-biotechnology businesses based on tissue ... in India, including heat stress, water management, and climate-related migration.

Integrasi Ekonomi Asia: Solusi Asia Menghadapi Krisis Global 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Hidayat

2008-09-01

Full Text Available No economies throughout the region managed to escape from the "global economic crisis in 2008" that was initiated in the United States. This is a logical consequence of the global economy that has been rolling along. The world economy is increasingly becoming more integrated and interdependent with one another. Exposure stems from the economic crisis in the prolonged United States subprime mortgage financial crisis, and eventually dragged the European economy, and also Asia. The Asian region was only affected, but even if only the impact of course, was enough to overwhelm the Asian region since the crisis has a major impact on a country's foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, after the G-20 summit held in Washington on November 15, 2008, the three major Asian countries, namely China, Japan and South Korea held a summit in Fukuoka Japanese initiative, which was attended by the three heads of government. This summit was to bring fresh air for the Asian region, because in addition to having a positive impact on Asian stocks, it also provides a new self confidence that Asia has formed an alliance that would at least fortify themselves (region with the resulting stimulus policy. This initiative to find a solution is eventually expanded, and was welcomed by ASEAN countries, known as ASEAN Plus Three. Since in Asia there is already the East Asia Summit (East Asia Summit, the negotiations and the name of the group changed into the 6 partner countries of ASEAN. These six countries are Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Asia-Pacific lube oil markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, N.

2001-01-01

An overview of the Asia-Pacific (AP) lubricating oils market, its special characteristics, and its role in the global economy are presented. In the 'boom and bust' years of 1997-1999, the Asia-Pacific market was even bigger then the US market. For the short-term, the scenario is surplus capacity and poor margins, but in the long term there is enormous potential for growth. How fuel demand and quality is related to engine type is discussed. The three basic grades of baseoils are described, and the Asia-Pacific lube demand and the Asia-Pacific lube oil supply are discussed. There are 15 diagrams giving data on: (i) finished lubes in world markets as a percentage of total; (ii) how lube demand follows GDP per capita in Asia; (iii) AP baseoil capacity relationships; (iv) AP baseoil disposition by end use; (v) AP changing shares of baseoil demand; (vi) AP finished lube demand by subregion; (vii) AP finished lube demand growth, indexed; (viii) AP baseoil capacity by region; Singapore baseoil vs. Dubai crude prices, 1992-99; (ix) Singapore baseoil vs. crude prices, 1992-99; (x) AP baseoil deficit moved to surplus; (xi) AP baseoil production; (xii) East Asia net percentage change in lube sales, 1997-1999. (xiii) Southeast Asia net percentage change in lube sales, 1997-1999; (xiv) South East Asia and Australia net percentage change in lube sales, 1997-1999 and (xv) Asia-Pacific major lube marketers

Transboundary smoke haze pollution in Malaysia: inpatient health impacts and economic valuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Jamal; Sahani, Mazrura; Mahmud, Mastura; Ahmad, Md Khadzir Sheikh

2014-06-01

This study assessed the economic value of health impacts of transboundary smoke haze pollution in Kuala Lumpur and adjacent areas in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Daily inpatient data from 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 for 14 haze-related illnesses were collected from four hospitals. On average, there were 19 hazy days each year during which the air pollution levels were within the Lower Moderate to Hazardous categories. No seasonal variation in inpatient cases was observed. A smoke haze occurrence was associated with an increase in inpatient cases by 2.4 per 10,000 populations each year, representing an increase of 31 percent from normal days. The average annual economic loss due to the inpatient health impact of haze was valued at MYR273,000 ($91,000 USD). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling of Trans-boundary Transport of Air Pollutants in the California-Mexico Border Region during Cal-Mex 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Bei, N.; Zavala, M. A.; Lei, W.; Li, G.; Molina, L. T.

2010-12-01

The US and Mexico share a common air basin along the ~200 km border between California and Baja California. The economical activities in this region are heavily influenced by the international trade and commerce between Mexico and the US that mainly occurs through the borders of the sister cities of San Diego-Tijuana and Calexico-Mexicali. The diversity and differences in the characteristics of emissions sources of air pollutants in the California-Mexico border region make this an important area for the study of the chemistry and trans-boundary transport of air pollutants. During May-June of 2010, the Cal-Mex 2010 field campaign included a series of measurements aimed at characterizing the emissions from major sources in the California-Mexico border region and assessing the possible impacts of these emissions on local and regional air quality. In this work we will present the results of the use of the Comprehensive Air quality model with extensions (CAMx) in a modeling domain that includes the sister cities of San Diego-Tijuana and Calexico-Mexicali for studying events of trans-boundary transport of air pollutants during Cal-Mex 2010. The measurements obtained during the Cal-Mex 2010 field campaign are used in the evaluation of the model performance and in the design of air quality improvement policies in the California-Mexico border region.

Vasijas conectadas: Asia Occidental y Asia Oriental en la Geopolítica de China

OpenAIRE

Yitzhak Shichor

2016-01-01

Las regiones de Asia Oriental y Asia Occidental (Oriente Medio) son normalmente tratadas en la literatura académica como dos asuntos separados y distintos dentro de la política exterior china. Los estudios acerca de la política de China en Asia Oriental apenas si mencionan Oriente Medio, mientras que los estudios de Oriente Medio apenas mencionan Asia Occidental. Pero de hecho ambas regiones no sólo están interconectadas en la visión geopolítica de Chin...

Transboundary aquifers: the response of international law and legal voids in Central America; Acuiferos transfronterizos: respuestas desde el derecho internacional y vacios en Centroamerica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boeglin, N.

2012-11-01

Central America is one of the regions of the world that will suffer the impact of climate change much more than others. The adoption of clear rules on the use of transboundary aquifers and on the need to preserve these groundwater reservoirs from serious pollution by the various states in the region is absolutely essential. Despite the lack of any bilateral or regional frameworks to rule on this issue, many general regulations have been adopted within the international framework of the United Nations that are applicable to shared surface and groundwater resources as well as to transboundary aquifers. The case of the Las Crucitas project in Costa Rica, halted by domestic tribunals thanks to the decisive action of its civilian society, reflects a clear lack of technical information concerning aquifers in Costa Rica, and probably in many other states in the region, despite the very valuable efforts being undertaken by the OAS and UNESCO under the aegis of the ISARM project for the Latin American region.

Preliminary spatio-temporal survey of radiological and chemical pollution in transboundary rivers between Turkey and Bulgaria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aytas, S.; Akyil, S.; Aslani, M. A. A.; Yusan, S.; Gok, C.; Karali, T.; Goekce, M.; Tuerkoezue, D. A.

2009-01-01

At present great number of river waters suffers from urban, industrial and agricultural pollutions. Inorganic and radioactive contaminants in the natural waters can be attributed to both-natural and anthropogenic sources and are of great significance to the water quality. The influence of industrial or agricultural discharges is of great danger to the river and creates high risk to the river environment. Analytical results of a water sample collected from a river could give information only on the momentary water status but continues monitoring of river water in a uniform and systematic way could give a complex ecological assessment of the environment. Their pollution is not confined to the state boundaries and will affect the neighboring downstream countries. This is the main reason for providing of cooperative investigations of common rivers in order to assess the possible transborder risk. Tunca (Tundja) is a transboundary river shared between Bulgaria and Turkey. The atershed of the river belongs to the East-Aegean Basin. Tundja is the largest affluent of the river Meric that joins the main river within Turkish territory. The Meric (Maritsa) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope mountains, past Plovdiv, to Edirne, Turkey. A small section of the northern branch of the river runs entirely in Turkey The Arda is a river whose source lies in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains near the town of Smolyan, flowing 290 kilometers eastward past Kardzhali and Ivaylovgrad and through Greece in the northern portion of the Evros prefecture including Kastanies. It then enters the Meric (Greek: Evros) just west of Edirne, Turkey. The purpose of this study is to measure natural radioactivity and some elements in the surface waters, sediments taken from Meric, Arda and Tunca Rivers in Turkey. Total of 29 river waters

Linked Analysis of East Asia Emission Reduction Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Y.; Woo, J. H.; Bu, C.; Lee, Y.; Kim, J.; Jang, Y.; Park, M.

2017-12-01

Air pollution and its impacts over the Northeast Asia are very severe because of the massive pollutant emissions and high population. Korea has been trying to improve air quality with the enhanced environmental legislation. The air quality over Korea, however, does not entirely dependent on its local emissions. Transboundary air pollution from China highly affects Korean atmosphere. The purpose of this research is to understand role of local and transbounday efforts to improve air quality changes over Korea. In this research, we have tried to set up the multiple emission scenario pathways for Korea and China using IIASA's GAINS (Greenhouse gas - Air pollution Interactions aNd Synergies) modeling framework. More up-to-date growth factors and control policy packets were made using regional socio-economic data and control policy information from local governments and international statistics. Four major scenario pathways, 1) Base (Baseline: current legislation), 2) OTB/OTB(On the book/On the way : existing control measure/planed control measure), 3) BOTW_GHG(Beyond on the way : OTW with GHG reduction plan), 4) BOTW_NH3 (OTW with additional NH3 reduction measure) were developed to represent air quality improvement pathways in consideration of both Korean and Chinese efforts. Strict ambient PM2.5 standards from Seoul metropolitan Air quality Improvement Plan(SAIP) seems too enthusiastic without linking air quality control efforts of China. Step-by-step emission controls and following air quality, control cost, health impact from each scenario will be presented at the conference. This subject is supported by Korea Ministry of Environment as "Climate Change Correspondence Program". And This work was supported under the framework of national strategy project on fine particulate matters by Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

Water balance and fertigation for crop improvement in West Asia. Results of a technical co-operation project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

Mediterranean countries have a severe shortage of water resources for agricultural, municipal and industrial purposes. This situation is aggravated daily due to the rapidly increasing population in the area. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water with about 80% of the renewable resource used for irrigation. Traditional irrigation methods are highly inefficient: only about one-third of the applied water is actually transpired by the crops. Clearly, there is great scope for improved irrigation management. Intensification of agricultural production to meet growing market demand requires the simultaneous application of irrigation water and fertilizers. Application of fertilizer in drip irrigation (fertigation) is an effective way to promote efficient use of these scarce and expensive resources. There is widespread interest in Mediterranean countries in fertigation. Nevertheless, information on the form and concentration of the nutrients required for different crops is presently inadequate. Moreover, the low fertilizer recoveries due to extensive fertilization practiced during the last few decades have created serious agricultural and environmental problems. High nitrate concentrations in groundwater and deterioration of some important quality parameters of agricultural products are the main concerns. Recognizing the potential role of nuclear techniques in identifying improved water and fertilizer management practices, the IAEA implemented two regional technical co-operation projects during the period 1995-2000 with eight participating countries from the West Asia region: The Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Syria Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The main objective was to establish water balance and fertigation practices using nuclear techniques, with a view to improving crop production in arid and semi-arid zones. The projects aimed to compare the following parameters under conventional fertilizer and water

Building Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change in Southeast Asia ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

The effects of climate change on Southeast Asia are well documented. Temperature increases have the potential to reduce water availability, affecting crop yields and food security. Coastal cities are vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding during periods of intense rainfall. Coastal ecosystems, plains and deltas are affected ...

Multi-model and multi-scenario assessments of Asian water futures: The Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Satoh, Yusuke; Kahil, Taher; Byers, Edward; Burek, Peter; Fischer, Günther; Tramberend, Sylvia; Greve, Peter; Flörke, Martina; Eisner, Stephanie; Hanasaki, Naota; Magnuszewski, Piotr; Nava, Luzma Fabiola; Cosgrove, William; Langan, Simon; Wada, Yoshihide

2017-07-01

This paper presents one of the first quantitative scenario assessments for future water supply and demand in Asia to 2050. The assessment, developed by the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative, uses the latest set of global climate change and socioeconomic scenarios and state-of-the-art global hydrological models. In Asia, water demand for irrigation, industry, and households is projected to increase substantially in the coming decades (30-40% by 2050 compared to 2010). These changes are expected to exacerbate water stress, especially in the current hotspots such as north India and Pakistan, and north China. By 2050, 20% of the land area in the Asia-Pacific region, with a population of 1.6-2 billion, is projected to experience severe water stress. We find that socioeconomic changes are the main drivers of worsening water scarcity in Asia, with climate change impacts further increasing the challenge into the 21st century. Moreover, a detailed basin-level analysis of the hydro-economic conditions of 40 Asian basins shows that although the coping capacity of all basins is expected to improve due to gross domestic product (GDP) growth, some basins continuously face severe water challenges. These basins will potentially be home to up to 1.6 billion people by mid-21st century.

Land–Atmosphere Exchange of Water and Heat in the Arid Mountainous Grasslands of Central Asia during the Growing Season

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaotao Huang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Arid grassland ecosystems are widely distributed across Central Asia. However, there is a lack of research and observations of the land–atmosphere exchange of water and heat in the arid grasslands in this region, particularly over complex surfaces. In this study, systematic observations were conducted from 2013 to 2015 using an HL20 Bowen ratio and TDR300 and WatchDog1400 systems to determine the characteristics of these processes during the growing season (April–October of the arid mountainous grasslands of this region. (1 The latent heat flux (Le was lower than the sensible heat flux (He overall, and a small transient decrease in Le was observed before its daytime maximum; daily comparative variations in both fluxes were closely related to vegetation growth. (2 Evapotranspiration (ET showed substantial variation across different years, seasons and months, and monthly variations in ET were closely related to vegetation growth. Water condensation (Q was low and relatively stable. Relatively high levels of soil water were measured in spring followed by a decreasing trend. The land–atmosphere exchange of water and heat during the growing season in this region was closely associated with phenology, available precipitation and terrain. This study provides data support for the scientific management of arid mountainous grasslands.

Energy in Asia. An Outline of Some Strategic Energy Issues in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiesow, Ingolf

2003-01-01

The Asian countries are expected to generate 45% of the world energy consumption and Japan is the absolutely greatest consumer in Asia, but China is the country that will be most important as a new consumer on the world energy markets. China, like India and later possibly even Japan try to change to natural gas as a source of energy as much as possible. This is causing a competition about the resources that can be reached by pipelines for gas, which in practice means those in Russia and Central Asia. Russia is trying to control the gas in Central Asia. The competition is also increasing about oil. China is becoming heavily dependent on Muslim countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. This also leads to an effort to increase the safety along the sea lanes, which may collide with the interests of other countries. Territorial conflicts with gas and oil as underlying elements exist in Asia. USA is a player on the energy market, who is using military means as well, but it is possible that in the short perspective, the American acting may not seriously disturb European interests. In the long term perspective, however, the American activity can cause potential conflicts between USA and the Muslim world, that also affects the relations between Europe and its Muslim neighbours. China and other Asian countries may choose a more pro-islamic line of policy in order to gain advantages in the competition about oil and gas. Europe (and Sweden) ought not to wait until the countries of Asia have finalised their negotiations with Russia and Central Asia about access to resources of natural gas but instead form a clear strategy for negotiations built on its own present demand and act accordingly

Energy in Asia. An Outline of Some Strategic Energy Issues in Asia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiesow, Ingolf

2003-01-01

The Asian countries are expected to generate 45% of the world energy consumption and Japan is the absolutely greatest consumer in Asia, but China is the country that will be most important as a new consumer on the world energy markets. China, like India and later possibly even Japan try to change to natural gas as a source of energy as much as possible. This is causing a competition about the resources that can be reached by pipelines for gas, which in practice means those in Russia and Central Asia. Russia is trying to control the gas in Central Asia. The competition is also increasing about oil. China is becoming heavily dependent on Muslim countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. This also leads to an effort to increase the safety along the sea lanes, which may collide with the interests of other countries. Territorial conflicts with gas and oil as underlying elements exist in Asia. USA is a player on the energy market, who is using military means as well, but it is possible that in the short perspective, the American acting may not seriously disturb European interests. In the long term perspective, however, the American activity can cause potential conflicts between USA and the Muslim world, that also affects the relations between Europe and its Muslim neighbours. China and other Asian countries may choose a more pro-lslamic line of policy in order to gain advantages in the competition about oil and gas. Europe (and Sweden) ought not to wait until the countries of Asia have finalised their negotiations with Russia and Central Asia about access to resources of natural gas but instead form a clear strategy for negotiations built on its own present demand and act accordingly.

SMART - IWRM : Integrated Water Resources Management in the Lower Jordan Rift Valley; Project Report Phase I (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7597)

OpenAIRE

Wolf, Leif; Hötzl, Heinz [Hrsg.

2011-01-01

This book provides an overview of the large scale Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) research program SMART at the Lower Jordan River Basin which aims at local implementation, knowledge & capacity building. The focus of the first phase is placed on decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse, water quality including emerging pollutants, management and modelling of groundwater systems, artificial recharge, socio-economic frameworks, a transboundary database and decision support tools.

Mapping lake level changes using ICESat/GLAS satellite laser altimetry data: a case study in arid regions of central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Li, JunLi; Fang, Hui; Yang, Liao

2011-12-01

Lakes in arid regions of Central Asia act as essential components of regional water cycles, providing sparse but valuable water resource for the fragile ecological environments and human lives. Lakes in Central Asia are sensitive to climate change and human activities, and great changes have been found since 1960s. Mapping and monitoring these inland lakes would improve our understanding of mechanism of lake dynamics and climatic impacts. ICESat/GLAS satellite laser altimetry provides an efficient tool of continuously measuring lake levels in these poorly surveyed remote areas. An automated mapping scheme of lake level changes is developed based on GLAS altimetry products, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of 9 typical lakes in Central Asia are analyzed to validate the level accuracies. The results show that ICESat/GLAS has a good performance of lake level monitoring, whose patterns of level changes are the same as those of field observation, and the max differences between GLAS and field data is 3cm. Based on the results, it is obvious that alpine lakes are increasing greatly in lake levels during 2003-2009 due to climate change, while open lakes with dams and plain endorheic lakes decrease dramatically in water levels due to human activities, which reveals the overexploitation of water resource in Central Asia.

11th Magdeburg seminar on waters in Central and Eastern Europe: Assessment, protection, management. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geller, W.

2004-01-01

The meeting was held October 2004 in Leipzig. The 148 contributions and lectures were pooled under the following session headers: Ecological impacts of flooding, flood risk modelling, socio-economic issues of water framework directive, Nitrogen-transport, methods development,sediments, flood protection and Mitigation, flood risk management, draughts, pollutants impact, integrated assessment, transboundary problems, groundwater, land use, modelling and plankton, fish biota. (uke)

Can a change in cropping patterns produce water savings and social gains: A case study from the Fergana Valley, Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karimov Akmal Kh.

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The study examines possible water savings by replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley, located upstream of the Syrdarya River in Central Asia. Agricultural reforms since the 1990s have promoted this change in cropping patterns in the Central Asian states to enhance food security and social benefits. The water use of alfalfa, winter wheat/fallow, and winter wheat/green gram (double cropping systems is compared for high-deficit, low-deficit, and full irrigation scenarios using hydrological modeling with the HYDRUS-1D software package. Modeling results indicate that replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley released significant water resources, mainly by reducing productive crop transpiration when abandoning alfalfa in favor of alternative cropping systems. However, the winter wheat/fallow cropping system caused high evaporation losses from fallow land after harvesting of winter wheat. Double cropping (i.e., the cultivation of green gram as a short duration summer crop after winter wheat harvesting reduced evaporation losses, enhanced crop output and hence food security, while generating water savings that make more water available for other productive uses. Beyond water savings, this paper also discusses the economic and social gains that double cropping produces for the public within a broader developmental context.

Export of dissolved carbonaceous and nitrogenous substances in rivers of the "Water Tower of Asia".

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Bin; Sillanpää, Mika; Kang, Shichang; Yan, Fangping; Li, Zhiguo; Zhang, Hongbo; Li, Chaoliu

2018-03-01

Rivers are critical links in the carbon and nitrogen cycle in aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments. Here riverine carbon and nitrogen exports in nine large rivers on the Tibetan Plateau - the "Water Tower of Asia" - were investigated in the monsoon season from 2013 to 2015. Compared with the world average, concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC, 30.7mg/L) were high in river basins of the plateau due to extensive topographic relief and intensive water erosion. Low concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC, 1.16mg/L) were likely due to the low temperature and unproductive land vegetation environments. Average concentrations of riverine DIN (0.32mg/L) and DON (0.35 mg/L) on the Tibetan Plateau were close to the world average. However, despite its predominantly pristine environment, discharge from agricultural activities and urban areas of the plateau has raised riverine N export. In addition, DOC/DON ratio (C/N, ~6.5) in rivers of the Tibetan Plateau was much lower than the global average, indicating that dissolved organic carbon in the rivers of this region might be more bioavailable. Therefore, along with global warming and anthropogenic activities, increasing export of bioavailable riverine carbon and nitrogen from rivers of the Tibetan Plateau can be expected in the future, which will possibly influence the regional carbon and nitrogen cycle. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Sumatera Air Asia Training Center (Arsitektur Metafora)

OpenAIRE

Susanto, William

2015-01-01

Sumatera Air Asia Training Center as Air Asia training facility’s construction have a propose to train the Air Asia air craft crew who will be the employee of the Air Asia Airlines.Beside the main function;training facility for the Air Asia Crew; the other airline’s crew can be train by a cooperation with Air Asia.The aircraft crew that can be train in this facility is pilot initial, pilot type-rating, pilot recurrent, ATPL, Flight attendant initial and recurrent..This facility ha...

Colloquium on Central Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This colloquium on Azerbaijan was organized by the direction of international relations of the French Senate and the French center of foreign trade (CFCE). This document gathers the interventions of the participants and the debates with the audience following these interventions. The topics treated concern: - the present day political-economical situation of Central Asia countries (problem of borders, relations with Russia and China); - the economies of Central Asia countries: short term problems and medium-term perspectives; - the relations with the European Union (political, economical, trade and investments, perspectives); - the European energy stakes of Caspian sea (oil and gas reserves, development of hydrocarbon resources, exploitation and transport constraints, stakes for Europe and France); - TotalFinaElf company in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, enclavement problem); - the economical impacts of the TRACECA pathway (Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia). (J.S.)

Zika virus in Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veasna Duong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Zika virus (ZIKV is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first isolated from a sentinel rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947. In Asia, the virus was isolated in Malaysia from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in 1966, and the first human infections were reported in 1977 in Central Java, Indonesia. In this review, all reported cases of ZIKV infection in Asia as of September 1, 2016 are summarized and some of the hypotheses that could currently explain the apparently low incidence of Zika cases in Asia are explored.

Transboundary water management Game-theoretic lessons for projects on the US-Mexico border*

OpenAIRE

Frisvold, George B.; Caswell, Margriet F.

2000-01-01

Of the twelve million people who live within 100 km of the US-Mexico border, 90 percent are clustered in trans boundary sister cities that share common water sources and pollution problems. New institutions created to address environmental concerns over NAFTA offer the promise of greater financial and technical assistance for water management in border cities. This paper reviews US-Mexico border water issues and institutions. Using insights from game theory, it draws policy lessons for instit...

Analysis of air quality at Osoyoos, British Columbia border air quality station (Nov 2004 - Sep 2006) : an analysis of trans-boundary air pollution transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyn, S.; Hay, J.; Vingarzan, R.; Farris, S.

2007-05-01

The purpose of the border air quality study, under the Canada-United States (US) international airshed strategy, was to assess the transboundary transport of air pollutants between the US and Canada. This report presented an analysis of pollutants in ambient air and assessed their most likely source location and transport direction. The pollutants of most interest were fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ground-level ozone (O 3 ) due to their association with human health effects. The data analyzed in this report represent just under two years of meteorological, air quality, and traffic volume data. Data was collected at the Osoyoos Canada customs site from November 2004 to September 2006. Osoyoos is located at the southern Canadian extreme of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The report provided data summaries and discussed meteorology and elevated concentration conditions of PM 2.5 ; O 3 ; nitric oxide (NO); nitrogen; and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ). Next, the report provided a multi-pollutant analysis as well as an episode analysis consisting of 4 case studies. The report also included an analysis of transboundary pollutant transport such as a wind sector analysis of pollutant concentration and comparison with modeled transport. Last, the report provided a summary and a discussion of policy implications. It was concluded that US-Canada transboundary transport of pollutants occurs through the Okanagan Valley in which the Osoyoos Canada Customs border air quality station is located. The study recommended further investigation of air parcel trajectories and synoptic-scale conditions leading to elevated O 3 concentrations, as well as the collection of at least 3 full years worth of PM 2.5 and O 3 data to calculate and measure against Canada-wide standards/US national ambient air quality objectives. refs., tabs., figs

TIGER-NET – enabling an Earth Observation capacity for Integrated Water Resource Management in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Walli, A.; Tøttrup, C.; Naeimi, V.

As part of the TIGER initiative [1] the TIGER-NET project aims to support the assessment and monitoring of water resources from watershed to transboundary basin level delivering indispensable information for Integrated Water Resource Management in Africa through: 1. Development of an open......-source Water Observation and Information Systems (WOIS) for monitoring, assessing and inventorying water resources in a cost-effective manner; 2. Capacity building and training of African water authorities and technical centers to fully exploit the increasing observation capacity offered by current...... and upcoming generations of satellites, including the Sentinel missions. Dedicated application case studies have been developed and demonstrated covering all EO products required by and developed with the participating African water authorities for their water resource management tasks, such as water reservoir...

Water Accounting Plus for sustainable water management in the Volta river basin, West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Dembélé, Moctar; Schaefli, Bettina; Mariéthoz, Grégroire; Ceperley, Natalie; Zwart, Sander J.

2017-04-01

Water Accounting Plus (WA+) is a standard framework that provides estimates of manageable and unmanageable water flows, stocks, consumption among users, and interactions with land use. The water balance terms are estimated based on remotely sensed data from online open access databases. The main difference with other methods is the use of spatiotemporal data, limiting the errors due to the use of static data. So far, no studies have incorporated climate change scenarios in the WA+ framework to assess future water resources, which would be desirable for developing mitigation and adaptation policies. Moreover WA+ has been implemented using remote sensing data while hydrological models data can also be used as inputs for projections on the future water accounts. This study aims to address the above challenges by providing quantified information on the current and projected state of the Volta basin water resources through the WA+ framework. The transboundary Volta basin in West Africa is vulnerable to floods and droughts that damage properties and take lives. Residents are dependent on subsistence agriculture, mainly rainfed, which is sensitive to changes and variation in the climate. Spatially, rainfall shows high spatiotemporal variability with a south-north gradient of increasing aridity. As in many basins in semi-arid environments, most of the rainfall in the Volta basin returns to the atmosphere. The competition for scarce water resources will increase in the near future due to the combined effects of urbanization, economic development, and rapid population growth. Moreover, upstream and downstream countries do not agree on their national priorities regarding the use of water and this brings tensions among them. Burkina Faso increasingly builds small and medium reservoirs for small-scale irrigation, while Ghana seeks to increase electricity production. Information on current and future water resources and uses is thus fundamental for water actors. The adopted

Novel and emergent sandfly-borne phleboviruses in Asia Minor: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ergunay, Koray; Ayhan, Nazli; Charrel, Remi N

2017-03-01

Sandfly-transmitted phleboviruses are globally spread agents causing febrile diseases and central nervous system infections. The activity of pathogenic phleboviruses, as well as several novel strains, has been reported from Turkey, a transboundary country connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa with suitable habitats for sandflies. This study overviews all published data on phleboviruses from Turkey and evaluates the impact from the virological, epidemiological, and public health perspectives. A systematic review of Web-based global and local resources was performed. Comparison and phylogenetic analyses of particular phlebovirus sequences were also undertaken. Through the evaluation of 1693 international and regional entries, 31 manuscripts providing data on case reports or outbreaks, serological surveillance, animal infections and exposure, virus characterization, vector surveillance, and/or diagnostics were accessed. Detailed information on 5 novel phleboviruses completely or partially characterized during 2008-2015 as well as on clinical and epidemiological features of major phleboviruses established as human pathogens such as Toscana virus and sandfly fever Sicilian virus has been compiled. The ongoing activity of these agents, as indicated by consistently reported symptomatic cases and confirmed exposure in vertebrates including humans, was noted. The circulation in the Anatolian peninsula of phleboviruses with surprising diversity as well as distinct virus species is documented. Specific phlebovirus strains constitute a public health threat for local populations and travelers and must be considered in the diagnostic workup of clinically compatible cases. Human health impact and epidemiological aspects of certain viruses require further investigation via intensive surveillance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characteristics of gastric cancer in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Rubayat; Asombang, Akwi W; Ibdah, Jamal A

2014-04-28

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cancer in the world with more than 70% of cases occur in the developing world. More than 50% of cases occur in Eastern Asia. GC is the second leading cause of cancer death in both sexes worldwide. In Asia, GC is the third most common cancer after breast and lung and is the second most common cause of cancer death after lung cancer. Although the incidence and mortality rates are slowly declining in many countries of Asia, GC still remains a significant public health problem. The incidence and mortality varies according to the geographic area in Asia. These variations are closely related to the prevalence of GC risk factors; especially Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and its molecular virulent characteristics. The gradual and consistent improvements in socioeconomic conditions in Asia have lowered the H. pylori seroprevalence rates leading to a reduction in the GC incidence. However, GC remains a significant public health and an economic burden in Asia. There has been no recent systemic review of GC incidence, mortality, and H. pylori molecular epidemiology in Asia. The aim of this report is to review the GC incidence, mortality, and linkage to H. pylori in Asia.

Asia electricity study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priddle, R.

1997-01-01

Electricity demand in Asia has grown and continues to grow rapidly. Over 40 per cent of the world's growth in electricity output up to 2010 is expected to come from China and East and South Asia. The need to build the additional production capacity to meet demand is the driving force behind the major structural and institutional changes that are presently transforming the electricity sectors throughout the region. The Asia Electricity Study looks in detail at the current and future role of the electricity sectors in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. It analyses existing and planned electricity policies in areas such as financing regulation, environment and end-use efficiency. To build the region's power infrastructure will require large investments, well beyond what governments or multilateral lending institutions can provide. Consequently, mobilizing private sector participation in the process is vital. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are being allowed to enter what has, until recently, been a government-dominated field. State-owned utilities are being corporatized and/or privatized to improve their competitiveness. Developing the regulatory environment to match the changes taking place is a key challenge. The significant expansion of generation capacity in Asia will have implications well beyond the region. Changes in energy trade volumes and patterns, caused by the need to obtain fuel for power stations, will have an impact on the energy security of Asia and the world as a whole Similarly, fuel and technology choices will have important consequences for both the regional and global environment. (author)

Game Theoretic Resolution of Water Conflicts

Science.gov (United States)

Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.

2017-12-01

Water disputes are of multi-disciplinary nature and involve an array of natural, hydrological,social, political and economic issues. Operations Research based decision making methodshave been found to facilitate mathematical analysis of such multifaceted problems thatconsist of multiple stakeholders and their conflicting objectives. Game Theoretic techniqueslike Metagame and Hypergame Analysis can provide a framework for conceptualizing waterconflicts and envisaging their potential solutions. In the present research, firstly a Metagamemodel has been developed to identify range of plausible equilibrium outcomes for resolvingconflicts pertaining to water apportionments in a transboundary watercourse. Further, it hasbeen observed that the contenders often hide their strategies from other players to getfavorable water allocations. Consequently, there are widespread misinterpretations about thetactics of the competitors and contenders have to formulate their strategies entirely based ontheir perception about others. Accordingly, a Hypergame study has also been conducted tomodel the probable misperceptions that may exist amongst the river riparians. Thus, thecurrent study assesses the efficacy of Game Theoretic techniques as possible redressalmechanism for water conflicts.

International tuberculosis research collaborations within Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Molton, James S; Singh, Shweta; Chen, Ling Jun; Paton, Nicholas I

2017-09-07

Asia bears more than half the global tuberculosis (TB) burden. Economic development in the region has increased available funding for biomedical research and opportunity for collaboration. We explored the extent of international tuberculosis research collaborations between institutions within Asia. We conducted a Pubmed search for all articles with tuberculosis in the title published during a 12 month period with at least one author affiliation listed in Asia, then identified international collaborations from institution websites and internet searches. We identified 99 international collaborations involving an institution within Asia, of which only 8 (8.1%) were collaborations between Asian institutions. The remainder were with institutions outside of Asia. The paucity of intra-Asian international research collaboration represents a lost opportunity to optimise regional research funding, capacity building and the development of an Asia-relevant TB research agenda.

Potential and Challenges of Low-Cost and High-Tech Crowd-sensing Approaches in Hydrometeorology for Better Water Resources Management - Insights and Learnings from the Global iMoMo Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Siegfried, Tobias

2016-04-01

In developing and transition countries and despite significant global investments in hydrometeorology, data on water remain scarce/fragmented. One key reason is that traditional sensing in hydrology, hydro- and agro-meteorology does not scale because of high investment costs and difficult maintenance of traditional technology, esp. in remote and/or poor regions. Even where there are data, these are often difficult to access and interpret for local stakeholders due outdated data transmission and the lack of access to modern tools for data management/analysis/synthesis and exchange. In recent years, there have been substantial technology developments in environmental sensing and mobile communication technology that enable the application and deployment of affordable and scalable high-tech solutions for better water monitoring at different scales (local to transboundary levels). The WMO is acknowledging and promoting the potential for application of these technologies. One key aspect is to anchor these technologies in local communities that perform crowd-sensing tasks on a regular basis. The merits as well as challenges (including introduction of human factor, less accuracy as compared to traditional sensing, intermittency of data, …) of such approaches will be discussed in the context of the WMO-led Global iMoMo Initiative and its numerous activities on the ground in Eastern and Southern Africa as well as in Central Asia.

Regional and international approaches on prevention and control of animal transboundary and emerging diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenech, J; Lubroth, J; Eddi, C; Martin, V; Roger, F

2006-10-01

Transboundary animal diseases pose a serious risk to the world animal agriculture and food security and jeopardize international trade. The world has been facing devastating economic losses from major outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) such as foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants (PPR), and Rift Valley fever. Lately the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) due to H5N1 virus, has become an international crisis as all regions around the world can be considered at risk. In the past decades, public health authorities within industrialized countries have been faced with an increasing number of food safety issues. The situation is equally serious in developing countries. The globalization of food (and feed) trade, facilitated by the liberalization of world trade, while offering many benefits and opportunities, also represents new risks. The GF-TADs Global Secretariat has carried out several regional consultations for the identification of priority diseases and best ways for their administration, prevention and control. In the questionnaires carried out and through the consultative process, it was noted that globally, FMD was ranked as the first and foremost priority. Rift Valley fever, and today highly pathogenic avian influenza, are defined as major animal diseases which also affect human health. PPR and CBPP, a disease which is particularly serious in Africa and finally, African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) are also regionally recognised as top priorities on which the Framework is determined to work. The FAO philosophy--shared by the OIE--embraces the need to prevent and control TADs and emerging diseases at their source, which is most of the time in developing countries. Regional and international approaches have to be followed, and the FAO and OIE GF-TADs initiative provides the appropriate concepts and objectives as well as an organizational framework to link international and

Mobile banking in Asia

OpenAIRE

Anne Ho

2010-01-01

Technology has transformed the banking industry with the introduction of mobile banking services that offer unprecedented convenience and accessibility to customers. This Asia Focus report describes the various approaches to mobile banking in Asia, and examines how particular countries have addressed regulatory issues.

International Direct Investment and Transboundary Pollution: An Empirical Analysis of Complex Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuping Deng

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Using complex networks and spatial econometric methods, we empirically test the extent to which a country’s influence and its position in an international investment network affect environmental quality as well as the country’s role in transboundary pollution transfer. The estimated results show that the ties connecting nodes together in an international investment network have significant impacts on global environmental pollution. Additionally, node linkages between developing countries have stronger negative effects on environmental quality than node linkages between developed countries. Moreover, greater node importance and node centrality accelerate the speed and scale of the growth of polluting industries, which allows developed countries to more easily transfer their pollution-intensive industries to developing countries that possess higher node dependency. We also find that the factor endowment effect coexists with the pollution haven effect, the effects of environmental regulation advantage in the international investment network are greater than the impact of factor endowment advantage.

Transboundary radioactive and chemical pollution simulation using an atmospheric/marine predicting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telenta, B.; Antic, D.

2001-01-01

The atmospheric models can be used to simulate the transport of contaminants in typical accidental cases and for realistic meteorological conditions. Some numerical models for weather forecast can be used for near to real simulations of propagation of radioactive nuclides or classical chemical pollutants to the atmosphere. The various meteorological parameters are taken into account and various meteorological conditions, even complex ones, can be analyzed. The models can be used for very well assessment of the airborne pollution from energy sources and industrial installations, for comparative studies and for safety analysis. This report describes an proposal for a project of the transboundary pollution simulation, that can be used for the East Mediterranean Region. The project is based on the numerical models developed in the in simulating of the Chernobyl accident and similar hypothetical cases. The study is based on an atmospheric models developed in Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICoD), Foundation for International Studies, Valeta, Malta

A Water Resources Planning Tool for the Jordan River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Bonzi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The Jordan River basin is subject to extreme and increasing water scarcity. Management of transboundary water resources in the basin is closely intertwined with political conflicts in the region. We have jointly developed with stakeholders and experts from the riparian countries, a new dynamic consensus database and—supported by hydro-climatological model simulations and participatory scenario exercises in the GLOWA (Global Change and the Hydrological Cycle Jordan River project—a basin-wide Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP tool, which will allow testing of various unilateral and multilateral adaptation options under climate and socio-economic change. We present its validation and initial (climate and socio-economic scenario analyses with this budget and allocation tool, and invite further adaptation and application of the tool for specific Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM problems.

How Widely Applicable is River Basin Management? An Analysis of Wastewater Management in an Arid Transboundary Case

Science.gov (United States)

Dombrowsky, Ines; Almog, Ram; Becker, Nir; Feitelson, Eran; Klawitter, Simone; Lindemann, Stefan; Mutlak, Natalie

2010-05-01

The basin scale has been promoted universally as the optimal management unit that allows for the internalization of all external effects caused by multiple water uses. However, the basin scale has been put forward largely on the basis of experience in temperate zones. Hence whether the basin scale is the best scale for management in other settings remains questionable. To address these questions this paper analyzes the economic viability and the political feasibility of alternative management options in the Kidron/Wadi Nar region. The Kidron/Wadi Nar is a small basin in which wastewater from eastern Jerusalem flows through the desert to the Dead Sea. Various options for managing these wastewater flows were analyzed ex ante on the basis of both a cost benefit and a multi-criteria analysis. The paper finds that due to economies of scale, a pure basin approach is not desirable from a physical and economic perspective. Furthermore, in terms of political feasibility, it seems that the option which prompts the fewest objections from influential stakeholder groups in the two entities under the current asymmetrical political setting is not a basin solution either, but a two plant solution based on an outsourcing arrangement. These findings imply that the river basin management approach can not be considered the best management approach for the arid transboundary case at hand, and hence is not unequivocally universally applicable.

Remotely-Sensed Mapping of Irrigation Area in the Chu-Talas River Basin in Central Asia and Application to Compliance Monitoring of Transboundary Water Sharing

Science.gov (United States)

Ragettli, S.; Siegfried, T.; Herberz, T.

2017-12-01

In the Central Asian Chu-Talas River Basin, farmers depend on freshwater from international rivers to irrigate their fields during the summer growing season. While the allocation percentages of water sharing between up- and downstream are defined for both rivers, marked interannual supply variability plus inadequate monitoring renders the compliance with these quotas difficult. In such circumstances, data on irrigated area obtained by remote sensing can be used to map the extent of irrigation in terms of its area on at national and subnational scales. Due to its transparency on how the data was obtained (freely available satellite data) and processed, this objective measure could potentially be used as a data product for confidence building and for compliance monitoring. This study assesses the extent and location of irrigated areas over the period 2000 - 2016 in the basins by using state-of-the-art remote sensing technology. Using a random forest classifier, an automated irrigated cropland mapping algorithm was implemented in Google Earth Engine using Landsat 7 data. First, a training set was established through visual interpretation (irrigated and non-irrigated classes for the year 2015) and the classifier then trained. The classier was then applied on a series of seasonal greenest pixels image mosaics from 2000 to 2016. A four-stepped accuracy assessment confirmed that the classifier yielded robust, reliable and reproducible results. Outcomes indicate that irrigated areas in the Kyrgyz side of the Talas Basin approximately doubled by 2016 since 2000 while the irrigated area in the Kazakh part of the basin did not significantly change over the 17 year time period. In the Chu River Basin, total irrigated area tripled since 2000. Comparison with officially reported statistics shows differences and points to reporting issues in both countries. We conclude that remote sensing of irrigated areas in arid and semi-arid regions in combination with cloud computing offers

Protecting access to water from urban sprawl, climate change in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-05-13

May 13, 2011 ... Water is scarce for residents on the edge of South Asia's expanding cities. ... and a changing climate affect water security in peri-urban South Asia and find fair and sustainable ... Villages in Nepal prepare for weather extremes.

Isotope applications in hydrology in Asia and the Pacific

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The Proceedings of the Regional Executive Management Seminar on Isotope Techniques in Water Resources Development and Management and the Regional Workshop on Isotope Hydrology for Asia and the Pacific organized by the IAEA and held in Beijing between 15-26 June 1987 includes the review papers and the technical papers presented. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 21 papers. Refs, figs and tabs

River Rehabilitation for Conservation of Fish Biodiversity in Monsoonal Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Dudgeon

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Freshwater biodiversity is under threat worldwide, but the intensity of threat in the Oriental biogeographic region of tropical Asia is exceptional. Asia is the most densely populated region on Earth. Many rivers in that region are grossly polluted, and significant portions of their drainage basins and floodplains have been deforested or otherwise degraded. Flow regulation has been practiced for centuries, and thousands of dams have been constructed, with the result that most of the rivers are now dammed, often at several points along their course. Irrigation, hydropower, and flood security are among the perceived benefits. Recent water engineering projects in Asia have been exceptionally aggressive; they include the world's largest and tallest dams in China and a water transfer scheme intended to link India's major rivers. Some of these projects, i.e., those on the Mekong, have international ramifications that have yet to be fully played out. Overexploitation has exacerbated the effects of habitat alterations on riverine biodiversity, particularly that of fishes. Some fishery stocks have collapsed, and many fish and other vertebrate species are threatened with extinction. The pressure from growing impoverished human populations, increasingly concentrated in cities, has forced governments to focus on economic development rather than environmental protection and conservation. Although legislation has been introduced to control water pollution, which is a danger to human health. it is not explicitly intended to protect biodiversity. Where legislation has been enforced, it can be effective against point-source polluters, but it has not significantly reduced the huge quantities of organic pollution from agricultural and domestic sources that contaminate rivers such as the Ganges and Yangtze. River scientists in Asia appear to have had little influence on policy makers or the implementation of water development projects. Human demands from

Impacts of long-range transboundary air pollution. Report prepared within the framework of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This eighth volume of the series of Air Pollution Studies, published under the auspices of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, contains the documents reviewed and approved for publication at the ninth session of the Executive Body held at Geneva from 18 to 22 November 1991. Part one is the Annual Review of Strategies and Policies for Air Pollution Abatement. Part two describes the critical load concept and the role of the best available technology and other approaches in air pollution abatement strategies. The report analyses the aim, elements and examples of the use of the receptor-oriented or effect-based critical load approach. It also evaluates the role of the source-oriented or technology-based approach as a supplement, rather than an alternative, to the critical load approach. The report contains a table with examples of national target loads for acidity or sulphur as well as preliminary European maps of critical loads of actual acidity, sulphur, present load computation of sulphur and the exceedance of the critical load of sulphur. Part three is an executive summary of the 1990 Forest Damage Survey in Europe, carried out under the International Co-operative Programme for Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests. Part four is an executive summary of the interim report on cause/effect relationships in forest decline. Part five reviews recent research results on effects of acid deposition on atmospheric corrosion of materials

The Transboundary Aquifer Management Challenge: Linking Landscape Patterns and Groundwater Nitrate Concentrations in the Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer, USA/Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, T.; Gergel, S. E.

2015-12-01

Changes in land use and landscape pattern can have an array of impacts on aquatic systems, including impacts which span international waters and borders. Globally, agricultural land use patterns and practices are among the factors responsible for elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater aquifers. Coordination of landscape monitoring across trans-boundary aquifers is needed to monitor and address contamination issues as landscape patterns can vary widely among different political jurisdictions. Landscape indicators, which quantify the amount and arrangement of land cover (such as proportion and abundance of land cover types), are one such way to improve our understanding of cross-border aquatic system interactions. In Western North America, the Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer (ASA) spans the US-Canada border and provides drinking water for over 100,000 people. Intensive agriculture combined with high precipitation and well-drained soils make this aquifer susceptible to nitrate leaching. To understand how landscape patterns influence nitrate concentrations, we ask: Which landscape indicators correlate most strongly with elevated nitrate concentrations? A seamless cross-border land cover mosaic was created by harmonizing a variety of US and Canadian geodata. Auxiliary high spatial resolution imagery (e.g., 5m RapidEye and historical Google Earth) were used to quantify fine-scale landscape features (such as number of farm field renovations) with suspected mechanistic links to nitrate sources. We examined groundwater nitrate concentrations in shallow wells (screens Environment Canada. Surrounding each well, terrestrial zones of influence (aligned with the directional flow of groundwater) were delineated within which landscape patterns were characterized. Multiple regression was used to compare the strength of relationships between land use practices and nitrate concentrations. Preliminary results show strong positive correlations between area of raspberry renovations and

Towards the Joint-Management of Transboundary Groundwaters: Hydrogeology and the Guarani Aquifer System; Hacia una gestion compartida de las aguas subterraneas transfronterizas: la Hidrogeologia y el Sistema Acuifero Guarani

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, M.

2012-11-01

In stark contrast to other international waters such as shared rivers or lakes, transboundary groundwaters are rarely co-managed. Management initiatives for shared groundwaters depend on scientific knowledge, which is often unavailable, and are influenced by a multiplicity of local issues that preclude the straightforward implementation of regulatory mechanisms. Drawing from historical documents and interviews with management experts, scientists and socio-economic stake holders, we examine the roles of science and scientific co-operation in the process that led to the creation of co-management instruments for the Guarani aquifer system. This analytical approach purposely sidesteps archetypical discussion about geopolitical differences and the incompatibility of institutional settings, arguing instead that hydrogeological knowledge is a constitutive dimension of the decision-making process, in which it operates both as a tool for the re framing of preferences as a challenge to established institutional frameworks. (Author)

Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Bo; Xu, Shuhua; Wang, Yi; Lu, Yan; Wei, Lanhai; Wang, Chuanchao; Li, Shilin; Huang, Xingqiu; Jin, Li; Li, Hui

2011-01-01

Molecular anthropological studies of the populations in and around East Asia have resulted in the discovery that most of the Y-chromosome lineages of East Asians came from Southeast Asia. However, very few Southeast Asian populations had been investigated, and therefore, little was known about the purported migrations from Southeast Asia into East Asia and their roles in shaping the genetic structure of East Asian populations. Here, we present the Y-chromosome data from 1,652 individuals belonging to 47 Mon-Khmer (MK) and Hmong-Mien (HM) speaking populations that are distributed primarily across Southeast Asia and extend into East Asia. Haplogroup O3a3b-M7, which appears mainly in MK and HM, indicates a strong tie between the two groups. The short tandem repeat network of O3a3b-M7 displayed a hierarchical expansion structure (annual ring shape), with MK haplotypes being located at the original point, and the HM and the Tibeto-Burman haplotypes distributed further away from core of the network. Moreover, the East Asian dominant haplogroup O3a3c1-M117 shows a network structure similar to that of O3a3b-M7. These patterns indicate an early unidirectional diffusion from Southeast Asia into East Asia, which might have resulted from the genetic drift of East Asian ancestors carrying these two haplogroups through many small bottle-necks formed by the complicated landscape between Southeast Asia and East Asia. The ages of O3a3b-M7 and O3a3c1-M117 were estimated to be approximately 19 thousand years, followed by the emergence of the ancestors of HM lineages out of MK and the unidirectional northward migrations into East Asia. PMID:21904623

Significant geographic gradients in particulate sulfate over Japan determined from multiple-site measurements and a chemical transport model: Impacts of transboundary pollution from the Asian continent

Science.gov (United States)

Aikawa, Masahide; Ohara, Toshimasa; Hiraki, Takatoshi; Oishi, Okihiro; Tsuji, Akihiro; Yamagami, Makiko; Murano, Kentaro; Mukai, Hitoshi

2010-01-01

We found a significant geographic gradient (longitudinal and latitudinal) in the sulfate (SO 42-) concentrations measured at multiple sites over the East Asian Pacific Rim region. Furthermore, the observed gradient was well reproduced by a regional chemical transport model. The observed and modeled SO 42- concentrations were higher at the sites closer to the Asian continent. The concentrations of SO 42- from China as calculated by the model also showed the fundamental features of the longitudinal/latitudinal gradient. The proportional contribution of Chinese SO 42- to the total in Japan throughout the year was above 50-70% in the control case, using data for Chinese sulfur dioxide (SO 2) emission from the Regional Emission Inventory in Asia (40-60% in the low Chinese emissions case, using Chinese SO 2 emissions data from the State Environmental Protection Administration of China), with a winter maximum of approximately 65-80%, although the actual concentrations of SO 42- from China were highest in summer. The multiple-site measurements and the model analysis strongly suggest that the SO 42- concentrations in Japan were influenced by the outflow from the Asian continent, and this influence was greatest in the areas closer to the Asian continent. In contrast, we found no longitudinal/latitudinal gradient in SO 2 concentrations; instead SO 2 concentrations were significantly correlated with local SO 2 emissions. Our results show that large amounts of particulate sulfate are transported over long distances from the East Asian Pacific Rim region, and consequently the SO 42- concentrations in Japan are controlled by the transboundary outflow from the Asian continent.

Zika virus in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Duong, Veasna; Dussart, Philippe; Buchy, Philippe

2017-01-01

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first isolated from a sentinel rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947. In Asia, the virus was isolated in Malaysia from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in 1966, and the first human infections were reported in 1977 in Central Java, Indonesia. In this review, all reported cases of ZIKV infection in Asia as of September 1, 2016 are summarized and some of the hypotheses that could currently explain the apparently low incidence of Zika cases in Asia are explored. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Kedrostis Medik. in Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.J.J.O. De Wilde

2013-04-01

Full Text Available DE WILDE, W.J.J.O.  & DUYFJES, BRIGITTA E.E. 2004. Kedrostis Medik. in Asia. Reinwardtia 12(2:129 – 133. — Kedrostis (Cucurbitaceae occurs in Africa and Madagascar and comprises 4 (5 species in Asia. Of these 2 species are found in India and Sri Lanka and 2 (3 species in western Malesia. One Malesian species is for the first time included in Kedrostis here, Kedrostis bennettii (Miq. W.J. de Wilde & Duyfjes, and one species is described as new here, Kedrostis hirta W.J. de Wilde & Duyfjes. One more Malesian species is insufficiently known to be formally described.  Keywords: Kedrostis, Cucurbitaceae, SE Asia, taxonomy

Transboundary Groundwater Body Karavanke/Karawanken Between Austria and Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Brencic, M.; Poltnig, W.

2009-04-01

low water discharge measurements followed this stage. Samples were taken for basic chemistry and stable isotope determination of water as well as some more sophisticated analyses (e.g. isotope analyses of noble gases) in the area of mineral waters appearance. Important part of investigations was production and compilation of new geological map based on older published and unpublished geological maps from both sides of the state border. This map represented background for the definition of hydrogeological and other detailed and specific maps (e.g. risk potential and vulnerability maps). Based on these results basic hydrological balance of the area was calculated, identification of cross border flow was performed and finally protection measures were suggested. A large part of Karavanke/Karawanken is built from karstified carbonate rocks of limestone and dolomite with underlying Paleozoic limestones. The largest part of karstified rocks lies in the area of North Karavanke/Karawanken, the Košuta unit and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. About 3600 springs were recorded in the area of Karavanke/Karawanken on both sides of the Austrian-Slovenian state border from 1990 to 2002. For each spring, water flow, electrical conductivity and water temperature were determined. Mostly the springs have a small water flow. Only some very large springs flowing from a karstic aquifer were found to have a recharge area extending across the state border. In 2004 based on the bilateral agreement between Republic of Slovenia and Republic of Austria the common transboundary groundwater body Karavanke/Karawanken was defined. The body is defined according to the Water Framework Directive requirements and extends to the area of the main border ridge. It is divided on areas, where prevails the surface water outflow, which depends only on the surface form and areas, where groundwater outflow is present. Within the area of common water body of the Karavanke/Karawanken five cross-border aquifers were

Demyelinating diseases in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochi, Hirofumi; Fujihara, Kazuo

2016-06-01

The present review aims to discuss the recent advances in inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system in Asia. Prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Asia is lower than that in Western countries, although it has been increasing recently. Meanwhile, there seems to be no major difference in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) prevalence in various regions or ethnicities. Thus, the ratios of NMO/NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD) to MS are higher in Asia as compared with Western countries, indicating that the differential diagnosis between NMO/NMOSD and MS is a major challenge in Asia. Although the detection of aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-antibody is critical in distinguishing NMO/NMOSD from MS, some patients with NMO/NMOSD phenotype are seronegative for AQP4-antibody, and a fraction of those patients possess autoantibody against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. The clinical profile of Asian MS seems to be essentially similar to that in Western MS after careful exclusion of NMO/NMOSD, although some unique genetic and/or environmental factors may modify the disease in Asians. MS prevalence has been low but is increasing in Asia. In contrast, NMO/NMOSD prevalence seems relatively constant in the world. Asian MS is not fundamentally different from Western MS, but some genetic and/or environmental differences may cause some features unique to Asian patients.

China's Economic Engagement with Southeast Asia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokko, Ari

2014-01-01

Review of: China’s Economic Engagement with Southeast Asia: Indonesia / by John Lee. Trends in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2013. Pp. 40. Paperback: $9.90/S$12.90. PDF available: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/Trends_2013-3.pdf......Review of: China’s Economic Engagement with Southeast Asia: Indonesia / by John Lee. Trends in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2013. Pp. 40. Paperback: $9.90/S$12.90. PDF available: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/Trends_2013-3.pdf...

The forcing of monthly precipitation variability over Southwest Asia during the Boreal cold season

Science.gov (United States)

Hoell, Andrew; Shukla, Shraddhanand; Barlow, Mathew; Cannon, Forest; Kelley, Colin; Funk, Christopher C.

2015-01-01

Southwest Asia, deemed as the region containing the countries of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, is water scarce and receives nearly 75% of its annual rainfall during8 the boreal cold season of November-April. The forcing of Southwest Asia precipitation has been previously examined for the entire boreal cold season from the perspective of climate variability originating over the Atlantic and tropical Indo-Pacific Oceans. Here, we examine the inter-monthly differences in precipitation variability over Southwest Asia and the atmospheric conditions directly responsible in forcing monthly November-April precipitation. Seasonally averaged November-April precipitation over Southwest Asia is significantly correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) patterns consistent with Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV), the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the warming trend of SST (Trend). On the contrary, the precipitation variability during individual months of November-April are unrelated and are correlated with SST signatures that include PDV, ENSO and Trend in different combinations. Despite strong inter-monthly differences in precipitation variability during November- April over Southwest Asia, similar atmospheric circulations, highlighted by a stationary equivalent barotropic Rossby wave centered over Iraq, force the monthly spatial distributions of precipitation. Tropospheric waves on the eastern side of the equivalent barotropic Rossby wave modifies the flux of moisture and advects the mean temperature gradient, resulting in temperature advection that is balanced by vertical motions over Southwest Asia. The forcing of monthly Southwest Asia precipitation by equivalent barotropic Rossby waves is different than the forcing by baroclinic Rossby waves associated with tropically-forced-only modes of climate variability.

Peritoneal Dialysis in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwong, Vickie Wai-Ki; Li, Philip Kam-Tao

2015-12-01

There is a growing demand of dialysis in Asia for end-stage renal failure patients. Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure in many countries in Asia. The growth of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Asia is significant and seeing a good trend. With the enhanced practices of PD, the quality of care in PD in Asia is also improved. Overall, PD and hemodialysis (HD) are comparable in clinical outcome. There is a global trend in the reduction of peritonitis rates and Asian countries also witness such improvement. The socio-economic benefits of PD for end-stage renal failure patients in both urban and rural areas in the developed and developing regions of Asia are an important consideration. This can help to reduce the financial burden of renal failure in addressing the growing demand of patients on dialysis. Initiatives should be considered to further drive down the cost of PD in Asia. Growing demand for dialysis by an increasing number of end-stage renal failure patients requires the use of a cost-effective quality dialysis modality. PD is found to be comparable to HD in outcome and quality. In most countries in Asia, PD should be more cost-effective than HD. A 'PD-first' or a 'PD as first considered therapy' policy can be an overall strategy in many countries in Asia in managing renal failure patients, taking the examples of Hong Kong and Thailand. (1) PD is cheaper than HD and provides a better quality of life worldwide, but its prevalence is significantly lower than that of HD in all countries, with the exception of Hong Kong. Allowing reimbursement of PD but not HD has permitted to increase the use of PD over HD in many Asian countries like Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, as well as in New Zealand and Australia over the last years. In the Western world, however, HD is still promoted, and the proportion of patients treated with PD decreases. Japan remains an exception in Asia where PD penetration is very low. Lack of adequate education of

Assessing basin heterogeneities for rainfall–runoff modelling of the Okavango River and its transboundary management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Baumberg

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The neighbouring river systems Cubango and Cuito drain the southeastern part of the Angolan Highlands and form the Okavango River after their confluence, thus providing 95% of the Okavango River discharge. Although they are characterised by similar environmental conditions, runoff records indicate remarkable differences regarding the hydrological dynamics. The Cubango River is known for rapid discharges with high peaks and low baseflow whereas the Cuito runoff appears more balanced. These differences are mainly caused by heterogeneous geological conditions or terrain features. The Cubango headwaters are dominated by crystalline bedrock and steeper, v-shaped valleys while the Cuito system is characterised by wide, swampy valleys and thick sand layers, thus attenuating runoff. This study presents model exercises which have been performed to assess and quantify these effects by applying the distributive model J2000g for each sub-basin. The models provide reasonable results representing the spatio-temporal runoff pattern, although some peaks are over- or underestimated, particularly in the Cuito catchment. This is explained by the scarce information on extent and structure of storages, such as aquifers or swamps, in the Cuito system. However, the model results aid understanding of the differences of both tributaries in runoff generation and underpin the importance of floodplains regarding the control of runoff peaks and low flows in the Cuito system. Model exercises reveal that basin heterogeneity needs to be taken into account and must be parameterised appropriately for reliable modelling and assessment of the entire Okavango River basin for managing the water resources of the transboundary Okavango River in a harmonious way.

Epilepsy: Asia versus Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhalla, Devender; Tchalla, Achille Edem; Marin, Benoît; Ngoungou, Edgard Brice; Tan, Chong Tin; Preux, Pierre-Marie

2014-09-01

Is epilepsy truly an "African ailment"? We aimed to determine this, since international health agencies often refer to epilepsy as an African disease and the scientific literature has spoken the same tone. Various published materials, mainly reports, articles, were used to gather Asian and African evidence on various aspects of epilepsy and many of its risk and associated factors. Our results suggest that in no way can epilepsy be considered as an African ailment and such characterization is most likely based on popular beliefs rather than scientific evidence. In comparison to Africa, Asia has a 5.0% greater burden from all diseases, and is 17.0% more affected from neuropsychiatric disorders (that include epilepsy). Given that more countries in Asia are transitioning, there may be large demographic and lifestyle changes in the near future. However these changes are nowhere close to those expected in Africa. Moreover, 23 million Asians have epilepsy in comparison to 3.3 million Africans and 1.2 million sub-Saharan Africans. In comparison to Africa, Asia has more untreated patients, 55.0% more additional epilepsy cases every year, because of its larger population, with greater treatment cost and possibly higher premature mortality. Of several associated factors discussed herein, many have more importance for Asia than Africa. The current state of epilepsy in Asia is far less than ideal and there is an urgent need to recognize and accept the importance of epilepsy in Asia. In no way can epilepsy be considered as an African ailment. This is most likely based on popular beliefs rather than scientific evidence. A PowerPoint slide summarizing this article is available for download in the Supporting Information section here. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 International League Against Epilepsy.

Licensing Air and Transboundary Shipments of Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komarov, S.V.; Budu, M.E.; Derganov, D.V.; Savina, O.A.; Bolshinsky, I.M.; Moses, S.D.; Biro, L.

2016-01-01

safety of any SNF shipment by bringing together for comparison two radically different experiences that together cover all possible aspects of licensing for this type of activities. The report can also be used for harmonizing national regulatory requirements for transboundary transports of radioactive material by any conveyances (road, rail, water, air). (author)

River flow regime and snow cover of the Pamir Alay (Central Asia) in a changing climate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chevallier, P.; Pouyaud, B.; Mojaisky, M.; Bolgov, M.; Olsson, O.; Bauer, M.; Froebrich, J.

2014-01-01

The Vakhsh and Pyandj rivers, main tributaries of the Amu Darya River in the mountainous region of the Pamir Alay, play an important role in the water resources of the Aral Sea basin (Central Asia). In this region, the glaciers and snow cover significantly influence the water cycle and flow regime,

The USA and proliferation in Northeast Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weeks, S.B.

1995-01-01

United States policy on proliferation in Northeast Asia poses a test of balance between general US global non-proliferation goals and specific US regional security goals for Northeast Asia. US policy on proliferation in Northeast Asia further poses a test of priorities for US bilateral relations with the key Northeast Asian states, as non-proliferation and regional security goals must be weighed against other (e.g., economic, human rights) declared US policy goals. The result is a US policy equation for Northeast Asia proliferation that is considerably more complex in execution than might be expected from the simple statement of the US goal to avoid nuclear proliferation in Northeast Asia. The question of security assurances - both negative and positive - may be closely related to US policies to avoid proliferation in Northeast Asia

Coordinating and Negotiating Blue Nile Water Resource Development

Science.gov (United States)

Geressu, R. T.; Harou, J. J.

2016-12-01

Many countries are proposing new reservoirs in transboundary river basins world-wide that impact downstream regions. Failure to consider and incorporate multiple stakeholder interests in system design and decision making could contribute to regional disputes. Negotiated introduction of new assets and associated coordination strategies (e.g. cost and power sharing arrangements) could reduce conflict and help achieve consensus. In multi-stakeholders problems, parties are likely to prioritize performance targets differently and hence will often prefer different water system designs, stalling negotiations. An ideal solution is where individual and group benefits are maximized by allocating (exchanging) resources according to the relative preferences of stakeholders. Hence, a negotiation support mechanism should be able to incorporate stakeholder preference information. In this paper, we propose a three-step search & deliberate, elicit preferences, and search & negotiate approach for supporting negotiations in complex infrastructure-environmental systems. The approach seeks to find designs and coordination mechanisms that are more beneficial than non-cooperative actions. The proposed approach is applied to a stylized Blue Nile reservoir design problem in Ethiopia seeking to set reservoir capacity and operating rules. We consider cost and energy performance metrics for Ethiopia and energy and irrigation water supply in Sudan. We use example stakeholder (i.e., Ethiopian and Sudanese) priorities for demonstration purpose. The result is an agreed system design and coordination schemes (co-financing and power trade). The application results demonstrate that incorporating coordination strategies, such as energy trade, cost sharing, and financing in assessing transboundary reservoir development options could help find compromise designs that different parties can support.

Diabetic Retinopathy in the Asia-Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Chua, Jacqueline; Lim, Claire Xin Ying; Wong, Tien Yin; Sabanayagam, Charumathi

2018-01-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common complication of diabetes mellitus, is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in middle-aged and elderly in the Asia-Pacific. It has been estimated that 51% of all those with blindness due to DR globally (n = 424,400) and 56% of those with visual impairment due to DR (2.1 million) come from the Asia-Pacific. Prevalence of DR among those with diabetes ranged from 10% in India to 43% in Indonesia within the Asia-Pacific. Awareness of DR among persons with diabetes ranged from 28% to 84%. Most common modifiable risk factors for DR in the Asia-Pacific were hyperglycemia, blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and obesity. Implementation of systematic screening programs for DR and advancement in telemedicine screening methods have increased patient coverage and cost-effectiveness, though there are still numerous factors impeding screening uptake in the low-middle income regions of the Asia-Pacific. Management and treatment of DR in the Asia-Pacific is mainly limited to traditional laser retinopexy, but it is suboptimal despite new clinical approaches such as use of intravitreal anti.vascular endothelial growth factor and steroids due to limited resources. Further research and data are required to structure a more cost-effective public healthcare program and more awareness-building initiatives to increase the effectiveness of DR screening programs. Copyright 2017 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.

Wastewater reuse in central Asia: implications for the design of pond systems

OpenAIRE

Heaven, S.; Banks, C.J.; Pak, L.N.; Rspaev, M.K.

2007-01-01

The paper examines the potential of waste stabilisation ponds to provide water for reuse in extreme continental climates such as those of central Asia, where precipitation is low and summer evaporation rates are high. A simple model is used to predict water availability, BOD and faecal coliform removal for different configurations and operating regimes. The results show a significant proportion of flows could be saved for irrigation or river and aquifer replenishment: if current standard desi...

Nuclear nonproliferation strategy in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, F.W.

1989-07-01

The most immediate danger of a further spread of nuclear weapons in Asia is in South Asia, where both India and Pakistan have developed the means of producing nuclear explosive materials. In East Asia, North Korea appears to be in the early stages of a weapon-related nuclear program, and before the end of the century South Korea or Taiwan could revive their past efforts to move closer to a nuclear weapons capability. Over the longer run, Japan could conceivably decide to abandon its present strong opposition to the acquisition of nuclear Weapons. At present, the United States has largely separate approaches to the nuclear weapon proliferation problems in South Asia and in East Asia. This paper argues that these separate approaches should be strengthened and integrated into a broader regional nonproliferation strategy. This regional strategy would have three major strands: inducing India and Pakistan to agree not to produce nuclear weapons or test nuclear explosive devices for a specific period; bolstering the existing nonproliferation regime, principally by maintaining nonproliferation incentives and involving China more in the nonproliferation regime; and encouraging regional cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy

What Is the Contribution of City-Scale Actions to the Overall Food System's Environmental Impacts?: Assessing Water, Greenhouse Gas, and Land Impacts of Future Urban Food Scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Dana; Ramaswami, Anu

2017-10-17

This paper develops a methodology for individual cities to use to analyze the in- and trans-boundary water, greenhouse gas (GHG), and land impacts of city-scale food system actions. Applied to Delhi, India, the analysis demonstrates that city-scale action can rival typical food policy interventions that occur at larger scales, although no single city-scale action can rival in all three environmental impacts. In particular, improved food-waste management within the city (7% system-wide GHG reduction) matches the GHG impact of preconsumer trans-boundary food waste reduction. The systems approach is particularly useful in illustrating key trade-offs and co-benefits. For instance, multiple diet shifts that can reduce GHG emissions have trade-offs that increase water and land impacts. Vertical farming technology (VFT) with current applications for fruits and vegetables can provide modest system-wide water (4%) and land reductions (3%), although implementation within the city itself may raise questions of constraints in water-stressed cities, with such a shift in Delhi increasing community-wide direct water use by 16%. Improving the nutrition status for the bottom 50% of the population to the median diet is accompanied by proportionally smaller increases of water, GHG, and land impacts (4%, 9%, and 8%, systemwide): increases that can be offset through simultaneous city-scale actions, e.g., improved food-waste management and VFT.

CORRUPTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN EAST ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA: AN ECONOMETRIC STUDY

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Rahim M. Quazi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Many recent FDI studies have focused on the effects of corruption on FDI inflows. Theoretically, corruption can act as either a grabbing hand by raising uncertainty and transaction costs, which should impede FDI, or a helping hand by “greasing” the wheels of commerce in the presence of weak regulatory framework, which should facilitate FDI. This study analyzes the impact of corruption on FDI inflows in East Asia and South Asia – two regions that have recently received huge FDI inflows. Using GLS methodology with 1995-2011 panel data, this study finds that the impact of corruption on FDI is significantly negative and robust, which validates the “grabbing hand” hypothesis. It is also found that, even after accounting for the economic fundamentals, East Asia seems to enjoy a locational advantage in attracting FDI vis-à-vis South Asia. These results further our knowledge of the FDI dynamics, which policymakers should find helpful in devising pro-FDI strategies.

How much water flows? Examining water allocations using a mobile decision lab

Science.gov (United States)

Strickert, G. E.; Gober, P.; Bradford, L. E.; Phillips, P.; Ross, J.

2016-12-01

Management of freshwater resources is a complex and multifaceted issues. Big challenges like scarcity, conflicts over water use and access, and ecosystem degradation are widespread around the world. These issues reflects ineffective past practices and signals the need for a fundamental change. Previous actions to mitigate these problems have been incremental rather than innovative, in part because of inherent conservatism in the water management community and an inability to experiment with water allocations in a safe environment. The influence of transboundary water policies was tested using a mobile decision lab which examined three theory areas: limited territorial sovereignty, absolute territorial sovereignty, and shared risk. The experiment allowed people engaged in the water sector to allocate incoming flows to different sectors: agriculture, municipal, industrial and environmental flows in two flow scenarios; slight shortage and extreme water shortage, and to pass on the remaining water to downstream regions. Mandatory sharing 50% of the natural flows between provinces (i.e. limited territorial sovereignty) achieved the most equitable allocation based on water units and points across the three regions. When there were no allocation rules (i.e. absolute territorial sovereignty) the downstream region received significantly less water (e.g. 8-11%. p affect on the amount of water flowing through the region. It is also notable that most participants sought a trade-off of water allocations, minimizing the allocations to agriculture and industry and prioritizing the municipal sector particularity under the severe drought scenario.

Marine Spatial Planning in a Transboundary Context: Linking Baja California with California's Network of Marine Protected Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nur Arafeh-Dalmau

2017-05-01

Full Text Available It is acknowledged that an effective path to globally protect marine ecosystems is through the establishment of eco-regional scale networks of MPAs spanning across national frontiers. In this work we aimed to plan for regionally feasible networks of MPAs that can be ecologically linked with an existing one in a transboundary context. We illustrate our exercise in the Ensenadian eco-region, a shared marine ecosystem between the south of California, United States of America (USA, and the north of Baja California, Mexico; where conservation actions differ across the border. In the USA, California recently established a network of MPAs through the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA, while in Mexico: Baja California lacks a network of MPAs or a marine spatial planning effort to establish it. We generated four different scenarios with Marxan by integrating different ecological, social, and management considerations (habitat representation, opportunity costs, habitat condition, and enforcement costs. To do so, we characterized and collected biophysical and socio-economic information for Baja California and developed novel approaches to quantify and incorporate some of these considerations. We were able to design feasible networks of MPAs in Baja California that are ecologically linked with California's network (met between 78.5 and 84.4% of the MLPA guidelines and that would represent a low cost for fishers and aquaculture investors. We found that when multiple considerations are integrated more priority areas for conservation emerge. For our region, human distribution presents a strong gradient from north to south and resulted to be an important factor for the spatial arrangement of the priority areas. This work shows how, despite the constraints of a data-poor area, the available conservation principles, mapping, and planning tools can still be used to generate spatial conservation plans in a transboundary context.

Characterization of Dust Properties at the Source Region During ACE-Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ACE (Aerosol Characterization Experiment)-Asia is designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally-occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. The phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, east coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian dust is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of dust aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical thickness. At the time of the Terra/MODIS overpass, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with MODIS retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

U.S. coal outlook in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, C.J.

1997-02-01

Coal exports from the US to Asia are declining over time as a result of (1) increased competition from coal suppliers within the Asia-Pacific region, (2) changing steel making technologies, (3) decreased emphasis on security of coal supplies, and (4) deregulation of the energy industry--particularly electric utilities. There are no major changes on the horizon that are likely to alter the role of the US as a modest coal supplier to the Asia-Pacific region. The downward trend in US coal exports to Asia is expected to continue over the 1997--2010 period. But economic and policy changes underway in Asia are likely to result in periodic coal shortages, lasting a few months to a year, and short term increased export opportunities for US coal. US coal exports to Asia are projected to fluctuate within the following ranges over the 2000--2010 period: 10--17 million tons in total exports, 6--12 million tons in thermal coal exports, and 4--9 million tons in coking coal exports. The most important role for US coal, from the perspective of Asian coal importing countries, is to ensure a major alternative source of coal supplies that can be turned to in the event of unforeseen disruptions in coal supplies from the Asia-Pacific region or South Africa. However, the willingness of consumers to pay a premium to ensure US export capacity is declining, with increased emphasis on obtaining the lowest cost coal supplies

NASA's High Mountain Asia Team (HiMAT): collaborative research to study changes of the High Asia region

Science.gov (United States)

Arendt, A. A.; Houser, P.; Kapnick, S. B.; Kargel, J. S.; Kirschbaum, D.; Kumar, S.; Margulis, S. A.; McDonald, K. C.; Osmanoglu, B.; Painter, T. H.; Raup, B. H.; Rupper, S.; Tsay, S. C.; Velicogna, I.

2017-12-01

The High Mountain Asia Team (HiMAT) is an assembly of 13 research groups funded by NASA to improve understanding of cryospheric and hydrological changes in High Mountain Asia (HMA). Our project goals are to quantify historical and future variability in weather and climate over the HMA, partition the components of the water budget across HMA watersheds, explore physical processes driving changes, and predict couplings and feedbacks between physical and human systems through assessment of hazards and downstream impacts. These objectives are being addressed through analysis of remote sensing datasets combined with modeling and assimilation methods to enable data integration across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Our work to date has focused on developing improved high resolution precipitation, snow cover and snow water equivalence products through a variety of statistical uncertainty analysis, dynamical downscaling and assimilation techniques. These and other high resolution climate products are being used as input and validation for an assembly of land surface and General Circulation Models. To quantify glacier change in the region we have calculated multidecadal mass balances of a subset of HMA glaciers by comparing commercial satellite imagery with earlier elevation datasets. HiMAT is using these tools and datasets to explore the impact of atmospheric aerosols and surface impurities on surface energy exchanges, to determine drivers of glacier and snowpack melt rates, and to improve our capacity to predict future hydrological variability. Outputs from the climate and land surface assessments are being combined with landslide and glacier lake inventories to refine our ability to predict hazards in the region. Economic valuation models are also being used to assess impacts on water resources and hydropower. Field data of atmospheric aerosol, radiative flux and glacier lake conditions are being collected to provide ground validation for models and remote sensing

On the water hazards in the trans-boundary Kosi River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, N. Sh.; Hu, G. Sh.; Deng, W.; Khanal, N.; Zhu, Y. H.; Han, D.

2013-03-01

The Kosi River is an important tributary of the Ganges River, which passes through China, Nepal and India. With a basin area of 71 500 km2, the Kosi River has the largest elevation drop in the world (from 8848 m of Mt Everest to 60 m of the Ganges Plain) and covers a broad spectrum of climate, soil, vegetation and socioeconomic zones. The basin suffers from multiple water related hazards including glacial lake outburst, debris flow, landslides, flooding, drought, soil erosion and sedimentation. This paper describes the characteristics of water hazards in the basin, based on the literature review and site investigation covering hydrology, meteorology, geology, geomorphology and socio-economics. Glacial lake outbursts are a huge threat to the local population in the region and they usually further trigger landslides and debris flows. Floods are usually a result of interaction between man-made hydraulic structures and the natural environment. Debris flows are widespread and occur in clusters. Droughts tend to last over long periods and affect vast areas. Rapid population increase, the decline of ecosystems and climate change could further exacerbate various hazards in the region. The paper has proposed a set of mitigating strategies and measures. It is an arduous challenge to implement them in practice. More investigations are needed to fill in the knowledge gaps.

Statistical forecast of seasonal discharge in Central Asia using observational records: development of a generic linear modelling tool for operational water resource management

Science.gov (United States)

Apel, Heiko; Abdykerimova, Zharkinay; Agalhanova, Marina; Baimaganbetov, Azamat; Gavrilenko, Nadejda; Gerlitz, Lars; Kalashnikova, Olga; Unger-Shayesteh, Katy; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Gafurov, Abror

2018-04-01

The semi-arid regions of Central Asia crucially depend on the water resources supplied by the mountainous areas of the Tien Shan and Pamir and Altai mountains. During the summer months the snow-melt- and glacier-melt-dominated river discharge originating in the mountains provides the main water resource available for agricultural production, but also for storage in reservoirs for energy generation during the winter months. Thus a reliable seasonal forecast of the water resources is crucial for sustainable management and planning of water resources. In fact, seasonal forecasts are mandatory tasks of all national hydro-meteorological services in the region. In order to support the operational seasonal forecast procedures of hydro-meteorological services, this study aims to develop a generic tool for deriving statistical forecast models of seasonal river discharge based solely on observational records. The generic model structure is kept as simple as possible in order to be driven by meteorological and hydrological data readily available at the hydro-meteorological services, and to be applicable for all catchments in the region. As snow melt dominates summer runoff, the main meteorological predictors for the forecast models are monthly values of winter precipitation and temperature, satellite-based snow cover data, and antecedent discharge. This basic predictor set was further extended by multi-monthly means of the individual predictors, as well as composites of the predictors. Forecast models are derived based on these predictors as linear combinations of up to four predictors. A user-selectable number of the best models is extracted automatically by the developed model fitting algorithm, which includes a test for robustness by a leave-one-out cross-validation. Based on the cross-validation the predictive uncertainty was quantified for every prediction model. Forecasts of the mean seasonal discharge of the period April to September are derived every month from

Statistical forecast of seasonal discharge in Central Asia using observational records: development of a generic linear modelling tool for operational water resource management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Apel

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The semi-arid regions of Central Asia crucially depend on the water resources supplied by the mountainous areas of the Tien Shan and Pamir and Altai mountains. During the summer months the snow-melt- and glacier-melt-dominated river discharge originating in the mountains provides the main water resource available for agricultural production, but also for storage in reservoirs for energy generation during the winter months. Thus a reliable seasonal forecast of the water resources is crucial for sustainable management and planning of water resources. In fact, seasonal forecasts are mandatory tasks of all national hydro-meteorological services in the region. In order to support the operational seasonal forecast procedures of hydro-meteorological services, this study aims to develop a generic tool for deriving statistical forecast models of seasonal river discharge based solely on observational records. The generic model structure is kept as simple as possible in order to be driven by meteorological and hydrological data readily available at the hydro-meteorological services, and to be applicable for all catchments in the region. As snow melt dominates summer runoff, the main meteorological predictors for the forecast models are monthly values of winter precipitation and temperature, satellite-based snow cover data, and antecedent discharge. This basic predictor set was further extended by multi-monthly means of the individual predictors, as well as composites of the predictors. Forecast models are derived based on these predictors as linear combinations of up to four predictors. A user-selectable number of the best models is extracted automatically by the developed model fitting algorithm, which includes a test for robustness by a leave-one-out cross-validation. Based on the cross-validation the predictive uncertainty was quantified for every prediction model. Forecasts of the mean seasonal discharge of the period April to September are derived

Malaria successes and challenges in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Rajesh; Rastogi, Rakesh Mani; Ortega, Leonard

2013-12-01

Asia ranks second to Africa in terms of malaria burden. In 19 countries of Asia, malaria is endemic and 2.31 billion people or 62% of the total population in these countries are at risk of malaria. In 2010, WHO estimated around 34.8 million cases and 45,600 deaths due to malaria in Asia. In 2011, 2.7 million cases and > 2000 deaths were reported. India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan are responsible for >85% of the reported cases (confirmed) and deaths in Asia. In last 10 yr, due to availability of donor's fund specially from Global fund, significant progress has been made by the countries in Asia in scaling-up malaria control interventions which were instrumental in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality significantly. There is a large heterogeneity in malaria epidemiology in Asia. As a result, the success in malaria control/elimination is also diverse. As compared to the data of the year 2000, out of 19 malaria endemic countries, 12 countries were able to reduce malaria incidence (microscopically confirmed cases only) by 75%. Two countries, namely Bangladesh and Malaysia are projected to reach 75% reduction by 2015 while India is projected to reach 50-75% only by 2015. The trend could not be assessed in four countries, namely Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Timor-Leste due to insufficient consistent data. Numerous key challenges need to be addressed to sustain the gains and eliminate malaria in most parts of Asia. Some of these are to control the spread of resistance in Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin, control of outdoor transmission, control of vivax malaria and ensuring universal coverage of key interventions. Asia has the potential to influence the malaria epidemiology all over the world as well as to support the global efforts in controlling and eliminating malaria through production of quality-assured ACTs, RDTs and long-lasting insecticidal nets.

Establishing bioinformatics research in the Asia Pacific

OpenAIRE

Ranganathan, Shoba; Tammi, Martti; Gribskov, Michael; Tan, Tin Wee

2006-01-01

Abstract In 1998, the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet), Asia's oldest bioinformatics organisation was set up to champion the advancement of bioinformatics in the Asia Pacific. By 2002, APBioNet was able to gain sufficient critical mass to initiate the first International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB) bringing together scientists working in the field of bioinformatics in the region. This year, the InCoB2006 Conference was organized as the 5th annual conference of the Asia-...

Japanese strategic thought toward asia

CERN Document Server

Rozman, Gilbert; Ferguson, Joseph

2007-01-01

Japanese leaders and often the media too have substituted symbols for strategy in dealing with Asia. This comprehensive review of four periods over twenty years exposes the strategic gap in viewing individually and collectively China, Taiwan, the Korean peninsula, Russia, Central Asia, and regionalism.

China, Southeast Asia, and the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lowell Dittmer

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Southeast Asia has historically been a meeting point between East Asia and South Asia before Western colonialism opened the region to the West and to the winds of global modernization. Since Japan’s coercive decolonization during the Second World War, the dominant outside influences have come from the United States and from the People’s Republic of China. The post-Cold War era began with a withdrawal of both China’s and US power projection from Southeast Asia, facilitating the configuration of a triangular ménage à trios, with ASEAN expanding to include all of Southeast Asia and introducing a number of extended forums intended to socialize the rest of East Asia into the ASEAN way. The “rise of China” occurred within this friendly context, though beginning around 2010 its strategic implications began to appear more problematic with the mounting dispute over the issue of the South China Sea.

Study on the Flexibility in Cross-Border Water Resources Cooperation Governance

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zongrui; Wang, Teng; Zhou, Li

2018-02-01

Flexible strategy is very important to cross-border cooperation in international rivers water resources, which may be employed to reconcile contradictions and ease conflicts. Flexible characters of cross-border cooperation in international rivers water resources could be analyzed and revealed, using flexible strategic management framework, by taking international cooperation protocols related to water from Transboundary Freshwater Disputes Database (TFDD) as samples from the number of cooperation issues, the amount of management layers and regulator agencies in cooperation organization and the categories of income (cost) distribution (allocation) mode. The research demonstrates that there are some flexible features of cross-border cooperation in international rivers water resources: Riparian countries would select relative diversification strategies related to water, tend to construct a flexible cooperation organization featured with moderate hierarchies from vertical perspective and simplified administrations from horizontal perspective, and adopt selective inducement modes to respect ‘joint and several liability’.

Seeking a consensus: water management principles from the monotheistic scriptures

KAUST Repository

Lefers, Ryan

2015-03-13

Religious and cultural values related to water use and management are important motivation for many people of the world. Although much has been written related to water management and use in Islam, fewer authors have attempted to evaluate water management through the lens of other religions. The common thread of monotheism, specifically worship of the one God of Abraham, binds together the world\\'s largest two religions (Islam and Christianity). Judaism also falls within this monotheistic group and is especially important in the context of Middle Eastern water management. As agriculture consumes approximately 70% of all fresh water used in the world today, proper management of water within its context is of critical and global importance. This paper presents an effort to build consensus from a monotheistic scripture-based perspective related to water management in agriculture. If greater dialog and agreement about water management can be attained within and among monotheists, complex issues related to transboundary water management, reuse and conservation could be resolved with less conflict, creating a shared overall management vision.

Southeast Asia and U.S. Security

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Byers, Michael; Clark, Jr., R. W; Sporn, James

1996-01-01

The Southeast Asia region consists of the following countries Brunei, Burma Cambodia Indonesia Laos, Malaysia Philippines, Singapore Thailand and Vietnam For the purpose of this paper, Southeast Asia...

Financial Shenanigans : Evidence from Developing Countries In East Asia and South Asia

OpenAIRE

Leong, Siew Yean

2014-01-01

This study investigates the reported cases involved in financial shenanigans which subject to the enforcement actions by the authorities of selected developing countries in East Asia and South Asia between 2010 and 2012. The scope of this study includes the attempts used and causes of the financial shenanigans. This study finds that the most common attempt used by the sample companies is overstating the revenue and follows by manipulation of expenses and discretionary accounting. Revenue and ...

Future Heat Waves In Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Eltahir, E. A. B.

2017-12-01

I will review recent work from my group on the impact of climate change on the intensity and frequency of heat waves in Asia. Our studies covered Southwest Asia, South Asia, East China, and the Maritime continent. In any of these regions, the risk associated with climate change impact reflects intensity of natural hazard and level of human vulnerability. Previous work has shown that the wet-bulb temperature is a useful variable to consider in describing the natural hazard from heat waves since it can be easily compared to the natural threshold that defines the upper limit on human survivability. Based on an ensemble of high resolution climate change simulations, we project extremes of wet-bulb temperature conditions in each of these four regions of Asia. We consider the business-as-usual scenario of future greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a moderate mitigation scenario. The results from these regions will be compared and lessons learned summarized.

Review article: Hydrological modeling in glacierized catchments of central Asia – status and challenges

OpenAIRE

Y. Chen; W. Li; G. Fang; Z. Li

2017-01-01

Meltwater from glacierized catchments is one of the most important water supplies in central Asia. Therefore, the effects of climate change on glaciers and snow cover will have increasingly significant consequences for runoff. Hydrological modeling has become an indispensable research approach to water resources management in large glacierized river basins, but there is a lack of focus in the modeling of glacial discharge. This paper reviews the status of hydrological modeli...

Effect of tropospheric models on derived precipitable water vapor over Southeast Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Zhoobin; Mohd Shafri, Helmi Zulhaidi; Othman, Faridah; Norman, Masayu

2017-05-01

An interesting subject in the field of GPS technology is estimating variation of precipitable water vapor (PWV). This estimation can be used as a data source to assess and monitor rapid changes in meteorological conditions. So far, numerous GPS stations are distributed across the world and the number of GPS networks is increasing. Despite these developments, a challenging aspect of estimating PWV through GPS networks is the need of tropospheric parameters such as temperature, pressure, and relative humidity (Liu et al., 2015). To estimate the tropospheric parameters, global pressure temperature (GPT) model developed by Boehm et al. (2007) is widely used in geodetic analysis for GPS observations. To improve the accuracy, Lagler et al. (2013) introduced GPT2 model by adding annual and semi-annual variation effects to GPT model. Furthermore, Boehm et al. (2015) proposed the GPT2 wet (GPT2w) model which uses water vapor pressure to improve the calculations. The global accuracy of GPT2 and GPT2w models has been evaluated by previous researches (Fund et al., 2011; Munekane and Boehm, 2010); however, investigations to assess the accuracy of global tropospheric models in tropical regions such as Southeast Asia is not sufficient. This study tests and examines the accuracy of GPT2w as one of the most recent versions of tropospheric models (Boehm et al., 2015). We developed a new regional model called Malaysian Pressure Temperature (MPT) model, and compared this model with GPT2w model. The compared results at one international GNSS service (IGS) station located in the south of Peninsula Malaysia shows that MPT model has a better performance than GPT2w model to produce PWV during monsoon season. According to the results, MPT has improved the accuracy of estimated pressure and temperature by 30% and 10%, respectively, in comparison with GPT2w model. These results indicate that MPT model can be a good alternative tool in the absence of meteorological sensors at GPS stations in

Europe’s Wild Heart – still beating? Experiences from a new transboundary wilderness area in the middle of the Old Continent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zdenka Křenová

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The face of Europe has been shaped by human civilization for centuries and wilderness did not only vanish from the continent’s surface but also from humans’ minds and experiences. However, there are still a few places left, which have remained more or less unmodified and have at least the potential for rewilding. Among them are the Šumava National Park and the neighbouring Bavarian Forest NP, which together create a unique forest zone in the middle of Europe susceptible to host and demonstrate natural forest dynamics and ecosystem processes. This is also a large and very important Natura 2000 area. Transboundary cooperation between both National parks has improved since 1990, when the former Iron Curtain Corridor was opened, and culminated by the project Europe’s Wild Heart. The main goal of the project Europe’s Wild Heart, which started in 2008, was to develop a transboundary wilderness area in the core zones of the two national parks – BFNP and ŠNP. The project area was 13,060 ha and a “life story” of this project is described in this paper. A common “vision 2020” was signed where both parks committed among other things “to achieve a joint core area of about 15,000 ha with harmonized management principles, information services and monitoring networks to officially become the first and largest transboundary wilderness area in Central Europe”. Unfortunately, the bark beetle outbreak which followed the Kyrill hurricane in 2008 and 2009 escalated the discussion about appropriate forest management in the ŠNP. Opponents of the national park principles, non-intervention and wilderness concept became more and more vocal. The situation escalated after the election in 2010 when the Green Party was replaced by conservatives (ODS – Civic Democratic Party at the Czech Ministry of Environment. Clear cuttings were started in some former non-intervention parts of the ŠNP and hunting was again allowed in the core zone. Since then

Building Effective Water Governance in the Asian Highlands | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Building Effective Water Governance in the Asian Highlands ... This project is funded through IDRC's Adaptation Research Initiative in Asia (ARI-Asia) ... Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences as represented by Sun Hang.

Study on the water related disaster risks using the future socio-economic scenario in Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Kiguchi, M.; Hatono, M.; Ikeuchi, H.; Nakamura, S.; Hirabayashi, Y.; Kanae, S.; Oki, T.

2014-12-01

In this study, flood risks in the present and the end of the 21st century in Asia are estimated using a future socio-economic scenario. Using the runoff data of 7 GCMs (RCP 8.5) of CMIP5, the river discharge, inundation area, and inundation depth are calculated for the assessment of flood risk. Finally, the flood risk is estimated using a function of damage. The flood frequency in the end of the 21st century in Asia tends to increase. Inundation area in Japan, Taiwan, and Kyrgyz is almost unchanged. At the same time, that in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Laos, and Myanmar reached about 1.4-1.6 times compared to present. Damage cost is largely influenced by economic growth, however, we show that it is important that we distinguish the influence of climate change from economic development and evaluate it when we think about an adaptation.

JPRS Report: East Asia, Southeast Asia, LPDR Criminal Code, Courts, and Criminal Procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

1991-03-05

1941 - 1991 JPRS Repor East Asia Southeast Asia LPDR Criminal Code, Courts, and Criminal Procedure mom m £C QUALITY »ra^r...prostitution, will be impris- oned for three to five years. Article 124. Incest . Anyone who has sexual intercourse with parents, step- parents...This consists of facts which indicate whether there have been actions dangerous to society, the guilt of the per- sons who undertook the

A new order in northeast Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segal, G.

1991-01-01

The fate of northeast Asia is central to the global balance of power. But just as the Cold War took a different course in northeast Asia than it did in its central battleground in Europe, so the post-Cold War world in northeast Asia is taking on a different shape. In Europe, formal arms control was a feature of the political landscape both before and after sweeping changes began altering the face of the continent in 1989. In contrast, northeast Asia saw only informal arms control measures before 1989. But in the post-Cold War world, the opportunity for more formal accords seems to be growing as the changing political environment makes them possible. In the rapidly developing virtuous circle of detente in northeast Asia, the prospects for arms control progress are better than ever, although considerable obstacles remain in the way. One of the unique features of northeast Asia is the convergence of interests of four of the world's most powerful nations - the US, the Soviet Union, Japan, and China. But unlike Europe, where the interests of the Soviet Union and the US have intermingled with those of the diverse members of the European Community (EC) and resulted in far-reaching arms reduction and confidence-building accords, northeast Asia has known only limited regional efforts at reducing tension and enhancing regional security. Nevertheless, unilateral moves and bilateral discussions among the four powers have produced a Sino-Soviet detente, reductions in US and Soviet forces in the Pacific region, the beginning of a Soviet-Japanese dialogue aimed at normalizing relations, and an overall trend toward closer diplomatic and economic relations throughout the region

Climate change impacts on water availability: developing regional scenarios for agriculture of the Former Soviet Union countries of Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Kirilenko, A.; Dronin, N.

2010-12-01

Water is the major factor, limiting agriculture of the five Former Soviet Union (FSU) of Central Asia. Elevated topography prevents moist and warm air from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from entering the region.With exception of Kazakhstan, agriculture is generally restricted to oases and irrigated lands along the major rivers and canals. Availability of water for irrigation is the major factor constraining agriculture in the region, and conflicts over water are not infrequent. The current water crisis in the region is largely due to human activity; however the region is also strongly impacted by the climate. In multiple locations, planned and autonomous adaptations to climate change have already resulted in changes in agriculture, such as a dramatic increase in irrigation, or shift in crops towards the ones better suited for warmer and dryer climate; however, it is hard to differentiate between the effects of overall management improvement and the avoidance of climate-related losses. Climate change will contribute to water problems, escalating irrigation demand during the drought period, and increasing water loss with evaporation. The future of the countries of the Aral Sea basin then depends on both the regional scenario of water management policy and a global scenario of climate change, and is integrated with global socioeconomic scenarios. We formulate a set of regional policy scenarios (“Business as Usual”, “Falling Behind” and “Closing the Gap”) and demonstrate how each of them corresponds to IPCC SRES scenarios, the latter used as an input to the General Circulation Models (GCMs). Then we discuss the relative effectiveness of the introduced scenarios for mitigating water problems in the region, taking into account the adaptation through changing water demand for agriculture. Finally, we introduce the results of multimodel analysis of GCM climate projections, especially in relation to the change in precipitation and frequency of droughts, and

Asia

OpenAIRE

Lindsay, Richard

2014-01-01

This document explores some of the examples of peatland restoration under different circumstances around the World in order to present an overview of the variety of benefits and inspiring ways in which peatland restoration can be delivered, and so avoid serious and costly consequences for society. Richard Lindsay wrote the Asia and Americas sections of this edited publication.

Pleistocene Palaeoart of Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert G. Bednarik

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This comprehensive overview considers the currently known Pleistocene palaeoart of Asia on a common basis, which suggests that the available data are entirely inadequate to form any cohesive synthesis about this corpus. In comparison to the attention lavished on the corresponding record available from Eurasia’s small western appendage, Europe, it is evident that Pleistocene palaeoart from the rest of the world has been severely neglected. Southern Asia, in particular, holds great promise for the study of early cognitive development of hominins, and yet this potential has remained almost entirely unexplored. Asia is suggested to be the key continent in any global synthesis of ‘art’ origins, emphasising the need for a comprehensive pan-continental research program. This is not just to counter-balance the incredible imbalance in favour of Europe, but to examine the topic of Middle Pleistocene palaeoart development effectively.

Biodiversity in South East Asia: an overview of freshwater sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae: Spongillina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Manconi

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Despite the fact that South East (SE Asia is considered as a biodiversity hotspot, knowledge of sessile invertebrates such as freshwater sponges (Porifera: Haplosclerida: Spongillina in this region is poor and scarcely reported. For this synopsis, diversity and distribution of SE Asian inland water sponges is reported on the basis of available literature and a recent biodiversity assessment of the Lower Mekong basin. A diagnostic key of families/genera from SE Asia is provided together with Light Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy protocols to prepare the basic spicular complement for taxonomic identification. So far, SE Asian freshwater sponges consist of widespread and/or endemic species belonging to the families Metaniidae, Potamolepidae, and Spongillidae. The highest diversity is recorded from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar, respectively. Data from the other countries are necessary for our understanding of their diversity and distribution. Biodiversity in SE Asia is strongly underestimated, as indicated by recent new records and the discovery of new species of freshwater sponges in Thailand. Further investigations should reveal higher values of taxonomic richness, highlighting biogeographic patterns at the family/genus/species levels. A cooperative network involving Thai, Laotian and Italian researchers, was set up to contribute and fulfil knowledge on taxonomy, ecology and biotechnological potentialities of these neglected filter feeders, playing a key role in water purification and biomass production in both lentic and lotic ecosystems in the tropics.

Recommendations to ECE governments on the prevention of water pollution from hazardous substances as adopted by the Committee on Environmental Policy at its first session (1994)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

With a view to preventing, controlling and reducing the release of pollutants into the aquatic environment, thus promoting the implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, pending its entry into force, it is recommended that ECE Governments, taking into account, inter alia, current water quality, water-quality requirements of present and future water users in the relevant catchments, requirements of aquatic and riparian flora and fauna, assessments of the risks involved, the urgency of control measures, and the economic feasibility

SECURITY THREATS IN CENTRAL ASIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Çağla Gül Yesevi

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study will analyze main security threats in Central Asia. It is obvious thatsince the end of Cold War, there have been many security threats in Central Asiaas internal weakness of Central Asian states, terrorism, transnational crime,economic insecurity, environmental issues, drug trafficking, ethnic violence,regional instability. This study will propose thatwith increasing interdependence,states need each other to solve these global security problems. In that sense,regional and sub-regional cooperation between Central Asian states and with otherregional actors has been witnessed. It is clear that the withdrawal of NATO fromAfghanistan will destabilize Central Asia. This study will investigate overallsecurity situation in Central Asia and affects andcontributions of regionalorganizations to Eurasian security

Closing the gap in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meade, W.; Bailly, H.C.

1991-01-01

This article examines the market for independent power plants in Asia and the financing available for these projects. The topics of the article include making room for non-utility generation; the markets in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand; third-party ownership, 1989 installed capacity, capacity additions 1989-1990, and the outlook for the market in Asia

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International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

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Barriers to Coverage of Transborder Environmental Issues in the Ferghana Valley of Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Freedman, Eric

2014-01-01

Three former Soviet republics occupy Central Asia's Ferghana Valley, a region of serious transborder environmental problems, especially ones that involve water and energy. Most news organizations in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan provide little in-depth coverage of these issues. Journalists in one country usually do not seek news sources…

Trade Measures for Regulating Transboundary Movement of Electronic Waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gideon Emcee Christian

2017-08-01

Full Text Available International trade in used electrical and electronics equipment (UEEE provides an avenue for socio-economic development in the developing world and also serves as a conduit for transboundary dumping of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE also referred to as electronic waste or e-waste. The latter problem arises from the absence of a regulatory framework for differentiating between functional UEEE and junk e-waste. This has resulted in both functional UEEE and junk e-waste being concurrently shipped to developing countries under the guise of international trade in used electronics. Dealing with these problems will require effective regulation of international trade in UEEE from both exporting and importing countries. Although, the export of e-waste from the European Community to developing countries is currently prohibited, significant amount of e-waste from the region continue to flow into developing countries due to lax regulatory measures in the latter. Hence, there is need for a regulatory regime in developing countries to complement the prohibitory regime in the major e-waste source countries. This paper proposes trade measures modelled in line with WTO rules which could be adopted by developing countries in addressing these problems. The proposed measures include the development of a compulsory certification and labelling system for functional UEEE as well as trade ban on commercial importation of UEEE not complying with the said certification and labelling system. The paper then goes further to examine these proposed measures in the light of WTO rules and jurisprudence.

Reverse radiometric flow injection analysis (RFIA) of radioactive waste-waters with an ASIA (Ismatec) analyzer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myint, U; Win, N; San, K; Han, B; Myoe, K M [Yangon Univ. (Myanmar). Dept. of Chemistry; Toelgyessy, J [Slovak Technical Univ., Bratislava (Slovakia). Dept. of Environmental Science

1994-07-01

A new application of reverse radiometric flow injection analysis is described. RFIA was used for the analysis of radioactive wastewaters. ASIA (Ismatec) analyzer with NaI(Tl) scintillation detector was used in the study of analysis of [sup 131]I containing waste-aster. (author) 4 refs.; 3 figs.

The Aerosol-Monsoon Climate System of Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, William K. M.; Kyu-Myong, Kim

2012-01-01

absorbing aerosols (dust and black carbon) may interact with monsoon dynamics to produce feedback effects on the atmospheric water cycle, leading to in accelerated melting of snowpacks over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, and subsequent changes in evolution of the pre-monsoon and peak monsoon rainfall, moisture and wind distributions in South Asia and East Asia.

Can computer models stimulate learning about sustainable land use? Experience with LUPAS in the humid (sub-)tropics of Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paassen, van A.; Roetter, R.P.; Keulen, van H.; Hoanh, C.T.

2007-01-01

In many rice-cultivating regions of east and south-east Asia, competition for land and water resources is strong and increasing. This calls for exploration of future technology and policy options in support of sustainable land (and water) use. Sustainable land use is a complex issue, that involves