Ecosystems and Sustainable Development VI

About this book

Combining sciences and thoughts is essential for the sustainability of ecosystems as well as for understanding human life. Ecology, economics, chemistry, physics, climatology, informatics are pieces to be put together in order to compose the transdisciplinary picture of our complex world. This Volume contains the proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development that was held in Coimbra (Portugal) in September 2007. ECOSUD offers a unique opportunity and encourages the interdisciplinary communication between scientists, engineers and professionals working in ecological systems and sustainable development. The Conference objectives have evolved over the years, seeking to integrate thermodynamics, ecology and economics into "ecodynamics". The proceedings has been arranged in the following sections: Ecosystem modelling; Environmental management; Mathematical and system modelling; Environmental risk; Natural resources management; Sustainability indicators; Ecological areas studies; Energy and the environment; Socio economic factors; Sustainable tourism; Soil and agricultural issues; Sustainable waste management; and, Water resources.

Contents

Section 1: Ecosystems modellingSimulating water conflicts using game theoretical models for water resources management; An eutrophication model for a lowland river-lake systemSection 2: Environmental managementThe UN Global Compact: moving toward sustainable development by adopting a new paradigm; Environmental monitoring during beach nourishment using relict sands (central Tyrrhenian sea); An economic and environmental total life cycle costing methodology and a web-based tool for environmental planning of buildingsSection 3: Mathematical and system modellingMathematical modelling applied to ecosystems: the Godel's theorem; A family of models to study the growth of Haloferax mediterranei in different conditions; Lotus glaber Mill. Induced autotetraploid: new forage resource for the Flooding Pampas; A phenological model for the soybeanSection 4: Environmental riskModelling arsenic transport in a river basin: a case study in Finland; Pollen contamination in Acacia saligna: assessing the risks for sustainable agroforestrySection 5: Natural resources managementThe Armenian forests: threats to conservation and needs for sustainable management; Contributions of biogeotextiles to sustainable development and soil conservation in developing countries: the BORASSUS ProjectSection 6: Sustainability indicatorsEco-dynamics of territorial systems: an Emergy Evaluation through time; An investigation on sustainability indicators of vernacular environments: the case of Cyprus; Sustainability indicators for the housing market: proposals and applicationsSection 7: Ecological areas studiesSustainable requalification of architectural and natural resources: the coastal village of Marzamemi; Phycological flora diversity in a coastal tropical ecosystem in the Northeast of Brazil; Protecting open space at multiple scales along Utah's Wasatch Front; GIS based land use planning and watershed monitoring as tools for sustainable development; Stability and resilience in macrobenthic communities: the role of habitat disturbanceSection 8: Energy and the environmentTechnological change dynamic and learning curve theory: application to the global energy system; Efficiency analysis for the production of modern energy carriers from renewable resources and wastes; Environmental sustainability of CO2 capture in fossil fuel based power plants; Cooling needs for a warming world? Economics and governance of district coolingSection 9: Socio economic factorsThe (in)validity of benefit transfer and its consequences for policy-making; Coastal cities - urban infrastructures; Petrol consumption towards unsustainable development: Iranian case study; HIV/AIDS morbidity/mortality, access to social support and household utilization of natural resources in Ngamiland, Botswana; Rural development in small mountainous settlements: case study of Bojnord region, North-eastern part of Iran; Green milieu: the milieu effects on sustainable development of watershed collaborations with a case study of the New York City Watershed Agreement; Achieving the MDG's in Ghana: rhetorics or reality?Section 10: Sustainable tourismRecreational trail planning in the context of seasonality; A new method for tourism carrying capacity assessment; Environmental impacts caused by the tourist industry in Elafonisos Island and the Neapoli district, Greece; Correlation between the moisture and quantity of biomass as a basis of sustainability of ecosystems (the example of plain deserts of Turkmenistan); Environmentalism and sustainable development from the point of view of tourismSection 11: Soil and agricultural issuesApplication of the SWAP model for sustainable agriculture in an arid region; River water qualities and types of agricultural production -a comparison between paddy farming and intensive livestock production areas; Emerging environmental and educational service of dairy farming in Japan: dilemma or opportunity?; Effects of planting patterns on biomass accumulation and yield of summer maizeSection 12: Sustainable waste managementA diagnostic model for M.S.W. landfill operation and the protection of ecosystems with a spatial multiple criteria analysis - Zakynthos Island, Greece; The environmental consequences of implementation of a council directive on landfill of waste in Lithuania; Transformations in the solid and liquid phase at aqueous carbonization of oil shale ash; Waste from the coal extraction process as raw material for the construction industry; Use of waste powder coatings as binders for the manufacture of composite materials; New technology for waste fluorescent lamps treatment in Lithuania - characterisation and environmental impact; Sustainable waste management in hospitals; The waste prevention kit for enterprises, education, and households (WastePrevKit)Section 13: Water resourcesAssessment of seasonal variations in stream water by principal component analysis; Fostering sustainable water supply in urban and peri-urban areas of Ghana: the case of Ho Municipality

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