Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: Long-lasting efficacy of insecticide-treated nets is a balance between adhesion, retention and migration of insecticide to the surface of netting fibres. ICON® Maxx is a twin-sachet 'home-treatment kit' of pyrethroid plus binding agent, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for long-lasting, wash-fast treatment of polyester nets. While knitted polyester netting is widely used, fine woven polyethylene netting is increasingly available and nets made of cotton and nylon are common in Africa and Asia. It is important to investigate whether ICON Maxx is able to fulfill the WHO criteria of long-lasting treatment on a range of domestic fabrics to widen the scope for malaria protection. METHODS: This study was a controlled comparison of the bio-efficacy and wash-fastness of lambda-cyhalothrin CS, with or without binder, on nets made of cotton, polyethylene, nylon, dyed and undyed polyester. Evaluation compared an array of bioassays: WHO cone and cylinder, median time to knockdown and WHO tunnel tests using Anopheles mosquitoes. Chemical assay revealed further insight. RESULTS: ICON Maxx treated polyethylene and polyester netting met the WHO cone and tunnel test bio-efficacy criteria for LLIN after 20 standardized washes. Although nylon and cotton netting failed to meet the WHO cone and cylinder criteria, both materials passed the WHO tunnel test criterion of 80% mortality after 20 washes. All materials treated with standard lambda-cyhalothrin CS without binder failed to meet any of the WHO bio-efficacy criteria within 5 washes. CONCLUSION: The bio-efficacy of ICON Maxx against mosquitoes on netting washed up to 20 times demonstrated wash durability on a range of synthetic polymer and natural fibres: polyester, polyethylene, nylon and cotton. This raises the prospect of making insecticide-binder kits into an effective approach for turning untreated nets, curtains, military clothing, blankets-and tents and tarpaulins as used in disasters and humanitarian emergencies-into effective malaria prevention products. It may provide a solution to the problem of reduced LLIN coverage between campaigns by converting commercially sourced untreated nets into LLINs through community or home treatment. It may also open the door to binding of non-pyrethroid insecticides to nets and textiles for control of pyrethroid resistant vectors.

The objective of this article is to address the issue of humanitarian assistance and response to disasters and emergencies, from the perspective of the capabilities that the Colombian Armed Forces (FF.MM.) should have that allow them to integrate into the international, national and local scenario through the dual use of military means and their integration with other State institutions. A qualitative method was used that through a deductive documentary analysis and structured interviews allowed to understand the international and national environment of the state entities and the Armed Forces of other countries that develop this type of tasks; to finally determine what capabilities the Armed Forces should have to be effectively linked to disaster and emergency scenarios. ; El objetivo del presente artículo es abordar la temática de la asistencia humanitaria y respuesta a desastres y emergencias, desde la perspectiva de las capacidades que deben tener las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia (FF.MM.) que le permitan integrarse al escenario internacional, nacional y local mediante el uso dual de los medios militares y su integración con las demás instituciones del Estado. Se utilizó un método cualitativo que mediante un análisis documental deductivo y entrevistas estructuradas permitieron entender el entorno internacional y nacional de las entidades estatales y FF.MM. de otros países que desarrollan este tipo de tareas; para llegar finalmente a determinar con qué capacidades debe contar las FF.MM. para vincularse de manera efectiva a escenarios de desastres y emergencias. ; O objetivo deste artigo é abordar a questão da assistência humanitária e da resposta a desastres e emergências, a partir da perspectiva das capacidades que as Forças Armadas Colombianas (Forças Armadas) deveriam ter para permitir sua integração no cenário internacional, nacional e local através do duplo uso de meios militares e sua integração com outras instituições do Estado. Foi utilizado um método qualitativo que, através de uma análise documental dedutiva e entrevistas estruturadas, permitiu compreender o ambiente internacional e nacional das entidades estatais e das Forças Armadas de outros países que realizam este tipo de tarefa, a fim de finalmente determinar que capacidades as Forças Armadas deveriam ter para serem efetivamente ligadas a cenários de desastre e emergência.

The photographic work of Richard Misrach (1949-.) explores the manners man and nature intertwine and collide in the American landscape. While producing highly aesthetic photographs through the development of colour photography and large-scale formats, Misrach is perceived as having politicised landscape photography. From bombing ranges to petrochemical pollution, he repeatedly captured occurrences of disasters. This dissertation is an attempt at analysing Misrach's landscape photography through the paradigm of disaster in its contemporary acceptation as being man-made and media-borne (Isak Holm). Misrach's multi-faceted approach provides peculiar transcriptions of disaster by standing aside, taking a step back, as opposed to traditional subject matters in landscape photography and instantaneous media coverage. His recreation and remediation of the experience of disaster unfolding through time, space and senses turn into an aesthetic and contemplative experience which allows for a reframing of disaster's representations and creates space for new disaster narratives. This study is centred on four series: Desert Cantos (1979-present), 1991: The Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath (1991), Destroy this Memory (2005) and Petrochemical America (1998-2010). ; L'œuvre photographique de Richard Misrach (1949-. ) explore les relations complexes et protéiformes qui entremêlent l'homme et la nature à travers le paysage américain. Ses créations se situent à la frontière d'une esthétique travaillée — en contribuant au développement de la photographie en couleur comme forme artistique légitime et en s'inscrivant dans la tradition des chambres photographiques grand format — et d'une volonté de politiser la photographie de paysage. Misrach s'est principalement consacré à la capture de désastres, qu'il s'agisse de zones d'essais nucléaires dans le désert ou de la pollution pétrochimique en Louisiane. Cette étude tentera d'analyser la photographie de Richard Misrach à travers le paradigme du désastre comme étant simultanément un produit de l'homme et des médias (Isak Holm). La réinterprétation et la remédiation de l'expérience du désastre offertes par Misrach se déploient selon des problématiques temporelles, spatiales et esthétiques qui se réunissent en une expérience contemplative. Ces questionnements permettent un recadrage des représentations du désastre et ouvrent la possibilité de mener de nouvelles discussions autour des discours sur le désastre. Ce mémoire s'intéressa principalement à quatre séries photographiques, à savoir, Desert Cantos (1979-present), 1991 : The Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath (1991), Destroy this Memory (2005) et Petrochemical America (1998-2010).

According to the World Meteorological Organization that 2014 was the hottest year in which the hot weather alternated with high rainfall and floods which destroyed the people's economy. Banjarbaru, as one of the central cities of the government of South Kalimantan Province, has a topographic condition that is at an altitude of 0-500 m above sea level, causing rainfall, which is enough frequent. Banjarbaru itself is one of the cities affected by climate change in 2014. Disasters that occurred in the form of flooding at several points of residents and also crippled traffic at that time. Thus, it is important to know the pattern of maximum rainfall changes that occur. By knowing the pattern of maximum rainfall changes, the impact of the high rainfall that can occur will be minimized and can even be anticipated as early as possible. Data processing is performed with maximum daily rainfall data of 30 years and divided into a database before and after climate change that is 25 years old data and 5 years of new data. Each database calculates the planned rainfall for the return period of 2-1000 years with the distribution obtained from the analyzed database. Next, analyze the deviation of the two data. The purpose of analyzing the deviation of old data and new data is to determine changes in the planned rainfall from both data. Deviation analysis uses the Peak-Weight Root Mean Square Error function. The conclusion of the analysis is that based on the Statistical Parameters test, the Chi-Square test, and the Smirnov-Kolmogorov test on the old database using the Gumbel distribution and the new data using the Pearson Log Type III distribution for the calculation of the planned rain. Based on the analysis of the rain plan to get new data 5 years has the results of the rain plan is greater than the old data of 25 years and the analysis of the deviation to get the results of the new data 5 years has a greater value of deviation each time when revisiting the old data of 25 years. So it can be suggested that rainfall data with the same characteristics, can use 5 years of new data for the analysis of water building planning.

Am 22. und 23. Oktober 2019 fand an der Universität Bergamo ein "Convegno internazionale" über "Europäische Naturlyrik nach 1945" mit Forscher:innen aus Italien und Deutschland statt. Bei freundlichem Herbstwetter wurden "Gespräche über Bäume" unternommen, die von Brechts bekanntem Vers über Celans Naturlyrik bis zur Legitimation eines solchen "Gesprächs" reichten. Der Horizont der Diskussion wurde komparatistisch ausgezogen und erstreckte sich auf die französische, die luxemburgische, die englische, die italienische und die deutsche Naturdichtung. Angesichts der Ideenfülle der Beiträge entschieden sich die Initiator:innen der Tagung dazu, die Beiträge auf zwei Bände zu verteilen: auf einen Themenband über Bäume in der zeitgenössischen Naturlyrik1 und den vorliegenden Band, in den die über das Baum-Motiv hinauswachsenden Beiträge der Tagung Eingang gefunden haben. Die Konferenz sowie die beiden daraus hervorgegangenen Bände sind ein Ergebnis der Zusammenarbeit von Amelia Valtolina (Bergamo) und Michael Braun (Berlin) mit der an der Universität Trier angesiedelten DFG-Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe 2603 "Russischsprachige Lyrik in Transition. Poetische Formen des Umgangs mit Grenzen der Gattung, Sprache, Kultur und Gesellschaft zwischen Europa, Asien und Amerika". Die Vorträge dieser Konferenz nahmen das Wechselspiel von Geschichte und Natur im poetischen Wort, die Dialektik von Romantisierung und Dämonisierung der Natur sowie die Doppelfunktion von Modernekritik und Zivilisationsmüdigkeit im Naturgedicht in den Blick. Es ging um die Fort- oder Neuschreibung von Traditionen und Genres sowie um die Poetik und Ästhetik des Naturgedichts im kulturellen und historischen Wandel. Entsprechend rückt der Titel des vorliegenden Bandes das immer wieder in der Diskussion unter den Vortra genden hervorgehobene Transitorische des Naturbegriffes ins Zentrum. ; Even if the category of nature in the poem has lost its innocence since 1945, speaking about natural phenomena and natural disasters retains its in-spirational effect upon poets and readers. In the conversation taking place from poem to poem and betsween poetry and its readers, nature continues to provide a basis for knowledge, including politically and ideologically. The transition of poetic formssu that have shaped the image of nature for centuries also plays a telling role: the post-1945 nature poem draws again and again from the rhetorical reservoir of the genre, whether from the didactic poem derived from Lucretius or from the idyll of the classical tradition. Recent nature poetry questions the foundations of the Anthropocene, beyond lyricism and beyond well-honed ecocriticism. From a variety of perspectives, the contributions to this special issue of IZfK examine these transitions and transformations in the category of nature and the nature lyric in post-1945 European poetry. How can we speak poetically – and, by extension, politically – about nature in light of the ecological "modes of death" proliferating in the 21st century? What in-fluence do the natural sciences have on new nature writing? By what means are classical genres of nature poetry such as "Elementargedicht", pastoral, bucolic, and didactic poems being rewritten?

Introduction Climate-related disasters have cost the world over £450 billion over the last 3 years. In the race to mitigate these effects, the UK government has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. Transport provides the largest single sector contribution to CO2 emissions, the road network accounts for up to 91%. As the only UK country without a formal climate change bill Northern Ireland could compromise the overall effort. Case description In this research a survey of road asset owners, managers, academics, consultants, public transport providers was undertaken to seek to understand the current barriers to adapting a dispersed rural road network in Northern Ireland for net-zero transport. The survey data was collected though an online form with a combination of multiple choice and open ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyse the data collected which enabled a discussion around the key expert opinions gathered. Discussion and evaluation The paper presents details of the current road network in Northern Ireland and highlights some of the issues faced by asset owners. The survey questions were developed though engagement with transport professionals in Northern Ireland and focus predominantly on road use rather than the impact of current land management practices or environmental conditions such as flood risk. The response highlights a clear enthusiasm for change in the operation of the public road network which is hindered by a lack of government strategy and limited public consultation. Conclusions The high response rate (41%) for the survey highlights the interest of those in the transport sector to engage in activities which can support a better understanding of how road networks contribute to CO2 emissions. Within the survey data a requirement for behavioural change was highlighted as a key step to reduce transport related emissions, the enthusiasm for change demonstrates this is the optimum time to engage with the public and develop clear transport strategies. More accurate findings and empirical evidence could have been established had the study considered specific, transport planning, environmental and land use conditions for Northern Ireland. This will be the focus of further research in this area to enable clear translation of the research to other countries.

The article discusses the interpretation of the burning traces on the remains of various wooden structures of the Umrevinskiy ostrog from the first half of the 18th century. The tasks of the research were to identify, systematize, and analyze the origin of thermal exposure on preserved parts of the wooden defensive and residential structures of the ostrog. The absence of fire traces on the bases of the logs preserved in the grooves from the log fence indicates that they were not subjected to any special heat treatment before being placed into the ground. Based on written sources of the first third of the 18th century, it is because of this that the back walls of the Umrevinskiy ostrog collapsed rather quickly. In another site, the southwestern corner tower, the fire traces are associated with its destruction in the second half of the 18th century. Note that the piles of the tower foundation, similarly to the log fence, did not have any special burning to provide waterproofing. For the base of the tower frame, this function was performed by clay bedding. In the central part of the ostrog, burned-out ruins of a residential structure were recorded. The abundance of numismatic material in the ruins allows dating this event no later than the late 18th century. Traces of fire exposure on residential buildings of the 18th century were also found in the posad (settlement) of the Umrevinskiy ostrog, in the area of the discovery of the treasure of silver coins, consisting of the "drip" kopeks of the Peters time (minted until 1718). Separate facts of burning are recorded in some burials from a later necropolis that was formed in the inner area of the ostrog no earlier than at the turn of the 18-19th centuries. Generally, the topography of fire traces in the Umrevinskiy ostrog is characterized by local nature, which excludes the impact of large-scale forest fires on fortifications and residential structures. Such natural disasters were recorded in the written sources for the north of the Upper Ob Region in the end of the 17th century and were one a factor of their destruction and the need for restoration of the Siberian ostrogs.

This year will focus on celebrations and reflections on occasion of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. At the same time, the Millennium Development Goals as well as the Sustainable Development Goals for thepost-2015 era remain central items on the agenda when global governance issues and international responsibilities are discussed.Notions, which by implication always also carry a local meaning and impact on domestic policy in as much as domestic policy (not only as foreign policy) also impacts on global governance issues. The divide often maintained is more than ever artificial and misleading in the face of the global challenges humanity faces — not only in terms of environmental degradation as a resultof climate change. Many issues do not have any territorial boundaries orare transcending those.
The inter-linkages of the local and the global (for which the term'glocal' was minted a few years ago) are obvious not only when it comes tohumanitarian disasters and emergency situations appealing to globalsolidarity, such as the recent earthquake in Nepal and its devastating consequences. Other manifestations of solidarity in a global world include the almost world-wide 'Je Suis Charlie' response and outcry to the terrorist attack on the journal and the cold-blooded execution of its cartoonists in Paris. The gathering of world leaders there in defiance of the assault on civil liberties and freedoms of expression was a symbolic act of some magnitude and brought together even deeply antagonistic political players. But at the same time the lack of similar visible and determined symbolic acts of defiance by the world's political leaders and Western civil society agencies, suggesting an absence of a similar degree of moral outcry and global protest over the ongoing slaughters and abductions by Boko Haram in Nigeria or the massacre of students at the Garissa University College in Kenya seem to suggest that we still live in times of double standards and/or selective perceptions. Humanity as well as humanbeings remain divided and seem to live in different worlds. Likewise, the tragedies taking place visibly in broad daylight on the Mediterranean Sea, reaching a scale of human loss at days bordering to the numerical proportions of 9/11, have not been met with a similar rigorous political will topromote true values of humanity.

On 23 March 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) government introduced new measures aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). These measures directed the closure of non-essential businesses and venues, prohibited all public gatherings of more than two people and required everyone to stay at home except for very limited purposes. The rationale behind the measures was clear: Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives. Within days of the lockdown coming into force, reports emerged within the media that services supporting victims of gender-based violence (GBV) were facing an unprecedented increase in demand for assistance, indicating that cases of abuse were on the rise. Although GBV is not caused by lockdown measures, evidence indicates that they may increase the incidence rate and/or the severity of GBV in households where it is already being perpetrated. These findings are in line with existing research which demonstrates that natural disasters, disease and other forms of conflict leave citizens (particularly women and girls) vulnerable to GBV. Preventing and responding to GBV in times of humanitarian crises is a vital but challenging endeavour. Whilst support services struggle to secure adequate resources and capacity, restrictions on leaving the house mean that victims face barriers to reporting abuse and seeking help. Within this context, this article will analyse the impact of Covid-19 on the ability of victims of GBV to access justice. The first part of this article will explore the role of GBV organisations in the UK, the impact of humanitarian crises on reported rates of GBV, and how GBV can be mitigated during the Covid-19 outbreak. The second part of the article examines the effectiveness of the response to the crisis from government and public sector agencies including Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police. The third and final part of the article presents the findings of a UK wide study conducted by the authors into the impact of Covid-19 on GBV organisations and victims. Throughout the article, recommendations are made as to the ways in which GBV organisations could be more effectively supported to ensure justice for victims at this critical time.

This article belongs to the field of international relations and the sub-field of security, since it deals with humanitarian operations carried out by the military, especially after natural disasters. The main argument is that, by nature, armies are not a humanitarian institution because their mission is to defend and secure states. However, based on their strategic objectives, states use their armies in humanitarian affairs and reformulate their national interests under the umbrella of human rights and the importance of the human being vis-à-vis the state. For this purpose, the concepts of security and power of the realistic theory are applied to the Ecuadorian case of reconstruction aid missions in the Caribbean: Marhec, Marcec and Mahrgec. ; El presente artículo se enmarca en el área de relaciones internacionales, en la subárea de seguridad, pues aborda las actividades que realizan los militares en asuntos humanitarios, específicamente relacionados con desastres naturales. El argumento principal sostiene que los ejércitos, por su naturaleza, no son una institución humanitaria, debido a que su misión es la defensa y la seguridad de los Estados. Sin embargo, estos, basados en sus objetivos estratégicos, utilizan a sus ejércitos en asuntos humanitarios y reformulan sus intereses nacionales, gracias al paraguas de los derechos humanos y la importancia del ser humano frente al Estado. Para el efecto, los conceptos de seguridad y poder de la teoría realista son aplicados al caso ecuatoriano en la experiencia de las misiones de ayuda para la reconstrucción en el Caribe: Marhec, Marcec y Mahrgec. ; Este artigo se enquadra na área de relações internacionais, na subárea de segurança, pois aborda as atividades realizadas pelos militares em questões humanitárias, especificamente as relacionadas a desastres naturais. O principal argumento afirma que os exércitos, por sua natureza, não são uma instituição humanitária, porque sua missão é a defesa e segurança dos Estados. No entanto, os Estados, com base em objetivos estratégicos, usam seus exércitos em assuntos humanitários e reformulam seus interesses nacionais, graças ao amparo dos direitos humanos e à importância do ser humano em relação ao Estado. Para esse fim, os conceitos de segurança e poder da teoria realista são aplicados ao caso equatoriano, na experiência de missões de ajuda para reconstrução no Caribe: Marhec, Marcec e Mahrgec.

International audience ; RESUME Dans la littérature, le management d'urgence (emergency management) a été essentiellement développé afin de répondre à des catastrophes. Il repose sur la définition et la mise en oeuvre d'une organisation spécifique permettant de répondre à une situation de crise. Alors que l'urgence devient une situation de gestion permanente dans les organisations, il peut être intéressant de réfléchir à des modes de pensée et d'organisation en mesure d'y faire face de manière continue. Comme il en existe pour les situations de crise ponctuelles, est-il possible de décrire certaines modalités d'un management (permanent) de l'urgence, applicables dans les organisations ? Pour répondre à cette question de recherche, le management militaire se caractérisant souvent par un niveau d'urgence permanent, notamment en temps de guerre, nous tentons d'approcher, par une méthode historique, les modes d'organisation et d'administration que Napoléon Bonaparte adopte lors de ses principales campagnes militaires. La description et l'analyse managériale des évènements majeurs de ces campagnes nous permettent de mettre en lumière une certaine cohérence et une continuité de gestion, appliquées par Napoléon, qui peuvent inspirer les gestionnaires dans leur management quotidien de l'urgence. Mots clés : urgence en gestion, management de l'urgence, pensée managériale, méthode historique, Napoléon ABSTRACT In the literature, emergency management has been mainly built to respond to disasters. It is based on the definition and implementation of a specific organization to respond to a crisis or disaster situation. As emergency becomes a permanent management situation in organizations, it can be interesting to think about ways of thinking and organizing to deal with it on an ongoing basis. As there are for specific crisis situations, is it possible to describe a (permanent) management of emergency applicable in organizations? To answer this research question, since military management is often characterized by a permanent level of urgency, especially in times of war, we try to approach, by a historical method, the modes of organization and administration that Napoleon Bonaparte adopted during his main military campaigns. The description and managerial analysis of the major events of these campaigns allow us to highlight a certain coherence and continuity of management, applied by Napoleon, which can inspire managers in their daily emergency management.

The paper I want to share at this Education Conference is not the result of a research, but it is a product of a 26-year long education career. With all my observations during these 26 years, I found that especially high school students' global awareness is low and developing a better awareness has become the forefront of my education phylosophy, so I create a syllabus and developed a strategic board game. I am a generation X teacher who tries to raise the generation Z kids and construct an education system for the Generation Alpha. On the other hand,Y-generation, my young colleagues that I am working with are also very different from me, but still ,we are sharing the same planet that needs our immediate care and awareness. The main goal of this syllabus is teaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals, so that they can internalize the goals to take actions. This paper contains the basic chapter explanations of the curriculum and the rulee of the strategic board game ECOTOPIA. In short , this curriculum and strategic board game is the product my educational experience and I would like to get support/opinion from my colleagues by presenting them in this conference. The philosophy of the curriculum is rising Global Awareness meanwhile understanding the sustainable development goals (SDG). On the other hand, the game Ecotopia is just covering some development goals. The game focused on renewable energy sources and pollution. When a student starts playing the game he/she has learned the renewable energy sources, pollution sources and etc but by the end of the game he/she would have a solid idea about how other countries affect your nature, how do states make decisions to change their investments nature friendly like electric cars, how unexpeced disasters like earthquake effec the country,how global warming is increasing aoutomatically and as World citizenship you nedd to take some actions to reduce it. Participants in the game need to develop various strategies regarding ecological conditions, sustainable energy sources, as well as attitudes towards air, water, and soil pollution. The goal of every player is to create a healthy and sustainable state.

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JHLSCM-08-2018-0059 ; Purpose – The purpose of this research is to understand whether an organization knows if it is ready to respond to a disaster and whether it has the capabilities to deliver relief. Our initial motivation was to identify unique resources possessed by the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) due to their unique and critical capabilities for humanitarian operations. The recent frequency of disasters around the world suggests these events will continue to create demand for relief capabilities. For this reason we need to understand readiness metrics not just for USN and USMC but for humanitarian organizations (Hos) in general. Design/methodology/approach – We survey relevant literature for understanding how HOs define and develop readiness metrics and associated factors. We studied documents including peer-reviewed scholarly articles, government documents, white papers, research papers and Department of Defense (DoD) briefings. We study literature that is significantly written for DoD, one, the vast experience of USN and USMC and two, the lessons learned have been documented. The literature offers substantial information on what readiness means and why it is important. This documented information is critical because it is known to the researchers in humanitarian operations that data is hard to come by. Findings –The framework for readiness proposed at the end of this article is context the emergency responder probably uses in an informal fashion. The validation of readiness framework, we find exists in the supporting literature we review. Originality/value – The understanding of readiness metrics for humanitarian operations for the organizations we study may offer insight into other HOs. The insights we gain may not be pivotal or counterintuitive to the conclusions based on commonsense. However, they are supported by the literature review. We formalize the concept based on conclusions of a set of diverse set of researchers and practitioners such as academic scholars, DoD personnel and government officials involved in humanitarian missions, USAID representatives that are repeatedly tasked for being ready, military and government officers from host and foreign countries and many more. ; Acquisition Research Program at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) ; NPS Foundation

One of the major challenges at the global level is the security of energy supply in conditions of reducing the stock of non-renewable energy sources, given the political instability in the countries which produce energy and uncertain natural disasters. What is relevant is a challenge that relates to the protection of the environment, reducing pollution and managing climate change. There is need for energy transition, which is only possible in the long term. Orientation towards renewable energy sources, reducing dependence on a single energy source, increasing the number of suppliers is a way to meet these challenges and ensure a higher level of not only energy, but also the economic, environmental, technological, political security. Energy security is a multidimensional concept that includes not only the elements of the concept of sustainable development, but also security of supply, the technical characteristics of the energy system, the political and security aspects. It is necessary to distinguish the energy security from energy dependence, because energy security problem is not related only to the imported energy dependence. Thus, energy security is an integral concept that combines different aspects in order to ensure long-term sustainability of energy supply. Any form of threat to the balance of the energy system can jeopardize GDP, political stability, and prosperity of the citizens. In order to monitor progress towards a sustainable way of using energy sources and achieving security of supply, energy indicators which can monitor and measure the change are needed. There are a number of indicators that show the level of energy security. They can be simple, but very complicated or complex. Complex indicators take into account the entire energy system from production to final consumption. In order to ensure objectivity in evaluating the level of energy security, the issue of this dissertation is the calculation of the composite index. On the basis of calculated general indicators of the level of energy security, in the form of a composite index of energy security, it is perceived position of Serbia in relation to the countries of the Western Balkans and the European Union and placed the basis for future research and prerequisites for the further development of the concept of energy security.

Landfilling should be the last option in an integrated Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management approach. In the European Union (EU), the policy framework to protect the environment and the public health against the impact of health hazards related to urban solid waste management has been consistently implemented in recent decades. A growing interest in the negative impact of fires in waste landfills on the environment and people's health was reported in some European countries. In Italy, an increasing occurrence of arsons in MSW and landfills has been reported in recent years. During the summer of 2012, a multi-site arson occurred in the Palermo Municipal solid waste landfill of Bellolampo (western Sicily), giving rise to an environmental emergency of public health concern. Local health authorities reacted by creating an inter-institutional multidisciplinary task force with the aim to implement measures to prevent and control the risk of exposure by delimiting a protection area to be taken under strict monitoring. Environmental and epidemiological investigations were put in place by air, soil, and farm product sampling. A syndromic surveillance of the exposed population was conducted as well. The air monitoring stations system in place detected an increase in the concentrations of dioxins and dioxin-like substances with the PM10 highest emission pick documented within the first 24 h and estimated at about 60 µg/m3. Levels of heavy metals above the limits permitted by law were detected in the top-and sub-soil samples collected within the two landfill sampling sites and also in other nearby sites. Non-conforming concentration values of dioxins and dioxin-like substances were detected in samples taken from farms, milk, and water. The health syndromic surveillance did not document any daily increase in the notification of emergency admissions related to acute respiratory diseases or any other health effect potentially related to the waste arson, but these findings were limited by the non-systematic collection of data. The experience reported in the present case report, as declined within the European Union policy framework and in the view of environmental justice, documented the need to structure a permanent collaboration between the different institutional actors involved in environmental and public health protection activities in order to develop specific protocols to manage events related to the occurrence of waste-related environmental emergencies or disasters.