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International audience The development of geo-engineering applied to the oceans-ocean fertilization, trapping and geological storage of CO2-has put two areas of international environmental law in tension: climate law and international law of the marine environment. This study aims to think about the role that the international environmental law could or should play toward the development of the geo-engineering. The discussions on geo-engineering that have taken place in international fora are rich in lessons about these rights themselves, with regard to their effectiveness and efficiency, but also to their articulation, and they allow to understand the position of the different organizations a front of these new techniques. Thus, the question of the " good governance" of this new challenge raises. It is therefore a question of presenting the various possibilities offered by international law to frame-even forbid-these new practices.

International audience Barium:calcium and molybdenum:calcium ratios were investigated in shells of the tropical scallop Comptopallium radula . Three juvenile specimens were harvested alive in the southwest lagoon of New Caledonia after a 1-year hydrological survey. Calcite samples representing a few hours of biomineralization were laser-ablated along the maximal growth axis and analyzed for Ba and Mo content using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Absolute dates of shell precipitation assigned on the basis of periodic formation of shell growth patterns led to the accurate reconstruction of ontogenetic variations of elemental ratios with subweekly resolution. Inter-individual variability of Ba:Ca and Mo:Ca time series was low, indicating an environmental control on the incorporation of these elements within shells. Both profiles were characterized by a background level punctuated by sharp peaks. The ingestion of diatoms enriched in Ba (adsorbed on iron oxyhydroxides associated with the frustules) is the most likely cause of the formation of Ba:Ca peaks. Some contribution of diatom-associated barite is also possible. In every instance, Ba:Ca would possibly be a proxy for the timing and magnitude of diatom blooms. Among all the theories that could be advanced to explain the occurrence of Mo:Ca peaks, the most plausible appears to be the ingestion of phytoplankton cells grown upon NO 3 - and therefore containing high levels of Mo required for the activity of nitrate reductase. If this is so, then Mo:Ca could be a new proxy for nitrate uptake by phytoplankton in coastal ecosystems, helping to reconstruct the balance between new and regenerated production in paleoenvironments.

International audience The Costa Rica - Nicaragua cases, which led to the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 2 February 2018, are rich in lessons. The International Court, in its judgment of 16 December 2015, specifies the content of the international obligations of "due diligence" regarding the prevention of environmental damage. Step by step, the Court continues to consolidate an international environmental law of customary nature around the "due diligence" principle, which forms its bedrock. Its decision of 2018 gives it the opportunity to recognize environmental damage in international law and to admit its compensable character. Despite some grey areas, these cases brought a substantial contribution to the development of international environmental law.

To test the hypothesis that different drivers shape the diversity and biogeography of the total and active bacterial community, we examined the bacterial community composition along two transects, one from the inner Pearl River estuary to the open waters of the South China Sea (SCS) and the other from the Luzon Strait to the SCS basin, using 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene (V1-3 regions) and thereby characterizing the active and total bacterial community, respectively. The diversity and biogeographic patterns differed substantially between the active and total bacterial communities. Although the composition of both the total and active bacterial community was strongly correlated with environmental factors and weakly correlated with geographic distance, the active bacterial community displayed higher environmental sensitivity than the total community and particularly a greater distance effect largely caused by the active assemblage from deep waters. The 16S rRNA vs. rDNA relationships indicated that the active bacteria were low in relative abundance in the SCS. This might be due to a high competition between active bacterial taxa as indicated by our community network models. Based on these analyses, we speculate that high competition could cause some dispersal limitation of the active bacterial community resulting in a distinct distance-decay relationship. Altogether, our results indicated that the biogeographic distribution of bacteria in the SCS is the result of both environmental control and distance decay.

10479 10496 14 6 ; S ; [EN] The environment in livestock buildings must be controlled to ensure the health and welfare of both workers and animals, as well as to restrict the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. Among the pollutants generated inside these premises, carbon dioxide (CO2) is of great interest in terms of animal welfare and ventilation control. The use of inexpensive sensors means that complete systems can be designed with a number of sensors located around the building. This paper describes a study of the suitability of multipoint simultaneous CO2 sensors operating in a wireless sensor network, which was found to operate satisfactorily under laboratory conditions and was found to be the best alternative for these applications. The sensors showed a highly linear response to CO2 concentrations, ranging from 500 to 5000 ppm. However, individual sensor response was found to differ, which made it necessary to calibrate each one separately. Sensor precision ranged between 80 and 110 ppm CO2, and sensor response to register a 95% change in concentration was estimated at around 5 min. These features mean this type of sensor network can be used to monitor animal welfare and also for environmental control in poorly ventilated livestock premises. According to the tests conducted in this study, a temporal drift may occur and therefore a regular calibration of sensors would be needed. This project was supported by the Vicerrectorado de Investigacion of the UPV (Programa de Apoyo a la Investigacion y Desarrollo, PAID-06-11 Program, Project No. 2843) and the Spanish Government under Projects CTM2011-29691-C02-01 and TIN2011-28435-C03-0. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Calvet Sanz, S.; Campelo Rivadulla, JC.; Estellés, F.; Perles Ivars, A.; Mercado Romero, R.; Serrano Martín, JJ. (2014). Suitability Evaluation of Multipoint Simultaneous CO2 Sampling Wireless Sensors for Livestock Buildings. Sensors. 14(6):10479-10496. doi:10.3390/s140610479 ...

Between the "simplification shock", the promotion of agroecology and the management of pollution, the current environment law applied to agriculture is still rich over the last two years. It (always) concerns environmental pollution and risks: water (I), plant protection products (II), and GMO (III). Upstream, the agricultural policies themselves were reformed with the CAP 2013 and the Future Law for Agriculture, Food and Forestry of 2014 (IV). While the latter in particular points to new models of agricultural production, the balance remains rather mixed. ; International audience ; Between the "simplification shock", the promotion of agroecology and the management of pollution, the current environment law applied to agriculture is still rich over the last two years. It (always) concerns environmental pollution and risks: water (I), plant protection products (II), and GMO (III). Upstream, the agricultural policies themselves were reformed with the CAP 2013 and the Future Law for Agriculture, Food and Forestry of 2014 (IV). While the latter in particular points to new models of agricultural production, the balance remains rather mixed. ; Entre « choc de simplification », promotion de l'agroécologie et gestion des pollutions, l'actualité du droit de l'environnement appliqué à l'agriculture est encore riche ces deux dernières années. Elle concerne (toujours) les pollutions et risques environnementaux : eau (I), produits phytopharmaceutiques (II), et OGM (III). En amont, les politiques agricoles elles-mêmes ont été réformées avec la PAC 2013 et la loi d'avenir pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et la forêt de 2014 (IV). Si cette dernière en particulier laisse entrevoir de nouveaux modèles de production agricole, le bilan reste encore assez mitigé.

Our companies have validated the cartesian credo, according to which man must behave as master and owner of nature. This contribution analyses some of the key elements of the current ecological crisis: dualism and anthropocentrism at the heart of our ethical foundations, private ownership and its utilitarianism within the legal systems, and the merchandisation specific to the capitalist system. Environmental law itself has become part of this pre-existing body, since far from having pushed for the emergence of new models, it has maintained an unwavering belief in the market as an environmental regulator. The rights of nature are designed to bring about a revolution. A philosophical revolution in the sense that ecosystems are recognised as having intrinsic value: nature is not only valued through the benefits that humanity can derive from it. A legal revolution in so far as nature becomes a subject of law and the latter is no longer protected solely by human interests. A cultural revolution, lastly, by promoting indigenous peoples for whom interdependence, reciprocity and complementarity are fundamental values rooted in a cosmology that places people within nature. The aim of this step is not to be achieved at the expense of human well-being, but to place it within ecological limits. Nature rights are an instrument that condemns both the exploitation of nature and the exploitation of the most vulnerable people within the productive system. If the idea of radical separation between humanity and the natural world is discarded, then the rights of nature protect ecosystems as much as human communities from profit-based predatory logic. In this sense, human and nature rights are complementary and interdependent. ; Nos sociétés ont validé le credo cartésien selon lequel l'homme doit se comporter comme maître et possesseur de la nature. Cette contribution analyse certaines clés de la crise écologique actuelle : le dualisme et l'anthropocentrisme au cœur de nos fondements éthiques, la propriété privée et sa justification ...

Plant communities are disturbed by several stressors and they are expected to be further impacted by increasing anthropogenic stress. The consequences of these stressors will depend, in part, upon the ability of plants to compensate for herbivory. Previous studies found that herbivore impacts on plants can vary from negative to positive because of environmental control of plant compensatory responses, a.k.a. the Compensatory Continuum Hypothesis. While these influential studies enhanced our appreciation of the dynamic nature of plant-herbivore interactions, they largely focused on the impact of resource limitation. This bias limits our ability to predict how other environmental factors will shape the impact of herbivory. We examined the role of salinity stress on herbivory of salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina foliosa, by an herbivore previously hypothesized to influence the success of restoration projects (the scale insect, Haliaspis spartinae). Using a combination of field and mesocosm manipulations of scales and salinity, we measured how these factors affected Spartina growth and timing of senescence. In mesocosm studies, Spartina overcompensated for herbivory by growing taller shoots at low salinities but the impact of scales on plants switched from positive to neutral with increasing salinity stress. In field studies of intermediate salinities, scales reduced Spartina growth and increased the rate of senescence. Experimental salinity additions at this field site returned the impact of scales to neutral. Because salinity decreased scale densities, the switch in impact of scales on Spartina with increasing salinity was not simply a linear function of scale abundance. Thus, the impact of scales on primary production depended strongly upon environmental context because intermediate salinity stress prevented plant compensatory responses to herbivory. Understanding this context-dependency will be required if we are going to successfully predict the success of restoration efforts and the ecological consequences of ...

International audience Coccolithophores (calcifying phytoplankton) form extensive blooms in temperate and subpolar oceans as evidenced from ocean-color satellites. This study examines the potential to detect coccolithophore blooms with BioGeoChemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) floats, autonomous ocean profilers equipped with bio-optical and physicochemical sensors. We first matched float data to ocean-color satellite data of calcite concentration to select floats that sampled coccolithophore blooms. We identified two floats in the Southern Ocean, which measured the particulate beam attenuation coefficient (c p) in addition to two core BGC-Argo variables, Chlorophyll-a concentration ([Chl-a]) and the particle backscattering coefficient (b bp). We show that coccolithophore blooms can be identified from floats by distinctively high values of (1) the b bp /c p ratio, a proxy for the refractive index of suspended particles, and (2) the b bp /[Chl-a] ratio, measurable by any BGC-Argo float. The latter thus paves the way to global investigations of environmental control of coccolithophore blooms and their role in carbon export. Plain Language Summary Coccolithophores are a group of phytoplankton that form an armor of calcite plates. Coccolithophores may form intense blooms which can be identified from space by so-called ocean-color satellites, providing global images of the color of the surface ocean. BioGeoChemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) floats, robots profiling down to 2,000 m with a variety of physicochemical and bio-optical sensors, present an increasingly attractive and cost-effective platform to study phytoplankton blooms and their impact on oceanic biogeochemical cycles. We show that coccolithophore blooms can be detected by BGC-Argo floats with high confidence, hence providing a new way to study them at the global scale as well as their role in sinking carbon.

International audience The influence of salinity and water chemistry on Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios in the aragonitic shells of the Manila clam was investigated. Clams were reared at constant temperature (20°C) under different controlled conditions of salinity, commonly encountered in their natural habitat. Clams were held in three tanks with a constant salinity of 35 for the first 35days, and then two tanks were changed to lower salinities (20 and 28) for the next 29days. Individual shell Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios were studied through time. Despite stable conditions (temperature, salinity, and Mg/Cawater) for clams reared at salinity 35 during the experiment, Mg/Ca shell ratios increased through the time. Moreover the salinity decrease at t35 slowed the increase of Mg/Ca shell ratios at salinity 28 and resulted in an Mg/Cashell decrease at salinity 20, despite similar Mg/Cawater ratios in the different salinity treatments. Microprobe analyses illustrate that Mg varies along contemporaneous growth lines. The variable shell Mg/Ca ratios suggest that incorporation of magnesium into shell carbonate is strongly regulated by the organism and not by environmental conditions. Interestingly, microprobe analyses illustrated that Mg was not associated with shell sulfur as other studies have suggested. Sr/Ca shell ratios of clams reared at salinity 35 and under constant conditions were also not as constant as expected if Sr/Ca ratios were an environmental proxy. There was an inverse correlation between shell Sr/Ca and salinity despite a slight positive correlation between salinity and Sr/Ca ratios of the water, indicating that Sr/Ca ratios do not reflect environmental conditions. A strong inverse correlation between salinity and Ba/Ca shell ratios (and a positive correlation between Ba/Ca shell and Ba/Ca water) was observed. Therefore, Ba/Ca shell ratios seem to be a promising proxy of high-resolution (1day) salinity variations in estuarine waters (via the relationship between Ba/Ca water and salinity). This study ...

"failure to integrate spontaneously into a legal category leads to one of these expressive qualifications of the perplexity of lawyers, quasi-generis or sui generis" 1. Faced with the unadaptability of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms to environmental law 2, and the need to respond to breaches of environmental standards, a new procedure was created with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 3: the procedure for non-compliance or failure to comply with the procedure. The non-compliance procedure belongs to the legal category of international control. This legal category is divided into two parts: on the one hand, judicial review, on the other hand, systematic review. Both litigation and systematic review are legal subcategories of the category of international control; they have been grouped together because of their common characteristics, their linking criteria: the characters common to all types of international control. The non-compliance procedure has the ; « La non intégration spontanée dans une catégorie juridique conduit à une de ces qualifications expressives de la perplexité des juristes que sont le quasi-ou le sui generis » 1. Face à l'inadaptabilité des mécanismes classiques de règlement des différends au droit de l'environnement 2 et, à la nécessité de réagir aux violations des normes environnementales une nouvelle procédure a vu le jour avec le Protocole de Montréal relatif à des substances qui appauvrissent la couche d'ozone 3 : la procédure de non-respect ou non compliance procedure. La procédure de non-respect appartient à la catégorie juridique du contrôle international. Cette catégorie juridique se subdivise en deux branches : d'une part, le contrôle contentieux d'autre part, le contrôle systématique. Le contrôle contentieux tout comme le contrôle systématique constituent des sous catégories juridiques de la catégorie du contrôle international ; ils ont été regroupés en raison de leurs caractères communs, de leurs critères de liaison : les caractères communs ...

Environmental crime covers the range of activities that infringe environmental law and cause significant damage or risk to the environment, human health or both. Environmental crimes can be broadly defined as illegal acts that directly harm the environment, it is possible to include illegal wildlife trade, illegal trade in hazardous waste, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, illegal logging and associated trade in stolen timber. Notwithstanding the above, the definition of 'environmental crime' is not universally accepted, it is often understood as a collective term to describe illegal activities that harm the environment and are intended to benefit individuals, groups or companies in the exploitation. Department of International Security and Defence. Institute for International Relations ; Los delitos ambientales cubren la gama de actividades que infringen la legislación ambiental y causan daños o riesgos significativos al medio ambiente, la salud humana o ambos. Los delitos ambientales pueden definirse ampliamente como actos ilegales que dañan directamente el medio ambiente, es posible incluir dentro de estos delitos al comercio ilegal de vida silvestre, comercio ilícito de desechos peligrosos, pesca ilegal, no reglamentada y no declarada, la tala ilegal y el comercio asociado de madera robada. No obstante lo dicho anteriormente, la definición de "delito ambiental" no está universalmente aceptada, a menudo se entiende como un término colectivo para describir las actividades ilegales que dañan el medio ambiente y tienen como objetivo beneficiar a individuos, grupos o empresas de la explotación. Departamento de Seguridad Internacional y Defensa. Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales

[ES] This article carries out a review of the different treatment methods for biosolids obtained in waste water treatment plants. First, processes such as digestion, pasteurisation, drying or composting are addressed, among others, the main objective of which is to stabilise sludge for subsequent use. Secondly, methods aimed at eliminating organic matter as much as possible, such as aqueous oxidation and incineration, are described. Data on treatment and destination of biosolids obtained from a survey carried out in different Spanish WWTP are presented in the final part. Mahamud, M.; Gutiérrez, A.; Sastre, H. (1996). Biosolids generated from water purification: (II). Methods of treatment. Water engineering. 3 (3): 45-54. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.1996.2703 Amorena Udabe, A. (1994), Agricultural valorisation of purification plants in the Pamplona district. Technical Days: Biosolids and purified water as Resources. R. Mujeriego and L. Sala (Eds.). PAG 53-66. Sant Feliu de Guísols, Gerona. Arbiol, M. (1994), Composting of Gardinería and Fangos de Depuradora Biosolids in Castelldefels. Technical Days: Biosolids and Water purified as Resources. R. Mujeriego and L. Sala (Eds.). PAG 75-88. Sant Feliu de Guísols, Gerona. Basteron, R.K. (1994), United States Regulations and Practical Experience on Biosolids Reuse and Disposal, Technical Days: Biosolids and Water purified as Resources. R. Mujeriego and L. Sala (Eds.). PAG 169-192. Sant Feliu de Guísols, Gerona. Chains, A., Cañellas, N., Amengual, A., Calafat, J. (1993), Lode Composting Experimental Plant, Chemical Engineering. 104-106, June 1993. Caus Pía, J.M., Amengual Vich, A. and Cañellas Serrano, N. (1994), Composting and Reuse of Biosolids in Agriculture: The Felanitx case in Mallorca. Technical Days: Biosolids and purified water as Resources. R. Mujeriego and L. Sala (Eds.). PAG 67-74. Sant Feliu de Guísols, Gerona. Fuchs, L., Schwinning, H. (1993), Aeróbic thermophilic digestion. An Economic Process for Low Processing, Water Technology. 109, 47-50. García Ramos, ...

The following reflection articulates the two axes proposed by the reading grid in a synthesis report on the topic of the environment in the current Brazilian Constitution promulgated in 1988. We will first discuss the system of constitutional environmental standards as reflected in the Constituent Assembly from 1987 and the final text promulgated a year later and still in force today (I). Secondly, it will be analysed how the interpretation of these constitutional norms has shaped an environmental law far removed from the principles advocated by the constitutional text. It will be seen that this shaping has largely been the result of the interpretation of the text of the Constitution, both by the Constitutional Court, by government policies and also by the sub-constitutional legislator, which has extensive competence in environmental matters because of the Federative Model adopted by Brazil (II). A third part is proposed to provide some insight into the topical nature of the subject and elements for cross-cutting analysis. The constitutional study of the environment is inextricably linked to the analysis of political choices. These produce immediate effects, sometimes beyond borders, and often irreversible even when a court decision is handed down. It can be seen that the constitutional and infra-constitutional system of environmental protection is now being undermined by certain political choices made by the central government, but it stimulates an increasing participation of civil society in the debate on the environment (III). ; La réflexion qui suit articule les deux axes proposés par la grille de lecture dans un rapport de synthèse sur le thème de l'environnement dans l'actuelle Constitution brésilienne promulguée en 1988. Nous aborderons dans un premier temps le système des normes constitutionnelles en matière environnementale tel qu'il a été réfléchi par l'Assemblé constituante à partir de 1987 ainsi que le texte final promulgué un an plus tard et toujours en vigueur aujourd'hui (I). Dans un second temps ...

The contribution of sub-regional organisations to the implementation of international environmental law is not easy for African and Central African countries in particular, where poverty, poor governance, corruption, poaching or pollution occur. Therefore, environmental protection remains a major challenge to a young right. The causes are linked to weak means of control and administrative and judicial sanctions, failing to match the rules with the social and cultural context in which they are to be applied and the total shift away from citizens' socio-cultural practices. This is compounded by the complexity and technicality of environmental rules for populations, the majority of which are illiterate and driven by traditional rules. However, sub-regional organisations have made considerable progress in incorporating international environmental law. The major challenge now lies in translating this development into effective programmes and the development of effective institutions and systems, which must work in synergy. Keywords: international environmental law; Central Africa; sub-regional organisations; sustainable development; regional integration. ; International audience ; The contribution of sub-regional organisations to the implementation of international environmental law is not easy for African and Central African countries in particular, where poverty, poor governance, corruption, poaching or pollution occur. Therefore, environmental protection remains a major challenge to a young right. The causes are linked to weak means of control and administrative and judicial sanctions, failing to match the rules with the social and cultural context in which they are to be applied and the total shift away from citizens' socio-cultural practices. This is compounded by the complexity and technicality of environmental rules for populations, the majority of which are illiterate and driven by traditional rules. However, sub-regional organisations have made considerable progress in incorporating international ...