Suchergebnisse

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is expected to be the largest infrastructure development scheme of the twenty-first century. There is escalating concern over BRI's potential environmental impacts in Southeast Asia, a global biodiversity hotspot and a focus area of BRI development. Case studies of Indonesia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Malaysia show that the success of BRI in bringing about sustainable growth and opportunities depends on the Chinese government and financiers, as well as the agencies and governments involved when BRI investments take place. The adoption of best environmental practices is critical in ensuring that growth is sustainable and that bad environmental practices are not locked in for decades to come.

Fine-scale landscape features such as scattered trees are increasingly thought to be critical for dispersal, and need to be considered in connectivity modelling and planning. Yet existing modelling approaches struggle to adequately take fine-scale features and threshold dynamics of dispersal behaviour into account, in part because of computational limitations. We present a framework for modelling connectivity at fine spatial resolutions over large spatial extents. Our framework involves a novel approach to characterising fine-scale dispersal behaviour within the context of existing modelling methods, and uses key parameters of dispersal behaviour to link models and their interpretation at multiple scales. We address computational limitations by creating a gap-crossing threshold layer, which identifies areas where dispersal is possible because of the presence and spacing of fine-scale connectivity elements. This layer is combined with a dispersal-cost layer within a graph-network analysis to identify the optimal least-cost path between patches. Graph metrics are used to assess the importance of specific patches at the regional-scale and to describe connectivity for the whole landscape. A local-scale connectivity model using the Circuitscape software complements the regional analysis outputs by considering all possible pathways across a landscape simultaneously rather than a single least-cost path. The framework was designed specifically to be applied by land use planners who need to quantify the impacts of property development on fine-scale connectivity, yet need to assess implications at the regional scale. We demonstrate the framework by applying it in the Lower Hunter region, Australia. ; This project was funded by the Australian Government Sustainable Regional Development Program in conjunction with the National Environmental Research Program's Landscapes and Policy research Hub.

Plastic waste is one of the world's most pressing human health and environmental concerns. Plastic constitutes the third highest waste source globally, with the total volume of plastic waste growing in-line with increases in the global population and per capita consumption. Malaysia is tracking global trends in both the overall generation of plastic waste and the consumption of single-use plastics and since 2017 has been the world's largest importer of plastic waste. These elements create a number of major challenges for the country's waste management system. This review outlines the current state of plastic waste production and management in Malaysia, including options for landfill, recycling and incineration. It presents information on the scale and both the human and ecological risks of plastic waste in the country (i.e. microplastics, landfill, incineration), outlines key plastic waste management policy initiatives (including plastics alternatives such as biodegradable plastics) and highlights key constraints on the success of these. Significant internal constraints stem from the inconsistent application of policy initiatives by state governments, in addition to the lack of public awareness and interest in household recycling. The paper closes by discussing options for and constraints on the switch to biodegradable alternatives and proposes a model of plastic management based on a circular economy approach and solid waste management hierarchy. Success in reducing the problems posed by plastic in Malaysia will require sustained effort at many levels, but positive experiences in other countries give some cause for optimism.

Despite the proliferation of connectivity modelling approaches, static models have limited usefulness for decision-making by policy-makers and land managers, particularly where significant changes in land uses might be expected into the future. This study presents a flexible, scenario-based approach for modelling fine-scaled connectivity using graph-theory with least-cost paths for modelling connectivity at the regional scale and circuit theory at the local scale. The method allows for the assessment of a range of scenarios based on varying land use practices. Using the Lower Hunter region, Australia as a case study we tested five scenarios that describe the impact of different development choices on connectivity, ranging from high rates of urbanisation to revegetation of a designated green corridor. The changes in connectivity from the current state were assessed by visualising component boundaries and link locations and calculating patch- and landscape-scale graph metrics. In the Lower Hunter we found the green corridor scenario increased connectivity both visually and quantitatively, as shown by a 105% increase in the integral index of connectivity (IIC) which measures habitat availability (reachability) at the landscape scale. In contrast the urbanisation scenario resulted in a decrease in connectivity, with a 39% decrease in the IIC. The approach outlined in this paper is flexible, enabling a range of interests to be included, depending on the datasets available and the issues that need to be addressed. Such methods can be readily and rapidly applied by consultants or government agencies, in this region and elsewhere, to incorporate connectivity modelling into development plans.

Despite the proliferation of connectivity modelling approaches, static models have limited usefulness for decision-making by policy-makers and land managers, particularly where significant changes in land uses might be expected into the future. This study presents a flexible, scenario-based approach for modelling fine-scaled connectivity using graph-theory with least-cost paths for modelling connectivity at the regional scale and circuit theory at the local scale. The method allows for the assessment of a range of scenarios based on varying land use practices. Using the Lower Hunter region, Australia as a case study we tested five scenarios that describe the impact of different development choices on connectivity, ranging from high rates of urbanisation to revegetation of a designated green corridor. The changes in connectivity from the current state were assessed by visualising component boundaries and link locations and calculating patch- and landscape-scale graph metrics. In the Lower Hunter we found the green corridor scenario increased connectivity both visually and quantitatively, as shown by a 105% increase in the integral index of connectivity (IIC) which measures habitat availability (reachability) at the landscape scale. In contrast the urbanisation scenario resulted in a decrease in connectivity, with a 39% decrease in the IIC. The approach outlined in this paper is flexible, enabling a range of interests to be included, depending on the datasets available and the issues that need to be addressed. Such methods can be readily and rapidly applied by consultants or government agencies, in this region and elsewhere, to incorporate connectivity modelling into development plans.

One of the most vital and urgent global conservation challenges is to deal with the loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats, particularly for large‐bodied and wide‐ranging terrestrial megafauna. The Central Forest Spine Master Plan for Ecological Linkages (CFS) was developed by the Malaysian Federal Government in 2010 to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services by securing landscape connectivity between Peninsular Malaysia's main forest blocks. Here we present an evaluation of the effectiveness of the CFS master plan to promote functional connectivity for Asian elephants, one of its focal species. The specific objectives of our study were to identify the most critical forest patches to maintain connectivity for elephants in Peninsular Malaysia, assess functional connectivity within the CFS ecological linkages, and identify alternative corridors where appropriate to enhance CFS effectiveness. We used the largest animal movement dataset in Peninsular Malaysia (220,000 GPS locations from 53 elephants) to develop models of elephant movement probability and to estimate landscape resistance using step selection functions based on landscape characteristics. According to our evaluation of 28 linkages, 57% of them provided high functional connectivity, 28% provided acceptable connectivity, and 14% provided low to no connectivity. A very important and positive finding is that the CFS linkages with the highest centrality values (i.e., the most important to maintain overall connectivity in Peninsular Malaysia) also score highly in functional connectivity (i.e., they are actually effective corridors for elephant movement). This means that an adequate CFS implementation can lead to high levels of functional connectivity among Peninsular Malaysia's main forest blocks. Based on our assessment, we recommend to conduct some revisions on the CFS plan to ensure its effectiveness.

As the mining industry expands, a comprehensive understanding of its socioeconomic risks and benefits is urgently needed. This paper systematically reviews 71 studies (1996–2021) that utilized spatially integrated approaches to evaluate socioeconomic mining impacts. The number of studies that utilize geographic information systems and remote sensing to study mining impacts increased from 2014 onwards. A framework was used to classify the mining impacts studied in the literature and all eight framework categories – Environment, Land, People, Community, Culture, Livelihoods, Infrastructure and Housing – were captured by the literature though Culture was least studied. Coal mining, active mining phase, Landsat data and classic remote sensing algorithms were most highlighted. Future research should focus on advancing geospatial technology like artificial intelligence (AI) to better capture intangible socioeconomic impacts, under-researched minerals and long-term mine lifecycle components. Spatially referenced social data can improve stakeholder involvement and support spatially explicit planning to ensure sustainability.

Low- and middle-income countries in Southeast and East Asia face a range of challenges related to the rapid pace of urbanisation in the region, the scale of pollution, climate change, loss of ecosystem services and associated difficulties for ecological restoration. Possible pathways towards a more sustainable future lie in the applications of nature-based solutions (NBS). However, there is relatively little literature on the application of NBS in the region, particularly Southeast Asia. In this paper we address this gap by assessing the socio-ecological challenges to the application of NBS in the region – one of the most globally biodiverse. We first provide an overview and background on NBS and its underpinnings in biodiversity and ecosystem services. We then present a typology describing five unique challenges for the application of NBS in the region: (1) Characteristics of urbanisation; (2) Biophysical environmental and climatic context; (3) Environmental risks and challenges for restoration; (4) Human nature relationships and conflicts; and (5) Policy and governance context. Exploiting the opportunities through South-South and North-South collaboration to address the challenges of NBS in Southeast and East Asia needs to be a priority for government, planners and academics. ; Peer reviewed

Low- and middle-income countries in Southeast and East Asia face a range of challenges related to the rapid pace of urbanisation in the region, the scale of pollution, climate change, loss of ecosystem services and associated difficulties for ecological restoration. Possible pathways towards a more sustainable future lie in the applications of nature-based solutions (NBS). However, there is relatively little literature on the application of NBS in the region, particularly Southeast Asia. In this paper we address this gap by assessing the socio-ecological challenges to the application of NBS in the region – one of the most globally biodiverse. We first provide an overview and background on NBS and its underpinnings in biodiversity and ecosystem services. We then present a typology describing five unique challenges for the application of NBS in the region: (1) Characteristics of urbanisation; (2) Biophysical environmental and climatic context; (3) Environmental risks and challenges for restoration; (4) Human nature relationships and conflicts; and (5) Policy and governance context. Exploiting the opportunities through South-South and North-South collaboration to address the challenges of NBS in Southeast and East Asia needs to be a priority for government, planners and academics.