International Journal of Environmental Problems

3-10

Authors: Arman Arman, Ayu Dwidyah Rini, Fathia Angriani, Mangasi Panjaitan, Rizki Permata Sari

The contribution of the forestry sector is still very small in the West Java region. The continuation of the forestry and processing sector needs attention to improve and develop the sector. This study aims to (1) analyze the role of the forestry sector and wood processing industry (2) analyze the effect of changes in final demand on the output of the forestry sector and the wood processing industry and (3) the right policy formula to develop the forestry sector in West Java. The method used in this study is the input output method supported. The data is sourced from the West Java Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) in the form of a soft copy of the input output table where the year of publication is 2015. The results show the contribution of the forestry sector is only 0.85 % of the agriculture and forestry sector. The wood processing industry only grew by 0.04 % and the forestry sector only grew by 0.01 % if investment had increased between 5–10 %. The role of the forestry sector and wood processing industry can be improved if the government tries to pay attention to regulations that have the potential to overlap which inhibits the growth of investment and licensing of the forestry business and processing industry. The government also needs to involve the community in managing community-based community forestry areas. Benchmark prices need to be regulated to avoid the risk of price uncertainty that can harm society.

25-33

Authors: Evgenii S. Kunshin

Oil is the main driver of the growth of modern economies due to its multifaceted use in transport, energy and manufacturing. The main objective of this work is to study the data on oil spills created by oil tankers over the past 50 years and to study the trend in oil trade and oil spill pollution in an attempt to analyze the state of environmental pollution during major oil disasters. The article also discusses the key factors in the occurrence of tanker oil spills and summarizes the strategy and directions for the development of the global marine transport industry to prevent future pollution of oil tankers. The analysis shows that the waters of the Atlantic ocean at the shores of Western Europe are most prone to the occurrence of major oil spill accidents. It is assumed that with an increase in the volume of oil transportation, the number of accidents of oil tankers will also increase. But, as shown by statistical analysis, this is not so. Oil transport is becoming safer, and even in absolute numbers, the growth in traffic is accompanied by a decrease in the number of accidents accompanied by the release of oil and oil products. This is achieved mainly through logistics solutions and technical measures.

3-10

Authors: Bshar Samir Bdoor

The war and the economic sanctions imposed on Syria have resulted in economic hardship. In this context, the review on homegardens of this study provides an insight of the potential role that homegardens can play to reduce the economic burdens, improve environmental quality and cope with sustainable development objectives. The review highlights the serious lack of data on homegardens in Syria and emphasizes the need to conduct extensive research on Syrian homegardening and its optimization. The benefits of homegardening mentioned in this review present some real reasons for promoting homegardening wherever feasible in the country.

16-19

Authors: Tea Mchedluri

The biodiversity of Georgia, as well as the whole Caucasus, is under the extreme threat. Most of the forests are modified by human influence. Due to overgrazing, the natural vegetation is almost destroyed and the erosion process is taking place. Natural vegetation is preserved in just a little part of its historic area. Current threats to Georgia's biodiversity are: poaching, cutting down the forests, overgrazing, illegal trading of species of plants and animals, and etc. As a result, the living habitat of living organisms is degraded, the number of species is decreased and ecological processes are disruption – all of them lead to the destruction of biodiversity. Natural and anthropogenic factors are well expressed on large areas of the ecosystem of arid and semi-arid areas in the east of Georgia. A large part of arid and semi-arid ecosystems itself is rare biotope for Georgia, that is why some species are found only here in Georgia. The negative impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors affect the flora and fauna diversity, resulting in a possible degradation of plant communities, semi-desert and desert plant characteristic species – Salsola spp, Artemisia fragans, Gamantus pilosus et al. and the expansion of the plant communities Artemisietum, Artemisieto-salsoletum, Botrichloeto-artemisietum. Also, the impoverishment of animal composition – disappearance of some insectivorous and rodents, for example, Crocidura leucodon, the vole Microtus socialis, Sorex volnuchini, the expansion of hares Alactaga spp, which is typical to a desert landscape. The current level of negative impact of Natural and anthropogenic factors goes beyond the boundaries of the resistance of the ecosystem, and therefore, more or less irreversible degradation processes have been developed. All of this might cause irreparable harm to Georgia's biodiversity

3-18

Authors: Oluwole Daramola a, Oluwaseun Olowoporoku a , *, Oluwatofunmi Aribisala

This paper examined the influence of local governance on residents’ environmental sanitation behavior in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. This was with a view to suggesting policy response in furtherance of a sustainable environmental behavior among residents in the city and others with similar background. Four residential zones were identified in the study area. A total of 2,881 buildings were identified comprising 739, 154, 357 and 431 respectively in the low income, middle income, high income and post crisis residential area. One out of every 10th residential building was sampled in each residential area. A total of 288 residents were selected for survey using systematically sampling technique. The study revealed that residents’ socio-economic characteristics varied significantly across residential areas. The study also found that there is low level of access to environmental sanitation facilities/services in the low income, middle income and post crisis residential areas. The study established that a relationship exist between residents’ environmental sanitation behavior and their place of residence. The study also established a variation in the level of agreement of the functions of the mandated monthly environmental sanitation exercise. In general, the maintenance of dumpsites within the city by government was not satisfactory to the residents across the four identified residential areas. The study recommended a synergy of strategies among environmentally-concerned institutions in the study area in provision of facilities/services, environmental awareness and enforcement of sanitation legislations in the study area.

24-28

Authors: I.A.A. Ibrahim, M.M. Mohammad, A.A. Faisal, H. Musa

This research aimed to study the bioactivity of crude extracts of stem bark of Vetillariaparadoxa “Shea-nut tree” as used in traditional medicine for treatment of stomach ache and control of diarrhea, using hexane, acetone and ethanol as the extraction solvents. Phytochemical screening of stem bark of extracts of Vitellariaparadoxa revealed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. Ethanol, acetone, and hexane extracts inhibited the growth of pathogenic Escherichia coli, salmonella typhi, and staphilycoccusaureus with varying degrees of activity with the ethanol extract demonstrating the highest activity against all the tested bacterial organisms.

37-44

Authors: Adewale Olufunlola Yoade

Background. This study examines factors responsible for poor environmental health among vulnerable residents of Ondo, Nigeria. This was with a view to suggesting policy response capable of enhancing healthy environment in the city and others with similar background. Materials and Methods. Systematic sampling was used to collect data from a total of 196 households having stratified the study area into the high, medium and low densities residential neighbourhoods. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized. Results. Findings showed that low government intervention was the most important factor responsible for poor urban environmental health in the study area. Results showed that environmental factors are significantly related to health situation of vulnerable people in the study area. Conclusion. The study concluded that poverty tends to breed poor environmental and unhygienic conditions that have great impact on human health. The study therefore suggests some policy guidelines, including redevelopment (in some parts of the study area), upgrading and provision of basic infrastructural amenities and facilities.

56-75

Authors: M.M. Mukaddas, A. Mohammad, F.A. Mohammad

Material waste has been a great nuisance in the construction industry. It is the major cause of the high cost, low value and poor service delivery in the construction industry. The purpose of this study is to provide data that will increase knowledge on waste minimization in construction sites by identifying sources and causes of avoidable waste on construction sites and valuation of level of knowledge of the lean concepts among construction specialists and recognizing obstacles to effective application of the lean concept in construction. Data for the study were obtained through site visitations, interviews and the administration of 1000 questionnaires. Respondents included all the major professionals in the construction industry. Ratios and Simple percentages were used to analyze the data. Data from the analyses indicated about 10 % to 33 % of total construction materials are wasted on site. Results also revealed that method of operation, storage and handling of construction materials, procurement methods, record keeping and design were the major sources of waste on construction sites. It also revealed the presence of some degree in knowledge of lean construction among the construction experts.

4-12

Authors: Evgenia Gordeeva

This article focuses on the question of how the effectiveness of environmental preservation policy can be increased in order to turn to a more sustainable way of human development. The answer was found to lie in the three-fold approach covering normative, economic and political measures. The normative measure is the provision of a proper environmental education, which should help creating a global public concern with the intactness of the natural environment. The economic measure refers to the linkage between the goals of environmental preservation and the goals of the economy as to remove the contradiction between the two domains of human activity. The political measure is the regionalization of environmental policy with a gradual transfer of environmental political functions from the national towards the supranational level of a civilizational bloc. This measure would allow to combine the effective implementation of the state-level with the advantage to cover a greater territory and to reduce the number of global environmental actors.

25-35

Authors: O.P. Daramola, O.A. Olowoporoku

Background. This study assessed the effects of slaughterhouse activities on the health of surrounding residents in Osogbo Nigeria. This was with a view to suggesting policy response capable of enhancing healthy environment in the city and others with similar background. Materials and Methods. A total of thirty three slaughterhouses identified in the study area out of which fifteen (45 %) were randomly selected for questionnaire administration. This is followed by stratification of 500metre radial distance from the respective residences surrounding them into 1-250 metres and 251-500 metres. In the strata, questionnaires were administered on 98 residents comprising 44 and 54 in the first and second strata respectively. Data analysis was done using cross tabulation and Chi-square tests. Results. Findings revealed that slaughterhouse activities pollute the environment and this inevitably had negative impacts on the health of the surrounding residents. From the findings, 80 % of the slaughterhouses were located near water bodies. The study also found that most of the surrounding residences were infested by flies and mosquitoes with varying degrees as distance increases from the slaughterhouses. This study established that the quality of the environment varied with distance from the slaughterhouses. Similarly, the proportion of residents that treated malaria and diarrhoea continually in the study areas was 69.4 % and 70.4 % respectively. Conclusion: These findings have implications for policy making towards planning effective and sustainable intervention strategies for slaughterhouse activities in Osogbo and other cities with similar background.

47-53

Authors: Le Hung Trinh, Danh Tuyen Vu, Thi Trinh Le, Thi Thu Nga Nguyen

Monitoring of suspended sediment is important to maintain water quality and geomorphologic balance. Traditional methods based on field surveys only solve the problem on a small scale. This article presents the results of mapping suspended sediment concentrations in surface water of the Day River, northern Vietnam using GIS technique. The inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation method was applied to map suspended sediment concentration using data obtained from 11 sampling stations. The results which are obtained in this study can be used to evaluate surface water quality.

89-98

Authors: Valery I. Glazko, Gleb Yu. Kosovsky, Tatina T. Glazko

A comparative analysis of distributional density of the DNA regions potentially predisposed to quadruplex formation was conducted on proviral DNA encoding hemagglutenin (HA) and neuroaminidase (NA) of the avian influenza virus, and also on the env and pol genes of bovine leukemia virus. We discovered that increased genetic heterogeneity of the HA gene coincides with the high frequency of appearance of nucleotide sequences predisposed to G4 quadruplex formation compared to the NA gene. Similar tendency was observed during the comparison of distribution of potential G4 quadruplexes in the env and pol genes of the bovine leukemia virus. Data obtained allowed to suppose that non-overlapping sequences with relatively heightened predisposition to G-quadruplex formation can reflect, to a large extend, recombination events. And variable sequences can reflect the nucleotide context that contributes to appearance of new mutations. In the present article we discuss possible connection between increased density of non-canonical nucleotide structures in genes, products of which interact with receptors of target cells, and their genetic heterogeneity supported in the host-pathogen system.

131-148

Authors: Fedor N. Lisetskii, Alexander V. Matsibora, Vitaliy I. Pichura

The purpose of the study was the reconstruction of palaeoclimatic conditions of the second half of the Holocene on the results of the study of floodplain soils and qualitative composition of humus in the chronological series of buried soils in the south of the East European Plain. Database palaeogeographic studies in the steppe of East European plain zone were created. On its basis the analysis of chronological series, which were compiled by the archaeological and radiocarbon dating of automorphic and floodplain soils. It was established 10 stages of formation Subboreal floodplain soils in the territory of Bug, which are mainly related periods of aridity and reducing the intensity of the processes of accumulation of alluvium, while subatlantic Holocene was characterized by a decrease in temperature and increase in humidity. The connection between climate change and soil types in Subboreal and subatlantic Holocene was analyzed. According to the results of comprehensive research palaeopedological three main lines of evolution of soils over the past 5000 years have been found. Spatial and temporal variations of the Holocene soil types due to the dynamics of hydrothermal climate indicators, which led to the displacement of natural areas to the north in subboreal and south — in Sub-Atlantic. In the south the East European Plain in automorphic soil conditions climatically favorable conditions identified during periods of 7-5 thousand. Liters. n. and 2200–1300 liters. n. The most notable aridity in the Late pedogenesis stories emerged in the V century. BC. e. The mathematical relationship between the indicators such as the value of total annual energy costs on soil formation, climate assessment of intra-building (through the duration of the biological activity of the period) and production plants have been developed. This helps to explain the zonal features of display of soil-forming process and, in particular, the formation of qualitative composition of humus (the ratio humic and fulvic acids). Applying established spatial differences of soil and climate on the interim status, climatically conditioned stages of pedogenesis in the Holocene history of automorphic soils were identified. Conducted a comprehensive study palaeopedological Holocene pedogenesis soil formations different stages within the autonomous position of the relief and in river valleys allows us to solve a number of fundamental problems of soil development history, to determine the direction of their evolutionary development, to establish the general trends of soil properties changes in space-time aspect. The results of the study at different times of soil can be used to build predictive models of soil development trends in the context of climate change on the basis of knowledge about the past, for the reconstruction of the living conditions of ancient man, as well as to determine the extent of anthropogenic load on soil.