Socio-Environmental Vulnerability Assessment for Sustainable Management

Modeling the spatial relationship between landscape services and vulnerability assessment

Even though many studies have been thus far devoted to landscape services (LS) or vulnerability assessment (VA) alone, the relationship between these two concepts has been less investigated. The current study attempts to model the spatial relationship between LS and VA in the Tarhan area (west of Iran). For this purpose, a combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), remote sensing (RS), and geographic information system (GIS) techniques are applied to assess vulnerability. Variogram models and geostatistical simulations are used for mapping and evaluating landscape services. Moreover, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) is operated to predict the relationship between LS and VA. The results indicate that landform and socioeconomic variables are also two main factors shaping variations in VA. As well, the levels of services provided in the possible landscape are affected by the vulnerability. The assessment accordingly establishes that natural and cultural values have significant effects on services, in terms of their spatial distribution and nature. Exploring the relationship between LS and VA correspondingly depicts that VA has a direct influence on the capacity and entity of LS provision (adjusted R2 = 0.67). The outcomes of the study provide a foundation for nature management and conservation, although it is less able to analyze the trade-off between ecosystem degradation and future development trends. The nexus of LS and future ecological processes in an integrated system can be thus the subject of further research.

The Impact of a City on Its Environment: The Prism of Demography and Selected Environmental and Technical Aspects Based on the Case of Major Lower Silesian Cities

This article discusses the problem of the impact exerted by cities on the surrounding space. As an example, the Lower Silesia region was selected, characterized by agricultural, industrial and natural areas present in its close proximity. Four major cities and the surrounding municipalities (30 objects in total) were covered by the observation. The research was carried out in the period of 1995–2020 and was based on the data provided by Statistics Poland—Local Date Bank. Statistical tools were used which allowed for obtaining the results, enabling inference and the formulation of recommendations. An analytical method was applied which included the linear ordering method and synthetic development of measures. This resulted in preparing rankings of the analyzed objects (municipalities) and making the respective comparisons. The obtained results indicate that a continuously deepening imbalance in the distribution of the demographic potential is observed in the analyzed region. Although the capital city maintained the number of residents at a constant level, the population of the other analyzed cities decreased. Depopulation affected almost half of the 30 analyzed municipalities, and it is a serious problem in striving for the sustainable development of the region. The problem was exacerbated by the absence of a correlation between the demographic potential growth and the increase in the synthetic development measure value which characterized the water and sewage system. This means that the infrastructure preventing anthropopressure and providing basic services directly influencing the quality of life is developing at a different pace than the increase in the number of residents. The above indicates the need for the immediate development of a conscious settlement policy for the region of Lower Silesia. The obtained results constitute a warning addressed to those responsible for the development of spatial policy covering the cities and the surrounding areas, including rural areas.

Natural Environment and Cultural Heritage in the City, a Sustainability Perspective

The 21st century urges us to analyze urban problems and revise its components [...]

Developing Corporate Sustainability Assessment Methods for Oil and Gas Companies

As it is predicted that there will be a decrease in production at the oil and gas facilities that are currently operating, it becomes necessary to start developing new oil and gas fields. This results in changes to the state’s policy regarding the participation of private companies in the development and implementation of oil and gas offshore exploration and production new projects. Access to unique fields can be provided to the most socially responsible companies. The purpose of this study is to present the author’s methodology for assessing the dynamics of corporate sustainability. The methodology is based on the assessment of individual, well-founded indicators of sustainable development of companies. The proposed methodology takes into account factors in areas such as occupational health and safety, environmental protection and economic efficiency and identifies two performance indicators. The first indicator is an aggregated index for three groups of factors to assess company ratings relative to the performance of the best company. The second indicator is an assessment of the dynamics within the company relative to the previous values of indicators of corporate social responsibility. The research results obtained using the proposed methodology show that oil and gas companies differ significantly in terms of corporate sustainability. The developed methodology for assessing corporate sustainability is of practical importance and can be used by companies in the analysis and planning of operating and investment activities that ensure the achievement of goals of corporate social responsibility.