Rasool Zamani-Ahmadmahmoodi; Nasrin Gharahi; Samira Bayati; Hojatollah Khedri-Gharibvand; Mahnaz Amini; Fatemeh Asadi
Abstract
Introduction: Solid waste management became an important environmental issue in the last century. This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of people regarding urban waste management in Shahrekord in 2013. Solid waste materials in Shahrekord often include household, commercial, ...
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Introduction: Solid waste management became an important environmental issue in the last century. This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of people regarding urban waste management in Shahrekord in 2013. Solid waste materials in Shahrekord often include household, commercial, industrial, construction and agricultural waste. These wastes are buried unseparated and a percentage of the waste remains unmanaged. Since there is no recycling factory in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province, many wastes, which have high economic value, are destroyed with indifference. Considering the influential role of urban and provincial managers and planners, with a little reflection and acceptance of the role of community members in the management cycle, many problems related to the next stages of the waste disposal system can be reduced to the minimum possible.Materials and Methods: In order to execute this study, a combined method (field, library and documentary, analytical and descriptive methods) was used. The city was divided into three districts and randomly, 50 questionnaires (n=150) were distributed. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by an expert in the field of waste materials from the medical sciences universities in the country and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha test. Finally, the data obtained from these questionnaires were analyzed using Excel and SPSS version 19 software, aided by descriptive statistics, correlation tests and variance analysis. In order to investigate the effect of gender on the participation rate, independent T-test was used, and the effect of education and age structure on the participation rate was evaluated by ANOVA test.Results: Given a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87, the questions asked in the questionnaires had good validity. The largest number of respondents to the questionnaires were in the age range of 25-40 years old (53.3 percent), and in terms of education, they had associate and bachelors degrees (55.3 percent). Also, 50.7% of the respondents were women and 49.3% were men. The results showed a significant relationship between the level of education of people and their knowledge about solid waste management (chi-square, 0.05). There was no relationship between the awareness of people and their age and gender (chi-square, 0.05). The results of the frequency distribution of people’s responses regarding solid waste showed that approximately 97% of people are fully aware of the difference between dry and wet waste. The mean score of awareness of people in this study was 31.88 ± 0.98 (mean ± SD) of 68 score.Discussion: According to these results, awareness of people in Shahrekord was estimated as medium. These results indicated that in a society with a high level of culture, it is easier to manage solid waste. Therefore, there is a need for planning to change the behavior and attitudes of families and implement programs to increase people’s knowledge based on the social and cultural context of the study area. Therefore, to improve solid waste management, it should be use appropriate educational media to promote public culture in relation to solid waste management.
mohammad hossein bagheri; mohammadReza Farzaneh; behzad rayegani
Abstract
AbstractIntroduction: Flood is one of the main natural disasters in Iran, which has caused losses in different regions. The ability to produce accurate and timely flood assessments is an important safety tool for flood mitigation and response. Several methodologies have been developed to indicate the ...
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AbstractIntroduction: Flood is one of the main natural disasters in Iran, which has caused losses in different regions. The ability to produce accurate and timely flood assessments is an important safety tool for flood mitigation and response. Several methodologies have been developed to indicate the risks associated with flooding by using ground measurements. Satellite remote sensing data have been used for flood assessment because of their spatial resolution and capacity to provide information for areas of poor accessibility or lacking in ground measurements. High resolution satellite data is mainly useful for the spatial analysis of water pixels. When flood data (before and after of a flood event) are available, it is possible to classify land cover change, and thus identify which areas are flooded.Materials and Methods: The present study developed a methodology that uses Sentinel 1 images and global products to assess the losses caused by a flood in the province of Khuzestan (2020) and Chabahar-Konarak (2021-2022). In this study, in addition to Sentinel 1 satellite data, Landsat 8 satellite images have been used. The results of this research have turned into the development of a flood application in the Google Earth Engine software.Results: The results showed that the use of optically inactive images of this Landsat 8 or Sentinel 2 in cases where the cloud cover does not bother will increase the accuracy of the output. This issue is one of the specialization features in the conditions of uncertainty in determining the thresholds of changes in radar images. In the field of flood zone and subsequently estimation of losses from flood. Applying the method presented in the Google Earth Engine environment, due to the easy access to satellite images and global products, is a suitable solution for extracting the flood zone and subsequently estimating the agricultural and residential damages caused by floods.Discussion: Combining the information of radar and optical satellites can play an important role in the accuracy of the thresholds and extracting the flood zone. The limitations related to optical images such as cloud cover disturbances led to the use and evaluation of methodology based on radar images (without the use of optical images) in this research. According to the research methodology, there is no need to prepare and collect land information and global products regarding the population and its spatial distribution, land cover, permanent water areas and the digital elevation model of the land, with appropriate spatial accuracy (all information with spatial accuracy less than 100 meters) has been used. Fast access to processed satellite images, as well as general coding and processing of images and the implementation of the considered methodology in the Earth-engine environment are the main advantages of this study.
Azam Shahbeik; Rahele Pourmazaheri; Ahmad Taheri
Abstract
Introduction: One of the significant challenges metropolises faces is air pollution, which has many adverse effects on human health and the environment. Karaj, as an industrial city situated close to the country's major industries and power plants, is severely affected by air pollution from both mobile ...
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Introduction: One of the significant challenges metropolises faces is air pollution, which has many adverse effects on human health and the environment. Karaj, as an industrial city situated close to the country's major industries and power plants, is severely affected by air pollution from both mobile and stationary sources. The most important study carried out in the field of air pollution in Karaj city can be considered the air pollutant emission inventory of this city, which is stated for criteria pollutants in two categories of stationary and mobile sources, separately for each source.Methodology: After upgrading the air quality monitoring stations in this city, the current study can be considered the first comprehensive study of air pollutants in terms of their temporal and spatial trends. This study measured air quality in stations equipped with the analyzers of four gaseous pollutants, including ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, along with two particulate pollutants, including particulates smaller than 2.5 and 10 microns. Furthermore, the city's air quality index, obtained from the total of monitoring stations, was analyzed.Results: The study finds that particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns and ozone are the main pollutants in Karaj in hot and cold seasons, respectively. The other pollutants exceed the allowable air quality index, rarely. For a period of one-year, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns and ozone put the air quality index in the range of unhealthy for sensitive groups and unhealthy for the entire city of Karaj for 94 and 18 days, respectively. Also, this study investigated the pollutant transport effect using the combination of pollutant concentration data, wind speed, and direction. The dominant directions of pollutant transport to that station were determined for each air quality monitoring station. Based on the results of the present study, for PM2.5, as the most critical air pollutant in the city of Karaj, it can be found that the highest concentration and therefore, the most days with the index in the unhealthy range for PM2.5 has been registered in Metro and Zone 3 stations, in the cold seasons of the year (autumn and winter), respectively.Discussion: By examining the location of these two stations, they can be evaluated as traffic stations. Since the Metro station is located in the Karaj metro area, it is not only affected by the pollution caused by the transport fleet on the routes adjacent to the station (the most important of which is the Karaj-Qarvin freeway), but also the traffic and stops of buses and taxi fleets, which can cause the emission of suspended particles in that area. On the other hand, the station of zone 3 is located at a very short distance from Eram Boulevard, which is strongly affected by the pollutants emitted by the transport fleet on this route. Due to the secondary nature of Karaj's main pollutants, such as ozone in the warm season and a high portion of suspended particles smaller than 2.5 microns in the cold season, it is necessary to reduce air pollution through modeling that incorporates photochemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Elham Shafaii Moghadam
Abstract
Introduction: One way to avoid harming the environment is to change the behavior of citizens towards environmental behavior, which consciously seeks to reduce the negative effects of individual behavior on nature. These changes in the field of environmental behaviors include environmental protection ...
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Introduction: One way to avoid harming the environment is to change the behavior of citizens towards environmental behavior, which consciously seeks to reduce the negative effects of individual behavior on nature. These changes in the field of environmental behaviors include environmental protection behaviors and reduction of the negative effects of human actions on the environment in daily tasks. As well as specific outdoor programs, it creates the emergence of a new form of citizenship that Dobson has called environmental citizenship. In preliminary studies on environmental behaviors, the use of models based on knowledge and attitude toward environment was common. But the inefficiency of these approaches led researchers to model ethical norms such as the model derived from value theory. The Stern's Belief – Norm theory (1999) suggests a chain of variables, from public values and concerns about the environment to specific beliefs about the negative consequences of certain activities, while emphasizing the ability and responsibility of individuals to avoid these negative consequences and enable their personal norms to protect the environment. In this research, according to stern value-belief-norm theory, environmental citizen behavior in the second type of environmental behaviors and altruistic value from values and responsibility section of beliefs and beliefs of this theory has been selected and explained the behavior of citizens' environmental citizenship.Materials & Methods: The statistical population of this study is citizens aged 18 years and over in Kashan city in 2020, the sample size is equal to 352 people and for sampling, cluster method has been used. Responsibility and altruism variables with 14 items and environmental citizenship behavior variable with 13 researcher-made items have been measured in the form of 5-point Likert range. To measure the bases of the head, the Cholo and Alphd are used, according to the suitability of the situation, to verify the variables of the subject, to test the theory of the party to be a T, and to the point of a theory, a point to which the subject is used by point of reference to the point in each point of the movement.Results: According to the findings, Kashani citizens have a favorable status in terms of altruism, responsibility and citizenship behavior and the mean of these variables among them is higher than average, the relationship between altruism and responsibility with environmental citizenship behavior with correlation rate (r=0.61, r and sig=0.000, respectively). It is meaningful. Also, based on the volume model, the effect of two variables of altruism and responsibility with (0.275 and F=2=0.245) is moderate, respectively. The amount of Q2 is 0.269. This amount indicates that the predictive power of the model is moderate. In addition, the partial mediation effect of the accountability variable for the relationship between altruism and environmental citizenship behavior has been confirmed, so that VAF value is equal to 0.384. It is believed that 38% of the effect of altruism on environmental citizenship behavior is explained indirectly by the mediator variable of responsibility. Discussion: The results of this study represent an attempt to understand the principles of environmental law, and that by 1404 the previous scholars had been given a clear understanding and a feeling of concern for the environment and its problems. Therefore, considering the importance and role of responsibility in environmental citizenship behaviors is suggested that voluntary and active environmental groups and organizations among citizens be increased in order to strengthen their sense of commitment and responsibility while assigning some environmentally related tasks to citizens.
Samaneh Bagheri
Abstract
Introduction: According to international reports, the emission of carbon dioxide in Iran is increasing and it is moving to the top ranks of the first ten countries in the emission of carbon dioxide, research in this field is necessary. The purpose of this research is to analyze the carbon dioxide emission ...
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Introduction: According to international reports, the emission of carbon dioxide in Iran is increasing and it is moving to the top ranks of the first ten countries in the emission of carbon dioxide, research in this field is necessary. The purpose of this research is to analyze the carbon dioxide emission function and the effective variables in this function using the Markov switching method with two regimes for the period from 1975 to 2018. In the conducted researches, the carbon dioxide emission function for Iran has not been investigated. For the first time, this research examines the carbon dioxide emission function in Iran. The purpose of this research is to investigate the carbon dioxide emission function in Iran using the Markov switching method.Material and methods: Markov switching method was used in this research. In Markov switching models, the time series process is a function of an unobservable random variable called the regime. If the time series changes over time with regime change, the assumption of constant parameters in VAR models is not justified. MS-VAR models can be used as a suitable replacement. The model examined in this research is as follows:LCO2t = β + LCO2t-1 + LENERGYt + LGDPt + (LGDP)t2+UtIn the above model, LENERGY logarithm of energy consumption per capita, LGDP is the logarithm of gross domestic product at constant prices in 2005. U term error and (LGDP)2, The square of the logarithm of GDP in 2005 price LCO2t-1 is the logarithm of carbon dioxide emissions in kilograms with one break and LCOt is the logarithm of carbon dioxide emissions (kg per GDP in 2010 dollars). The data of this research was collected from the World Bank website and Oxmetrics7 software was used to estimate the model. The model was considered with two regimes, a regime with high fluctuation of carbon dioxide emission and a regime with low fluctuation of carbon dioxide emission.Results: In this research, two regimes, including the regime of high fluctuation of carbon dioxide emission and the regime of low fluctuation of carbon dioxide emission, were investigated. According to the results, the hypothesis of Iran's Kuznets curve in the shape of an inverted U was confirmed. According to the results, Iran is at the beginning of the downward part of the Kuznets curve. In the function of carbon dioxide gas emission, the logarithm of carbon dioxide gas emission with one break, the variable logarithm of energy consumption, the logarithm of real gross domestic product, the squared logarithm of real gross domestic product, respectively 0.53%, 0.55%, 0.46% and -0.070 % has a significant effect on the emission of carbon dioxide gas.Discussion In this model, the width of the regression origin is dependent on the regime. The intermittent variable of the logarithm of carbon dioxide emissions has had a positive and significant effect on the logarithm of carbon dioxide emissions, which shows that with the increase in the carbon dioxide emissions of the previous period, the carbon dioxide emissions of the next period will increase. The carbon dioxide gas released in a period is not completely absorbed until the end of the period, and some of it remains in the environment as storage. All variables of the model are significant with zero probability in the function. Based on the findings of the research, variables of energy consumption, real gross domestic product, real gross domestic product squared and carbon dioxide gas emission variable have a positive and significant effect on carbon dioxide gas emission.
Mokarrameh Behmanesh; Atefeh Chamani; Elham Chavoshi
Abstract
Introduction: One of the most important emerging pollutants in aquatic environments that has recently attracted the attention of global researchers in recent years is plastic waste, especially microplastics. Aquatic fauna can ingest microplastics as they confuse it for their prey. Aquatic organisms can ...
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Introduction: One of the most important emerging pollutants in aquatic environments that has recently attracted the attention of global researchers in recent years is plastic waste, especially microplastics. Aquatic fauna can ingest microplastics as they confuse it for their prey. Aquatic organisms can easily ingest microplastics because their size is similar to that of the larvae of several organisms, including plankton. Consequently, the animal may develop a sense of satiety after ingesting microplastics, causing reduced food uptake and decreased energy intake, which in turn may affect growth, survival, fecundity and reproduction rate, impacting general fitness of the organisms. Once ingested, these particles can be transferred to higher trophic levels. Despite the fact that freshwater is the only source of drinking water, knowledge about the effects of microplastic pollution in freshwater environments compared to marine environments is still in its infancy. Therefore, the aim of the present study is too comprehensive investigate the presence and distribution of microplastics in the sediments of Zayandeh-Rud River.Materials and Methods: From upstream to downstream of Zayandeh-Rud River, 21 sampling stations were selected and in each station, sampling was done in an area of 30 x 30 cm to a depth of approximately 10 cm above the sediment in three repetitions. Sample processing was done during two stages of organic material digestion using hydrogen peroxide and density separation using sodium chloride salt. Microplastics were identified using a standard light microscope with magnifications of 40x, 100x and 400x. Different standard protocols such as pressure, tension, additional light or hot needle tests were used to detect microplastics. After identifying the microplastic particles, their type and shape, color and size were determined and recorded. Raman spectrometer was used to determine the polymer composition of microplastics.Results: The average abundance of microplastics was 70.481±29.39 particles in 50 gr/dry sediment. Station 17 with an average number of 363.50±14.849 particles and stations 1, 6 and 7 with an average number of 1.33 ±1.528 particles in 50 gr/dry sediment had the highest and lowest levels of pollution, respectively. The size of all microplastics was in the range of 50-5000 micrometers. Microplastics less than 500 microns were the most abundant with 64.5%. The dominant form of microplastics with the frequency of 34.9%, 33% and 28.8% belonged to line, fragment and fiber, respectively. In total, 4 polymers, polypropylene, polyamide, polyurethane and polyethylene, were identified. The results were compared with the reference spectra provided in the Openspecy database. In total, 3 different polymers including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polyamide (PA) were found in sediments.Discussion: The result of this research indicates microplastics dispersion in the sediments of Zayandeh-Rud River. Polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA) and polyethylene (PE) polymers found in Zayandeh-Rud River sediments are often used in textiles. The composition of the polymer in the sediments clearly indicates the discharge of wastewater from the washing of synthetic textile into the river. Polypropylene and polyethylene are used to make ropes and fishing nets. In addition, polypropylene fibers are widely used for the production of floor coverings, carpets and rugs, sports clothes, making agricultural mulch, fishing nets, packaging bags and ropes. Due to its high strength and hardness, polyamide is used to produce items such as ropes, safety belts, parachutes, thread and fishing nets, as well as in the production of synthetic fibers such as clothes, socks and carpet fibers.Therefore, it can be stated that human activities, including the discharge of urban and industrial wastewater, plastic waste by tourists on the river and also the use of fishing nets by fishermen, play an important role in microplastic pollution in this area. Therefore, developing a program to monitoring microplastics in the water and sediment of Zayandeh-Rud River will be of great help for management measures to control this pollution.
hamid bazrpach; Farzad Karimi Khanjari
Abstract
International environmental law and international law of investment in goals are conflicting in that the investor's goal is individual interest and the environmental goal is collective interest, while in practice and implementation are closely related and in an implementation environment And play a key ...
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International environmental law and international law of investment in goals are conflicting in that the investor's goal is individual interest and the environmental goal is collective interest, while in practice and implementation are closely related and in an implementation environment And play a key role in today's human society. Therefore, economic investments by companies in different countries require legislation and sometimes restrictive laws. One of these methods is the application of environmental laws, which are often ignored in corporate and oil investments aimed at attracting foreign investment. Thus, this research uses a descriptive-analytical method to investigate the issue of environmental commitments in investments. Research shows that oil investors often overlook environmental commitments, and governments in developing countries show flexibility to attract more investors due to financial constraints and economic weakness, one of which is one of their areas of flexibility is environmental law. Given the current environmental crises, however, governments must minimize violations of environmental obligations by enacting and enforcing strict and restrictive laws and regulations.
Seyed Ghasem Ghorbanzadeh Zaferani; Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh; Mona Izadian
Abstract
Introduction: The study of the structure of aquatic communities in aquatic ecosystems has a special place in the ecological studies of aquatic organisms. Among the important and common macrobenthic indices, we can mention uni- variate and multi-variate ecological indices, which having different advantages ...
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Introduction: The study of the structure of aquatic communities in aquatic ecosystems has a special place in the ecological studies of aquatic organisms. Among the important and common macrobenthic indices, we can mention uni- variate and multi-variate ecological indices, which having different advantages and disadvantages, are still used in various studies in riverian waters. In recent years, studies using biodiversity index and bioindices, especially the Helsinhof index, were used to assessment of the water quality of the Karaj River. Assuming that there is agreement between the ecological indices of the region, the present study evaluated the degree of agreement between the quality statuses results obtained from different ecological indices in the Karaj River.
Materials and Methods: In this study, we sampled macrobenthic fauna using a sorber sampler in nine stations during 2017-2018, seasonally. After separating and identifying macrobenthos, Shannon's index, EPT, ASPT, BMWP and HFBI were calculated. Then the ecological status of the stations was classified based on these indices. The percentage of stations whose ecological status was acceptable or unacceptable, as well as the compatibility level between these five indices in the study area, were calculated. To determine the similar tendency of the different indices in the classification of stations, the degree of correlation between them was determined using a non-parametric test. SPSS23 and Excel software were used for statistical analysis and Primer6 was used to determine biodiversity index. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check the normal distribution of the data. In order to determine the significant difference between the desired data, one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used at the significance level of p<0.05. ArcGIS 10.3 and Terrset 17.3 software were used to prepare maps using the IDW method.
Results: In terms of abundance, the Shironomide family was dominant. Baetis, Tubifex, Micrasema, Rhithrogena, Eporus, Hydropsyche, Leptophlebiidae, and Simulium made up 83% of the samples. The values of H', EPT, ASPT, BMWP and HFBI were calculated (12.2±0.65), (5.6±2.8), (3.9±1), (48.8±23.34) and (4.6±1), respectively. The relative agreement in the results obtained from the five studied indices was seen in 67% of the stations with unacceptable quality in the case that 22% of the river stations showed complete agreement and 11% of the stations showed disagreement. The statistical analysis shows that there is a significant agreement between the results of the ecological status obtained from EPT with ASPT, BMWP and Shannon, if they are different with HFBI index. Also, based on the results of the correlation between the classification of the ecological quality obtained from the bioindices (positive and strong correlation between the EPT and the Shannon and BMWP), it indicates the similar direction of these indices in the classification of the stations.
Discussion: There are structural and population changes of macrobenthos in aquatic ecosystems due to natural factors and human activities. Due to the lack of complete agreement between the assessment results of the five indices in this study, in order to use biological indices in each region for environmental management, there is a need to simultaneously use indices. Also, it is important to check the agreement between different indices and choose the appropriate ecological index. As a result, using each of these indices alone and without considering the above considerations can lead to wrong results. Based on the results of the present study, the Helsinhof index (HFBI) can be introduced as a more suitable index than other studied indices to assess the ecological status of the Karaj River.