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Holistic approach needed to reduce consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags

Reducing plastic carrier bag consumption in different EU Member States requires different approaches and combinations of measures, according to a new study. The authors studied consumption and littering levels across Europe in relation to national plastic bag consumption reduction policy options, and found that there is not one specific solution for both of these factors, nor a single solution that can be used in all Member States. They suggest a holistic approach and additional research into consumer or stakeholder behaviour is needed.




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Recycling wastewater would bring economic benefits to Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area

The economic viability of wastewater reuse projects could be better determined using methodology from a new study. The authors developed a five-step cost-benefit analysis framework to assess a planned wastewater reuse project within the catchment of the Yarqon River, in Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, Israel. It was found that the scheme could have a net present value of $4.83 (€4.34) million per year. The authors highlight the relevance of identifying external as well as internal economic, social and environmental costs of such projects.




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Exploring interlinked drivers of human migration in the context of environmental change

A framework on the effects of environmental change on human migration has been developed by researchers. It makes clear that environmental change can influence migration directly but also indirectly through impacts on economic, social and political factors. The framework can be used to guide further research, evaluate policy options, or develop predictions for migration under global change, say the researchers.




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Constructed wetlands for removing human pathogens: factors affecting water safety

Constructed wetlands can remove disease-causing bacteria from wastewater, but their performance is highly dependent on the systems they use, a new study shows. Researchers reviewed results from a wide range of studies on constructed wetlands and found that combining different approaches increased removal of bacteria. However, further research and improvement of wetland systems is required to produce water that is safe for reuse.




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Environmental conditions in winter can be used to predict European anchovy stock

The European anchovy is one of the most important small pelagic fish in the Adriatic Sea, but the size of the stock can fluctuate year on year. This study aimed to investigate the link between anchovy catch and winter circulation patterns in the North Adriatic sea. The findings show that oceanographic conditions during winter determine anchovy abundance. Prediction of these conditions could help to guide sustainable fisheries management in the region.




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Water management: five policy conditions to help overcome the challenges of an uncertain future

‘Adaptive co-management’ could help water managers cope with future shocks and unpredictability brought by climate change, according to a recent study. They identify five conditions for policies that would create an enabling environment for this management approach, which include the need to account for water’s ecological functions, and for stakeholders to learn from each other.




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Sewage treatment plants can do better to close the circular economy loop: resources recovered by only 40% of Italian plants

Scientists have published findings from the largest and broadest survey on sewage resource recovery conducted in Europe to date. Researchers surveyed more than 600 waste-water treatment plants (WWTPs) in Italy, which represent approximately 25% of the country’s total load of treated sewage. The findings provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of sewage resource recovery in WWTPs, revealing that just 40% of plants perform some form of material or energy recovery, and identifying several of the important driving forces behind implementation. This research provides valuable information and insights for policymakers and WWTP managers aiming to improve WWTP sustainability and close the sewage resource-recovery loop.




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Combining behavioural change and game-like incentive models encourages consumers to save water

Domestic water saving is important — not only to address water scarcity and drought, but also to save energy and tackle climate change. Water-management strategies are needed to prevent these shortages, and include incentives to change consumers’ behaviour concerning water use. This study examines the design of a behaviour-change system and a linked incentive model to stimulate a sustainable change in water-consumption behaviour.




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Online tool enables quick comparison of strategies to control eutrophication

Researchers have developed an online tool to help water managers find effective ways of tackling eutrophication, an excess growth of weeds and algae that suffocates life in rivers, lakes and seas. They describe the tool as quick and easy to use and understand. Users can compare the likely effects of different strategies for cutting nutrient pollution in surface waters via an interactive map-based system; this is currently available for Sweden and Europe as a whole.




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Management strategies for EU water bodies should consider sustainability of ecosystem services, Italy

Considering the sustainability of the services provided by an ecosystem could help to overcome management challenges and hit water quality targets defined by the EU, says a new study. By exploring 13 of the ecosystem services (ES) provided by the Venice Lagoon, Italy, the researchers identify factors affecting sustainable and unsustainable patterns of ES provision, and suggest that confined and more open water bodies could benefit from different management strategies.




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Urban self-sufficiency: how rooftops could contribute to cities’ energy, food and water demands, Spain

A recent study helps city planners find the greenest and most effective way of producing renewable energy, crops and water on rooftops. The researchers developed a method for analysing the performance and environmental impacts of different combinations of rooftop rainwater-harvesting-, energy- and food systems. It could aid efforts to promote urban self-sufficiency and a sustainable circular economy, they suggest.




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Contactless dining tops the menu now

Restaurants have been hit hard and are expected to continue facing a challenge in getting customers back as social distancing becomes the new norm.




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Covid-19 Impact: Top retailers urge government to open non-essential retail to reset the Indian economy

The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), said only 8% of its members have funds to pay salary next month since 90% of all apparel retail is still at physical stores.




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Business continuity essentials for a secure remote working future

Over the next few years business continuity solutions will continue to power the new redefined future of work itself.




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Take user privacy seriously, don't collect data without consent: Xiaomi

Xiaomi India Managing Director said that the company does not collect any user data that the user has not explicitly given permission or consent to. He added that in the browser's incognito mode, all user data is completely encrypted and anonymised. He also pointed out that all Mi Browser and Mi Cloud data of Indian users is stored locally in AWS servers in India.




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Half of employees watch adult content on the same devices they use for working from home: Kaspersky

As social distancing measures become common and workers adjust to their new professional environments, even from their own living rooms, there is potential for private and working life to blur into one.




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New clause added to IT Act: Onus of content not generated by users on social media platforms

‘Safe harbour protection’ only if intermediaries facilitate and not modify such content, including ads




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Twitter lets developers study real time COVID-19 conversations

Twitter has introduced an update to its API platform to allow developers and researchers to study crucial public conversations around COVID-19 in real time.




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New FDI policy trigger concerns over investments from Taiwan

Some MNC banks may seek clarity from RBI; companies in a fix over Chinese inflow in the rights issue.




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Appliances, consumer electronic makers assist customers virtually amid lockdown

Companies like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Haier and Godrej Appliance are leveraging Livechat, WhatsApp, DIY video as well as on-call assistance, and helping remotely on real time basis as their service centres are closed in compliance with the government directives.




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Apple brings hardware disconnect feature to iPads

Apple has finally rolled out its hardware disconnect feature to its iPad models for improved security.




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5G iPhones can still arrive on schedule: Foxconn

Taiwan-based electronics contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd or Foxconn has reportedly said that the production of the 5G iPhones is likely to start on schedule for the fall launch of the new handsets.




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Apple releases budget iPhone SE priced at $399 as coronavirus stalls economy

The updated iPhone SE will start at $399, or less than half the price of its leading flagship devices and be available as of Friday.




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Consumers want full e-commerce services in all zones: Survey

78% respondents of the survey said that the government should permit online retailers to ship all products, apart from essential items.




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Apple, Google ban use of location tracking in contact tracing apps

Both the companies said privacy and preventing governments from using the system to compile data on citizens was a primary goal




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Airtel in talks with automakers to drive connected car business in India

Bharti Airtel is doubling down on growing its Internet of Things (IoT) business in India and is now specifically targeting the country’s auto the sector to drive growth and partnerships.




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‘IoT can be a cash cow amidst economic slump provided telcos step up their game’

As revenues dry up from traditional streams of mobility services amidst slowdown, intense competition and price wars, telcos are now focusing on emerging technologies and core emerging services, especially in the areas of IoT




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IoT may expose connected cars, smart healthcare systems to security risks: Analyst

Internet of Things (IoT) technology can expose connected cars and smart healthcare systems to a lot of security threats, research analyst Satyajit Sinha said on Tuesday while presenting a webinar for ETTelecom.




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Misconfiguration top cyber security risk on Cloud: Report

Misconfigurations are the primary cause of cyber security issues in the Cloud, according to a new report.




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Nutanix sets up second customer support centre in India

The new center takes the total number of Customer Support Centres of Excellence to ten, five of which are based in Asia.




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The importance of social and political context for classifying ecosystem services

It is important to have a single definition of 'ecosystem services', but a single classification scheme for services is not appropriate, according to researchers. There are many contexts in which ecosystem services can be used and the context should help to determine which classification scheme is the most appropriate for decision making.




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Integrating biodiversity conservation into local land use planning

New research indicates that successful integration of conservation into local land-use planning needs a combination of regulatory measures and community values. This could be encouraged by better education on conservation, and greater collaboration between neighbouring geographical areas.




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How effective are tradable permits for biodiversity conservation?

Tradable permits have been proposed as a flexible instrument to integrate biodiversity conservation and economic development. New research indicates that permits are not a universal solution, but do have potential in certain economic and ecological situations.




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Forward-looking approach needed to conserve biodiversity corridors

The importance of predicting future threats to the areas connecting biodiversity hotspots when planning conversation projects is highlighted in a new study. Using Costa Rican forest as a case study, researchers compared forward-looking planning methods to those that focus exclusively on current threats and found the forward-looking approaches to be more effective and reliable.




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Improving cost-effectiveness of Natura 2000 conservation

An analysis of conservation management strategies in the EU identifies a number of options for increasing the cost-effectiveness of conservation within the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. More time and money should be given to implementing conservation measures than planning them and governments should guarantee conservation funding over longer terms, say the researchers.




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Tailor agricultural policies to meet local conservation concerns

Grassland bird species of European conservation concern are potentially threatened by changes in land use in the Iberian cereal-steppes. However, a recent study suggests not all bird species respond in the same way to similar management guidelines and agri-environmental schemes need to be adjusted to local conditions.




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Using game theory to predict conservation conflicts

'Game theory' is a mathematical framework that aims to predict the performance of individuals or groups by considering the interaction between them. New research has applied game theory to three different cases of biodiversity conservation to predict conflict and offer broad suggestions for overcoming disagreements.




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Bringing the ecosystem services concept into forestry

Practical barriers may be hampering the application of an ecosystem services approach to forests. A new analysis has outlined three strategies to overcome these barriers: fostering private markets, managing public land and raising awareness of ecosystem services.




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Biodiversity benefits of organic farming could depend on context

Organic farming has often been found to have benefits for biodiversity, but the benefits can depend on the individual species and landscape in question. Research on vine farming in Italy suggests that the impact of organic methods on the number or diversity of pollinating insects may depend on local context. For example, the lack of connectivity between organic vine farms may limit benefits in some circumstances.




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Global biodiversity continues to decline

Indications suggest global biodiversity mostly continues to decline, confirming that the goal of halting the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010 has not been met, according to a recent study. Pressures on biodiversity are increasing despite increasing policy and management responses. However, with greater resources and political will, the researchers argue that the loss of biodiversity could be halted or even reversed.




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Conservation Systems improve resilience of biodiversity policy

Activists and policy makers are often considered to be separate influences on environmental issues. A new review suggests that the key to long-term conservation policy could lie in the creation of 'Conservation Systems'. These are a collective of activists, organisations and policy makers which could make biodiversity conservation efforts more resilient to major external changes, such as economic crises, change in government or conflict.




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Biodiversity in decline, but conservation efforts making a difference

One-fifth of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are threatened with extinction, according to a recent report. The study notes that there have been many conservation success stories, but far greater long-term resources are needed to improve the outlook for the world's threatened vertebrate species.




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Current economic activity leaves an alien species 'invasion debt'

Past economic activity is more likely to explain the current pattern of biological invasions across Europe than recent human activities, according to a new study. It can take several decades before a newly introduced species becomes established and spreads, which may mean that recent invasions caused by current economic activities could create an 'invasion debt' for future generations.




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Public priorities for conservation revealed in European survey

Conservation efforts should focus on species that have recently declined in number, are harmless or are perceived as high value, according to a European public survey. Participants also felt that disappearing habitats should be targeted for protection. The results suggest that, by choosing different criteria that more closely match the public's values and criteria, conservationists could improve public support for their work.




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Little Bustard: case study for modelling conservation costs

A new model, named OUTOPIE could help design more effective agri-environmental schemes. The model links the farm, field and landscape levels to allow a more accurate assessment of the costs of enrolling specific fields in conservation schemes. Using the model, the researchers were able to assess the cost-effectiveness of different policies for the conservation of the Little Bustard bird (Tetrax tetrax) in France.




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A new decision-making tool for conservation managers

A tool to help conservation managers prioritise their actions to protect wildlife has been developed. The tool, based on a mathematical model, can provide guidance on conserving endangered species as well as dealing with pests and diseases. It may help conservation managers understand how best to use their limited resources.




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Are threatened European plant species conserved in seed banks?

A new European study has assessed whether seed banks are successfully conserving European plant species threatened by extinction. The findings indicate that threatened species are only partly conserved by seed banks, and that these facilities need to focus their future efforts on filling gaps in their collections.




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Otters' conservation reveals need to adapt to climate change

There is a need for conservation strategies to consider the changing factors that threaten endangered species, such as climate change. Focusing on the European otter, new research has indicated that climate change will change this important freshwater species' distribution, which may mean that existing conservation areas no longer offer protection.




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Successful conservation policy needs monitoring and knowledge

New research has explored how well different governance systems can achieve desirable conservation outcomes. Results confirmed the importance of adaptive management, which relies on regular monitoring to enable 'learning through doing' to refine actions, and suggested that leadership using expert knowledge was also significant in successful governance.




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The importance of conserving biodiversity for biomedical research

Preserving species and the ecosystems in which they live is highly important to the progress of biomedical research. This is the conclusion made by researchers in an analysis of biodiversity's significance, which highlights the role of animals and microbes in improving our understanding of genetics, the regeneration of tissues and organs, and immunity.