A new framework to help decide whether to translocate species that are threatened by climate change has been developed. The framework provides a simple method of assessing different strategies and ensuring that limited budgets are used effectively.

Climate change poses a large threat to African agriculture, but there is little research on how to respond. A recent study indicates that traditional adaptation methods are not enough and international collaboration is needed in ‘planned adaptation’ by collecting and conserving certain crops for the future.

Communication about climate change could benefit from reframing it as a public health issue, according to new research. A health perspective could make climate change more relevant and understandable to the public, whilst information about the health benefits of mitigation policy could provide a positive vision for the future.

A review of the European Climate Change Programme has concluded that the initiative has successfully identified cost-efficient policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, allowed consensus-building among key stakeholders, and positioned the European Union as a leader in climate change actions.

Messages that focus on the local impacts of climate change are among the most effective at reaching people who are generally dismissive of climate science, according a recent survey of Australian residents. The questionnaire asked participants about their attitudes and beliefs about climate change. Participants were shown a range of messages related to climate change adaptation, and then asked how much each message motivated them to take action. Presentations that contained local impacts, specific advice and negative emotive content were found to be the most effective.

Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed increased levels of carbon dioxide, leading to the ocean’s pH becoming more acidic. Effects of these pH changes on marine and estuarine biota is the focus of much research effort worldwide and the authors of this study focus on the larval habitat-choice process of a commercially important tropical marine fish species, Lates calcarifer, barramundi.

To solve the problem of food waste we need to radically rethink how our food is produced and consumed, researchers argue in a recent study. They propose a new framework that considers how to reduce wastage throughout the supply chain. Preventing excess levels of food production and consumption in the first place is its most important step.

Littering on coasts could be reduced by providing environmental information to temporary residents, research suggests. The study found that temporary residents were just as likely to litter as permanent resident populations and other visitors, but tended to be the group least aware of local environmental programmes.

Ecosystem services, such as coastal protection or water supply, form an integral part of ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. However, preserving and restoring ecosystems and their services relies on the economic system that supports these efforts. Ecosystem services will not be best protected by the classic market framework, new research suggests.

A tax of €0.05–0.27 per kilogram (kg) of fertiliser could help to limit French farmers’ use of fertiliser, which is driven by the high rapeseed prices resulting from biofuels policy, according to new economics research. This, in turn, may limit fertilisers’ environmental impacts, such as water pollution, the study’s authors suggest.

Bike share programmes appear to have successfully reduced private car use in Brisbane, Melbourne, Washington DC, Minnesota and London, suggests recent research. In London, however, high demand for vans to transport bicycles between docking stations may have increased overall motor vehicle use in the city.

In a previous blog post, Notifications from MATLAB, I showed how Amazon's Notification system (AWS SNS) can be used from MATLAB service can be used to easily send information between endpoints in a distributed system, be they applications or people.... read more >>

National Forest Programmes (NFPs) aim to incorporate the views of a wide range of stakeholders into the management of national forests. However, an analysis of NFPs in Bulgaria and Germany found they had little impact on forest policy. Despite this, stakeholders who took part in the NFP negotiations welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the policy-making process, even though they realised they may have little impact.

A recent study confirms that some European ash trees are more genetically-resistant to the devastating ash dieback disease. These individuals could therefore be selected for gene conservation and/or start a breeding programme to save the European ash.

Outputs of conservation planning research are likely to be translated into action more quickly and successfully if a transdisciplinary approach is adopted, according to a recent study. The researchers have applied a transdisciplinary framework 'pyramid of knowledge' to aid in understanding the process of converting research into action, which may also be applicable to other academic disciplines.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have well-reported ecological benefits, but may also have important socioeconomic effects on local communities. Existing methods to assess these effects have been hampered by a number of limitations. This paper describes a new framework to monitor and assess the socioeconomic effects of MPAs, which overcomes many of these limitations to provide greater value for decision makers.

Effective regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) calls for monitoring of the potential environmental risks. This study explored whether the German permanent soil monitoring programme could be a useful tool for this purpose. The researchers say the programme has potential to monitor the effects of GMOs on local soil communities, but that adaptations would be necessary.

Ten years ago the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) introduced a shift in water management, placing ecology at the centre of decision-making. A new review of its implementation identifies both the achievements of the WFD and its ongoing challenges, providing recommendations on how to overcome these.

The importance of addressing eutrophication to improve the ecological health of coastal and marine waters has been identified in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive1. A new study discusses possible methods for assessing and monitoring eutrophication, including which indicators to monitor.

For successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive, local planners will need specific targets, guidance on interpretation, and adequate resources to monitor progress, according to a recent study from Sweden.

Researchers have proposed a new framework to assess the potential for redeveloping large contaminated brownfield sites. The framework applies a range of spatial assessment methods to analyse remediation costs, economic value and the sustainability of different land-use types, and to recommend suitably mixed land-use options for redevelopment.

Improvements to EU water policy have been proposed in a recent study, to help ensure that temporary rivers and streams in the Mediterranean are adequately protected in line with the goals of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The researchers suggest new classifications for river types, and highlight the importance of distinguishing between natural and human-derived causes of intermittent water flow.

A recent study has analysed research on implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Europe and identified a number of research gaps that could be filled. For example, some countries, such as Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, have not been well studied and more research on the experiences of such countries would build up knowledge on the implementation of the WFD across Europe.

A new framework has been developed to assess how effective Flood Emergency Management Systems (FEMS) are in Europe. Examining FEMS in five European countries, this study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems and makes recommendations for improving their effectiveness, particularly in relation to institutional learning, community preparedness and recovery.

Facebook also recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the marketing director for India to drive the consumer marketing efforts of its family of apps.

Direct messages on the desktop have been in the works for a while now.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are set to benefit from a $30 million global "anti-COVID" programme that Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, launched on Thursday.

The data centre market, currently pegged at around $4 billion, is likely to grow to $7 billion by 2020 or 2022, say industry players.

The insurance firm is looking at ways to expand the business, improve claim processing by going deeper into machine learning and neural networks.

An international group of researchers has proposed a new way of describing payments for environmental services (PES). The new definition supplies a framework, incorporating the social aspects of PES, which can be used by practitioners, such as governments, to design and implement a variety of PES schemes.

Researchers have presented their proposal for a global monitoring method to quickly detect small changes in bee populations, which could pre-warn of large-scale drops in pollination activity. Implementing the method could be a cost-effective way to ensure a sustainable food supply, according to the authors of the new study.

With over half of Europe’s species dependent on agricultural habitats, protecting ‘high nature value’ farmland is vital to biodiversity conservation. However, the identification and assessment of such farmland requires careful co-ordination, concludes a recent study. The researchers present a framework to help with this process and make a set of key recommendations.

Monitoring and evaluation of conservation projects is vital to ensuring their success. However, there is currently a lack of clarity about the different methods available and the ways in which they can complement each other. For this study the researchers explore the characteristics of five approaches — ambient monitoring, management assessment, performance measurement, impact evaluation, and systematic review — and examine their strengths and weaknesses.

Rewilding, a process of passive management focused on restoring natural ecological processes and reducing human influence on landscapes, could be used to restore the increasing amounts of abandoned agricultural land in Europe to more biodiverse wilderness. A new study has designed a framework to measure potential for rewilding in areas across Europe, highlighting in particular the potential of Natura 2000 sites and suggesting specific aspects of wilderness that future policies could address.

Invasive alien species pose a threat to biodiversity, human health and the economy. This study describes six alien species indicators for Europe, showing that the scale and impact of biological invasions are increasing across all indicators. The societal response has also increased in recent years. The researchers say their framework could serve as a basis for monitoring the efficacy of recent EU legislation.

There are differences in the assessment and restriction of chemicals exempt from the EU’s regulatory instrument REACH. A new study has analysed the differences between several regulatory frameworks that govern these chemicals and recommended greater harmonisation in assessment criteria and regulatory follow-up.

Oil spills can decimate seabird populations. Some birds can be saved, if the oil is washed from their feathers in time; however, this long process is stressful for the birds and requires numerous volunteers. Researchers have now developed a ‘bird-washing machine’ which reduces the washing time from two hours to four minutes. When trialled on oiled birds rescued from the Caspian Sea this resulted in a substantial increase in survival: 88.5% survival after seven days compared to 50% survival with current washing techniques.

A recent study has evaluated frameworks and tools used in Europe to assess the potential health and environmental risks of manufactured nanomaterials. The study identifies a trend towards tools that provide protocols for conducting experiments, which enable more flexible and efficient hazard testing. Among its conclusions, however, it notes that no existing frameworks meet all the study’s evaluation criteria and calls for a new, more comprehensive framework.

Currently laws and regulations governing nanotechnology are fragmented and do not take account of the unique properties of nanomaterials, the effect of which on humans and the environment are not yet fully understood, argue researchers in a new study. In the study, a network of European researchers propose a new universal regulatory framework that deals specifically with nanomaterials. The framework should help policymakers, organisations and researchers evaluate the risks of any existing materials and new nanomaterials entering the market. It should also help SMEs and large companies use safer products and processes, limit the potential adverse effects of nanomaterials on workers and consumers, reduce the cost of insurance and reduce the risk of governments having to pay out money in the future due to unforeseen accidents or diseases.

Agriculture is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Researchers have developed a framework for estimating emissions of methane and nitrous oxides from agriculture, by updating the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach, which captures more detail about differences between locations.

Researchers have estimated that, annually, almost 3 000 deaths (i.e. 20% of mortality) in Barcelona, Spain, are premature, and would be preventable if residents lived in urban environments that met international exposure recommendations for physical activity, air pollution, noise, heat and access to green spaces. The results emphasise the need to reduce motorised traffic, promote active and public transport, and provide adequate green space to encourage exercise and mitigate the impacts of environmental hazards in cities.

A recent study develops a framework for implementing IAMs using the Lombardy region of Italy as a case study. Researchers have run an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis with an environmental model, specifically with an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for air quality, demonstrating how model components are sources of uncertainty in the output of an integrated assessment. Policy responses should therefore consider uncertainty and sensitivity when developing measures to improve air quality.

The median list price of homes on the market in the U.S. is slightly higher than a year ago

Home sellers in California's state capital now have a new way to sell their homes with certainty and control over what is traditionally a stressful and complex process