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The pulp and paper industry plays an important role in the global economy and is inextricably linked to human life. Due to its large scale, the production process generates a large amount of wastewater, which poses a major threat to the environment. The sustainable utilization and safe treatment of pulp and paper wastewater can effectively reduce environmental pollution, improve resource utilization efficiency, protect water resources, provide economic benefits for pulp and paper enterprises, and thus promote the green and sustainable development of the pulp and paper industry. Therefore, this study discusses the pollution components of pulp and paper wastewater and their impact on the environment and human health. In this review, we aim to explore the sustainable development of pulp and paper wastewater by summarizing the characteristics of current pulp and paper wastewater, the commonly used treatment methods for pulp and paper wastewater, the application of pulp and paper wastewater recycling, and the future development direction of pulp and paper wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric wet-strength agents are important additives used in the paper industry to improve the mechanical properties of paper products, especially when they come into contact with water. These agents play a crucial role in enhancing the durability, strength, and dimensional stability of paper products. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the different types of wet-strength agents available and their mechanisms of action. We will also discuss the challenges associated with the use of wet-strength agents and the recent advances in the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agents. As the demand for more sustainable and durable paper products continues to grow, the use of wet-strength agents is expected to increase in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of fiber modification methods and beating degrees on the properties of paper sheets. Two different methods were used to modify fibers: NaOH + urea and TEMPO ((2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxidanyl) and blended with traditional paper fibers. Subsequently, we evaluated the resulting sheets for their optical, strength, and thermo-mechanical characteristics. Notably, we also scrutinized sheets created exclusively with 100% TEMPO-modified fibers. The addition of modified fibers led to improvements in several strength properties, but it had a noteworthy negative impact on the optical properties of TEMPO-treated fibers compared to the other papers. Furthermore, thermal analysis revealed that the contraction rates of the samples increased considerably up to 40–50 °C for the out-of-plane direction and surpassed 130 °C for the in-plane direction. In general, the inclusion of modified fibers had a significant effect on thermo-mechanical properties. Specifically, TEMPO modification resulted in an increase in the maximum in-plane contraction ratio, shifting it from −0.40% to −0.59%, along with its corresponding temperature. This research underscores the potential of modified fibers to enhance paper properties and contribute to the development of more sustainable paper-based products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock dung, discarded crop straws, and residual plastic film are the primary agricultural non-point sources of pollution. For livestock dung and discarded crop straw, the general treatment focuses on compost, animal fodder, industrial raw material, and new energy. The development of degradable mulch film is the main way to solve pollution from residual plastic film. However, an effective way to solve the above three types of pollution simultaneously and use them for ecological circular agriculture has been less studied. In this study, using cow dung and flax straw wastes as raw materials, we prepared natural, fibre-based paper mulch using the rapid-Kothen method and analysed the film-forming mechanism. Based on the Van Soest method, the cow dung and flax straw waste contain abundant cellulose fibres: 36.75% and 54.69%, respectively. The tensile strength and tear strength of fibre paper mulch are 1.87 kN/m and 19.91 N/mm, respectively. To enhance the adaptability of the fibre paper mulch in humid environments, the surface of the mulch was treated with alkyl ketene dimer (AKD). The AKD-coated fibre paper mulch displays hydrophobic properties, indicated by a contact angle of 128° ± 2°. It has a wet tensile strength of 0.64 kN/m and a wet tear strength of 8.23 N/mm. Additionally, it exhibits a dry tensile strength and a tear strength of 2.13 kN/m and 16.43 N/mm, respectively. Notably, the dry tensile strength is increased by 16.31%. In this way, the livestock dung and discarded crop straw can be reused, reducing dung pollution and straw burning in livestock farms, and the final products can alleviate the residual film pollution simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk is considered a complete meal that requires supervision to determine its suitability for human consumption. The development of sustainable devices that evaluate food properties has gained importance due to the necessity of integrating these instruments into the production chain. However, the materials employed to develop it, such as polymers, semiconductors, and glass, lack sustainability and require specialized equipment to fabricate them. Different chemical techniques have been used to miniaturize these detection systems such as microfluidics, which have been used in milk component detection using colorimetry. In this work, a cantilever beam paper-based microfluidic system is proposed to evaluate differences in milk, according to nutritional information, using its electromechanical response. A 20-microliter milk drop is deposited in the system, which induces hygroexpansion and deflection due to liquid transport within the paper. Likewise, a conductive path is added on the beam top surface to supply a constant current that induces heat to evaporate the solution. According to the results obtained, it is possible to point out differences between trademarks with this microfluidic system. The novelty of this system relies on the paper electromechanical response that integrates the hygroexpansion-induced displacement, which can be used for further applications such as milk microtesters instead of colorimetric tests that use paper as a property-evaluation platform in combination with chemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of lignin-based admixtures (LBAs) for cement-based composites is an alternative to valorizing residual lignins generated in biorefineries and pulp and paper mills. Consequently, LBAs have become an emerging research domain in the past decade. This study examined the bibliographic data on LBAs through a scientometric analysis and in-depth qualitative discussion. For this purpose, 161 articles were selected for the scientometric approach. After analyzing the articles' abstracts, 37 papers on developing new LBAs were selected and critically reviewed. Significant publication sources, frequent keywords, influential scholars, and contributing countries in LBAs research were identified during the science mapping. The LBAs developed so far were classified as plasticizers, superplasticizers, set retarders, grinding aids, and air-entraining admixtures. The qualitative discussion revealed that most studies have focused on developing LBAs using Kraft lignins from pulp and paper mills. Thus, residual lignins from biorefineries need more attention since their valorization is a relevant strategy for emerging economies with high biomass availability. Most studies focused on production processes, chemical characterizations, and primary fresh-state analyses of LBA-containing cement-based composites. However, to better assess the feasibility of using different LBAs and encompass the multidisciplinarity of this subject, it is mandatory that future studies also evaluate hardened-sate properties. This holistic review offers a helpful reference point to early-stage researchers, industry professionals, and funding authorities on the research progress in LBAs. It also contributes to understanding the role of lignin in sustainable construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding eco-friendly products that are beneficial to the environment and serve as tools for sustainable development is a contemporary challenge. This work illustrates the recovery of bio-waste-based materials, which not only improve the hygrothermal properties of gypsum but also promote the paper and wood recycling processes in a circular economy approach. The samples were subjected to tests for density, water absorption, ultrasonic pulse velocity, flexural strength, compressive strength, and thermophysical property characterization. A statistical analysis of variance was used to study the impact of waste on the physico-mechanical behavior of gypsum, leading to the development of predictive models that can be used to predict and optimize the performance of bio-composites in various applications. The results revealed a reduction in mechanical strength with the addition of waste, but the samples still exhibit superior insulation properties, surpassing commonly used standard boards. By adding ouate and wood wastes to a mass of 20% in its natural state, the gypsum becomes lighter and acts as a better insulator with a reduced density, thermal conductivity, and ultrasound velocity of up to 50%, 57%, and 83%, respectively. These findings show the significant implication of reducing environmental impacts while contributing to the promotion of sustainable building practices, both in new construction projects and in building renovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper industry is a traditional industry with extensive consumption of resources and energy and more pollutant discharge. This industry is closely related to production and life activities. Under the general requirement of "to step up conservation of the Yangtze River and stop its over development", the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt should urgently undergo green transformation and development. Based on the undesirable slack-based measure model, spatial gravity center, Kernel density function, Theil index, and panel model, this study examines the green development efficiency and its influencing factors of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2001 to 2016. Results showed the following: (1) from 2001 to 2016, the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt had been steadily improved, but the overall efficiency value is not high, which has a great potential for improvement. The green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt presents the regional differentiation law of gradient increasing in the upper, middle, and lower reaches. (2) According to the gravity center trajectory, the efficiency center of the green development of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is located in the middle reaches of Hunan Province and Hubei Province and moves to the southwest. This case indicates that the green development efficiency of the paper industry in provinces and cities in the southwest has been improved. (3) The regional differences in the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt show the characteristics of narrowing fluctuations. The regional differences are the primary sources of the difference in the green development efficiency of the paper industry. (4) The enterprise scale, science and technology investment, and industrial structure have significant positive effects on the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. On the contrary, environmental regulation and foreign investment intensity have significant negative effects. However, the above factors have different effects on the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the ways in which sustainable development can be understood is through the efficient management and systematization of indicators. For this reason, the study of ecological footprints is important, given that this concept integrates the different types of environmental indicators and, from the results and their interpretation, explains the total environmental impact generated through the development of daily human activities. The objective of this research was to quantify the total ecological footprint of the National University of the Altiplano in 2023. An application-type quantitative approach was considered, and the study utilized a descriptive, non-experimental design in which source data were used. The data were obtained from a primary sample through applying a survey to teachers, students, and administrative staff. The questionnaire included questions about the operations and functioning of the university, allowing us to calculate and analyze the components of its ecological footprint. It was determined that, in 2023, the university entity generated 4721.20 t CO2 in carbon dioxide emissions due to the use and operation of infrastructure, buildings, mobility, electricity consumption, paper consumption, and water consumption. The findings indicate that the university's operations require approximately 915.67 hectares of forest annually to offset its carbon emissions and that it has an ecological footprint (in global hectares) of 1172.06 hag/year, suggesting important sustainability challenges. Finally, it was determined that the ecological footprint per capita at the National University of the Altiplano in 2023 was 0.04 ha/person/year and 0.06 hag/person/year, due to CO2 emissions, thus generating a greater ecological footprint of the university. These results underline the need to improve sustainable practices and review policies at the university level in order to better align with the objectives of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expanding interest in digital biomarker analysis focused on non-invasive human bodily fluids, such as sweat, highlights the pressing need for easily manufactured and highly efficient soft lab-on-skin solutions. Here, we report, for the first time, the integration of microfluidic paper-based devices (μPAD) and non-enhanced Raman-scattering-enabled optical biochemical sensing (Raman biosensing). Their integration merges the enormous benefits of μPAD, with high potential for commercialization and use in resource-limited settings, with biorecognition-element-free (but highly selective) optical Raman biosensing. The introduced thin (0.36 mm), ultra-lightweight (0.19 g), and compact footprint (3 cm2) opto-paperfluidic sweat patch is flexible, stretchable, and conforms, irritation-free, to hairless or minimally haired body regions to enable swift sweat collection. As a great advantage, this new bio-chemical sensory system excels through its absence of onboard biorecognition elements (bioreceptor-free) and omission of plasmonic nanomaterials. The proposed easy fabrication process is adaptable to mass production by following a fully sustainable and cost-effective process utilizing only basic tools by avoiding typically employed printing or laser patterning. Furthermore, efficient collection and transportation of precise sweat volumes, driven exclusively by the wicking properties of porous materials, shows high efficiency in liquid transportation and reduces biosensing latency by a factor of 5 compared to state-of-the-art epidermal microfluidics. The proposed unit enables electronic chip-free and imaging-less visual sweat loss quantification as well as optical biochemical analysis when coupled with Raman spectroscopy. We investigated the multimodal quantification of sweat urea and lactate levels ex vivo (with syntactic sweat including +30 sweat analytes on porcine skin) and achieved a linear dynamic range from 0 to 100 mmol/L during fully dynamic continuous flow characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

10.3390/en14102947 3 Pilatowska M., Geise A., Wlodarczyk A. The effect of renewable and nuclear energy consumption on decoupling economic growth from CO2 emissions in Spain. The last article, "Empirical Research on the Relationship amongst Renewable Energy Consumption, Economic Growth and Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan", is authored by [[3]]. This editorial paper presents a brief review of the 11 selected papers recently published: nine from I Energies i and two from other journals, and their citations are compared. They examine the associations between foreign direct investment, economic growth, and renewable energy consumption in the case of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. [Extracted from the article]

At present, data exchange in China's digital mine construction process is still based on paper media or electronic documents. The problems of "information islands," "information versions," "information faults" and "information preservation" are serious. There are many problems associated with across time and space and multidisciplinary collaborations, blocked business processes and unclear job responsibilities. These problems have seriously hindered the construction of China's digital mine, thus restricting the safe, efficient production and sustainable development of China's mining enterprises. Therefore, this paper proposes the concept, connotation, characteristics, architecture and technical requirements of the mining technology collaboration platform and uses it to guide the research and development and implementation of the mining technology collaboration platform of Fujian Makeng Mining Co., Ltd. The results show that the mining technology collaboration platform can solve the information and management problems existing in China's digital mine construction and realize the centralized storage, interoperability and high sharing of all data, the integration of all involved business, business software and its participants, the clarification of responsibilities and its input and output data of each post and standardization and automation of business process. Therefore, it improves the ability to collaborate across time and space and multidisciplinary among participants, departments and professional posts, ensures high-speed flow of business processes and also improves the working efficiency and quality of mining enterprises and significantly reduces the time for business processing and business process flow and reduces production costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing prominence of climate change, geopolitical crises, and global economic slowdown highlights the challenges and structural deficiencies of traditional cross-border agro-food supply chains. As a result, there has been a growing consensus on the need to leverage digital technology to rebuild and innovate a safe, stable, and sustainable global food system. This study assessed the knowledge progress and development trends in the sustainable development of cross-border agro-food supply chains enabled by digital technology. A total of 352 authoritative papers from the core Web of Science database were selected for analysis. The Citespace tool was utilized to visually examine research elements. The findings reveal that research outcomes in this territory experienced a significant period of rapid growth, particularly after 2020. Sustainability and IEEE Access are the journals with the highest and second-highest number of publications. China and the France National Institute are the countries and research institutions with the largest number of publications in this field. The research hotspots are mainly the application of digital technologies, food safety, and supply chain system model innovation. In the past ten years, the research in this territory has gone through three stages: precise timeliness orientation, intelligent strategic decision-making orientation, and model predictability orientation. We further construct the 'antecedent–practice–performance' conceptual framework of the sustainability of the digital technology-enabled cross-border agro-food supply chain. Finally, this paper presents the potential research directions in this territory, focusing on four aspects: research method, research mechanism, research topic, and research frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) is consistent with the spirit of sustainable development, it is useful to elevate ESG performance to realize the sustainable development of enterprise and society. Using the data of Chinese A-share listed firms in the period of 2011 to 2019, this paper takes the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the difference-in-differences method to assess the effect of digital economy development on ESG performance. This paper reveals the following: (1) the digital economy can facilitate ESG performance; (2) digitalization of the economy helps enterprises to propel digital transformation, which in turn lifts ESG performance; (3) digital economy development has a deeper impact on private enterprises, especially for those in China's capital cities; and (4) digital economy development moderates the inhibiting effect of ESG performance on corporate financial constraints. The findings of this paper indicate that digitalization of the economy can help to achieve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating wind is becoming an essential part of renewable energy, and so highlighting perspectives of developing floating wind platforms is very important. In this paper, we focus on floating wind concepts and projects around the world, which will show the reader what is going on with the projects globally, and will also provide insight into the concepts and their corresponding related aspects. The main aim of this work is to classify floating wind concepts in terms of their number and manufacturing material, and to classify the floating wind projects in terms of their power capacity, their number, character (if they are installed or planned) and the corresponding continents and countries where they are based. We will classify the corresponding additional available data that corresponds to some of these projects, with reference to their costs, wind speeds, water depths, and distances to shore. In addition, the floating wind global situation and its corresponding aspects of relevance will be also covered in detail throughout the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the need for sustainable urban development has never been more urgent than it is now. This is because estimates indicate that more than half of the global population will be living in urban areas by 2050, with South Africa estimated at 80%. This paper focuses on socio-economic nuances that impede sustainable urban development, as well as the strategies that can accelerate sustainable and inclusive urban development in South Africa. Through a literature-review methodology, the analysis identified the following issues as impediments to sustainable urban development in South Africa: informality, lack of consultations with urban citizens, unresolved apartheid legacies, crime and insecurity, and migration intricacies in South Africa. The paper also establishes prospective strategies to accelerate sustainable urban development, such as working with informality and not against it, promoting inclusivity and access to resources, accelerating policy reforms, investing in rural towns, and investing in superior technology and innovation. These findings imply that there is a need to seek alternative development models and approaches, to address poverty, unemployment, and poor housing, aspects that negatively impact urban development planning and sustainable development. The paper recommends inclusive urban housing as a remedy to address the challenges of access, affordability, and the quality of housing facilities in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The halfway point for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was marked in 2023, as set forth in the 2030 Agenda. Geospatial technologies have proven indispensable in assessing and tracking fundamental components of each of the 17 SDGs, including climatological and ecological trends, and changes and humanitarian crises and socio-economic impacts. However, gaps remain in the capacity for geospatial and related digital technologies, like AI, to provide a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the complex and multi-factorial challenges delineated in the SDGs. Lack of progress toward these goals, and the immense implementation challenges that remain, call for inclusive and holistic approaches, coupled with transformative uses of digital technologies. This paper reviews transdisciplinary, holistic, and participatory approaches to address gaps in ethics and diversity in geospatial and related technologies and to meet the pressing need for bottom-up, community-driven initiatives. Small-scale, community-based initiatives are known to have a systemic and aggregate effect toward macro-economic and global environmental goals. Cybernetic systems thinking approaches are the conceptual framework investigated in this study, as these approaches suggest that a decentralized, polycentric system—for example, each community acting as one node in a larger, global system—has the resilience and capacity to create and sustain positive change, even if it is counter to top-down decisions and mechanisms. Thus, this paper will discuss how holistic systems thinking—societal, political, environmental, and economic choices considered in an interrelated context—may be central to building true resilience to climate change and creating sustainable development pathways. Traditional and Indigenous knowledge (IK) systems around the world hold holistic awareness of human-ecological interactions—practicable, reciprocal relationships developed over time as a cultural approach. This cultural holistic approach is also known as Systemic Literacy, which considers how systems function beyond "mechanical" aspects and include political, philosophical, psychological, emotional, relational, anthropological, and ecological dimensions. When Indigenous-led, these dimensions can be unified into participatory, community-centered conservation practices that support long-term human and environmental well-being. There is a growing recognition of the criticality of Indigenous leadership in sustainability practices, as well as that partnerships with Indigenous peoples and weaving knowledge systems, as a missing link to approaching global ecological crises. This review investigates the inequality in technological systems—the "digital divide" that further inhibits participation by communities and groups that retain knowledge of "place" and may offer the most transformative solutions. Following the review and synthesis, this study presents cybernetics as a bridge of understanding to Indigenous systems thinking. As non-Indigenous scholars, we hope that this study serves to foster informed, productive, and respectful dialogues so that the strength of diverse knowledges might offer whole-systems approaches to decision making that tackle wicked problems. Lastly, we discuss use cases of community-based processes and co-developed geospatial technologies, along with ethical considerations, as avenues toward enhancing equity and making advances in democratizing and decolonizing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital economy is an important direction of the new round of technological revolution and a key driving force for realizing the "double control of carbon emissions". This paper utilizes the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2011 to 2021 to measure the development level of the digital economy, total carbon emissions, and carbon emission intensity and explores the impact of the digital economy on the dual control of carbon emissions and the mechanism of its effect by applying the mediating and moderating effect models. The results show that the digital economy can play a significant inhibitory effect on total carbon emissions and carbon emissions intensity, and this conclusion is still robust after a series of tests. From the government level, there exists a transmission path of "digital economy → environmental regulation stringency → dual control of carbon emissions"; from the enterprise and research organization level, there also exists a transmission path of "digital economy → R&D intensity → dual control of carbon emissions". From the perspective of regional imbalance, there are large regional differences in the impact of the digital economy on the dual control of carbon emissions, and there are also large differences in the impact of the various subdivided indicators of the digital economy on the dual control of carbon emissions. In addition, this paper also finds that the positive effect of the digital economy on the dual control of carbon emissions is more obvious in regions with a smaller proportion of SOEs. These findings add new evidence to the study of "the impact of the digital economy on the dual control of carbon emissions" and provide new ideas for accelerating the realization of green and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime industry is integral to global trade and heavily depends on precise forecasting to maintain efficiency, safety, and economic sustainability. Adopting deep learning for predictive analysis has markedly improved operational accuracy, cost efficiency, and decision-making. This technology facilitates advanced time series analysis, vital for optimizing maritime operations. This paper reviews deep learning applications in time series analysis within the maritime industry, focusing on three areas: ship operation-related, port operation-related, and shipping market-related topics. It provides a detailed overview of the existing literature on applications such as ship trajectory prediction, ship fuel consumption prediction, port throughput prediction, and shipping market prediction. The paper comprehensively examines the primary deep learning architectures used for time series forecasting in the maritime industry, categorizing them into four principal types. It systematically analyzes the advantages of deep learning architectures across different application scenarios and explores methodologies for selecting models based on specific requirements. Additionally, it analyzes data sources from the existing literature and suggests future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rurality is an important indicator to reflect the development of villages and reveal internal differences in rural areas. The unbalanced development of transportation infrastructure in the current period of rapid urbanization has become one of the principal elements triggering spatial differences in rurality and changes in rural territorial characteristics. However, there are few studies on the impact of transportation infrastructure accessibility on the multidimensional characteristics of rurality from the perspective of heterogeneity. This paper analyzed the spatio-temporal characteristics of transport accessibility (TA) and the county rurality index (CRI) in Guangdong in 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 using an accessibility model and the rurality index and explored the clustering characteristics and interactions of TA and the CRI through exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and geographic weighted regression (GWR) modeling. The findings showed that (1) TA and the CRI in Guangdong were significantly unbalanced in terms of space. The CRI showed a weakening trend in general, forming a distribution pattern of "high in the north and low in the south, high in the west and low in the east", while TA was on the rise, maintaining a stable pattern of "high in the middle and low in the periphery". (2) Both TA and the CRI in Guangdong had a Moran's I value greater than 0.6 during the study period, exhibiting strong spatial agglomeration, while the two showed a significant spatial negative correlation. (3) The influence of TA on the CRI in different dimensions showed dynamic changes in stages, with TA having a higher intensity of effect on society rurality and land rurality in 2005, while on society rurality and industry rurality in 2020. (4) This paper grouped 77 counties in Guangdong into four types of policy zonings—coordination types, lagged types of accessibility, lagged types of rurality and double lagged types—and put forward corresponding development recommendations. The study conducted in this paper contributes to an in-depth understanding of the impact of transportation infrastructure development on the multidimensional characteristics of rurality and provides a basis for policy formulation for coordinated urban–rural development and sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate evaluation of green innovation efficiency is a critical prerequisite for enterprises to achieve sustainable development goals and improve environmental performance and economic efficiency. This paper evaluates the green innovation efficiency of 72 new-energy enterprises by using a hybrid method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and a random forest model. The non-parametric DEA model is combined with the parametric SFA model to analyze the real green innovation efficiency on the basis of removing environmental factors and random factors. Then, the random forest model based on a nonlinear relationship is used to evaluate factors impacting green innovation efficiency. This paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation method designed to assess the green innovation efficiency of new-energy enterprises. By applying this method, companies can gain a comprehensive understanding of the current performance in green innovation, facilitating informed decision-making and accelerating sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As economic development continues to advance globally, countries are increasingly focused on the green transformation of their economies. This paper employs a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and entropy weighting methodology to construct and assess an indicator system for economic green transformation, taking into account environmental pollution. The analysis is based on panel data from 215 prefecture-level cities in China between 2015 and 2019. The two-way fixed effects model and moderating effect model are employed to investigate the influence of land finance on economic green transformation and to ascertain the moderating effect mechanism of local government debt. The study's conclusions are as follows: (1) Land finance impedes the transition to a green economy. (2) Local government debt is a major factor that restricts the influence of land finance on the transition to a green economy; as local government debt levels rise, land finance's role in impeding the transition to a green economy rises, and a positive moderating effect occurs. (3) Depending on the urban geographic location, the size of the economy and other factors, the impact of local government debt and land finance on the economic green transition varies. This empirical study demonstrates that the more local government debt there is in an eastern region or city with a bigger economic output scale, the more of an inhibitory influence land finance has on the economic transition to a green economy. In light of this, the paper suggests that the land finance policy be updated at the appropriate time, that the land market be regulated, that the government's reliance on land finance be gradually decreased, that the nature and amount of public debt be actively optimised, that the industrial infrastructure be enhanced to facilitate the transition towards a more environmentally sustainable economy, and that other suggestions be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper will build on existing scholarly assets, addressing how the avoidance of rural-to-urban labour migration as a solution to mitigate the challenges faced by left-behind children is pragmatically infeasible. As an alternative, this paper will engage in the discussion about the relevant policy development and existing policy gaps the Chinese Government has implemented and has been subject to, respectively, in order to locate the problems of how left-behind children continue to be exposed to emotional and psychological vulnerabilities, despite the Chinese Government's interventions. Methods: Bibliographic databases, Google Scholar and PubMed were searched. A combination of words (("left-behind children" OR "LBC") AND ("China" OR "Chinese") AND ("human rights" OR "mental health" OR "well-being") AND ("policy" OR "policies" or "policymaking")) was input into the search engines. A total of 38 papers deemed eligible and relevant were chosen non-systematically, studied and summarised. Results: Local rural governments lack any concrete measures designated for left-behind rural children to specifically support their mental health needs. Additionally, medical care coordination within the Chinese Government and across counties, respectively on improving the emotional and psychological well-being of left-behind rural children is disorganised. Moreover, there is a very limited collection of up-to-date and available datasets examining left-behind children's development and well-being. Discussion: This paper suggests, in detail, how the Chinese Government can strategically apply policies and interventions for the redistribution of resources and opportunities to left-behind children in rural China. This paper recognises the existing interventions initiated and implemented by the Chinese Government for resource redistribution and, simultaneously, recommends that the Government follow two localised American models for further resource redistribution per se that are designed for benefitting left-behind rural Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural tourism, as an emerging industry formed by the integration of various industries, has gradually become an essential method of rural economic development. However, few studies have comprehensively addressed how it develops. This paper aims to reveal the major trends and hotspots in the field of rural tourism in the past two decades. A scientometric visualization analysis was applied to the publications on this theme collected from the Web of Science database between 2000 and 2021. The results are shown as follows: (1) There was an overall increasing trend in rural tourism research globally from 2000 to 2021, with an average increase of 74 papers per year. However, the average citations for these papers are declining in recent years, dropping from 20.1 in 2016 to 13.2 in 2020. China, Spain, and the United States ranked in the top three in terms of the number of papers. (2) The most cited journals were The Journal of Agriculture and Environment, Tourism Planning and Development, and Tourism Management, with an average of 45.62, 39.15, and 29.22 citations, respectively. (3) The research hotspots showed obvious differences and characteristics in the two stages of 2000–2007 and 2007–2021. The sustainable development of rural tourism has become a hot topic, and will play an important role in achieving integrated urban and rural development and rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swedish Paradox is a well-known phenomenon related to high research and development (R&D) investment with supposedly low aggregate economic performance owing to economic saturation. The Korean economy has not yet become an advanced economy; however, its R&D performance is negligible. Recently, also the R&D share of the GNP has become much higher, and its contribution to the economic growth rate is rapidly decreasing, implying a negative relationship between R&D activities and economic performance. This study uses slacks-based data envelopment analysis to investigate investment performance at the local government level in Korea. Our findings reveal that the average score for R&D investment performance in Korea is 64%, indicating huge potential for an efficiency enhancement of 36%. Notably, among the 16 local governments examined, Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan areas showed the lowest R&D efficiency, while Gangwon and Gwangju exhibited superior performance. Since these two regions have promoted specific missions, such as the medical hub in Gangwon and the optical fiber strategic platform in Gwangju, precise and accurate differentiation appears necessary to avoid a lack of governance. To determine the workable mechanism of R&D support policies, we further divided R&D productivity into three categories by incorporating the Malmquist Index (MI). The paper productivity of R&D shows an increasing trend over the experimental period from 2016 to 2021. However, overall, the MI shows slightly deteriorating productivity with 0.978, owing to the aggravating effect of patents and commercialization of R&D. The success in the paper comes from the harmonized partnership between the strong push factor of the government and voluntary pull factor of the R&D support receiving universities. Thus, we suggest that the Korean government should not depend on the superficial effectiveness of R&D in the term but on public–private partnerships with stronger performance-oriented responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the critical period of strengthening the construction of ecological civilization, the construction of forest cities has become an important measure to promote urban ecosystem restoration and achieve sustainable development. Based on the mechanism of forest city promoting green development, the construction of a national forest city is regarded as a "quasi-natural experiment". Using China's urban panel data from 2005 to 2019, the impact of national forest city construction on urban green total factor productivity was evaluated using Multistage asymptotic double difference. The results show that National Forest Cities with environmental regulation can significantly promote regional green total factor productivity, which is still valid after a series of Robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that forest city construction not only affects territorial spatial planning but also forms a linkage with green technology innovation, mutual promotion and mutual promotion to jointly promote the sustainable development goals. This paper argues that building a national forest city is an important measure to achieve China's sustainable development goals in the new era, but in the process of policy implementation, it is necessary to implement the national forest city selection system according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprises are the most important core organizations of the country and modern society, and their growth has always been a focal point in the theoretical field. This paper aims to focus on the sustainable development of platform enterprises by exploring the mechanism of platform growth. Thus, this paper reviews the literature and analyzes the challenges faced by platform enterprises during the four stages of birth, expansion, leadership, and self-renewal, as well as the strategies they have adopted. The main aims of this paper are to help understand the growth process of platform enterprises and identify three key points that need to be addressed for sustainable growth, including the disadvantages of resource externalities, the importance of the restructuration of business models, and the urgency of fulfilling social responsibility. To address the exogenous nature of resources, platform enterprises should pay attention to the initiative of complementors, the distribution of benefits, and ecological orchestration. The impact of technology, especially artificial intelligence, on business models and the application of technology to restructure business models should be given attention. It is also necessary to pay attention to how platform enterprises undertake their social responsibilities. A synthesis framework with seven propositions for future research has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, numerous studies have highlighted the significance of integrating sustainability into higher education. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in the literature on engineering education for sustainable development, emphasizing the inclusion of this concept within engineering curricula and recognizing the pivotal role that engineers play in achieving the sustainable development goals. Therefore, sporadic engineering faculties worldwide have begun acknowledging and assessing issues related to sustainability in their curricula. As several methods have been employed to assess its inclusion, the aim of this paper is to review the various methods used to gauge how sustainability is incorporated in their respective engineering curricula. We carried out a systematic review of the literature regarding sustainability as assessed specifically in engineering curricula using the Scopus and ERIC databases. We applied PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology and, as a result, 30 papers were included. The results produced 14 methods with the articles highlighting existing limitations. Therefore, the authors recommend the combination of at least two of the methods to efficiently evaluate sustainability in engineering curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing energy consumption is vital to save natural resources and contribute to the sustainable development in any sector of society. In the building sector, there are many well-known energy efficiency strategies currently being applied. However, considering the advances in technology and in comfort studies, it is possible to see that the current building sector scenario demands new energy efficiency strategies. Such strategies need to be capable of identifying and assuring comfortable environments according to users' perceptions. Machine learning techniques can be a useful alternative to identify users' preferences and control lighting and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in buildings. This paper shows a systematic literature review on the use of machine learning algorithms on preference identification and environmental adequacy according to users' demands. Its contribution is to explore beyond the performance and configurations of the algorithms, addressing users' preference aspects as well. The strategies found in the literature provided promising results. The most used approach was supervised learning because data can be treated as categories. In general, the control systems have shown good performance, and so have the algorithms. Users were mostly satisfied with environmental conditions. Situations of dissatisfaction were associated with the occupant's willingness to use the system more than with the control system's performance. Furthermore, it is also possible to ally user-centred control and energy savings but this relies on occupants' characteristics and the control strategies used. We underline the importance of identifying whether the users are willing to deal with an automatic control system before making any decision, even if the operation of the system is based on their preferred environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document discusses the importance of forest ecosystems in regulating climate change and sustainable development. It highlights the threats that forests face due to climate change and urbanization, which can lead to degradation of their structure and function. The document presents 12 research papers that explore various aspects of forest management and sustainable development, including micro-scale studies on tree growth and soil composition, as well as macro-scale studies on land use and ecosystem services. The ultimate goal of this special issue is to provide strategies for achieving the sustainable management and high-quality development of forest ecosystems. [Extracted from the article]

This paper addresses the necessity of adopting renewable energy technologies in order to achieve sustainable development goals in light of increasing global challenges, with a particular focus on the current generation's well-being. It addresses the potential impacts of global crises, such as energy and food crises, on the transition to renewable energy. Using a descriptive and analytical approach, this paper examines the environmental and economic costs and benefits of renewable energy as well as the commitment of oil-producing countries to international environmental treaties. The research utilises an econometric model to analyse the relationship between sustainable development goals and global challenges. Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Renewable Energy Agency are used to inform the analysis. The findings showed that the rights and well-being of current generations are currently maintained by the persistent use of fossil fuels in oil-producing nations. Fossil fuels continue to be, and may likely remain, the primary energy source in various sectors of development, despite their significant contribution to environmental and climate issues. The paper offers insights and recommendations for policymakers seeking to determine when government spending should best be allocated to renewable energy technologies, balancing national economic interests with international agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study illustrates the linkages between the ISO's Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) and the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), highlighting the role of the LADM in promoting effective land administration suitable for efficient computation of land/water (space)-related SDG indicators. The main contribution of this study is the formalization of SDG indicators by using the ISO standard LADM. This paper proposes several SDG-indicator-related extensions to the multi-part LADM standard that is currently under revision. These extensions encompass the introduction of new procedures for calculating indicators, the integration of blueprints for external classes to fulfil additional information needs and the design of interface classes for presenting indicator values across specific countries and reporting years. In an innovative approach, this paper introduces the Four-Step Method—a powerful framework designed to formalize SDG indicators within the LADM framework. Detailed attention is devoted to specific indicators, including 1.4.2 (secure land rights), 5.a.1 (women's agricultural land rights), 14.5.1 (protected marine areas) and 11.5.2 (valuation as a basis for direct economic loss). In short, the Four-Step Method is pivotal in eliminating ambiguities, enhancing the efficiency of indicator computation and securing more accurate indicator values that more truly reflect the progress towards SDG realization. This approach is also expected to work with other (ISO) standards for other SDG indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive use of energy from fossil fuels, which corresponds to population, industrialisation, and unsustainable economic growth, is the cause of carbon dioxide production and climate change. The Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus is an applicable conceptual framework that helps manage the balance between human development and natural resource constraints, and it becomes a valuable tool to address the challenges of resource depletion and clean energy. This article aims to analyse the relationship between the WEF nexus and clean energy through a statistical analysis and a systematic review of knowledge on energy sustainability. The methodology involves the selection of bibliographic information databases such as Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), a statistical analysis, specifically the Scientometrics applied to the information obtained, and the identification of 179 scientific publications related to the study variables through a screening process called Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The interaction of green energy and sustainability with the WEF nexus has been approached mainly by developed countries such as China (10%), the United States (9.49%), India (7.26%), and Brazil (5.02%). The review of 55 scientific papers identified strategies that balance economic growth and environmental impact, applying clean energy systems (e.g., solar and wind), and the importance of adaptation to the subsystems of the WEF nexus. This study also highlights adaptability to climate change in rural and urban communities. Therefore, it is consistent with the four pillars of sustainable development (Economic: 7 papers, Environmental: 22, Social: 18, and Cultural: 8). This study highlights the following: (a) the importance of the use of renewable energy either in mixed systems and consumption, energy storage, and seeking energy efficiency in systems adapted to diverse environments and (b) the relevance of community participation in the decision-making process for the use of clean energy, such as a strategy for climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial heritage of the city of Belgrade is the focus of this research, which highlights the possibilities of preserving industrial heritage from the perspective of a contemporary context and sustainable development. Guided by theoretical principles on the preservation of cultural and industrial heritage, their values, authenticity and spirit of place, as well as the idea of the necessity of integrating industrial heritage into the contemporary context, this paper aims to examine the possibilities for the preservation of industrial heritage following theoretically established principles, with the introduction of new uses and sustainable solutions. The analysis of the case studies of Belgrade's industrial heritage presented in this paper results from research conducted by the teachers, associates and students of the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. The research focuses on the possibilities of translating the principles of preserving cultural and industrial heritage from their theoretical definition to practical application. The students' conceptual solutions for protection, revitalisation and presentation of the analysed case studies represent the research results. An important aspect of this paper is defining the criteria for valorising students' conceptual solutions, which are aligned with the principles of preserving cultural heritage and establishing sustainable development. The valorisation of students' conceptual solutions through a defined set of criteria indicates real possibilities for the simultaneous preservation of all the values of industrial heritage and its transformation into a social, ecological and economic resource of the contemporary city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This state-of-the-art review paper aims to provide an overview of the current research on three categories of liveable cities, Smart, Sustainable, and Green (SSG). It explores how the discussions about these three categories have been brought together in the literature and identifies an integrated approach to developing more liveable cities of the future. The paper begins by introducing the research topic and methodology, setting out a broad definition for SSG cities as a starting point. Then, the review focuses on recent publications and research trends, with an emphasis on the most significant contributions to the convergence of the SSG categories. Special attention is paid to identifying gaps in current knowledge and suggesting areas for future research. Reviewing recent resources based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria in depth, using 11 relevant themes within the three aforementioned categories, provides a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the current state of research in developing more liveable cities. Moreover, a summary of the main findings, providing a holistic view of the liveable future cities and implications for further research, policy, and practice offers a helpful resource for scholars, practitioners, policymakers, city authorities, consultants, and solution providers for SSG cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International consensus has been reached for the 2030 Agenda, and governments have adopted measures for the gradual implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this implementation, education plays a crucial role. Recently, the extent to which Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become the norm in national curricula, teacher education, and student assessment has been a focus of extensive research. The present study introduces the geography curriculum and the reform of the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) in China in the 2000s. A global indicator framework for SDGs is used to analyze sustainable development (SD) content and characteristics in NCEE geography papers. Findings reveal that SD accounts for an average of 71% of score points among the 24 sets of papers. Sustainable agriculture, terrestrial ecosystems, settlements, and water are well reflected in questions, especially water-related ecosystems, resilient agricultural practices, transportation system, tourism, desertification, and degraded land and soil. Sustainable development questions have the characteristics of setting open questions, paying attention to question situation, being close to real life, being moderately difficult, paying attention to regional SD and human-nature relationship, and diversifying question-setting patterns. According to the analysis of papers, SD plays an important role in geography education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the structure of energy consumption (ECS) through green finance and the digital economy is one of the main paths to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. This paper explores the impact of green finance and the digital economy on the ECS of 30 regions in China from 2007 to 2022 using the Generalized method of moments(GMM) model, further analyzes its heterogeneity, and then provides a reference for the scientific development of relevant decisions. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The change in the ECS is closely related to the degree of optimization of the ECS in the previous year, and this is a process of dynamic adjustment. The level of digital economy development can improve the ECS of the country as a whole and in the eastern and central regions, while the western regions have not yet played a significant role due to the underdevelopment of the digital economy. Green finance can inhibit fossil fuel energy consumption in all regions, and it promotes cleaner, more efficient, and low-carbon energy consumption, thereby improving the ECS. However, the impact effect is the largest in the east and smaller in the west. (2) The urbanization levels of the country as a whole and that of the central and western regions show a positive correlation with the results of energy consumption. However, in the eastern region, it shows an inhibitory effect on fossil fuel energy consumption, which can optimize the ECS. The industrial structures in all regions have positive impact coefficients; the development of industry is not conducive to the optimization of the ECS. Trade openness can improve the ECS only in the eastern region; technological progress in all regions can significantly improve the ECS. Based on the background of carbon neutrality, this paper reveals that green finance and the digital economy promote cleaner, more efficient, and lower carbon energy consumption and reduce the level of energy consumption. This paper also provides a reference for the scientific formulation of relevant decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban digital infrastructure is the cornerstone of optimizing resource allocation and promoting sustainable economic development in the era of digital economy, and it will also affect corporate ESG performance. Based on the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021, an asymptotic difference-in-difference model is used to investigate the impact of urban digital infrastructure on corporate ESG performance based on the "broadband China" strategy and its underlying mechanism. This paper finds that urban digital infrastructure can promote corporate ESG performance. Further, urban digital infrastructure can contribute to corporate ESG performance by increasing research and development (R&D) investment, improving corporate governance, and increasing information transparency. Through heterogeneity analysis, the results show urban digital infrastructure contributes more significantly to the ESG performance of state-owned, small and medium, growth-stage, and low-profit companies and is more pronounced in non-heavy polluting companies and companies in the central and western regions. This paper has enhanced the theoretical framework of urban digital infrastructure and corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance, paving the way for a new approach to the collaborative development of cities and enterprises in pursuit of green and sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, scholars have embraced sustainability as a crucial concept deeply ingrained in architectural designs, particularly Islamic geometric patterns (IGP). These patterns hold significance in reflecting Islamic history, identity, and culture. This systematic review explores how scholars have integrated IGPs into modern design, considering the sustainability aspect. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) reporting checklist was used due to its organized structure as a guide to conduct this review (2012–2022). Data was collected through recognized databases (i.e., Scopus and ProQuest) that house a wide array of journals and publications. Selected journals were categorized based on sustainability pillars—environmental, economic, social, and cultural. In addition, case studies from the region are discussed, as studies didn't explicitly explore the connection between sustainability and the use of Islamic geometric patterns in modern design. Findings indicate that papers predominantly discuss the positive effects on environmental and economic sustainability through IGP implementation. Conversely, social sustainability received comparatively less attention from scholars. Case studies showed that most building designs in the Middle East use IGP to conserve Islamic history and identity, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This review sheds light on the potential of geometric patterns as a vehicle for sustainable design and contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sound and sustainable development of the international monetary system is the cornerstone of the sound and stable development of the global economy. This paper takes digital currency in China as its research object and utilizes a regime-switching transition auto-regression (STAR) model and nonlinear time-varying parameter–stochastic volatility–vector auto regression (TVP-SV-VAR) model to empirically analyze the relationship between digital RMB, RMB internationalization, and the development of the international monetary system. The results show that the relationship between DC/EP and the internationalization of the RMB is time-varying, with the above relationship being significantly different in various economic situations. DC/EP can boost the internationalization of the RMB, and thereby contribute to the diversification of the international monetary system. The results have important policy implications for the sound and sustainable development of economic and financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SDGs emphasize the importance of multi-stakeholder processes, particularly in promoting citizen-level participation. This paper aims to understand the current status of citizens' social participation and the challenges in promoting them in order to achieve SDGs and create a resilient society. To achieve this objective, the literature review method is used. The literature was obtained from source databases related to recent literature on citizens' participation with regard to SDGs. In the discussion and conclusion, this paper examines the possibility that one of the vital issues in promoting social participation of citizens could be information sharing. It also describes the cycle which citizens themselves become the main actors in generating information to promote citizen participation, and the information generated through this process leads further citizen participation. These results will be used as the basis for the following action research process. This paper is positioned as introductory in nature, and the importance of information sharing will be examined more closely in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvements in and the assessment of land use efficiency are crucial pillars for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study reviews 208 representative papers, oral reports, and project reports to provide a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the current status and future trends of research on land use efficiency assessment. The findings reveal that (1) the number of papers on land use efficiency assessment is rapidly increasing, with research primarily focused on environmental science and ecology (n = 157, 75.48%). (2) Quantitative models are gaining popularity for land use efficiency assessment, with more than 46.63% of the studies adopting the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. (3) The definition and analysis perspectives of land use efficiency are diverse, but research on relative land use efficiency and comprehensive analysis perspectives accounts for a significant proportion. (4) Constructing a large and complex model that incorporates geospatial effects, big data, and computer technology is a hot topic for future research methods. On the other hand, conducting land use efficiency research on a global scale is more conducive to achieving the SDGs. (5) The core to improving land use efficiency lies in the joint implementation of multi-pronged measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, responsible sourcing and procurement (including green supply chain management) across the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sectors have become notable contributors to sustainable construction strategies. This study aims to provide a systematic review of responsible sourcing literature across the AEC sectors of the UK to identify a suite of opportunities and obstacles to adopting ethical and environmentally supportive practices and to highlight avenues for further investigation. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) review process was adopted to identify, screen, and select (n = 80) articles (from 2000–2020) for review. Analysis of these articles identified the most frequently reported opportunities: (i) stakeholder value (40%); (ii) improved supply chain performance (39%); and (iii) competitive advantage (30%). The most frequently reported obstacles relating to the uptake of responsible sourcing are the following: (i) cost (44%); (ii) industry constraints (28%); and (iii) lack of frameworks/information and lack of awareness (25%). Given the industry importance of these themes, it is proposed that there is a necessity to explore and unravel the perceptions of industry experts about these issues so as to clarify the progress and possibilities for more widely adopting responsible sourcing across the AEC sector and, moreover, for clarifying their contribution towards achieving national and international sustainability targets (e.g., UN Sustainable Development Goals). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises the evolution of the Water Poverty Index (WPI) application at different scales since its emergence. The review captures the main milestones and remarkable developments around the world. It sets the foundation for identifying the most appropriate version of the WPI, building on learning from previous versions. In addition, the paper sheds light on the linkages between the WPI and sustainable development goals and applications to fragile contexts. Therefore, it provides a synthesis of knowledge researchers and practitioners' need in sustainable water resources management that helps boost human development in unstable/fragile arid and semi-arid contexts. The methodology included (i) WPI literature shortlisting and reviewing, (ii) review literature links WPI with sustainable human development and fragility, and (iii) data analysis, identification of gaps and future trends. Intensive research was found to address the limitations of the WPI. However, further research is needed to shortlist the multiple versions of the WPI and match them to their respective scale, purpose and context (including fragile contexts). In addition, a time-based WPI was rarely touched to forecast the impact of decisions on community welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can government environmental policy harmonize environmental protection with economic output? We explore this issue from the perspective of forestry eco-efficiency, using China's National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone Policy (NECP), an environmental policy promulgated by the government of China, as the subject of this study. The study introduces forestry eco-efficiency as an indicator to assess the balance between economic development in the forestry sector and environmental conservation. The indicator, grounded in sustainable development theory, employs a super-efficiency SBM model that includes undesirable outputs to evaluate efficiency. Additionally, we empirically analyze the impact of NECP on forestry eco-efficiency by using the difference-in-difference (DID) model with provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020. Ultimately, we analyze the effects of spatial spillover by employing the spatial Durbin model (SDM). Our study yields the following conclusions. (1) In this paper, through hotspot clustering analysis, forestry eco-efficiency in each province is categorized into three categories: effective, semi-effective and ineffective. Our findings suggest that China's average forestry eco-efficiency falls into the ineffective category, highlighting the need to optimize resource allocation within the sector. (2) NECP significantly enhances forestry eco-efficiency, with robust findings across various stability tests. Thus, implementing government environmental policies can have a multiplier effect on forestry, i.e., it can synergize its economic development with environmental protection. (3) In provinces with a strong ecological foundation, the NECP significantly enhances forestry eco-efficiency. However, in other provinces, the improvement is only moderate. Furthermore, while the NECP has a substantial positive impact in the eastern region, it has yet to show a discernible effect in other regions. (4) The positive impacts of NECP implementation on forestry eco-efficiency have spatial spillover effects due to demonstration effects and comparative advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income effect of rice–crayfish co-culture technology (RCT) is directly related to rate of adoption of farmers and the process of China's green development of agriculture. The aim of this study is to explore the income effect and income growth mechanism of rice–crayfish co-culture technology from the perspective of continuous adoption. With the treatment effect model (TEM), this paper empirically analyzes the income effect and income-generating mechanisms of RCT using field survey data from 736 farmers in the Jianghan Plain. As a result of this study, it was discovered that RCT will increase farmers' net agricultural income by RMB 83,430 if they continue to adopt it. Further examinations indicate that the optimal adoption period for RCT is four and a half years. Additionally, it has also been shown that non-farm employment positively moderates the relationship between continuous adoption of RCT and net agricultural income. Farmers who participate in non-farm employment and continue to adopt the RCT will experience an increase in net agricultural income by RMB 104,510. Therefore, our results suggest that it is necessary to encourage farmers to continuously adopt RCT and actively participate in non-farm employment to enhance the income effect of RCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the interactions within the intellectual property pledge financing framework involving SMBMEs, banks, and third-party intermediaries, focusing on factors that promote sustainable cooperation. Methods: The research employs an evolutionary game model to simulate and analyze strategic interactions among the stakeholders, considering bounded rationality and asymmetric information. Results: Key findings include the positive correlation between SMBMEs' reputation and timely repayment, the adverse effects of patent devaluation on cooperation, and the reasonable loan interest rates for facilitating GPPFG cooperation. The study also highlights the need for a transparent information platform and reasonable breach of contract compensation. Conclusions: The paper concludes that an efficient GPPFG mechanism is crucial for SMBMEs' financial support and green transformation. It suggests that third-party intermediaries play a significant role in risk reduction and innovation facilitation. The study acknowledges limitations and calls for future research to explore technological innovations and improve intermediary service systems for SMBMEs' sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]