The Ecological and Economical Performances in the Forested Area – a Need for the Future
The forests are indispensable for the natural balance on Earth. Without the existence of the forest the life is not possible because this ecosystem provides many goods and services. The many clear cut forest surfaces have led to the lack of balance of ecosystems causing risks for the environment. The globalization promotes multinational companies, which have an important role in the exploitation of the forest. Because of the many advantages, the forest must be protected from the bad influence of the globalization, a thing possible due to the fact that the world is heading to a new economic order. The paper presents the situation of the forests in Romania for the 2005-2007.
Incorporating innovation metrics in urban indices: the Sustain-LED Index
ABSTRACT This study explores a tool used to assess economic development, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and liveability in urban areas. The research employs qualitative and quantitative analysis in the development of an index – the Sustainability–Innovation–Local Economic Development Index (Sustain-LED Index) – that considers macroeconomic and environmental indicators and associated policies implemented in the largest US metropolitan areas. The Sustain-LED Index could broaden the range of tools available to policy-makers for identifying and removing obstacles for improving the quality of life, reducing inequalities and diminishing the degree of pollution in urban areas. It could represent a supporting tool for local entities to design new policies for spurring local economic development and it could be used for designing new urban policies throughout a greater understanding of the economic, social and environmental consequences caused by urbanization.
Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s
Global demand for agricultural products such as food, feed, and fuel is now a major driver of cropland and pasture expansion across much of the developing world. Whether these new agricultural lands replace forests, degraded forests, or grasslands greatly influences the environmental consequences of expansion. Although the general pattern is known, there still is no definitive quantification of these land-cover changes. Here we analyze the rich, pan-tropical database of classified Landsat scenes created by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to examine pathways of agricultural expansion across the major tropical forest regions in the 1980s and 1990s and use this information to highlight the future land conversions that probably will be needed to meet mounting demand for agricultural products. Across the tropics, we find that between 1980 and 2000 more than 55% of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact forests, and another 28% came from disturbed forests. This study underscores the potential consequences of unabated agricultural expansion for forest conservation and carbon emissions.