Cotton — supplying approximately a quarter of global textile fibres — has various environmental impacts, including water use, toxicity, eutrophication and greenhouse gas emissions. In this Review,... Show moreCotton — supplying approximately a quarter of global textile fibres — has various environmental impacts, including water use, toxicity, eutrophication and greenhouse gas emissions. In this Review, we identify these impacts across multiple life cycle stages. Environmental impacts at the cultivation stage depend on levels of irrigation, pesticide and fertilizer applications. At the textile manufacturing stage, impacts depend on energy infrastructure and manufacturing technologies. At the use phase, impacts depend on consumer habits related to buying, washing, drying and ironing. Depending on the impact category and country, cotton cultivation, manufacturing or use can dominate such impacts. For example, the use phase dominates greenhouse gas emissions in countries with carbon-intensive energy grids. Use of alternative fibres has the potential to reduce these environmental impacts, particularly jute and flax, which have much lower water demands. Opportunities for farmers, manufacturers and consumers to improve the environmental sustainability of cotton textiles include, among others, improving water-use efficiency in agriculture, innovative recycling and laundering less frequently. Future cotton sustainability assessments are needed to fill data gaps related to developing and emerging countries, the number of uses of a cotton garment and further environmental impacts such as salinization, as well as socio-economic impacts.The supplementary information is available here: https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs43017-023-00476-z/MediaObjects/43017_2023_476_MOESM1_ESM.pdf Show less
The past decades have shown an increase in recourse to international legal bodies to address disputes over land distribution, uses and rehabilitation. This raises the question as to whether and to... Show moreThe past decades have shown an increase in recourse to international legal bodies to address disputes over land distribution, uses and rehabilitation. This raises the question as to whether and to what extent international law offers a coherent framework for addressing land as part of environmental peacebuilding. Since land issues have played a role in most armed conflicts that occurred over the past decades, addressing such issues in peace processes is essential for the resolution of these conflicts and for maintaining the peace that has been so hard won. This chapter therefore first examines how international law impacts on decisions with respect to land uses, distribution and rehabilitation in peace processes. This chapter then explores whether and how the notion of environmental peacebuilding can be instrumental in mainstreaming international legal responses for the purpose of achieving a sustainable peace. Show less
This article aims to study access to justice for workers in the Kenyan floriculture industry. Through a case study – including interviews with fourteen experts in the field – the following justice... Show moreThis article aims to study access to justice for workers in the Kenyan floriculture industry. Through a case study – including interviews with fourteen experts in the field – the following justice institutions have been identified as relevant: the national human rights institution, the labour offices of the Ministry ofLabour and Social Protection and courts. While keeping in mind that capacity constraints are a product of Kenya’s position within the broader international political economy, this article studies related barriers to justice on the ground. It explains thatthe perceived interests of political and economic elites usurp sound remediation. Show less
Damme, M. van; Clarisse, L.; Franco, B.; Sutton, M.A.; Erisman, J.W.; Wichink Kruit, R.; ... ; Coheur, P.F. 2020
Excess atmospheric ammonia (NH3) leads to deleterious effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, air quality and health, and it is therefore essential to monitor its budget and temporal evolution.... Show moreExcess atmospheric ammonia (NH3) leads to deleterious effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, air quality and health, and it is therefore essential to monitor its budget and temporal evolution. Hyperspectral infrared satellite sounders provide daily NH3 observations at global scale for over a decade. Here we use the version 3 of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) NH3 dataset to derive global, regional and national trends from 2008 to 2018. We find a worldwide increase of 12.8 ± 1.3 % over this 11-year period, driven by large increases in east Asia (5.80 ± 0.61 % increase per year), western and central Africa (2.58 ± 0.23 %.yr−1), North America (2.40 ± 0.45 %.yr−1) and western and southern Europe (1.90 ± 0.43 %.yr−1). These are also seen in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, while the southwestern part of India exhibits decreasing trends. Reported national trends are analyzed in the light of changing anthropogenic and pyrogenic NH3 emissions, meteorological conditions and the impact of sulfur and nitrogen oxides emissions, which alter the atmospheric lifetime of NH3. We end with a short case study dedicated to the Netherlands and the "Dutch Nitrogen crisis" of 2019. Show less
Despite its economic and cultural potential, the Kenya Coast finds itself in a marginal position. This collective volume traces the causes behind this situation and analyses it from different... Show moreDespite its economic and cultural potential, the Kenya Coast finds itself in a marginal position. This collective volume traces the causes behind this situation and analyses it from different angles: political, economic and social. Most of the papers included in this volume were first presented at a workshop in Mombasa in August 1996. Contributions: The Kenya Coast: a regional study, by Dick Foeken, Jan Hoorweg and R.A. Obudho; The Kenya Coast in national perspective, by Henk Meilink; Physical resources and infrastructure, by Dick Foeken; Marine resources, by Peninah Aloo; Current environmental problems, by Mwakio P. Tole; Population dynamics, by John Obwa Wakajummah; Urbanization, by R.A. Obudho; The peoples, by John Middleton; Colonial history, by Frederick Cooper; Contemporary politics, by Thomas P. Wolf; Religion and society, by David C. Sperling; Agriculture, by Henk Waaijenberg; Food marketing, by Tjalling Dijkstra; Industrialization, by Wafula S. Masai; Tourism, by Isaac Sindiga; Employment, by Gerrishon K. Ikiara; The educational marginalisation of coastal Kenya, by Thomas Owen Eisemon; Health and illness, by J. Ties Boerma and F. John Bennett; Food consumption and nutrition, by Wijnand Klaver and Robert Mwadime; Gender issues, by Winnie V. Mitullah; The experience with land settlement, by Jan Hoorweg; Housing, by G.C. Macoloo; Water resources, by George O. Krhoda; Dairy development, by Piet Leegwater and Jan Hoorweg; Port development: growth, competition and revitalization, by Brian Hoyle; Conclusion: culture, resources and development in the Kenya Coast, by Jan Hoorweg, Dick Foeken and R.A. Obudho. Show less
L'étude présentée ici est une tentative de synthèse de différentes approches géographiques dans l'analyse des changements qui s'opèrent dans la province du Borgou au Nord-Bénin. Le projet de... Show moreL'étude présentée ici est une tentative de synthèse de différentes approches géographiques dans l'analyse des changements qui s'opèrent dans la province du Borgou au Nord-Bénin. Le projet de recherche, financé par la Commission de l'Union européenne, a été réalisé en 1992. Dans cette région, les genres de vie pastoral et agricole se sont transformés sous l'influence de l'État, du marché, mais aussi de la chute des précipitations. Cette problématique se retrouve dans presque toutes les régions semi-arides de l'Afrique occidentale où l'environnement détermine la zone de contact entre agriculture et élevage de transhumance. Au Nord-Bénin, les Bariba et les Dendi sont agriculteurs, et les Peul éleveurs. Les différentes formes de dégradation écologique, notamment des sols et de la végétation, sont étudiées et évaluées en fonction de l'utilisation des sols par les agriculteurs et les éleveurs, et en fonction des relations réciproques qu'entretiennent ces deux groupes. L'ouvrage se termine par des recommandations pour une utilisation plus durable de l'environnement. Show less
The struggle for land is a phenomenon which can be observed worldwide. In its occurrence it is not restricted to a particular period in time, nor to a specific geographical region, nor to a certain... Show moreThe struggle for land is a phenomenon which can be observed worldwide. In its occurrence it is not restricted to a particular period in time, nor to a specific geographical region, nor to a certain type of society. In this book, the editors present case studies of the struggle for land as it occurs in Third World countries and in less developed areas at the periphery of the industrialized world. The case studies are structured according to the adaptational strategies of the populations involved and include examples of the struggle for land among hunters and gatherers, among pastoralists, and among people who subsist on horticulture and agriculture. The following articles deal with Africa: Pastoralists and their struggle for land: examples from Africa south of the Sahara, by B. Bos and G. Peperk The struggle for land and livestock among the Turkana, (ex)-nomadic pastoralists of northwest Kenya, by M.M.E.M. Rutten; Religion and the struggle for land in Zimbabwe, by G. Huizer; The struggle for land in Kenya's marginal areas as exemplified by the situation in Meru District, by G. Peperkamp Show less
Reviews the findings of available studies and reports thought to be of relevance to policy makers. A discussion of the institutional framework, of criteria used in price-setting procedures, and of... Show moreReviews the findings of available studies and reports thought to be of relevance to policy makers. A discussion of the institutional framework, of criteria used in price-setting procedures, and of scope and objectives of the agricultural pricing policies is folowed by an examination of what these policies 'have done to agriculture'. A final section concentrates on the effects of pricing policies on the (marketed) suply of agricultural production and the importance of 'relative prices' in production decisions of Kenya farmers. Show less
