Managing environmental sustainability gradually reveals its importance along with the increasing and irreversible destructions to the ecosystem. With 27 member countries, the European Union (EU) has applied indicators and the Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to manage sustainable progress. Though the sustainable indicators in the DPSIR framework systematically structure environmental problems in the EU policy lifecycle, the DPSIR framework remains subject to certain criticisms. Moreover, the policymaker still needs more information to detect future environmental risks and take measures in advance. To meet the needs above, this study plans to further explore the DPSIR framework. To begin with, the DPSIR framework was used to select 28 indicators, as well as to collect corresponding data for 27 member states between 2005 and 2006.The partial-least-squares (PLS) technology will be applied to determine the cause-and-effect relationships among constructs. Next, this study refers to Tapio¡¦s decoupling concepts and then develops the idea of societal response initiative. By integrating these categories of societal response initiative and decoupling, a 3x3 joint ¡§Societal Response Initiative- Decoupling Joint Analysis Table¡¨ is formed. This table can help understand the sustainable attitudes of economy and society towards environmental problems and further decide policy priority to effect risk preventions. The study finally designs a scenario of greenhouse gas emissions to demonstrate the new DPSIR indicator system with the aggregate EU-23 data between 2006 and 2007. This study has two main contributions: First, this study provides the DPSIR framework with an empirical foundation for its explanatory ability of causal links among constructs. Secondly, this article develops jointly sustainable preventive indicators in order to systematically seek the possible causes of environmental problems derived from the development of the economy and the society. By doing so, the decision-maker can detect future environmental problems and allocate resources most timely and effectively.

Το όρος Γκιώνα είναι το υψηλότερο βουνό της Στερεάς Ελλάδας και το πέμπτο μεγαλύτερο της Ελλάδας. Έχει έκταση περίπου 300.000 στρεμμάτων, χωρίζει κάθετα τη Στερεά Ελλάδα σε δυτική και ανατολική και αριθμεί εικοσιτέσσερις (24) κορυφές με υψόμετρο μεγαλύτερο των 2.000 μ. Αρχικά, η παρούσα διατριβή ερευνά τη χλωρίδα της εξεταζόμενης περιοχής, η οποία αποτελείται από 1.273 taxa, 572 εκ των οποίων, αναφέρονται για πρώτη φορά. Η γεωγραφική θέση του συγκεκριμένου ορεινού όγκου στη Στερεά Ελλάδα, ο οποίος γειτνιάζει με τα υπόλοιπα ψηλά βουνά αυτής της περιφέρειας (Βαρδούσια, Οίτη, Παρνασσό), αποτελεί σημείο συνάντησης φυτών με διαφορετική γεωγραφική εξάπλωση. Αυτό το δεδομένο αποκτά ακόμη μεγαλύτερη αναλυτική σημασία στην περίπτωση των ενδημικών στοιχείων, καθώς το ορεινό συγκρότημα της Γκιώνας με το επιβλητικό τοπίο, τα μεγάλα υψόμετρα, την εκτεταμένη αλπική ζώνη και τη συνολικά μεγάλη του έκταση υποστηρίζει ένα πολύ υψηλό ποσοστό ενδημισμού (11,88%). Αξιοσημείωτο είναι ότι μεταξύ των φυτικών στοιχείων που εξετάσαμε, περιλαμβάνονται και 171 taxa, τα οποία είναι σπάνια ή προστατευόμενα. Επιπρόσθετα, διερευνήσαμε τις φυτογεωγραφικές σχέσεις μεταξύ των βουνών της Στερεάς Ελλάδας και της Πελοποννήσου, όπου διαφαίνεται η υψηλή χλωριδική συγγένεια του όρους Γκιώνα με τα όρη Παρνασσός και Βαρδούσια. Στη συνέχεια, μελετήσαμε τη βλάστηση της εξεταζόμενης περιοχής, όπου εντοπίστηκαν έντεκα (11) ενότητες βλάστησης. Από την επεξεργασία των δειγματοληψιών, διακρίθηκαν δεκαεννέα (19) τύποι οικοτόπων, με οκτώ (8) φυτοκοινότητες να αναφέρονται για πρώτη φορά. Για την αξιολόγηση των ανθρώπινων επιδράσεων που λαμβάνουν χώρα στο όρος Γκιώνα εφαρμόστηκε το πλαίσιο DPSIR, το οποίο εφαρμόζεται για πρώτη φορά σε ορεινό οικοσύστημα στην Ελλάδα. Στην παρούσα μελέτη αναλύονται πενήντα πέντε (55) δείκτες του προαναφερθέντος πλαισίου αξιολόγησης, ενώ ιδιαίτερη βαρύτητα δίνεται στις πιέσεις που ασκούνται από τα μεταλλεία βωξίτη στην περιοχή. Τα διαχειριστικά μέτρα, τα οποία προτείνονται, λαμβάνουν υπόψη όλες τις εξεταζόμενες παραμέτρους αξιολόγησης και αποτελούν ένα χρήσιμο εργαλείο για τους παράγοντες λήψης αποφάσεων. Όσα προαναφέρθηκαν συνεπικουρούνται από μία σειρά θεματικών χαρτών, τους οποίους κατασκευάσαμε με τη χρήση GIS και απεικονίζουν την παρούσα κατάσταση της περιοχής μελέτης. / Mount Giona is the highest mountain of the Sterea Ellas region and Greece’s fifth biggest mountain. It covers 30,000 hectares, divides Sterea Ellas into west and east and includes twenty-four (24) peaks above 2,000 m. Initially, the present thesis investigates the flora of the examined area, which comprises 1,273 taxa, 572 of which are reported here for the first time. The geographical position of Mount Giona in Sterea Ellas, which neighbors with the other high mountains of that region (namely: Vardousia, Oiti, Parnassos), constitutes a meeting point for plants with different geographical distributions. This fact is extremely important in the case of the endemic elements, which constitute a large percentage of the total flora (11.88%), due to the highly diversified landscape, the high altitudes, the extended alpine vegetation zone and the vast area covered by the mountain. The fact that 171 plant taxa of the total flora are rare or under some protection status, is also notable. Furthermore, we have examined the phytogeographical relation among the mountains of Sterea Ellas and Peloponnese, where the high floristic affinity of Mount Giona with the mountains Parnassos and Vardousia was revealed. Furthermore, we have studied the vegetation of the examined area, where we have recognized eleven (11) vegetation groups. The elaboration of vegetation samplings via vegetation analysis techniques showed nineteen (19) habitat types, with eight (8) plant communities being reported here for the first time. In order to evaluate the human impacts taking place on Mount Giona, we implemented the DPSIR causal framework, which is applied for the first time in a mountainous ecosystem in Greece. Fifty-five (55) indicators of the above-mentioned framework are analyzed in the present study, with special attention to the pressures caused by the bauxite mines on the area. The management measures, proposed here, have taken under consideration all the examined evaluation parameters and aim to be a valuable tool in the hands of decision makers. Finally, a series of thematic maps, created by means of GIS, has been designed in order to support our studies and reflect the present state of Mount Giona’s ecosystems.

Zoneamentos ambientais (ZA) são instrumentos utilizados em diversas áreas como instrumento de planejamento territorial e para ordenamento de atividades econômicas. Sua utilização como ferramenta de apoio a outros instrumentos da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente (PNMA), como o licenciamento ambiental, deve incorporar aspectos ecológicos visando à incorporação da preocupação com a conservação da biodiversidade em fases estratégicas da tomada de decisão. O estudo de caso sobre a expansão do setor sucroalcooleiro de São Paulo representa a integração entre os processos de licenciamento ambiental (etapa de triagem) e o denominado \"Zoneamento Agroambiental do Setor Sucroalcooleiro do Estado de São Paulo\" (ZAA-SP), onde a localização dos pedidos em relação ao mapa elaborado indica o tipo de estudo a ser realizado para avaliação do projeto. Foi estabelecido um panorama para seleção de critérios e indicadores voltados à conciliação entre preocupações com a conservação da biodiversidade e o desenvolvimento do setor por meio da abordagem DPSIR (Força motriz, Pressão, Estado, Impacto, Resposta), que permite uma avaliação causal entre o processo produtivo e as características ambientais por ele afetadas, além de permitir adaptações que foram necessárias para o seu desenvolvimento. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidas análises espaciais na região Noroeste do estado de São Paulo, onde se criaram 8 (oito) cenários para avaliar: (i) a influência da escala dos dados adotados em cada critério avaliado e (ii) a decisão pelos valores de referência para estes indicadores. Os resultados indicaram um acréscimo de \'áreas inadequadas\' e \'adequadas com restrições\' em um total superior a 2Mha no cenário \"ideal\". O rigor quanto ao indicador de declividade foi responsável pelo maior acréscimo de áreas \'inadequadas\' – o que neste estudo representa um aspecto relevante tanto para a conservação e manutenção de recursos hídricos e do solo, mas também define o método de colheita, manual ou mecanizada – e as áreas indicadas para novas áreas protegidas influenciaram na delimitação das áreas \'adequadas com restrições\', a partir da delimitação das zonas de amortecimento de Unidades de Conservação de Proteção Integral. Estes cenários foram confrontados com a localização de unidades industriais de novos pedidos de licenciamento, além de suas áreas de influência, procurando avaliar se os estudos exigidos para o projeto em questão eram condizentes com as recomendações do ZAA-SP. Considerando o mapa do cenário ideal (com novas bases de dados e novos parâmetros), dos pedidos avaliados por Relatório Ambiental Preliminar (RAP) por estarem em zonas mais adequadas no ZAA-SP, 36,6% deveriam ter sidos reavaliados quanto a esta decisão, com a possibilidade de elaboração de estudos completos (Estudo de Impacto Ambiental e Relatório de Impacto Ambiental – EIA/RIMA), sendo que duas destas propostas já deveriam ter sido negadas por terem sido alocadas em zonas \'inadequadas\' neste último mapa. Considerando as áreas de plantio (áreas de influência) dos empreendimentos analisados houve um incremento superior a 340% de alocação de \'áreas inadequadas\' entre o ZAA-SP e o cenário mais conservador das análises, equivalente a mais de 1Mha em áreas absolutas. Isto é preocupante, pois as atividades agrícolas do setor ensejam uma série de impactos sobre a biodiversidade e os ecossistemas. Desta forma, baseados na adaptação e atualização do instrumento, a consideração equivocada das características do território pode prejudicar os processos de avaliação de impactos quando estes não exigirem estudos mais completos. A partir do estudo de caso, percebe-se que a integração de instrumentos da PNMA deve ser conduzida com parcimônia para que cada instrumento adote critérios e indicadores adequados ao seu objetivo, pois decisões erradas já nas primeiras etapas de avaliação de projetos prejudicam a capacidade dos instrumentos envolvidos de exercer seu papel dentro dos sistemas de gestão ambiental. / Environmental zoning (EZ) are instruments applied by many fields such as territorial planning and for planning of economic activities. Its use as a support tool to other instruments of the National Environmental Policy (NEP), as the environmental licensing, must incorporate ecological aspects for conservation of biodiversity in strategic phases of decision making. The study case about the expansion of sugarcane sector of São Paulo representes an integration between the environmental licensing process (screening stage) and the so-called \"Agro-Environmental Zoning of Sugarcane Industry of the State of São Paulo\" (ZAA-SP), where location of requests in the elaborated map indicates the type of study to be conducted for evaluating the project. A framework was established for selection of criteria and indicators aimed at reconciling concerns about biodiversity conservation and the development of the sector through the DPSIR approach (Driving force, Pressure, State, Impact, Response), allowing a causal evaluation between production process and the environmental characteristics affected by it, and allowed adjustments which were necessary for its development. Later, spatial analyzes were developed in the northwestern region of the state of São Paulo, where were created eight (8) scenarios to assess: (i) the influence of the scale of databases used in each criteria and (ii) the decision by reference values for these indicators. The results indicated an increase of \'unsuitable areas\' and \'suitable with restrictions\' in a total of more than 2Mha in the \"ideal\" scenario. Slope restrictions indicator was responsible for the largest increase of inappropriate areas - which in this study is an important issue both for conservation and maintenance of water resources and soil, but also sets the harvest method, manual or mechanized - and indicated areas for new protected areas influenced the definition of \'suitable with restrictions\' zones, derived from definition of Full Protection Conservation Units buffer zones. These scenarios were confronted with the location of industrial units of new applications, as well as their areas of influence, seeking to assess whether the studies required for the project in question were consistent with the ZAA-SP\'s recommendations. Considering the map of the \"ideal\" scenario (with new databases and new parameters), the applications evaluated by Preliminary Environmental Report (PER) for being in more suitable areas in ZAA-SP, 36.6% should be reassessed about this decision, with the possibility of preparing more complete studies (Environmental Impact Statement - EIS), and two of these proposals should have been denied because they were allocated into \'inadequate\' zones in the latter map. Considering the plantation areas (areas of influence) of the analyzed enterprises, there was an increase of more than 340% of allocation in the \'unsuitable areas\' between the ZAA-SP and the most conservative scenario analyzes, equivalent to more than 1Mha in absolute areas. This is worrying because the agricultural activities of the sector cause impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems. Thus, based on the adaptation and updating of the instrument, the erroneous consideration of the characteristics of the territory can hinder the assessment of impacts when they do not require more comprehensive studies. From the study case, we can see that the integration of NEP instruments should be conducted sparingly so that each instrument can adopt appropriate criteria and indicators to your goal, because wrong decisions within the first steps of project evaluation undermine the ability of instruments involved to exercise its role within the environmental management systems.

Zoneamentos ambientais (ZA) são instrumentos utilizados em diversas áreas como instrumento de planejamento territorial e para ordenamento de atividades econômicas. Sua utilização como ferramenta de apoio a outros instrumentos da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente (PNMA), como o licenciamento ambiental, deve incorporar aspectos ecológicos visando à incorporação da preocupação com a conservação da biodiversidade em fases estratégicas da tomada de decisão. O estudo de caso sobre a expansão do setor sucroalcooleiro de São Paulo representa a integração entre os processos de licenciamento ambiental (etapa de triagem) e o denominado \"Zoneamento Agroambiental do Setor Sucroalcooleiro do Estado de São Paulo\" (ZAA-SP), onde a localização dos pedidos em relação ao mapa elaborado indica o tipo de estudo a ser realizado para avaliação do projeto. Foi estabelecido um panorama para seleção de critérios e indicadores voltados à conciliação entre preocupações com a conservação da biodiversidade e o desenvolvimento do setor por meio da abordagem DPSIR (Força motriz, Pressão, Estado, Impacto, Resposta), que permite uma avaliação causal entre o processo produtivo e as características ambientais por ele afetadas, além de permitir adaptações que foram necessárias para o seu desenvolvimento. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidas análises espaciais na região Noroeste do estado de São Paulo, onde se criaram 8 (oito) cenários para avaliar: (i) a influência da escala dos dados adotados em cada critério avaliado e (ii) a decisão pelos valores de referência para estes indicadores. Os resultados indicaram um acréscimo de \'áreas inadequadas\' e \'adequadas com restrições\' em um total superior a 2Mha no cenário \"ideal\". O rigor quanto ao indicador de declividade foi responsável pelo maior acréscimo de áreas \'inadequadas\' – o que neste estudo representa um aspecto relevante tanto para a conservação e manutenção de recursos hídricos e do solo, mas também define o método de colheita, manual ou mecanizada – e as áreas indicadas para novas áreas protegidas influenciaram na delimitação das áreas \'adequadas com restrições\', a partir da delimitação das zonas de amortecimento de Unidades de Conservação de Proteção Integral. Estes cenários foram confrontados com a localização de unidades industriais de novos pedidos de licenciamento, além de suas áreas de influência, procurando avaliar se os estudos exigidos para o projeto em questão eram condizentes com as recomendações do ZAA-SP. Considerando o mapa do cenário ideal (com novas bases de dados e novos parâmetros), dos pedidos avaliados por Relatório Ambiental Preliminar (RAP) por estarem em zonas mais adequadas no ZAA-SP, 36,6% deveriam ter sidos reavaliados quanto a esta decisão, com a possibilidade de elaboração de estudos completos (Estudo de Impacto Ambiental e Relatório de Impacto Ambiental – EIA/RIMA), sendo que duas destas propostas já deveriam ter sido negadas por terem sido alocadas em zonas \'inadequadas\' neste último mapa. Considerando as áreas de plantio (áreas de influência) dos empreendimentos analisados houve um incremento superior a 340% de alocação de \'áreas inadequadas\' entre o ZAA-SP e o cenário mais conservador das análises, equivalente a mais de 1Mha em áreas absolutas. Isto é preocupante, pois as atividades agrícolas do setor ensejam uma série de impactos sobre a biodiversidade e os ecossistemas. Desta forma, baseados na adaptação e atualização do instrumento, a consideração equivocada das características do território pode prejudicar os processos de avaliação de impactos quando estes não exigirem estudos mais completos. A partir do estudo de caso, percebe-se que a integração de instrumentos da PNMA deve ser conduzida com parcimônia para que cada instrumento adote critérios e indicadores adequados ao seu objetivo, pois decisões erradas já nas primeiras etapas de avaliação de projetos prejudicam a capacidade dos instrumentos envolvidos de exercer seu papel dentro dos sistemas de gestão ambiental. / Environmental zoning (EZ) are instruments applied by many fields such as territorial planning and for planning of economic activities. Its use as a support tool to other instruments of the National Environmental Policy (NEP), as the environmental licensing, must incorporate ecological aspects for conservation of biodiversity in strategic phases of decision making. The study case about the expansion of sugarcane sector of São Paulo representes an integration between the environmental licensing process (screening stage) and the so-called \"Agro-Environmental Zoning of Sugarcane Industry of the State of São Paulo\" (ZAA-SP), where location of requests in the elaborated map indicates the type of study to be conducted for evaluating the project. A framework was established for selection of criteria and indicators aimed at reconciling concerns about biodiversity conservation and the development of the sector through the DPSIR approach (Driving force, Pressure, State, Impact, Response), allowing a causal evaluation between production process and the environmental characteristics affected by it, and allowed adjustments which were necessary for its development. Later, spatial analyzes were developed in the northwestern region of the state of São Paulo, where were created eight (8) scenarios to assess: (i) the influence of the scale of databases used in each criteria and (ii) the decision by reference values for these indicators. The results indicated an increase of \'unsuitable areas\' and \'suitable with restrictions\' in a total of more than 2Mha in the \"ideal\" scenario. Slope restrictions indicator was responsible for the largest increase of inappropriate areas - which in this study is an important issue both for conservation and maintenance of water resources and soil, but also sets the harvest method, manual or mechanized - and indicated areas for new protected areas influenced the definition of \'suitable with restrictions\' zones, derived from definition of Full Protection Conservation Units buffer zones. These scenarios were confronted with the location of industrial units of new applications, as well as their areas of influence, seeking to assess whether the studies required for the project in question were consistent with the ZAA-SP\'s recommendations. Considering the map of the \"ideal\" scenario (with new databases and new parameters), the applications evaluated by Preliminary Environmental Report (PER) for being in more suitable areas in ZAA-SP, 36.6% should be reassessed about this decision, with the possibility of preparing more complete studies (Environmental Impact Statement - EIS), and two of these proposals should have been denied because they were allocated into \'inadequate\' zones in the latter map. Considering the plantation areas (areas of influence) of the analyzed enterprises, there was an increase of more than 340% of allocation in the \'unsuitable areas\' between the ZAA-SP and the most conservative scenario analyzes, equivalent to more than 1Mha in absolute areas. This is worrying because the agricultural activities of the sector cause impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems. Thus, based on the adaptation and updating of the instrument, the erroneous consideration of the characteristics of the territory can hinder the assessment of impacts when they do not require more comprehensive studies. From the study case, we can see that the integration of NEP instruments should be conducted sparingly so that each instrument can adopt appropriate criteria and indicators to your goal, because wrong decisions within the first steps of project evaluation undermine the ability of instruments involved to exercise its role within the environmental management systems.

Drinking water is a crucial provision for our survival and well-being. However, it is often taken for granted. The environmental objectives in Sweden appear insufficient to ensure drinking water with good quality, because the objectives lack clear protective descriptions, which allow municipalities to determine how to interpret and ensure drinking water. The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers and opportunities for sustainable management of drinking water sources in a tourist region. In order to fulfil the purpose, the study identifies vulnerabilities in the municipal drinking water system with the help from scenario analysis of climate change and tourism development. The study also presents relevant adaptation solutions. The DPSIR framework was used as a tool to categorize and describe the studied problem and was based on a literature study and a mapping of the study area. Åre ski resort was used as a case, and it is supplied with drinking water from two groundwater beds infiltrated by Åresjön (a lake, part of a river). Åresjön is included in an objective to keep drinking water quality standards.     The results show that climate change and tourism development reduces surface and groundwater quality, primarily by increasing microbiological particles. Increases in the number of tourists combined with insufficient monitoring of groundwater levels and infiltration capacity knowledge are unsustainable and are expected to reduce the amount of water in the large groundwater beds. The identified most vulnerable parts of the drinking water system are within the municipal planning process, water production and wastewater treatment. Therefore, the various adaptation solutions address these issues. Direct and indirect adaptations are necessary to ensure sufficient drinking water of good quality until 2100. Tourism development is the main driver for affecting drinking water (if no adaptation measures are implemented). / <p>20180623</p>

In der Geschichte Libanons sind Steinbrüche immer für die Gewinnung von Baumaterialien wie Sand, Kies, Steine, Zement usw. genutzt worden. Durch die Komplexität dieses Sektors im Libanon gibt es kaum verfügbare Daten, Erhebungen und Studien über Ausmaß und Auswirkungen der Abbautätigkeit. Deshalb behandelt die vorliegende Untersuchung eines der drängendsten Probleme und legt eine aktuelle Datenübersicht über die Steinbrüche vor. Es ist ein vollständiger und integrierter Überblick über die Steinbrüche im Libanon im Allgemeinen und das Problem ihre Rehabilitation im Besonderen unter Berücksichtigung des schwierigen Themas eines integrierten Steinbruchmanagements in einem nachhaltigen Konzept. Meilensteine und Etappen bei der Etablierung eines Rehabilitationsprogrammes werden auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen wie der öffentliche Sektor, der private Sektor und den öffentlichen Kommunen entwickelt. Um die Nachhaltigkeit des Rehabilitationskonzeptes aufzuzeigen, wurde ein Feldexperiment in einem ehemaligen Steinbruch nördlich von Beirut angelegt. Bei dieser Rehabilitation wurden in die aufgebrachte Bodenschicht Johannisbrotbäume (Ceratonia siliqua) aufgepflanzt. Durch diese Fallstudie konnte die Nachhaltigkeit der Maßnahme für das Management natürlicher Ressourcen geprüft, unterschiedliche Ergebnisse validiert und untersucht werden. / Throughout Lebanon’s history, quarries have been used as a means to extract essential construction materials such as sand, aggregates, stone masonry, cement, block stone, and others. Due to complexity of the quarry sector in Lebanon very few data are available, records and studies in this field are limited. Therefore, the presented research tackles one of Lebanon’s most pressing issues and represents the most updated database on quarries in Lebanon. A comprehensive and integrated overview of the quarries issue in Lebanon in general and the problem of rehabilitation in particular are given and the problematical topic of an integrated quarry planning within a sustainable development concept in Lebanon is pointed out. Milestones and landmarks toward the adoption of a setup needed for the proper rehabilitation approach at different levels as public sector, private sector and local communities are developed. In order to demonstrate the rehabilitation concept was realised a field experiment in a closed quarry northerly from Beirut. The rehabilitation was finalised by planting of carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua) in a layer of top soil. By this case study it was possible to address a sustainable procedure for natural resources management, examine and validate.

Without a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenic pressures on the water environment, it is difficult to develop effective and efficient strategies to support water management in a proactive way. A broader systems perspective and expanded information systems are therefore essential to aid in systematically exploring interlinks between socioeconomic activities and impaired waters at an appropriate scale. This thesis examined the root causes of human-induced water problems, taking the socioeconomic sector into account and using systems thinking and life cycle thinking as the two main methods. The European DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State of the Environment-Impacts-Responses) framework was also used as a basis for discussing two kinds of approaches to water management, namely state/impacts-oriented and pressure-oriented. The results indicate that current water management approaches are mainly state/impacts-oriented. The state/impacts-oriented approach is mainly based on observed pollutants in environmental monitoring and/or on biodiversity changes in ecological monitoring. Employing this approach, the main concern is hydrophysical and biogeochemical changes in the water environment and the end result is reactive responses to combat water problems. As a response, a pressure-oriented approach, derived from a DPR (Drivers-Pressures-Responses) model, was developed to aid in alleviating/avoiding human-induced pressures on the water environment. From a principal perspective, this approach could lead to proactive water-centric policy and decision making and the derivation of pressure-oriented information systems. The underlying principle of the DPR approach is that many root causes of human-induced water problems are closely related to anthroposphere metabolism. An industrial ecology (IE) perspective, based on the principle of mass/material balance, was also introduced to trace water flows in the human-oriented water system and to account for emissions/wastes discharged into the natural water system. This IE-based perspective should be used as part of the basis for developing pressure-oriented monitoring and assessing impacts of human-induced pressures on recipient waters. While demonstrating the use of the pressure-oriented approach, two conceptual frameworks were developed, for water quantity and water quality analysis, respectively. These two frameworks could help motivate decision makers to consider water problems in a broader socioeconomic and environment context. Thus they should be the first step in making a broader systems analysis in any given river basin, regarding setting systems boundary and identifying data availability. In this context, a combined hydrological and administrative boundary is suggested to monitor anthropogenic processes and organise socioeconomic activity statistics. / QC 20120515

Since human beings began to use and shape the land, their influence on their<p>environment has kept on growing so that little or no ecosystem in the world is now<p>considered as untouched. This induces pressures on ecosystem health and land scarcity.<p>Africa is of particular concern because it still presents broad undisturbed zones and<p>key ecosystem services, despite being submitted to increasing anthropogenic pressures.<p>Landscape ecology appears suitable for the study of such phenomena, thanks to its spacebased<p>integrative nature and geographical level of focus. It studies the impact of spatial<p>pattern transformation — especially heterogeneity and its components — on ecological<p>processes and provides powerful analytical tools of landscape anthropisation.<p>The main objective of this thesis is to organise the concepts and methods, from<p>landscape ecology and related disciplines, into a consistent logic, to pinpoint missing<p>analytical frameworks for response-oriented anthropisation assessment, and to apply them<p>to African cases to explore the spatial patterns of anthropisation. In order to address<p>landscape anthropisation, we assemble diverse disciplines into a logical network (DPSIR).<p>The new theoretical framework is tested on Lubumbashi (DRC). In order to address<p>spatial patterns, we first evaluate the thermodynamic connection of the term entropy in<p>landscape ecology: spatial heterogeneity, unpredictability and scale influence. Then, based<p>on 20 landscapes, we highlight the complex relationship between spatial heterogeneity<p>and landscape anthropisation. We finally use the modelled relationships to test the<p>anthropogenic origin of the spatial pattern of a land cover class in Lubumbashi.<p>The main results of this research show that several concepts are used to describe different<p>aspects of anthropisation and that its quantification strongly depends on the reference states.<p>Data formats can be combined into a new assessment method ensuring more precision<p>and comparability, but a good field knowledge is required. As for heterogeneity, the<p>existing definitions of landscape entropy follow the logic of thermodynamics or information<p>theory, that are not compatible. Only unpredictability could be properly interpreted in<p>thermodynamic terms if energy transfer measurements were performed at the appropriate<p>level. The anthropogenic effects on heterogeneity completely diverge depending on the<p>amount of already anthropised surface, on the land cover type (natural or anthropogenic),<p>and on the heterogeneity components.<p>The aforementioned findings could be adapted to include functional aspects and<p>better address the relationship between spatial pattern and ecological processes. Such<p>integration would help designing response actions that can recommend human activities<p>and spatial patterns that could optimise the use of land to ensure ecological functioning<p>while supporting human development. / <p>L’influence croissante de l’homme sur son environnement affecte désormais le monde<p>entier, ce qui induit des pressions sur la santé des écosystèmes et raréfie les ressources<p>en terres. L’Afrique présente un intérêt particulier à cet égard car elle contient de vastes<p>zones quasi vierges et fournit des services écosystémiques importants mais est soumise<p>à des pressions anthropiques croissantes. L’écologie du paysage étudie ces phénomènes<p>de façon intégrative au moyen de sa composante spatiale et de son échelle d’intérêt. Elle<p>étudie l’impact des transformations de la structure spatiale — en particulier l’hétérogénéité<p>et ses différentes composantes—sur les processus écologiques et fournit de puissants outils<p>analytiques de l’anthropisation.<p>L’objectif de cette thèse est d’organiser les concepts et méthodes de différentes disciplines<p>de façon à mettre en évidence leurs forces et faiblesses pour proposer une nouvelle<p>quantification de l’anthropisation, orientée vers la gestion, et de la tester sur des paysages<p>africains pour examiner la structure spatiale de l’anthropisation. Le DPSIR est utilisé pour<p>assembler les différents concepts. La nouvelle méthodologie est testée sur Lubumbashi<p>(RDC). Ensuite, le lien entre la thermodynamique et l’utilisation du terme entropie en<p>écologie du paysage est examiné. Vingt paysages servent alors à mettre en évidence la<p>complexité de l’impact de l’anthropisation sur l’hétérogénéité du paysage. Enfin, cette<p>modélisation sert à mettre en évidence l’origine anthropique de la structure spatiale d’une<p>classe d’occupation du sol à Lubumbashi.<p>Les résultats principaux de cette recherche sont que pléthore de termes sont utilisés<p>pour représenter différents aspects de l’anthropisation et que sa quantification dépend de<p>la définition d’états de référence. Cependant, la combinaison de différents formats de<p>données peut aboutir à une nouvelle méthodologie plus précise et adaptable, mais cela<p>nécessite une bonne connaissance de terrain. Les définitions de l’entropie dépendent soit de<p>la thermodynamique soit de la théorie de l’information, qui ne sont pas compatibles. Seule<p>l’imprévisibilité pourrait être interprétée thermodynamiquement, si les mesures de transfert<p>d’énergie étaient effectuées à l’échelle appropriée. L’impact humain sur l’hétérogénéité<p>diverge selon la quantité de surface déjà anthropisée, le type de couverture du sol pris en<p>compte ainsi que les composantes de l’hétérogénéité mesurées.<p>Ces découvertes peuvent être adaptées pour intégrer des aspects fonctionnels de la<p>structure spatiale et mieux cerner le lien entre celle-ci et le fonctionnement écologique, ce qui<p>permettrait de proposer des activités humaines et des structures spatiales qui optimiseraient<p>l’utilisation des ressources en sol pour assurer tant le fonctionnement écologique que le<p>développement humain. / Doctorat en Sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished