Ecotourism spatial-time planning model using ecosystem approaches and landscape ecology.

Tourism industry is one of the new fields and new fields studied by various sciences and today it has been considered by countries in various ways. Because the use of tourism potential and capabilities in each region can provide a dynamic and active ground for the development of that region, the study of the potential of these capabilities in terms of geography will be a special necessity. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate and validate a variety of criteria and methods of land capability assessment for tourism and ecotourism. In this study, the aesthetic value of the landscape, the value of the landscape, and the quality of the habitat and the rarity of the habitat effect were studied from 2000 to 2020 and were predicted for 2040. The result of this study showed that the four criteria used in the decision system with fuzzy gamma method will improve the model from 0.42 to 0.776. The 8 most common criteria for reviewing resources by overlapping methods in ecotourism decision-making systems were not accurate enough or could not be referenced for other areas.

Effective leachate treatment by a pilot-scale submerged electro-membrane bioreactor.

Most landfill leachates contain organic compounds that cannot be easily separated by conventional biological processes. Recently, integration of membrane bioreactors and electro-oxidation has been proposed as a suitable option for the treatment and separation of organic and inorganic contaminants in leachate. Therefore, in the present study, the performance of submerged electro-membrane bioreactor (SEMBR) along with a conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR) on a pilot scale was evaluated for the treatment of leachate. Both bioreactors were used to compare treatment efficiency under the same conditions. The removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), phosphate (PO43--P), color, UV254, and metals were investigated. The results showed that applying electric current to the MBR could approximately increase the COD removal efficiency from 94 to 98.5%; PO43--P removal from 70 to 99%; NH3+-N removal from 91 to 99%; UV254 removal from 80 to 96%; and heavy metals removal from 40 to 95%. Humic acid removal efficiency as another indicator of humic substances was increased from 75% in the MBR to 96% in the SEMBR process. The results also showed that the effluent can be introduced into the wastewater treatment plant for further treatment. The SEMBR process achieved a minimization of fouling of membranes compared to conventional MBR. The consumption of the energy and electrode was in accordance with the previous results, and the required energy of 1.57 kWh/m3 of wastewater was calculated. The sludge volume index (SVI) in SEMBR (105 ml/g) was better than MBR (135 ml/g) due to the electrokinetic effect on the production of denser flocs. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the application of electric current can improve the performance of MBR in removing PO43-, NH4+, and membrane fouling.

Analysis of the health and environmental status of sterilizers in hospital waste management: a case study of hospitals in Tehran.

According to the first article of the waste management rule ratified in 2004, healthcare facilities are responsible for sterilizing their own infectious wastes. Nowadays non-incineration techniques are preferred internationally owing to toxic emissions caused by incinerators. Surveys have been conducted in Iran, resulting in ratification of an executive code by the Iranian Board of Ministers, which imposed a ban on incinerators; furthermore, it emphasized, instead, the use of sterilizers. The main objective of this research was evaluating the present status of these facilities to figure out which ones have less effect on the community, personnel and on the environment. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results showed that biological tests had not been conducted for most of the sterilizers. As biological testing is the most important factor in assessing autoclave accuracy, a comprehensive program should be initiated to perform these tests to improve functioning of the sterilizers so that the best treating process can be achieved.

A new method for environmental site assessment of urban solid waste landfills.

Regarding various types of pollutant, waste management requires high attention. Environmental site selection study, prior to landfill operation, and subsequently, monitoring and maintaining of the location, are of foremost points in landfill site selection process. By means of these studies, it is possible to control the undesirable impacts caused by landfills. Study ahead aims at examination of effectiveness of a new method called Monavari 95-2 in landfill site assessment. For this purpose, two landfills Rasht and Andisheh, which are, respectively, located on humid and arid areas, were selected as case studies. Then, the results obtained from both sites were compared with each other to find out the weaknesses and strengths of each site. Compared with others similar methods, much more criteria (53 parameters) can be considered within this method, so the results will be more calculable. According to this method, Rasht landfill (site H) is classified as unacceptable landfill site i.e. there is an urgent need for a new suitable site for landfill, while Andishe Landfill (site D) is ranked as acceptable landfill site but needs environmental management program to handle the existing weaknesses.

Application of network method as a tool for integrating biodiversity values in Environmental Impact Assessment.

Highway construction or expansion projects are among major activities of economic development especially in developing countries. However, road development consistently can lead to major damages to the environment, including habitat fragmentation and ecological instabilities and a considerable threat to fauna and flora. At this point, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in road developments is needed to address and evaluate the ecological issues in decision-making. The object of this study is to strengthen the consideration of ecological issues, i.e., biodiversity in the existing EIA tools. This paper regards a network method as a means to make informed planning decisions by the lessons from a case study. The results indicate that network method is well suited to be applied in ecological impacts assessment. However, some limitations such as complexity and time consumed make casual networks unpopular. Also, impact of traffic noise on acoustic communication (wildlife and human) was performed. It has been shown that sound level for human is much higher than admissible standards. Finally, the study expresses some mitigation measures to improve the acquisition for environmental impact assessment process.