Implementation of a microclimate design model in the early design of new building projects: Case study Ecohof Noorderveer in the Netherlands

Given the ongoing global urbanization and the rise of heat, flooding, and drought in cities, the integration of climate adaptive measures based on “ecosystem functions and services” becomes imperative in design. This study details the implementation process of a microclimate design model in the design and retrofitting of the housing project...

Bioreceptive concrete: State of the art and potential benefits

Implementing nature in cities has great potential to improve urban liveability by providing ecosystem services, which can help mitigate heat stress, improve air quality, attenuate noise, and reduce rainwater run-off. However, widespread adoption of urban nature and green building typologies is still limited due to their costs, environmental...

Environmental flow assessment and implications on sustainability of aquatic ecosystems in Ethiopia: A literature review on global and national evidences

As part of water resources management policy, water resources projects undertake environmental flow assessments (EFA) to determine how much water should be maintained or released to the downstream part of rivers to protect the health of aquatic and riparian ecosystems and societal wellbeing. In Ethiopia, EFA is being undertaken mostly in...

Dam-induced hydrological alterations in the upper Cauvery river basin, India

Study region: Upper Cauvery river basin, India Study focus: Reservoir construction is one of the major contributors to changes in natural river flow regime characteristics. This study aims to understand the hydrological alterations resulting from the construction of reservoirs and water abstraction in the upper regions of the basin. The...

A preliminary study on the impact of landscape pattern changes due to urbanization: Case study of Jakarta, Indonesia

Urbanization is changing land use–land cover (LULC) transforming green spaces (GS) and bodies of water into built-up areas. LULC change is affecting ecosystem services (ES) in urban areas, such as by decreasing of the water retention capacity, the urban temperature regulation capacity and the carbon sequestration. The relation between LULC...

A systematic design approach for objectifying Building with Nature solutions

Hydraulic engineering infrastructure is supposed to keep functioning for many years and is likely to interfere with both the natural and the social environment at various scales. Due to its long life-cycle, hydraulic infrastructure is bound to face changing environmental conditions as well as changes in societal views on acceptable solutions....

Objectifying Building with Nature strategies towards scale-resolving policies

By definition, Building with Nature solutions utilise services provided by the natural system and/or provide new opportunities to that system. As a consequence, such solutions are sensitive to the status of, and interact with the surrounding system. A thorough understanding of the ambient natural system is therefore necessary to meet the...

Sustainable Water Resources Management in an Arid Area Using a Coupled Optimization-Simulation Modeling

Severe water scarcity in recent years has magnified the economic, social, and environmental significance of water stress globally, making optimal planning in water resources necessary for sustainable socio-economic development. One of the regions that is most affected by this is the Sistan region and its Hamoun wetland, located in south-east...

Green infrastructures for urban water system: Balance between cities and nature

Urban water systems face severe challenges such as urbanisation, population growth and climate change. Traditional technical solutions, i.e., pipe-based, grey infrastructure, have a single purpose and are proven to be unsustainable compared to multi-purpose nature-based solutions. Green Infrastructure encompasses on-site stormwater management...

Anthropogenic modifications and river ecosystem services: A landscape perspective

The process of development has led to the modification of river landscapes. This has created imbalances between ecological, economic, and socio-cultural uses of ecosystem services (ESs), threatening the biotic and social integrity of rivers. Anthropogenic modifications influence river landscapes on multiple scales, which impact river-flow...

Trends in Demand of Urban Surface Water Extractions and in Situ Use Functions

Scientific literature currently lacks comprehensive understanding of urban surface water use functions. This hampers sound analysis of the demand and potential supply of these functions. This study provides a comprehensive overview of potential use functions, by integrating knowledge from ecosystem services and integrated urban water...

Finding the essential: Improving conservation monitoring across scales

To account for progress towards conservation targets, monitoring systems should capture not only information on biodiversity but also knowledge on the dynamics of ecological processes and the related effects on human well-being. Protected areas represent complex social-ecological systems with strong human-nature interactions. They are able to...

A Bayesian approach to ecosystem service trade-off analysis utilizing expert knowledge

The concept of ecosystem services is gaining attention in the context of sustainable resource management. However, it is inherently difficult to account for tangible and intangible services in a combined model. The aim of this study is to extend the definition of ecosystem service trade-offs by using Bayesian Networks to capture the...

Mapping ecological production and benefits from water consumed in agricultural and natural landscapes: A case study of the Pangani Basin

Scarcity of information on the water productivity of different water, land, and other ecosystems in Africa, hampers the optimal allocation of the limited water resources. This study presents an innovative method to quantify the spatial variability of biomass production, crop yield, and economic water productivity, in a data scarce landscape...

Coupling land-use change and hydrologic models for quantification of catchment ecosystem services

Representation of land-use and hydrologic interactions in respective models has traditionally been problematic. The use of static land-use in most hydrologic models or that of the use of simple hydrologic proxies in land-use change models call for more integrated approaches. The objective of this study is to assess whether dynamic feedback...