Land degradation caused by soil erosion is considered among the most severe problems of the 21stcentury. It poses serious threats to soil fertility, food availability, human health, and the world ecosystem. The purpose of the study is to make a quantitative mapping of soil loss in the Chitral district, Pakistan. For the estimation of soil loss in the study area, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was used in combination with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Topographical features of the study area show that the area is more vulnerable to soil loss, having the highest average annual soil loss of 78 ton/ha/year. Maps generated in the study show that the area has the highest sediment yield of 258 tons/ha/year and higher average annual soil loss of 450 tons/ha/year. The very high severity class represents 8%, 16% under high, 21% under moderate, 12% under low, and 13% under very low soil loss in the Chitral district. The above study is helpful to researchers and planners for better planning to control the loss of soil in the high severity zones. Plantation of trees and structures should be built like check dams, which effectively control the soil erosion process.

Coconut palm wood is commonly regarded as a sustainable building material. Nonetheless, its adoption as a green building material by the construction industry is limited, particularly in West Africa. This paper analyses the impediments to the effective adoption of coconut palm wood in residential building construction. The research data was collected from literature reviews, expert-based surveys, and semi-structured interviews with specialists from the construction sector, African Timber Organization, governmental institutions related to forestry and construction, university professors, and researchers in the areas of sustainable building materials and construction. Thirteen crucial impediments were identified and an integrated evaluation of the impediments was conducted using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique to examine the hierarchical structure of the relations between the impediments. A further technique, Cross-impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC), was used to categorize the impediments from a driving to driven perspective. This categorization provides a unique profile for the impediments, which is different from that of conventional evaluation techniques for evaluating impediments. The findings of this paper offer useful guide to practitioners and policy makers in formulating effective policies, regulations, and standards that will promote the development and wide adoption of coconut palm wood in the construction industry.

Despite persistent calls for cleaner production and improved automation of construction processes, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in managing the supply chains of off-site construction businesses has been discouraged due to various constraints. This paper methodically identifies and prioritizes the crucial factors that impede the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in off-site construction. Content analysis and an expert-based evaluation strategy were used to identify and evaluate the constraints affecting Internet of Things adoption in off-site construction. The ISM, MICMAC, and DEMATEL techniques were used to analyze the data. This study identifies the “lack of clear strategy for governing IoT utilization in supply chain management” as the most significant factor that impedes the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in off-site construction businesses. The outcomes also provide a rich source of insights into off-site construction businesses to clearly recognize the implications of utilizing IoT technologies in managing the supply chains of businesses and what to expect when applying IoT technologies and solutions. While this paper advocates for improved green construction practices, cleaner production, and automation in the construction industry, it has set the stage for integrating IoT technologies in the supply chain management of off-site construction businesses.

The world’s ecosystem is severely affected by the increase in the rate of soil erosion and sediment transport in the built environment and agricultural lands. Land use land cover changes (LULCC) are considered as the most significant cause of sediment transport. This study aims to estimate the effect of LULCC on soil erosion potential in the past 20 years (2000–2020) by using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model based on Geographic Information System (GIS). Different factors were analyzed to study the effect of each factor including R factor, K factor, LS factor, and land cover factor on the erosion process. Maps generated in the study show the changes in the severity of soil loss in the Chitral district of Pakistan. It was found out that 4% of the area was under very high erosion risk in the year 2000 which increased to 8% in the year 2020. An increase in agricultural land (4%) was observed in the last 20 years which shows that human activities largely affected the study area. The outcomes of this study will help the stakeholders and regulatory decision makers to control deforestation and take other necessary actions to minimize the rate of soil erosion. Such an efficient planning will also be helpful to reduce the sedimentation in the reservoir of hydraulic dam(s) constructed on Chitral river, which drains through this watershed.