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Surrounded by intense anthropogenic activities, urban polluted rivers have increasingly been reported as a significant source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, unlike pollution and climate change, no integrated urban water models have investigated the GHG production in urban rivers due to system complexity. In this study, we proposed a novel integrated framework of mechanistic and data-driven models to qualitatively assess the risks of GHG accumulation in an urban river system in different water management interventions. Particularly, the mechanistic model delivered elaborated insights into river states in four intervention scenarios in which the installation of a new wastewater treatment plant using two different technologies, together with new sewage systems and additional retention tanks, were assessed during dry and rainy seasons. From the insights, we applied fuzzy rule-based models as a decision support tool to predict the GHG accumulation risks and identify their driving factors in the scenarios. The obtained results indicated the important role of new discharge connection and additional storage capacity in decreasing pollutant concentrations, consequently, reducing the risks. Moreover, among the major variables explaining the GHG accumulation in the rivers, DO level was considerably affected by the reaeration capacity of the rivers that was strongly dependent on river slope and flow. Furthermore, river water quality emerged as the most critical variable explaining the pCO2 and N2O accumulation that implied that the more polluted and anaerobic the sites were, the higher were their GHG accumulation. Given its simplicity and transparency, the proposed modeling framework can be applied to other river basins as a decision support tool in setting up integrated urban water management plans.
Long Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Ans Mouton; Ingmar Nopens; Peter Goethals. Integrated mechanistic and data-driven modeling for risk assessment of greenhouse gas production in an urbanized river system. Journal of Environmental Management 2021, 294, 112999 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Ruben Jerves-Cobo, Marie Anne Eurie Forio, Ans Mouton, Ingmar Nopens, Peter Goethals. Integrated mechanistic and data-driven modeling for risk assessment of greenhouse gas production in an urbanized river system. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021; 294 ():112999.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Ans Mouton; Ingmar Nopens; Peter Goethals. 2021. "Integrated mechanistic and data-driven modeling for risk assessment of greenhouse gas production in an urbanized river system." Journal of Environmental Management 294, no. : 112999.
As an “international aquatic ecosystem” in Northern Iran, the Anzali wetland is a nursery for fish and a breeding and wintering area for a wide variety of waterfowl. The wetland is threatened by human activities (deforestation, hunting, tourism, and urbanization), leading to habitat destruction, eutrophication, and sediment accumulation. To stop the degradation and to set up effective protection and restoration in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, scientific insights must be integrated into a practical framework for evidence-based support for policymakers and managers of the Anzali wetland. In this study, the Drivers–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework is used as a suitable tool to link human pressures and state changes to derive an overview of the potential impacts. Population growth, intensive agriculture, increased urbanization, and industrialization are the major driving forces that have led to a complex cascade of state changes. For instance, during recent years, water quality deterioration, habitat degradation, and the overgrowth of invasive species in the Anzali wetland watershed have caused negative socio-economic and human health impacts. Integrated and innovative monitoring programs combined with socio-environmental modeling techniques are needed for a more evidence-based management approach as part of a multiresponse strategy for the sustainable development of the wetland system. In this respect, there is a critical gap in useful information concerning biological composition and innovative monitoring methods. Moreover, the relation of biota with human activity and environmental conditions needs to be better quantified. Therefore, ecological modeling techniques based on machine learning and statistics were reviewed for their advantages and disadvantages. The overview of approaches presented here can serve as the basis for scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers to develop and implement evidence-based management programs for the Anzali wetland.
Roghayeh Sadeghi Pasvisheh; Marie Eurie Forio; Long Ho; Peter Goethals. Evidence-Based Management of the Anzali Wetland System (Northern Iran) Based on Innovative Monitoring and Modeling Methods. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5503 .
AMA StyleRoghayeh Sadeghi Pasvisheh, Marie Eurie Forio, Long Ho, Peter Goethals. Evidence-Based Management of the Anzali Wetland System (Northern Iran) Based on Innovative Monitoring and Modeling Methods. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5503.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoghayeh Sadeghi Pasvisheh; Marie Eurie Forio; Long Ho; Peter Goethals. 2021. "Evidence-Based Management of the Anzali Wetland System (Northern Iran) Based on Innovative Monitoring and Modeling Methods." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5503.
Sustainably feeding a growing human population is one of the greatest food system challenges of the 21st century. Seafood plays a vital role in supporting human wellbeing, by providing bioavailable and nutrient-dense animal-source food. In Thailand, seafood demand is increasing, and wild capture fishery yields have plateaued, due to oceanic ecosystem degradation and fishery stock exploitation. In this study, we investigated the supply trend of fishery products and subsequent seafood-derived nutrient availability over the last decade. In addition, we explored the possibility of predicting seafood availability and consumption levels, including adherence to Thailand’s national food guide and global dietary recommendations for sustainable seafood consumption. Our findings indicate that, at national-level, fishery products supplied between 19% and 35% of the Thai populations recommended dietary protein intake, 4–6% of calcium, 6–11% of iron, and 2–4% of zinc from 1995 to 2015. Nevertheless, our research also reports that if Thailand’s wild-caught seafood production were to decrease by 13%, as is highly likely, by 2030, the country might face a per capita supply deficit of fish and shellfish to meet healthy and sustainable dietary recommendations (28–30 g/day), let alone the current Thai average intake (32 g/day). Although a 1% per year increase in aquaculture production might bridge this supply gap, policymakers and relevant fishery stakeholders must consider the long-term environmental impacts of such an approach in Thailand.
Tiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Carl Lachat; Giles Hanley-Cook; Peter Goethals. The Contribution of Thai Fisheries to Sustainable Seafood Consumption: National Trends and Future Projections. Foods 2021, 10, 880 .
AMA StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit, Long Ho, Carl Lachat, Giles Hanley-Cook, Peter Goethals. The Contribution of Thai Fisheries to Sustainable Seafood Consumption: National Trends and Future Projections. Foods. 2021; 10 (4):880.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Carl Lachat; Giles Hanley-Cook; Peter Goethals. 2021. "The Contribution of Thai Fisheries to Sustainable Seafood Consumption: National Trends and Future Projections." Foods 10, no. 4: 880.
Oceanic islands harbor unique yet fragile marine ecosystems that require evidence-based environmental management. Among these islands, the Galapagos archipelago is well known for its fish diversity, but the factors that structure communities within and between its islands remain poorly understood. In this study, water quality, physical habitats and geographical distance were assessed as potential predictors for the diversity and structure of fish assemblages. Differences in the structure of fish assemblages of the two studied islands (Santa Cruz and Floreana) were most likely driven by temperature and nutrient concentrations. In the relatively highly populated island Santa Cruz, the structure of fish assemblages was more affected by water conditions than physical habitats while the contrary was true for the more pristine area of Floreana. A wide variety of species with different geographical origins were distributed over the different islands, which indicates that most fish species are able to reach the islands of the archipelago. However, temperature gradients and elevated nutrient levels cause large differences in the structure of local fish assemblages. In addition, in Santa Cruz nutrient concentrations were negatively correlated with
Stijn Bruneel; Wout Van Echelpoel; Long Ho; Heleen Raat; Amber Schoeters; Niels De Troyer; Ratha Sor; José Ponton-Cevallos; Ruth Vandeputte; Christine Van der Heyden; Nancy De Saeyer; Marie Forio; Rafael Bermudez; Luis Dominguez-Granda; Stijn Luca; Tom Moens; Peter Goethals. Assessing the Drivers behind the Structure and Diversity of Fish Assemblages Associated with Rocky Shores in the Galapagos Archipelago. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 2021, 9, 375 .
AMA StyleStijn Bruneel, Wout Van Echelpoel, Long Ho, Heleen Raat, Amber Schoeters, Niels De Troyer, Ratha Sor, José Ponton-Cevallos, Ruth Vandeputte, Christine Van der Heyden, Nancy De Saeyer, Marie Forio, Rafael Bermudez, Luis Dominguez-Granda, Stijn Luca, Tom Moens, Peter Goethals. Assessing the Drivers behind the Structure and Diversity of Fish Assemblages Associated with Rocky Shores in the Galapagos Archipelago. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2021; 9 (4):375.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStijn Bruneel; Wout Van Echelpoel; Long Ho; Heleen Raat; Amber Schoeters; Niels De Troyer; Ratha Sor; José Ponton-Cevallos; Ruth Vandeputte; Christine Van der Heyden; Nancy De Saeyer; Marie Forio; Rafael Bermudez; Luis Dominguez-Granda; Stijn Luca; Tom Moens; Peter Goethals. 2021. "Assessing the Drivers behind the Structure and Diversity of Fish Assemblages Associated with Rocky Shores in the Galapagos Archipelago." Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, no. 4: 375.
Emerging global threats, such as biological invasions, climate change, land use intensification, and water depletion, endanger the sustainable future of lake ecosystems. To deal with the threats, a multidimensional view on the protection and exploitation of lake ecosystems is needed. The holistic approach needs to contain not just the development of economy and society but also take into account the negative impacts of this growth on the environment, from that, the balance between the three dimensions can be sustained to reach a sustainable future. This chapter provides a comprehensive review on future opportunities and challenges for lake sustainable development in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From ancient times to the present, lakes have been a key freshwater resource. They play crucial roles in human societies for drinking water provision, food production, recreation, energy provision, water treatment and flood and drought control. Because of the recent intensive exploitations, numerous lakes have severely been deteriorated. In recent years, physical habitat degradation has become very problematic while eutrophication remains the main issue for lakes worldwide. Besides constant threats from urbanization, industry, aquaculture, and watercourse alterations, climate change and emerging contaminants, such as microplastics and antimicrobial resistance, are generating universal problems for the sustainability of lake ecosystems. In relation to the SDGs, the actions for achieving the sustainability of lake ecosystems have positive links with the SDGs related to environmental dimensions (Goals 6, 13, 14 and 15) as they are mutually reinforcing each other. On the other hand, these actions have direct potential conflicts with the SDGs related to social and economic dimensions (Goals 1, 2, 3 and 8). Based on the interlinkages, we propose 20 indicators that can be used by decision makers for monitoring and assessing lake sustainable development.
Long Ho; Peter Goethals. Imperiled Lake Ecosystems. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Peter Goethals. Imperiled Lake Ecosystems. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Peter Goethals. 2021. "Imperiled Lake Ecosystems." Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences , no. : 1.
Due to regular influx of organic matter and nutrients, waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) can release considerable quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs). To investigate the spatiotemporal variations of GHG emissions from WSPs with a focus on the effects of sludge accumulation and distribution, we conducted a bathymetry survey and two sampling campaigns in Ucubamba WSP (Cuenca, Ecuador). The results indicated that spatial variation of GHG emissions was strongly dependent on sludge distribution. Thick sludge layers in aerated ponds and facultative ponds caused substantial CO2 and CH4 emissions which accounted for 21.3% and 78.7% of the total emissions from the plant. Conversely, the prevalence of anoxic conditions stimulated the N2O consumption via complete denitrification leading to a net uptake from the atmosphere, i.e. up to 1.4±0.2 mg-N m−2 d−1. Double emission rates of CO2 were found in the facultative and maturation ponds during the day compared to night-time emissions, indicating the important role of algal respiration, while no diel variation of the CH4 and N2O emissions was found. Despite the uptake of N2O, the total GHG emissions of the WSP was higher than constructed wetlands and conventional centralized wastewater treatment facilities. Hence, it is recommended that sludge management with proper desludging regulation should be included as an important mitigation measure to reduce the carbon footprint of pond treatment facilities.
Long Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Oscar Morales; Josue Larriva; Maria Arevalo-Durazno; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. Spatial and temporal variations of greenhouse gas emissions from a waste stabilization pond: Effects of sludge distribution and accumulation. Water Research 2021, 193, 116858 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Ruben Jerves-Cobo, Oscar Morales, Josue Larriva, Maria Arevalo-Durazno, Matti Barthel, Johan Six, Samuel Bode, Pascal Boeckx, Peter Goethals. Spatial and temporal variations of greenhouse gas emissions from a waste stabilization pond: Effects of sludge distribution and accumulation. Water Research. 2021; 193 ():116858.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Oscar Morales; Josue Larriva; Maria Arevalo-Durazno; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. 2021. "Spatial and temporal variations of greenhouse gas emissions from a waste stabilization pond: Effects of sludge distribution and accumulation." Water Research 193, no. : 116858.
Long Ho. Responses to Reviewer #1. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleLong Ho. Responses to Reviewer #1. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho. 2020. "Responses to Reviewer #1." , no. : 1.
Long Ho. Responses to Reviewer #2. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleLong Ho. Responses to Reviewer #2. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho. 2020. "Responses to Reviewer #2." , no. : 1.
Reaching the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation is fundamentally important and conditional to the achievement of all the other SDGs. Nonetheless, achieving this goal by 2030 is challenging, especially in the Global South. Science lies at the root of sustainable development and is a key to new solutions for addressing SDG 6. However, SDG 6-related scientific outputs are often unknown, forming disconnections between academic world and practitioners implementing solutions. This study proposed a bibliometric and text mining method to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the contribution of water research to the achievement of SDG 6. The method was applied for water research produced by Belgian-affiliated authors with a focus on the Global South collaboration. Despite accounting for less than one percent of the total global publications, Belgian water research has had a relatively high publication rate compared to its neighboring countries. We observed longstanding collaborations between Belgian and scientists from worldwide countries, and an increasing collaboration rate with countries from the Global South. The biggest share of publications focused on topics related to the targets 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6, with the main hotspots for Belgian water research being water treatment, water stress, water pollution, climate change, and water modeling. The findings of the bibliometric search have been integrated into an online, user-friendly dashboard to facilitate the identification of research body and experts for practitioners and policy makers. The presented methodology is sufficiently generic and can be used to optimize other science programs in relation to the 2030 Agenda in other countries and regions. In this case study, the findings support shaping the Belgian cooperation and development policy in the water sector, and creating appropriate synergies between Belgian water researchers and their counterparts in the Global South.
Long Ho; Alice Alonso; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Marnik Vanclooster; Peter L.M. Goethals. Water research in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 6: A case study in Belgium. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 277, 124082 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Alice Alonso, Marie Anne Eurie Forio, Marnik Vanclooster, Peter L.M. Goethals. Water research in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 6: A case study in Belgium. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 277 ():124082.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Alice Alonso; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Marnik Vanclooster; Peter L.M. Goethals. 2020. "Water research in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 6: A case study in Belgium." Journal of Cleaner Production 277, no. : 124082.
Long Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. Supplementary material to "Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system". 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Ruben Jerves-Cobo, Matti Barthel, Johan Six, Samuel Bode, Pascal Boeckx, Peter Goethals. Supplementary material to "Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system". . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Supplementary material to "Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system"." , no. : 1.
Rivers act as a natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that can be released from the metabolisms of aquatic organisms. Anthropogenic activities can largely alter the chemical composition and microbial communities of rivers, consequently affecting their GHG emissions. To investigate these impacts, we assessed the emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O from Cuenca urban river system (Ecuador). High variation of the emissions was found among river tributaries that mainly depended on water quality and neighboring landscapes. By using Prati and Oregon Indexes, a clear pattern was observed between water quality and GHG emissions in which the more polluted the sites were, the higher were their emissions. When river water quality deteriorated from acceptable to very heavily polluted, their global warming potential (GWP) increased by ten times. Compared to the average estimated emissions from global streams, rivers with polluted water released almost double the estimated GWP while the proportion increased to ten times for very heavily polluted rivers. Conversely, the GWP of good-water-quality rivers was half of the estimated GWP. Furthermore, surrounding land-use types, i.e. urban, roads, and agriculture, significantly affected the river emissions. The GWP of the sites close to urban areas was four time higher than the GWP of the nature sites while this proportion for the sites close to roads or agricultural areas was triple and double, respectively. Lastly, by applying random forests, we identified dissolved oxygen, ammonium, and flow characteristics as the main important factors to the emissions. Conversely, low impact of organic matter and nitrate concentration suggested a higher role of nitrification than denitrification in producing N2O. These results highlighted the impacts of land-use types on the river emissions via water contamination by sewage discharges and surface runoff. Hence, to estimate of the emissions from global streams, both their quantity and water quality should be included.
Long Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system. 2020, 1 -22.
AMA StyleLong Ho, Ruben Jerves-Cobo, Matti Barthel, Johan Six, Samuel Bode, Pascal Boeckx, Peter Goethals. Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system. . 2020; ():1-22.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Ruben Jerves-Cobo; Matti Barthel; Johan Six; Samuel Bode; Pascal Boeckx; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Effects of land use and water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from an urban river system." , no. : 1-22.
Due to simplicity and low costs, waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs) have become one of the most popular biological wastewater treatment systems that are applied in many places around the globe. Increasingly, pond modelling has become an interesting tool to improve and optimise their performance. Unlike process-driven models, generalised linear models (GLMs) can deliver considerable practical values in specific case studies with limited resources of time, data and mechanistic understanding, especially in the case of pond systems containing vast complexity of many unknown processes. This study aimed to investigate the key driving factors of dissolved oxygen variability in Ucubamba WSP (Ecuador), by applying and comparing numerous GLMs. Particularly, using different data partitioning and cross-validation strategies, we compared the predictive accuracy of 83 GLMs. The obtained results showed that chlorophyll a had a strong impact on the dissolved oxygen (DO) level near the water surface, while organic matter could be the most influential factor on the DO variability at the bottom of the pond. Among the 83 models, the optimal models were pond- and depth-specific. Specifically, among the ponds, the models of MPs predicted DO more precisely than those of facultative ponds; while within a pond, the models of the surface performed better than those of the bottom. Using mean absolute error (MAE) and symmetric mean absolute percentage error (SMAPE) to represent model predictive performance, it was found that MAEs varied in the range of 0.22–2.75 mg L−1 in the training period and 0.74–3.54 mg L−1 in the validation period; while SMAPEs were in the range of 2.35–38.70% in the training period and 10.88–71.62% in the validation period. By providing insights into the oxygen-related processes, the findings could be valuable for future pond operation and monitoring.
Duy Tan Pham; Long Ho; Juan Espinoza-Palacios; Maria Arevalo-Durazno; Wout Van Echelpoel; Peter Goethals. Generalised Linear Models for Prediction of Dissolved Oxygen in a Waste Stabilisation Pond. Water 2020, 12, 1930 .
AMA StyleDuy Tan Pham, Long Ho, Juan Espinoza-Palacios, Maria Arevalo-Durazno, Wout Van Echelpoel, Peter Goethals. Generalised Linear Models for Prediction of Dissolved Oxygen in a Waste Stabilisation Pond. Water. 2020; 12 (7):1930.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDuy Tan Pham; Long Ho; Juan Espinoza-Palacios; Maria Arevalo-Durazno; Wout Van Echelpoel; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Generalised Linear Models for Prediction of Dissolved Oxygen in a Waste Stabilisation Pond." Water 12, no. 7: 1930.
Despite covering a small portion of the earth’s surface, lakes and reservoirs offer enormous benefits to human society, environmental well-being, and economic welfare. Previous studies have provided insights into specific subjects, yet integrated perspectives on the development of the two waterbodies are missing. To this end, we conducted a bibliometric analysis as a systematic data gathering to perform a large-scale overview and assess global trends of their scientific publications. Moreover, a second goal is to differentiate their research hotspots and current challenges given the different nature of their origin and functionality. 147,811 publications from 1955 to 2019 were retrieved from the database of the Science Citation Index Expanded, and then, divided into four research lines, (1) design and operation; (2) environment and ecology; (3) sanitation and human health; (4) socioeconomics. Bibliometric indicators showed that the number of publications sustained a rapid growth, from 100 during the 1950s to around 7800 publications per year during the past few years. The United States and EU 28 have long been world leaders in lake and reservoir research yet China has tremendously boosted its publications within the past 20 years, advancing this nation to the new world leader in both categories in 2019. Taking a closer look at research hotspots, design and operation have been the main topics for reservoir research while environment and ecology topics are the hotspots in lakes-related studies. This reflected the intensive human interventions in reservoirs, whose major purposes are to supply hydropower energy, irrigation, water storage, and aquaculture. Conversely, the impacts of eutrophication, heavy metals, and climate change have become more severe with the increase of species extinction and biodiversity loss, leading to urgent needs for lake restoration. Both freshwater bodies show comparable attention on their roles in socioeconomics while much higher concerns about sanitation and human health have been paid in reservoirs compared to its counterpart. Clear obtained distinctions in the hotspots and challenges of lake and reservoir research can contribute to better decision support systems of the two waterbodies.
Long Ho; Peter Goethals. Research hotspots and current challenges of lakes and reservoirs: a bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics 2020, 124, 603 -631.
AMA StyleLong Ho, Peter Goethals. Research hotspots and current challenges of lakes and reservoirs: a bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics. 2020; 124 (1):603-631.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Research hotspots and current challenges of lakes and reservoirs: a bibliometric analysis." Scientometrics 124, no. 1: 603-631.
Facing an unprecedented population growth, it is difficult to overstress the assets for wastewater treatment of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs), i.e. high removal efficiency, simplicity, and low cost, which have been recognized by numerous scientists and operators. However, stricter discharge standards, changes in wastewater compounds, high emissions of greenhouse gases, and elevated land prices have led to their replacements in many places. This review aims at delivering a comprehensive overview of the historical development and current state of WSPs, and providing further insights to deal with their limitations in the future. The 21st century is witnessing changes in the way of approaching conventional problems in pond technology, in which WSPs should no longer be considered as a low treatment technology. Advanced models and technologies have been integrated for better design, control, and management. The roles of algae, which have been crucial as solar-powered aeration, will continue being a key solution. Yet, the separation of suspended algae to avoid deterioration of the effluent remains a major challenge in WSPs while in the case of high algal rate pond, further research is needed to maximize algal growth yield, select proper strains, and optimize harvesting methods to put algal biomass production in practice. Significant gaps need to be filled in understanding mechanisms of greenhouse gas emission, climate change mitigation, pond ecosystem services, and the fate and toxicity of emerging contaminants. From these insights, adaptation strategies are developed to deal with new opportunities and future challenges.
Long Ho; Peter L.M. Goethals. Municipal wastewater treatment with pond technology: Historical review and future outlook. Ecological Engineering 2020, 148, 105791 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Peter L.M. Goethals. Municipal wastewater treatment with pond technology: Historical review and future outlook. Ecological Engineering. 2020; 148 ():105791.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Peter L.M. Goethals. 2020. "Municipal wastewater treatment with pond technology: Historical review and future outlook." Ecological Engineering 148, no. : 105791.
Though aquaculture plays an important role in providing foods and healthy diets, there are concerns regarding the environmental sustainability of prevailing practices. This study examines the trends and changes in fisheries originating from aquaculture production in Thailand and provides insights into such production’s environmental impacts and sustainability. Together with an extensive literature review, we investigated a time series of Thai aquaculture production data from 1995 to 2015. Overall, Thai aquaculture production has significantly increased during the last few decades and significantly contributed to socio-economic development. Estimates of total aquaculture production in Thailand have gradually grown from around 0.6 to 0.9 million tons over the last twenty years. Farmed shrimp is the main animal aquatic product, accounting for an estimated 40% of total yields of aquaculture production, closely followed by fish (38%) and mollusk (22%). Estimates over the past decades indicate that around 199470 ha of land is used for aquaculture farming. Out of the total area, 61% is used for freshwater farms, and 39% is used for coastal farms. However, this industry has contributed to environmental degradation, such as habitat destruction, water pollution, and ecological effects. Effective management strategies are urgently needed to minimize the environmental impacts of aquaculture and to ensure it maximally contributes to planetary health. Innovative and practical solutions that rely on diverse technology inputs and smart market-based management approaches that are designed for environmentally friendly aquaculture farming can be the basis for viable long-term solutions for the future.
Tiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Carl Lachat; Nantida Sutummawong; Patrick Sorgeloos; Peter Goethals. Aquaculture Production and Its Environmental Sustainability in Thailand: Challenges and Potential Solutions. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2010 .
AMA StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit, Long Ho, Carl Lachat, Nantida Sutummawong, Patrick Sorgeloos, Peter Goethals. Aquaculture Production and Its Environmental Sustainability in Thailand: Challenges and Potential Solutions. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (5):2010.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Carl Lachat; Nantida Sutummawong; Patrick Sorgeloos; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Aquaculture Production and Its Environmental Sustainability in Thailand: Challenges and Potential Solutions." Sustainability 12, no. 5: 2010.
The fisheries sector significantly contributes to global food security, nutrition, and livelihood of people. Its importance for economic benefits, healthy diets, and nutrition, and achieving sustainable food systems is highlighted by several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e., SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). However, due to unprecedented population levels, the contribution of the fisheries sector to fulfills these roles is challenging, particularly given additional concerns regarding environmental well-being and sustainability. From this perspective, this study aims to identify the links and trade-offs between the development of this sector and the environmental sustainability in Thailand via a critical analysis of their trends, current ecological impacts, and more importantly, their contributions to several individual SDGs. A time-series of Thailand’s fisheries production from 1995 to 2015 indicates a recent reduction from around 3.0 million tons in 1995 to 1.5 million tons in 2015 of wild fish and shellfish from marine and freshwater habitats. The maximum sustainable yield of these species has been exceeded. Conversely, Thailand’s aquaculture production has continued to grow over the last decade, resulting in a reduction of mangrove forest area, wild fish stocks, and water quality. While capture fisheries and aquaculture production significantly contribute to several SDG targets, there are potential trade-offs between their development and the achievement of SDGs within the planet dimension, i.e., SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14, and SDG 15 (Life on Land). On the one hand, the mitigation of overfishing will be beneficial for the targets of SDG 14, leading to more sustainable resource management. On the other hand, it might cause a decrease in the volume of marine catches and economic and social profits. We conclude that the SDGs can serve as a framework for both policymakers and industrial workers to monitor and compromise on regulations that will optimize productivity in the context of sustainable development.
Tiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Wout Van Echelpoel; Carl Lachat; Peter Goethals. Links and Trade-Offs between Fisheries and Environmental Protection in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals in Thailand. Water 2020, 12, 399 .
AMA StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit, Long Ho, Wout Van Echelpoel, Carl Lachat, Peter Goethals. Links and Trade-Offs between Fisheries and Environmental Protection in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals in Thailand. Water. 2020; 12 (2):399.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTiptiwa Sampantamit; Long Ho; Wout Van Echelpoel; Carl Lachat; Peter Goethals. 2020. "Links and Trade-Offs between Fisheries and Environmental Protection in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals in Thailand." Water 12, no. 2: 399.
Education can help secure inclusive and resilient development around water resources. However, it is difficult to provide the latest science to those managing water resources (both now and in the future). Collectively, we hypothesize that dissemination and promotion of scientific knowledge using students as central agents to transfer theoretical knowledge into practice is an efficient way to address this difficulty. In this study, we test this hypothesis in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region as a representative case study region. First, we use a literature review to map a potential gap in research on education around water resources across the LAC region. We then review potential best practices to address this gap and to better translate water resources education techniques into the LAC region. Integral to these efforts is adopting students as agents for information transfer to help bridge the gap between the global state-of-the science and local water resources management. Our results highlight the need to establish a new standard of higher educational promoting exchange between countries as local populations are vulnerable to future shifts in climate at global scales and changes in land usage at regional scales. The new standard should include peer-to-peer mentoring achieved by jointly exchanging and training students and practitioners in water management techniques, increasing access to water data and pedagogic information across the region, and lowering administration roadblocks that prevent student exchange.
Steve W. Lyon; Peter Goethals; Petra Schneider; Luis Dominguez-Granda; Henrietta Hampel; Norris Lam; Indira Nolivos; Frido Reinstorf; Raymundo C. Rodríguez Tejeda; Raúl F. Vázquez; Long Ho. Improving Water Management Education across the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Water 2019, 11, 2318 .
AMA StyleSteve W. Lyon, Peter Goethals, Petra Schneider, Luis Dominguez-Granda, Henrietta Hampel, Norris Lam, Indira Nolivos, Frido Reinstorf, Raymundo C. Rodríguez Tejeda, Raúl F. Vázquez, Long Ho. Improving Water Management Education across the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Water. 2019; 11 (11):2318.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSteve W. Lyon; Peter Goethals; Petra Schneider; Luis Dominguez-Granda; Henrietta Hampel; Norris Lam; Indira Nolivos; Frido Reinstorf; Raymundo C. Rodríguez Tejeda; Raúl F. Vázquez; Long Ho. 2019. "Improving Water Management Education across the Latin America and Caribbean Region." Water 11, no. 11: 2318.
Emerging global threats, such as biological invasions, climate change, land use intensification, and water depletion, endanger the sustainable future of lakes and reservoirs. To deal with these threats, a multidimensional view on the protection and exploitation of lakes and reservoirs is needed. The holistic approach needs to contain not just the development of economy and society but also take into account the negative impacts of this growth on the environment, from that, the balance between the three dimensions can be sustained to reach a sustainable future. As such, this paper provides a comprehensive review on future opportunities and challenges for the sustainable development of lakes and reservoirs via a critical analysis on their contribution to individual and subsets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Currently, lakes and reservoirs are key freshwater resources. They play crucial roles in human societies for drinking water provision, food production (via fisheries, aquaculture, and the irrigation of agricultural lands), recreation, energy provision (via hydropower dams), wastewater treatment, and flood and drought control. Because of the (mostly) recent intensive exploitations, many lakes and reservoirs are severely deteriorated. In recent years, physical (habitat) degradation has become very important while eutrophication remains the main issue for many lakes and ponds worldwide. Besides constant threats from anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization, industry, aquaculture, and watercourse alterations, climate change and emerging contaminants, such as microplastics and antimicrobial resistance, can generate a global problem for the sustainability of lakes and reservoirs. In relation to the SDGs, the actions for achieving the sustainability of lakes and reservoirs have positive links with the SDGs related to environmental dimensions (Goals 6, 13, 14, and 15) as they are mutually reinforcing each other. On the other hand, these actions have direct potential conflicts with the SDGs related to social and economic dimensions (Goals 1, 2, 3 and 8). From these interlinkages, we propose 22 indicators that can be used by decision makers for monitoring and assessing the sustainable development of lakes and reservoirs.
Long T. Ho; Peter L. M. Goethals. Opportunities and Challenges for the Sustainability of Lakes and Reservoirs in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Water 2019, 11, 1462 .
AMA StyleLong T. Ho, Peter L. M. Goethals. Opportunities and Challenges for the Sustainability of Lakes and Reservoirs in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Water. 2019; 11 (7):1462.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong T. Ho; Peter L. M. Goethals. 2019. "Opportunities and Challenges for the Sustainability of Lakes and Reservoirs in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." Water 11, no. 7: 1462.
The fragility of geographically isolated islands stresses the necessity of evaluating the current situation, identifying temporal trends and suggesting appropriate conservation measures. To support this, we assessed the freshwater quality of three stream basins on San Cristóbal (Galapagos) for two consecutive years. Abiotic conditions generally complied with existing guidelines, except for the pH in the Cerro Gato basin (0.12 mg P L−1). Macroinvertebrate communities were characterized by low family richness (3–11) and were dominated by Atyidae or Chironomidae, thereby causing low diversity (0.33–1.65). Spatial analysis via principal component analysis (PCA) illustrated that abiotic differences between stream basins were mostly related to turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and conductivity. Biotic differences were less clear due to masking by anthropogenic disturbances and dispersal limitations, yet indicated a negative effect of reduced pH and DO on Atyidae presence. In 2017, significantly narrower ranges were found for turbidity, temperature, pH, and diversity (p < 0.01), suggesting a decrease in habitat variability and a need for conservation measures, including mitigating measures related to dam construction for water extraction. As such, further follow-up is highly recommended for the sustainable development and environmental protection of this unique archipelago.
Wout Van Echelpoel; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Christine Van Der Heyden; Rafael Bermúdez; Long Ho; Andrea Mishell Rosado-Moncayo; Rebeca Nathaly Parra Narea; Luis E. Dominguez Granda; Danny Sanchez; Peter L. M. Goethals; Echelpoel; Heyden; Ho. Spatial Characteristics and Temporal Evolution of Chemical and Biological Freshwater Status as Baseline Assessment on the Tropical Island San Cristóbal (Galapagos, Ecuador). Water 2019, 11, 880 .
AMA StyleWout Van Echelpoel, Marie Anne Eurie Forio, Christine Van Der Heyden, Rafael Bermúdez, Long Ho, Andrea Mishell Rosado-Moncayo, Rebeca Nathaly Parra Narea, Luis E. Dominguez Granda, Danny Sanchez, Peter L. M. Goethals, Echelpoel, Heyden, Ho. Spatial Characteristics and Temporal Evolution of Chemical and Biological Freshwater Status as Baseline Assessment on the Tropical Island San Cristóbal (Galapagos, Ecuador). Water. 2019; 11 (5):880.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWout Van Echelpoel; Marie Anne Eurie Forio; Christine Van Der Heyden; Rafael Bermúdez; Long Ho; Andrea Mishell Rosado-Moncayo; Rebeca Nathaly Parra Narea; Luis E. Dominguez Granda; Danny Sanchez; Peter L. M. Goethals; Echelpoel; Heyden; Ho. 2019. "Spatial Characteristics and Temporal Evolution of Chemical and Biological Freshwater Status as Baseline Assessment on the Tropical Island San Cristóbal (Galapagos, Ecuador)." Water 11, no. 5: 880.
The design and execution of effective and informative experiments in comparative studies on water treatment is challenging due to their complexity and multidisciplinarity. Often, environmental engineers and researchers carefully set up their experiments based on literature information, available equipment and time, analytical methods and experimental operations. However, because of time constraints but mainly missing insight, they overlook the value of preliminary experiments, as well as statistical and modeling techniques in experimental design. In this paper, the crucial roles of these overlooked techniques are highlighted in a practical protocol with a focus on comparative studies on water treatment optimization. By integrating a detailed experimental design, lab experiment execution, and advanced data analysis, more relevant conclusions and recommendations are likely to be delivered, hence, we can maximize the outputs of these precious and numerous experiments. The protocol underlines the crucial role of three key steps, including preliminary study, predictive modeling, and statistical analysis, which are strongly recommended to avoid suboptimal designs and even the failure of experiments, leading to wasted resources and disappointing results. The applicability and relevance of this protocol is demonstrated in a case study comparing the performance of conventional activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds in a shock load scenario. From that, it is advised that in the experimental design, the aim is to make best possible use of the statistical and modeling tools but not lose sight of a scientific understanding of the water treatment processes and practical feasibility.
Long Ho; Olivier Thas; Wout Van Echelpoel; Peter Goethals. A Practical Protocol for the Experimental Design of Comparative Studies on Water Treatment. Water 2019, 11, 162 .
AMA StyleLong Ho, Olivier Thas, Wout Van Echelpoel, Peter Goethals. A Practical Protocol for the Experimental Design of Comparative Studies on Water Treatment. Water. 2019; 11 (1):162.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLong Ho; Olivier Thas; Wout Van Echelpoel; Peter Goethals. 2019. "A Practical Protocol for the Experimental Design of Comparative Studies on Water Treatment." Water 11, no. 1: 162.