In this study, the risks to aquatic organisms posed by 12 commonly detected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that are extensively used in Bohai coastal region of China were examined. These were linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), nonylphenol (NP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), norfloxacin (NOR), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), erythromycin (ERY), bisphenol A (BPA), ofloxacin (OFL), carbamazepine (CBZ), naproxen (NPX), atenolol (ATL) and metoprolol (MET). Their relative risk was ranked based on the proximity between the medians of the reported effect concentrations and measured river or lake water concentrations. The surfactants (LAS) and endocrine disrupting chemicals NP (a breakdown product of the surfactant nonylphenol polyethoxylate) and DEHP (a plasticizer) were identified as posing the greatest risk from this range of chemicals. LAS had a hundred-fold higher risk than any of the pharmaceuticals. The highest risk ranked pharmaceuticals were all antibiotics. Zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg) were added to the comparison as representative heavy metals. Zn posed a risk higher than all the organics. The risk posed by Hg was less than the surfactants but greater than the selected pharmaceuticals. Whereas LAS and DEHP could cause harmful effects to all the wildlife groups, NP and BPA posed the greatest risk to fish. Antibiotics showed the highest risk to algae. Spatial and temporal distributions of PPCPs and EDCs were conducted for risk identification, source analysis and seasonal change exploration. Municipal sewage effluent linked to urban areas was considered to be the major source of pharmaceuticals. With regard to seasonal influence the risk posed by LAS to the aquatic organisms was significantly affected by wet and dry seasonal change. The dilution effects were the common feature of LAS and ERY risks. The difference in LAS and ERY risk patterns along the rivers was mainly affected by the elimination process.

Introduction: Phosphorus (P) is an essential element in food production. P consumption is increasing over the years due to increasing population and increasing demand for agricultural yields. Managing the agricultural P through the understanding of bioavailability, transport, and runoff will maximize the soil productivity and minimize the environmental effects. Efficient management in agriculture, governance, and lack of integrated international governance need to be addressed to overcome the P scarcity issue. Results and Discussions: This article is focusing one such efficient management of P resource addressing the major portion of phosphorus which is unnoticed in agricultural residues, manures, and other sources. Increasing cost of phosphate fertilizer, a scarcity of high-quality phosphate rock (PR), and increasing surface water pollution are driving a need to accelerate the recovery and reuse of phosphorus (P) from various waste sectors. Options to recover P occur all along the open P cycle from mining to households to oceans. However, P recovery as a regional and global strategy toward P sustainability and future food, bio energy, and water security are in its infancy because of a number of technological, socioeconomic, and institutional constraints. Resolving these constraints requires concerted collaboration between relevant stakeholders and an integrated approach combining successful business models with socioeconomic and institutional changes.

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline approaches, UN member states have established a new, universal set of goals, i.e., Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to develop a global vision for sustainable development, balancing economic growth, social development, and environmental protection over the next fifteen years. There is a need to give specific attention, dependent on the capacities of nations and other national circumstances, to the different goals and targets. Focused guidelines and priorities are essential requirements for the achievement of the SDGs. The five priorities for the SDGs proposed by Lu et al. (2015) are of great significance to the participating communities, as they present the right directions for the proper functioning of the Sustainable Development Goals. There will be significant challenges for developing countries to put the five priorities into practice, depending on their policies and other national settings. This article addresses the major challenges that may be faced by developing nations when implementing the SDGs.