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1 A general map showing the Central Asian Republics (Image Google Maps)
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Deforestation is a plague that is not new to the earth, but it has certainly accelerated in the past few decades. A reduction in the number of forest canopies has increased at an alarming rate. Forestry is important because of its eminent use as biofuels, as source of food and earnings, and in mitigating climatic changes. This global problem needs...
Citations
... The main changes in the original survey were related to national classifications (land use sub-categories and sub-divisions) and the addition of elements commonly observed in high-resolution images, such as glaciers. An additional tab was designed to evaluate erosion, a significant driver and threat of land degradation, and a barrier to sustainable land management and development in the country (Khan et al., 2018;Wang et al., 2020). The final survey, which was available in English, has a total of 7 tabs (Fig. 4). ...
... Moreover, forests in the country are also protected as natural areas. Describing trends in the amount of land allocated to agricultural use is vital to understanding land use change, primarily because agriculture has been viewed as the primary driver of deforestation worldwide (Khan et al., 2018). ...
The Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) is one of the countries most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in Central Asia. The land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector is critical in climate change mitigation in Kyrgyzstan and is integral to national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. However, consistent, complete, and updated activity data is required for the LULUCF sector to develop a transparent GHG inventory. Collect Earth (CE), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is a free, user-friendly, and open-source tool for collecting activity data for the LULUCF sector. CE assists countries in developing GHG inventories by providing consistent and complete land representation. This article reports an estimate of land use and land-use change dynamics in Kyrgyzstan, based on analyzing 13,414 1-hectare (ha) sampling units through an augmented visual interpretation approach using satellite imagery at the very high spatial and temporal resolution available through the Google Earth platform. The results show that in 2019, forests covered 1.36 million ha or 6.83% of the total land with a 6.23% uncertainty. This estimate was 5 to 16% higher than previous estimates, detecting an additional 63,024 to 188,164 ha of forestland that had not been reported previously. The new estimates suggest an average increase of 10.4% in the current forestlands of Kyrgyzstan.
... Other areas of human interventions are little extractions of natural resources (Constantinescu, 2015) and changing landscapes through deforestation, requiring learners to use them sustainably for future generations. Deforestation causes are urbanization, illegal logging, and dam construction, which are the direct causes and other means for large corporations to benefit (Khan et al., 2018). ...
Abstract
The thesis explored the current research and the significance of teaching human values and bioethics in schools and universities. This thesis argues that facilitating teaching to nurture understanding real life context and related values, and ethical virtues for human well-being and nature’s restoration will transform our environment. This study resonates with why a synthesis of several dimensions of knowledge and decisions led by critical thinking both locally and globally is essential for understanding sustainability concepts and is imperative for human survival, especially where the environment is concerned. Emergent studies also demonstrate the significance of teaching for the affective dimensions in students.
The repeated occurrences of pandemics and natural disasters such as climate change teach us what it means to be degenerative versus being regenerative, to have order versus disorder and the need to reorganize our psychological and emotional minds as reflected by the nuerosciences and lessons addressing human values and ethics for the environment. This study captures and synthesizes the ideas and knowledge of several years of research and successful practices to help society understand the significance of human values and ethics in human life in the role of biotic environment. Integrating philosophical ideas into scientific disciplines will be the next step in such transformative learning. The wisdom of time from philosophers, uniting all the dimensions of life are summarised using thematic analysis to form a model.
The first objective is to explore the literature for integrating human values in primary schools and bioethics in secondary schools and universities from lessons learnt and best practices and findings of studies. The second objective is to identify pedagogical strategies for online educational resources for teaching bioethics in schools and Universities. The third objective is to create a model for teaching both schools and universities by integrating Bioethics. The review of several studies indicates that while there is a vast literature on teaching human values and bioethics in various fields, integrating human Values and bioethics in subjects empowers students to nurture the environment and can be taught using online education.
Keywords: Teaching model, Bioethics, Human Values, Environmental Education, Teaching pedagogies; Sustainable development
... The majority of deforestation is also the result of the growth of the manufacturing and housing sectors owing to the process of urbanization. Khan et al. (2018) stated that human activities in forest areas have caused many problems including landslides, deforestation, floods, global warming, and the loss of habitats for flora and fauna. In Malaysia, trees are logged for their economic value but where this has occurred without sustainable forest management it has resulted in the extinction of high-value species of flora and fauna, social and economic problems, and unstable and unproductive forests (Jhariya andRaj 2014, Noranida 2018). ...
Protecting forests and their wildlife from threats such as encroachment, illegal logging and poaching is vital to safeguard their existence for future generations, and is crucial for the balance of our ecosystem. The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) currently has a man-made forest under its protection where the forest area is managed sustainably and systematically to ensure the ecosystem in Kuala Lumpur remains in balance. In order to assess forest conservation and its impacts on the urban community, this study focuses on the level of public awareness for forest conservation and willingness to pay (WTP) to maintain the area. The importance and value of a forest are determined using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The mean WTP is affected by household income and education level. This research provides a guideline for stakeholders in forest areas and evaluates public awareness via their WTP for forest conservation. Moreover, knowledge of forest conservation by communities helps governments in resolving common problems relating to forestry policy, administration, and management.
... Conversion of steppes to arable agricultural and cotton fields has resulted in a direct loss of habitat, and unsustainable agricultural practices have accelerated the process of desertification. Unregulated deforestation in woodlands, riparian tugai forests, and mountain forests has greatly exacerbated deforestation (Khan et al., 2018). Overgrazing by domestic livestock on the remaining fragile habitats, such as stony and hilly steppe zones, has caused the conversion of steppes and wetlands to wastelands. ...
The geographical region of Central Asia comprises Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Central Asia’s temperate forests, steppes, and sandy deserts, including riparian tugai forests, have been identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature as Global 200 ecoregions, and the Mountains of Central Asia are considered biodiversity hotspots. Here, we describe and analyze the diverse characteristics and utilization of plant diversity and resources of the region. We confirm that there are 9520 species of higher plants, 20% of which are endemic species, belonging to 138 families and 1176 genera. The vegetation geography of Central Asia can be divided into 5 provinces and 33 districts, and more than 65% species have a Central Asian geographical distribution pattern. Plant resource utilization can be grouped into 5 categories and 31 subcategories, including food, medicine, industry, environmental protection, construction, and plant germplasm. In this review, we also discuss the principal threats to plant biodiversity in Central Asia posed by global climate change and offer recommendations for conservation strategies.
Human-induced actions aggravate forest degradation and result in carbon emissions. Increment of carbon emission raises land surface temperature (LST) and contributes to climate change. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of forest cover change on carbon stocks, carbon emissions and LST over the period 1992–2022 using geospatial techniques in the Sor watershed, Western Ethiopia. The results revealed that forest land declined by 336.6 km2 due to the expansion of agricultural land with an area of 274.9 km2. Results show a decline in carbon stock of 58,883.4 tons/km2 while annual carbon emission exhibited an increasing trend of 2,418,083.91 tons to the atmosphere over the past three decades. As vegetation declined, LST increased by an average of 3.7 °C over the past three decades. All actors, including government and non-governmental organizations, should contribute to tree planting and reafforestation programmes to minimize the increasing trend of LST and carbon emissions. Furthermore, we need to build a climate-resilient green economy to protect people from the negative impacts of climate change.
HIGHLIGHTS
Geospatial technology is used to evaluate the effects of forest cover change on carbon stock degradation.;
Forest land declined by 336.6 km2 due to the expansion of agricultural land with an area of 274.9 km2.;
Carbon stock declined by 58,883.4 tons/km2 while annual carbon emission exhibited an increasing trend of 2,418,083.91 tons.;
The floodplain areas along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan are essential as they hold the riparian (local) ecosystems because they provide firewood, pastureland, and areas for recreation and protection against erosion. Due to limited access to adequate, reliable, and sustainable energy services, the rural population usually derived their energy needs from multiple natural energy resources (i.e., firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung, and wood branches). This is considered a common and predominant practice in rural Kyrgyzstan. This situation leads to a negative impact on local ecosystem services. In addition to that, the reliance on solid fuels contributes to indoor and outdoor air pollution, which is partially threatening the local ecosystem services. By contrast, the employment of renewable-based energy supply systems would substantially reduce the burden on the environment, which is mainly untapped. To integrate renewable energies, it is important to understand the energy behavior of floodplain communities. In that response, the presented article is the first attempt to capture the energy identity of the floodplain community of Kyrgyzstan based on a quantitative energy-based (on-site) household survey. Furthermore, the present research article synthesizes the driving factors that have a (direct or indirect) impact on the energy and local ecosystem services. In addition, the present article proposes a brief pathway for the sustainable energy transition. The article records the recommendation to integrate renewable energies to preserve the local ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan.
Forests are important terrestrial carbon sinks and help in mitigating the emissions of CO2, and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). Besides, it provides multiple ecosystem goods and services including livelihood security, socio-economic development, ecosystem functioning, biodiversity maintenance, carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation. Population explosion, land-use change for agriculture, industry, urbanization, and improper forest management are considered as the major reasons responsible for the acceleration of forest degradation. Shifting cultivation, the traditional land-use technique is another leading cause of global tropical forests degradation. Deforestation and forest degradation set off a series of environmental changes that significantly reduce the valuable provisioning services and also affect locally to global biodiversity. It is responsible for ca. 15% of all GHGs emissions contribute to rising global temperatures, changes in weather patterns, and an increased frequency of extreme weather events. Climate changes can alter wildlife habitats and decrease the availability of food and water. Besides, it is responsible for increased soil erosion, disruption of nutrients and water cycle, disrupted livelihood. Investment in natural ecosystems, through reduced carbon emissions from deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), and reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, and other forest-related activities (REDD + ) related strategies, contributes significantly to GHGs emissions reduction and forest carbon stocks enhancement. It also generates possible sources of livelihood security for the poor tribal communities that provide financial incentives to prevent deforestation and additional benefits for the conservation, management, and restoration of forests. However, forest landscape restoration (FLR) enhances the ecological integrity of deforested or degraded landscapes and also improves human well-being using nature-based solutions (NbS) such as plantation, agroforestry, erosion control, and natural forest regeneration. In this chapter, major ecological disturbances that cause forest degradation and deforestation have been discussed in detail along with FLR to enhance the ecological integrity of deforested landscapes and some policy interventions.KeywordsDeforestationClimate changeForest degradationNature-based solutionForest landscape restoration (FLR)
