Current Advances in Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Vol. 7

The Regiotram de Occidente It has been one of the largest innovations and development projects for the department of Cundinamarca in Colombia, since over the years and due to the great growth of the population in the area of influence of this sector of the country, transport of the inhabitants has caused great conflict, that is why this book chapter will demonstrate how the environmental impact assessment is related and its direct relationship with the sustainable development objectives (SDG) in the execution and construction of high impact for the environment in this sector of the country (Colombia), planting the relationship that this has with Latin American trains [1].

Many countries around the world are becoming more aware of climatic changes, rising pollution, and resource scarcity, forecasting their impact on humanity's future and proposing solutions to slow down these processes. The concept of resilient and smart cities has gained enormous popularity as a result of the widespread urbanization of our planet. And while some nations are still at a theoretical level, others are already taking action since they have better developed thinking and technological capabilities as well as a higher awareness of the significance of this issue. The UN has set the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union gives guidelines on how cities across Europe can improve to become more sustainable and resilient for future social and natural challenges. This text introduces several good examples of various actions taken in European countries to make their cities more resilient, sustainable, and enjoyable to live in. In contrast, the concept of resilient and smart cities is still in its infancy in the cities of developing European countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. The authors introduce Sarajevo's potential as well as smaller projects that are starting points in the process of improving the city's habitat, climate, and transformation into a smart and sustainable city. The objective of this work is to show how each city, no matter its size, geographical location or the economic development can implement certain projects towards the sustainability. The aim is also to give hints through the introduction of several European examples how things can be done in Sarajevo in future. The conclusion, provides a comparison between the achievements of other European cities and examples from Sarajevo, offering ideas for future projects that could be implemented in the city in anticipation of becoming a better living place for its inhabitants.

Plants play a very important role in maintaining the ecological balance and mitigating air pollution. Along with developmental activities, air pollution is increasing alarmingly in urban areas. The tolerant species of plants/trees function as pollution sink, therefore several environmental benefits can be desired by planting tolerant plant species in polluted areas. For this purpose, evaluation of plant species concerning their tolerance level to air pollution in the form of an air pollution tolerance index may be essential. The urban forestry and plantation programs will give the best results to mitigate air pollution if they plant tolerant plant species in severely polluted urban and industrial areas, and also they can maintain the air quality, soil fertility, and ecological balance.

Natural biopolymer proteins derived from fibrous insoluble collagen are widely used by a wide range of industries because of their ability to stabilize and to be handled easily. Scientists are interested in finding alternative polymers of plastic that provide food safety as well as being environmentally friendly. In this study, an investigation was carried out to determine the property of gelatin as a bioplastic polymer for substitute of synthetic film. This polymer is widely used as packing materials because of their good degradability and sustainability. In the laboratory, gelatin-based biofilms are produced by solution casting in petri dishes. The results of prepared biofilms shows week tensile strength (6.38 ± 0.20) and Break point elongation (611 ± 0.56) with activation energy 17 kJ/mol. However, 80% degradation achieved in gelatin biofilm with significant protection provided by gelatin coatings on food materials. Therefore, for strength, it is recommended that to be mixed with a certain amount of synthesis and gelatin polymer, so it meets all the packing industry's performance requirements.

The North East India falls in zone V according to the seismic zonation map of India (BIS, 2002). The frequency of occurrence of moderate and large magnitude earthquakes is significantly high throughout the region. The major tectonic blocks constituting the NE India are the Assam-Arakan Folded Belts, the Arunachal Himalayas, the Mishmi Massif, the Shillong – Mikir plateau and the North – South Fold Belts of Tripura and the adjacent Bengal Alluvial Basin. Most of the events falling in the tectonic domains of the eastern Himalayas including Mishmi massif, Naga Hills, Shillong-Mikir Plateau, Surma basin and adjacent Bengal Alluvial Plains are of crustal origin (h<70km) except for a few events in the N-W trending wedge shaped block lying between the Kopili and Bomdila faults.

Seismic site factor or site amplification measurement has been recognized as the  most  accepted  tool  in  seismic  hazard  assessment  and  risk  evaluation taking into account the source and site conditions considering all probable hazards mapped in a much larger scale. Therefore, seismic site response study and preparation of seismic microzonation maps for highly populated urban areas  of  NE  India  is  considered  as  a  measure  of  site-specific  hazard estimation. Tezpur is the administrative headquarter of Sonitpur district and it is an up growing city.   The urban Tezpur lies to the northern extremity of the seismically active Mikir Plateau, and bounded by a complex tectonic regime. It is bordered with MBT to the north, Mikir Hills to the south – southeast, Assam valley to the ENE and Kopili lineament to the west characterized by intense intra plate seismic activity.

Coastal Agroecosystem (Pokkali Farming) has been identified with a high waterbird density. In this study, we analysed the waterbird diversity and their current threats in Pokkali farming during February 2021- January 2022. Bird survey was carried out using the Direct Observation Method, Point Count Method and Line Transect Method. A total of 31 species of waterbirds belonging to 8 orders and 14 families were recorded. All bird species are included in Least Concern of the IUCN Category except three species. Three bird species are Globally Threatened ones and these are recorded from Pokali wetland. They are: Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster), Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) and Black headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus). Most threats to birds are the cause of human actions. The leading threats observed in our sampling site are Habitat destruction, Electric lines, Fishing nets inside the water affects mainly cormorants, Feral dogs and other Predators, Communication tower, flood, climate change, hunting of waterbirds, loss of employees, Solid waste, plastics, water hyacinth, water and soil pollution.

Rhyodacite and mafic volcanics are the principal hosts of the gold mineralization at the Tondabo prospect, which is located in the northern portion of the Oume-Toumodi-Fettekro greenstone belt (volcanic lavas and volcanoclastites). These rocks underwent a hydrothermal alteration that was characterised by quartz veins and veinlets containing carbonates, sericite, epidote, and sulphide crystals. By silicifying, chloritizing, carbonating, and sericitizing the feldspars, this hydrothermal alteration brought about a ubiquitous alteration of the nearby bodies. Pyrite is prevalent in the metalliferous paragenesis, but pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite are rare. This mineralization suggests that lithological control is present at the Tondabo gold potential. To further understand the features of the Tondabo mineralization, our work combines results from lithostructural analysisand gold analyses. The mineralized deposits are generally affected by a S1 schistosity oriented mainly N000-010\(^{\circ}\) and minority N040-050\(^{\circ}\) with a general dip of 60\(^{\circ}\)- 80\(^{\circ}\) to the West; however with rare N-S orientations with a dip of 60\(^{\circ}\)- 80\(^{\circ}\) to the East. Drilling intervals reveal that the quartz-carbonates veins and veinlets that are found in the highly deformed zones that constitute local shear zones are associated with the highest gold concentrations.

Landscapes are the result of interactions, on a number of scales, between ecological processes, economic activities and the administrative and political organisation of society. Therefore, as a consequence of human transformations over time, some landscapes may contain residual degraded habitats hosting historical natural biodiversity that we may call "biodiversity heritage relicts". From this perspective, the aim of the paper is to describe an applicative approach to ecological restoration in social-ecological landscapes. The strategy involves employing GIS analysis along with field work and phytosociological techniques to restore vegetation. The process involves experts and stakeholders in order to strengthen the measures' resilience through time and consolidate the value of the landscape. The approach was applied in the municipality of Campi Salentina, Puglia region, Italy, and the result was the restoration of an important riparian habitat classified under Directive 92/43/EEC as “Salix alba and Populus alba galleries” (code 92A0), which had not previously been recorded in the Salento. In this case, the project re-established a natural habitat that represented a “biodiversity heritage relict” in the landscape, i.e. a community that had been present in the past but had become fragmented and partially destroyed by agricultural activity. The paper shows that the direct application of GIS analysis alone may not be sufficient to achieve ecological restoration in a social-ecological system on a local scale. The efficiency of ecological restoration efforts can be increased by using a phytosociological approach in conjunction with direct knowledge of the environment and the capacity to recognise "biodiversity heritage relicts." Integration of social and institutional elements into initiatives also contributes to the sustainability of the measures over time.  Indeed, an ecological restoration project unfolding within a Socio-Ecological System requires institutions that value creativity and flexibility, viewing such projects as experiments for learning and acquiring new knowledge, and recognise the importance of participation as the key to successful measures.