Protecting the environment and the Earth's natural resources is one of the most important tasks for modern societies, economies, and countries. Changes in the environment have made climate protection a key task of state policy implemented at the local, national, and international. They also have caused such negative social manifestations as environmental radicalism and terrorism. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the capacity of state institutions to prevent environmental terrorism and radicalism, particularly in the Russian context, by identifying and prioritizing key challenges and countermeasures. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a total of 35 articles and reviews were selected to provide a foundation for understanding eco-terrorism trends. Additionally, an expert survey was conducted with 44 qualified participants to rank problems and recommended actions. The Kendall concordance coefficient was used to assess the consistency of expert opinions. The authors conclude that low environmental awareness and insufficient cooperation between state institutions and environmental organizations are the most significant challenges in preventing eco-terrorism. To adequately and competently prevent environmental terrorism and radicalism in society, the prevention system must be based on clear and thoughtful actions by state institutions.
Nowadays, urban ecosystems require major transformations aimed at addressing the current challenges of urbanization. In recent decades, policy makers have increasingly turned their attention to the smart city paradigm, recognizing its potential to promote positive changes. The smart city, through the conscious use of technologies and sustainability principles, allows for urban development. The scientific literature on smart cities as catalysts of public value continues to develop rapidly and there is a need to systematize its knowledge structure. Through a three-phase methodological approach, combining bibliometric, network and content analyses, this study provides a systematic review of the scientific literature in this field. The bibliometric results showed that public value is experiencing an evolutionary trend in smart cities, representing a challenging research topic for scholars. Network analysis of keyword co-occurrences identified five different clusters of related topics in the analyzed field. Content analysis revealed a strong focus on stakeholder engagement as a lever to co-create public value and a greater emphasis on social equity over technological innovation and environmental protection. Furthermore, it was observed that although environmental concerns were prioritized during the policy planning phase, their importance steadily decreased as the operational phases progressed.
More and more scholars are paying attention to the economic and environmental responsibilities undertaken by firms. Firm sustainability has become a hot topic in current research. This article aims to analyze the impact of various dimensions of digital green technology innovation on firm sustainability. The “digital green technology innovation” in this research is a new variable explored based on previous research, and the five dimensions of the variable are created based on the POLE theory. This research uses authoritative Chinese databases to collect data on various dimensions of digital green technology innovation and sustainable development of companies, and uses a fixed effects model for regression analysis. The results indicate that the implementation of various dimensions of digital green technology innovation will promote the firm sustainability. Moreover, in firms with strong profitability, this performance is significantly better than in those with weak profitability.
Over the last few decades, demographic growth combined with poorly controlled urbanization has confronted African cities with a variety of environmental protection challenges. As part of a gradual awareness-raising process, African countries have ratified conventions and adopted a series of laws to protect the environment. Since independence (1960), Gabon has adopted legal instruments to provide a better framework for environmental protection. Despite the existence of well-developed legislation, the Libreville conurbation faces difficulties in waste management. This situation contributes to the degradation of the coastal zone. This study aims to analyse stakeholders’ perceptions of environmental protection regulations in solid waste management practices along the coastline of the Libreville metropolitan area in Gabon. The methodology includes documentary research, field observations, and surveys of 300 study area participants. The results show that the degradation of the coastline is due to a lack of awareness and compliance with the laws governing environmental protection and waste management. As a result, waste disposal practices such as dumping in nature, waterways, illegal dumps, and gutters are commonplace among the population. To achieve sustainable coastal zone management, it is essential to apply regulatory texts and involve stakeholders in improving planning and the quality of the coastal environment.
The US Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), also commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in 2021, has drawn international attention. It aims to help to rebuild US infrastructure, including transportation networks, broadband, water, power and energy, environmental protection and public works projects. An estimated $1.2 trillion in total funding over ten years will be allocated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest funding bill for US infrastructure in the recent history of the United States. This review article will specifically discuss funding allocations for roads and bridges, power and grids, broadband, water infrastructure, airports, environmental protection, ports, Western water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses in the new spending of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act and why these investments are urgently necessary. This article will also briefly discuss the views of think tank experts, the public policy perspectives, the impact on domestic and global arenas of the new spending in the IIJA, and the public policy implications.
Sustainable ocean tourism is required to establish a balance between the environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of ocean tourism development. Sustainable ocean tourism also contributes to local and national economies, enhancing the quality of social life and protecting the ecology. Sustainable ocean tourism expands the positive contribution of tourism to biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction and aims to attain the common goals of sustainable developments for ocean tourism. Sustainable ocean tourism is possible due to the roles of regulators and private and government institutions. Government policies, regulations and guidelines play vital roles towards achieving the sustainability of ocean tourism. However, the role of institutions also cannot be ignored, which provide support in the innovation of technologies and the implementation of policies. The paper targets to investigate the roles of regulations, policies and institutions in the sustainability of ocean tourism. A primary online survey on the perception of tourism experts was conducted for this study using Google Forms. The tourism experts were invited from all over the world to participate in the survey. The study received a total of 33 responses, out of which only 30 valid responses were considered. Using the Tobit regression model, the study found that, while regulations in India relative to foreign countries significantly boost the sustainability of ocean tourism, government policies and public institutions in India relative to foreign countries remain insignificant in predicting the sustainability of ocean tourism. Therefore, government policies and public institutions in India need to be revised and reformulated to make them important drivers of the sustainability of ocean tourism.
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