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This chapter describes a method to analyse agricultural land use in terms of net value added and employment (working time requirement) in the agricultural sector as well as a corresponding ecological indicator: the nitrogen-leaching-rate. Watershed management demands a basic approach, which deals with common statistics and spatial information from digital maps. This causes a range of uncertainties, which are calculated in relation to the data input. A metamodel derived from a process model calculates the most probable value of the ecological indicator, whereas the economic indicators are estimated by the cumulative numbers of primary production. The uncertainties are expressed as the standard deviation of all impacts as percentages. The method described is applied to a rural district in the Elbe river basin.

Heavy metals play a crucial role in the economic development of any nation. Industries utilizing heavy metals, consequently, emanate a large volume of metal-containing liquid effluents. Since metals are non-renewable and finite resources, their judicious and sustainable use is the key. Hazardous metal-laden water poses threat to human health and ecology. Apart from metals, these industrial effluents also consist of toxic chemicals. Conventional physical–chemical techniques are not efficient enough as it consumes energy and are, therefore, not cost effective.

It is known that biomaterials namely microorganisms, plants, and agricultural biomass have the competence to bind metals, in some cases, selectively, from aqueous medium. This phenomenon is termed as “metal biosorption.” Biosorption has immense potential of becoming an effective alternative over conventional methods. The authors in the present chapter have used secondary data from their previous research work and attempted to develop few strategic models through their feasibility studies for metal sustainability.

Intensive agricultural production in the countries of the Aral Sea Basin has resulted in undesirable ecological and social consequences, including the drying of the Aral Sea. Water has become scarce due to a score of internal and external factors including the growing demand for water resources by the upstream countries, expansion of the irrigated areas to ease food insecurity, and the poor condition of irrigation and drainage networks. To cope with environmental consequences and regional water challenges, it is vital to look for pathways of improved integrated water resource management, higher water use efficiencies, and reducing overall water use.

A combination of value chain and water footprint analyses of the dominant crop, cotton, was applied to assess water use in different sectors of the Uzbekistan economy and to seek water saving and improved water management and efficiency options.

The findings show that reduction in water use could be achieved by diversifying the economy and moving from water intensive agricultural production to less water consuming industrial sectors by introducing water saving irrigation technologies and by raising awareness of the population about the real value of water.

The combined findings of the economic based value chain analysis and ecologically oriented water footprint analysis gave an added value for better informed decision-making to reach land, water, and ecosystem sustainability and to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty and hunger and achieving food and water security.

An interdisciplinary model network consisting of the regional agricultural economic model RAUMIS and the hydro(geo)logical models GROWA/WEKU is used to analyze the effect of different scenarios of maximum agricultural nitrogen balance surplus on water quality. The study area is the federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany, which features heterogeneous natural site conditions as well as agricultural production structures. A focus of the study is the modeling of supra-regional manure transports that, according to the model's results, considerably increase due to a lowering of maximum nitrogen balance surpluses. The assessment of the examined nitrogen reduction measures reveals that adequate indicators have to be applied. In this regard, the model results show that even though the analyzed measure leads to a substantial overall reduction of agricultural nitrogen surpluses, nitrogen discharges into surface and groundwater can regionally increase.

There is an urgent need to develop climate-smart agrosystems capable of mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects. Conventional agricultural practices prevail in Mauritius, whereby synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are used. It should be noted that Mauritius remains a net-food importing developing country of staple food such as cereals and products, roots and tubers, pulses, oil crops, vegetables, fruits and meat (FAO, 2011). In Mauritius, the agricultural sector faces extreme weather conditions like drought or heavy rainfall. Moreover, to increase the crop yields, farmers tend to use 2.5 times the prescribed amount of fertilizers in their fields. These excess fertilizers are washed away during heavy rainfall and contaminate lakes and river waters. By using smart irrigation and fertilization system, a better management of soil water reserves for improved agricultural production can be implemented. Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) content, humidity, pH, conductivity and moisture data can be monitored through the cloud platform. The data will be processed at the level of the cloud and an appropriate mix of NPK and irrigation will be used to optimise the growth of the crops. Machine learning algorithms will be used for the control of the land drainage, fertilization and irrigation systems and real time data will be available through a mobile application for the whole system. This will contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 2 (Zero Hunger), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 15 (Life on Land). With this project, the yield of crops will be boosted, thus reducing the hunger rate (SDG 2). On top of that, this will encourage farmers to collect the waters and reduce fertilizer consumption thereafter sustaining the quality of the soil on which they are cultivating the crops, thereby increasing their yields (SDG 15).

This chapter aims to share the Dutch experiences with the transformation of urban and regional planning practices towards sustainability.

The chapter does so by answering the following research question: What were the main problems with the integration of environmental considerations in Dutch urban and regional planning practices, and how have these been overcome? This question is answered through a historical analysis of policy changes in the Netherlands, and through the presentation of two case studies.

The chapter shows that initial attention for sustainability resulted in the enactment of competing practices for environmental planning and water management planning, next to existing practices for urban and regional planning. The coordination of the resulting planning practices proved difficult due to opposing cultures of thought, and attempts to overcome these differences through comprehensive plans turned sour. The chapter illustrates how alternative solutions at the regional and urban level were eventually successful. In the Gelre Valley region, an open project approach translated in a sustainable regional plan. And in Schalkwijk neighbourhood in Haarlem, an environmentally sensitive conceptual framework – the Strategy of the two Networks – let to the incorporation of environmental considerations in urban planningpractices. In both cases, the insistence of the principal actor – provincial and municipal government – on sustainability issues was crucial.

This chapter introduces experiences with a transformation to sustainable urban and regional planning in the Netherlands. It will be interesting for practitioners and researchers of urban and regional planning practices and sustainable cities around the world.

Plastic has been a very useful material which is very cheap, easy to carry and is resilient to biodegradation. That is why plastic has been used, sometimes reused, and overused due to the reasons mentioned above. As a result, landfills and oceans are full of plastic. But if we consider all the negative health effects, environmental / ecological effects it has in present times, we can understand that it is environmentally very expensive to use plastic. Bangladesh is a relatively young country with dense population and limited resource. Proper management of plastic remains an issue with the country. Considering these, this chapter focuses on how plastic is used, how it is treated as waste and what can be possible solutions in reducing the amount of plastic in Bangladesh.

Today, the need for renewable energy is rising steadily. Various steps are being taken by nations to address the rising need. The developments occurring in proportion to the industrial structures and economic levels of the countries, these efforts, the political structure of the country, some established patterns from the past, and many other external factors affect the use of renewable energy and therefore sustainable development, which has been one of the most important agendas since the early 1990s. In this study, it is examined whether certain characteristics of the Scandinavian Welfare Model affect the background of this successful image of Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, which rank in the top three positions in both the Global Energy Innovation Index and the Sustainable Development Report. As a result, although the use of fossil fuels increases the ecological footprint in the Scandinavian countries, which are evaluated as in the rest of the world, continuing the principles of innovation, trust, equality, openness, and sustainability with determination, the Nordic approach has not departed from the welfare state principle compatible with its own codes, unlike the transformations experienced by other welfare regimes, and has become a distinctive factor.