scholarly journals Natural Resources Self-Sufficiency – How to Balance Groundwater Protection and Mineral Resources Exploitation – Pleterje Case, Slovenia: Legal and Geological Aspects

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Senko Pličanič ◽  
◽  
Željko Pogačnik ◽  
Eva Koren ◽  
Goran Vižintin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Groundwater Protection ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Alluvial Plain ◽  
Danube River ◽  
Self Sufficiency

The purpose of this article is to showcase opportunities for local communities to demonstrate self-sufficiency with respect to natural resources (gravel and sand) in the east of Slovenia. Limitations put in place for the exploitation of mineral resources by applicable regulations in the light of groundwater protection were analysed particularly in the context of mining undertaken in an area of shallow alluvium with a shallow groundwater table. It is essential that land disturbance (from mining activity) complies with the environmental limitations imposed by both EU and Slovenian law. The study highlights the factors directly indicating the inadequacy of the applicable regulations in Slovenia in relation to mining in areas of shallow groundwater; those limitations put in place the exploitation of mineral resources as unlawful works. This article outlines how such limitations negatively affect local communities’ self-sufficiency and the region with natural resources, specifically mineral resources. To this end, when selecting which alluvial plain to test, we focused on the area of the Drava and Ptuj Plain (Dravsko polje and Ptujsko polje) in Slovenia. The Drava River flows through the area in question across this alluvial plain. The artificially regulated power canal of the Zlatoličje hydroelectric power plant runs parallel to the river. Pursuant to environmental regulations, mineral resources can be exploited in these areas only up to two metres above the highest groundwater level. This criterion makes it almost impossible to pursue the additional exploitation of mineral resources in this area, as well as similar areas in the catchment area of the Danube River in Slovenia. We believe that in terms of the shared use of physical space it is necessary to change this limitation and link it directly to the percentage of exploited physical space and the application of relevant extraction technologies, which do not pollute groundwater either directly or indirectly. We also believe that the criterion put in place does not withstand expert judgment as the requirement for excavation to cease up to two metres above the highest groundwater level was not defined by means of the scientific method. The article analyses inconsistencies and puts forward measures for the ongoing eco-friendly and economically sustainable exploitation of mineral resources. As an alternative, we thus suggest implementing the EU Regulation via an act that would set out the necessary limitations, based on expert starting points arising from cartographic bases under consideration of the tetrahedral consensus-seeking methodology.

Against Permanent Sovereignty

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Status ◽  
Made In

The status quo within international politics is that individual nation-states enjoy extensive and for the most part exclusive rights over the resources falling within their borders. Egalitarians have often assumed that such a situation cannot be defended, but perhaps some sophisticated defences of state or national rights over natural resources which have been made in recent years prove otherwise. This chapter critically assesses these various arguments, and shows that they are not sufficient to justify the institution of ‘permanent sovereignty’ over resources. Even insofar as those arguments have some weight, they are compatible with a significant dispersal of resource rights away from individual nation-states, both downwards towards local communities, and upwards towards transnational and global agencies.

scholarly journals Improving Relations between a State and a Business Enterprise in the Context of Counteracting Adverse Effects of the Resource Curse

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1067
Author(s):  
Marek Szturo ◽  
Bogdan Włodarczyk ◽  
Alberto Burchi ◽  
Ireneusz Miciuła ◽  
Karolina Szturo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Resource Curse ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Strategic Resources ◽  
Key Resources

Natural resources play a significant role in the development of the global economy. This refers, in particular, to strategic fuel and mineral resources. Due to the limited supply of natural resources and the lack of substitutes for most of the key resources in the world, the competition for the access to strategic resources is a feature of the global economy. It would seem that the countries which are rich in resources, because of this huge demand, enjoy spectacular economic prosperity. However, the results of empirical studies have demonstrated what is known as the ‘resource curse’. This article concentrates on the characteristics of the paradox of plenty, and in particular on the possibilities of preventing this phenomenon. The aim of this article is to identify the measures of economic policy with which to counteract the resource curse, based on the relationship between the state and the extraction business. Upon the critical analysis of the relevant literature, we concluded that the state’s economic policy, implemented in cooperation with the extraction business, is increasingly important for the prevention of the resource curse. In the context of the resource curse, the optimal and most consensual instrument, in comparison with other resource sharing agreements, is a production sharing agreement (PSA), which should also be adjusted to the current local economic conditions in a given country.

PRIORITIES AND RESOURCES OF GEORGIA: MYTHS, HISTORY, PERSPECTIVES

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
Givi Talakvadze ◽  
Zurab Lomsadze ◽  
Joseph Archvadze
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Management System ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Project Management System ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Current State ◽  
Single Category ◽  
Characteristic Features

The article deals with issues related to the study of the main socio-economic priorities of Georgia. The brief historical review refutes the widely circulated thesis that during the Soviet period the Georgian Republic allegedly consumed much more goods than it produced; that per capita incomes were calculated astronomically. The issues of the current state of the country's resource supply were also considered. The concept of integral resources is used and it is proposed to combine a number of traditional and newly formed group of potential opportunities over the past decades into a single category of the so-called. "Partial resources", which, along with traditional types - natural, human and material resources, allow the most complete and comprehensive characterization of the possibility of their use for solving urgent socio-economic problems of the country. Particular attention is paid to the current state of Georgia's natural resources on the example of a brief analysis of mineral resources with an emphasis, in particular, on the resources of building and facing materials. In order to improve the efficiency of managing economic processes, it is proposed to radically improve the activities of ministries and departments of the country by switching to the so-called "Project management system" of the entire economic and economic complex of Georgia. The main feature of this system is associated with the introduction of a three-level classification of the main projects, which will be assigned National, Sectoral and Regional levels, depending on their scale and characteristic features. This will allow developing specific programs for the rational use of natural resources, to optimize the management system at all levels of authorities, to introduce innovative models of sustainable management, intended to significantly improve the living standards of the population of Georgia.

scholarly journals Hydrogeochemistry and Quality Assessment of Shallow Groundwater in the Southern Part of the Yellow River Alluvial Plain (Zhongwei Section), Northwest China

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiyue Li ◽  
Jianhua Wu ◽  
Hui Qian
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Saturation Index ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Alluvial Plain ◽  
Total Hardness ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Mineralized Water

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">Statistical analyses, a Piper diagram, the saturation index and the correlations of chemical parameters were used to reveal the hydrogeochemistry and hydrogeochemical evolution of shallow groundwater in the southern part of the Zhongwei section of the Yellow River alluvial plain. The water quality for agricultural and domestic uses was also assessed in the study. The results suggest that the shallow groundwater in the study area is fresh to moderately mineralized water. Higher Ca<sup>2+</sup> and HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> are observed in the less mineralized water, whereas Na<sup>+</sup> and SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup> are common ions in the highly mineralized water. The major hydrochemical facies for groundwater with total dissolved solids (TDS) &lt;1 g/L are HCO<sub>3</sub>-Ca·Mg and HCO<sub>3</sub>-Ca·Na·Mg, and for groundwater with TDS &gt; 1 g/L, SO<sub>4</sub>·Cl-Na and SO<sub>4</sub>·Cl-Na·Mg·Ca are the predominant hydrochemical types. The main reactions in the groundwater system are the dissolution/precipitation of gypsum, fluorite, halite, calcite and dolomite. Cation exchange is also important in controlling the groundwater chemistry. The water samples assessed in the paper are of acceptable quality for agricultural use, but most of them are not fit for direct human consumption (drinking). TDS, total hardness (TH), Cl<sup>-</sup> and SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup> are the main indices that result in the poor drinking water quality.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><strong>Resumen</strong></p><p>Análisis estadísticos, un diagrama de Piper, el índice de saturación y la correlación de los parámetros químicos fueron utilizados para revelar la hidrogeoquímica y la evolución hidrogeoquímica de las aguas subterráneas poco profundas en la parte sur de la sección Zhongwei en la planicie aluvial del río Amarillo. La calidad del agua para el uso doméstico y agrícola también fue evaluada en este estudio. Los resultados sugieren que las aguas subterráneas poco profundas en el área de estudio son entre frescas y moderadamente mineralizadas. Un índice mayor de Ca2+ y HCO3- se observó en las aguas menos mineralizadas, mientras que Na+ y SO42- son iones comunes en las aguas altamente mineralizadas. Los perfiles hidroquímicos predominantes para las aguas subterráneas con Total de Sólidos Disueltos (TDS) &lt;1 g/L son HCO3-Ca·Mg y HCO3-Ca·Na·Mg, y para las aguas subterráneas con TDS &gt;1 g/L, SO4·Cl-Na y SO4·Cl-Na·Mg·Ca. Las mayores reacciones en el sistema de aguas subterráneas son la disolución/ precipitación de yeso, fluorita, halita, calcita y dolomita. El intercambio de cationes también es importante en el control de la química de las aguas subterráneas. Las muestras de agua evaluadas en este manuscrito son de calidad aceptable para el uso agrícola, pero la mayoría no son aptas para el consumo humano. El índice TDS, la dureza total del agua (TH), Cl- y SO42- son las razones principales que influyen en la baja calidad de esta agua.</p>

Geostatistical screening of flood events in the groundwater levels of the diverted inner delta of the Danube River: implications for river bed clogging

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balázs Trásy ◽  
Tamás Garamhegyi ◽  
Péter Laczkó-Dobos ◽  
József Kovács ◽  
István Gábor Hatvani
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Groundwater Monitoring ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Danube River ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Autocorrelation Structure

Abstract The efficient operation of shallow groundwater (SGW) monitoring networks is crucial to water supply, in-land water protection, agriculture and nature conservation. In the present study, the spatial representativity of such a monitoring network in an area that has been thoroughly impacted by anthropogenic activity (river diversion/damming) is assessed, namely the Szigetköz adjacent to the River Danube. The main aims were to assess the spatial representativity of the SGW monitoring network in different discharge scenarios, and investigate the directional characteristics of this representativity, i.e. establish whether geostatistical anisotropy is present, and investigate how this changes with flooding. After the subtraction of a spatial trend from the time series of 85 shallow groundwater monitoring wells tracking flood events from 2006, 2009 and 2013, variography was conducted on the residuals, and the degree of anisotropy was assessed to explore the spatial autocorrelation structure of the network. Since the raw data proved to be insufficient, an interpolated grid was derived, and the final results were scaled to be representative of the original raw data. It was found that during floods the main direction of the spatial variance of the shallow groundwater monitoring wells alters, from perpendicular to the river to parallel with it for over a period of about two week. However, witht the passing of the flood, this returns to its original orientation in ~2 months. It is likely that this process is related first to the fast removal of clogged riverbed strata by the flood, then to their slower replacement. In addition, the study highlights the importance of assessing the direction of the spatial autocorrelation structure of shallow groundwater monitoring networks, especially if the aim is to derive interpolated maps for the further investigation or modeling of flow.

scholarly journals The vegetation of Tshanini Game Reserve and a comparison with equivalent units in the Tembe Elephant Park in Maputaland, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.Y. Gaugris ◽  
W.S. Matthews ◽  
M.W. Van Rooyen ◽  
J. Du P. Bothma
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Renewable Natural Resources ◽  
Game Reserve ◽  
Northern Maputaland

The Tembe Elephant Park was proclaimed in 1983 after negotiations between the then KwaZulu Bureau of Natural Resources and the Tembe Tribal Authority in consultation with the local communities of northern Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The park boundaries were subsequently fenced and animal numbers started to increase. The fence has kept the utilisation of renewable natural resources by the local communities at bay for the past 19 years. In this period, the vegetation of the park has been utilised only by the indigenous fauna, but it has been affected by management decisions and possibly also regional environmental changes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document