World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland elaborated the concept of sustainable development 30 years ago. Since then sustainability remains a challenge to researchers as well as to all actors involved in development process. Securing adequate quality of environment in human settlements is an essential aspect of sustainability as we all live in different kind of settlements ranging from Grater Mexico City with more than 21 million people to hardly accessible remote villages and hamlets. Variety of settlements is accompanied with variety of environmental problems which inhabitants face in their struggle for sustainability. These problems range from water supply in arid zones to skiing track development in Carpathian villages.

The purpose of this special issue would be to present results of the research on the quality of the environment in settlements of different size and located in different environmental conditions as well as results of the research on effectiveness of plans and policies implemented on different levels of administration with the general aim to support sustainable development of settlements.

Due to the increase in population, urbanization and climate change, water resources are increasingly stressed all around the world. Computer models are now widely used to assess water budget, water quality, impact of climate change on water resources, etc. The scope of this special issue is primarily to advance our knowledge on water resources modeling and management strategies and policies to ensure water security for our next generation. New modeling techniques, uncertainty of modeling results, reducing errors in model prediction and enhanced capability of models all fall within the scope of the special issue. Water quality models are mainly used to assess impact of human activities on water resources and assess measures to improve utilization of water resources. Conservation and rehabilitation of water bodies also fall within the scope of this issue.

The purpose of this special issue is to combine latest techniques to accurately model water resources and manage our water resources in a sustainable way. In other words, this special issue aims at compiling cutting edge water resources modeling techniques and innovative management ideas to safeguard this precious resource. The thirst of this issue is to have proper knowledge to assess future water demand, water availability and management of water resources to be able to take proper decision on time for the water security of the coming centuries. More insights about water resources modeling and management will enable us to conserve limited water resources and use it in proper ways.

Termitaria are recognized as biodiversity hotspots in savannah ecosystems. They host different plant communities, mushrooms and some dead and abandoned termite mounds are habitats for animal species. Forest and Reserve dwellers may exploit termitaria vegetation and other things in relation with them to satisfy various needs. The aim of this Special Issue is to gather knowledge related to services provided by termitaria to local people throughout the world. By stating the variety of services, the Issue will serve as platform to highlight the importance of termitaria to local populations. Consequently it will lead to increasing awareness and informing the humanity on the conservation of termitaria and their ecosystems worldwide. Scientists are encouraged to submit papers for publication after rigorous peer review by two or three international specialists.

Water is becoming a major limiting factor for agriculture in the semi-arid to arid regions. Therefore, irrigation is under challenging condition having water demand from multi-sectors. To obtain the most production, an efficient irrigation management could be an objective in these conditions. Soaring food to feed the increasing population under more frequent droughts and intensified scarcity of water resources bring a new emphasis on efficient use of water in irrigation. Thus, the determination of irrigation depth has to meet crop water requirement because such conventional irrigation may causes yield reduction or waste water. Therefore, it becomes very important to use the irrigated water resources in a sustainable way and to generate surplus water by raising the water use efficiency in irrigation.

Environmental discussions undoubtedly have entered as staff in all parts of society today. However, due to a globalized society, and the dynamics of natural resources, in which the interrelationships extend beyond the boundaries set by geopolitical boundaries, researchers should develop environmental studies involving border areas or border. Such studies have to be able to support government actions to integrate and share management of natural resources. There is a need for more research on the subject since many conflicts are already installed and others need to be identified and incorporated into the regional geopolitical analysis. Through this special issue, we would call for papers on the topic of Environmental Management in Border Areas. We invite researchers to submit their papers in this special issue of Resources and Environment.

Phase Change Materials (PCM) are incorporated in various building components and engineered to decrease energy consumption due to indoor climate control actions in building envelopes by storing and releasing latent heat. Various studies indicated the potential of PCM modified building components to reduce energy consumption. The topic become popular as efforts to reduce non-renewable energy dependency are issued by governments and related organizations worldwide. There is a need for further research on this subject since various parameters and components need to be identified and incorporated into analysis for optimization purposes and related environmental impacts are one of the most important parameters to be addressed. Through this special issue, we would like to call for papers on the subject of environmental impacts in terms of energy conservation by utilizing PCM in civil engineering applications. We invite researchers to submit their papers in this special issue of Resources and Environment.

The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods belong to the family of non-monetary evaluation methods, whose aim is to integrate objective measurement with value judgements and to explicitly address subjectivity. These methods are intended to support the decision makers’ learning with respect to the nature of the problem, existing priorities and preferences, values, and objectives. With the help of this learning, the decision maker will be lead to establish a priority ranking of different alternatives through the application of MCDM models. The intent of MCDM methods is to improve the quality of decisions involving multiple criteria by making choices more explicit, rational, and efficient. MCDM methods are also able to address questions characterised by various conflicting evaluations. The application of MCDM methods in water resource and hydrology is growing very fast as most of the decisions related to water sector are complex and multicriteria in nature where many conflicting criteria have to be considered to reach a final decision. Even though this field of research is young, but many DSSs have been developed to solve complex water resources problems by taking into account conflicting criteria.

Through this special issue, we would like to call for papers to disseminate findings from research and application in relation to multicriteria decision support systems in water related fields of research. We invite researchers to submit their papers in this special issue of Journal of Water Resource and Protection (JWARP). The contributions will broaden the scope of the journal by including papers on policy, governance, stakeholder engagement, socio-economic water issues, conflicting resolution in water resource, watershed management, and river engineering, etc.

Intercontinental Biosphere Research (IBR) is an international multidisciplinary special issue, which publishes original and high quality research papers and review articles related to strategic of fundamental and applied studies in the field of biosphere. This issue which provides the prospective readership includes specialists in different concepts of environmental sciences involved in environmental protection and education.

The special issue provides an effective forum of knowledge for the publications of biosphere research cooperation to address the multifaceted nature of biosphere problems and present research results related to the current status of the biosphere in all aspects of fundamental and applied environmental science, environmental engineering and biological engineering with special concern to the biosphere. Also, provide a learned reference in various fields of biosphere; and establish channels of communication between academic and research experts.

The special issue publishes original research papers, short communications, review and mini-review articles on main aspects of environmental sciences, such as environmental chemistry, environmental biology, applied ecology and geology and environmental physics, and environmental management, different aspects of special ecosystems such as agricultural, water ecosystem, natural and human activities processes and trends in the whole biosphere and its biotic and abiotic components; etc. Furthermore, new areas such as environmental biotechnology as interrelationship between environmental contamination and toxicology are welcomed.

Appropriate topics include fundamental and applied research on atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environments pollution control and remediation technology, conservation of natural resources, environmental health studies and toxicology, environmental quality assessment, environmental standards and criteria.

The editorial policy of the special issue reflects the need for high quality articles and all manuscripts are peer-reviewed by no less than two reviewers.