The first world conservation lecture

Summary This, The First World Conservation Lecture, was presented at the Royal Institution, London, UK, on 12 March 1981. The Lecture celebrated the 20th anniversary of the World Wildlife Fund, and the first anniversary of the World Conservation Strategy. The Lecture was organized by the World Wildlife Fund, UK.Published with the kind permission of the World Wildlife Fund, UK.Edward Max Nicholson, CB, CVO, Commandeur (Netherlands), Order of the Golden Ark, holds honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen, and The Royal College of Art London. He was educated at the University of Oxford, and was a member of the University's expeditions to Greenland (1928) and to British Guiana (1929). He was General Secretary (until 1940), later Chairman of PEP (Political and Economic Planning): now Vice-President of its successor body, the Policy Studies Institute. From 1945 to 1952 he was Secretary of the Office of the Lord President of the Council, then Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was member of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy from 1948–1964. In 1952 he was leader of the joint UN/FAO Development Team in Baluchistan. Charter Member from 1949, and Director-General (1952–1966) of the Nature Conservancy, London, UK. From 1963 to 1974 he was Convenor of the Conservation Section of the International Council of Scientific Unions' International Biological Programme. President of the IUCN Technical Meeting in Edinburgh in 1956, concerned with rehabilitation of areas biologically devastated by human disturbance, and relation of ecology to landscape planning. Member, Panel on Landscape Action Program, The White House Conference (USA) on Natural Beauty (1965). Secretary, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh's Study Conference on The Countryside in 1970 (1963 and 1965). Council and Board Member of IIED. Godman-Salvin Medallist British Ornithologist Unions. Phillips Medallist and Member of Honour IUCN, Geoffroy St. Hilaire Gold Medal, Société Nationale de Protection de Nature de France, Premio Europeo Cortina-Ulisse (1971), Europa Preis für Landespflege (1972), Hon Member of World Wildlife Fund, Chairman Ecological Parks Trust, President RSPB, 1980. Principal Consultant and Chairman of Land Use Consultants Ltd (London) since 1966. Author of many books,Birds and Men (1951);Britain's Nature Reserves (1958),The System (1967);The Environmental Revolution (1970).     

A process for quantifiable evaluation of environment improvement

Summary The assessment of adverse effects of development projects is well established, as, for example, in the case of quarrying or a new urban road scheme. Environmental Improvement, on the other hand, is generally seen as a by-product of economic or development schemes. In the UK it is recognised as an important factor in attracting private sector investment, yet in project evaluation environmental improvements are often described in general terms but not quantified.Survey methods for establishing people's preferences are well established. Enhancement of the environment can be measured as a ratio by assessing the environment before and after improvement. This method has been applied in an evaluation of four case studies assessing the impact of Urban Development Grants in South Wales (Alden et al., 1987).Dr S M Romaya is an architect who possesses a planning qualification. His environmental interests relate particularly to urban centres and these form the focus of his research and many publications. In addition to conducting an architectural practice and being involved in consultancy, much of his working life has been spent in academic institutions; as an Associate Professor at the College of Engineering Technology, Baghdad; at Nottingham University; and now as a lecturer in Urban Design in the Department of Town Planning, UWIST, Cardiff. This paper was initially delivered at an Environmental Impact Assessment Conference conducted by the Institution of Environmental Sciences during October 1986.     

Management of environment in developing countries

Summary Environmental problems in developing countries partly arise out of lack of development, hence they are intricately linked to the socio-economic conditions. Environmental awareness and environmental education are critical under these conditions but these are time consuming and slow solutions. Integration of economic and environmental plans for various regions have to be attempted systematically. Time is running out, and unless comprehensive steps are taken up some of the capital assets (such as forests, fresh water, soils, etc.) are likely to be irretrievably damaged.Dr B. Bowonder was, until recently, Chairman of the Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology at the Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad. He recently joined this Journal's Advisory Board and his analysis of the Bhopal Incident (The Environmentalist, 5 (2) 89–103) created considerable interest. He is currently a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific.     

The importance of training for environmental management

Conclusion I wish to conclude as I began, with a quotation from a newspaper on the potential damage and the attendant costs of not applying sound environmental management: The Guardian, Wednesday, 5 October 1983: “The Shell Oil Company which admitted yesterday that it had allowed dangerous pesticides to escape near Denver, Colorado has received a demand from the US Army for $1 8 billion to help to stop pollution from reaching the city ... Shell and the US Army research, which includes experiments with nerve gas, may have caused far more serious pollution in the area.” The need for sustainable development and for training in environmental management in Third World countries, should ensure that reports on environmental damage, such as the one above, do not become a common occurrence in developing countries in the next decade or hopefully forever after. This paper was presented at the conference “The Environmental Dimension in World Development, the contribution that British Companies can make”, organized by the Centre for World Development Education, London, UK, during October 1983. Dr Jose I. Furtado is Professor of Zoology in Malaysia, and is seconded as Science Adviser with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.     

Education on environmental law

Summary The current views on whether environmental law is a subject of study at the Universities is discussed in this paper. The author traces the development of environmental law, and maintains that legal science is one, and that it has been grounded into branches for teaching and research purposes. A case for the teaching of environmental law at the universities is made. A teaching programme is suggested which brings out the relationships of environmental law with ecology, social science, economics, management science, technology and other branches of legal science.Born in Argentina, with a Doctor of Law from the University of Buenos Aires. Has held professorships in Water and Mining Laws, Agrarian and Mining Law, Natural Resources Law, in several universities in Argentina. He was a visiting professor in the period 1967–71, at Delft Technological Institute, The Netherlands.From 1969–70, he was Secretary of State for Water Resources of Argentina, and in 1970, Vice-Chairman of the UN Committee on Natural Resources. Consultant on Environmental Law for FAO in 1970. He is at present (1980–82) President of the International Water Resources Association.He has been a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Policy, Law and Administration since 1978, is President of the Inter American Commission on Environmental Law and Administration, and Regional Governor (Latin America) of the International Council on Environmental Law.In 1978 he was awarded the Elizabeth Haub Prix on Environmental law.He is author of several books and papers on environmental, natural resources and water laws. These include Code on Natural Resources (Province of Corrientes Argentina, 1980) and co-author of Code on the Renewable Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Colombia, 1974.     

The world conservation strategy: Environmental education and local initiative

Summary In the spring of 1981, Tufts University and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature began teaching the World Conservation Strategy to environmentalists working at the local level. The fourteen-week course that they offered was the first of a series of initiatives to increase public awareness of the need for local action toward the solution of global environmental problems. The success of the first course has encouraged other groups to adapt it to their own social and ecological settings, but there is a pressing need for even more public education. While several aids to teaching the World Conservation Strategy are now being developed to give local conservation educators access to the Strategy, the initiative for bringing the World Conservation Strategy to the public should continue to come from these local leaders. Frank Thibodeau is an environmental biologist and policy analyst with MA and PhD degrees from Tufts University. He is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts, preparing a book on the World Conservation Strategy as a foundation for local environmental initiative under the auspicies of IUCN and the World Wildlife Fund. In addition to his writing and teaching related to the Strategy, he maintains an active research program examining the development of national and international strategies for the preservation of genetic diversity. Hermann H. Field, an urban planner and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, was director of the Planning Office of the Tufts-New England Medical Center in downtown Boston for 12 years. In 1972 he initiated and then directed a new graduate department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. Since 1978 he has been Professor Emeritus in Environmental Planning there. In addition to continued involvement in his department he is active on a range of levels in conservation from the local to the international, including membership on IUCN's Commission on Environmental Planning.     

Clarifying relationships between participatory approaches,issues, processes,and results,through crosscutting case analysis in Japan’s environmental,energy, and food policy areas

Participatory public engagement approaches such as Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polling^®, and Planning Cells have been used to try and resolve environmental disputes in Japan; however, the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches have not been analyzed adequately or comprehensively. This paper evaluates practical applications of each of the above participatory approaches and conducts a crosscutting analysis of these applications to evaluate how effectively each approach provides scientific information to participants and to consider how the quality of deliberations that occur during these processes affect their outputs. Based on existing classification of participatory processes, and methodology for public involvement in US environmental decision-making, this study compares and contrasts the processes and outcomes of 25 participatory planning case studies in Japan. After compiling a case inventory of participatory approaches, the features of one approach are documented using qualitative analysis, and the aspects of four other approaches are confirmed using crosscutting analysis. In so doing, the likely strengths and weaknesses of each approach are suggested as follows. When discussions require an understanding of scientific knowledge, the Consensus Conference tends to be more suitable than the DP approach. If the consensus of participants is expected, the Consensus Conference is also thought to be suitable. But through a DP process or Simplified Planning Cells approach, we can know the quantitative portion of each opinion through results of ballots. In sum, new participatory approach that incorporates strengths of the Consensus Conference and the Simplified Planning Cells into Local Environmental Planning is needed. Thus, the quality of consensus building could be improved.     

A PROPOSED APPROACH TO COORDINATION OF WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS1

ABSTRACT: The planning and developing of water resources to meet the country's needs for water supply, flood control, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and navigation now needs to take more account of environmental needs and regulations. Water resource development is often beneficial to the environment, but may also be harmful, as in cases involving salmon and various other endangered species. As a national objective, the environment must be preserved and in some cases restored; but how can this be done consistent with other national objectives, relating to life and welfare of human beings? This problem has aroused the concern of many engineers and water scientists. As a result, a national conference on this subject was held in Chicago in June 1998, as an integral part of ASCE's Annual Conference on Water Resources Planning and Management and the Annual Conference on Environmental Engineering. At the conclusion of that conference, a post-conference meeting was held by a group of prominent water resource practitioners. It was concluded at this meeting that action should be taken by our government to establish a new form of interagency approach, involving the states, as a means of coordination in cases of national importance.     

Environmental management in Greece and the challenge of sustainable development

Summary Environmental management is linked to decisions concerning sustainable development which peripheral countries would find quite challenging, given their development priorities and their demands for a restricted share in the burden of global environmental protection. This paper examines the Greek experience with the growing awareness of environmental problems in that country and in the light of current efforts to attain economic convergence with its northern European partners. The focus is on the analysis of the role of the political institutional system in sustainable development, embracing the government, the parliament and the political parties, the courts, and the local authorities. In addition, the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is also summarized. The quest for sustainable development holds both positive and negative effects for Greece, and despite development priorities, there are some workable options available to follow a pathway of transition.graduate diplomas from the Institute of Business Management of the Graduate School of Economics and Commercial Sciences, Athens (Greece) and the School of Social Studies, University of East Anglia (UK), an MA in Economics from the University of Kent, Canterbury (UK), and a PhD in natural resources from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA). Dr. Lekakis served at the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) in Athens for over 15 years, where he was in charge of the technical processing of Greece's five-year development plans in the area of environmental protection. He is currently on the faculty of the School of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethimno (Greece) where he teaches environmental and resource economics. His most recent research activity includes a just completed international water resource allocation project financed by the European Science Foundation (ESF), and an ongoing project on the institutional adjustment for sustainable development strategies in the European Union.     

Environmental regulation of trades by fixed standards: The Danish experience

Summary In 1986, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency established a new regulatory system aimed at small-scale polluting activities. Contrary to the dominant regulatory system based on individual standards for each polluting activity, the new regulatory system established uniform and fixed environmental standards for all activities within a trade. The fixed standards concern location, design and daily operation. Thus far, the new regulatory system has been implemented in the trades of fur farms and auto-repair shops.This study shows that fixed environmental standards reduce the total administrative costs, intensify local monitoring and enforcement of the standards, and improve the environmental state. It is proposed that the following criteria should be considered if the regulatory system is to be implemented in other trades. The trade should consist of many units and be characterised by a moderate pace of technological development, it should posses well-defined and well-known environmental problems, and have a cooperative trade association. In Denmark several trades have been identified as obvious objects for future regulation by fixed environmental standards.Bente Kjærgård is a Research Associate in the Department of Environment, Technology and Social Studies at Roskilde University. Correspondence should be addressed to this author. The other authors are Associate Professors in the same Department. Each author possesses a research degree as follows: Per Homann Jespersen in Chemical Engineering, Henning Schroll in Biology, Jesper Holm in Technological Planning, and Bente Kjærgård in Environmental Planning.     

An environmental impact assessment of the proposal to build a wind farm at Langdon Common in the North Pennines,UK

Summary This paper measures the diversity of environmental impacts inherent within a proposal by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) to build a demonstration wind farm at Langdon Common in the North Pennines, UK. This assessment was made in April, 1989 in the wake of the European Community Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and its subsequent interpretation within the UK Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations (1988).Langdon Common lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). These designations create a contentious choice of site made by the CEGB and the extent of environmental impact is subsequently made more broad. While the conclusions drawn are specific to Langdon Common, the methodology evolved within the project lends itself to further application to other sites in the future. The following Environmental Impact Assessment can, therefore, be seen as a step towards the reconciliation of the acceptable siting of wind turbines in the UK and the capacity of the planning system to regulate such development.This paper by Alex Steele received the Institution of Environmental Sciences award and First Prize for the best undergraduate environmental project in the UK in 1989. Alex Steele graduated from Sunderland Polytechnic in that year and now works as an Environmental Planner for a leading company of Environmental Management Consultants.     

Forging new links between environmental management,information systems,and business processes

This article is excerpted from Chapter 1 of Environmental Management Information Systems, which will be published by McGraw-Hill in 1994. A central theme of the book is that all successful implementations of environmental management information systems (EMIS) are based on the appropriate alignment of goals and procedures from three enterprise domains: business processes, environmental management, and information systems. Environmental managers (EM) and information systems (IS) professionals have each been guilty of seeing their functions as primary, domains of specialized scientific expertise inaccessible to outsiders. In fact, however, the enterprise is the customer for both domains; without successful business strategies and systems the enterprise does not require either EM or IS wizards. This article shows why and how essential it is that each of the three domains understands enough of the other two domains to structure good decisions.     

Strategic environmental product planning within Philips sound & vision

Until now no structured methodology existed for attuning environmental considerations to the business strategy of companies. The Environmental Competence Centre of Philips Sound & Vision in The Netherlands has developed and tested a methodology for this purpose. This methodology, called Selection of STRrategic Environmen Tal CHallenges (STRETCH), has proven to lead to promising results and should therefore be actively promoted. In this article, the authors show how the application of STRETCH provides the possibility of meeting three main objectives: First, focusing on the incorporation of environmental aspects into the company's business strategy can elicit innovations that may enhance the competitive position of the company by cost reduction and/or higher market shares. Second, the environmental opportunities and threats to be expected in the future can be anticipated in an earlier phase. Through this proactive approach a company can avoid external criticism and take the lead in environmental priority setting. Third, by applying the STRETCH methodology even higher eco-efficiencies are expected to be reached than through incremental, step-by-step environmental improvements.     

Towards sustainable airport development

Summary This paper considers the application of the principles of sustainable development to an airport situation. If sustainable development is to be enshrined as the global development pathway which reconciles economic and environmental issues then it must be applicable to a range of spatial scales. Airports will interact at a variety of levels with this multi-level decision making and enactment structure. The requirements imposed upon an airport may differ according to whether decisions are being taken by local, regional or national decision makers. Conflicts and uncertainties will inevitably result. Definitions of sustainable development are considered and policy guidance from the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the nation State level evaluated for its relevance to airport decision making. An attempt is made to reconcile definitions and interpretations before an idealized representation of a sustainable airport is presented. Mechanisms by which this may be actualized are then suggested. A need for improved theoretical knowledge is identified but research is also necessary on application and localization procedures for sustainable development.Professor James Longhurst is Head of Department of Environmental Health and Science at UWE, Bristol. Until recently he was the Director of the Atmospheric Research and Information Centre. David Gibbs is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Hull, UK. David Raper is Deputy Director and D.E. Conlan Environmental Projects Manager in the Atmospheric Research and Information Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.     

Environmental impact assessment in ghana-anex post evaluation of the volta resettlement scheme: the case of the Kpong Hydro-electric project

Summary Many Third World Countries (TWCs), like Ghana, have not concerned themselves seriously with environmental problems as part of the entire socio-economic development process, until recently. This, for example, can be seen in their environmental policies and the rate at which these now are being made. Not only are environmental issues being considered in the formulation and implementation of new development programmes and projects, but it is being realised that earlier implemented projects need some evaluation,ex post, for possible, correction of past mistakes or, at least, as a source of self-containment. Thus, there has been interest in the impact assessment of past macro-projects as agricultural and resettlement schemes.An attempt is made to apply a simple matrices methodology to theex post evaluation of the Kpong Hydro-electric Project resettlement aspect, based on identified project and environment components. The results show that the impact on the socio- economic life of the settlers is positively greater than the physical and biological impacts. But considering other elements of the programme package and taking a perspective view, the settlers are after all, no better off. In view of the fact that a number of such schemes are now under consideration, it is useful for policy-makers and planners to learn from these lessons.Sam Ofori-Cudjoe is a Lecturer in Geography at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He is currently studying planning research at the Centre for Planning, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He obtained a BA (Hons) in Geography from the Department of Geography, University of Ghana, Legon, in 1978, and a MSc (Regional Planning) from the Department of Planning, University of Science and Technology (UST), Kumasi, Ghana, in 1981.     

Converging worlds

Summary Converging Worlds delineates how environmental events in the developing world can lead to economic and political instability—two major liabilities for US national security and economic interests abroad. Increasingly, US foreign policy analysis will have to include a close scrutiny of environmental events and a country’s natural resource profile to adequately anticipate global hot spots. A closer look at environmental events in the global context may also provide a sense of new options for foreign policy and private sector initiatives. Senior Liaison Officer United Nations Environment Programme Washington Representative and Senior Liaison Officer for the United Nations Environment Programme. Formerly National Director for Public Affairs of the US Environmental Protection Agency; Senior Coordinator for the American Petroleum Institute; and founder and President of the Bolton Institute. Major initiattives include Global Connections/Environment Conference (1980); City Care Conference (1979); and UN Habitat community assemblies (1975).     

Is motion more important than it sounds?: The medium of presentation in environment perception research

This study assessed the incremental validity of different media for representing landscapes with significant dynamic elements. The experimental design independently varied the presence of motion and sound in different representations of a wild and scenic river in order to evaluate the adequacy or sufficiency of the surrogate to reflect physical changes in the landscape. Three representational conditions were identified: (1) video/sound, (2) video/no sound, and (3) static/no sound. A pilot study assessed the ability of the static images to represent river flow levels per se, and confirmed comparability with prior results (Brown & Daniel, 1989, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 7, 233–250). Scenic beauty judgments were then collected within each representational condition. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relationship of flow level to perceived scenic beauty for each representation condition. The results demonstrated that motion and sound, individually and conjointly, influenced judgements of scenic beauty for a landscape with a significant dynamic element.     

Environmental Impact Assessment in Ghana: Current administration and procedures — towards an appropriate methodology

Summary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) now enjoys at least statutory status in a number of Third World Countries (TWCs), including Ghana. Indeed, it is now considered an important tool of policy and control, both at the central government and local/district government levels. One of the difficulties, however, in implementing EIA has been the design of an appropriate methodology, in view of the fact that most, if not all the existing methodologies are more suitable to developed countries than developing ones.It is argued that in the absence of very sound indigenous methods and approaches, some of the existing inappropriate methodologies could be adapted or domesticated in a developing country like Ghana. The current administration and survey procedure used by the Ghana EIA Authority is examined and among other recommendations, an adapted form of the matrice approach is suggested.Mr Sam C. Ofori is a Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He is currently a PhD research worker at the Centre for Planning, University of Strathclyde. A recent paper by Mr Ofori (then Cudjoe) appeared inThe Environmentalist,10(2), 115–126.     

Environmental training fosters bottom-line education and regional economic development

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. If Einstein was correct, the question that you should be posing to yourself right now is “how can I make the change to a different level of thinking?” This challenge was given to a group of managers from a broad range of businesses in a training program delivered at the Centre for Environmental Training (CET) in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It will be examined in this article as part of a case study about the success of a TQEM approach to improving the bottom line of business. At the heart of this story is the germination of a business vision to make improved environmental performance a key factor in regional economic renewal. In keeping with the TQEM theme, this is a never ending story; this article is just the prologue.     

Environmental education research notes (USA)

Conclusion Selections reported above were chosen as representative and reflective of the varieties of environmental education research currently reported in the literature. They were picked for this paper somewhat arbitrarily, from among more than 70 surviving an initial screening. No selection bias was intended, other than for the purpose of providing a representative variety. In most cases, abstracts printed in theCurrent Index to Journals in Education, Resources in Education, orDissertation Abstracts International were used in preparing these notes.These notes have been compiled by John F. Disinger, Professor of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA; he is also Associate Director, Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education (SMEAC). This contribution by Professor Disinger is in response to the editorial, Invitation to Promote Research Cooperation (The Environmentalist, 1 (3) 177–178.