Ecological assessment of proposed road developments: a review of environmental statements

Since the adoption of EC Directive (85/337) in the UK in 1988, potential environmental impacts of certain proposed road schemes must be assessed before development consent can be given. This paper focuses specifically on the ecological effects of road developments. A review of Environmental Statements produced for road development schemes is described, and the methods used to assess ecological effects are summarized. Many statements failed to provide the data necessary to predict potential ecological impacts, and very few attempted to quantify these impacts. It is suggested that ecological assessments should be carried out earlier in the planning and design of new roads, thereby permitting more thorough assessments to be made.     

Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit in Large-Scale Public Infrastructure Construction: The Case of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway

Large-scale public infrastructure projects have featured in China’s modernization course since the early 1980s. During the early stages of China’s rapid economic development, public attention focused on the economic and social impact of high-profile construction projects. In recent years, however, we have seen a shift in public concern toward the environmental and ecological effects of such projects, and today governments are required to provide valid environmental impact assessments prior to allowing large-scale construction. The official requirement for the monitoring of environmental conditions has led to an increased number of debates in recent years regarding the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Governmental Environmental Audits (GEAs) as environmental safeguards in instances of large-scale construction. Although EIA and GEA are conducted by different institutions and have different goals and enforcement potential, these two practices can be closely related in terms of methodology. This article cites the construction of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway as an instance in which EIA and GEA offer complementary approaches to environmental impact management. This study concludes that the GEA approach can serve as an effective follow-up to the EIA and establishes that the EIA lays a base for conducting future GEAs. The relationship that emerges through a study of the Railway’s construction calls for more deliberate institutional arrangements and cooperation if the two practices are to be used in concert to optimal effect.     

The European Directive on environmental impact assessment: Implementation at last?

Summary The Commission of the European Communities' directive on environmental impact assessment (EIA) finally came into force in July 1988. The main provisions of the Directive are described, together with the objectives it is intended to achieve and the key areas where member state legislation will need to be effective if the principal requirements of the Directive are to be properly implemented. These include adequate coverage of projects, sufficient information in EIA studies, and effective consultation and public participation. Most European countries have some experience with EIA but, as illustrated by the UK Channel Fixed Link reports, the quality of the studies undertaken is very variable. Recommendations are made for improvements in practice through more effective diffusion of best practice, better provision and use of EIA guidance, more focused EIA research, more effective consultation and closer collaboration between the different parties involved in the EIA process, and both quantitative and qualitative improvements in EIA training. The results of a recent survey of European EIA training activity indicate growing interest, but further progress in improving the provision of EIA training is needed before the Directive can be effectively implemented.Drs Christopher Wood and Norman Lee have both been involved on various Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies for the European Commission and have written widely on EIA and related topics. Both are Senior Lecturers at the University of Manchester and they are co-Directors of its EIA Centre. Christopher Wood teaches mainly in the Department of Town and County Planning, Norman Lee in the Department of Economics.     

Eleven major companies take quality environmental management initiatives within president's commission

The President'S Commission on Environmental Quality (PCEQ) is translating TQEM theory into action at industrial facilities around the United States. Eleven major corporations are undertaking voluntary demonstration projects at twelve facilities throughout the country to actively test TQEM. Corporate participants will share their conclusions about incentives, barriers, management processes, and metrics to produce a “blueprint” for successful TQEM programs elsewhere.     

Policy And Practice Environmental Assessmentand Planning: A Chronology of Development in England and Wales

The development of regulations to implement Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in England and Wales occurred initially as a response to European Community Directive obligations. Since then, a proliferation of regulations has resulted from the need to meet those obligations which were not covered successfully by the first tranche of legislation; the desire to extend the range of project types requiring EIA beyond those specified in the Directive; and the need to respond to changes brought about by privatization.As a result, current regulations relating to EIA are extremely complex and are in a constant state of flux. This inevitably causes problems for those responsible for their implementation. Ten years after the 1985 Environmental Impact Assessment Directive was notified to the Member States, it has undergone a review and the European Commissionhas reached a common position on the proposedamendments.The implementation date for Member States to meet the requirements of the amended Directive is 31 December 1997 (ENDS, 1996). However, the 1985 Directive has yet to be fully implemented in the UK.     

Designing of an environmental assessment algorithm for surface mining projects

This paper depicts the method used to quantify the environmental impact of mining activities in surface mine projects. The affected environment was broken down into thirteen components, such as Human health and immunity, Surface water, Air quality, etc. The effect of twenty impacting factors from the mining and milling activities was then calculated for each Environmental Component. Environmental assessments are often performed by using matrix methods in which one dimension of the matrix is the “Impacting Factor” and the other one is the “Environmental Components”. For the presented matrix method, each Impacting Factor was first given a magnitude between −10 and 10. These factors are used to set up a matrix named Impacting Factor Matrix, whose elements represent the Impacting Factor values. The effects of each Impacting Factor on each Environmental Component were then quantified by multiplying the Impacting Factor Matrix by Weighting Factor Matrix. The elements of the weighting factors matrix reflect the effects of each Impacting Factor on each Environmental Component. The outlined method was originally developed for a mining and milling operation in Iran, but it can successfully be used for mining ventures and more general industrial activities in other countries in accordance to their environmental regulations and laws.     

Strategic environmental management in Pennsylvania—new tools for moving beyond compliance

Editor's Note: The following position paper recently released by Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection inaugurates a new column in EQM that will be devoted to exploring the issues, positions, and controversies involving state enforcement policies and actions. We welcome your responses to these columns that will examine how the states are approaching and managing their environmental responsibilities and how various stakeholder groups will be affected.     

The use of recreation planning tools in U.S. Forest Service NEPA assessments

U.S. Forest Service managers are required to incorporate social and biophysical science information in planning and environmental analysis. The use of science is mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act, and U.S. Forest Service planning rules. Despite the agency’s emphasis on ‘science-based’ decision-making, little is known about how science is actually used in recreation planning and management. This study investigated the perceptions of Forest Service interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders for 106 NEPA projects dealing with recreation and travel management between 2005 and 2008. Our survey data show how managers rate the importance of social and biophysical science compared to other potential ‘success factors’ in NEPA assessments. We also explore how team leaders value and use multi-disciplinary tools for recreation-related assessments. Results suggest that managers employ a variety of recreation planning tools in NEPA projects, but there appears to be no common understanding or approach for how or when these tools are incorporated. The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) was the most frequently used planning tool, but the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) framework was the most consistently valued tool by those who used it. We recommend further evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each planning tool and future development of procedures to select appropriate planning tools for use in recreation-related NEPA assessments.     

Environmental cost accounting: The bottom line for environmental quality management

Recent years have seen the environment emerge as one of the most pressing issues facing American business. Eventually, environmental costs will affect the bottom line of every American company. A recent study in the National Law Journal estimates that cleanup of the nation's known hazardous wastes sites will cost $752 billion over thirty years under current environmental policies. Environmental legislation and regulations impose annual compliance costs estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency at more than $30 billion. In the near future, environmental expenses for cleanup, regulatory compliance, and management are anticipated to grow to between 2.5 and 3 percent of GNP. Corporations that wish to be competitive must successfully manage these costs while maintaining or improving their role as responsible corporate citizens. Implementing a comprehensive system for identifying and managing environmental costs requires a multidisciplinary team effort. Environmental costs impact product selection, design and pricing, capital budgeting, and future strategic direction. In order to make informed and meaningful managerial decisions on environmental programs, real cost data are vital. An environmental management systems (EMS) requires information to set goals and then monitor progress towards those goals over time. This article will discuss the current cost accounting systems (CASs) available to support the myriad goals of environmental management systems. In addition, the article will outline a framework for plotting the location of your current EMS on a matrix of regulatory and information requirements and evaluating whether your corporation's CAS is adequate to support the goals and objectives set by your environmental management program. By anticipating future regulatory and information requirements, flexible systems can be developed to adapt to new and more stringent regulations and more complex information requirements.     

Sustainable environmental careers and industries in the reengineering/EMS era

Environmental business and environmental professionals within industry will face unprecedented challenges in the late 1990s. The strategies of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) will require integrating environmental processes into mainstream business systems and reducing the role for “pure” environmental processes. This article describes some of the new skills that employees and consultants will need to learn in order to provide value to the customer's core business.     

WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-CONSCIOUS ERA1

The Sierra Club, which has long fought selected water resource projects that it believes would be environmentally damaging, has come to the conclusion in recent years that much more basic reforms are required in water resources development activities if the demands for environmental quality now evidenced by the American people are to be satisfied. These reforms should not be limited to those that would have a direct effect on the environmental aspects of proposed projects, but also many others long advocated by the economics profession that would have favorable indirect effects. Among the urgent reforms with indirect effects are those involving revision of the procedures used in evaluating proposed projects. These procedures should be revised so that future evaluations will much more accurately reflect the economic and environmental merits of proposed projects. Basic reforms of tax policies are also needed that will eliminate most of the private profit available to those who can persuade the government to increase the value of their land through the construction of water projects. Finally, some additional actions can be taken that will have a direct impact on lessening the adverse environmental impact of water projects beyond the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.     

Value from shredder waste: Ongoing limitations in the UK

Shredder residue is the residue from the shredding of end-of-life vehicles and white goods, after removal of the main metals. Approximately 850,000 tonnes of shredder waste is produced in the UK each year, and historically sent to landfill. Due to European legislation such as the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive and the Landfill Directive there is pressure to minimise this waste through recycling and recovery.In this paper, primary data are presented showing that 40% of materials are potentially recoverable in the coarser fraction of UK automotive shredder residue (>30 mm). Barriers to such recycling are discussed in the context of several recent drivers, including this waste's possible reclassification as hazardous.The lack of full and timely implementation of the ELV Directive in the UK has made it an ineffective driver, and it is now unlikely that its 2006 recycling targets will be met as intended.     

Land use in Korean tidal wetlands: impacts and management strategies

The coastal landscapes in southwestern Korea include a diverse array of tidal wetlands and salt marshes. These coastal zones link the ecological functions of marine tidal wetlands and freshwater ecosystems with terrestrial ecosystems. They are rich in biological diversity and play important roles in sustaining ecological health and processing environmental pollutants. Korean tidal wetlands are particularly important as nurseries for economically important fishes and habitats for migratory birds. Diking, draining, tourism, and conversion to agricultural and urban uses have adversely affected Korean tidal wetlands. Recent large development projects have contributed to further losses. Environmental impact assessments conducted for projects affecting tidal wetlands and their surrounding landscapes should be customized for application to these special settings. Adequate environmental impact assessments will include classification of hydrogeomorphic units and consideration of their responses to biological and environmental stressors. As is true worldwide, Korean laws and regulations are changing to be more favorable to the conservation and protection of tidal wetlands. More public education needs to be done at the local level to build support for tidal wetland conservation. Some key public education points include the role of tidal wetlands in maintaining healthy fish populations and reducing impacts of nonpoint source pollution. There is also a need to develop procedures for integrating economic and environmental objectives within the overall context of sustainable management and land uses.     

面向生态文明的中国环境管理学:历史使命与学术话语

中国环境管理面临实践困境和学科认同危机的双重考验。本文在回溯其环境学和公共管理的学科渊源基础上,分析了当下中国环境管理学的基本概念、学科归属、功能与定位,认为新时期应基于生态文明思想,重构中国环境管理学的规范价值、知识体系、政策工具与制度机制,提出了重构中国环境管理学的5项建议,包括须注意环境管理的回应性与前瞻性,学科专业性与跨学科协作并重,创新环境管理学的知识生产方式,搭建环境管理学同政治与大众对话的平台和机制,以及形成环境管理的理论、制度与实践相互转化的研究能力等。最后,提出以生态文明思想为引领,树立中国环境治理的道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信。     

The environmental quality business plan: A step-by-step guide

Companies that have the most effective environmental programs are those that have integrated environmental management into the business process. In order to take an environmental program to a higher level, we must determine a way to get business leaders to acknowledge the business benefit of environmental programs. Business integration becomes more likely when you speak the language of management and present tools that they regularly use. Most companies use business plans, therefore the use of an environmental quality business plan is a segue into the business. To catch management's attention, we must present cost improvement projects that will be part of the environmental quality business plan that affect the bottom line. Examples of the types of projects that could potentially save the company millions of dollars are reducing the cost of remediation, or pollution-prevention projects such as minimizing packaging and the elimination of chemical use and waste. Once we catch management's attention, we can get them involved in developing an environmental quality business plan and thus get more business integration and support.     

Temporal pessimism and spatial optimism in environmental assessments: An 18-nation study

The personal assessments of the current and expected future state of the environment by 3232 community respondents in 18 nations were investigated at the local, national, and global spatial levels. These assessments were compared to a ranking of each country's environmental quality by an expert panel. Temporal pessimism (“things will get worse”) was found in the assessments at all three spatial levels. Spatial optimism bias (“things are better here than there”) was found in the assessments of current environmental conditions in 15 of 18 countries, but not in the assessments of the future. All countries except one exhibited temporal pessimism, but significant differences between them were common. Evaluations of current environmental conditions also differed by country. Citizens' assessments of current conditions, and the degree of comparative optimism, were strongly correlated with the expert panel's assessments of national environmental quality. Aside from the value of understanding global trends in environmental assessments, the results have important implications for environmental policy and risk management strategies.     

环境执法在环保垂改中的基本路径与主要任务

为积极稳妥推进全国省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革试点工作,本文紧紧围绕《关于省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革试点工作的指导意见》精神,以环境执法改革为主体主线,从环境执法的总体方向、基本路径、主要任务三个方面进行政策分析解读,给各地在环保垂直管理制度改革试点工作中有效推进环境执法改革,提供改革路径指引和参考。     

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF POLICY-RELEVANT SCIENCE: LESSONS FROM A WATER RESOURCE PROJECT1

ABSTRACT: Water resource scientists face complex tasks in evaluating aspects of water projects, but relatively few assessment procedures have been applied and accepted as standard applications. Decision-makers often rely on environmental assessments to evaluate the value and operation of projects. There is often confusion about scientists' role in policy decisions. The scientist can affect policy-making as an expert withess, an advocate or a surrogate. By understanding the policy process, scientists can make their work more “policy relevant.” Using the Terror Lake hydro project in Alaska as a guide, three lessons are discussed: (1) not all problems are able to be solved with technology; (2) policy-relevant technology is rarely imposed on a problem; and (3) the scientist need not just react to the policy process, but can have an impact on how that process unfolds.     

Nonstationarity in Water Resources – Central European Perspective1

Kundzewicz, Zbigniew W., 2011. Nonstationarity in Water Resources – Central European Perspective. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(3): 550‐562. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00549.x Abstract: Nonstationarity in variables describing water quantity and water quality characteristics is reviewed, and an attempt to interpret nonstationary behavior is made with particular reference to the Central European region. Nonstationarity in water‐related variables results from several nonclimatic and climatic factors. Albeit evidence of climate change in Central Europe is clear, anthropogenic nonclimatic change, such as land‐use or land‐cover changes, water engineering measures, and in‐catchment water management play important roles. Systemic socioeconomic and political changes are the main factors responsible for the observed change in water quality in the region. The observed climate change in the Central European region has not been dramatic enough to persuade the water management community that changes of standards, criteria, and evaluation procedures should be made. Projections for the future largely differ between models and scenarios, hence information obtained from climate models is found too vague to be used. However, the water management community shows interest in climate change observations, projections, and impact assessments. Numerous hydrological research projects to tackle nonstationarity have been undertaken in the region. Also important acts of legislation, such as the European Union’s Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive can be regarded in the context of nonstationarity of water‐related variables.     

On the usefulness of life cycle assessment of packaging

In reaction to a paper inEnvironmental Management in which the sense and sensibility of environmental assessments of packaging were questioned, it is argued that these types of assessments may be very useful, provided the relevant types of questions are posed. These boundary conditions are discussed, along with an overview of more recent methodological developments with respect to environmental assessment of products.