Environmental vulnerability assessment using Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process based model

Environmental management of an area describes a policy for its systematic and sustainable environmental protection. In the present study, regional environmental vulnerability assessment in Hirakud command area of Odisha, India is envisaged based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process method (Grey–AHP) using integrated remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Grey–AHP combines the advantages of classical analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey clustering method for accurate estimation of weight coefficients. It is a new method for environmental vulnerability assessment. Environmental vulnerability index (EVI) uses natural, environmental and human impact related factors, e.g., soil, geology, elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, wind speed, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, crop intensity, agricultural DRASTIC value, population density and road density. EVI map has been classified into four environmental vulnerability zones (EVZs) namely: ‘low’, ‘moderate’ ‘high’, and ‘extreme’ encompassing 17.87%, 44.44%, 27.81% and 9.88% of the study area, respectively. EVI map indicates that the northern part of the study area is more vulnerable from an environmental point of view. EVI map shows close correlation with elevation. Effectiveness of the zone classification is evaluated by using grey clustering method. General effectiveness is in between “better” and “common classes”. This analysis demonstrates the potential applicability of the methodology.     

Mangrove vulnerability modelling in parts of Western Niger Delta, Nigeria using satellite images, GIS techniques and Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis (SMCA)

Mangroves are known for their global environmental and socioeconomic value. Despite their importance, mangrove like other ecosystems is now being threatened by natural and human-induced processes that damage them at alarming rates, thereby diminishing the limited number of existing mangrove vegetation. The development of a spatial vulnerability assessment model that takes into consideration environmental and socioeconomic criteria, in spatial and non-spatial formats has been attempted in this study. According to the model, 11 different input parameters are required in modelling mangrove vulnerability. These parameters and their effects on mangrove vulnerability were selected and weighted by experts in the related fields. Criteria identification and selection were mainly based on effects of environmental and socioeconomic changes associated with mangrove survival. The results obtained revealed the dominance of socioeconomic criteria such as population pressure and deforestation, with high vulnerability index of 0.75. The environmental criteria was broadly dispersed in the study area and represents vulnerability indices ranging from 0.00?C0.75. This category reflects the greater influence of pollutant input from oil wells and pipelines and minimal contribution from climatic factors. This project has integrated spatial management framework for mangrove vulnerability assessment that utilises information technology in conjunction with expert knowledge and multi-criteria analysis to aid planners and policy/ decision makers in the protection of this very fragile ecosystem.     

Incorporating cleaner production analysis into environmental impact assessment in china

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) system was established in 1979 in China. Although EIA was designed as a tool for pollution prevention, in practice it has been based on end-of-pipe (EOP) treatment control since it was first introduced. This approach has ensured an overwhelming focus by enterprises on the use of EOP treatment, rather than pollution prevention, to meet environmental standards, and it has produced a low rate of operation for EOP facilities. The low operation rate for EOP facilities can be traced to the traditional EIA system: it leads project proponents to develop large EOP treatment facilities, but once the main production lines are put into operation, proponents rarely have sufficient funds to operate the treatment facilities. This paper analyzes problems that exist in the EIA system in China, and it describes the Cleaner Production Index and Evaluation System, which is being proposed by environmental authorities in China to evaluate EIA projects based on cleaner production criteria. The paper also suggests how cleaner production analysis can be integrated into the EIA system to improve it.     

Using the analytical hierarchy process to assess the environmental vulnerabilities of basins in Taiwan

Every year, Taiwan endures typhoons and earthquakes; these natural hazards often induce landslides and debris flows. Therefore, watershed management strategies must consider the environmental vulnerabilities of local basins. Because many factors affect basin ecosystems, this study applied multiple criteria analysis and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate seven criteria in three phases (geographic phase, hydrologic phase, and societal phase). This study focused on five major basins in Taiwan: the Tan-Shui River Basin, the Ta-Chia River Basin, the Cho-Shui River Basin, the Tseng-Wen River Basin, and the Kao-Ping River Basin. The objectives were a comprehensive examination of the environmental characteristics of these basins and a comprehensive assessment of their environmental vulnerabilities. The results of a survey and AHP analysis showed that landslide area is the most important factor for basin environmental vulnerability. Of all these basins, the Cho-Shui River Basin in central Taiwan has the greatest environmental vulnerability.     

Linking Hydrogeological and Ecological Tools for an Integrated River Catchment Assessment

Ecological (biological and hydrochemical assessment) and hydrogeological (vulnerability and pollution risk mapping) tools have been combined to assess the ecological quality and hydrogeological vulnerability of an agricultural river basin. In addition, the applicability of the recently developed vulnerability assessment approach (COP method) in the particular environmental conditions was tested by comparing its results with hydroecological assessment tools (i.e., pollution metrics). Five sampling sites were selected and sampled for benthic macroinvertebrates and physicochemical variables during summer and spring. Overall, sites ranged from moderate to poor ecological quality. The results illustrated that 26% of the study area was of moderate pollution risk, while 65% was classified as of low and very low risk zones. However, the higher elevation zones where calcareous rock formations are encountered presented moderate to high pollution risk that was accredited by the ecological quality assessment. Pollution metrics facilitated from hydrochemical analysis indicated a significant association with groundwater vulnerability, thus validating vulnerability and risk estimations. This study indicated that the particular groundwater pollution risk mapping methodology and the water quality assessment indices can be well combined to provide an integrated evaluation tool at a catchment scale.     

Determining Vulnerability Importance in Environmental Impact Assessment: The case of Colombia

The concept of vulnerability has been used to describe the susceptibility of physical, biotic, and social systems to harm or hazard. In this sense, it is a tool that reduces the uncertainties of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) since it does not depend exclusively on the value assessments of the evaluator, but rather is based on the environmental state indicators of the site where the projects or activities are being carried out. The concept of vulnerability thus reduces the possibility that evaluators will subjectively interpret results, and be influenced by outside interests and pressures during projects. However, up until now, EIA has been hindered by a lack of effective methods. This research study analyzes the concept of vulnerability, defines Vulnerability Importance and proposes its inclusion in qualitative EIA methodology. The method used to quantify Vulnerability Importance is based on a set of environmental factors and indicators that provide a comprehensive overview of the environmental state. The results obtained in Colombia highlight the usefulness and objectivity of this method since there is a direct relation between this value and the environmental state of the departments analyzed.     

Investigating Pu and U isotopic compositions in sediments: a case study in Lake Obuchi, Rokkasho Village, Japan using sector-field ICP-MS and ICP-QMS

The objectives of the present work were to study isotope ratios and the inventory of plutonium and uranium isotope compositions in sediments from Lake Obuchi, which is in the vicinity of several nuclear fuel facilities in Rokkasho, Japan. Pu and its isotopes were determined using sector-field ICP-MS and U and its isotopes were determined with ICP-QMS after separation and purification with a combination of ion-exchange and extraction chromatography. The observed (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio (0.186 +/- 0.016) was similar to that of global fallout, indicating that the possible early tropospheric fallout Pu did not deliver Pu from the Pacific Proving Ground to areas above 40 degrees N. The previously reported higher Pu inventory in the deep water area of Lake Obuchi could be attributed to the lateral transportation of Pu deposited in the shallow area which resulted from the migration of deposited global fallout Pu from the land into the lake by river runoff and from the Pacific Ocean by tide movement and sea water scavenging, as well as from direct soil input by winds. The (235)U/(238)U atom ratios ranged from 0.00723 to 0.00732, indicating the natural origin of U in the sediments. The average (234)U/(238)U activity ratio of 1.11 in a sediment core indicated a significant sea water U contribution. No evidence was found for the release of U containing wastes from the nearby nuclear facilities. These results will serve as a reference baseline on the levels of Pu and U in the studied site so that any further contamination from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, the radioactive waste disposal and storage facilities, and the uranium enrichment plant can be identified, and the impact of future release can be rapidly assessed.     

The ecological impact assessment of a proposed road development (the Slovak approach)

The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodological positives and negatives. A special feature of Slovakia is that many planned or renovated roads are located in protected areas or are in contact with them (including Natura 2000 sites). Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of the roads' ecological impacts and find ways for their appropriate evaluation and incorporation into the Environmental Impact Assessment process. For this reason, the Ecological Impact Assessment methodology can be used as a basis for our research, which consists of three stages. In the first stage (scoping), a buffer circumventing the proposed road is created to determine the area for impact prediction and evaluation. Subsequently, the landscape structure and baseline landscape conditions are discussed, a map of current landscape structure is created and the current ecological status of the affected area is calculated. In the second stage (the evaluation of ecological resources), important ecological parts of the landscape are delineated. This step is based on the importance of previous information and its vulnerability, and leads to the mapping of the road ecological impact zone. In the third stage (impact assessment), important ecological parts are spatially correlated with the proposed road construction. Finally, the significance of ecological impacts of the activity is evaluated by applying specific criteria (duration, reversibility, magnitude, size and road ecological impact zone significance). A scale is proposed for each criterion to evaluate the total significance of impacts. In this way, detailed significant ecological impacts can be found which will help lead to proposed correct mitigation measures and a post-project analysis.     

Distributed process modeling for regional assessment of coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise

Sea-level rise involves increases in the coastal processes of inundation and erosion which are affected by a complex interplay of physical environmental parameters at the coast. Many assessments of coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise have been detailed and localised in extent. There is a need for regional assessment techniques which identify areas vulnerable to sea-level rise. Four physical environmental parameters – elevation, exposure, aspect and slope, are modeled on a regional scale for the Northern Spencer Gulf (NSG) study area using commonly available low-resolution elevation data of 10 m contour interval and GIS-based spatial modeling techniques. For comparison, the same parameters are modeled on a fine-scale for the False Bay area within the NSG using high-resolution elevation data. Physical environmental parameters on the two scales are statistically compared to coastal vulnerability classes as identified by Harvey et al. [1] using the Spearman rank-correlation test and stepwise linear regression. Coastal vulnerability is strongly correlated with elevation and exposure at both scales and this relationship is only slightly stronger for the high resolution False Bay data. The results of this study suggest that regional scale distributed coastal process modeling may be suitable as a first cut in assessing coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise in tide-dominated, sedimentary coastal regions. Distributed coastal process modeling provides a suitable basis for the assessment of coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise of sufficient accuracy for on-ground management and priority-setting on a regional scale.     

Using multiple-criteria decision-making techniques for eco-environmental vulnerability assessment: a case study on the Chi-Jia-Wan Stream watershed, Taiwan

The Chi-Jia-Wan Stream watershed, located in the area of the upstream Da-Chia River in central Taiwan, is famous for slopeland agriculture and the land-locked salmon. Improper agricultural activities have caused apparent ecosystem vulnerability and sensitivity. In this study, a system that combined three watershed-based environmental indicators with multiple-criteria decision-making techniques, the Analytical Hierarchy Process, and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations was developed to assess eco-environmental vulnerability. The composite evaluation index system was set up including sediment, runoff, and nutrient factors. Supported by geographic information system and K-means clustering and taking the subwatershed as the evaluation unit, the vulnerability is classified into four levels: potential, low, moderate, and high. The evaluated results show that 8.82% of subwatersheds (six subwatersheds) are in the moderately and highly vulnerable zones. These subwatersheds represent vertical-belt distribution, mainly concentrated in the right side of the studied area and near the riparian zone along the Chi-Jia-Wan Stream. The exploited farmland in the moderately and highly vulnerable zones is about 142.21 ha, occupying 75.38% of the total farmland in the studied watershed. These seriously vulnerable zones that have caused degradation in the quality of the eco-environment should be treated with more best management practices for eco-environmental rehabilitation. Additionally, the proposed model can effectively evaluate the eco-environmental vulnerability grade for reference in policy planning and ecological restoration in this area.     

GIS ASSESSMENT OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE ROSETTA AREA, EGYPT TO IMPACTS OF SEA RISE

A study of the area, including Rosetta city and the estuary of the river Nile (Rosetta branch), has been carried out for assessment of the impact of sea level rise (slr). A geographic information system (GIS) has been built including layers of land use, topography, archeological sites, land cover and population. Analysis of data has been carried out to assess vulnerability of various land use and land cover classes to the impact of sea level rise.Because the area under study has geomorphic relief profiles just over the sea level, inundation of total land could reach 26% of total study area due to only half a meter rise in sea level. This lost area includes 32% of urban clusters mainly used for human shelter and contains 52% of present monuments, 25% of valuable high quality dense palm trees cultivation, 75% of beaches and 19% of lands suitable, 25% of valuable high quality dense palm trees cultivation, 75% of beaches and 19% of lands suitable for agricultural reclamation (although suffering from salt water intrusion and soil salinization). This is expected to cause a significant impact on the present population, economic activities, total regional revenue, and also on tourism. At 1.1 m sea level rise, 72% to total study area could be inundated. This area contains all beaches, half of the palm cultivation, 43% of total urban clusters, which includes 81% of the monumental sites and historic buildings.Other environmental problems such as solid waste management, sanitary disposal network, deteriorating conditions of some monumental structures, in addition to the sea level rise act negatively on the environmental quality of the urban community. Future plans for urban expansion in the area must be studied carefully in order to preserve valuable palm lands and maintain and protect monuments and historic sites which help the promotion of tourism. An environmental management program is essential for upgrading tourism, promoting urban development and protecting coastal lands.     

Techno-economic and environmental assessment of wastewater management systems: Life cycle approach

The septic-tank and tanker (STT) system is a traditional wastewater management practice commonly used in many developing countries. The system is based on septic tanks that are pumped out by sewage tankers on a regular basis. Although the STT system is gradually being replaced by conventional gravity sewers (CGS), the high capital cost of this shift remains a major obstacle. This research aims to investigate the economic feasibility and environmental footprint of an alternative wastewater management system compared to existing sanitation systems. The study examines the small-bore sewers (SBS) system which utilizes the existing septic tanks to separate solids from gravity-conveyed effluent. A comparative assessment of the three systems (STT, CGS, and SBS) along with their treatment facilities was conducted on a residential area in the United Arab Emirates. Local design criteria of the SBS system were proposed based on current CGS guidelines and international SBS standards. A cost-integrated life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out in order to evaluate the environmental and economic aspects of the three management strategies. The total present value of the SBS strategy was found to be significantly higher than those of STT and CGS, respectively. Moreover, a 67% smaller treatment plant was sufficient to serve the SBS effluent. The LCA results revealed that the CGS strategy imparted the highest damage to the environment in all impact categories considered including global warming potential, whereas, the STT system produced a higher impact than SBS in six out of the eleven tested impact categories. Overall, while the STT strategy was the least financially feasible, the CGS had the largest environmental footprint. The eco-efficiency assessment revealed that the SBS strategy was the most favored among the examined strategies.     

A vulnerability analysis in the Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Taiwan

The vulnerability analysis method has been widely used in many environmental fields. In recent years, the tool has succeeded in comprehensive assessment of environmental problems. This study applied the vulnerability and resilience analysis method on watershed conservation and grasped the environmental change capacity that watershed could bear. The Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Northern Taiwan provided the setting for the case study reported herein. This study considered both internal and external effect factors, including watershed vulnerability, rainfall energy and the distances between the outlet and subbasins, and developed a new index, WP, for the priority restraints strategies on the land-use activities. The land-use restraint index can be a significant criterion for watershed protection and management strategies.     

Application of GNSS-RTK derived topographical maps for rapid environmental monitoring: a case study of Jack Finnery Lake (Perth, Australia)

In environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessments and environmental audits, topographical maps play an essential role in providing a means by which the locations of sampling sites may be selected, in assisting with the interpretation of physical features, and in indicating the impact or potential impact on an area due to changes in the system being monitored (e.g., spatially changing features such as wetlands). Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are hereby presented as a rapid method for monitoring spatial changes to support environmental monitoring decisions and policies. To validate the GNSS-based method, a comparison is made of results from a small-scale topographic survey using radio-based real-time kinematic GNSS (GNSS-RTK) and total station survey methods at Jack Finnery Lake, Perth, Australia. The accuracies achieved by the total station in this study were 2 cm horizontally and 6 cm vertically, while the GNSS-RTK also achieved an accuracy of 2 cm horizontally, but only 28 cm vertically. While the GNSS-RTK measurements were less accurate in the height component compared to those from the total station method, it is still capable of achieving accuracies sufficient for a topographic map at a scale of 1:1,750 that could support environmental monitoring tasks such as identifying spatial changes in small water bodies or wetlands. The time taken to perform the survey using GNSS-RTK, however, was much shorter compared to the total station method, thereby making it quite suitable for monitoring spatial changes within an environmental context, e.g., dynamic mining activities that require rapid surveys and the updating of the monitored data at regular intervals.     

An environmental pressure index proposal for urban development planning based on the analytic network process

This paper introduces a new approach to prioritize urban planning projects according to their environmental pressure in an efficient and reliable way. It is based on the combination of three procedures: (i) the use of environmental pressure indicators, (ii) the aggregation of the indicators in an Environmental Pressure Index by means of the Analytic Network Process method (ANP) and (iii) the interpretation of the information obtained from the experts during the decision-making process.The method has been applied to a proposal for urban development of La Carlota airport in Caracas (Venezuela). There are three options which are currently under evaluation. They include a Health Club, a Residential Area and a Theme Park. After a selection process the experts chose the following environmental pressure indicators as ANP criteria for the project life cycle: used land area, population density, energy consumption, water consumption and waste generation. By using goal-oriented questionnaires designed by the authors, the experts determined the importance of the criteria, the relationships among criteria, and the relationships between the criteria and the urban development alternatives.The resulting data showed that water consumption is the most important environmental pressure factor, and the Theme Park project is by far the urban development alternative which exerts the least environmental pressure on the area. The participating experts coincided in appreciating the technique proposed in this paper is useful and, for ranking ordering these alternatives, an improvement from traditional techniques such as environmental impact studies, life-cycle analysis, etc.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Structure Change in a Rural Region of China

As the embodiment of human activities, the change of regional industrial structure is an essential driving factor of global environmental change. Consequently, the research on the change of regional industrial structure and associated effects on the environment is one of the key issues of researches on sustainable development, human–environment relationship, and regional response to global environment change. However, compared to the flourish of researches on environmental impact assessment of industrial departments, few studies have been conducted to assess the environmental impact of regional industrial structure. In this study, based on a synthetic analysis of environmental disturbances of different industrial departments, the environmental impact coefficient of industrial department associated with the index of environmental impact of industrial structure was constructed, so as to make a quantitative assessment of environmental impact of the change of regional industrial structure. And the results of the case study in Lijiang City, a rural region of China, have showed that there are two obvious changes of industrial structure in the study area from 1992 to 2003, associated with a continuous decreasing of the index of environmental impact of industrial structure, which indicated a positive environmental effects of the change of regional industrial structure.     

Groundwater vulnerability assessment using DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models in intense agriculture area of the Gangetic plains,India

Delineating areas susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources form an important component of sustainable management of groundwater resources. The present research aims at estimating vulnerability of groundwater by application of DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models in the southern part of the Gangetic plains in the state of Bihar. The DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models have considered seven parameters viz. depth to water level, net recharge, aquifer material, soil material, topography, impact of vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity. A third model, Pesticide DRASTIC LU has been adopted by adding land use as an additional parameter, to assess its impact on vulnerability zonation. The DRASTIC model indicated two vulnerable categories, moderate and high, while the Pesticide DRASTIC model revealed moderate, high and very high vulnerable categories. Out of the parameters used, depth to water level affected the vulnerability most. The parameter caused least impact was topography in DRASTIC, while in case of Pesticide DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC LU models, the parameter was hydraulic conductivity. A linear regression between groundwater NO₃ concentrations and the vulnerability zonation revealed better correlation for Pesticide DRASTIC model, emphasising the effectiveness of the model in assessing groundwater vulnerability in the study region. Considering all three models, the most vulnerable areas were found to be concentrated mainly in two zones, (i) in the south-western part along Ekangarsarai-Islampur patch and (ii) around Biharsharif-Nagarnausa area in the central part. Both zones were characterised by intensive vegetable cultivation with urban areas in between.     

Nutrient mitigation in a temporary river basin

We estimate the nutrient budget in a temporary Mediterranean river basin. We use field monitoring and modelling tools to estimate nutrient sources and transfer in both high and low flow conditions. Inverse modelling by the help of PHREEQC model validated the hypothesis of a losing stream during the dry period. Soil and Water Assessment Tool model captured the water quality of the basin. The ‘total daily maximum load’ approach is used to estimate the nutrient flux status by flow class, indicating that almost 60 % of the river network fails to meet nitrogen criteria and 50 % phosphate criteria. We recommend that existing well-documented remediation measures such as reforestation of the riparian area or composting of food process biosolids should be implemented to achieve load reduction in close conjunction with social needs.     

Assessment of Ground Water Vulnerability and its Application to the Development of Protection Strategy for the Water Supply Aquifer in Owerri, Southeastern Nigeria

Pollution vulnerability of theOwerri regional water supply aquifer wasevaluated as a basis for developing appropriateprotection strategy for the groundwaterresource. The assessment was accomplished usingLegrand, GOD, Siga and DRASTIC models.Techniques of the models generally involvedparameters rating and point count systems, whichare based on the evaluation of various parameterin relation to their capacity for enhancing orattenuating contaminants in the groundwatersystem. Field and laboratory evaluations of theparameters indicate that the Owerri areagenerally occupies a nearly, flat topographywith a relatively high groundwater recharge. Thearea is underlain by predominantly sandyfacies in the Northern area which grades intogravelly sequences towards the southwest. TheSoutheastern area is distinguished by thickclayey facies that thin westwards towards theOwerri metropolis. Effective hydraulicconductivity (Kz) in the downward directionranges from 1.44 × 10^-3 to 5.6 × 10^-9 m s^-1; with the upper limits reflecting coarsesands and gravelly units. The amount of clay andclay-size particles in the sandy and gravellyunits is negligible, suggesting that thesorptive capacity of the units is low. Depth towater table decreases southwards while hydraulichead gradients vary between 0.09 and 0.22.Groundwater occurs in unconfined conditions inmost places except in the southeastern zonewhere it is semi-confined due to the presence ofa clayey unit. The groundwater vulnerabilitymap developed on the basis of the models andseveral other thematic maps shows that theOwerri metropolis and the southwest area ofOwerri have high vulnerability, indicatinggroundwater pollution. The existing wastedisposal sites in these sub-areas should beabandoned and rehabilitated to forstall furtherpollution of the groundwater system. Areas tothe North and Southeast of Owerri have moderateand low vulnerabilities, respectively,indicating the relatively lower sensitivity ofthe groundwater system in the sub-areas tocontamination. The lower sensitivity couldfurther be matched with properly engineeredsanitary landfills in the event of choice ofsites, as an additional protective strategy forthe groundwater system.     

Climate change vulnerability in a tropical region based on environmental and socio-economic factors

The understanding of the regional and local dimensions of vulnerability due to climate change is essential to develop appropriate and targeted adaptation efforts. We assessed the local dimensions of vulnerability in the tropical state of Kerala, India, using a purposely developed vulnerability index, which accounts for both environmental and socio-economic factors. The large extents of coastal wetlands and lagoons and high concentration of mangrove forests make the state environmentally vulnerable. Low human development index, large population of socially deprived groups, which are dependent on the primary sector, and high population density make the state vulnerable from a socio-economic point of view. The present study investigates climate change vulnerability at the district level in the State of Kerala relying on a purposely developed composite vulnerability index that encompasses both socio-economic and environmental factors. The Kerala coast contains the socio-economically and ecologically most vulnerable regions, as demonstrated by a composite vulnerability index.