The Environmental Impact Assessment process in Singapore with particular respect to coastal environments and the role of NGOs

The recent history of industrial and urban development in Singapore, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and the way EIAs are used in development planning is briefly reviewed. EIAs are carried out in secret when, and if the Government deems them necessary. Coastal ecosystems are used as examples to show that an almost total loss of mangrove, sandy beach and coral reef systems has taken place at the expense of development, and in a political environment where the EIA is supposedly utilized. The role of the main Non-Government Organisation (NGO) of Singapore, the Nature Society of Singapore, in affecting conservation is also discussed.     

Comparative analysis using EIA for developed and developing countries: case studies of hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan,Norway and Sweden

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.     

Selection and integration of environmental impacts in the Danish transport infrastructure assessment process

Transport projects have numerous consequences for the environment, society and economy, and thus an EU Directive has stated a number of impacts that need to be assessed prior to any major intervention. This paper is set in a Danish context where the EU requirements have been adopted in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulation along with national requirements. In recent years, however, the EIAs have been criticised for an inconsistent inclusion of impacts and unclear assessment process. A selection of EIAs is for this reason reviewed and compared to the EU Directive and corresponding works in Sweden and the UK to identify potential opportunities for improvements. From the literature study, an overview table with all potential relevant impacts for transport projects is set up to assist the EIA process. For the sake of simplicity and transparency, the impacts selected from this table should, however, be further reduced in number to ensure that only the most important impacts are included in the process. To further increase simplicity and transparency in the EIA process, a novel framework for assessing different types of impacts is proposed. In this framework, a comprehensive decision support tool involving stakeholders is in focus. The framework is supplemented with a procedure for generating objectives and presenting results in an appropriate way to the many stakeholders involved. The impacts overview table and the assessment techniques are applied to a case study to illustrate the process, and finally, conclusions and perspectives for future work within the field are set out.     

Incorporating detectability of threatened species into environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a key mechanism for protecting threatened plant and animal species. Many species are not perfectly detectable and, even when present, may remain undetected during EIA surveys, increasing the risk of site‐level loss or extinction of species. Numerous methods now exist for estimating detectability of plants and animals. Despite this, regulations concerning survey protocol and effort during EIAs fail to adequately address issues of detectability. Probability of detection is intrinsically linked to survey effort; thus, minimum survey effort requirements are a useful way to address the risks of false absences. We utilized 2 methods for determining appropriate survey effort requirements during EIA surveys. One method determined the survey effort required to achieve a probability of detection of 0.95 when the species is present. The second method estimated the survey effort required to either detect the species or reduce the probability of presence to 0.05. We applied these methods to Pimelea spinscens subsp. spinescens, a critically endangered grassland plant species in Melbourne, Australia. We detected P. spinescens in only half of the surveys undertaken at sites where it was known to exist. Estimates of the survey effort required to detect the species or demonstrate its absence with any confidence were much higher than the effort traditionally invested in EIA surveys for this species. We argue that minimum survey requirements be established for all species listed under threatened species legislation and hope that our findings will provide an impetus for collecting, compiling, and synthesizing quantitative detectability estimates for a broad range of plant and animal species. Incorporación de la Capacidad de Detectar una Especie Amenazada a la Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental     

Planning for Biodiversity: the Role of Ecological Impact Assessment

Abstract:  Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the process of identifying potential environmental effects of proposed development and the required mitigation measures. It is one of the most widely used planning tools today, but its ability to promote biodiversity conservation is largely unexplored. We studied the ecological component of the Israeli EIA system by reviewing a representative sample of 52 environmental impact statements (EISs) produced since 1995 and their corresponding guidelines issued by the Ministry of the Environment. Quality of both EISs and guidelines was determined using a simple scoring approach. Lack of quantitative data, meaningful analyses, and ecosystem perspective was apparent throughout. Many EISs failed to perform field surveys and their qualitative nature hampered meaningful impact prediction. Most EISs concentrated on aesthetic mitigation measures and did not assess their feasibility and likely success. Most of these flaws reflect poor standards rather than true scientific limitations. Guideline quality scores were the most important factor determining the quality of EISs; second was the involvement of an ecological consultant in preparing the EIS. We found a decreasing trend of EIS quality scores over time. Improvements in EIA procedures, particularly in ecological guidelines and the incorporation of ecological consultation, are important for upgrading ecological impact assessment so that the potential of EIA to advance biodiversity conservation can be realized.     

Game theoretic analysis of environmental impact assessment system in China

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) system has been established in China since 1973. In present EIA cases, there are four participants in general: governments, enterprises, EIA organizations and the public. The public has held responsible for both social costs and social duties. The public supervises social costs produced by enterprises discharging pollutant in EIA. However public participation is mostly deputized by governments, which severely weaken the independence of the public as one participant in EIA. In this paper, EIA refers to the different attitudes of the participants whose optional strategies may be described by a proper game model. According to disfigurements in EIA, three sides (governments, enterprises, and EIA organizations) dynamic iterative game theory, dynamic game theory of incomplete information, and perfect Bayesian equilibrium theory to analyze the reciprocity relation among governments, EIA organizations and enterprises. The results show that in a short period, economic benefit is preponderant over social benefit. Governments and enterprises both do not want to take EIA to reveal social costs. EIA organizations’ income comes from enterprises and the collusions are built between them to vindicate economic benefit. In a long run, social benefit loss caused by environmental pollution must be recuperated sooner or later and environmental deterioration will influence the achievements of economic benefit, so both governments and enterprises are certain to pursue high social benefit and willing to take EIA, helpful to increase private benefit. EIA organizations will make fair assessment when their economic benefit are ensured. At present, the public as silent victims can not take actual part in EIA. The EIA system must be improved to break the present equilibrium of three sides, bringing the public to the equilibrium to exert public supervision.     

可持续发展与项目环评的调整完善

可持续发展战略的目标的确定与区域环境影响评价的兴起，使建设项目环境影响评价面临着新的形势和要求，本文式就项目层次环境的调整完善方向与相关的问题进行讨论。     

战略环境影响评价(SEA)在中国的开展—区域环境评价(REA)

实践和研究表明 :传统的环境影响评价 (EIA) ,即在项目层次上开展的EIA ,不尽完美。而包含有战略环境影响评价的新一代EIA体系将很好的弥补项目EIA的不足 ,并且将可持续发展的思想真正贯彻到实际中去。中国在开展环境影响评价方面 ,也逐渐注重两个层次上EIA的开展 ,特别是结合当前发展的新特点 ,开展了区域环境影响评价。文章论证了区域环境评价 ,无论从层次上 ,还是从评价的对象、内容上都是属于战略环境影响的形式。并基于这个观点 ,介绍了区域环评在中国的开展及今后发展应注意的一些问题。     

The near-closure of a lagoon in western Iceland: how accurate were predictions of impacts on environment and biota?

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) project instigated in connection with the near-closure of the large fjord-like lagoon Gilsfjörður in sub-arctic western Iceland with a road is described and discussed. Three phases were involved: a survey of pre-impact conditions of areas possibly affected as well as control areas, predictions of impacts of the road, and assessment of impacts up to 5–6 years after completion of the project. Emphasis was placed on birds and benthic flora and fauna. Although several predictions were upheld, others were not. The most unexpected changes were the elimination of kelp forest and some associated fauna inside the road as well as from large areas outside it. Feeding areas of the knot (Calidris canutus) and female eiders (Somateria mollissima) with ducklings also changed in unexpected ways. Unforeseen changes can partly be traced to inadequate knowledge of communities and their functioning in the area. The ecological requirements of many species involved, e.g. with respect to salinity, were imperfectly known. The predictions of engineers on the effects of the project on physical factors were not as accurate or detailed as desired. Some critical predictions of the engineers failed to make an impact on the ecologists, who then failed to predict some major changes in the biota, such as the disappearance of kelp forest outside the road. This study highlights some problems probably shared by many EIAs: (a) the near impossibility of finding suitable control areas, (b) the lack of ecological understanding of even common species, and possibly (c) inadequate communication between engineers and ecologists.     

Real-time hydro-environmental modeling and visualization system for public engagement

Quantitative environmental impact assessment (EIA) provides a tool for decision makers and the public to understand issues relating to sustainable development. The use of advanced hydro-environmental modelling and visualization technology can help to provide an intuitive and interactive digital platform to better communicate EIA issues and thus promote continuous public involvement and stakeholder engagement. Such a platform must be based on a robust hydrodynamic model engine that provides seamless predictions from the near to far field. This lecture summarizes the key issues of impact assessment in urban coastal cities, and presents examples of impact assessment of several major sewage outfalls, including the Hong Kong Harbour Area Treatment Scheme. The predictions of a recently developed Distributed Entrainment Sink Approach (DESA) for dynamic coupling of the near and far fields are compared with alternative “actual source" approaches and field experiments. The conceptual elements of a real time water quality forecast and management system are outlined.     

工业开发区区域环评的特点

从工业区域开发与单项建设项目的区别入手 ,阐述工业开发区区域环境评价的特点 ,并提出区域环评中在技术方法上需要进一步丰富和发展的工作内容。     

利用EIA法快速筛查垃圾焚烧飞灰和烟气中的二恶英毒性水平

基于CAPE技术公司的兔子复合克隆抗体的二恶英(PCDD/F)酶免疫分析试剂盒,建立了快速检测垃圾焚烧飞灰和烟气中PCDD/F毒性(TEQ值)的方法.试剂盒的最低检测限为3.3pg·tube-1(即3.3pgTEQ每EIA试管),线性检测范围为10～30pg·tube-1.样品经甲苯索氏抽提后过硅胶柱连接小碳柱净化处理,TCDD/F的回收率大约为50%,与原飞灰PCDD/F分布模式相比净化处理后样品中的TCDD/F含量明显降低.用净化处理后的飞灰溶液作标准溶液,绘制PCDD/F剂量-效应关系曲线,定量分析了2个飞灰样品和2个烟气样品的TEQ浓度,结果表明分析样品的TEQ实测值(HRGC/HRMS分析获得)与预测值(标准曲线计算值)的相对偏差(Rd)均小于15%,说明用该方法定量分析垃圾焚烧飞灰和烟气中PCDD/F毒性是可行的.     

完善生态影响评估 促进中国生态资源的保护

环境影响评估对减少工业和城市发展对环境的影响起到了一定的作用，但目前的环境影响评估工作比较重视发展项目对其周围水、气污染方面的评估，对自然资源影响的评估还未受到足够的重视，文章对生态影响评估的重要性及中国内地生态影响评估的现状进行了简要的讨论，并介绍了香港生态影响评估系统，以为我国同地生态影响评估工作的管理提供参考。     

基于新加坡模式推进中国低碳生态城市发展的思考

通过回顾新加坡城市发展过程,分析了新加坡城市规划、建设、管理、发展四位一体的低碳生态化发展模式。在此基础上,对中国城市发展提出了以低碳生态为规划导向、以增强城市载体功能和绿色发展为建设目的、以完备立法、严格执法、全民参与为管理手段,以＂两型社会＂为发展目标的建议,推进低碳生态城市发展。     

A Study of Plant Species Extinction in Singapore: Lessons for the Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity

The native vascular plant flora of the Republic of Singapore has suffered the extinction of 594 out of a total 2277 species. These represent local, not global, species extinctions. Coastal habitats, including mangroves, have lost 39% of their species, while inland forests have last 29%. Epiphytic species (62% loss) appear particularly prone to extinction, which is reflected in a similar disposition exhibited by the Orchidaceae. Deforestation and disturbance have been the main cause of plant species extinction in Singapore. The rich mangrove epiphyte flora has been totally exterminated, and a number of tree species are reduced to populations of a few mature individuals. Many more species continue to survive than the species-area relationship would predict given the 99.8% loss of primary forest. This is interpreted as a result of the failure of equilibrium to be achieved yet in the remnant forest fragments, even after more than a century of isolation. Singapore's secondary forests appear to accrete plant diversity very slowly, even if contiguous with primary forest areas. We conclude that remnant fragments of primary tropical forest, even of very small size, can play a major role in the conservation of tropical biodiversity. The patterns of extinction observed in Singapore indicate that coastal and estuarine sites are in greatest demand for development and therefore must be given high priority for conservation despite their somewhat lower biodiversity. Epiphyte and orchid diversity appear to be very good indicators of the degree of disturbance suffered by a habitat in the humid tropics.     

建设项目环境影响评价中污染物排放总量控制评价方法

本文提出了在建设项目环境影响评价中关于污染物排放总量控制评价所应包含的内容,介绍了清洁生产纳入环评中的方法,确定了在技术经济合理,污染物排放满足环境质量与排放标准前提下的排放总量,并对其合理性论证方法做了介绍,提出总量控制目标实现的对策。     

Sex in the tropics: reproduction of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Chthamalus malayensis</Emphasis> Pilsbury (Class Cirripedia) at the equator

The reproduction of a key intertidal space occupier, the barnacle, Chthamalus malayensis, was examined over a 13-month period. The reproductive cycle of C. malayensis was studied at three shores (Singapore, east and west coast of Malaysia) near the centre of its geographical range. Testes, vesiculae seminales, ovaries and embryos were scored for their stages of development. Although, in general, C. malayensis contained gonads throughout the year, the timing and level of peak development varied between the three shores. Embryos were present throughout the year in west Malaysia but were absent for 4–5 months in east Malaysia (June–August and October) and Singapore (February, April and August). Variations in the reproductive cycles and brooding were not clearly linked to the timing of monsoons. The lack of seasonal peaks in breeding may be attributed to the relatively constant climatic conditions experienced near the equator.Communicated by M. S. Johnson, Crawley     

Towards a sustainable future: a holistic inquiry of waste management behaviors of Singapore households

ABSTRACT

In 2018, Singapore produced a 7.7 million tonnes of waste, which is a significant amount of waste for a small nation-state. In line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) targets 11.6 and 12.5 of the 2030 Agenda, which addresses cities’ waste generation and management impacts, we ask the question of why Singapore households are not more proactively engaged in waste minimization, despite the presence of local waste minimization public campaigns. This study is the first known study to comparatively apply and test three major theories – social psychological, social-structural, and sociocultural theories, to explain household waste management behavior in Singapore. A national survey followed by regression analysis of 303 households was conducted. In our findings, we firstly describe current trends in household waste management behaviors. Secondly, we compared each applied theory’s ability to predict households’: (1) reuse and (2) recycling of a variety of household items; and (3) recycling frequency. We obtained partial evidence supporting the role of future-orientedness and environmental identity on householders’ variety reuse and recycling. Social-structural (age cohort x income, education) and situational variables (the convenience thesis), also predicted various waste minimization behaviors. Finally, householders’ knowledge of what is recyclable affected all forms of waste minimization behaviors. In view of the study’s findings, we propose a need for targeted planning and policy interventions for different segments of the Singapore population, and different short- and longer-term measures to initiate and achieve sustained household waste minimization.     

整全,互动和可持续的EIA：香港上水屠宰场的例案研究

以香港上水屠宰场的ＥＩＡ为例，阐述了ＥＩＡ过程须结合“清洁工艺”、“环境管理系统”、“持续生的本底监测”和“开放的公众咨询”四个重要单元，互动灵活，以增强环保效益、省时及经济。传统的ＥＩＡ较为被动，如果项目“倡议人”缺乏环保意识，就会妨碍了它的实质功能。通行的末期性公众咨询，很容易激发冲突，与西方冗长的公众参与同样妨碍进度。文章探讨互动式ＥＩＡ的优点，论证它对改善环评工序和可持续发展的重要性。