Environmental problems and environmental regulations in Western Europe, 1980–1989

Environmental problems are a function of the process of economic development and the ability to mitigate the problems through regulation. An historical analysis helps to show how the problems have been solved thus far. The objective of this investigation is to present an overview of environmental problems and the corresponding regulations in Western Europe during the 1980s. Environmental problems for 18 Western European countries were identified from abstracts from a data base on environmental literature. The 1977 findings were systematized on the basis of 20 key words according to source and impact, and a new data base was established. The data showed that the main environmental problems in Western Europe were: energy production/acid rain, nuclear power/waste, air pollution/climate, heavy metals, pesticides, water pollution, solid waste, and unforeseen accidents. Many environmental problems are common to most European countries. Regulatory measures differ significantly. In some countries environmental regulations are largely limited to the implementation of European Economic Community (EEC) directives. We have supplemented the national analyses with an examination of existing and proposed EEC regulations along with interviews with civil servants in the EEC Commission. In the 1980s, EEC environmental regulations were similar to environmental regulations in some member states. It is expected that future EEC regulations will be less reflective of those of individual member states.     

Environmental management: An experiment in orientation in India

Summary Environmental management is a most critical input for achieving ecologically sound and balanced economic growth. It is essential that policy-makers and administrators accept the significance, principles and practices of environmental management, otherwise implementation of projects will not include the environmental protection measures. Environmental management training programmes for decision-makers are, therefore, essential. In India, The Department of Environment has initiated workshop for top level managers for sensitizing them to environmental management concepts. The experience in organizing and conducting such programmes may be of value to organizations in other developing countries, and is summarised in this paper.     

Environmental regulation: A new approach

Environmental regulations traditionally have been developed to limit pollution emitted to a single environmental medium at a time. This approach has been followed for a variety of reasons—political, legal, and informational, to name a few. However, more efficient environmental management could be achieved if environmental standards were issued simultaneously across all media. In this way multimedia pollutant tradeoffs could be utilized and regulatory uncertainty could be reduced.     

采掘行业环境影响评价制度存在问题的探讨

环境影响评价是环境管理的重要组成部分,为我国的环境管理决策提供重要依据。但在实际工作中,我国的环境管理工作仍然存在一定的问题。本文结合采掘行业的特点,分别从法律层面、设计层面和环境影响评价层面等三个方向进行分析,结合发现的问题提出建议,力求从不同的角度完善相关制度和技术要求。从而使采掘行业的环境管理能全面涵盖采掘行业开发过程,最大程度地减少采掘行业开发过程中的环境影响,完善采掘行业环境影响评价制度,对我国采掘行业生态环境的改善及环境影响评价法制建设起到一定的借鉴意义。     

Environmental economic,political and ethical integration in a common decision-making framework

This article develops a decision-making framework for environmental management that integrates technical, economic, political and legal, and ethical decision levels. It attempts to show how these decision levels can be ordained, integrated and interconnected and postulates a hierarchic concentric sphere system that proposes an environmental management model for long-term solutions. This model can be used as a check list for environmental management decision-making and also as a guide for environmental conflict resolution where environmental problems necessitate several levels of decision making. It integrates various environmental ethical positions and evaluates political decisions into a comprehensive, broadly applicable multidisciplinary approach. The objective of this decision-making model is to interconnect into a simplified sequence different levels of environmental management processes in order to account for sustainability, efficacy, efficiency and the acceptability of environmental management processes in the long term. This is done by observing when an environmental problem needs to be solved within a certain sphere of solutions and when it requires wider frameworks, how these can be established and how this process proves that solidarity is the widest and most reasonable sphere.     

我国环境影响评价与社会稳定风险评估制度关系的思考

环境影响评价制度和社会稳定风险评估制度作为预防和控制环境影响、创新社会风险管理的重要制度,实施以来发挥了重要作用,但也出现了工作边界和内容范围交叉的问题。尤其是近年来,环境污染焦虑引发社会风险事件的建设项目不断增多,导致两者的"天然联系"愈发紧密,工作存在模糊地带的问题愈发凸显,致使建设项目行政审批繁复、执行力差。在梳理环评、稳评的发展历程和存在问题的基础上,深入分析了环评和稳评的法律地位、适用范围、评价目标、评价内容、实施主体和程序上的异同,剖析了两者在制度设计和内容衔接方面的关系,并从理清工作边界职责、环境社会风险评估结果共享、强化稳评公众参与等方面提出了环评和稳评政策衔接的建议,为政府有效实施建设项目环境、社会监管提供决策参考。     

Environmental Management of Quarries as Waste Disposal Facilities

Problems associated with the disposal of municipal solid waste have become a source of public concern worldwide as awareness of potential adverse environmental impacts and health threats from solid waste has increased. Communities are concerned about the generation and management of solid waste to the extent of refusing to allow new disposal facilities near their homes, often after witnessing the legacy of existing facilities. Under these conditions, the development of national policies for the management of solid waste becomes highly political, all while requiring appropriate technical solutions that ensure environmental protection and proper management plans that support an acceptable solution for the disposal of municipal solid waste. In some locations, the conversion of old quarries into well-engineered and controlled landfills appears as a promising solution to a continuously increasing problem, at least for many decades to come. This paper describes the environmental impacts associated with solid waste disposal in a converted quarry site and the mitigation measures that can be adopted to alleviate potential adverse impacts. Environmental management and monitoring plans are also discussed in the context of ensuring adequate environmental protection during and after the conversion process.     

The response of industry to environmental regulations in Alexandria, Egypt

The response of industry to current environmental regulations in Alexandria, Egypt was investigated. Environmental officers in 55 industrial firms completed a questionnaire examining their opinions about current environmental regulations, the statuses of their companies' compliance with those regulations, and the environmental management progress and problems in their companies. Although Egyptian industrialists had positive opinions about environmental regulations, their companies were not in satisfactory compliance with those regulations. The context in which environmental concern started in Egypt and the economic environment of Egyptian industry had lead to 'soft' enforcement and implementation of environmental regulations. The response of Alexandria's industrial firms to the issued environmental regulations was limited to adopting symbolic 'end-of-pipe' environmental protection measures. Progress in environmental management and problems in industries of Alexandria were also investigated.     

加强环境管理 促进经济发展

本文论述了环境管理与经济发展的辨证关系；指出环境管理的的核心是使经济环境协调发展，环境管理必须遵从生态规律和经济规律，并提出了在改革中加强环境管理促进经济发展的措施。     

Developing a collaborative model for environmental planning and management

Methods for involving the public in natural resource management are changing as agencies adjust to an increasingly turbulent social and political environment. There is growing interest among managers and scholars in collaborative approaches to public involvement. Collaboration is conceptually defined and elaborated using examples from the natural resource management field. This paper then examines how collaboration theory from the organizational behavior field can help environmental managers to better understand those factors that facilitate and inhibit collaborative solutions to resource problems. A process-oriented model is presented that proposes that collaboration emerges out of an environmental context and then proceeds sequentially through a problem-setting, direction-setting, and structuring phase. Factors constraining collaboration are also specified, including organizational culture and power differentials. Designs for managing collaboration are identified, which include appreciative planning, joint agreements, dialogues, and negotiated settlements. Environmental managers need new skills to manage collaboration within a dynamic social and political environment. Further research is needed to test the propositions outlined here.     

Institutional, Legal, and Economic Instruments in Ghana's Environmental Policy

The environmental situation in Ghana is characterized by desertification, land degradation, deforestation, soil erosion, and inadequate water supply in the northern regions of the country. The population as a whole is growing at a rate of 3% per annum, with even greater urban growth rates, due to rural out-migration. Large parts of the coastal zone in the south are rapidly developing to become one large suburbanized area. Water quality is particularly threatened in the urban and industrialized areas, which are mainly located in the southern part of the country. The coastal lagoons and coastal waters are moderately to heavily polluted. Erosion extends along the whole Ghanaian coast with excesses, for example, in the Keta area, where during the last century over 90% of the original buildings have been washed awayby the sea. The obvious environmental consequences of the mining sector are illustrative of the environmental threats caused by a fast growing industry and industrializing agriculture, in a country where environmental policy is only in its formative years. Desertification, food insecurity and coastal erosion all contribute to an increasing number of environmental refugees. Environmental policy in Ghana is a post-Rio phenomenon. Environmental laws, a Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, an advisory National Committee for the Implementation of Agenda 21, and a fully mandated environmental administration have been established. This administration advocates a progressive attitude towards environmental legislation and points out the specific utility of economic and legal instruments in environmental management in this relatively fast developing country. The choice of instruments for environmental management is increasingly influenced by the specific state of African environmental and technological capacity and by a call for the recognition of the role of traditional customs in nature conservation. This African perspective on environmental management is further intensified by an unmet need for regional, transboundary cooperation in the West African subcontinent. This specific West African context calls for an elaboration of an effective capacity-building program for environmental management in the area.     

Screening for EIA in India: Enhancing effectiveness through ecological carrying capacity approach

Developing countries across the world have embraced the policy of high economic growth as a means to reduce poverty. This economic growth largely based on industrial output is fast degrading the ecosystems, jeopardizing their long term sustainability. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has long been recognized as a tool which can help in protecting the ecosystems and aid sustainable development. The Screening guidelines for EIA reflect the level of commitment the nation displays towards tightening its environmental protection system. The paper analyses the screening process for EIA in India and dissects the rationale behind the exclusions and thresholds set in the screening process. The screening process in India is compared with that of the European Union with the aim of understanding the extent of deviations from a screening approach in the context of better economic development. It is found that the Indian system excludes many activities from the purview of screening itself when compared to the EU. The constraints responsible for these exclusions are discussed and the shortcomings of the current command and control system of environmental management in India are also explained. It is suggested that an ecosystem carrying capacity based management system can provide significant inputs to enhance the effectiveness of EIA process from screening to monitoring.     

Better environmental future in Europe through environmental auditing?

environmental auditing must be rejected if the aim is to make companies introduce a specific management concept. Rather, it is preferable to leave the search for effective environmental protection strategies to the competitive system, especially since the criteria for environment-oriented management in the European Community audit proposal are without substance. Environmental auditing can, however, assume a complementary function in the framework of an overall environmental policy if it is designed as an information tool with which companies provide information on the development of environmental problems deriving from their manufacturing processes and products. However, the model required to establish a framework of quantity and evaluation criteria is not available. Further, auditing does not cover products. Similarly, there are no proposals defining the evaluation procedure for ecological resource scarcity. Thus, the attempt of the Commission of the European Communities to create the elementary prerequisites for consistent and verifiable environmental auditing in the corporate sector has failed.     

Evaluation of environmental management resources (ISO 14001) at civil engineering construction worksites: a case study of the community of Madrid

In recent years, significant advances have been made in business organization and management. The growing demands of clients as well as the globalization of world markets are among the many factors that have led to the establishment of systems of quality control and environmental management as a competitive strategy for businesses. When compared to other professional sectors, the construction sector has been slower to respond to environmental problems and to adopt Environmental Management Systems (EMS). In the world today the ISO 14001 standard is currently the main frame of reference used by construction companies to implement this type of management system. This article presents the results of a general study regarding the evaluation of the application of the ISO 14001 standard at civil engineering construction worksites in the Community of Madrid (Spain), specifically pertaining to requirement 4.4.1, Resources, roles, responsibilities, and authority. According to requirement 4.4.1, company executives should appoint people responsible for implementing the EMS and also specify their responsibilities and functions. The personnel designated for supervising environmental work should also have sufficient authority to establish and maintain the EMS. The results obtained were the following: - EMS supervisors did not generally possess adequate training and solid experience in construction work and in the environment. Furthermore, supervisors were usually forced to combine their environmental work with other tasks, which made their job even more difficult. - Generally speaking, supervisors were not given sufficient authority and autonomy because productivity at the construction site had priority over environmental management. This was due to the fact that the company management did not have a respectful attitude toward the environment, nor was the management actively involved in the establishment of the EMS. - Insufficient resources were allocated to the Environmental Management Unit. As a result, the application of EMSs in construction projects often appeared to be more of a formality, which was merely a way of maintaining the certification of the Environmental Management System. It was more a means of meeting the requirements for submitting a tender to contracting organisms rather than an indicator of any real commitment to improving the environmental performance of construction companies.     

关于日本《环境教育等促进法》修改的研究

日本于2012年10月1日正式颁布了《环境教育等促进法》,此法由2003年颁布的《有关增进环保意愿以及推进环保教育的法律》修改而来,是一部充分调动各个社会主体协同合作,用环境教育开展环境保护工作的法律。通过分析该法多角度分层次的教育措施及特点,借鉴日本多年来环境教育推广经验,对我国加快环境教育立法进程,实现全民环境教育,增强全民节约意识、生态意识、环保意识,全力建设美丽中国有着重大意义。     

Cadmium: Simulation of environmental control strategies to reduce exposure

The effects of selected environmental control strategies on human dietary and respiratory exposure to environmental cadmium (Cd) have been simulated. For each control strategy, mean Cd dietary and respiratory exposures are presented for a twenty-year simulation period.Human exposures related to cadmium are associated with both process waste disposal and product disposal. Dietary exposure is by far the dominant mechanism for Cd intake. Dietary exposure related to aqueous discharges is primarily a result of municipal sludge landspreading, whereas that associated with emissions to the atmosphere derives mainly from the deposition on cropland of airborne particulates from product incineration. Only relatively small dietary exposure reductions are possible through restrictions on anysingle Cd use. Combinations of waste management and environmental control measures promise greater reductions in dietary and respiratory exposure than those achievable through use restrictions.Work supported by Office of Toxic Substances U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.     

Government policy and environmental protection in the developing world: The example of Nigeria

Environmental protection is a topical and controversial issue of contemporary Third World development. As a result of the growing crisis of environment and development as well as issues of global environmental balance, divergent views and proposals have been put forward by external governments, international agencies, and environmental groups in resolving the environmental degradation problems of the developing world. However, very little appraisal has been made of the efforts by indigenous Third World governments in facing up to their environmental conservation issues. This article examines the role of past and recent government environmental control policies and programs in Nigeria. The article analyzes three aspects of environmental protection: (1) the theoretical economic bases of environmental protection and the Nigerian approach to environmental protection, including traditional values and modern institutional control measures, the latter embracing nature conservation efforts; (2) environmental considerations in national development plans; and (3) the evolution of a federal environmental protection agency and a national policy on environment. Finally, the article discusses the future challenges and directions for environmental policy.     

Environmental justice along product life cycles: importance,renewable energy examples and policy complexities

Environmental justice is critical to our efforts to preserve the human habitat from the degradation of pollution and climate change because of the need for cooperation and due to our ignorance of how the intertwined effects of our actions in one locality affect the quality of life in other localities across the world. While environmental justice questions are often focused on the location choices for specific activities that pollute, another important perspective is environmental justice over the life cycle of the production of products. Upon close examination renewable energies, critical alternatives to the fossil fuels which induce climate change, have environmental justice issues over their life cycles. Formal, statutory national law is not sufficient to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles in a world in which production is globalised and environmental effects pass beyond political borders. The responses to this challenge must draw on an interacting combination of information, custom, soft law, such as international standards and certification, and formal national laws. Through an interesting complex of intertwined effects, this system has already advanced our capacity to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles. The magnitude of the challenge and the complexity of the system demand ongoing effort and further innovation. Also, the system is not well configured to address our burgeoning consumption which continues to expand the burdens of future generations.     

新《环境保护法》对重污染企业盈余管理的影响研究——基于政治成本假说的实证检验

本文利用新《环境保护法》实施这一外生事件,采用双重差分模型,从应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理两个方面实证检验了政治成本对重污染企业盈余管理的影响。研究发现在新《环境保护法》实施后,相比于非污染企业,重污染企业面临更高的政治成本,其进行了显著的向上应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理,向外界传递了企业未来发展良好的信息。上述研究结论经过一系列稳健性检验依然成立。进一步的异质性检验表明:①基于产权性质的分析表明,本文的研究结论在非国有企业的子样本组中更为明显;②基于企业规模的分析表明,小规模重污染企业更倾向于进行向上应计盈余管理,但不同规模重污染企业的真实盈余管理没有显著差异;③基于市场竞争程度的分析表明,高市场竞争环境下的重污染企业更倾向于采取向上应计盈余管理,低市场竞争环境下的重污染企业更倾向于进行向上真实盈余管理;④基于经济发展水平的分析表明,东部地区的重污染企业倾向于向上应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理。本文研究结论与西方的“政治成本假说”并不相符,为中国情境下的“政治成本理论”发展提供了另一种证据,同时为进一步加强新《环境保护法》的环境规制效果提供了决策参考。     

Enhancing environmental equity through decision-making: Learning from waste management

Environmental justice arguments focused on improving the quality of life of the poor contend that environmental 'bads' are more often located in areas of social disadvantage. In relation to waste facilities such claims of distributional outcomes have been enhanced by epidemiological analyses of apparent disease clusters in the vicinity. While politically engaging these arguments have been supported rarely by robust evidence. However, if repositioned in more structural issues related to the unequal societal distribution of power, resources and environmental burdens, they do prompt questions about the processes by which equitable decisions are made in a sustainable waste management context. The paper discusses the scientific and institutional barriers affecting the effective balancing of equity issues, arguing that while deliberative processes potentially challenge 'expert black-boxing' they also challenge current political and regulatory structures for waste management.