Curriculum Development in Environmental Science: A Case Study on Paradigm and Institutions

/ The case of "Environment and Development" at Leiden University, the Netherlands, offers an example of developing a new environmental science curriculum in a conservative, disciplines-oriented university context. The core of this history is the long-term struggle of environmental science to evolve from the level of doing applied interdisciplinary studies and establish itself as a distinct body of knowledge with its own theory level, i.e., a discipline of its own. The struggle itself as well as its final outcome, a "bidisciplinary" curriculum in which both environmental science and one social science are expressed as disciplines (hence not environmental science as a mere "field of application") may be of value in other "classical" universities, too. KEY WORDS: Environmental science; Curriculum; Interdisciplinarity; Universities     

Industrial Development Versus Environmental Conservation at Local Scale: A Case Study from Southeastern Spain

Local scale has an important role in environmental management. In Spain, rapid industrialization has occurred in the last three decades, leading to substantial changes in socioeconomic relations and resulting in significant environmental degradation. This paper describes the environmental status of the township of Sax (Alicante, in southeast Spain), which has passed from agriculture to industrial manufacturing in 50 years. The human population has grown exponentially during the second half of the 20th century, with a 91% increase from 1955 to 1995, coinciding with strong growth in manufacturing (factories increased fivefold in the period 1955–1976) and important changes in the working population and land use. Illegal rubbish dumps, water pollution, forest fires, erosion, and degradation of wildlife habitats are the main outcomes of these dramatic socioeconomic and demographic changes. The administration has focused on the control of water pollution and waste management, while nongovernmental organizations have concentrated on the prevention of forest fires and the development of environmental education programs. These measures are insufficient to manage current environmental degradation, and an environmental management plan for the study area is discussed. Increasing effort in waste management and industrial wastewater control, changes in land-use policy, and the creation of an advisory committee to increase public participation in decision-making have been identified as environmental target objectives for the coming years.     

Environmental Policy Implementation in Rural China: A Case Study of Yuhang, Zhejiang

The rapid growth of rural enterprises has transformed the Chinese countryside. Although rural industrialisation has resulted in increased financial well-being, it has also contributed to decreased environmental quality. While China has strong environmental protection laws, this paper will demonstrate that they are not being effectively implemented in a rural region in Zhejiang Province. This is due to a number of social, political, and economic barriers that prevent agencies from effectively enforcing environmental policies and regulatory mechanisms. This paper investigates the implementation of China's environmental policies through a case study in Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province. It demonstrates that the implementation of environmental impact assessment, discharge fees, and limited time treatment is limited by inadequate technology, low finances, limited human resources, poor public environmental awareness, faulty data, inferior agency reports, organizational conflict, relations based on guanxi, and low discharge fee prices.     

A Multiattribute Index for Assessing Environmental Impacts of Regional Development Projects: A Case Study of Korea

Evaluating environmental impacts has become an increasingly vital part of environmental management. In the present study, a methodological procedure based on multiattribute utility theory (MAUT) has been applied to obtain a decision-maker's value index on assessment of the environmental impacts. The paper begins with an overview of MAUT. Next, we elicited strategic objectives and several important attributes, and then structured them into a hierarchy, with the aim of structuring and quantifying the basic values for the assessment. An environmental multiattribute index is constructed as a multiattribute utility function, based on value judgements provided by a decision-maker at the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE). The implications of the results are useful for many aspects of MOE's environmental policies; identifying the strategic objectives and basic values; facilitating communication about the organization's priorities; and recognizing decision opportunities that face decision-makers of Korea.     

Coping with Change: The Small Experiment as a Strategic Approach to Environmental Sustainability

The patterns of living, planning, and resource utilization as practiced in Western countries for decades are not sustainable; change of some sort is essential. But what changes are appropriate, and, perhaps more important, will people accept them? The small experiment framework provides a strategy for meeting the challenge of change. By encouraging participation, limiting the scale of initial change, and incorporating some aspects of the familiar, many of the difficulties that make change so problematic can be mitigated or even eliminated. An exploration, from a psychological perspective, of the characteristic difficulties surrounding potential change provides the context for a discussion of the components of the small experiment and an analysis of how these elements address these characteristic challenges. A comparison to adaptive management is drawn, and several concrete examples illustrate how the strategy has been used successfully to address a variety of environmental problems.     

PROFILE: Indigenous Institutions and Environmental Assessment: The Case of Ghana

/ The search for sustainable development provides the impetus forexamining the role of indigenous institutions and their ecological knowledgein environmental assessment and local sustainability. This paper attempts totrace the evolution of environmental assessment in Ghana. Focusing on theAshanti Region, the paper further discusses the nature and operations ofindigenous institutions, their ecological knowledge, beliefs, practices, andsocial norms that are relevant to environmental assessment process in thecountry. Some of the challenges that emerge from the discussions arehighlighted. There is a need to establish environmental assessment andcooperative management boards that would include representatives ofindigenous institutions. In addition, the introduction of technicaldictionaries and training manuals based on indigenous ecological knowledgeand their humane environmental practices will further improve theenvironmental assessment process in Ghana.KEY WORDS: Environmental assessment; Indigenous institutions; Indigenousecological knowledge; Sustainable development; Environmental assessmentboards     

An Investigation of Environmental Racism Claims: Testing Environmental Management Approaches with a Geographic Information System

The purpose of this research was to explore the concept of an environmental racism claim through the use of several environmental management tools. The EPAs Toxics Release Inventory, Cumulative Exposure Project, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services' Hot Zone Census Tract Assessment were combined with racial and socioeconomic data to test claims that minorities in South Central Los Angeles are disproportionately exposed to environmental lead. Multivariate analysis indicated that race is strongly associated with the number of cases of elevated blood lead levels in South Central, irrespective of poverty status. Proximity to point sources, a common focal point for studies of environmental racism, was not a contributing factor to health outcomes. Proximity to transportation corridors was consistently the strongest indicator of environmental lead exposure, while median home values were significantly and positively related to elevated blood lead levels. Implications for environmental justice advocates and social and environmental scientists are discussed.     

Development of Environmental Indicator Systems: Experiences from Germany

ABSTACT / Environmental indicator systems aim to improve both the information and communication on the state of the environment and the environmental policy making. They have to fulfill scientific, functional and pragmatic requirements, e.g., consideration of ecological context, transparency and reproducibility, comprehensibility, policy relevance, international comparability, and justifiable expenditure. This paper analyzes the experiences made with the development of the German environmental indicator system and draws general conclusions toward further improvements. For Germany, an indicator system has been developed that uses the pressure-state-response approach proposed by the OECD, together with a classification in 14 environmental themes. According to the general requirements, the main criteria used for selecting the indicators are the ecological significance of the indicator, its quantifiability and data availability, and its comprehensibility and policy relevance. Altogether, about 140 indicators are selected. This high number stresses the need for further high-level aggregation, e.g., using methods developed for the valuation process in LCA. Further improvement is also needed, especially for the development of response indicators and in the area of data systematization.     

Skewed Riskscapes and Environmental Injustice: A Case Study of Metropolitan St. Louis

This article presents a case study of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) air pollution exposure risks across metropolitan St. Louis. The first section critically reviews environmental justice research and related barriers to environmental risk management. Second, the paper offers a conventional analysis of the spatial patterns of TRI facilities and their surrounding census block group demographics for metropolitan St. Louis. Third, the article describes the use of an exposure risk characterization for 319 manufacturers and their air releases of more than 126 toxic pollutants. This information could lead to more practical resolutions of urban environmental injustices. The analysis of TRIs across metropolitan St. Louis shows that minority and low-income residents were disproportionately closer to industrial pollution sources at nonrandom significance levels. Spatial concentrations of minority residents averaged nearly 40% within one kilometer of St. Louis TRI sites compared to 25% elsewhere. However, one-fifth of the region's air pollution exposure risk over a decade was spatially concentrated among only six facilities on the southwestern border of East St. Louis. This disproportionate concentration of some of the greatest pollution risk would never be considered in most conventional environmental justice analyses. Not all pollution exposure risk is average, and the worst risks deserve more attention from environmental managers assessing and mitigating environmental injustices.     

Scoring Corporate Environmental Reports for Comprehensiveness: A Comparison of Three Systems

Corporate annual environmental reports can be judged by the comprehensiveness of their coverage; this paper uses three published comprehensiveness scoring systems to judge 28 such reports (mostly dated 1998) from large US corporations. Earlier (nominally 1996) reports from the same companies were previously scored using one or two of the same systems, and the published results are compared with scores from the current round of reports. The scores of all three scoring systems are significantly correlated for the 1998 environmental reports, indicating that to some degree they are scoring the same features, but with quite a lot of scatter between the scores of one of the systems and those of the other two. There is, however, no correlation between the scores on the 1996 reports and the 1998 reports using the same systems on both. Evidently, most of the 1998 reports were not prepared with the intent of maximizing scores from any of the three scoring systems. Although the three systems achieve similar ranking of the 1998 reports for environmental comprehensiveness, the average normalized scores of one of the systems is significantly higher than those of the other two, reflecting a shorter list of topics and one more in keeping with the practices of the report writers. Because the scoring systems measure the number of topics covered and the depth of discussion rather than the quality of environmental performance, maximum scores could be obtained even with poor performance.     

Environmental Protection in the Tomsk Region of the Russian Federation: A Case Study

/ Implementation of environmental management in Russia is undergoing rapid changes. Federal responsibility rests with the Russian Federation State Committee for Environmental Protection (RFSCEP) and is delegated at regional level to local State Committees for Environmental Protection (SCEPs). This paper focuses on the functioning of the SCEP for Tomsk oblast' (region) in Siberia, which is strongly committed to forging constructive links with regional government, academia, industry, and environmental NGOs. Considerable difficulties exist for SCEPs in Russia, however, and prominent among these are (1) a rigidly vertical civil service structure, with separate organs having responsibility for different natural resources, persisting from Soviet times, which hinders effective intergrated and holistic environmental management; and (2) a lack of open access to environmental information from military and quasi-military sites.     

PROFILE: Integrating Sustainability and Environmental Impact Assessment

/ Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been identified as an important instrument for facilitating sustainability. However, to do so requires the integration of sustainability into EIA theory and practice. The sustainability concept is a valid and important environmental management perspective. However, many issues and obstacles need to be addressed further if the concept is to be translated into practical strategies. Sustainability can potentially infuse EIA with a clearer sense of direction, an ethical foundation, a mechanism for establishing priorities and assessing choices, and a means of linking EIA to other environmental management instruments. Conceptually, EIA and sustainability can be integrated, but frameworks should be refined, adpated to context, and linked to related initiatives. Sustainability should be explicitly incorporated into EIA legislation, guidelines, and institutional arrangements. An experimental approach to testing, assessing, and sharing experiences is suggested.A framework is first presented that defines and characterizes the sustainability concept. A further framework is then described for integrating sustainability into EIA at the conceptual level. The integration of sustainability and EIA at the regulatory level is next addressed through an overview of sustainability initiatives in EIA requirements in Canada. The Canadian examples include many promising initiatives but these and other experiences will need to be monitored, shared, and integrated into comprehensive environmental management strategies. Finally, means of incorporating sustainability into each activity in the EIA planning process are identified.KEY WORDS: Sustainability; Environmental impact assessment     

A Knowledge-Based Systems Approach to Design of Spatial Decision Support Systems for Environmental Management

/ This paper describes a framework for designing spatial decision support systems for environmental management using a knowledge-based systems approach. An architecture for knowledge-based spatial decision supportsystems (KBSDSS) is presented that integrates knowledge-based systems with geographical information systems (GIS) and other problem-solving techniques. A method based on spatial influence diagrams is developed for representation of environmental problems. The spatial influence diagram provides an interface through which knowledge-based systems techniques can be applied to build capabilities for problem formulation, automated design, and execution of a solution process. In addition to the flexibility and developmental advantages of knowledge-based systems, the KBSDSS incorporates expert knowledge to provide assistance for structuring spatial influence diagrams and executing a solution process that automatically integrates the GIS, data base, knowledge base, and different types of models. The framework is illustrated with a system, known as the Islay Land Use Decision Support System (ILUDSS), designed to assist planners in strategic planning of land use for the development of the island of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland.KEY WORDS: Geographical information systems; Spatial decision support systems; Knowledge-based systems; Spatial influence diagrams; Environmental management     

Volunteer Environmental Monitoring and the Role of the Universities: The Case of Citizens' Environment Watch

Universities can provide a stable home for launching collaborative community research projects. Citizens' Environment Watch (CEW), an environmental monitoring initiative based at the University of Toronto, has made significant contributions to environmental education and stewardship in Ontario, Canada. Following dramatic cuts in provincial monitoring programs, citizens and youth have used chemical parameters and biological indicators to gauge water and air quality, and to identify areas requiring remediation and pollution prevention efforts. The relationship of Citizens' Environment Watch to government agencies, funders and other grassroots environmental groups has evolved over the past 5 years as CEW attempts to remain effective without taking on the investigative and enforcement roles to support the regulatory enforcement that has been largely abandoned by government. We explore the challenges inherent in developing and maintaining a volunteer organization that carries out rigorous and useful scientific work and we outline the ability of a university to help overcome these critical challenges. Finally, we present lessons learned for the benefit of other citizen and youth monitoring projects.     

The ISO 14001 EMS Implementation Process and Its Implications: A Case Study of Central Japan

/ This study aims to investigate the ISO 14001 implementation process and its implications for regional environmental management. The region of Central Japan (known as Chubu in Japanese, which literally means center) was chosen for this case study. The study focuses on selected issues such as the: (1) trends and motives of private firms in the implementation of an ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS); (2) obstacles during system implementation; (3) role of the system in enhancing environmental performance within the certified organization; and (4) relation between the major stakeholders, local citizens, governments, and firms after adopting the system. To achieve these objectives, a questionnaire survey was mailed to all certified firms in the region. A 58% response was achieved overall. The results show that the main aims behind the adoption of ISO 14001 by firms in the Chubu region are to improve the environmental aspects within the enterprises and to enhance the employees' environmental awareness and capacity. The results have also shown that the ISO 14001-based EMS has had a great effect on a firm's environmental status as certified firms have claimed that natural resources such as fuel, water, and paper consumption have been more efficiently managed after adopting the system. Implementation of the system causes the firms to consider the role of the local people and the government in more effectively involving the local people in the firm's daily environmental activities. It also helps to enhance the environmental awareness among the local people. Adopting the system also promotes a better relation within the enterprises affiliated to the same group, such as more attention given by the parent firms (head offices) towards other firms working for the same group, or branches-mainly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)-in the field of EMS. Finally, the results show that firms give serious consideration to their final products' impacts on the environment. In other words, attention is given to life cycle analysis (LCA) among certified firms.     

Environmental Impact Assessment and Management: An Underexplored Relationship

In this paper the existing body of theory is reviewed to highlight the need for further attention to be paid to the EIA/management relationship. In particular it is shown that the majority of the literature to date has concentrated on the influence of EIA leading up to and including the decision to proceed or not with the proposed action. Less attention has been paid to the extension of the influence of EIA beyond this point to inform the process of ongoing environmental management. This relationship is then explored by reference to the Western Australian EIA system. One of the strengths of this system is its focus upon the implementation and management of proposed developments. The outcome of EIA is generally an approval to proceed with the development subject to meeting a suite of environmental design and management objectives.     

Survey‐Based Approach for Hydrological Vulnerability Indicators Due to Climate Change: Case Study of Small‐Scale Rivers1

Jung, Yong and Minha Choi, 2012. Survey‐Based Approach for Hydrological Vulnerability Indicators Due to Climate Change: Case Study of Small‐Scale Rivers. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 256‐265. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00608.x Abstract: The vulnerability indicators can be used to develop water resource policy in the context of climate change. The Delphi method, an interactive prediction technique, is an efficient way to apply weighting functionality to vulnerability indicators consisting of three parts: Exposure, Sensitivity, and Adaptive Capacity on climate change. The Delphi method is an anonymous iterative survey of expert opinion, which is then shared with other participants. A total of three different rounds were carried out. The first round was a problem selection set, and the second and third were the standard Delphi survey. Fifty‐eight experts (66% academic and 34% practitioner) were invited. The rates of reply were 59, 50, and 38% for the first, second, and third Delphi processes, respectively. The degree of consensus of the Delphi survey was validated via variance changes and Kendall’s W test. Exposure and Adaptive Capacity presented increased levels of agreement among respondents in their given priorities. Particularly strong convergence (0.20 to 0.71 in Kendall’s W) of the experts’ opinions for Adaptive Capacity was observed. The results of this study indicate that finalized factors with ultimate weights through the Delphi method can be a strong support for governmental policy making with respect to climate change.     

Integrating Strategic Environmental Assessment with Industry Planning: A Case Study of the Pasquai-Porcupine Forest Management Plan,Saskatchewan, Canada

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is gaining widespread recognition as a tool for integrating environmental considerations in policy, plan, and program development and decision-making. Notwithstanding the potential of SEA to improve higher-order decision processes, there has been very little attention given to integrating SEA with industry planning practices. As a result, the benefits of SEA have yet to be fully realized among industrial proponents. That said, SEA practice is ongoing, albeit informally and often under a different label, and is proving to be a valuable tool for industry planning and decision-making. Based on a case study of the Pasquai-Porcupine forest management plan in Saskatchewan, Canada, this paper illustrates how an integrated approach to SEA can contribute to industry environmental decision-making and can enhance the quality and deliverability of industry plans.     

A Paradigm of International Environmental Law: The Case for Controlling the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of “acceptable” waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community—and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.