New Criteria for Sustainable Water Quality Management1

Abstract: New criteria, pollutant load of unit area (PLUA), are developed for sustainable water quality management, which not only avoids degrading water quality but also considers the equity of development between different generations. A simulation‐optimization model is established to determine PLUA, in which uses the QUAL2E model to simulate pollutant transport and formulates a linear programming model to optimize the objective of maximal loads (carrying capacity). Two watersheds, the Touchen creek and the Keya creek, both in Taiwan, are taken as case studies. The PLUA criterion is applied to several existing projects which have passed environmental impact assessment (EIA). The results show that if the Hsinchu Science‐Based Industrial Park discharges wastewater to the Touchen creek, the total pollutant discharge of 85.6 kg/day exceeds the allocated load. Consequently, a waste reduction of at least 23.4% is required. Although these existing projects have passed EIA, most of them violate the criterion of PLUA and thus contribute to continued degradation of water quality. This study suggests developing PLUA as a part of the process of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for watershed management plans and then applying it to EIA as a criterion for new project assessment. Furthermore, if carrying capacities of all pollutant discharges and resource uses can be translated into loads per unit of area, an integrated sustainable watershed management plan can be developed.     

产业园区规划环评工作亟须解决的若干问题及对策建议

本文从应开展规划环境影响评价工作的产业园区类型和规划类型、园区扩区后的规划环评范围、规划环评审查主体和审查权限、规划环评主体责任，以及规划环评与“三线一单”和项目环评联动等方面，系统梳理了当前园区规划环评实际工作中面临的问题和困惑，并分析了这些问题和对园区规划环评工作造成的影响。结合当前规划环评面临的形势和要求，针对当前规划环评管理存在的问题，从管理要求、技术要求和衔接要求等方面逐一提出了相关的对策建议。为推进解决当前规划环评工作面临的主要问题，提出了做实园区规划和规划环评工作、细化园区规划环评相关要求、动态调整“三线一单”成果三个方面的建议。     

Environmental strategies: A case study of systematic evaluation

A major problem facing environmental managers is the necessity to effectively evaluate management alternatives. Traditional environmental assessments have emphasized the use of economic analyses. These approaches are often deficient due to difficulty in assigning dollar values to environmental systems and to social amenities. A more flexible decisionmaking model has been developed to analyze management options for coping with beach erosion problems at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey. This model is comprised of decision-making variables which are formulated from a combination of environmental and management criteria, and it has an accept-reject format in which the management options are analyzed in terms of the variables. Through logical ordering of the insertion of the variables into the model, stepwise elimination of alternatives is possible. A hierarchy of variables is determined through estimating work required to complete an assessment of the alternatives for each variable. The assessment requiring the least work is performed first so that the more difficult evaluation will be limited to fewer alternatives. The application of this approach is illustrated with a case study in which beach protection alternatives were evaluated for the United States National Park Service.Portions of this paper have been excerpted from Sherman and Garès (1978).     

WATERSHED RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE AT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK1

ABSTRACT: We have developed an approach which examines ecosystem function and the potential effects of climatic shifts. The Lake McDonald watershed of Glacier National Park was the focus for two linked research activities: acquisition of baseline data on hydrologic, chemical and aquatic organism attributes that characterize this pristine northern rocky mountain watershed, and further developing the Regional Hydro-Ecosystem Simulation System (RHESSys), a collection of integrated models which collectively provide spatially explicit, mechanistically-derived outputs of ecosystem processes, including hydrologic outflow, soil moisture, and snow-pack water equivalence. In this unique setting field validation of RHESSys, outputs demonstrated that reasonable estimates of SWE and streamflow are being produced. RHESSys was used to predict annual stream discharge and temperature. The predictions, in conjunction with the field data, indicated that aquatic resources of the park may be significantly affected. Utilizing RHESSys to predict potential climate scenarios and response of other key ecosystem components can provide scientific insights as well as proactive guidelines for national park management.     

化工园区规划环评中应重点关注的问题分析——以新疆吐鲁番市沈宏化工园区为例

化工园区开发建设项目具有建设内容复杂、建设范围大、建设周期长等特点,且不确定性强,产生污染物种类多、数量大,对周边区域的环境影响复杂,其规划环境影响评价应主要依据《开发区区域环境影响评价技术导则》编制。根据化工园区开发项目的环境影响特点,选址、功能区布局、产业规划及可持续发展能力分析作为化工园区规划环评中重点关注的问题,并给予重点评价。     

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     

External threats and internal management: the hydrologic regulation of the Everglades,Florida, USA

The ecological character of seasonal marshes is determined in large part by the pattern of water level fluctuation. As a result, the ecological health of a wetland reserve can be controlled by hydrologic regulation external to its boundaries. As an example, the Everglades marsh of Everglades National Park in Florida, USA, has been severely effected by management of the inflow of surface water. The Everglades occupies most of the interior of southern Florida, but only the lower 6% of the original marsh is contained in Everglades National Park. Shallow surface water reservoirs north of the park enclose 3600 km² of Everglades. Their levee system confines surface water flow into the park to several structures. Historically this water flowed across the entire core of the natural drainage. Flows into the park have been on a congressionally mandated schedule of minimum deliveries that is supplemented by additional water released into the park in amounts determined solely by upstream water management needs. My research, aimed at evaluating the effects of water conditions, has shown that this regulatory system has adversely affected reproductive success, community structure, and population sizes of sensitive species whose population stability is tied to natural water level fluctuations. These adverse effects were caused by water levels that for over a decade have been maintained at unseasonably high levels. Mathematically deterministic models of water level effects can provide management options based on biologial criteria. Park managers must incorporate understanding gained from such models into internal management decisions. Modifications of water control structures and alternative policies for managing the distribution and amount of surface water flow into the park appear attainable, can improve biological conditions in the park, and need not be adverse to neighboring external interests. Thus far biological changes are severe, and to a large extent irreversible. Ecologically sensitive management of an external threat under constraints imposed by history and setting can better maintain some semblance of ecological processes in the Everglades. If management decisions do not reflect such understanding of ecological processes, further ecological deterioration will result.     

Visiting a Climate-Influenced National Park: The Stability of Climate Change Perceptions

Understanding perceptions of global environmental issues, such as climate change, can help inform resource management, policy development, and communication with constituents. Although a considerable amount of research documents citizens’ perceptions of climate change, few have investigated how interactions with climate-impacted parks and protected areas influence these perceptions, and consequently elements of environmental management. Using a mixed methods Instrument Development Approach, the researchers examined the stability of park visitors’ (N = 429) climate change perceptions during a daylong interaction with climate-sensitive and influenced resources at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. Results indicate that global-level beliefs about climate change remained relatively stable during a park experience, but perceptions about climate change at the park-level (e.g., impacts) appeared more malleable. Findings also revealed the type of park experience (terrestrial vs. marine) can influence the degree of change in visitors’ perceptions. Implications for communication, outreach, and park management are discussed.     

An Interpretive Study of Yosemite National Park Visitors’ Perspectives Toward Alternative Transportation in Yosemite Valley

The National Park Service (NPS) is increasingly focusing on alternative transportation systems in national parks to address environmental and social problems arising from a historical reliance on personal automobiles as the primary means of visitor access. Despite the potential advantages, alternative transportation may require a reorientation in the way that Americans have experienced national parks since the advent of auto-tourism in the early twentieth century. Little research exists, however, on visitor perspectives towards alternative transportation or the rationale underlying their perspectives. It remains unclear how transportation systems affect visitors’ experiences of the park landscape or the factors influencing their travel behavior in the parks. This report presents an interpretive study of visitor perspectives toward transportation management in the Yosemite Valley area of Yosemite National Park, California. Qualitative analysis of 160 semi-structured interviews identified individual psychological factors as well as situational influences that affect visitors’ behavior and perspectives. Individual psychological factors include perceived freedom, environmental values and beliefs, prior experience with Yosemite National Park and other national parks, prior experience with alternative transportation in national parks, and sensitivity to subjective perceptions of crowding. Situational factors included convenience, access, and flexibility of travel modes, as well as type of visit, type of group, and park use level. Interpretive communication designed to encourage voluntary visitor use of alternative transportation should focus on these psychological and situational factors. Although challenges remain, the results of this study suggest approaches for shaping the way Americans visit and experience their national parks to encourage environmental sustainability.     

Issues and impacts of Redwood National Park expansion

In 1968, Redwood National Park was created in an atmosphere of controversy and compromise to preserve remnants of the coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) ecosystems and the streams and seashores with which they are associated. The 1968 boundary included the lower portions of several watersheds in the park, which meant that potential impacts from upstream, privately owned lands might occur. Between 1968 and 1978, controversy continued between preservation and forest industry interests over the impacts of harvesting old growth timber upslope and upstream from the park. In 1978, the southern portion of the park around Redwood Creek was expanded by 48,000 acres, moving the boundary from a narrow, one-half mile riparian corridor to ridgelines, but still leaving two-thirds of the total watershed outside of the park. The park expansion has generated biological and social impacts and opportunities. Meeting the objectives of the 1978 legislation will require close coordination between federal and state government and local communities.     

Learning about knowledge management for improving environmental impact assessment in a government agency: the Western Australian experience

How does knowledge management (KM) by a government agency responsible for environmental impact assessment (EIA) potentially contribute to better environmental assessment and management practice? Staff members at government agencies in charge of the EIA process are knowledge workers who perform judgement-oriented tasks highly reliant on individual expertise, but also grounded on the agency’s knowledge accumulated over the years. Part of an agency’s knowledge can be codified and stored in an organizational memory, but is subject to decay or loss if not properly managed. The EIA agency operating in Western Australia was used as a case study. Its KM initiatives were reviewed, knowledge repositories were identified and staff surveyed to gauge the utilisation and effectiveness of such repositories in enabling them to perform EIA tasks.     

A WATERSHED APPROACH TO ECOSYSTEM MONITORING IN DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE,ALASKA1

ABSTRACT: The National Park Service and the National Biological Service initiated research in Denali National Park and Preserve, a 2.4 million-hectare park in southcentral Alaska, to develop ecological monitoring protocols for national parks in the Arctic/Subarctic biogeographic area. We are focusing pilot studies on design questions, on scaling issues and regionalization, ecosystem structure and function, indicator selection and evaluation, and monitoring technologies. Rock Creek, a headwater stream near Denali headquarters, is the ecological scale for initial testing of a watershed ecosystem approach. Our conceptual model embraces principles of the hydrological cycle, hypotheses of global climate change, and biological interactions of organisms occupying intermediate, but poorly studied, positions in Alaskan food webs. The field approach includes hydrological and depositional considerations and a suite of integrated measures linking key aquatic and terrestrial biota, environmental variables, or defined ecological processes, in order to establish ecological conditions and detect, track, and understand mechanisms of environmental change. Our sampling activities include corresponding measures of physical, chemical, and biological attributes in four Rock Creek habitats believed characteristic of the greater system diversity of Denali. This paper gives examples of data sets, program integration and scaling, and research needs.     

Ecotourism,sustainable development,and conservation education: Development of a tour guide training program in Tortuguero,Costa Rica

A tour guide training program was developed for rural communities near Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park to respond to the impacts of the 24-fold increase in park visitation in the past decade, to involve local communities in resource management, and to provide regional environmental education. The development of the training course involved a survey of scientists and park managers to ascertain resource management needs, priorities for information to be disseminated, and impacts of tourism on the resource base. Current and potential tour guides were surveyed to identify their information needs, solicit their input in the training program, and to determine their knowledge and skills. Written questionnaires were developed and given to 400 tourists to determine their activities and environmental information needs, and hotel owners were censused to examine the economic feasibility of a local guide program. A pilot training course and guide program involving 12 Tortuguero residents demonstrated that a tour guide program: (1) helped mitigate negative tourism impacts on Tortuguero National Park's natural resources, particularly by regulating tourists on the park's 35-km beach used for nesting by endangered sea turtles; (2) provided environmental education to an important segment of the local community not traditionally reached through school or government development projects; (3) provided environmental information to tourists, thus enhancing their visit; and (4) provided local economic benefits through lucrative part-time employment, thereby allowing local people to participate more fully in the tourism system. An extended training course is being planned to provide further environmental education programming and to increase year-round employment opportunities for the tour guides.     

An integrative methodological framework for sustainable environmental planning and management

Sustainable environmental planning and management require effective integration of ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional elements. This paper presents an integrative methodological framework for sustainable environmental planning and management. The development of this integrative framework is accomplished by combining two complementary analytical approaches—Hufschmidt's conceptual framework for watershed planning and management and the ABC resource survey method. The combined methodological framework seeks to delineate and synthesize essential ecological information utilizing an integrative resource survey method. This method generates classifications of environmental significance and constraint. Areas of environmental significance and constraint are then linked to appropriate and acceptable resource management actions, implementation tools (e.g., education, technical assistance), and institutional and organizational arrangements. The integrative methodological framework was developed for application in the Rio Fortuna watershed in Costa Rica's Arenal Conservation Area. The watershed is characterized by a variety of land and resource uses, including biologically diverse and ecologically fragile protected areas, small-parcel agriculture, cattle ranching, and tourism.     

Perceptions and Behaviors of Indigenous Populations Regarding Illegal Use of Protected Area Resources in East Africa’s Mountain Gorilla Landscape

Illegal activities and use of park resources are the main challenges facing mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) conservation and the protection of their habitats in the East Africa’s Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape (GVTL). Indigenous residents around GVTL are considered the primary illegal users of park resources. Despite this, there is limited understanding of the current and past perceptions of indigenous residents living in communities adjacent to two GVTL parks; Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Equally, there is also limited understanding regarding the actual incidences of illegal activities inside both parks. This paper addresses these gaps. Perception data were collected from indigenous residents living adjacent to both parks. Further, Ranger-based Monitoring (RbM) data from both parks were analyzed to determine actual numbers and types of illegal activities over the 9-year period. Interestingly, findings indicated that residents perceived the prevalence of illegal activities to be decreasing across GVTL. To the contrary, RbM findings indicated that the number of actual illegal activities was increasing significantly, particularly in Volcanoes National Park. The discrepancy found between the two perspectives provides for a discussion of the social biases potentially present in these data, and their implications for management. Results also illuminated the subsistence-related nature of most illegal behaviors and suggest that to reduce illegal activities and local dependency on park resources, park management must work with communities and support them in tapping into alternative livelihoods and finding ways to address community household subsistence needs.     

Implications of Land Use/Land Cover Change in the Buffer Zone of a National Park in the Tropical Andes

The impacts of land use and land cover (LULC) change in buffer zones surrounding protected ecological reserves have important implications for the management and conservation of these protected areas. This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of LULC change along the boundary of Rio Abiseo National Park in the Northern Peruvian Andes. Landscape change within four ecological zones was evaluated based on trends expected to occur between 1987 and 2001. Landsat TM and ETM imagery were used to produce LULC classification maps for both years using a hybrid supervised/unsupervised approach. LULC changes were measured using landscape metrics and from-to change maps created by post-classification change detection. Contrary to expectations, tropical upper wet montane forest increased despite being threatened by human-induced fires and cattle grazing of the highland grasslands inside the park. Within the park’s buffer zone, tropical moist forest remnants were fragmented into more numerous and smaller patches between 1987 and 2001; this was in part due to conversion into agricultural land. The methods used in this study provide an effective way to monitor LULC change detection and support the management of protected areas and their surrounding environments.     

Evolution of environmental impact assessment as applied to watershed modification projects in Canada

This article reviews the application of environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures and practices to three watershed modification projects situaled in western Canada. These ventures were justified for accelerating regional economic development, and cover the period during which public concerns for protecting the environment rapidly made their way into the national political agenda. An historical account and analysis of the situation, therefore, seems desirable in order to understand the development of EIA processes, practices, and methodologies since the start of construction of the first project in 1961. This study concludes that there has been good progress in predicting and evaluating environmental and related social impacts of watershed modification proposals. However, a number of obstacles need to be overcome before EIA can firmly establish itself as an effective planning tool. These difficulties include jurisdictional confusions and conflicts, division of authority and responsibility in designing and implementing appropriate mitigative and monitoring measures, lack of tested EIA methodologies, and limited availability of qualified human resources. A number of conclusions and suggestions are offered so that future watershed modification proposals may be planned and implemented in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. These include: (1) EIA processes must be completed before irrevocable decisions are made. (2) Any major intrusion into a watershed is likely to impact on some major components of the ecosystem(s). (3) Mitigation costs must form part of the benefit-cost analysis of any project proposal. (4) Interjurisdictional cooperation is imperative where watersheds cross political boundaries. (5) The EIA process is a public process, hence public concerns must be dealt with fairly. (6) The role of science in the EIA process must be at arms length from project proponents and regulators, and allowed to function in the interest of the protection of the environment and public health and safety. The views expressed here are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of FEARO and/or other government agencies and officials involved in the review of these projects.     

Attitudes of stakeholders towards the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park in the Czech Republic

In August 2000, a survey of public opinion was carried out among visitors, local residents and representatives of local self-governments in the territory of the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park in the Czech Republic. The goal was to obtain stakeholders' opinions and attitudes towards nature conservation, the National Park and tourism within the territory which used to be closed to the public for 40 years due to the Iron Curtain. Without the knowledge of opinions of stakeholders it is not possible to manage nature conservation and development in the protected area properly. Using the method of direct interviews, 646 questionnaires where collected, of which 523 were from visitors and tourists, 115 from local residents and 8 from mayors of towns/villages. The questionnaires were analysed in order to detect differences in attitudes among the respondent groups in the following thematic areas: (a) the National Park, its environment and perception of it by respondents; (b) relationship of respondents to the territory; (c) tourism and attitudes towards recreational activities; (d) the Administration of the National Park and evaluation of its work; and (e) economic impact of tourism for local communities. One section of the study focused on comparing the attitudes between local inhabitants and mayors and the other section presents a collation of opinions from locals, mayors and tourists. Although a positive evaluation of the national park dominated the results, some negative attitudes and experiences were identified among locals. In addition, the situation also differed within communities. Results also indicated a relatively strong relationship to the territory by locals, but low job opportunities and income from tourism. The level of tourism intensity was perceived as an increasing and sometimes disturbing factor for local communities; motoring was observed as being the most negative activity for nature. The Administration of the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park was sometimes criticised and the communication with the community was not always evaluated satisfactorily. All groups of respondents identified waste management to be the most pressing issue. Identification of differences in attitudes of interviewed respondents may be effectively used in planning environmental management and sustainable tourism development in the area.     

An approach to integrate impact scoping with environmental impact assessment

Impact scoping is the process of identifying important issues of a proposal and focusing the environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the high-priority issues. Although impact scoping in one form or another has been inherent to EIA for some time, documentation of its development and discussion of refinements to impact scoping processes have not been forthcoming. This article traces the development of impact scoping through time and highlights the need for such processes in EIA. A focused environmental assessment (FEA) approach to impact scoping that is suitable for implementation in an EIA is presented here and advantages of its use are delineated. FEA is a three-staged process that encourages impact scoping through progressive steps including impact identification, assessment and management planning. FEA combines a suite of EIA methods including: issues matrices, impact hypotheses, valued ecosystem components, and stakeholder participation sessions to effectively integrate impact scoping with EIA.     

A method for evaluating areas for national park status

A procedure for evaluating different areas as national parks based on a scoring system is proposed. A National Park Evaluation Form (NPEF) evaluating natural, cultural, and recreational resources in accordance with international criteria for national parks is presented. The evaluation points given to an area indicate the possibility of the area becoming a national park. In this method, subjectivity and bias have been minimized by a special application of the Delphi technique. The method outlined here could help in the efforts of selecting and establishing national parks in many countries.