Integrated catchment management in Western Australia: Transition from concept to implementation

Integrated catchment management (ICM) was introduced as state policy in 1988 to overcome land and water degradation in Western Australia (WA). Key elements of ICM are cooperation among state and local governments and landholders; involvement of landholders and local communities in identification of issues and solutions; and, agreement on common objectives. This study identifies the issues that led to the adoption of integrated catchment management in Western Australia, outlines its main characteristics, and reviews the progress and problems encountered during its initial implementation. ICM has generally been accepted and endorsed in WA. However, differences of opinion have emerged regarding exactly what it means and how it should be applied. Designing ideal organizational structures for ICM is not sufficient for it to be effective. Ultimately, people have to make ICM function, and therefore it is essential that priority be given to cultivating the good will and trust necessary for ICM to work well. ICM also requires a long-term perspective and appreciation that it requires many people and agencies to move out of current “comfort zones.” As a result, initial implementation of ICM usually will encounter turbulence and debate.     

Integrated Resource Management: Moving from Rhetoric to Practice in Australian Agriculture

/ Implementing the concept of sustainability through integrated approaches to natural resource management poses enormous challenges for both the rural communities and government agencies concerned. This paper reviews the underlying rhetoric of sustainable agricultural systems and the integrated resource management paradigm and identifies some of the challenges being experienced in translating this rhetoric into practice. A relatively recently implemented community-based integrated catchment management (ICM) process in a rural community in northeast Australia is examined in terms of some of the lessons learned that may be relevant to other similar integrated resource management (IRM) processes. It reveals a pragmatic, opportunistic, and evolving implementation process based on adaptive learning rather than a more traditional "rational" planning approach. Some essential characteristics of a community-based IRM process are identified, including fostering communication; providing a structure that fosters cooperation and facilities coordination among community, industry, and government agencies; the integration of IRM principles into local government planning schemes; and an emergent strategic approach to IRM program implementation. We conclude by identifying some essential characteristics of an IRM process that can assist a community to adapt to, and manage change for, sustainable resource use.     

面向新时期流域管理的控制单元划分方法设计与应用

科学划分控制单元是实现流域水环境精准、高效管理的重要基础。为满足新时期中国流域系统治理和“三水”统筹的新要求、新任务,设计建立了一种新的控制单元划分技术方法,将中国重点流域划分为3442个断面控制单元和822个流域控制单元。基于控制单元划分成果,进一步构建了包含流域—流域控制单元—断面控制单元—控制断面—水功能区5个层级逐步细化的流域空间管控体系。实际案例分析与论证表明,新的流域空间管控体系能有效促进流域水环境管理各项措施落地,可进一步推动流域治理科学化、精细化、差异化,并为“三水”统筹提供决策支持。     

Sustainable Development and Environmental Impact Assessment in Egypt: Historical Assessment

The achievement of sustainable development demands the integration of environment and development. To achieve sustainable development requires a close collaboration and cooperation between environmentalists and the decision-makers. The evidence is that in developing countries (Egypt, as an example) the gap is widening rather than closing. Intensive research programs are needed, for instance in the field of sustainable development and urban environmental management, to narrow that gap. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has become a management tool for achieving acceptable forms of environmentally sound development and sustainability; at best it is proving nothing more than a permit to move a project ahead.It is recommended that indicators for sustainable development and their progress be fully monitored. Performance indicators should always be established, not only for project implementation, but also during and after the implementation process to make sure that all mitigation measures are satisfactorily implemented. This can be achieved by linking the license granting authority for action to the actual implementation of these measures. To secure the environmental sustainability of an environmental project, it is also important to have the EIA document as an integral part of the license application document, and to make it available to inspectors during their necessarily frequent inspection visits.     

Just waste? municipal waste management and the politics of environmental justice

Municipal waste management in the UK has undergone rapid transformation in recent years in pursuit of greater sustainability. In this paper we explore the environmental justice issues and tensions involved in this shift. After a brief overview of environmental justice debates and how they have been related to issues of waste management, we describe how the policies and processes underlying the transformation from an overwhelming dependence on landfill disposal towards more sustainable methods of management has been driven by European legislation embodying principles premised on fundamental environmental concerns of inter- and intra-generational equity. We analyse the key means through which these principles have been translated to restructure local authority practices and the environmental justice issues arising from the implementation of international policy in regional and local context. Finally, we reflect on the implications of this case study for implementation of policies intended to advance both sustainability and environmental justice.     

城市环境总体规划的空间管控体系研究——以贵阳城市环境总体规划为例

环境空间管控和环境空间规划是我国城市空间规划体系中的短板,我国亟需建立起一套城市环境空间管控体系,来参与城市空间规划体系的建立,进而彻底扭转城市环境污染被动治理的尴尬局面。构建覆盖城市各领域的环境空间管控体系是城市环境总体规划的主要任务。本文梳理了我国环境空间管控发展现状和问题,从城市环境总体规划的角度,在城市层面构建了由环境功能区划、以生态保护红线为核心的严格管控区以及环境承载调控等手段组成的环境空间管控体系,并以贵阳城市环境总体规划为案例,进行了环境空间管控体系的构建。最后提出了实施城市环境总体规划空间管控的政策建议,保障空间管控体系能够落地和发挥作用。     

城市海岸带环境管理模式优化研究——以青岛市胶州湾为例

我国的海洋污染日益严重,政府加大海洋环境保护力度势在必行。科学、有效的海洋环境管理对保护环境、提高资源利用效率起着非常重要的作用。但海洋环境并不是一维线性的系统,涉及系统的多维耦合,而海岸带又是与人类活动息息相关的重要部分。本文尝试以青岛市胶州湾海岸带环境管理模式为例,构建包含有"经济-人口-资源-环境-安全-行政(EPRESA)"六个子系统的多维耦合系统模型,并绘制出总流图,然后以此为管理模式的优化提供前提性分析,提出海岸带综合管理模式优化的对策建议。本研究认为,要改善现有的海岸带环境管理体系,应该制定综合性管理政策,建立可持续的融资机制,推进海岸带灾害与风险管理以及引导利益相关者参与管理。     

Environmental Management Systems at the Industrial Park Level in China

Environmental management systems (EMSs), such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001, can be used as a tool in China by industrial park managers to improve their environmental performance. This article uses the case of the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone (DETDZ) to show how to establish a comprehensive environmental management system (CEMS) according to the ISO 14001 standard at the industrial park level by considering local realities. The particularly interesting feature of this case study is the use of a CEMS (in this case, ISO 14001) by the administrative group of the DETDZ to develop a more comprehensive approach to the wide range of environmental issues that they face in running the zone. In essence the goal is to address many of the issues at the level of the zone. The incentives, benefits, and barriers associated with implementing ISO 14001 are described. However, implementation of an EMS should not be thought of as the ultimate objective for an industrial parks environmental management. The next steps include encouraging further public participation and taking an integrated approach leading to an industrial ecosystem, which can realize better environmental performance at the industrial park level. Yong Geng is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Dalhousie University. Raymond Côté is a professor at Dalhousie University.     

环境管理战略转型研究综述

由于经济社会的发展伴随的环境问题越来越复杂,资源相对不足、环境容量有限越来越突出,环境管理转型问题引起越来越多的国内外学者关注。所谓环境管理转型,是指环境管理思维、策略和方式的转变,是以环境质量为目标导向,从被动应对向主动防控的转变。本文通过文献梳理的方法,综述了国内外学术界对于环境管理战略进行的多角度探讨。通过综述发现,国外学者主要注重环境管理理论研究,如环境管理的模型研究和不同环境管理战略的研究,且国外学者在研究不同环境管理战略时,研究对象多为微观层面的企业组织;而我国学者的研究则主要集中在宏观层面,即从国家的角度来探讨环境管理战略如何完成转型,从而促进我国经济社会的良性发展。现有的国内外研究是环境管理战略相关理论发展和实践推行的重要基础,在环境管理战略研究领域,本文认为还有一些问题需要进一步研究:一是环境管理的转型不仅需要宏观层面的统筹、微观方面的变革,也需要从中观层面来推进,所以中观层面的环境管理研究同样具有重要的现实意义。二是环境管理的转型不仅需要法律手段的支撑、经济手段的配置,也需要公民环保意识的觉醒,所以关于公民环保意识层面的研究也需要加强。     

浅析以科技信息为主线的环境协同治理

提高我国环境行政效率的关键是强化合作协调的环境治理理念,其核心载体是科技数据为核心的信息管理体系.科技进步与信息管理系统化决定着现代环境治理超越传统的危险防范而进入风险预防领域,也就决定了现代环境保护中合作与协调的核心理念.与环境保护的预防原则和环境许可制相适应,环境技术标准体系是现代环境科技信息体系的集中体现.同时环境法律监管体系也需要以信息系统和数据库为重点向综合环境治理发展,其中环境质量达标制(结果导向型监管)和环境治理中的规划都以环境信息综合集成管理为基础的.对于信息社会和互联网时代下、民主法治建设中、全球化进程里的中国环境治理,既有机遇又面临挑战.     

Applying Integrated Resource and Environmental Management to Transmission Right-of-way Maintenance

The concept of a substantive integrator is introduced as a method for integrated resource and environmental management as a means to assimilate different resource values at the operational or field level. A substantive integrator is a strategic management tool for integrating multiple uses into corporate management regimes that traditionally manage for single values. Wildlife habitat management is presented as a substantive integrator for managing vegetation on electric utility power line corridors. A case study from northern British Columbia provides an example of wildlife habitat management as a means to integrate other resource values such as aesthetics, access and subsistence along British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority's transmission rights-of-way.     

Towards an Integrated Approach to Natural Hazards Risk Assessment Using GIS: With Reference to Bushfires

This paper develops a GIS-based integrated approach to risk assessment in natural hazards, with reference to bushfires. The challenges for undertaking this approach have three components: data integration, risk assessment tasks, and risk decision-making. First, data integration in GIS is a fundamental step for subsequent risk assessment tasks and risk decision-making. A series of spatial data integration issues within GIS such as geographical scales and data models are addressed. Particularly, the integration of both physical environmental data and socioeconomic data is examined with an example linking remotely sensed data and areal census data in GIS. Second, specific risk assessment tasks, such as hazard behavior simulation and vulnerability assessment, should be undertaken in order to understand complex hazard risks and provide support for risk decision-making. For risk assessment tasks involving heterogeneous data sources, the selection of spatial analysis units is important. Third, risk decision-making concerns spatial preferences and/or patterns, and a multicriteria evaluation (MCE)-GIS typology for risk decision-making is presented that incorporates three perspectives: spatial data types, data models, and methods development. Both conventional MCE methods and artificial intelligence-based methods with GIS are identified to facilitate spatial risk decision-making in a rational and interpretable way. Finally, the paper concludes that the integrated approach can be used to assist risk management of natural hazards, in theory and in practice.     

Sustainable coastal resources management: principles and practice

Coastal zones are currently experiencing intense and sustained environmental pressures from a range of driving forces. Responsible agencies around the globe are seeking ways of better managing the causes and consequences of the environmental change process in coastal areas. This article discusses the basic principles underpinning a more integrated approach to coastal management, as well as the obstacles to its implementation in both developed and developing countries. The fulfilment of the goal of sustainable utilisation of coastal resources via integrated management is likely to prove to be difficult. Any successful strategy will have to encompass all the elements of management from planning and design through financing and implementation. An interdisciplinary analytical and operational approach is also required, combined with a more flexible and participatory institutional structure and emphasis to account for multiple stakeholders and resource demands. As historical and institutional perspectives as well as socio-economic and cultural contexts are also important, two case studies (based on UK and Vietnamese experiences) are presented in order to identify arguments and examine these aspects in more detail.     

企业生态经营策略的影响因素分析——以滑雪度假企业经营为例

气候与环境变化不仅引起了各国政府制定对策,也逐渐推进企业实行生态经营策略。生态经营是实现持续发展的有效办法。通过对中韩两国8家滑雪度假企业的深入分析得知,影响企业生态经营策略的因素有企业规模、废弃物排放成本、资源化成本、产品特性、技术创新、政府政策等,企业经营所需资源的所属情况、企业的所有权构造、社会团体的活动也可能产生一定的影响。建议中国企业在政府与社会的推动下,结合企业文化建设,积极参与生态经营,实现低碳经济时代的可持续发展。     

Bringing diverse knowledge sources together--a meta-model for supporting integrated catchment management

Integrated catchment management (ICM), as promoted by recent legislation such as the European Water Framework Directive, presents difficult challenges to planners and decision-makers. To support decision-making in the face of high complexity and uncertainty, tools are required that can integrate the evidence base required to evaluate alternative management scenarios and promote communication and social learning. In this paper we present a pragmatic approach for developing an integrated decision-support tool, where the available sources of information are very diverse and a tight model coupling is not possible. In the first instance, a loosely coupled model is developed which includes numerical sub-models and knowledge-based sub-models. However, such a model is not easy for decision-makers and stakeholders to operate without modelling skills. Therefore, we derive from it a meta-model based on a Bayesian Network approach which is a decision-support tool tailored to the needs of the decision-makers and is fast and easy to operate. The meta-model can be derived at different levels of detail and complexity according to the requirements of the decision-makers. In our case, the meta-model was designed for high-level decision-makers to explore conflicts and synergies between management actions at the catchment scale. As prediction uncertainties are propagated and explicitly represented in the model outcomes, important knowledge gaps can be identified and an evidence base for robust decision-making is provided. The framework seeks to promote the development of modelling tools that can support ICM both by providing an integrated scientific evidence base and by facilitating communication and learning processes.     

Regional multiresource models in a national framework

The design and integration of models projecting the effects of management on environmental systems is one step in the environmental planning process. Interactions between resources produced on the same unit of land under current and future management can be examined only when assumptions and processes of these dynamic environmental systems are quantified. Multiresource interaction models have generally been large and cumbersome while also suffering from an inadequate amount of detail. This article presents a conceptual framework for integrating individual resource models to project multiresource interactions at a regional scale. Land management impact projections require common definitions of the total land base and common definitions of management activities applied to the same land unit. A case example focusing on the resources of timber, forage, wildlife, fish, and water for the southern United States is presented.     

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     

Restoration of Marine Coastal Ecosystem Health as a New Goal for Integrated Catchment Management in Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong, China

This article demonstrates why it is necessary to have the restoration of marine coastal ecosystem health as a new goal for integrated catchment management in the coastal area of Tolo Harbor. The present goal of integrated catchment management (ICM) in the Tolo Harbor is based on water quality objectives. The performance of the ICM plan, the Tolo Harbor Action Plan (THAP), was evaluated using marine coastal ecosystem health indicators including both stress and response indicators. Since the implementation of THAP in 1988, some significant reductions in pollution loading have been observed: reduction of 83% of biological oxygen demand load and 82% of total nitrogen between 1988 and 1999. There has also been an improvement in the health of Tolo Harbor’s marine coastal ecosystem as evidenced by trends in physical, chemical, and biological indicators, although reverse fluctuations in some periods exist. However, such improvement can only be considered as the first sign of complete ecosystem health restoration, because ecosystem health covers not only physical, chemical, and biological aspects of an ecosystem, but also ecosystem service functions. The findings support the need to take the restoration and protection of marine coastal ecosystem health as a new goal rather than using water quality objectives. Steps necessary to further improve Tolo Harbor’s marine coastal ecosystem health are also discussed.     

KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS RELATED TO DESICCATION1

ABSTRACT: The use of scientific knowledge in environmental policy making is an important topic. However, the relation between knowledge producers and policy makers is not a straightforward producer-user relationship. The development of a national desiccation policy in the Netherlands and the implementation of desiccation plans in local situations are used as a case study to investigate the knowledge policy relationship. Three theoretical explanations were used to analyze this case: a difference between the cultures of producers and users; a different rationality of the policy making and research processes; and processes of social construction of problem definitions which imply that different knowledge stocks are used depending on the framing of the policy problem. Emergence of the policy issue at the national level is demonstrated to develop in close interaction between knowledge producers and policy makers, while the interactions at the local level were more based on integration of expert knowledge through personal expertise and closely tied to the development of management plans. This case study thus reveals a difference between general knowledge supporting measures at the national policy level and the way in which specific knowledge is applied in local cases. Therefore more attention should be paid to the translation of policy problems from rather high levels of political authority to the conceptualization at lower management levels. A final conclusion is that knowledge use in Dutch desiccation policy can be understood by pointing to multiple theoretical perspectives. The rational actor model and a construc-tivist perspective turned out to be especially useful in explaining the different ways knowledge was used at the national and the local level.     

A non-parametric distance-based method using all available indicators for integrated environmental assessment – a case study of the Mid-Atlantic Region,USA

The paper presents a multivariate measure useful for integrated environmental assessments. It is a weighted distance measure applied to metric data but based on nonparametric statistical procedures. The proposed measure allows all environmental indicators to be used directly without any reduction in dimension (e.g. as in principal component analysis) nor losing variance while being able to tolerate possible non-normality of the indicators, as well as non-linear relationships among them. Results of the hypothetical example and the Mid-Atlantic case study show that the proposed measure is suitable and valuable for integrating multiple indicators into a single index, an important task in integrated environmental assessment.