The international tin agreement, 1976: An assessment of its regulatory machinery as an instrument of international policy

The author examines the provisions of the New International Economic Order (NIEO), and maintains that with or without a Common Fund, International Commodity Agreements are, and will remain, a recognized instrument for achieving the objectives of the NIEO. Because of various factors conducive to effective organization — including the convergence of interests among producing and consuming countries — the International Tin Agreement (ITA) has made some useful contributions. But wider objectives can only be achieved by appropriate structural reforms in commodity organization.     

International commodity agreements: The role of consuming nations

Consuming nations and industry segments within them play a crucial role in the success of commodity agreements. For individual firms the desirability of the agreements is seen to depend on the form of the agency agreement and the competitive position of the firm in both the domestic and world market. Both the benefits and costs to producing and consuming nations are analysed. The mechanism of the agreements is analysed as well as the problems that lead to their limitation or termination.     

Environmental impact assessment: An international evaluation

Experiences with environmental impact assessment (EIA) in a number of countries are discussed in the light of both explicit and implicit goals and objectives. Adequate environmental information is not always available to decision makers because of failure to apply EIA to all relevant decisions, the continuing inadequacies of prediction and evaluation techniques, the failure to consider alternatives adequately, and the bias of some EISs. EIA frequently results in changes to proposals and may result in stricter environmental management conditions in some cases, but some people regard it as a failure because it has not stopped development. Generally, EIA leads to better integration of environmental factors into project planning. Open procedures and freedom of information encourage responsiveness to EIA procedures, which can be weakened by discretionary powers and lack of access to the courts by public interest groups. However, legal standing may have side effects that offset its advantages. EIA can encourage cooperation and coordination between agencies but does not ensure them. Similarly, it can have a limited role in coordinating interstate and international policies. In the long term, the success of EIA depends on adequate monitoring, reassessment, and enforcement over the life of the project. EIA has generally opened up new opportunities for public participation, and may help to reduce conflict. EIA procedures need to be integrated with other environmental protection and development control programs, and various means exist for reducing its cost to developers and the public.     

Preparing for ISO 14000: An assessment guide

With ISO 14000 expected to roll out in 1996, have you begun to evaluate how well your current environmental management policy, programs, procedures, and objectives conform to published national and evolving global Environmental Management System (EMS) standards?. The ISO expects to adopt a final standard by mid-1996 which specifies requirements for an EMS (e.g., ISO 14001). In addition, national EMS standards have already been developed and published by organizations such as The British Standards Institute and, in the United States, NSF International, for example, BS 7750 and NSF 110–1995, respectively. This article shows how managers can begin assessing their operations to prepare for these new standards and improve overall environmental performance.     

The integrated programme for commodities: An assessment of negotiations on minerals and metals

No agreement has yet emerged from the negotiations on mineral commodities held under the Integrated Programme for Commodities (IPC), and there is little, if any, prospect for one in the near future. This article examines the reasons for this standstill and the underlying assumptions on which the IPC is based. The following points are raised: the premise that problems of individual commodities are mutually exclusive and can be dealt with in a single framework of measures is shown to be doubtful; the principle of a commodity-by-commodity approach can no longer remain unchallenged; and structural flaws in the negotiating machinery are manifest. However, results of negotiations have not been entirely negative: the need for two-tier preparatory negotiations has been accepted and a case for a permanent consultative body, perhaps covering several commodities, has been made out. Lack of substantive reciprocity, hence political discord, remains the stumbling-block.     

Official and folk flood warning systems: An assessment

Recent floods in West Bengal, India, focused public attention on the inadequacies of the flood warning system. This study examines some socioeconomic constraints on the communication of flood warning messages. It then looks at perceptions of, and responses by, villagers in a flood-prone region of West Bengal to official and folk flood warnings.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

An institutional framework for analysis of voluntary policy: the case of voluntary environmental agreements in Kita Kyushu,Japan

This paper seeks to understand the effect of social, economic and political conditions on the selection and effectiveness of voluntary policy in Japan. Borrowing from two sets of literature, the paper develops a two-dimensional framework for analysis of voluntary policy that helps clarify the contextual factors that determine voluntary policy choice and effectiveness. The establishment of voluntary agreements in Japan are then investigated and the specific experiences of one Japanese city's experience, Kita Kyushu. Findings show that insufficient national and local statutory regulations, local citizen pressure resulting from significant pollution problems, city-controlled non-regulatory resources, and local level regulatory power determined Kita Kyushu's policy choice and the resulting effectiveness of voluntary environmental agreements. Findings then indicate where the Japanese experience falls within the framework. The usefulness of the framework for analysis and practice is then reinforced, and challenges for some of the basic assumptions of current theory are suggested.     

Case study: Voluntary agreements in environmental management at formosa plastics

Three agreements addressing environmental and safety performance, zero discharge of wastewater and sustainable development have been signed between Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas (Formosa Plastics), and its former adversaries. The key element of the agreements is the improvement of the affected community. These agreements go beyond public information and beyond procedures for public participation. They have led to meaningful public participation and partnership and are unique in this respect. The following article explores the setup and results of each agreement. The initial agreement, the Blackburn-Formosa Agreement, signed in 1992, set the stage for subsequent partnerships. The Wilson-Formosa Zero Discharge Agreement followed in 1994. Finally, the Sustainable Development Agreement was signed by Jim Blackburn, Diane Wilson, and Formosa Plastics in late 1997. These agreements have proven very successful in avoiding disputes and helping improve company performance in environmental and safety issues. In many respects, these agreements offer a model for others in working with an affected community.     

Environmental impact of the Gulf War: An integrated preliminary assessment

This article provides an objective integrated environmental impact assessment of the Gulf War consequences. The environmental damage was evaluated and found to be significantly exaggerated by the media and speculators. The total amount of burned crude oil was calculated to be 52.5 million metric tons. Most air pollution field measurements were comparable to those found in Western cities. The health impact associated with such exposure was found to be minimal. The total amount of oil released into the marine environment ranged between 2 and 4 million barrels, much less than the early estimation of 12–14 million barrels. The marine environment is expected to recover much faster than earlier anticipations. Unlike water and air, soil pollution is likely to persist for some years to come.     

An assessment of Scottish development planning

The present development plan system in Scotland began in 1975. Its origins and purpose are discussed. Progress in the submission and adoption/approval of local and structure plans and in reviewing these plans is outlined. Performance to date is assessed and means of improvement are suggested, in relation to timeliness, transparency, scope and quality.     

An assessment of agricultural sustainability indicators in Bangladesh: review and synthesis

The term ‘indicator’ is often vague and heterogeneous, and its dynamic characteristics make it highly variable over time and space. Based on reviews and synthesis, this study visualizes phenomena and highlights the trend of indicator selection criteria, development methods, validation evaluation strategies for improvement. In contextualization of the intensification of agriculture and climate change, we proposed a set of indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability in Bangladesh based on theoretically proposed and practically applied indicators by researchers. Also, this article raises several issues of indicator system development and presents a summary after due consideration. Finally, we underline multi-stakeholders’ participation in agricultural sustainability assessment.     

An ecological approach to environmental impact assessment

Carbon cycling analysis is presented as a means for assessing anthropogenic perturbations in an ecosystem. Data from oligotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic (bog) lakes are used to show general trends in the lacustrine carbon cycle. The oligotrophic lake is an unstressed system and the eutrophic lake is under nutrient enrichment with high algal standing crops and productivity. The bog lake is a pH-stressed environment that is primarily a grazing ecosystem. It is hoped that a more effective environmental impact assessment will result from the use of carbon cycling as a unifying concept in ecosystem analysis.     

Agricultural land evaluation and site assessment in the United States: An introduction

The US Soil Conservation Service has developed an agricultural land evaluation and site assessment (LESA) system. The LESA system is being used by the US Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies to implement the Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981. The LESA system and three case studies from the Pacific North-west are introduced in this article.Scientific Paper no. 7166, College of Agriculture and Home Economics Research Paper. Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Project no. 0010.     

Environmental impact assessment in flanders,belgium: An evaluation of the administrative procedure

Two years of experience with EIA in Flanders (northern Belgium) was evaluated in order to gain perspective on the effectiveness of the administrative procedure. The four essential characteristics of the EIA procedure that were evaluated are: completeness, open and public character, objectivity, and verifiability. Representatives of all parties involved in the EIA procedure were interviewed. The result of the evaluation is a list of major problems with EIA. Recommendations for a more efficient procedure are suggested at a time when a proposal for a new, comprehensive, and permanent EIA decree is being discussed. The evaluation of the administrative procedure for EIA in Flanders shows that several vital characteristics of the EIA procedure are lacking. This reduces the obligatory and open nature of the process, resulting in insufficient guarantees that the environment receives the altention it deserves during the decision-making process.     

An environmental assessment of food supply chains: a case study on dessert apples

The contemporary food system provides consumers with convenience, extensive choice, and the year-round availability of fresh produce. In this paper these achievements are recognized within the context of the associated environmental impacts. While many analyses have considered the energy and material efficiency of various options for food production and packaging, very few studies have investigated the environmental impacts of the transport components of food supply chains. This is surprising, given that the global sourcing of food produce, centralized distribution systems, and shopping by car have become prevalent in recent decades and have contributed to an increase in the distance between producer and consumer or “food miles.” In a case study the transport energy consumption is calculated for all possible ways in which dessert apples can be supplied to the UK consumer. The aim is to assess the environmental performance of the predominant fresh produce supply chains and to investigate claims that localized systems are more environmentally efficient. The main criteria used to compare the environmental efficiency in alternative food supply chains are the transport-related fossil-fuel energy consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions. Analysis of the empirical data shows that transportation is now responsible for a considerable fraction of the total energy consumption in the life cycle of fresh apples, and in most cases exceeds the energy consumed in commercial apple cultivation. By developing local production and marketing systems for fresh products, transport demand can be reduced and many of the environmental impacts associated with existing supply chains can be avoided. The results of the study are then discussed in relation to the wider issues of transport policy, international trade, food security, and product-related environmental information for consumers.     

Environmental assessment of packaging: The consumer point of view

When marketing environmentally responsible packaged products, the producer is confronted with consumer beliefs concerning the environmental friendliness of packaging materials. When making environmentally conscious packaging decisions, these consumer beliefs should be taken into account alongside the technical guidelines. Dutch consumer perceptions of the environmental friendliness of packaged products are reported and compared with the results of a life-cycle analysis assessment. It is shown that consumers judge environmental friendliness mainly from material and returnability. Furthermore, the consumer perception of the environmental friendliness of packaging material is based on the postconsumption waste, whereas the environmental effects of production are ignored. From the consumer beliefs concerning environmental friendliness implications are deduced for packaging policy and for environmental policy.     

An assessment of historical change in two northern Minnesota lakes

Two northern Minnesota lakes that had been studied in detail 22 years earlier (1958) were restudied to determine the extent of alteration in ecological conditions. Approximately one year after the original investigation, a coal-fired power plant, which incremented sulfate loading by about 6 kg/ha-yr, began operation nine miles away. These lakes lie within a region judged susceptible to acidic precipitation, though each lake, based on its buffering capacity, would be judged only moderately sensitive. In spite of the influence of this plant and other anthropogenic inputs, the change in lake ecology was apparently minimal. Water clarity decreased in both lakes and some alteration in zooplankton community structure was observed. The long-term utility of lake surveys depends upon how carefully and completely conditions can be reconstructed from records and reports. Past surveys generally omit measures of variability for the data, allowing only qualitative comparisons to be drawn. In order to judge the graded responses of aquatic ecosystems, necessary to sound management, quantitative measures are needed.Deceased.     

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.     

An analysis of assessment outcomes from eight years' operation of the Australian border weed risk assessment system

The majority of Australian weeds are exotic plant species that were intentionally introduced for a variety of horticultural and agricultural purposes. A border weed risk assessment system (WRA) was implemented in 1997 in order to reduce the high economic costs and massive environmental damage associated with introducing serious weeds. We review the behaviour of this system with regard to eight years of data collected from the assessment of species proposed for importation or held within genetic resource centres in Australia. From a taxonomic perspective, species from the Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae were most likely to be rejected and those from the Arecaceae and Flacourtiaceae were most likely to be accepted. Dendrogram analysis and classification and regression tree (TREE) models were also used to analyse the data. The latter revealed that a small subset of the 35 variables assessed was highly associated with the outcome of the original assessment. The TREE model examining all of the data contained just five variables: unintentional human dispersal, congeneric weed, weed elsewhere, tolerates or benefits from mutilation, cultivation or fire, and reproduction by vegetative propagation. It gave the same outcome as the full WRA model for 71% of species. Weed elsewhere was not the first splitting variable in this model, indicating that the WRA has a capacity for capturing species that have no history of weediness. A reduced TREE model (in which human-mediated variables had been removed) contained four variables: broad climate suitability, reproduction in less or than equal to 1year, self-fertilisation, and tolerates and benefits from mutilation, cultivation or fire. It yielded the same outcome as the full WRA model for 65% of species. Data inconsistencies and the relative importance of questions are discussed, with some recommendations made for improving the use of the system.