Ecologically derived guidelines for managing two New Zealand lakes

Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau, in Fiordland National Park, became the center of a major controversy after the New Zealand government offered their water resource to an overseas aluminum smelting consortium for electricity generation. Although the scheme proceeded, the lake levels were not raised as originally proposed. Rather, government sought guidelines to optimize hydroelectric potential while maintaining ecological stability of the vulnerable, largely forested, glaciated lakeshores. Guidelines were derived by relating the vegetation zonation to the natural lake-level fluctuations recorded daily for 37 years. Ahigh operating range in the upper third of the lakes' natural ranges, based on flood tolerances of the woody shoreline species, restricts both duration and frequency. Alow operating range (ca. lower third) safeguards stability of shoreline sediments by limiting drawn-down rates, duration, and frequency. Themain operating range (ca. middle third) has few limitations. These guidelines, which allow utilization of ca. 93% of the water resource, have now been verified by instances of flooding and draw-down rates that exceeded the natural rates recorded earlier. The guidelines were officially accepted by the government in 1977 as a basis for managing the valuable multiple resources of these two lakes and their environs, and they were formalized in legislation in 1981. The details and merits of the guideline approach are discussed.     

Indonesia's developing forest industry

Indonesia is a major exporter of tropical hardwoods. The country's goal is to establish integrated wood industries by reducing the export of unprocessed sawlogs. The value of hardwood sawlog exports has decreased by twothirds in 1986 dollars since 1978, while the value of hardwood sawnwood and plywood exports has increased sixfold. Sawlog exports are now banned. This article contrasts the official governmental policy on forest industry development with the operational realities of doing business in Indonesia.     

Mass movements and conservation management in Malta

Mass movements at an environmentally sensitive but very popular leisure site in Malta were investigated in order to establish whether they were naturally occurring or whether they might in some way have resulted from the chronic long-term degradation of the site. Field surveys of the slopes were undertaken and physical and geotechnical properties of the Maltese Blue Clay Formation, which forms the slopes, were determined from laboratory analysis of samples. Slope stability was analysed using the infinite slope model; analysis of two 1996 mudflows indicates that these mass movements are natural processes. A landslide hazard analysis based on this finding suggested that whilst future mudflows constitute a small hazard, the risk of harm arising from them is even smaller. The implications of this for conservation management of the site are important, given the objective of restoring and then maintaining a natural ecological environment at the site. The mudflows are integral components of this natural environment, shaping the landscape and the ecological communities. The provision of information to visitors constitutes a valuable education and management tool that should further reduce the risk of harm and promote responsible recreational use of the site. However, it is essential that managers understand the nature of all relevant components of an environmentally sensitive site, in order that appropriate management strategies are devised. In the case discussed, these might include avoiding unnecessary future intervention on the clay slopes.     

SUBALPINE,COLD CLIMATE,STORMWATER TREATMENT WITH A CONSTRUCTED SURFACE FLOW WETLAND1

The Tahoe City Wetland Treatment System (TCWTS) was constructed in 1997 to treat stormwater runoff from 23 ha of commercial, highway, and residential land use in the Lake Tahoe Basin. This subalpine, constructed, surface flow wetland treatment system consists of two cells in series, with a design water surface area of about 0.6 ha. Water quality monitoring from October 2002 through September 2003 was conducted with autosamplers at the inflow and outflow sites during 24 sampling events, with a median duration of 53 hours, representing 42 percent of total inflow to this wetland during the year. Monitoring data indicate an improvement of 49 percent or greater in effluent concentrations of dissolved phosphorus, nitrate, orthophosphorus, and total suspended solids. On average, event mean concentrations of total phosphorus were reduced from a median 279 μg/l at the inflow to 94 μg/l at the outflow. Event mean concentrations of total nitrogen were reduced from a median 1,599 μg/l at the inflow to 810 μg/l at the outflow. Net nutrient retention for the sampling period was estimated at 3 g phosphorus (P)/m²/y and 13 g nitrogen (N)/m²/y. Almost 4,000 kg of suspended sediment was captured by this wetland system during the year.     

Army Training: The Environmental Gains Resulting from the Adoption of Alternatives to Traditional Training Methods

This paper describes several alternatives to traditional methods of army training on dedicated ranges using live, full-calibre ammunition. These are: training/sub-calibre ammunition; training over private land; live or engagement simulation; virtual reality (VR) simulation; constructive simulation; and mechanical simulation. The advantages and disadvantages of each are examined with respect to military and environmental considerations. Varied examples from the British, US and Swiss armies are used to examine the future role of these alternative approaches in meeting a fast-changing training requirement within multiplying environmental controls and resource constraints. This paper concentrates particularly on the training requirements of artillery systems because these are amongst the most demanding in resource terms. The three cited nations operate similar artillery systems and are subject to similar constraints. The US Army's move towards simulation has been triggered largely by economic and operational factors along with tightening regulatory controls. The Swiss and British forces are highly constrained by space, the British due to population density and the Swiss due to topography. While all the alternatives offer environmental and resource advantages, VR simulation provides the most positive benefits.     

Integrated Land and Water Management in the United Kingdom: Narrowing the Implementation Gap

Riparian buffer zones have been incorporated in land and water management policy for England since 1994, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food introduced a Water Fringe Option (WFO) as part of a broader habitat conservation scheme. Whilst natural scientists have examined the functioning of riparian buffer zones, understanding of farmers' decision making regarding the adoption or non-adoption of voluntary buffer zone policies is very limited. This paper examines the factors influencing the decision making of farmers who were eligible to join the WFO in three river catchments. Quantitative and qualitative information was collected from farmers using semi-structured interviews and was supplemented with in-depth interviews with representatives of public agencies, agricultural groups and independent experts. Data analysis was completed using the 'Framework' analytical approach and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 8.0 computer software. The research revealed that decisions to participate in the WFO were influenced by a mix of situational, psychological and sociological characteristics, which suggests that policy makers must attach greater importance to implementation conditions and farmers decision making if riparian buffer zones are to play a more prominent role in the management of land and water in rural catchments. Tightly structured schemes will only appeal to a narrow segment of the farming population and will not lead to widespread re-creation of riparian habitats. A more flexible and collaborative style of policy development is needed in order for riparian buffer zone policies to meet the circumstances and needs of the diverse UK farming community.     

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.     

Natural gas engine driven heat pump system – a case study of an office building

ABSTRACT

An eQUEST model was developed to conduct a simulation study of a natural gas engine-driven heat pump (GEHP) for an office building in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Prior to the installation of the GEHP, the heating and cooling demands of the office building were provided by rooftop units (RTUs), comprising of natural gas heater and electric air conditioner. Energy consumption for both GEHP and RTUs were monitored for operation in alternating months. These recorded energy consumptions along with weather data were used in the regression analysis. The developed eQUEST models were validated and calibrated with the regression analysis results with respect to the ASHRAE Guideline 14–2014. The eventual models were then applied to investigate the potential annual energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy cost savings achieved by using the GEHP in Woodstock, and other cities in Canada, particularly in Ontario.