Summary This paper presents an overview of the initiatives that have been formulated by the government of Cameroon to address the
problem of industrial pollution. It also prescribes robust recommendations that could be employed to save the Atlantic coast
of Cameroon from industrial pollutants. After the participation of Cameroon in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,
the government took a significant step to overhaul its institutional framework, legal framework and policy framework vis-à-vis
the regulation of industrial pollution. Under the auspices of the United Nation Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO),
the Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem Project aimed at sustaining the health of the Atlantic coast of Cameroon by ensuring
treatment of industrial wastes, oil spills, sewage and heavy metals was implemented (1995–1999). Based upon careful analysis,
however, the paper argues that these efforts have had little or no discernable impacts and that industrial activities along
the Atlantic coast of Cameroon are still a major threat to safety, health and the environment. With a considerable number
of hurdles that still persist, sufficient environmental improvement in industrial pollution along the Atlantic coast of Cameroon
is far-fetched. Nevertheless, the paper concludes that marked environmental improvement can be obtained if: (i) competent
personnel are appointed in ministries that play an active role in mitigating industrial pollution (ii) research partnerships
are forged with local universities (iii) industrial machinery and equipment are improved (iv) inter institutional conflicts
are addressed (v) a more collaborative forum between stakeholders is established (vi) adequate monitoring is instituted.
The provisions of this paper form the foundation of an ongoing research being conducted by the authors at Brandenburg University
of Technology, Cottbus, Germany. 相似文献
Instead of legislating after the Bhopal accident, Canada choose to innovate by adopting a consultative approach. In 1987, Environment Canada set up the Major Industrial Accidents Council of Canada (MIACC), a non profit organization financed by the federal and provincial governments and industry.
MIACC was a process rather than a structure. Governments, industries, responders, trade unions, NGOs, etc. have shared their expertise. It has worked as a partnership for the development of standards, guidance documents, etc. in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
MIACC ceased to exist in 1999. Although, MIACC disappearance is unfortunate, it is not dramatic. A culture of partnership, of working together towards common objectives, is now well in place and influences the development of regulations.
Natural disasters and the 911 terrorist attack on New York triggered the publication of regulations.
The legislative process started in 2001 with the Province of Quebec adopting a new Civil Protection Act for the protection of persons and property against disasters.
Year 2003 saw major developments in the regulation of emergencies—changes that are likely to have significant influences on how companies operate in Canada. Surprisingly, however, these changes have received little attention in the media, and many companies may not be aware of their implications.
This paper will review these developments, and will examine what has already taken place. Topics include:
• The federal regulation of environmental emergencies under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act;
• Extension of the Criminal Code of Canada to allow criminal charges and possibly heavy penalties for senior officials and corporations, including an explicit legal duty to protect workers from harm;
• Quebec Civil Protection Act designed to identify and manage risks;
• Ontario‘s stepwise regulation of municipal emergency preparedness with the intended goal of NFPA 1600 compliance by 2007, and the implications for the process industries;
• Potential regulation at the municipal level.
Keywords: Canada; Regulatory framework; Major hazards 相似文献
The European Union Water Framework Directive recognises the need for and value of biological monitoring. This paper reviews the modelling approach known as River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS
for assessing the ecological quality of river sites using macroinvertebrate sampling. The RIVPACS philosophy is to develop statistical relationships between the fauna and the environmental characteristics of a large set of high quality reference sites which can be used to predict the macroinvertebrate fauna to be expected at any site in the absence of pollution or other environmental stress. The observed fauna at new test sites can then be compared with their site-specific expected fauna to derive indices of ecological quality. All methodological decisions in any such model development have implications for the reliability, precision and robustness of any resulting indices for assessing the ecological quality and ecological grade (‘status’) of individual river stretches. The choice of reference sites and environmental predictor variables, the site classification and discrimination methods, the estimation of the expected fauna, and indices for comparing the agreement, or lack of it, between the observed and expected fauna, are all discussed. The indices are assessed on the reference sites and on a separate test set of 340 sites, which are subject to a wide range of types and degrees of impairment. 相似文献
In Europe, Britain was relatively early in being aware of the necessity of conserving natural coastal sites, though not as
early as The Netherlands. In the 1960s and 1970s, increasing economic and tourist pressures in Europe prompted measures geared
to the protection of other coasts in Europe. The promptness of the British reaction was a result of a sensitive public opinion
and of powerful private trusts (National Trust with Enterprise Neptune) rather than of a commitment by the Government. In
France a specific organization, in part inspired by the British principle, was set up. However, the French system is based
much more on a public authority, theConservatoire de l’Espace Littoral et des Rivages Lacustres and on legislation (Coastal Law of 1986). Although very different in the beginning, French and British conservation politics
today show many similarities, along with the similarities in the concerns of both countries. 相似文献