Towards a more effective EIA in transport planning: a literature review to derive interventions and mechanisms to improve knowledge integration

A set of process-related barriers negatively determines the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in transport planning. Recent research highlights the unstructured stakeholder involvement and inefficient public participation in earlier phases of EIA as key bottlenecks. While the academic literature has produced promising theories for addressing these barriers, they have rarely been translated into solutions applicable and testable in practice. In order to bridge this theory–practice gap, we present a systematic literature review of interventions and mechanisms aimed at facilitating the integration of different sources and types of knowledge during the scoping phase of EIA. This review explores if and how interventions and mechanisms have been conducted in practice; if and why they worked or did not work and how relevant they are for EIA in transport planning. Based on this review, we distil a set of three specific interventions and trigger mechanisms applicable in the context of EIA in transport planning.     

Sense and Influence: Environmental Monitoring Tools and the Power of Citizen Science

Automated monitoring devices are useful technologies for communities seeking to document and solve environmental problems. However, without deeper scrutiny of their design and deployment, there is a risk that they will fail to have the impact that many of their promoters intend. We develop a rubric for analysing how different kinds of monitoring devices help environmental advocates influence public debates. We apply this rubric in a study of environmental organizations in Pennsylvania that are choosing between recruiting volunteer citizen scientists and using automated sensor-based devices to gather water quality data in streams threatened by hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Many organizations rely on volunteers using simple monitoring tools because they are affordable and produce easily managed data sets. An argument for this method of monitoring is that volunteering in the field also fosters citizen engagement in environmental debates. By comparison, we find the increased use of automated devices tends to reinforce hierarchies of expertise and constrains the agendas of nonprofessionals who participate in monitoring projects. We argue that these findings suggest that automated technologies, however effective they may be in gathering data on environmental quality, are not well designed to support broad public participation in environmental science and politics.     

Public regulatory relief and the adoption of environmental management systems: a European survey

An increasing number of organizations across the world have adopted Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) based on certifiable standards, notably the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the ISO 14001 standards. Although the specialized literature has studied the motivations, obstacles and benefits of the adoption of these standards for EMSs extensively, the impact of the public incentives on the adoption of such environmental management tools has been overlooked. In order to fill this gap in the literature, this article aims to shed light on the level of companies' knowledge and application of the main regulatory relief initiatives provided by public administrations around the EU for organizations with a certified EMS. For that purpose, this article summarizes the main findings of a survey carried out with the participation of 244 European EMAS-registered organizations. The findings of the survey highlight the fact that most of the surveyed companies have adopted or benefitted from some form of regulatory relief, mainly by making use of the measures granting an extended duration of some permits (44%), reductions in financial guarantees in the waste-treatment sector (31%) and tax reductions (26%). Moreover, it emerges that, among countries, the role of regulatory relief to support companies in the path to the adoption of EMSs is not univocal.     

对小城镇环境规划编制的几点思考

小城镇环境规划工作作为现阶段基层环保工作的重要推手和农村环境保护工作的重要载体,其科学的编制和积极的落实可明显改善区内生态环境质量,提高人民生活质量水平,促进经济可持续发展,对构建和谐社会起到重要的推动作用。针对规划编制过程中突出特色、环境分区、镇村差异及公众参与四个方面,依托案例,分别进行了研究和讨论,提出了相应意见,以期更好地指导该类环境规划的编制。     

Stakeholder Analysis of a Collaborative Watershed Management Process: A Florida Case Study1

Borisova, Tatiana, Laila Racevskis, and Jennison Kipp, 2012. Stakeholder Analysis of a Collaborative Watershed Management Process: A Florida Case Study. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 277‐296. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00615.x Abstract: This study focuses on a Florida watershed where development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) and its implementation plan resulted in conflicts among stakeholders. The overall goal is to build a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions of water quality problems, water policy processes and decisions, and water management plan development in a region where these issues have become contentious. Findings are based on a stakeholder analysis using qualitative data collected through focus groups with agricultural producers, local governments, and environmental groups, and supplemented with additional qualitative data on the watershed management process. Stakeholder conflicts in this case study are associated with perceived flaws in the structural and procedural characteristics of the stakeholder involvement process: (1) suboptimal watershed stakeholder representation on the TMDL executive committee, (2) an inappropriate voting procedure for making TMDL decisions, (3) limitations in information sharing between regulatory agencies and watershed stakeholders, and (4) stakeholders’ doubts about whether tradeoffs associated with achieving the water quality targets were assessed adequately throughout the TMDL planning and implementation process. This study contributes to the literature on collaborative watershed management by analyzing stakeholder involvement given Florida’s unique institutional settings, where implementation of TMDL pollution abatement is mandatory.     

The marginal cost of public funds of mineral and energy taxes in Peru

We estimate the Marginal Cost of Public Funds (MCPF) for Peru using a detailed computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Revenues from all major sources (including taxes on factors of production, natural resources such as energy and minerals, consumption, and imports) are examined. Our focus is on the efficiency implications of mineral and energy taxes, given their importance to Peruvian public finance. The primary data are from the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) as modified to include detailed tax information from the Peruvian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Peruvian Internal Revenue Service. Consistent with the theories of public finance, we find that the MCPF is greater for activities that face high or widely varying tax rates. The taxes on energy and mineral activities represent a clear illustration of this relationship. The results presented in this paper indicate opportunities to improved efficiency in the current tax mix, and also indicate the financing costs of proposed expenditures that would be funded with taxes on energy and natural resources.     

On the Plaintiff’s Subject Qualification for Environmental Public Interest Litigation Instituted by People’s Procuratorates

Although it is not the main duty for the People’s Procuratorate to institute environmental public interest litigation proceedings, the existence of "reserve" prosecution right of plaintiff not only is beneficial to timely prevention and cure of environmental damage, but also contributes indispensable judicial supervision force to the environmental legality construction. In order to safeguard environmental public interests, many local prosecutorial organizations have practiced environmental public interests litigation. Since Chinese law has not made explicit stipulation on the function of the People’s Procuratorate instituting environmental public interest litigation, the plaintiff’s subject qualification for environmental public interest litigation instituted by the People’s Procuratorate is still in question. In order to propel the People’s Procuratorate to completely and fully exercise their power of supervision and prosecution, there shall be corresponding legislation that provides powerful guarantee for the People’s Procuratorate instituting environmental public interest litigation.     

1种城市燃气管道风险评估模型及其应用研究

为科学评估燃气管道在复杂且敏感的城市环境中个人风险可接受情况,促进城市和谐稳定。以燃气管道泄漏射流火灾为事故场景,在常规评估基础上结合管道地区特点,构建基于公众可接受伤亡风险标准的评估模型,并通过案例分析,开展城市燃气管道个人风险定量评估研究。结果表明:我国城市燃气管道个人死亡风险、个人受伤风险可接受标准的建议值分别为5.00×10-6和2.74×10-5,其在一般情况下的公众可接受风险标准建议值范围为5.00×10-7~5.50×10-5和2.74×10-6~4.11×10-4;公众的伤亡风险感知偏差将直接影响风险评估结果,及时有效地对目标群体进行风险疏导以改善其风险认知,有助于避免公众风险感知偏差引发的负面社会效应。     

既有大型公共设施改造下紧邻深基坑开挖变形分析*

为探索深基坑开挖与紧邻大型公共设施改造的相互影响,确保施工安全,基于上海体育馆改造及新建地下体育综合体工程,采用有限元软件Plaxis对紧邻深基坑工程大型公共设施“卸载-加载”改造过程进行模拟,详细分析上海体育馆“卸载-加载”改造与紧邻综合体深基坑开挖同时进行对基坑本体及上海体育馆的安全影响,并在此基础上探讨紧邻深基坑工程大型公共设施改造最优工序。结果表明:在基坑开挖至第2道支撑时进行加载改造为最不利工况,且围护结构侧向位移将超过规范允许值,在施工中应严格避免;最优工序为完成第1道支撑后进行卸载改造,完成第2道支撑后进行加载改造。     

地区性城市群公共安全多灾种综合风险评估研究*

为掌握地区性城市群风险态势,制定风险防控规划,通过综合考虑社会经济基础、历史灾情、灾害链效应、防灾减灾及城际协同救援等因素,构建城市群多灾种综合风险评估模型,以呼包鄂城市群为研究对象开展综合风险评估。结果表明:呼包鄂城市群综合风险处于中低水平,未来需继续加强对洪涝灾害、旱灾、交通事故和矿山安全事故等风险的防范,建立健全各市辖区应急疏散、应急避难管理机制,提高各城市协同救援能力。