scholarly journals Design and use of crowdsourcing geographic data collection system during the monitoring phase of Environmental Impact Assessment reports

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Data Consistency ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Geographical Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Monitoring Phase

<p>When the whole earth is considered as a geographic place, it is clearly seen that the physical and social processes in the Earth’s crust have a direct or indirect connection with geography. In this century named information era, it is vital to find new solutions to people’s problems by getting different results from gathering, providing, and querying information.</p> <p>Geographic information systems are frequently used in the preparation and implementation stages of environmental impact assessment (EIA) projects. However, the failure to use spatial data effectively during the monitoring phase, which is the final step of the assessment process, causes the inability to determine whether the activities undertaken in the report are implemented. This situation causes EIA reports and activities to be questioned or even not accepted by the public.</p> <p>By inter-organizational data sharing, geographical data needs can be met and duplicate data productions can be avoided.&nbsp; However, the problem of updating the geographical data provided always comes out as the real problem.&nbsp; At this point, there are approaches that are defined as Crowdsourcing which refers the way of solving the problems of the institutions by utilizing the knowledge and experience outsourced. The most important institutional concern regarding crowdsourcing and geographical data extraction reveals itself as data consistency and accuracy.</p> <p>With the system developed within the scope of this study, the status of EIA projects in implementation with the development of the project will be effectively controlled with the participation of the administration and the public. A crowdsourcing-based system has been prepared and introduced to ensure the participation of the public. With this study, the development of the project and the problems experienced during the monitoring phase can be controlled. Thus, it will be ensured that any negative situation that could be experienced will be prevented or minimized in a way that will not harm the environment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

A Commentary on Environmental Impact Assessment for Large Projects Affecting Lakes and Streams

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1121-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Trade Offs

In this essay I look at environmental impact assessment as it concerns major projects influencing aquatic environments in Canada. Environmental impact assessment is a process aimed at guarding the public interest in the proper use of resources in the aggregate. Compromises are usually worked out on a local basis for each project. More widely conceived trade-offs are favored by all but practised by few. All projects go through various stages, all begin as vague schemes; some crystallize as firm proposals and then go through the assessment process to construction and a subsequent period of operation. Environmental impact assessment as a process should reflect this pattern of activity rather than being just the preparation of statements about projects that are imminent. I have given particular emphasis to the need for follow up on whether what occurred was what was predicted. Also I have stressed the importance of anticipating that some impacts will not be foreseen and, therefore, the necessity for making appropriate financial provision. Environmental impact assessment, as presently practised, does not make the contribution it might to environmental science. Impact assessment should not be seen as a substitute for research that would lead to new understandings of ecological systems and to new appreciations of what to look for in making environmental impact assessments.

AMBEMAR-DSS: A Decision Support System for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Renewable Energies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xabier Guinda ◽  
Araceli Puente ◽  
José A. Juanes ◽  
Francisco Royano ◽  
Felipe Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Renewable Energies ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Modeling Tools

The high energy demand and the threat of climate change have led to a remarkable development of renewable energies, initially through technologies applied to the terrestrial environment and, recently, through the awakening of marine renewable energies. However, the development of these types of projects is often hampered by failure to pass the corresponding environmental impact assessment process. The complexity of working in the marine environment and the uncertainties associated with assessing the impacts of such projects make it difficult to carry out objective and precise environmental impact assessments. AMBEMAR-DSS seeks to establish a basis for understanding and agreement between the different stakeholders (project developers, public administrations, environmental organizations and the public in general), in order to find solutions that allow the development of marine renewable energies, minimizing their environmental cost. For this purpose, a DSS is proposed which, based on cartographic information and using objective and quantifiable criteria, allows comparative assessments and analyses between different project alternatives. The analytical procedures used by the system include, among others, hydrodynamic modeling tools and visual impact simulators. In addition, impacts on marine species are assessed taking into account intrinsic ecological and biological aspects. The magnitude of the impacts is quantified by means of fuzzy logic operations and the integration of all the elements is carried out by an interactive multi-criteria analysis. The results are shown in tables, graphs and figures of easy interpretation and can be also visualized geographically by means of a cartographic viewer. The system identifies the main impacts generated in the different phases of the project and allows establishing adequate mitigation measures in search of optimized solutions. The establishment of the assessment criteria has been based on the abundant, but dispersed, scientific literature on the various elements of the system and having the opinion of experts in the various fields. Nevertheless, the DSS developed constitutes a preliminary basis on which to build and improve a system with the input of researchers, promoters and experts from different disciplines.

scholarly journals Beyond Public Particpation: The disjuncture between South Africa's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law and Sustainable Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
T Murombo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Provisions

One of the key strategies for achieving sustainable development is the use of the process of evaluating the potential environmental impacts of development activities. The procedure of environmental impact assessment (EIA) implements the principle of integration which lies at the core of the concept of sustainable development by providing a process through which potential social, economic and environmental impacts of activities are scrutinised and planned for. Sustainable development may not be achieved without sustained and legally mandated efforts to ensure that development planning is participatory. The processes of public participation play a crucial role in ensuring the integration of the socio-economic impacts of a project into the environmental decision-making processes. Public participation is not the only process, nor does the process always ensure the achievement of sustainable development. Nevertheless, decisions that engage the public have the propensity to lead to sustainable development. The public participation provisions in South Africa’s EIA regulations promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 show a disjuncture between the idea of public participation and the notion of sustainable development. The provisions do not create a framework for informed participation and leave a wide discretion to environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) regarding the form which participation should assume. In order for environmental law, specifically EIA laws, to be effective as tools to promote sustainable development the laws must, among other things, provide for effective public participation. The judiciary must also aid in the process by giving content to the legal provisions on public participation in the EIA process.

International eia Law and Geoengineering: Do Emerging Technologies Require Special Rules?

Climate Law ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 111-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Craik
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Global Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Special Rules ◽  
Current Risk ◽  
Institutional Mechanism

This article explores the adequacy of the international rules on environmental impact assessment to contribute to geoengineering governance, with a focus on three fundamental challenges. First, the near-universal trigger for eia is the likelihood of significant environmental impact, which may prove to be insufficiently precautionary in light of current risk preferences surrounding geoengineering. Second, the scope of eia has traditionally focused narrowly on the assessment of direct physical impacts; however, many of the concerns that geoengineering research raises relate to environmental and social risks associated with downstream technological implications. A third and related challenge is the consultation requirements under eia laws, which focus on affected states and affected members of the public. Because many geoengineering activities are anticipated to impact the global commons, there is no clear institutional mechanism for implementing notification and consultation. Additionally, the broader sets of concerns that geoengineering raises are spatially unbounded, again making the identification of consultation partners uncertain. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the challenges and limitations of the rules of eia for geoengineering.

LINKING ABORIGINAL HERITAGE ISSUES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
K.N. Davie ◽  
T.A. Winters
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Impact Study ◽  
Environmental Impact Study ◽  
Clearance Process ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Australian

This paper discusses the relationship between the Aboriginal heritage clearance process and the environmental impact assessment process. The current Western Australian legislation and the Murrin Murrin nickel project and other Western Australian projects are used as a case study, although similar methods and issues are applicable to most states within Australia. The paper investigates areas where delays may occur and proposes a model which can be implemented to maximise the level of certainty for a project.

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