scholarly journals No Net Loss: A Cultural Reading of Environmental Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
Jordi Puig ◽  
Ana Villarroya ◽  
María Casas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Sustainable Societies ◽  
Cultural Causes

Global environmental quality decline builds up through innumerable decisions at many scales that cause damage to ecological and social values. Environmental assessment (EA) is a relevant decision-making framework in this sense. Besides its technical role, EA has a cultural side we should consider in the pursuit of sustainable societies. Despite its limited reach, EA exemplifies and confronts some cultural implicit stances that may unwittingly favor the overall decline of environmental quality, and limit the advancement and efficiency of EA. Many of these cultural traits are well known and easier to point to than to reverse, namely: (1) too tolerant-to-damage standards of environmental protection and equality; (2) inadequate criteria to assess environmental performance; (3) tolerance of the net loss of environmental quality; (4) confrontation between ecological and social values in decision-making; and (5) neglect of full, in-kind compensation of environmental impacts. EA may have not only a technical or procedural, but also a cultural role to play in confronting these sources of unsustainability. A lack of attention to the cultural causes of environmental impacts neglects the deepest roots of environmental damage. This commentary addresses the topics above and brings attention to their disregard for environmental values, which should guide EA towards increased levels of sustainability.

Life cycle analysis and sustainability assessment of advanced wastewater treatment technologies

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheetal Jaisingh Kamble ◽  
Anju Singh ◽  
Manoj Govind Kharat
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Operation Phase

Purpose Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have long-time environmental impacts. The purpose of this paper is to assess the environmental footprint of two advanced wastewater treatment (WWT) technologies in a life cycle and sustainability perspective and identify the improvement alternatives. Design/methodology/approach In this study life cycle-based environmental assessment of two advanced WWT technologies (moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR)) has been carried out to compare different technological options. Life cycle impacts were computed using GaBi software employing the CML 2 (2010) methodology. Primary data were collected and analysed through surveys and on-site visits to WWTPs. The present study attempts to achieve significantly transparent results using life cycle assessment (LCA) in limited availability of data. Findings The results of both direct measurements in the studied wastewater systems and the LCA support the fact that advanced treatment has the best environmental performance. The results show that the operation phase contributes to nearly 99 per cent for the impacts of the plant. The study identified emissions associated with electricity production required to operate the WWTPs, chemical usage, emissions to water from treated effluent and heavy metal emissions from waste sludge applied to land are the major contributors for overall environmental impacts. SBR is found to be the best option for WWT as compared to MBBR in the urban context. In order to improve the overall environmental performance, the wastewater recovery, that is, reusable water should be improved. Further, sludge utilisation for energy recovery should be considered. The results of the study show that the avoided impacts of energy recovery can be even greater than direct impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from the wastewater system. Therefore, measures which combine reusing wastewater with energy generation should be preferred. The study highlights the major shortcoming, i.e., the lack of national life cycle inventories and databases in India limiting the wide application of LCA in the context of environmental decision making. Research limitations/implications The results of this study express only the environmental impacts of the operation phase of WWT system and sludge management options. Therefore, it is recommended that further LCAs studies should be carried out to investigate construction and demolition phase and also there is need to reconsider the toxicological- and pathogen-related impact categories. The results obtained through this type of LCA studies can be used in the decision-making framework for selection of appropriate WWT technology by considering LCA results as one of the attributes. Practical implications The results of LCA modelling show that though the environmental impacts associated with advanced technologies are high, these technologies produce the good reusable quality of effluent. In areas where water is scarce, governments should promote reusing wastewater by providing additional treatment under safe conditions as much as possible with advanced WWT. The LCA model for WWT and management planning can be used for the environmental assessment of WWT technologies. Originality/value The current work provides a site-specific data on sustainable WWT and management. The study contributes to the development of the regional reference input data for LCA (inventory development) in the domain of wastewater management.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Planned Capitals and Lessons for Indonesia’s New Capital

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 438
Author(s):  
Hoong Chen Teo ◽  
Alex Mark Lechner ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
East Kalimantan ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Nighttime Lights

Indonesia’s new planned capital in East Kalimantan is being touted as a “smart, green, beautiful and sustainable city” but has stoked fears of massive environmental damage to the island of Borneo, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks. Precedents of other planned capitals can contribute to an understanding of the potential long-term impacts of Indonesia’s new capital. We used historical nighttime lights to quantitatively assess the spatial growth footprint of 12 previous planned capitals, and conducted land-use analyses to identify the potential environmental impacts on Borneo’s natural environment. Our assessment suggests that it is likely that the direct footprint of the new capital could grow rapidly, expanding over 10 km from its core in less than two decades and over 30 km before mid-century. We identified sensitive ecosystems which may be affected by the new capital’s direct and indirect footprint, such as forest reserves, mangrove and peat. Deforestation emissions from the new capital’s direct (30 km) and indirect (200 km) footprint could be approximately 50 MtCO2e and 2326 MtCO2e respectively, equivalent to 2.7% and 126% of Indonesia’s 2014 greenhouse gas emissions. We discuss how planned capitals can spatially restructure the socio-political geographies of cities and nation-states by interacting with meanings, symbolisms and power relations, which may aggravate environmental impacts but also be seized upon as a catalyst for improving environmental performance in Borneo and Indonesia. Finally, we recommend the use of best practices in impact assessment and sustainability as a necessary first step towards protecting Borneo.

Environmental performance of wastewater reuse systems: impact of system boundaries and external conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1387-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Baresel ◽  
Lena Dalgren ◽  
Mats Almemark ◽  
Aleksandra Lazic
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Secondary Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Reclamation ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Downstream Processes

Wastewater reclamation will be a significant part of future water management and the environmental assessment of various treatment systems to reuse wastewater has become an important research field. The secondary treatment process and sludge handling on-site are, especially, electricity demanding processes due to aeration, pumping, mixing, dewatering, etc. used for operation and are being identified as the main contributor for many environmental impacts. This study discusses how the environmental performance of reuse treatment systems may be influenced by surrounding conditions. This article illustrates and discusses the importance of factors commonly treated as externalities and as such not being included in optimization strategies of reuse systems, but that are necessary to environmentally assess wastewater reclamation systems. This is illustrated by two up-stream and downstream processes; electricity supply and the use of sludge as fertilizer commonly practiced in regions considered for wastewater reclamation. The study shows that external conditions can have a larger impact on the overall environmental performance of reuse treatment systems than internal optimizations could compensate for. These results imply that a more holistic environmental assessment of reuse schemes could provide less environmental impacts as externalities could be included in measures to reduce the overall impacts.

scholarly journals Environmental assessment of PSS, feedback on 2 years of experimentation

2017 ◽  
Vol 105 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romain Allais ◽  
Julie Gobert
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Regulation ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Comparative Lca ◽  
Model Transition

This communication details the sustainability assessment of the partial transition of business model from selling products to product renting for small household equipment (SHE). Perceived by the French SHE manufacturer as a strategic opportunity to meet customers’ expectations and environmental regulation, 2-years experimentation was performed on a specific territory with the support of a network of new competencies (B-to-B-to-C market). Researchers were mandated for the sustainability assessment of such a transition but this communication focuses on the environmental performance of the experimentation. The results of the comparative LCA are presented and the main environmental impacts linked to this business model transition are specified and discussed. Then, different eco-design scenarios are explored and recommendations for this specific case are proposed.

scholarly journals Permeable Pavements Life Cycle Assessment: A Literature Review

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Antunes ◽  
Enedir Ghisi ◽  
Liseane Thives
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Inventory Analysis ◽  
Permeable Pavements ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Goal And Scope

The number of studies involving life cycle assessment has increased significantly in recent years. The life cycle assessment has been applied to assess the environmental performance of water infrastructures, including the environmental impacts associated with construction, maintenance and disposal, mainly evaluating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the consumption of energy and natural resources. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of permeable pavements and show studies of life cycle assessment that compare the environmental performance of permeable pavements with traditional drainage systems. Although the studies found in the literature present an estimate of the sustainability of permeable pavements, the great heterogeneity in the evaluation methods and results is still notable. Therefore, it is necessary to homogenize the phases of goal and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. It is also necessary to define the phases and processes of the evaluation, as well as the minimum amount of data to be considered in the modelling of life cycle assessment, in order to avoid heterogeneity in the functional units and other components. Thus, more consistent results will lead to a real evaluation of the environmental impacts caused by permeable pavements. Life cycle assessment studies are essential to guide planning and decision-making, leading to systems that consider increasing water resources and reducing natural disasters and environmental impacts.

Part III Conceptual Pillars, Ch.18 Precaution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peel Jacqueline
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Anticipatory Action ◽  
International Environmental Treaties

This chapter describes the concept of precaution in international environmental law, which concerns anticipatory action in response to scientifically uncertain threats of environmental harm. Its most frequently referenced formulation can be found in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Rio Declaration's endorsement of precaution in Principle 15 introduced to international environmental law a new discourse over the appropriate evidentiary foundations of global environmental regulation. The chapter then focuses on four key questions (and attendant debates) regarding precaution that have been critical in understanding its role in international environmental law. These questions concern the meaning of precaution as a conceptual pillar of international environmental law; the legal status of precaution as a principle of international environmental law; the formulation and understanding of precaution evident from international environmental treaties and case law; and the consequences of applying precaution in decision-making concerning threats of environmental damage.

13. Environmental assessment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Bell ◽  
Donald McGillivray ◽  
Ole W. Pedersen ◽  
Emma Lees ◽  
Elen Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Basic Issue ◽  
Environmental Decision

This chapter looks at the international, European, and national laws relating to environmental assessment, and the explosion of litigation that has occurred over the years. Environmental assessment has emerged as one of the key environmental law mechanisms. Its essence is that information about likely environmental impacts of things such as development projects, and now also plans and programmes, is properly considered before potentially harmful decisions are made. It can be useful to think about environmental assessment in the context of some wider issues of environmental decision-making. Another basic issue addressed here is one that frequently crops up in environmental assessment law; namely, the tension between adhering strictly to procedural rules and adopting a pragmatic approach to decisions that are considered sensible.

scholarly journals BETWEEN POLICY-MAKING AND PLANNING

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 319-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVAR LYHNE
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Strategic Decision Making ◽  
Decision Making Processes

This article deals with the challenge of approaching decision-making processes through strategic environmental assessment (SEA). It is argued that the interaction between policy-making and planning in strategic decision-making processes is a neglected reason for problems with applying SEA, as legislation and guidance on SEA primarily approach either the policy or plan level. To substantiate the argument, the extent of interaction is empirically investigated. Four contemporary decision-making processes in the Danish energy sector are mapped as a series of choices. Fundamental changes with considerable environmental impacts are decided these years, often without preceding SEA processes. The mapping shows a profound interaction between policy-making and planning. In this interaction, public consultation, systematic environmental analyses, and transparency on alternatives are primarily related to choices of planning character. The findings lead to a discussion of the existing SEA guidance that is challenged in terms of adequacy of the guidance to approach the interaction.

scholarly journals Efektivitas Pelaksanaan Kajian Lingkungan Hidup Strategis (KLHS) dalam Perencanaan Tata Ruang Kota Salatiga

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-182
Author(s):  
Paulus Bimo Wijayanto ◽  
Maryono Maryono
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
The Government ◽  
The City ◽  
Spatial Plan

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a process by evaluating environmental impacts and ensuring that the principles of sustainability are integrated in decision making. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in Indonesia is regulated in a law stipulated by the government which stipulates that it is the duty of both the government and local governments to carry out both development planning and spatial planning. Salatiga City in spatial planning in accordance with the existing guidelines implements SEA, namely in making the Regional Spatial Plan and Detailed Spatial Plan. The rules and policies that are continuously updated by the government regarding the procedures for implementing SEA require understanding from stakeholders who have an interest in Policies, Plans and Programs (KRP) in spatial planning in Salatiga City, with good quality understanding by stakeholders can ensure that the stages of implementing SEA running well and integrating SEA into the KRP spatial planning that ensures environmental damage can be minimized. The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the implementation of SEA in spatial planning in the city of Salatiga and it is hoped that it can provide alternative steps for implementing SEA which can be used as a direction in the implementation of SEA based on existing facts and conditions. The data used in this study consist of primary data and secondary data which refer to the SEA implementation tools, namely Rules and Policies, Documents and Reports, Institutional Tools, Implementation Standard Operating Procedures, Monitoring, Evaluation and Feedback. The research method used is a mixed method research by combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. From the results of the analysis, it can be seen that the implementation of SEA in the City of Salatiga in spatial planning still needs to be considered in order to run effectively, even though the resulting SEA process has adjusted to the existing regulations but still in activities such as monitoring, evaluation and feedback still need to be carried out in an effective manner. maximum because these activities constitute control over decision making in Activities, Plans and Programs in the resulting spatial planning and stakeholder understanding of the institutional instruments of SEA in Salatiga City still need to be improved because not all existing instruments are understood and are still in a category that is not all in categories really understand evenly so that steps are needed that are adjusted to the existing conditions in an effort to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of SEA so that the resulting SEA can run effectively and maximally.

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