Ecological state of the floodplain-channel complexes of small rivers in Novosibirsk

The relevance of this study is due to the increasing man-made stress on water bodies and the land resources connected with them within the urbanized territories, as a result, changes in the morphology and dynamics of river channels and floodplain. It leads to the need for an integrated environmental assessment of floodplain-riverbed complexes, especially small rivers within urbanized areas. The purpose of the study is an integrated environmental assessment of floodplain-channel complexes of small rivers in the city of Novosibirsk to substantiate the recommendations of engineering measures to reduce environmental tensions. The research results showed that the Yeltsovka and the Plyushchikha rivers belong to the group with weak environmental intensity, the Tula, the Yeltsovka-2, the Kamenka, the Kamyshenka are of medium environmental intensity, the Yeltsovka-1 is with strong environmental tension. Significance of the study is that the integral assessment of the floodplain-channel complex of small rivers in the city of Novosibirsk can be used to substantiate the recommendations of engineering measures to reduce environmental tensions, which should be selected based on the obtained integral points, as well as to prevent accidents at various facilities or communications during engineering construction or water engineering design, construction and operation.

Assessment of the Ecological and Economical Trends for Mining Region (on Example of Kuzbass)

In the modern scientific literature, a number of methods have been developed making it possible to assess the ecological state of the territory. The most common way is to estimate the gross inflow of pollutants into various objects of the natural environment. The typology of the territory according to the level of the technogenic loading is considered for all environment: water, air and surface. As indicators, the density ofemissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere per 1 km2 and densityof discharge of pollutants into water sources with wastewater through organized releases per 1 million m3 of monthly flow are taken. As indicators of environmental intensity were considered indicators of energy intensity, material intensity, water capacity, metal intensity, specific emissions of greenhouse gases.

Win–Win Environmental Intensity or Technique Effects and Technological Learning: Evidence from Siam City Cement

As we demonstrated in Chapter 5 and as a small, but rapidly growing, body of research suggests, developing countries appear to be able to achieve win–win technique effects—reductions in the energy, materials, water, and pollution intensities of industrial production—simply by opening their economies to trade, foreign investment, and foreign technology (Copeland and Taylor 2003; Dean 2002; Reppelin-Hill 1999; Hettige et al. 1997; Wheeler and Martin 1992; Birdsall and Wheeler 1992; Lucas et al. 1992). While extremely promising, none of this body of work allows for in-depth analysis of the strategies and processes used by individual firms that import newer, more efficient, and cleaner technologies to reduce environmental intensities. In effect, this literature tells us much about win–win outcomes, but it says little about how these outcomes are achieved. If the import, adoption, and use of technologies that reduce environmental intensities were a simple and relatively costless process, this would not be a major source of concern. But, as we demonstrated in Chapter 2, there is a large literature suggesting that, on the contrary, technological learning and upgrading is a complex, difficult, and lengthy process, often marked by failure, that requires firms to make heavy investments in learning and upgrading (Amsden 2003, 1989; Bell and Pavitt 1992; Dahlman et al. 1987; Hobday 1997; Kim 1997; Lall 1992; Nelson 1993; Kim and Nelson 2001; Wade 1990; and UNIDO 2002b) before they can reap the economic and environmental gains associated with shifts to more effcient technologies. The core research question to be addressed in this chapter then is the importance of firm-level learning for achieving the win–win technique effects—improvements in environmental intensities associated with the import and adoption of energy and pollution-efficient technologies. Because firm-level learning is industry specific, path dependent, and influenced by the openness of an economy to trade, investment, and foreign technology, we focus on the learning effects of intensities reduction in one firm, Siam City Cement Public Company Ltd. (SCCC), in one particularly ‘dirty’ and rapidly expanding developing country industry (cement) that is undergoing substantial technological modernization, global consolidation, and greening, in an economy, Thailand, that has historically been very open to trade, investment, and foreign technology (Pongpaichit 1980).