Enforcement Of Environmental Legislation Research Articles

Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus are at risk of extinction in Benin: A result of poaching for belief-based use and decreasing food availability.

In recent years, Hooded Vulture populations in West Africa have decreased substantially. However, in some areas within this region, the species is still relatively abundant. To find out more about the situation in West Africa, we assessed the status of Hooded Vultures in Benin, one of the countries where their status is not well known. We conducted road counts on paved and unpaved roads and along small trails over a total of 1451 km. We also conducted interviews with local abattoir watchmen, veterinarians, butchers and foresters to examine potential threats to this species. A total of 52 Hooded Vultures were counted mostly in the departments of Atacora (32) but also in Alibori (10) and Borgou (10). The relative abundance was four Hooded Vultures per 100 km, highlighting the near extirpation of this bird from Benin. A total of 49 interviews revealed that poaching for belief-based use (through shooting and traps) and decreasing food availability remain the most important threats for Hooded Vultures in northern Benin. If these threats are not mitigated, we predict the extirpation of the Hooded Vulture outside protected areas in Benin within the next two decades, possibly even sooner. Conservation measures, including awareness campaigns, and the improvement and enforcement of environmental legislation, must be urgently implemented to improve the protection of this Critically Endangered vulture species.

Ocean Energy: Markets – Currency – Impact. Dimension of & Choices in the Technology Development Space

Reflecting in the acceleration of the changes in ecological, climatological and generally planetary health, it is critical to employ those energy source as well and those energy used that are of the highest ratio of benefit to effort and deliver the most valuable and impactful, tangible contribution in service of natural commons and common societal good. Such considerations hold for all ocean energy types and especially for ocean wave energy.
 Thus, it is not only important to consider the resource that is converted into the standard form of usable energy, that is, in the form of electricity and to deliver to the most prominent marketplace, that is, the continental grid; it is equally important to consider the use, purpose and impact after converted energy.
 Reflecting on the entire value chain from marine renewable energy to a) usable energy to b) the actual use and purpose of the energy may lead to highly impactful implementations with more direct delivery of the renewable energy to the valued application. In such more direct paths from resource to impact the extracted energy and the applied energy is a mean to the purpose rather than a means to an end.
 Assessments of marine renewable energy markets other than powering the continental grid, such as Powering the Blue Economy, have been investigated and numerous research efforts are underway. However, to fully maximize the achievable impact of ocean wave energy it is critical to extend the consideration from replacing the energy source in existing applications to the enablement of highly impactful applications that are currently not existing or are not operated at the magnitude when powered by ocean waves.
 Highest effectiveness is achieved when the uniqueness of the renewable energy form matches the unique needs of the targeted application. For ocean wave energy the uniqueness lies in relative consistency, high degree of forecastability, energy density and the ubiquitous nature across the oceans. These provide a plethora of opportunities to serve markets and purposes that are directly in or based on the oceans.
 Technology development progress indicators such as Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Technology Performance Levels (TPL) are typically used to span up the technology development space and provide a framework and orientation for the desired technology development trajectories. Based on the description of the motivations above the paper and presentation with introduce and describe additional and alternative technology development indicators that directly point and guide the development towards impactful application and purpose as the desired technology development goal. 
 In order to provide a clear understanding of impact markets and the associated values, thus, their specific currency these are best served in, three impact markets are presented in detail as concrete examples. These support planetary and ocean health in different ways through carbon capture, acceleration of the deployment of all forms of marine renewable energy types and enabling the implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation. Beyond these, a dozen of others impact markets are listed to provide an overview of impact oriented markets and applications.

Role of the public prosecutor’s office experts in the environmental licensing of the Mexilhão Project, São Paulo, Brazil

The constitutional role and authority of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) as an enforcer of law warranted the MP protagonism in the enforcement of environmental legislation and accountability of environmental agencies in Brazil. The MP instituted regional offices to tackle the environmental issue and established a team of experts to provide technical support. This research analyzes the participation of the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPSP) and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) experts in the environmental licensing of the Mexilhão Project. The project was located in the coastal region of the state of São Paulo and initially aimed to reduce by half the volume of natural gas imported by the country. Based on the analysis of documents and interviews, this paper shows that there were different interpretations and framings among the MP experts concerning environmental impacts and risks of the project. This study also discusses MP's influence on the decisions of the federal environmental agency about the Mexilhão Project.

Hybrid Semi-Analytical Algorithm for Estimating Chlorophyll-A Concentration in Lower Amazon Floodplain Waters

The Amazon Basin is the largest on the planet, and its aquatic ecosystems affect and are affected by the Earth’s processes. Specifically, Amazon aquatic ecosystems have been subjected to severe anthropogenic impacts due to deforestation, mining, dam construction, and widespread agribusiness expansion. Therefore, the monitoring of these impacts has become crucial for conservation plans and environmental legislation enforcement. However, its continental dimensions, the high variability of Amazonian water mass constituents, and cloud cover frequency impose a challenge for developing accurate satellite algorithms for water quality retrieval such as chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), which is a proxy for the trophic state. This study presents the first application of the hybrid semi-analytical algorithm (HSAA) for Chl-a retrieval using a Sentinel-3 OLCI sensor over five Amazonian floodplain lakes. Inherent and apparent optical properties (IOPs and AOPs), as well as limnological data, were collected at 94 sampling stations during four field campaigns along hydrological years spanning from 2015 to 2017 and used to parameterize the hybrid SAA to retrieve Chl-a in highly turbid Amazonian waters. We implemented a re-parametrizing approach, called the generalized stacked constraints model to the Amazonian waters (GSCMLAFW), and used it to decompose the total absorption αt(λ) into the absorption coefficients of detritus, CDOM, and phytoplankton (αphy(λ)). The estimated GSCMLAFWαphy(λ) achieved errors lower than 24% at the visible bands and 70% at NIR. The performance of HSAA-based Chl-a retrieval was validated with in situ measurements of Chl-a concentration, and then it was compared to literature Chl-a algorithms. The results showed a smaller mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for HSAA Chl-a retrieval (36.93%) than empirical Rrs models (73.39%) using a 3-band algorithm, which confirms the better performance of the semi-analytical approach. Last, the calibrated HSAA model was used to estimate the Chl-a concentration in OLCI images acquired during 2017 and 2019 field campaigns, and the results demonstrated reasonable errors (MAPE = 57%) and indicated the potential of OLCI bands for Chl-a estimation. Therefore, the outcomes of this study support the advance of semi-analytical models in highly turbid waters and highlight the importance of re-parameterization with GSCM and the applicability of HSAA in Sentinel-3 OLCI data.

Spatial gradients in country‐level population trends of European birds

AbstractAimPopulation trends reflect influence of environmental drivers acting upon species' population dynamics. As the strength of this influence may change predictably in space, we test multiple hypotheses about spatial gradients in the effects of environmental drivers on bird population trends across the continent.LocationEurope.MethodsWe used country‐level population trends for 249 bird species in 32 European countries. For each species, we expressed values of 12 traits which mirror the influence of major environmental drivers: climate change, land‐use change and change in environmental legislation. We related these traits to population trends using generalized additive mixed models and tested for the presence of spatial gradients by including the interaction of countries' geographic position with four of these traits for which we hypothesized spatial patterns in relationships to trends.ResultsSpecies listed for the longest time under Annex I of the EU's Birds Directive had increasingly positive trends towards the north‐west, but an indication of the opposite pattern was found for shorter‐listed species. Cold‐adapted species had increasingly negative trends towards the North and especially the north‐west, whereas the trends of the warm‐adapted species were generally positive and increased in northern direction. Spatial gradients in trends were weaker for the habitat niche position with forest species having positive trends in North‐Eastern Europe and open‐habitat species having negative trends in the Westernmost edge of the continent.Main conclusionsThe influence of all major hypothesized drivers varies across Europe. Climate change impacts are probably most detrimental in North‐Western Europe for the Arctic and upland birds, whereas the warm‐adapted species may benefit from these changes at the same time. The differences in the enforcement of environmental legislation among countries are a likely driver of the spatial patterns for the Annex I species, whereas the unification of land‐use intensity may be the cause of relatively weak patterns in the habitat niche effects.

Reverse Logistics for Malaysian Tire Industry: A Conceptual Framework for Strategic Implementation

The deficiency in product performance of tire which concerns safety issue requires an immediate pull back from the market. An increasing trend of defect tires pull back from the market has made enforcement of environmental legislation to be more forceful and that is one of the reasons tire manufacturers scouting for possible distribution channels or methods to enhance reverse logistics as part of their supply chain. In order to provide a conceptual strategic implementation direction, this research adopted qualitative method occupying in-depth interviews with major tire manufacturing companies in Malaysia to extract the data and explore resulting themes. A strategic model of implementation of reverse logistics for tire industry in Malaysia has been established as a guide for academician, practitioners and relevant regulatory bodies with an aim to improve the process of reverse logistics addressing cost structure and environment issues as well as to introduce and enhance the possibility of reverse logistics in the supply chain of tire industry in Malaysia.

Misplacing Nema A Consideration of Some Problematic Aspects of South Africa's New EIA Regulations

In mid-2006, new Regulations governing environmental impact assessment were published in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. It is argued in this article that the old Regulations under the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989, which were replaced, had proved inadequate not because of any inherent deficiency, but because they were never properly implemented and because they were instead subjected to much inaccurate criticism. The article then canvasses the old Regulations and considers criticisms thereof, before canvassing the new Regulations and assessing differences between the old and the new. Various specific concerns and potential shortcomings are raised and considered; and various interpretations are offered of problematic provisions. A prognosis for the success and/or failure of the new Regulations is then put forward in the context of the South African government's present approach to economic growth, environmental protection and the enforcement of environmental legislation. Finally, it is argued that there are danger signs that the new Regulations will be as misunderstood and misapplied as were the old Regulations and that the fundamental principles of the National Environmental Management Act are likely not to be adhered to in the implementation of the new Regulations.

Liberalization in the Danish waste sector: an institutional perspective

The push for creating a more competitive and liberalized system for traditional public services, including waste management, has been on the European agenda since the late 1980s. In 2008, changes were made in EU waste legislation allowing source-separated industrial/commercial waste that is suitable for incineration to be traded within the European market. This change has had broad implications for the Danish waste sector, which is characterized by institutionalized municipal control with all streams of waste and municipal ownership of the major treatment facilities allowing the municipal sector to integrate combustible waste in local heat and power generation. This article, applying an institutional approach, maps the institutions and actors of the Danish waste sector and analyses how the regulatory as well as normative pressure to liberalize has been met and partly neutralized in the institutional and political context. The new Danish regulation of 2010 has thus accommodated the specific requirement for liberalization, but in fact only represents a very small step towards a market-based waste management system. On the one hand, by only liberalizing industrial/commercial waste, the Danish Government chose to retain the main features of the established waste system favouring municipal control and hence the institutionalized principles of decentralized enforcement of environmental legislation as well as welfare state considerations. On the other hand, this has led to a technological and financial deadlock, particularly when it comes to reaching the recycling targets of EU, which calls for further adjustments of the Danish waste sector.

The viability of using the Witwatersrand gold mine tailings for brickmaking

South Africa is a mineral-rich country with metals such as gold, copper, and platinum group metals being exploited to a significant extent in the country’s mining history. Mining generates large volumes of tailings, with consequent disposal and environmental problems. By far the most gold that has been mined in South Africa (98%) has come from the Witwatersrand goldfields (Messner, 1991). The gold mines in this area are situated around an ancient sea (over 2700 million years old) where rivers deposited sediments in the form of sand and gravel that became the conglomerate containing the gold (Messner, 1991). The extensive exploitation of the gold resources has led to numerous mine tailings heaps scattered around the Witwatersrand Basin. As long as mining contributes significantly to the economic development of South Africa, generation of these tailings is inevitable. The major environmental impacts from waste disposal at mine sites can be divided into two categories – the loss of productive land following its conversion to a waste storage area and the introduction of sediment, acidity, and other contaminants into surrounding surface and groundwater (Mining Facts, 2014). The gold mining and processing wastes contain large amounts of sulphide minerals such as pyrite, which generate acid mine drainage (AMD) (Rosner and van Schalkwyk, 2000). South Africa is currently faced with the challenges resulting from AMD and the government and mining companies are under pressure to find viable solutions to this problem. This, coupled with the increasing landfill costs, and stricter implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation, has caused the scientific community to focus on finding innovative methods of utilizing mine tailings. Even though some applications of the generated tailings have been exploited, such as in the building of slimes dams and backfill in underground mines, these uses do not take up more than a fraction of the total amount of tailings in the Witwatersrand region. There is therefore a significant need to developing other long-term, commercially viable uses for mine tailings in order to minimize the disposal costs and the impact on the environment. According to Statistics South Africa (2013), South Africa has a human population of about 52.98 million. This population is growing, and this consequently results in an increasing demand for housing, which places severe stress on the natural resources used for construction materials. Conventional bricks are produced from clay fired in high-temperature kilns or from ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. Clay, the common material used for The viability of using the Witwatersrand gold mine tailings for brickmaking

Legal Status of Chemical Fingerprints under Section 45 of Malaysia's Evidence Act 1950

Effective enforcement of environmental legislation is the key to ensure successful environmental protection and pollution control. For cases brought under the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the decision of criminal case tried is derived from the application of the law of evidence, specifically the Evidence Act 1950. In environmental forensics, chemical fingerprinting is one of the tools used to help identify sources of pollution and may form a defensible piece of evidence for prosecutors. The objective of this paper is to examine the position of chemical fingerprint evidence under Section 45 of the Evidence Act 1950. This research can provide an introductory guideline that can be of use to environmental law enforcers, forensic experts and other relevant stakeholders.

The European Union Legislation in the Fields of Environmental Crime: The Protection of the Victims from such Crimes

In 2008, the EU adopted Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through the criminal law, to be implemented in Member States by December 2010. Environmental crime can be broadly defined as including both crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earth’s resources and those that arise out of the flouting of rules that seek to regulate environmental disasters. Though the enforcement of environmental legislation by means of the criminal law is by no means novel, it has often played a secondary role to administrative sanctions and civil penalties. This paper considers the extent to which the response so far to environmental crime has neglected the impact of such crime on the victims of that crime. The study of victims has become a key element in modern-day criminology, seeking to ensure broad acknowledgement for, and respect of, the rights of victims. But in the case of environmental crime, there remains a noticeable gap. Though there are undoubtedly procedural difficulties in involving environmental victims in the criminal justice system, these are not insurmountable. Indeed there are a number of positive examples of where this is beginning to occur. The purpose of this paper therefore is to analyze the place of the victim in environmental crime, with particular reference to the implementation of the new EU Directive. The paper concludes with the identification of future research priorities, which almost certainly will involve analysis of instances of both legislative innovation and political reticence. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p645

Environmental Law – Enforcement through civil proceedings

Richard Burnett-Hall looks at the potential role of civil proceedings rather than traditional criminal proceedings and prohibitions in the enforcement of environmental legislation in the UK. Article by Richard Burnett-Hall (Bristows Cooke a Carpmael) published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.

What Local People Think About Crocodiles

This article challenges several assumptions that have shaped environmental policy in the Philippines. Policy makers assume that people are antagonistic toward conserving crocodiles in the wild and think that the enforcement of environmental legislation in a context of widespread rural poverty is illegitimate and ineffective. They argue that these negative public attitudes can only be transformed by generating revenues for rural communities, for example, through crocodile ranching or ecotourism. Despite the evident failure to conserve crocodiles in the wild, this thinking continues to underpin policy and practice in the Philippines. A community-based conservation project in the northern Sierra Madre on Luzon puts this utilitarian logic in perspective. The project succeeded in transforming hostile attitudes toward crocodiles and mobilized broad societal support for the protection of the Philippine crocodile and its freshwater habitat. Cultural values, such as pride in the occurrence of this rare and iconic species, form an important incentive for people to support the preservation of the species in the wild. These experiences highlight the importance of moving beyond ideological positions in discussions on biodiversity conservation, and enable the design of integrative and innovative solutions to conserve wildlife in human-dominated landscapes.

Misplacing NEMA? A consideration of some problematic aspects of South Africa's new EIA Regulations

In mid-2006, new Regulations governing environmental impact assessment were published in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. It is argued in this article that the old Regulations under the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989, which were replaced, had proved inadequate not because of any inherent deficiency, but because they were never properly implemented and because they were instead subjected to much inaccurate criticism. The article then canvasses the old Regulations and considers criticisms thereof, before canvassing the new Regulations and assessing differences between the old and the new. Various specific concerns and potential shortcomings are raised and considered; and various interpretations are offered of problematic provisions. A prognosis for the success and/or failure of the new Regulations is then put forward in the context of the South African government's present approach to economic growth, environmental protection and the enforcement of environmental legislation. Finally, it is argued that there are danger signs that the new Regulations will be as misunderstood and misapplied as were the old Regulations and that the fundamental principles of the National Environmental Management Act are likely not to be adhered to in the implementation of the new Regulations

Nanoindentation Characterization of Lead-free Solders and Intermetallic Compounds under Thermal Aging

The enforcement of environmental legislation is pushing electronic products to take lead-free solder alloys as the substitute of traditional lead-tin solder alloys. Applications of such alloys require a better understanding of their mechanical behaviors. The mechanical properties of the lead-free solders and IMC layers are affected by the thermal aging. The lead-free solder joints on the pads subject to thermal aging test lead to IMC growth and cause corresponding reliability concerns. In this paper, the mechanical properties of the lead-free solders and IMCs were characterized by nanoindentation. Both the Sn-rich phase and Ag3Sn + β-Sn phase in the lead-free solder joint exhibit strain rate depended and aging soften effect. When lead-free solder joints were subject to thermal aging, Young's modulus of the (Cu, Ni)6Sn5 IMC and Cu6Sn5 IMC changed in very small range. While the hardness value decreased with the increasing of the thermal aging time.

Environmental enforcement in the UK

In the UK, the Environment Agency is responsible for enforcement of environmental legislation and offences committed under such laws and regulations. Under the current regime, if deemed serious enough, offenders are taken to court. In the past eight years, there have been approximately 1600 cases (including approximately 800 prosecutions) per year with 61% being for illegal disposal of wastes and a further 26% being for water pollution incidents. The level of fine has been relatively small at around pound sterling 6700 per conviction for water offences and pound sterling 3700 for waste offences. This is possibly due to a lack of awareness of the damage caused in environmental offending by the courts. New legislation in the form of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 is likely to change the way offences are assessed and treated by the Agency and a proportion of cases will be dealt with by the Agency itself, with appeals being handled by a Tribunal and only the most serious cases going to the criminal courts. The efficacy of this approach has yet to be tested in the UK but may speed up the process and lead to more appropriate sanctions being levied.

European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL)

IMPEL was set up in 1992 in Chester, UK, and its original name was the Chester Network. At the time it was established, a concern had been expressed that the growth of environmental legislation was not being matched by improvements in the quality of the environment. The conclusion was that all the links in the environmental chain needed to be strong with an implication that implementation and enforcement were two of the weaker links. Furthermore, disparities in enforcement systems were seen as likely to impose unequal burdens on industry across the Community. There was a proposal that an environmental enforcement network should be created within Member States and that subsequently attention might be focused on developing common enforcement standards and approaches. The greatest achievement is probably the creation of the network itself. As a result, there is now an EU-wide forum that allows environmental regulators, policy makers and Commission officials to come together for informal exchange of information about the practical implementation of environmental law. There is little doubt as to its value as a contribution to “levelling of the playing field” on enforcement of environmental legislation across the EU, and to development of operational systems within the Member State enforcement agencies as well as assisting in the process of capacity building.

River Rehabilitation for Conservation of Fish Biodiversity in Monsoonal Asia

Freshwater biodiversity is under threat worldwide, but the intensity of threat in the Oriental biogeographic region of tropical Asia is exceptional. Asia is the most densely populated region on Earth. Many rivers in that region are grossly polluted, and significant portions of their drainage basins and floodplains have been deforested or otherwise degraded. Flow regulation has been practiced for centuries, and thousands of dams have been constructed, with the result that most of the rivers are now dammed, often at several points along their course. Irrigation, hydropower, and flood security are among the perceived benefits. Recent water engineering projects in Asia have been exceptionally aggressive; they include the world's largest and tallest dams in China and a water transfer scheme intended to link India's major rivers. Some of these projects, i.e., those on the Mekong, have international ramifications that have yet to be fully played out. Overexploitation has exacerbated the effects of habitat alterations on riverine biodiversity, particularly that of fishes. Some fishery stocks have collapsed, and many fish and other vertebrate species are threatened with extinction. The pressure from growing impoverished human populations, increasingly concentrated in cities, has forced governments to focus on economic development rather than environmental protection and conservation. Although legislation has been introduced to control water pollution, which is a danger to human health. it is not explicitly intended to protect biodiversity. Where legislation has been enforced, it can be effective against point-source polluters, but it has not significantly reduced the huge quantities of organic pollution from agricultural and domestic sources that contaminate rivers such as the Ganges and Yangtze. River scientists in Asia appear to have had little influence on policy makers or the implementation of water development projects. Human demands from agriculture and industry dominate water allocation policies, and in-stream flow needs for ecosystems have yet to be widely addressed. Restoration of Asian rivers to their original state is impractical given the constraints prevailing in the region, but some degree of rehabilitation will be possible if relevant legislation and scientific information are promptly applied. Opportunities do exist: enforcement of environmental legislation in China has been strengthened, leading to the suspension of major dam projects. The 2003 introduction of an annual fishing moratorium along the Yangtze River, as well as breeding and restocking programs for endangered fishes in the Yangtze and Mekong, offer the chance to leverage other initiatives that enhance river health and preserve biodiversity, particularly that of fish species. Preliminary data indicate that degraded rivers still retain some biodiversity that can be the focus of rehabilitation efforts. To strengthen these efforts, it is important to identify which ecological features enhance biodiversity and which ones make rivers more vulnerable to human impacts.

SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES FOR PETROCHEMICAL WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

The adoption of sustainable alternatives for industrial development is in close connection with technology and managerial improvements, planning and policies adopted nationally and internationally and envisage decrease of wastes and emissions, conservation of natural resources and preservation of the ecological equilibrium. Based on the concept and use of sustainable indicators, this paper discusses several sustainable alternatives for the petrochemical wastewater management, considering also the particular aspects of wastewater generation and their environmental impact. Alternatives such as: monitoring and pollution control, pollution prevention and waste minimization, wastewater treatment/wastewater recycling or reuse, integrated management systems, design for environment, adoption of sustainable production indicators and sustainability reporting are discussed, focusing on particular applications for the petrochemical industry. Thus, a general framework for petrochemical wastewater management is provided, and further adoption of one or more alternatives can be established, based also on the actual economic and social conditions, existent environmental policies and environmental legislation enforcement.

Issues in end-of-life product recovery and reverse logistics

There is a fundamental shift in waste management responsibility from the private waste management industry and local governments towards manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. In recent years the responsibility of manufacturers has been extended to cover the entire life of certain products. This also includes responsibility for the products safe disposal. As the enforcement of environmental legislation becomes more stringent and an increasing number of customers are demanding take-back of their old products, companies are beginning to focus on possible distribution channels for the return of their products i.e. reverse logistics. The aim of this paper is to examine the emerging issues in reverse logistics, in particular the information requirements for reverse logistics within the Extended Enterprise. A study of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) will illustrate the specific information flow between the key players within the automotive industry. This paper addresses the initial development of possible distribution channels, their key operational decisions and supporting information systems for the recycling of end of life products.