Environmental Protection Organizations Research Articles

The relationship between ENGOs and Government in Iran

The mottos of scholars of environmental protection movement have turned to "think globally, act locally". For this reason, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) that have received significant attention in all societies are operational approaches towards protecting the environment and realizing sustainable development. Analysis of the nature of ENGOs' activities reveals that the main function of ENGOs is "participatory, voluntary and supportive". This function can be facilitated through the development of communication of these organizations with governments for the exchange of ideas in order to improve the implementation of developmental projects and approve new environmental laws. Given the fact that ENGOs act as civil societies in the public domain, it can be said that the operational environment for ENGOs is a special political space that should be provided through governments' assistance and support. That is why the present study investigates the relationship between Iranian ENGOs and government agencies. To this end, in-depth interviews are conducted with environmental experts in environmental protection organization and forests, range and watershed management organization in Iran and members and managers of Iranian ENGOs. Also, a questioner is designed and then, completed by managers of Iranian ENGOs. It is found that there is too little communication between Iranian ENGOs and governmental agencies. ENGOs don't discuss various environmental issues with government as advocators. Finally, the principles governing the relationship between NGOs and government is also discussed.Research findings indicate that the type of regime and maturity of NGOs affect the relationship between ENGOs and government agencies.

Effect of motor vehicle pollution on lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide and cognitive function among school adolescents.

Motor vehicle emission is a major cause of environmental pollution, which threatens human health. This study aimed to investigate the effect of motor vehicle pollution on lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), and cognitive function among students studying in a school located in a traffic-polluted area. In this cross-sectional study, students were recruited based on their apparent healthy status, same age, gender, height, weight, ethnicity, and homogenous educational, socio-economic status, and living backgrounds. Initially, 200 students, 100 from school-1 located in motor vehicle polluted area (exposed group) and 100 from school-2, located away from motor vehicle polluted area (control group) were recruited. After clinical history, 68 students were selected, 34 from school-1 and 34 from school-2. These students were exposed to motor vehicle pollution for 6 h a day, 5 days a week for a total period of 2 years. Lung function test parameters were recorded using a Spirometer, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was measured by Niox Mino, and cognitive function was recorded using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The lung function test parameters, Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) (p=0.03); Forced Expiratory Volume in First Second (FEV1) (p=0.02); and cognitive function parameter motor screening task (MOT) mean latency (p=0.04) were decreased among the students who were studying in school situated in traffic-polluted area compared to those students who were studying in school which was located away from the traffic-polluted area. However, no significant difference was noted in FeNO between the groups. Motor vehicle pollution showed an association with decreased respiratory and cognitive functions among students studying in schools located in traffic-polluted areas. Environmental protection organizations must establish standards to minimize motor vehicle pollutants and develop strategies to control vehicle emission to reduce pollution and disease burden.

Numerical simulation of extreme dust storms in east of Iran by the WRF-Chem model

Iran, located in the desert belt, is characterized by frequently increasing sand and dust storms, especially in the eastern and southern areas and creating adverse environmental effects. Efficient management of these devastating events requires an understanding of their features. One way to understand the dust phenomenon is to simulate and predict. The general purpose of the article is to simulate severe storms in the southeast of the country (120-day-old winds) due to the weather conditions of the region and the display of their source and range inside Iran. Aim of this study: Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry coupled model (WRF-Chem.3.6.1) is used to simulate, forecast, and design an alert system for sand and dust storm events (east of Iran). Dust concentration data were collected by Environmental Protection Organization, wind speed and direction data were gathered from the Meteorological Organization, MODIS images, and HYSPLIT model forecast was also used to investigate the path of storms and more accurately forecast and time alerting. Results showed that the main dust emission source in Sistan is the dry bed of the Hamoon wetland. Also during the storms that investigated in this study, transport of dust clouds were observed in the southern part of Iran up to Oman sea because of converging currents (north–south winds in the eastern part of Iran, especially in spring and summer) that create strong winds in lower levels of the atmosphere. The WRF-Chem model had reasonable estimations related to spatial and temporal scales in the study area. Using the global forecasted data as model input data, it was expected to observe bias in concentration estimation versus reality. The model was run for 10 and 30 km spatial resolutions, and results revealed storm formation in Sistan was affected by local geographical properties especially topography features. Based on the results obtained and the experience gained, it can be concluded that most dust storms in the Sistan region began in the late spring and will continue until early autumn season.

How pressure from stakeholders affects integrated reporting quality

AbstractIntegrated reporting (IR) is considered an innovative and effective reporting tool that includes financial and nonfinancial information. Recently, there has been a heightened emphasis on IR from both academic and professional viewpoints. However, despite the importance of stakeholders in the practice of IR, their impact on the report drafting process has not been analysed in any study. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by analysing the relationship between stakeholders' pressure and IR quality. On the basis of the stakeholder theory, this study uses a regression model to demonstrate how the IR quality is significantly and positively associated with the stakeholders' pressures. Specifically, results of this study indicate that pressures from customers, environmental protection organizations, employees, shareholders, and governments determine the IR quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates stakeholders' pressure as a determinant of IR quality.

A Framework for Climate Change-Related Research to Inform Environmental Protection.

A critical charge for science to inform environmental protection is to characterize the risks associated with climate change, to support development of appropriate responses. The nature of climate change, however, presents significant challenges that must be overcome to do so, including the need for integration and synthesis across the many disciplines that contain knowledge relevant for achieving environmental protection goals. This paper describes an interdisciplinary research framework organized around three "Science Challenges" that directly respond to the needs of environmental protection organizations. Broadly, these Science Challenges refer to the research needed to: inform actions to enhance resilience across a broad range of environmental and social stresses to environmental management endpoints; actions to limit GHG emissions and slow the underlying rate of climate change; and the transition to sustainability across the full spectrum of climate change impacts and solutions; all as situated within an overarching risk management perspective. These Challenges span all media and systems critical to effective environmental protection, highlighting the cross-cutting nature of climate change and the need to address its impacts across systems and places. While this framework uses EPA's programs as an illustrative example, the research directions articulated herein are broadly applicable across the spectrum of environmental protection organizations. Going forward, we recommend that climate-related research to inform environmental protection efforts should accelerate its evolution toward research that is inherently cross-media and cross-scale; explicitly considers the social dimensions of change; and focuses on designing solutions to the specific risks climate change poses to the environment and society.

A SUGGESTED ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORK TO ADJUST ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC RISKS RESULTING FROM INDUSTRIAL FRAUD A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN EGYPT AND SAUDI ARABIA

The study aimed to address the phenomenon of industrial fraud in order to reduce the cost of environmental and economic risks resulting from industrial fraud in a comparative study between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The study aimed to develop a proposed accounting framework to control the environmental and economic risks resulting from industrial fraud. And clarifying the environmental and economic risks resulting from industrial fraud in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The study reviewed the role of environmental accounting in solving the problems resulting from the industrial process. A proposed accounting framework to control environmental and economic risks resulting from industrial fraud. The results of the study showed that there is a significant positive correlation between industrial fraud and environmental and economic risks in Egypt. The results also indicate that there is no significant relationship between industrial fraud and environmental and economic risks in Saudi Arabia. Among the recommendations of the study is the need to pay attention to the development of all environmental protection organizations and to provide scientific qualification and professional and accounting education on the importance of environmental accounting information in industrial activities. The study also recommended the need to provide and disseminate statistical data on the phenomenon of industrial cheating periodically at the local, regional and global levels, Environment. The importance of the study is because the previous studies did not address the development of a proposed accounting framework to control the environmental and economic risks resulting from industrial fraud and the accounting framework proposed for the study is of importance to the government and the honorable manufacturers and the protection of economy and the environment and to preserve natural and human resources.

Trends and Prospects for legislative regulation of legal responsibility for environmental offenses in BriCs Countries: Comparative law

This article provides a comparative analysis of the features of the national legislation of the BRICS countries that regulates the issues of legal responsibility for environmental offenses. The authors consider aspects of the normative consolidation of the rights and obligations of citizens in the field of environmental protection, the types of legal liability and the applicable sanctions for violations of environmental standards provided for by the national legislation of all BRICS countries. The study of the environmental legislation of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) reveals a number of general and specific directions in environmental policy with the aim of enriching the said countries with positive experience, overcoming difficulties in the organization of environmental management and environmental protection, the prevention of possible errors in the context of global economic and environmental crises, and making recommendations for environmental improvement. Improving the legislation of the BRICS countries in the field of legal liability for environmental offenses by taking into account the positive experience of these countries will help increase the effectiveness of prevention and rectification of negative consequences for the environment in both the Russian Federation and the BRICS association as a whole. Consequently, a comparative legal analysis of national environmental legislation of BRICS countries suggests that the general principles of responsibility for environmental offenses are inherent in all these countries, despite their fundamental differences in history, culture and geographical location.

Recycling intentions and behaviors among informal micro-entrepreneurs in Kelantan, Malaysia

PurposeAs recycling is associated with various environmental benefits, it is important that it is encouraged in Malaysia. Taking the disappointingly low recycling rate in Malaysia as its backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to examine recycling intentions and behaviors among micro-entrepreneurs in Kelantan, Malaysia, drawing on the theory of planned behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a cross-sectional design and stratified random sampling method to select 200 informal micro-entrepreneurs from Kota Bharu, Kelantan; then, quantitative data were collected through structured interviews. For data analysis, this study adopted variance-based structural equation modeling, i.e. PLS–SEM.FindingsThe findings indicated that environmental awareness had a significant positive effect on micro-entrepreneurs’ attitudes toward the environment. They also confirmed a positive and significant effect of attitude and perceived behavioral control on intention toward recycling and the effect of intention toward recycling on recycling behavior among the study sample.Practical implicationsPolicies and programs focused on environmental awareness could nurture a positive attitude toward the environment, which, together with the capacities and resources available, could significantly influence the adoption of recycling behavior among informal entrepreneurs.Originality/valueIt is recommended that both public and private environmental protection and socio-economic development organizations combine their efforts to formulate and enforce policies and programs to promote recycling behavior among Malaysian entrepreneurs, which could spread the recycling spirit among all Malaysians.

Landfill site selection using a hybrid system of AHP-Fuzzy in GIS environment: A case study in Shiraz city, Iran

Landfilling with simplicity and economic advantages is the most common element for waste management in both developed and developing countries. Landfill site selection in a proper way is an important municipal planning process which prevent environmental issues including water pollution imposed for insanitary landfills. The present research was developed to exhibit a simplified method of multi criteria decision making (MCDM) and Fuzzy memberships in GIS environment to ascertain best landfill sites for Shiraz county, located south of Iran. 15 most common sub-criteria, documented in literature and implicated by Iranian environmental protection organization (IEPO) including surface water, ground water, land use, distance to well, soil type, slope, protected area, fault in environmental group, residential area, road, airport, village, infrastructure, historical area, wind direction in socio-economical group were selected and the weight of each criterion was determined based on expert’s knowledge with use of analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results of the present research are as follows:•Distance to residential area and groundwaters with weight of 0.36 and 0.28 were recognized as the most important criteria for landfill site selection.•The six suitable areas for landfill in Shiraz county is 1.003% of total area equal to 8710 ha.•AHP and Fuzzy memberships has a great potential and ability for landfill site selection.

武汉市公众参与湖泊保护模式研究—以“爱我百湖”湖泊保护志愿者行动为例

中国公众参与环境保护曾被认为缺乏独立性和实质性，在地方层面尤甚。但武汉“爱我百湖”湖泊保护志愿者行动的创新发展，表明在地方立法仍有不足的背景下，自下而上公众参与的独立性却正在增强，并逐步获得真正的参与决策机会。“爱我百湖”志愿者行动，通过创设“民间湖长制”，独立组织和发动志愿者湖泊调查和科普宣传，与地方媒体和环境保护NGO密切合作，积极参加监督和电视问政，并逐步参与到规划听证、湖泊公园管理与地方性湖泊保护法规修订程序之中，提升了普通市民的湖泊保护意识，壮大了环保公益组织，促使一些长期存在的湖泊环境问题得以解决，并成为倒逼地方政府改革的一种重要草根力量。 Public participation has been thought of lack of independence and substance in China. But The “Love our 100 Lakes” lake protection volunteer action in Wuhan is one kind of innovation and de-velopment of the Chinese volunteer action, which proves that in the context of local regulations anomie in China, the independence of bottom-up public participation is growing at the local level, and the volunteers gradually get real opportunities to participate in decision-making. The “Love our 100 Lakes” volunteers’ action, through creating “Grassroots Lake Administrator”, organizes and mobilizes volunteers to inspect and survey lakes independently, propagate popular science in communities and schools. With the close cooperation to the environmental protection NGO and local media, the volunteers actively participate in environmental supervision and the TV politics. The volunteers have gradually participated in planning hearing, lake parks management and local lake protection regulations amendment. These actions have upgraded the citizens’ lake protection consciousness, helped the local nongovernment environmental protection organizations devel-opment, prompted some long-term existing of lake environmental problems to solution, and even forced the local governments to reform.

EXAMINING PERFORMANCE OF STABILIZATION PONDS OF AHVAZ S SLAUGHTERHOUSE

A waste stabilization pond (WSP) is a hole in which household wastewater and other types of sewage are stored for long periods of time so that organic materials existing in them are deposited, decomposed and stabilized through exposure to light and heat and growth of algae and microorganisms. In WSPs, deposition and stabilization processes take place simultaneously. Such features make WSPs suitable for treating industrial sewage such as wastewaters produced by slaughterhouses, dairy plants and canned food factories. The present study sampled wastewaters collected and treated by the treatment plant of a slaughterhouse in Ahvaz and compared the relevant measured parameters with the standards set by the Environmental Protection Organization of Iran in order to determine the efficiency of WSPs in treating wastewaters and making them usable for irrigation purposes. The results indicate that Turbidity , BOD 5, PH, COD, TDS, and TSS values for the treated wastewaters stood at >1000 NTU, 912 mg/lit, 8.78, 1520 mg/lit, 1052 mg/lit, and 2180 mg/lit respectively. A comparison of these values with the standard values set by the Environmental Protection Organization of Iran revealed a significant difference. This finding shows that the wastewater treatment plant under study had a poor productivity and performance and that wastewater treated by that facility could not be used for irrigation or pumped into surface waters. Therefore, environmental management programs and solutions have been suggested in order to help control and reduce the adverse effects of treated wastewater.

Illustrating the Power of fsQCA in Explaining Paradoxical Consumer Environmental Orientations

ABSTRACTPrior research on proenvironmental and prosocial behavior focuses primarily on explaining consistent rather than paradoxical tendencies. Even though this field receives wide attention from different scientific disciplines, findings for many causal factors of such proenvironmental orientation are contradictory. Nevertheless, knowing who those individuals are who think and behave in a pro‐/antienvironmental way or show a paradoxical behavior in this regard becomes useful for many different parties in human societies including public policy makers, governmental and nongovernmental environmental protection organizations, and for‐profit firms. Therefore, this study identifies those individuals who show neither consistent proenvironmental nor consistent antienvironmental tendencies as the “walkers‐only” and “talkers‐only” (i.e., for short, “walkers” and “talkers”). The former are defined as persons who put much effort into the recycling of waste materials but do not support pollution standards, whereas the latter term describes individuals who have a strong opinion with regard to the support of pollution standards yet do not engage in recycling efforts. The present study reports evidence of the existence of walkers and talkers. Further, this research is the first study to employ “fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis” to identify the complex antecedent conditions for some individuals’ paradoxical belief–behaviors in the field of socially and environmentally directed behaviors and orientations. The findings yield valuable insights both into the applicability and benefits of configural analysis and for public policy makers and managers in waste management and recycling industries.

¿Quién está contra quién en los cerros orientales de Bogotá? La perspectiva local desde el barrio la Cecilia = Who is against who in the eastern hills of Bogotá? The local perspective from the neighborhood of la Cecilia

This paper addresses the environmental, legal and housing disputes that converge in the environmental reserve located at the Cerros Orientales (eastern hills) of Bogota. The socio-urban logic of the city -linked to pirate developments and invasion-, the migration flows -emphasized by the armed conflict- and the lack of definition of a clear public policy for the last 30 years, has led to a conflict between residents, civil environmental protection organizations, private companies and public institutions in which almost only specific judgments have interceded. This paper duly reflects -through secondary sources- those considered main government initiatives and actions implemented with a top-down approach and it investigates -through primary sources collected in the neighborhood La Cecilia- the bottom-up community action initiatives and territorial perceptions, looking into the sterile dialogue processes between these two ways of making a city.

Preliminary assessment of BTEX concentrations in indoor air of residential buildings and atmospheric ambient air in Ardabil, Iran

BTEX concentrations in indoor and outdoor air of 50 homes were studied in Ardabil city and their influencing parameters including; heating system, using gas stove and samovar, tobacco smoking, the floors in which the monitored homes were located, and kitchen plan were considered in the study. Risk assessment analysis was carried out with the obtained concentrations based on EPA IRIS reference doses. BTEX compounds were sampled by charcoal tubes and the samples were analyzed by a GC-FID. Concentrations of benzene (15.18 μg/m3 vs. 8.65 μg/m3), toluene (69.70 μg/m3 vs. 40.56 μg/m3), ethylbenzene (12.07 μg/m3 vs. 4.92 μg/m3) and xylene (48.08 μg/m3 vs. 7.44 μg/m3) in indoor air were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the levels quantified for outdoor air. The obtained concentrations of benzene were considerably higher than the recommended value of 5 μg/m3 established by Iran environmental protection organization. Among the BTEX compounds, benzene (HQ = 0.51) and xylene (HQ = 0.47) had notable hazard quotient and were the main pollutants responsible for high hazard index in the monitored homes (HI = 1.003). The results showed considerably high cancer risk for lifetime exposure to the indoor (125 × 10−6) and outdoor (71 × 10−6) benzene. Indoor benzene concentrations in homes were significantly influenced by type of heating system, story, and natural gas appliances.

Moral Resources, Political Capital and the Development of Environmental Protection Organizations in China: A Case Study of City J

AbstractThis article combines the moral resources and political capital perspective with the theoretical arguments of guanxi and resource dependence theory to explore the strengths and weaknesses of both the Chinese government-organized and the grassroots environmental protection organizations (ENPOs). Qualitative methods were applied in this study, and the impact of these two entities on environmental protection was also analyzed. The findings mainly include: First, the ascribed political capital can ensure good guanxi with governmental departments, and thus improve an NPO’s opportunities to receive resources. Second, although the ascribed political capital enables government-organized ENPOs to run smoothly, their transparency and management need to be improved. Third, though grassroots ENPOs have little of political capital, they possess advantages in terms of the self-chosen moral resource, which can help them become relatively independent from the government and assume responsibility for monitoring the environment. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy highlighted by the findings.

What drives an environmental horticultural firm to start recycling plastics? Results of a Georgia survey

Environmental horticulture firms supply products and services related to the design, installation, and maintenance of commercial and residential landscapes. An important issue in the environmental horticulture sector is the reduction and utilization of horticultural waste including plastic containers, trays, plastic greenhouse covers and field covers, and plastic bags. Using data collected through a survey in 2013, this paper identifies factors that influence the sector’s decision to participate in waste recycling programs in Georgia, USA. The study employs a decision model. Results indicate that significant determinants of the recycle decision include the firm size, motivation for recycling, current recycling situation, as well as owner/manager education level. To help firms to recycle, local governments, the environmental horticulture sector, and environmental protection organizations need to focus on lower-revenue and small size firms, broadly disseminate recycle program information, and enhance the local recycler’s services.

Economic Modeling of the Regional Polices to Combat Dust Phenomenon by Using Game Theory

In recent years, dust phenomenon as an environmental externality has affected Iran and other Middle East countries. The major parts of dust which has polluted Iran's atmosphere, mainly comes from Iraq. This dust phenomenon has also had a lot of economic and social damages for these two countries. The main aim of this study is to analyse the advantages of cooperation between Iran and Iraq against this phenomenon. The significant damage of this phenomenon has been estimated on health and hygiene, transportation and agriculture sections. The expenditure in contrast with this problem has also been calculated in the crucial zone of creation dust. According to the estimation of this study, total damages of dust for Iran and Iraq are 1043.5 and 1404 million dollars, respectively. While the cost of solving this problem is about 2425.7 million dollars. By applying cooperative games theory, the cooperation between Iran and Iraq to combat dust phenomenon has been analysed. Net benefits of these two countries has been calculated in two cooperation games and their characteristic functions has been derived. Then by using Shapley solution, outcome benefits have been distributed between these two countries. The results suggest that the net benefits of two countries will increase if they associate with each other. In the meantime, based on the results of coalition, a fairly allocation has also been used for costs which has been utilized against dust phenomenon between Iran and Iraq. So these two countries should spend 1442.6 and 1082.1 million dollars to conquer this phenomenon, respectively. The managers of Iranian environmental protection organization should have more effective cooperation with Iraq to resolve dust problem by using diplomatic means and provide parts of its cost by side payments.

System analysis of industrial waste management: A case study of industrial plants located between Tehran and Karaj

Aims: In this study, management of industrial waste in industries located between Tehran and Karaj in 2009-2010 was examined. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was done by site survey (Iranian environmental protection organization) questionnaire usage and results analysis. This questionnaire was consisted of 45 questions about industrial waste, quantity, quality, and management. A total number of industries with over 50 employees was 283, and Stratified sampling method was used. Sample of size 50 was selected from 283cases. Results: The major hazardous waste-generating industries include chemical and plastic. Private sectors disposed 45% of generated waste. Majority of wastes were buried (62%), and only 17% of industrial waste was recycled. Conclusion: For hazardous waste reduction in this zone and health and economic attractions, the opportunity for reuse and recovery for these wastes must maximize in short-term and burial of industrial waste must be minimized. Industries such as chemical-plastic and electronics which have higher hazardous waste, in long-term, must be replaced with other industries such as wood cellulose and paper that have lower hazardous waste production rate.

Nature Documentaries, Connectedness to Nature, and Pro-environmental Behavior

We investigate the effects of nature documentaries on pro-environmental cognition and behavior. Of central interest is the concept of connectedness to nature, which describes an individual's sense of being connected to nature. Based on previous research showing that a direct nature experience in zoos can increase connectedness to nature, we questioned whether watching a nature documentary could increase connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behavior. An experiment using one control group (watching a documentary about Einstein's theory of relativity) and one treatment group (watching a nature documentary) revealed that a mediated nature experience is not sufficient to elicit an increase in connectedness to nature. However, we found that exposure increased actual donation behavior for animal and environmental protection organizations. It is important to note that nature documentary exposure increased pro-environmental donation behavior only in those already having a strong sense of connectedness. We discuss real-world implications for donation-accepting, non-profit organizations.

Organizacja administracji ochrony środowiska w Polsce i Unii Europejskiej

The organization of environmental protection in Poland and the European Union is a mutual connection of competencies and a correlation of systems and rights according to national and EU laws. The legal system of the EU is the result of decades of cooperation undertaken by the will of the Member States known as the acquis communautaire. EU law has primacy over national law, which in practice means that in the event of a conflict between the provisions of national law and EU law, the national law is deemed inapplicable and needs to be adjusted by the Member State.