European Environmental Directives Research Articles

Multitemporal Seagrass Mapping and Monitoring of Posidonia Meadows and Banquettes for Blue Carbon Conservation: The Poseidon Project

Abstract. In the framework of mapping underwater environments, Posidonia Oceanica (PO) is a fundamental indicator for environmental monitoring and related studies and analyses for climate change. The POSEIDON project aims to study, develop and test new methodologies to provide knowledge, as well as ultra-high-resolution (UHR) and beyond ultra-high-resolution (BUHR) mapping and monitoring data for the conservation of the PO and related meadows and banquettes in the Mediterranean area. The project is funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and stems from the recommendation of international organizations (European Environmental Directives, Mediterranean PO Network, International Partnership for Blue Carbon, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO in the Save the Wave project). Starting from new integrated survey methods and legacy data, the PO, ichthyofauna and seagrass banquettes will be mapped to understand their evolution and extract indicators and useful trends. Furthermore, the produced information will be stored and shared in a webGIS and a dedicated app to prevent unexpected damages during sailing or other activities. POSEIDON will use imaging sensors (RGB and multi/hyperspectral cameras) to extract information. With specific lighting equipment for significant water depths, these sensors will be conducted (by scuba divers or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) next to the object to acquire BUHR data. Finally, to monitor the fauna (fish, other species, invertebrates), terrestrial and underwater videogrammetry will be applied using mono and stereo-cameras with object detection algorithms.

Optimal energy management in smart sustainable buildings – A chance-constrained model predictive control approach

Recent European environmental directives, the prevalent consumer desire to minimize electricity costs, and the grid-driven need for flexible buildings all lead to a common outcome: the smart sustainable building (SSB). Coordinated by their building energy management systems (BEMS), SSBs steer their operation towards monetary gains for their owners, and flexibility for grid operators. Another key feature is their sustainability, expressed by the mandatory nearly-zero-energy (nZE) mandate, i.e., balancing yearly energy consumption and on-site renewable energy production. In this paper, we present a generic and comprehensive (in terms of device composition) BEMS framework for SSBs. Aside from operating cost minimization, the BEMS is additionally tasked with overseeing the SSB’s environmental profile, ensuring that the nZE mandate is not jeopardized in the pursuit of monetary gains. This is achieved through a novel adaptive sustainability criterion. The inherent uncertainties of solar irradiance and ambient temperature are reflected on the occupants’ thermal comfort, the relevant limitation being cast as chance constraints. The overall mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem is solved through model predictive control (MPC). The main contributions lie in the joint consideration of a) a comprehensive devices set, b) weather forecast uncertainties, and c) the employment of the novel adaptive sustainability criterion. The proposed framework is validated in a nigh-exhaustive case study and evaluated with respect to cost management and ability to manage the SSB’s nZE status.

Protection of River Sitnica From Urban Wastewaters

Wastewater treatment is a growing problem in Kosovo. Pollution from urban wastewaters poses the greatest pressure on Kosovo rivers and their better management represents an important area of improving their ecological status. Kosovo is lacking behind in terms of achieving certain goals and implementing European Environmental Directives, especially the Water Framework Directive and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. The lack of wastewater treatment prior to their discharges into receiving waters presents a gap in the water sector which needs to be addressed in order to meet European standards. Kosovo, as a country with a European perspective, must approach this issue as soon as possible. According to the reports of water utilities companies, the level of sewerage services in the country is 65% while the level of wastewater treatment is 0.7% [3]. The National Water Strategy [1] aims at protecting water resources through treating wastewater before returning to the nature. According to this strategy, a number of wastewater treatment plants and accompanying infrastructure for main cities should be build. River Sitnica is main river stretching in Kosovo valley, where main urban areas are located including capital Prishtina. With aim of protection the quality of river Sitnica, a study for collection of sewage and wastewater treatment plant for capital Prishtina was prepared and its findings will be presented in this article.

The efficiency of the public intervention on the environment:Evidence based on non-parametric and parametric approaches

Abstract This paper evaluates the efficiency of the allocation of public resources aimed at complying with the European environmental directives. A full and partial frontier Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to a panel of decision-making units (i.e. a set of regions), with a specific focus on the air & water and biodiversity sectors. The Malmquist productivity index allows one to analyse regional productivity change; while a post-DEA, based upon Simar-Wilson approach, allows one to explore the factors that affect the performance. Overall, a specific group of regions outperform for air & water intervention while the reverse outcome is obtained for biodiversity. The findings also show a rather low technological change, especially for biodiversity. The post-DEA indicates that an increase in the tourism and agricultural activity exerts a negative impact on the air & water public efficiency, while has a positive influence on biodiversity. Higher education in technical subjects also increases performance.

The Importance of Monitoring for the Effectiveness of Environmental Directives<br>A Comparison of Monitoring Obligations in European Environmental Directives

European environmental directives contain various norms and standards, such as quality standards or emission standards. The goal of these directives is often to improve the environmental quality and the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, to be achieved by Member States by complying with these norms. However, in order to ensure that they will do so, many directives contain additional instruments, such as the obligation to set up action programmes and an obligation to monitor and report the results to the European Commission. These obligations are essential for directives to be effective, but the form and contents of these obligations tend to differ. Some directives contain strict norms with detailed information on when and where to monitor, whereas other directives leave the Member States much more freedom. This article will focus on the monitoring obligations in European environmental directives, their objectives and the different designs.

Integrated air quality and land use planning in The Netherlands

Purpose– This paper aims to review the rescaling of integrated planning policies for the built environment by the transposition of European directives on air quality in The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approach– This is a case study examining European and Dutch policies, legislation, case law and reports by various Dutch Courts of Auditors and assessment agencies.Findings– The paper reveals how a combination of measures that prohibit practices and measures constituting new ways of working has facilitated environmental protection and integrated planning. The case shows that transposition matters. At first, the aim of transposing European environmental directives into an integrated national legal system resulted in an erosion of integrated planning as courts nullified new development decisions. In later instances, it resulted in the National Cooperation Programme on Air Quality (NSL), an integrated system, allowing the weighing and monitoring of all policies that affect air quality.Research limitations/implications– The findings of this study of Dutch air quality regulation may contribute to other studies into the rescaling of environmental governance in relation to interactions between central norm-setting and integrated local policies.Practical implications– The case study shows a real working institutional system that relies on an interactive web tool that facilitates integrated planning decisions which respect environmental limit values. The problems faced and opportunities the system afforded are also discussed.Originality/value– This paper increases understanding of the process of the transposition of European directives in relation to integrated policies for the built environment, with a specific emphasis on ambient air quality.

Analysing How Environmental Concerns are Integrated in the Design of the EU Structural Funds Programmes

This paper analyses the environmental measures co-financed by the European Union (EU) Structural Funds in the less-developed regions. Specifically, it studies if these environmental measures are tailored to the specific needs of the different regions and whether they are driven by an ecological modernization approach. The inclusion of environmental goals into the regional policy is also tested by analysing its connection with the main European environmental directives. We find a suitability of the regional programmes to the regional specific environmental factors, a scarce presence of the ecological modernization paradigm behind the programmes implementation and a clear orientation of the regional programmes to meet the EU legislation.

The Implementation of European Environmental Directives: Are Problems Caused by the Quality of the Directives?

European Directives must be implemented in national legislation. Given the large amount of infringement procedures before the European Court of Justice, many mistakes are being made in this implementation process. Problems concerning the quality of Directives, such as a lack of coherence between Directives, unclear terms and definitions, questions concerning the scope of Directives et cetera, are not felt at the European level, but place the Member States in a difficult position when implementing the Directives. This article shows how these factors contribute to the occurrence of implementation problems in the field of environmental law. These problems cannot be solved by the Member States, but should be taken into account in the legislative process at the European level.

Merits of a more integrated approach to environmental assessments

AbstractUnder the maxim of ‘better regulation’, the European Commission is aiming to simplify and improve the European regulatory framework in order to reduce bureaucracy and to foster economic growth. Against this background, the integration of requirements presents one option for responding to the challenge of carrying out various environmental assessments stipulated by a number of European environmental directives. Although integrative, cross‐sectional approaches have been established by some European directives, such as the Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, the member states currently make little use of these options when implementing the directives into national law. Based on a review of European directives as well as related German regulations, this article outlines an approach for an integrative environmental assessment that aims to enhance the integrative effects and reduce duplication resulting from different environmental assessments. The investigation shows that the different assessment procedures as outlined by European and German legislation can be successfully integrated without necessarily lowering the standards set by these regulations. Given that the relevant directives are binding for all member states, the proposed assessment structure can easily be applied to other member states and, where necessary, modified to suit national requirements. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

The implementation of area protection provisions from European environmental directives in the Member States

The Utrecht Law Review is an open-access peer-reviewed journal which aims to offer an international academic platform for cross-border legal research. In the first place, this concerns research in which the boundaries of the classic branches of the law (private law, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, European and public international law) are crossed and connections are made between these areas of the law, amongst others from a comparative law perspective. In addition, the journal welcomes research in which classic law is brought face to face with not strictly legal disciplines such as philosophy, economics, political sciences and public administration science.The journal was established in 2005 and is affiliated to the Utrecht University School of Law. If you wish to receive e-mail alerts please join the mailing list.

European Environmental Directives ‐ Implications for Northern Ireland

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the current level of compliance in Northern Ireland with the European Community (EC) Directives on drinking water quality, bathing water quality2, sewage sludge to land3 and the draft Directive on the disposal of sewage sludge to sea'. It examines the cost implications of full compliance. taking account of works already programmed, and concludes that additional funding will be required over the next ten years amounting to almost f250 million. A large proportion of this sum will be required for improvements relating to the drinking water Directive.Compliance with the Directives is a statutory requirement throughout the UK. and there is no choice but to take the measures necessary to achieve full compliance.An addendum to the paper describes the increase in estimated additional funding to approximately 440 million, due to general inflation and other factors since the paper was prepared. These other factors include the new draft municipal waste water treatment Directive, together with the March 1990 announcement by the UK Environment Minister committing the UK to the cessation of sewage sludge dumping at sea and the provision of sewage treatment for coastal outfalls.