Environmental Management Instruments Research Articles

The Powerless of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): A Case Studies of North Kendeng Mountain Area, Central Java, Indonesia

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a new instrument of environmental management stipulated by Act 32 of 2009 regarding Environmental Protection and Management. This study observes the response of relevant government regarding the result of SEA studies. In August 2016, President Jokowi governed to conduct SEA for North Kendeng Mountain area due to the conflict between the government and investor preferring the utilization of this area for mining and local people demanding for conservation. North Kendeng mountain area is rich in limestone potentially utilized for cement, cosmetics, paint, and other commercial uses. However, this area is also storage for water that has been widely utilized for potable water and irrigation for local people. SEA is expected to mediate the conflict by recommending the area for exploitation and conservation. All relevant provincial governments: Central and East Java, and regencies: Grobogan, Pati, Rembang, Blora, Tuban, Bojonegoro and Lamongan agreed to follow up President’s instruction. However, after the EIA studies finished, the provincial government of Central Java on their revision on spatial planning did not incorporate the EIA studies. The Regency government of Pati also refused to incorporate the EIA studies. Institutional and substantial arrangement are required to make SEA studies workable and implementable.

An Impact Assessment of the National Policy on Guidelines and Standards for Environmental Pollution Control in Nigeria, 1991: A Case Study of the Niger Delta

Oil exploration and exploitation has been on-going in the Niger Delta region in several decades. This has had disastrous effects on the region’s biodiversity and socio-economic environment. More importantly, the peoples’ sources of livelihood have been greatly affected due to pollution resulting from gas flaring and oil spills from explorative and exploitative activities. In the face of all these, there are existing laws and policies aimed at controlling and preserving the environment from total destruction. The main focus of this paper is the evaluation of the impact of the national policy on environment particularly the Federal Government Policy on the “Guidelines and Standards for Environmental Pollution Control, 1991” as a regulatory instrument for environmental management in Nigeria. The findings based on secondary data reveals that policies as guiding principles and regulations are essential but the enforcement of these policies have not been effective enough to attain the desired objectives for which they are enacted. The paper posits that the lack of enforcement of the policy on the guidelines and standards for environmental pollution control in Nigeria in the Niger Delta region has resulted in the continuous degradation of the region’s environment, producing very severe hardship on the people as this directly affect the economic sources of survival. The country’s dependence on crude oil revenue buttresses the lackluster approach by the government to environment law enforcement in the Niger Delta region. Thus, oil spillages and gas flaring is continuing in the Niger Delta region.

Gobernanza ambiental en México y los impactos de la aplicación de los instrumentos de gestión ambiental: el caso de la cuenca alta del río Santiago

The theme of the work presented is environmental governance in Mexico . Its objective is to determine the regularities of the impacts of the application of environmental management instruments . The research question we ask is: what is the role played by environmental management in the ecological crisis that lives in the upper basin of the Santiago River?

Entre la descentralización y la desconcentración de la gestión ambiental: alcances y límites en la actuación de consejos municipales de medio ambiente en el Semiárido Nordestino

The Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 had an important role in the induction of political-administrative decentralization as in the elevation of municipalities as a federated entity. In environmental policy, these results have been expressed through the dissemination of municipal environmental councils. In the Northeast of Brazil, a region that has the fewest municipalities with established environmental councils and researches focused on their dynamics, new collegiate instances have been created, without a critical evaluation, among other factors, of the institutional capacity of small municipalities. In this sense, this article discusses the reaches and the limits identificated in the perfomance of municipal councils of environment in the Northeastern Semiarid, taking as an analytical reference the logics of the decentralization and the desconcentration. Through a bibliographical survey and a case study carried out in the semi-arid municipalities of Pernambuco, it is possible to identify reaches but, above all, limits that hinder the deliberative autonomy of the councils, even in large and economically dynamic municipalities. New studies are suggested, considering the pioneering and new environmental councils, especially in the northeastern states that exhibit the lowest levels of environmental management instruments implemented.

COTAS DA RESERVA AMBIENTAL: UMA INTERPRETAÇÃO DA ANÁLISE ECONÔMICA DO DIREITO

No Novo Código Florestal (Lei nº 12.651/2012), a obrigação dos proprietários rurais de manter uma área de vegetação nativa (ou Área de Reserva Legal – ARL) foi flexibilizada pela introdução das Cotas de Reserva Ambiental (CRA). Por meio da organização de um Mercado de compensação, as CRA permitem que proprietários rurais com déficit de ARL regularizem sua situação por meio da compra de CRA daqueles com superávit de ARL (limitado ao mesmo bioma). Através de revisão bibliográfica e pesquisa jurídica, analisamos as especificidades dos arranjos institucionais estabelecidos para funcionamento desse instrumento. Utilizando o referencial analítico da AED, foi possível notar que o referido instrumento econômico de gestão ambiental, ao tentar estabelecer um sistema econômico mais eficiente e sustentável via internalização de externalidade, engendra uma alocação especifica de direitos de propriedade tácitos relativos ao meio ambiente. Mas, para que tal instrumento seja exitoso na promoção de preservação florestal, é preciso garantir direitos de propriedade seguros e um monitoramento efetivo da norma.

Interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary processes for environmental management under different socio-natural conditions

Interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary processes as part of environmental management respond to the increasing complexity of socio-natural changes in recent decades. Two similar studies of eutrophication in raw water reservoirs for drinking water production in Norway and China are used to discuss interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary processes organised through the DPSIR framework (drivers, pressures, states, impacts, and responses) as instruments for environmental management. The conclusion is that interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary processes can enhance the understanding of complex socio-natural processes under distinctly different institutional systems. The DPSIR framework was not necessary for achieving the desired result.

Instrumento para la solución de conflictos: plan de cierre de minas y la rehabilitación de las áreas impactadas por la actividad minera

The social conflicts in our country are largely due to socio-environmental controversies linked to extractive activities such as mining. To avoid these conflicts and mitigate the great environmental impact in the region, the mining sector obliges the holders of the activity have environmental management instruments that guarantee a better and sustainable use of mining activity. This article deals with the instrument destined to the rehabilitation of the area disturbed by the extractive activity: The mine closure plan.

Управление экологическими рисками в организациях финансового сектора стран Группы двадцати

The article is focused on determination of key development directions of environmental risk management in G20 countries, based on the analysis of its current state. They are: 1) application of new classification of risk factors in environmental risk management; 2) application of new, more precise and efficient instruments and methods of environmental risks’ identification and analysis; 3) formation of publicly available environmental database; 4) integration of instruments, methods, procedures and results of evaluation of environmental risks into enterprise-wide risk management system of financial organization. It was noted in the article that financial institutions also started applying the newest methods and instruments of risk management (such as scenario analysis, stress testing, probability modeling, systems analysis, etc.). The authors claim that one of the keys to financial institutions’ success is an ability to integrate procedures, methods and instruments of environmental risk identification and evaluation results into enterprise-wide risk management system (ERM). The article also conducts a case study of application of the newest methods and instruments of environmental risk management by financial institutions in various G20 countries. The authors draw a conclusion that G20 countries, which are planning a transition to sustainable development, need to increase their efforts in order to put in place environmental risk management systems.

Mainstreaming environmental impact assessment as a tool for environmental management in Ethiopia: Current challenges and directions for future improvements

AbstractThe Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was first entered into force in the United States of America in 1969 through the National Environmental Policy Act. Since then, the EIA was implemented in many other countries. In Ethiopia, EIA was formally introduced in 2002 by Proclamation No. 299/2002 after the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in 1995 and the formulation of the Environmental Policy of Ethiopia (EPE) in 1997. This study, which is based on a document review, interviews, and the application of a survey questionnaire, analyzes the procedures and practices of the Ethiopian EIA system, seeks to clarify fundamental information regarding the EIA system and characteristics of the key elements of EIA processes, and finally, offers suggestions that could improve EIA practices in the country. The overall result of this study shows that Ethiopia adopted EIA procedures that are similar to western models; however, despite approximately 15 years of experience, its implementation is still poor to the point that the use of EIA as an instrument of environmental management could be questioned. The challenges identified by this study include institutional, organizational, and professional capacity gaps, which, in turn, have resulted in constraints ranging from improper screening, scoping, and production of EIA reports to ineffective review, monitoring, and post‐project evaluation. Additional challenges to the system include poor governance and corruption, rapid economic growth, and the mushrooming of micro‐ and small‐scale enterprises that cause pollution and environmental degradation. This article also provides comprehensive suggestions to improve EIA practices in Ethiopia.

Spatial Potential as an Aspect of Territorial Competitiveness

States, regions, cities and villages are nowadays forced to compete for attention, the interest and respect of clients, as well as the users of the territory in question (visitors, business people, investors, gifted and agile workforce). The value of a territory is created by its potential, which may have material or immaterial character. A territorial plan not only complexly resolves the spatial arrangement and functional use of a territory but also creates the prerequisites for the permanently sustainable development of a municipality. The aim of the research was the assessment of the potential participation barriers in the implementation of selected environmental management instruments and their impact on permanently sustainable development of urban settlement as well as to develop the recommendations to make this action more effective. On the basis of a research it is possible to assess identified participation barriers using a method of mathematical statistics – Analysis of variance (ANOVA). Through a process of risk assessment and subsequently its implementation into strategic documents on territorial management, the increased competitiveness of the territorial unit can be expected.
 Keywords: Assessment; analysis of variance; barriers of participation; territorial plan; competitiveness;

The qualification process of mining projects in environmental impact assessment: Criteria and thresholds

The aim of the article is to compare the qualification process of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) applied for mining projects in the Visegrad Group countries (V4). Poland is a major producer of copper and silver, the Czech Republic produces kaolin and uranium, Slovakia – magnesite and Hungary – bauxite. Despite significant differences in mineral reserves in the mentioned countries, mineral deposits are treated as important natural resources that are the basis for development of power industry, construction industry and other various industrial branches. The paper determines importance of the qualification in the EIA procedure. In the next part, criteria and thresholds of the qualification of the EIA procedure resulting from division of projects depending on the possibility of significant environmental impact have been described. It has been shown that there are large differences in thresholds which qualify mining projects in the discussed countries to the EIA procedure. In comparison with the European Union EIA Directive, the V4 countries have more detailed (expanded) division of qualification criteria. Slovakia is the best example when concerning division of projects into particular types, while Polish solutions present the most detailed set of qualification criteria. In the Czech Republic, any new mining project is the subject to the mandatory EIA procedure, and in Hungary they are always the subject to the screening stage. Exploration works are the subject to the qualification process only in Poland and Hungary. They are based on such parameters as the depth of a given borehole and occurrence of other protected resources (groundwater, animated nature, etc.). The criteria and thresholds for the selection of projects that may potentially have significant impact on the environment also considerably differ in the degree of details and even units. The authors raise the question whether it is intentional or accidental, emphasising that the lack of precision in this area makes exploitation of mineral resources more complicated. It should be also emphasised that the EIA procedure is one of the most important instruments of environmental management allowing to achieve sustainable economic development.

The LIFE certification methodology as a diagnostic tool of the environmental management system of the automotive industry

We conducted a diagnosis of the environmental management system of the Brazilian auto parts industry, using the LIFE certification methodology (lasting initiative for earth) as a diagnostic tool. This certification recognizes enterprises that develop conservation actions for biodiversity for the purpose of minimizing and/or mitigating their own negative impact on the environment. Through this method, it was possible to quantify and qualify the environmental impact and investigate the existence of conservation actions, as well as evaluate them quantitatively and qualitatively. Therefore, we used this methodology to demonstrate its potential as an economic instrument of environmental management through its application within an EMS certified to the ISO 14001 series. It was shown that there are many benefits of using sustainable environmental resources (possibility to return to ISE-Corporate Sustainability Index-Bovespa) and for the final disposal of waste from production. The main results indicated that the LIFE methodology allows companies to incorporate actions to biodiversity conservation transversally into their EMSs, which can increase the efficiency of enterprise management. We believe that the use of this management model by other companies will enable the intensification of conservation actions in protected areas in their regions.

La investigación de servicios ecosistémicos en Chile: una revisión sistemática

La relación de los ecosistemas con los ecosistemas-sociedad y el bienestar humano, mediante el uso del concepto de servicios ecosistémicos, ha sido abordada con mayor énfasis en los últimos años, tanto en el ámbito científico, como también en el contexto de la gestión ambiental pública y la toma de decisiones. Un gran impulso para este interés lo constituyó la publicación en el año 2005 del reporte internacional Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (Evaluación de los Ecosistemas del Mileno). No obstante, a nivel de políticas e instrumentos de gestión ambiental el vínculo entre la investigación y la aplicación de los conocimientos es un aspecto aún pendiente, especialmente en países en desarrollo. Este trabajo hace una revisión sistemática de la investigación de servicios ecosistémicos en Chile, con el fin de detectar qué y cómo se estudian los servicios ecosistémicos en el país, de manera de servir para respaldar y orientar las necesidades futuras de investigación que puedan ser aplicadas en el contexto de la conservación de la biodiversidad, la gestión ambiental y la planificación territorial. Nuestros resultados muestran un importante incremento en el desarrollo de la investigación científica a partir de 1994, concentrándose especialmente luego de 2005, reflejando la tendencia internacional de incremento de trabajos sobre servicios ecosistémicos post-publicación del reporte ya mencionado. Tras el análisis se observa que los estudios realizados en Chile han utilizado mayoritariamente herramientas de valoración económica por sobre otro tipo de herramientas y que son escasos los ejercicios de modelación y mapeo de servicios ecosistémicos. Asimismo, hay una necesidad evidente de realizar estudios en ecosistemas desérticos (especialmente en aquellos costeros y altoandinos), en ecosistemas de montaña y glaciares, en ecosistemas antropizados de la zona centro-sur, siendo éstos grandes demandantes de servicios ecosistémicos provistos por los ecosistemas naturales cercanos, y en ecosistemas marino-costeros e insulares.

Estudio de los instrumentos normativos de ordenamiento ambiental del municipio de turbo (Antioquia), en el marco de las políticas de ordenamiento ambiental de Colombia

The municipality of Turbo (Antioquia, Colombia) has a great ecosystemic richness and associated with this, and the national policies and regulations, environmental authorities have built various instruments for environmental management, formulated with different policy framework systems with dissimilar methodologies (map scales, normative and methodological approaches), which has caused uncertainty about the articulation, complementarity, harmonization and comprehensiveness of the instruments in the territorial, protection of ecosystems and sustainable development promotion fields. This article is part of one of the results of a Master's degree requirement research project aimed at analyzing how the environmental management instruments in the territorial context (physical-spatial) intersect and affect each other positively or negatively from the environmental management policies and regulations and how these policies have an impact on the ecosystems in the Municipality of Turbo, Antioquia. Methodologically the project was developed under a mixed approach, addressing eight instruments for environmental management and using techniques such as summary cards, meetings with experts using the Delphi technique and Likert's scale for the application of the survey. Also the geographic information systems were used to perform spatial analysis and a comparative instrument to generate the analysis was developed. The main result shown in this article is an analysis of the role played by national and regional environmental authorities in articulating municipal environmental management instruments. The main conclusion obtained was that the focal shortcomings of the instruments of environmental management in the municipality of Turbo, have their origin in the way planning and formulation of environmental public policy is approached from environmental authorities, as well as in issuing regulations since at SINA level there is no conceptual unity of the scale or approach on the design and orientation of public environmental policy in relation to the territory, which shows conceptual cracks and various disjointed forms for development planning and of the environmental scope.

Implementation of Technical and Information Systems in Environmental Management

The paper will address the topic of technical and information systems, which constitute a very important element of supporting environmental management in an enterprise in a turbulent environment. There is a range of variants of their implementation fulfilling a number of different functions, which examined in terms of the effects of implementing systems informing about the environment in an enterprise, usually focus on typical areas of their use in environmental management, with particular reference to the evaluation of their practical importance.Implementation of the objectives related with instruments for environmental management in the aspect of improving the effectiveness of environmental protection in an enterprise enables the achievement of a specific goal implied by ecological controlling. However, these instruments are characterised by specific attributes, as most of them, having a nature of satellites, are implemented as a complement to conventional instruments. A wide range of applications of systems informing about the environment allow enterprises to systematically implement such instruments without significant financial outlay. Despite numerous unfavourable economic and ecological conditions, it should be stressed that the effects illustrating the implementation of such systems are very reliable and so evocative that integration of environmental information systems with the structures existing in an enterprise determines high quality of the final data. In the relationship between environmental management and instruments, it is very important for effective environmental protection implemented within an enterprise that the instruments are compatible and can be combined with one another, which will have a significant impact in the future on the paradigm of constantly increasing interest of enterprises in systems for environmental management through the perspective of ecological indicators and balances.

Command Without Control: The Case of China's Environmental Target System

In the existing literature there is general agreement that the effectiveness and efficiency of and instruments versus market-based instruments is highly context specific. A country’s particular regulatory environment and state capacity, as well as the features of given environmental problems, play an important role in ascertaining what the right set of policy instruments for environmental management might be. This article examines how and instruments are used as an environmental enforcement mechanism in China’s authoritarian state. Based on extensive fieldwork, this paper shows that the reliance on binding environmental targets as the main domestic policy instrument in China has generated numerous undesirable consequences. While China’s target-based approach to implementation has incentivized local officials to strictly enforce environmental mandates, there are numerous shortcomings in the system. In particular, target rigidity, cyclical behaviour, poor data quality, and the absence of an independent monitoring agency have generated adverse effects and contribute to a yawning gap between regulatory goals and outcomes. The paper concludes that binding environmental targets as the main command-control instrument in China can be more accurately described as command without control as the target-setting central government does not exercise a high degree of over implementation and monitoring processes. But and instruments can be suited for managing first-generation environmental problems and addressing environmental issues that have easily identifiable pollution sources and which are easy to verify.

Command without control: The case of China's environmental target system

AbstractIn the existing literature there is general agreement that the effectiveness and efficiency of command and control instruments versus market‐based instruments is highly context specific. A country's particular regulatory environment and state capacity, as well as the features of given environmental problems, play an important role in ascertaining what the “right” set of policy instruments for environmental management might be. This article examines how command and control instruments are used as an environmental enforcement mechanism in China's authoritarian state. Based on extensive fieldwork, this paper shows that the reliance on binding environmental targets as the main domestic policy instrument in China has generated numerous undesirable consequences. While China's target‐based approach to implementation has incentivized local officials to strictly enforce environmental mandates, there are numerous shortcomings in the system. In particular, target rigidity, cyclical behaviour, poor data quality, and the absence of an independent monitoring agency have generated adverse effects and contribute to a yawning gap between regulatory goals and outcomes. The paper concludes that binding environmental targets as the main command–control instrument in China can be more accurately described as “command without control” as the target‐setting central government does not exercise a high degree of control over implementation and monitoring processes. But command and control instruments can be suited for managing “first‐generation” environmental problems and addressing environmental issues that have easily identifiable pollution sources and which are easy to verify.

Legislação ambiental da Paraíba: contribuições à gestão integrada de resíduos sólidos

Os impactos do manejo inadequado dos resíduos sólidos repercutem negativamente no ambiente e na saúde da sociedade. A legislação corresponde a um dos instrumentos da gestão ambiental, uma vez que o Direito é uma ciência que regula os acontecimentos sócias, dentre estes, os problemas ambientais. A pesquisa documental foi realizada a partir da análise de documentos com valor científico, da observância da Lei 12.305/12, a qual instituiu a Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos-PNRS, bem como da legislação voltada a problemática dos resíduos sólidos no Estado da Paraíba. Os resultados mostraram que as diretrizes trazidas pela Lei 12.305/10 refletiram nas normas estaduais paraibanas, uma vez que as mesmas passaram a tratar de temas relacionados à gestão dos resíduos sólidos, tais como: realização da coleta seletiva nas escolas estaduais; incentivo à organização dos catadores de materiais recicláveis e utilização de sacolas biodegradáveis; Contudo, os avanços legislativos ainda mostram-se tímidos e distantes de modificar a realidade de fato, pois a materialização do Direito não depende apenas da edição dos textos normativos, mas também da participação popular e da vontade política.

Environmental impact assessment of infrastructure projects: a governance perspective

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been promoted as an instrument for preventive environmental management in construction projects, but its performance in safeguarding the environment through influencing project decision-making is questioned. This paper probes the underlying reasons from a governance perspective as an important supplement to the regulatory and technical perspectives. A framework, with process integration, professional governance, and public engagement being its key components, is proposed to analyze the governance arrangements that enable or inhibit the effective functioning of EIA, based on which a comparative study of three infrastructure projects in China, the United States and Finland was conducted. The results reveal that, while the level of process integration and public engagement of EIA determines the degree to which EIA influences project decisions, it is the professional governance that controls the accountability of EIA. The paper has implications on institutionally where efforts should be directed to improve the performance of EIA.

A classificação disciplinar no mercado dos enunciados ambientais

The article aims at discussing the genesis of the social belief in the economic instruments of environmental management. The argumentation will bring into focus the questioning of the hypothesis that the consolidation of the environmental issue in the contemporary poli-tico-social agenda is closely linked to the nomination capacity developed by the marginal utility theory, as an historic cultural fact, in the course of the 20th century. The study discusses how the neoclassical marginalism affects the description of impasses and the prescription of themes of the modern environmental agenda, contributing for the debate on the forms of experimentation and nomination that modern societies keep over their self-recognition framework.