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Impact Assessment (impact + assessment)
Kinds of Impact Assessment Selected AbstractsMerits of a more integrated approach to environmental assessmentsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2010Elke Weingarten Abstract Under 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. [source] Consequences of Decentralization: Environmental Impact Assessment and Water Pollution Control in IndonesiaLAW & POLICY, Issue 1 2010ADRIAAN BEDNER After having been one of the most centralized states in the world for more than thirty years, in 2001 Indonesia introduced a sweeping program of decentralization with important consequences for the management of the industrial sector. This article explores whether the decentralization process has led to substantial changes in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and enforcement of water pollution law. Its main findings are that the general division of authority in both fields has become less fragmented and that differences between districts have increased, but, in practice, not so much has changed as one would have expected. For EIA, "horizontal" disputes between sectoral agencies have been supplanted by "vertical" disputes between different levels of government. Monitoring and sanctioning of industrial water pollution have mainly continued within the scheme of the provincial program started under Soeharto's centralized regime, with still few initiatives at the district level. If any, such initiatives are usually driven by public complaints. On the other hand, there are indications that in the longer run the institutional changes may have more significant effects on EIA and enforcement practice. For EIA, these seem to be negative; for enforcement of water pollution regulation this depends much on the situation within a district or a province. [source] Documenting Accountability: Environmental Impact Assessment in a Peruvian Mining ProjectPOLAR: POLITICAL AND LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Fabiana Li Over the past two decades, practices of accountability have acquired a new presence in neoliberal governance and resource extraction in Peru. In the context of mining activity, accountability generally refers to public mechanisms of evaluation and record-keeping through which citizens can make corporations and governments answerable to them. However, I argue that these practices often prioritize mining interests by enabling corporations to define and ultimately enforce standards of performance. This article focuses on a key process in the making of social and environmental accountability in mining projects: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). I show that the form of the documents produced for the EIA (i.e., their required components, as established in legal frameworks) and the process of making them public (participatory meetings and public forums) can take precedence over their content. I examine two aspects of the EIA that make this possible. First, the risks that are identified in the EIA are those that a company deems to be technically manageable based on the solutions and interventions that it has to offer. Second, the participatory process of the EIA creates collaborative relationships among state agents, corporations, NGOs, and communities that strengthen the EIA's claims of accountability while circumscribing the spaces for opposition to a proposed project. [source] Information needs to support environmental impact assessment of the effects of European marine offshore wind farms on birdsIBIS, Issue 2006A.D. FOX European legislation requires Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) of national offshore wind farm (OWF) programmes and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for individual projects likely to affect birds. SEAs require extensive mapping of waterbird densities to define breeding and feeding areas of importance and sensitivity. Use of extensive large scale weather, military, and air traffic control surveillance radar is recommended, to define areas, routes and behaviour of migrating birds, and to determine avian migration corridors in three dimensions. EIAs for individual OWFs should define the key avian species present; as well as assess the hazards presented to birds in terms of avoidance behaviour, habitat change and collision risk. Such measures, however, are less helpful in assessing cumulative impacts. Using aerial survey, physical habitat loss, modification, or gain and effective habitat loss through avoidance behaviour can be measured using bird densities as a proxy measure of habitat availability. The energetic consequences of avoidance responses and habitat change should be modelled to estimate fitness costs and predict impacts at the population level. Our present ability to model collision risk remains poor due to lack of data on species-specific avoidance responses. There is therefore an urgent need to gather data on avoidance responses; energetic consequences of habitat modification and avoidance flights and demographic sensitivity of key species, most affected by OWFs. This analysis stresses the importance of common data collection protocols, sharing of information and experience, and accessibility of results at the international level to better improve our predictive abilities. [source] In the Wake of ,Good Governance': Impact Assessments and the Politicisation of Statutory InterpretationTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 3 2008Roderick Munday For some time ,regulatory reform' has been a government watchword, and the streamlining and improved quality of regulation its professed ambition. Impact assessments (formerly known as regulatory impact assessments) are a significant ingredient in these governmental initiatives, now promoted by the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Just as they have come to refer rather freely to the Explanatory Notes that now accompany all public Acts of Parliament, judges have also begun to invoke impact assessments when construing legislation. This paper investigates the extent of this practice and the manner in which judges employ impact assessments. It warns of the potential consequences if the judiciary avails itself too readily of these highly politicised, and sometimes deceptive, documents. ,The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say.' G. K. Chesterton, Daily News 22 April 1905 [source] Prescription Duration After Drug Copay Changes in Older People: Methodological AspectsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2002Sebastian Schneeweiss MD OBJECTIVES: Impact assessment of drug benefits policies is a growing field of research that is increasingly relevant to healthcare planning for older people. Some cost-containment policies are thought to increase noncompliance. This paper examines mechanisms that can produce spurious reductions in drug utilization measures after drug policy changes when relying on pharmacy dispensing data. Reference pricing, a copayment for expensive medications above a fixed limit, for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in older British Columbia residents, is used as a case example. DESIGN: Time series of 36 months of individual claims data. Longitudinal data analysis, adjusting for autoregressive data. SETTING: Pharmacare, the drug benefits program covering all patients aged 65 and older in the province of British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: All noninstitutionalized Pharmacare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who used ACE inhibitors between 1995 and 1997 (N = 119,074). INTERVENTION: The introduction of reference drug pricing for ACE inhibitors for patients aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Timing and quantity of drug use from a claims database. RESULTS: We observed a transitional sharp decline of 11%± a standard error of 3% (P = .02) in the overall utilization rate of all ACE inhibitors after the policy implementation; five months later, utilization rates had increased, but remained under the predicted prepolicy trend. Coinciding with the sharp decrease, we observed a reduction in prescription duration by 31% in patients switching to no-cost drugs. This reduction may be attributed to increased monitoring for intolerance or treatment failure in switchers, which in turn led to a spurious reduction in total drug utilization. We ruled out the extension of medication use over the prescribed duration through reduced daily doses (prescription stretching) by a quantity-adjusted analysis of prescription duration. CONCLUSION: The analysis of prescription duration after drug policy interventions may provide alternative explanations to apparent short-term reductions in drug utilization and adds important insights to time trend analyses of drug utilization data in the evaluation of drug benefit policy changes. J Am Geriatr Soc 50:521,525, 2002. [source] Impact assessment for pro-poor accountability: Innovations and challengesJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2005Linda Mayoux First page of article [source] THE APPRENDI-BLAKELY CASES: SENTENCING REFORM COUNTER REVOLUTION?CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 3 2007RICHARD S. FRASE Recent Supreme Court decisions have extended jury trial rights and beyond-reasonable-doubt proof standards to certain sentence-enhancement facts. The first two cases, Apprendi v. New Jersey and Ring v. Arizona, were narrow in scope and relatively uncontroversial. But Blakely v. Washington marked a substantial expansion of the rationale and scope of Apprendi, and threatened to invalidate entire sentencing reform systems, both legally-binding guidelines of the type at issue in Blakely and it's sequel, Booker v. United States, and statutory determinate sentence systems like the one invalidated in Cunningham v. California. Each of these decisions has potential effects not only on sentencing severity and disparity in the cases controlled by that decision, but also on prosecutorial, legislative, and sentencing commission measures designed to comply with the decision, avoid it, and/or mitigate its impact. Field resistance and avoidance measures are likely to be stronger in jurisdictions where the existing sentencing system enjoyed broad support; in such jurisdictions, resistance may be particularly strong to the more controversial Blakely ruling. Impact assessments must therefore carefully distinguish the separate impacts of Apprendi and Blakely in each jurisdiction being studied, and the extent of support for the existing sentencing system. Such assessments should also examine pre-existing trends and other independent sources of change; leadership by sentencing commissions or other officials in crafting responsive measures; structural and other features of the sentencing system which render compliance more or less difficult; and second-stage effects, on sentencing, prosecutorial, or sentencing policy decisions, that reflect the prior compliance, avoidance, and mitigation measures adopted in that jurisdiction. The greatest long-term effects may be on prosecutorial, legislative, and commission decisions, rather than on sentencing outcomes. [source] In the Wake of ,Good Governance': Impact Assessments and the Politicisation of Statutory InterpretationTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 3 2008Roderick Munday For some time ,regulatory reform' has been a government watchword, and the streamlining and improved quality of regulation its professed ambition. Impact assessments (formerly known as regulatory impact assessments) are a significant ingredient in these governmental initiatives, now promoted by the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Just as they have come to refer rather freely to the Explanatory Notes that now accompany all public Acts of Parliament, judges have also begun to invoke impact assessments when construing legislation. This paper investigates the extent of this practice and the manner in which judges employ impact assessments. It warns of the potential consequences if the judiciary avails itself too readily of these highly politicised, and sometimes deceptive, documents. ,The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say.' G. K. Chesterton, Daily News 22 April 1905 [source] Response Time of Wetland Biodiversity to Road Construction on Adjacent LandsCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2000C. Scot T Findlay Species loss is unlikely to occur immediately, however. Rather, populations of susceptible species are expected to decline gradually after road construction, with local extinction occurring sometime later. We document lags in wetland biodiversity loss in response to road construction by fitting regression models that express species richness of different taxa ( birds, mammals, plants, and herptiles) as a function of both current and historical road densities on adjacent lands. The proportion of variation in herptile and bird richness explained by road densities increased significantly when past densities were substituted for more current densities in multiple regression models. Moreover, for vascular plants, birds, and herptiles, there were significant negative effects of historical road densities when the most current densities were controlled statistically. Our results provide evidence that the full effects of road construction on wetland biodiversity may be undetectable in some taxa for decades. Such lags in response to changes in anthropogenic stress have important implications for land-use planning and environmental impact assessment. Resumen: La construcción de caminos puede resultar en significativas pérdidas de biodiversidad tanto a escala local como regional debido a la restricción de movimiento entre poblaciones, incremento de la mortalidad, fragmentación de hábitat y efectos de borde, invasión de especies exóticas o mayor acceso de humanos a hábitats silvestres, con lo cual se espera que se incrementen las tasas locales de extinción o disminuyan las tasas locales de recolonización. Sin embargo, es improbable que la pérdida de especies ocurra inmediatamente. Más bien, se espera que las poblaciones de especies susceptibles declinen gradualmente después de la construcción del camino, extinguiéndose localmente poco tiempo después. Documentamos la pérdida de biodiversidad en humedales como respuesta a la construcción de caminos ajustando modelos de regresión que expresan la riqueza de especies de diferentes taxa (aves, mamíferos, plantas, reptiles y anfibios) como una función de las densidades actual e histórica de los caminos en tierras adyacentes. La proporción de variación en anfibios, reptiles y aves incrementó significativamente cuando las densidades históricas fueron sustituidas por densidades actuales en los modelos de regresión múltiple. Más aun, hubo efectos negativos significativos de las densidades de caminos históricas para plantas vasculares, aves, anfibios y reptiles cuando las densidades actuales fueron estadísticamente controladas. Nuestros resultados proporcionan evidencia de que los efectos de la construcción de caminos sobre la biodiversidad de humedales pueden se indetectables para algunos taxa por décadas. Tales rezagos en la respuesta a cambios en el estrés antropogénico tienen implicaciones importantes en la planificación de uso del suelo y la evaluación de impacto ambiental. [source] Connecting EIA to environmental management systems: lessons from industrial estate developments in EnglandCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Paul Slinn Abstract This paper concerns the relationship between environmental assessment and environmental management systems in the context of recent industrial estate developments. Drawing on environmental statements and interviews with developers, an examination was carried out of the level of good practice in estate design and operation, and the way in which this was influenced by environmental impact assessment and environmental management systems. The study concludes that the environmental impact assessment system worked well within the context of land use planning, but that it failed to facilitate the planning of effective environmental management in practice, with the consequence that the projects examined failed to meet many of the good practice criteria against which they were tested. Finally, several recommendations are made to strengthen continuity between the two. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Analysing Macro-Poverty Linkages of External Liberalisation: Gaps, Achievements and AlternativesDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Bernhard G. Gunter CGE modelling has dominated analysis of the impact of external liberalisation on poverty. This article provides a structuralist critique of standard neo-classical CGE models. It highlights five sets of gaps and partial achievements in the modelling of issues affecting the poverty impact of macroeconomic policies: duality and structural rigidities; efficiency gains and quota rents; the investment and savings specification; the nature of public expenditures; and the modelling of financial fragility, risk premia and issues of credibility. It outlines a model that makes it possible to analyse more plausible stories about the impact of both current and capital account liberalisation and questions the realism of existing approaches to ex-ante poverty impact assessment. [source] Nutritional Response to the 1998 Bangladesh Flood Disaster: Sphere Minimum Standards in Disaster ResponseDISASTERS, Issue 3 2002Max R. O'Donnell In this study we use a cross,sectional survey to evaluate the nutritional response to the 1998 Bangladesh Flood Disaster by 15 relief agencies using standards developed by the Sphere Project. The Sphere Project is a recent attempt by agencies around the world to establish universal minimum standards for the purpose of ensuring quality and accountability in disaster response. The main outcomes measured were resources allocated to disaster relief, types of relief activities and percentage of agencies meeting selected Sphere food aid and nutrition indicators. Although the process of nutritional response was measured, specific nutritional and health outcomes were not assessed. This review found that self,reported disaster and nutritional resources varied widely between implementing agencies, ranging from US$58,947 to $15,908,712. The percentage of resources these agencies allocated to food aid and nutritional response also varied, ranging from approximately 6 to 99 per cent of total resources. Agencies met between 8 and 83 per cent of the specific Sphere indicators which were assessed. Areas in which performance was poor included preliminary nutritional analysis; beneficiary participation and feedback; disaster preparedness during non,emergency times; monitoring of local markets and impact assessment. Agencies were generally successful in areas of core humanitarian response, such as targeting the vulnerable (83 per cent) and monitoring and evaluating the process of disaster response (75 per cent). The results here identify both strengths and gaps in the quality of humanitarian response in developing nations such as Bangladesh. However, they also raise the question of implementing a rights,based approach to disaster response in nations without a commitment to meeting positive human rights in non,disaster times. [source] Using generalized dissimilarity modelling to analyse and predict patterns of beta diversity in regional biodiversity assessmentDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 3 2007Simon Ferrier ABSTRACT Generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM) is a statistical technique for analysing and predicting spatial patterns of turnover in community composition (beta diversity) across large regions. The approach is an extension of matrix regression, designed specifically to accommodate two types of nonlinearity commonly encountered in large-scaled ecological data sets: (1) the curvilinear relationship between increasing ecological distance, and observed compositional dissimilarity, between sites; and (2) the variation in the rate of compositional turnover at different positions along environmental gradients. GDM can be further adapted to accommodate special types of biological and environmental data including, for example, information on phylogenetic relationships between species and information on barriers to dispersal between geographical locations. The approach can be applied to a wide range of assessment activities including visualization of spatial patterns in community composition, constrained environmental classification, distributional modelling of species or community types, survey gap analysis, conservation assessment, and climate-change impact assessment. [source] Experiences with integrated impact assessment , empirical evidence from a survey in three European member statesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2009Martin Achtnicht Abstract The paper contributes to the discussion on the use of methods and quantification in regulatory impact assessment. We investigate whether there are differences between the three dimensions of sustainable development in terms of the methodical efforts to assess potential impacts. Based on a survey in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, we provide some evidence regarding these questions. We find that regulatory impact assessment is still biased towards assessing intended and mainly economic costs. There is a gap between the recommended use of methods in official guidance documents and the practice in member states. The reason for this gap can be seen in the existence of operational problems in practice such as lack of data or lack of tools. However, we find that the degree of sophistication of conducted IAs can be improved if responsible desk officers receive training or make use of guidance documents and receive support from co-ordination units. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Identifying and assessing environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany: an overview of studies and their underlying methodologies in the energy and transport sectorENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2007Tilmann Rave Abstract The discussion on the reduction and reform of subsidies in Germany has gained momentum lately. It has repeatedly been suggested that environmental and wider efficiency consideration be taken into account in reform strategies. Yet, progress at reforming environmentally harmful subsidies seems to be slow overall. This paper provides an overview on monitoring and assessing environmentally harmful subsidies in selected German policy sectors and discusses the underlying study methodologies. For this purpose we first briefly deal with the concept of subsidy and the measurement of subsidies in general and illustrate the linkage between subsidies and their environmental effects. The main focus of the paper is then on the current state of subsidy impact assessment and/or related monitoring activities. We discuss studies relating to two different policy sectors, energy policy and transport policy. While no single best methodology exists, it is suggested that different approaches may fertilize each other. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] International patterns of environmental policy change and convergenceENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2005Per-Olof Busch Abstract The article gives an empirical overview of the international spread of 22 environmental policy innovations. The policy innovations examined in the article include administrative institutions (e.g. environmental ministries, scientific advisory bodies), laws (e.g. soil protection laws, packaging waste laws), instruments of environmental policy integration (e.g. national environmental policy plans, environmental impact assessment), energy taxes and eco-labels. On this empirical basis, recurring patterns in the global spread of environmental policy innovations are identified and linked to specific causal mechanisms through which this change occurs. In particular, the paper demonstrates how and to what extent non-obligatory diffusion, legal harmonization and coercive imposition matter as mechanisms of global environmental policy convergence. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Waste management modeling with PC-based model , EASEWASTEENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 1 2008Gurbakhash S. Bhander Abstract As life-cycle-thinking becomes more integrated into waste management, quantitative tools are needed for assessing waste management systems and technologies. This article presents a decision support model to deal with integrated solid waste management planning problems at a regional or national level. The model is called EASEWASTE (environmental assessment of solid waste systems and technologies). The model consists of a number of modules (submodels), each describing a process in a real waste management system, and these modules may combine to represent a complete waste management system in a scenario. EASEWASTE generates data on emissions (inventory), which are translated and aggregated into different environmental impact categories, e.g. the global warming, acidification, and toxicity. To facilitate a "first level" screening evaluation, default values for process parameters have been provided, wherever possible. The EASEWASTE model for life-cycle-assessment of waste management is described and applied to a case study for illustrative purposes. The case study involving hypothetical but realistic data demonstrates the functionality, usability, and flexibilities of the model. The design and implementation of the software successfully address the substantial challenges in integrating process modeling, life-cycle inventory (LCI), and impact assessment (LCIA) modeling, and optimization into an interactive decision support platform. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2008 [source] Life cycle assessment: An international experienceENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 2 2000Mary Ann Curran Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate environmental burdens associated with a product, process or activity by identifying and quantifying relevant inputs and outputs of the defined system and evaluating their potential impacts. This article outlines the four components that comprise LCA (goal definition, inventory, impact assessment and interpretation) and addresses various applications of LCA within industry and government. Included are references to several resources that may be used to better understand and apply LCA, such as books, journals, software programs and internet websites. [source] Environmental impact assessment: Practical solutions to recurrent problems, part 1ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2005David P. Lawrence First page of article [source] Environmental Guidelines for Power Plants in India and Other NationsENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2001Subrato Sinha The emissions guidelines for power plants in India are comparable to those of many other developed and developing nations, and in some cases are more stringent. But India's environmental impact assessment and enforcement practices need to be improved. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Histopathological alterations in the liver of the sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus from polluted aquatic systems in South AfricaENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 2 2009M. J. Marchand Abstract There is a need for sensitive bio-monitoring tools in toxicant impact assessment to indicate the effect of toxicants on fish health in polluted aquatic ecosystems. Histopathological assessment of fish tissue allows for early warning signs of disease and detection of long-term injury in cells, tissues, or organs. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of histopathological alterations in the liver of C. gariepinus from two dams in an urban nature reserve, (Gauteng, South Africa). Two dams (Dam 1 and Dam 2) were chosen for their suspected levels of toxicants. Water and sediments were sampled for metal and potential endocrine disrupting chemical analysis. A quantitative and qualitative histology-based health assessment protocol was employed to determine the adverse health effects in fish. The analysis of blood constituents, fish necropsy, calculation of condition factors, and hepatosomatic indices were employed to support the findings of the qualitative and quantitative histological assessment of liver tissue. Assessment of the liver tissue revealed marked histopathological alterations including: structural alterations (hepatic cord disarray) affecting 27% of field specimens; plasma alterations (granular degeneration 98% and fatty degeneration 25%) of hepatocytes; an increase in melanomacrophage centers (32%); hepatocyte nuclear alterations (90%); and necrosis of liver tissue (14%). The quantitative histological assessment indicated that livers of fish collected from Dam 1 were more affected than the fish livers collected from Dam 2. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2009. [source] Is biofuel policy harming biodiversity in Europe?GCB BIOENERGY, Issue 1 2009JEANNETTE EGGERS Abstract We assessed the potential impacts of land-use changes resulting from a change in the current biofuel policy on biodiversity in Europe. We evaluated the possible impact of both arable and woody biofuel crops on changes in distribution of 313 species pertaining to different taxonomic groups. Using species-specific information on habitat suitability as well as land use simulations for three different biofuel policy options, we downscaled available species distribution data from the original resolution of 50 to 1 km. The downscaled maps were then applied to analyse potential changes in habitat size and species composition at different spatial levels. Our results indicate that more species might suffer from habitat losses rather than benefit from a doubled biofuel target, while abolishing the biofuel target would mainly have positive effects. However, the possible impacts vary spatially and depend on the biofuel crop choice, with woody crops being less detrimental than arable crops. Our results give an indication for policy and decision makers of what might happen to biodiversity under a changed biofuel policy in the European Union. The presented approach is considered to be innovative as to date no comparable policy impact assessment has been applied to such a large set of key species at the European scale. [source] Climate Science and Decision MakingGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2007Kirstin Dow This article reviews progress in understanding climate variability and change and how such understanding might better contribute to decision processes and the design of decision support tools. We emphasize the value of collaborative engagement between climate information users and scientists to continue innovation in this area. Our assessment presents opportunities for geographic perspectives and insights that can increase understanding of the physical processes causing interannual variability and improve climate model output for climate impact assessment. As decision-makers' interests expand to address adaptation, nature-society research can also contribute significantly to understanding the diversity of climate information users, their evolving needs, and to the development of strategies for communicating risk and uncertainty. [source] Development of the ecohydrological model SWIM for regional impact studies and vulnerability assessmentHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 3 2005Valentina Krysanova Abstract In this paper the ecohydrological model SWIM developed for regional impact assessment is presented, and examples of approaches to climate and land use change impact studies are described. SWIM is a continuous-time semi-distributed ecohydrological model, integrating hydrological processes, vegetation, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment transport at the river basin scale. Its spatial disaggregation scheme has three levels: (1) basin, (2) sub-basins and (3) hydrotopes within sub-basins. The model was extensively tested and validated for hydrological processes, nitrogen dynamics, crop yield and erosion (mainly in mesoscale sub-basins of the German part of the Elbe River basin). After appropriate validation in representative sub-basins, the model can be applied at the regional scale for impact studies. Particular interest in the global change impact studies is given to effects of expected changes in climate and land use on hydrological processes and agro-ecosystems, including water balance components, water quality and crop yield. This paper (a) introduces the reader to the class of process-based ecohydrological catchment scale models, (b) introduces SWIM as one such model, and (c) presents two examples of impact studies performed with SWIM for the federal state of Brandenburg (Germany), which overlaps with the lowland part of the Elbe drainage area. The impact studies provide a better understanding of the complex interactions between climate, hydrological processes and vegetation, and improve our potential adaptation to the expected changes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Information needs to support environmental impact assessment of the effects of European marine offshore wind farms on birdsIBIS, Issue 2006A.D. FOX European legislation requires Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) of national offshore wind farm (OWF) programmes and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for individual projects likely to affect birds. SEAs require extensive mapping of waterbird densities to define breeding and feeding areas of importance and sensitivity. Use of extensive large scale weather, military, and air traffic control surveillance radar is recommended, to define areas, routes and behaviour of migrating birds, and to determine avian migration corridors in three dimensions. EIAs for individual OWFs should define the key avian species present; as well as assess the hazards presented to birds in terms of avoidance behaviour, habitat change and collision risk. Such measures, however, are less helpful in assessing cumulative impacts. Using aerial survey, physical habitat loss, modification, or gain and effective habitat loss through avoidance behaviour can be measured using bird densities as a proxy measure of habitat availability. The energetic consequences of avoidance responses and habitat change should be modelled to estimate fitness costs and predict impacts at the population level. Our present ability to model collision risk remains poor due to lack of data on species-specific avoidance responses. There is therefore an urgent need to gather data on avoidance responses; energetic consequences of habitat modification and avoidance flights and demographic sensitivity of key species, most affected by OWFs. This analysis stresses the importance of common data collection protocols, sharing of information and experience, and accessibility of results at the international level to better improve our predictive abilities. [source] A review of climate risk information for adaptation and development planningINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2009R. L. Wilby Abstract Although the use of climate scenarios for impact assessment has grown steadily since the 1990s, uptake of such information for adaptation is lagging by nearly a decade in terms of scientific output. Nonetheless, integration of climate risk information in development planning is now a priority for donor agencies because of the need to prepare for climate change impacts across different sectors and countries. This urgency stems from concerns that progress made against Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could be threatened by anthropogenic climate change beyond 2015. Up to this time the human signal, though detectable and growing, will be a relatively small component of climate variability and change. This implies the need for a twin-track approach: on the one hand, vulnerability assessments of social and economic strategies for coping with present climate extremes and variability, and, on the other hand, development of climate forecast tools and scenarios to evaluate sector-specific, incremental changes in risk over the next few decades. This review starts by describing the climate outlook for the next couple of decades and the implications for adaptation assessments. We then review ways in which climate risk information is already being used in adaptation assessments and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of three groups of techniques. Next we identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for improving the production and uptake of climate risk information for the 2020s. We assert that climate change scenarios can meet some, but not all, of the needs of adaptation planning. Even then, the choice of scenario technique must be matched to the intended application, taking into account local constraints of time, resources, human capacity and supporting infrastructure. We also show that much greater attention should be given to improving and critiquing models used for climate impact assessment, as standard practice. Finally, we highlight the over-arching need for the scientific community to provide more information and guidance on adapting to the risks of climate variability and change over nearer time horizons (i.e. the 2020s). Although the focus of the review is on information provision and uptake in developing regions, it is clear that many developed countries are facing the same challenges. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [source] An evaluation of community and corporate bias in assessment toolsINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 189 2006Irmgard Bauer This is a comprehensive review and evaluation of the main international and national tools utilised to assess the impact of developments on communities to determine their validity of their capacity to detect and measure impacts across a wide spectrum of community resources. Manuals from environmental, health and social impact assessment were reviewed. The criteria for evaluation were the type of indicators used in the tool; the stage at which communities were involved in the assessment process and whether assessments were completed from an insider (local) or outsider (expert) perspective. The findings were that few guidelines include detail in measuring, monitoring, and including community-validated indicators. It is still rare to find impact assessments that include criteria that are meaningful to the community rather than to the developer or outside expert. While the need to include the target community in the assessment process has been acknowledged over the last 10 to 20 years the rigorous work required for the development of criteria to validate community-driven assessment still needs to be completed. [source] Assessing and predicting the relative ecological impacts of disturbance on habitats with different sensitivitiesJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2007J. G. HIDDINK Summary 1Methods for assessing habitat sensitivity to human impacts are needed to gauge the sustainability of existing impacts, develop spatial management plans and support meaningful environmental impact assessments. These methods should be quantitative, validated, repeatable and applicable at the scales of impact and management. 2Existing methods for assessing the sensitivity of marine habitats to human impacts have tended to rely on expert judgement and/or scoring systems. They are neither validated, quantitative nor repeatable. 3We have developed a method that meets the criteria for assessing the sensitivity of seabed habitats to physical disturbance, and delineating and mapping habitat sensitivity at large spatial scales (>105 km2). The method assumes that sensitivity is related to the recovery time of production or biomass, as predicted using a size-based model that takes account of the effects of natural disturbance. 4As trawling disturbance is a major and widespread direct human impact on shelf seas, this was used as an example of anthropogenic physical disturbance. We mapped habitat sensitivity to trawling in 9-km2 boxes across an area of 125 000 km2 in the North Sea. 5Habitat sensitivities varied widely, and a trawling frequency of 5 year,1 in the least-sensitive habitat had the same ecological effect as a trawling frequency of 0·3 year,1 in the most-sensitive habitat (based on production). When trawling effort was held constant but redirected to the least-sensitive habitats, the existing impacts on production and biomass were reduced by 36% and 25%, respectively. 6Synthesis and applications. The method described in this paper enables managers to predict the implications of changing patterns of human impact on seabed habitats when establishing spatial management plans. In the context of fisheries management, this will support the identification and selection of fishing grounds that minimize the adverse ecological effects of fishing; the selection of closed areas (both representative and highly sensitive); the comparison of management options that might reduce the overall environmental impacts of fishing; and any future steps towards the application of environmental impact assessment in advance of fishery development. [source] Review of aquaculture, its regulation and monitoring in ScotlandJOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 4-5 2000A. R. Henderson Summary The aquaculture industry in Scotland is primarily located on the western and northern coasts of Scotland where geographical and hydrographic conditions suit the species cultured. The regulation and monitoring of the industry has adapted and grown with the industry. Over 10 years, production has increased 10-fold and the efficiency of the industry has improved along with husbandry and management techniques although major disease problems have occurred. Planning and siting controls have recently been reviewed incorporating new EC legislation on environmental impact assessment. Environmental protection and end product quality are achieved through complex legislation demanding licences to discharge waste products and the application of strict quality standards and targets to both the product and its growing and receiving environment. Monitoring programmes are well established to ensure compliance with the legislation. The complexity of issues the industry now poses for regulation and monitoring have challenged traditional views and required new techniques to be developed, for example, mathematical modelling to set environmental targets for some medicines. A national approach has been needed which will benefit the industry and the regulators and allow focus to be brought to wider issues requiring research and development. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||