Taking Stock Of Environmental Assessment

This edited collection analyzes the appropriate balance between conservation and development and the place for participation and popular protest in environmental assessment. Examining the relationship between law, environmental governance and the regulation of decision-making, this volume takes a reflective and contextual approach, using wide range of theories, to explore the key features of modern environmental assessment. This collection of work from experts in the area in the US and Europe provides a detailed treatment of key issues in environmental assessment, encouraging an appreciation of where environmental assessment has come from and how it could develop in the future. A 'stocktaking' exercise, this volume encompasses a broad range of concerns, timescales and legal and policy contexts. Individual chapters include discussions on: the development of EIA in the United States and Europe the interrelation of environmental assessment with other regulatory regimes (water protection, environmental justice initiatives, the European spatial strategy) the prospects for the digitalization of the environmental assessment process the development and use of environmental impact assessment by the European Commission, the UN/ECE and NGOs. Looking at the roots and current state of environmental assessment in the US and Europe and giving the reader a good sense of the political, scientific and technological settings in which environmental assessment has developed, this book critically examines the dilemmas the law has found itself in since the regulation of environmental assessment.

Examining the relationship between law, environmental governance and the regulation of decision-making, this volume, both reflective and contextual in approach, uses a wide range of theories to explore the key features of modern environmental assessment.

How can we design more sustainable industrial and urban systems that reduce environmental impacts while supporting a high quality of life for everyone? What progress has been made towards reducing resource use and waste, and what are the prospects for more resilient, material-efficient economies? What are the environmental and social impacts of global supply chains and how can they be measured and improved? Such questions are at the heart of the emerging discipline of industrial ecology, covered in Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology. Leading authors, researchers and practitioners review how far industrial ecology has developed and current issues and concerns, with illustrations of what the industrial ecology paradigm has achieved in public policy, corporate strategy and industrial practice. It provides an introduction for students coming to industrial ecology and for professionals who wish to understand what industrial ecology can offer, a reference for researchers and practitioners and a source of case studies for teachers.

This authoritative handbook surveys the full breadth and depth of SEA, bringing together a range of international perspectives and insights on the theoretical, methodological and institutional dimensions and practical issues of the field. It then subjects this conventional wisdom to a critical reappraisal, looks at the vast lessons of experience and offers new ideas and interpretations as to where the field is going. The volume is organized into six major sections, beginning with an introduction and overview of the development of the field and a framework for evaluating SEA good practice. Part I comprises a review of SEA frameworks in leading countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA), the European Union and developing regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Newly Independent States). Part II reviews SEA practice in several major sectors (energy, minerals, transport, water, development assistance and coastal zone management). Part III addresses the linkages between SEA and other comparable tools such as spatial planning and environmental management. Part IV probes key cross-cutting issues in SEA, including how to address cumulative and trans-boundary effects. Part V identifies ways and means of SEA process and capacity development, focusing on how to improve and upgrade the theory and practice of the field. Part VI examines the shift from conventional SEA towards more integrative approaches, drawing on experience and examples from a number of countries. Published with IAIA

In a world of increasing demands for biodiversity information, participatory biodiversity assessment and monitoring is becoming more significant. Whilst other books have focused on methods, or links to conservation or development, this book is written particularly for policy makers and planners. Introductory chapters analyze the challenges of the approach, the global legislation context, and the significance of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Specially commissioned case studies provide evidence from 17 countries, by 50 authors with expertise in both biological and social sciences. Ranging from community conservation projects in developing countries to amateur birdwatching in the UK, they describe the context, objectives, stakeholders and processes, and reflect on the success of outcomes. Rather than advocating any particular approach, the book takes a constructively critical look at the motives, experiences and outcomes of such approaches, with cross-cutting lessons to inform planning and interpretation of future participatory projects and their contribution to policy objectives.

The U.S. Energy Dept. is storing at least 820 million kg of nuclear & non-nuclear materials in inventory at 44 sites in 19 states: spent nuclear fuel, plutonium, natural & enriched uranium, depleted uranium, lithium, sodium, lead, chemicals, weapons components, scrap metal & material. Three materials make up an estimated 95% of the total: depleted uranium, scrap metal, & lithium. Left unattended, much of this material could present environmental, health, or safety risks. Maintaining these materials in a safe condition costs millions of dollars/year.