Iniciación a la gestión medioambiental

Libro de apoyo a la docencia - 166 p.

Considering the normative, systemic and procedural dimensions in indicator-based sustainability assessments in agriculture

This paper develops a framework for evaluating sustainability assessment methods by separately analyzing their normative, systemic and procedural dimensions as suggested by Wiek and Binder [Wiek, A, Binder, C. Solution spaces for decision-making – a sustainability assessment tool for city-regions. Environ Impact Asses Rev 2005, 25: 589-608.]. The framework is then used to characterize indicator-based sustainability assessment methods in agriculture. For a long time, sustainability assessment in agriculture has focused mostly on environmental and technical issues, thus neglecting the economic and, above all, the social aspects of sustainability, the multifunctionality of agriculture and the applicability of the results. In response to these shortcomings, several integrative sustainability assessment methods have been developed for the agricultural sector. This paper reviews seven of these that represent the diversity of tools developed in this area. The reviewed assessment methods can be categorized into three types: (i) top-down farm assessment methods; (ii) top-down regional assessment methods with some stakeholder participation; (iii) bottom-up, integrated participatory or transdisciplinary methods with stakeholder participation throughout the process. The results readily show the trade-offs encountered when selecting an assessment method. A clear, standardized, top-down procedure allows for potentially benchmarking and comparing results across regions and sites. However, this comes at the cost of system specificity. As the top-down methods often have low stakeholder involvement, the application and implementation of the results might be difficult. Our analysis suggests that to include the aspects mentioned above in agricultural sustainability assessment, the bottomup, integrated participatory or transdisciplinary methods are the most suitable ones.

Energy

The impact of energy policy measures has been assessed with various appraisal and evaluation tools since the 1960s. Decision analysis, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment are all notable examples of progenitors of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in the assessment of energy policies, programmes and projects. This chapter provides overview of policy tools which have been historically applied to assess the impacts of energy policies, programmes and projects. It focuses on the types of data and models that typically inform RIAs for energy policies; the organisations involved; and issues of data exchange between energy companies and policy-makers. Examples are derived from the European Commission, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and France. It is concluded that the technical and economic analysis underpinning RIAs on energy policy and regulation varies significantly depending on the type of organisation carrying them out.

Community participation in HIA: discords in teleology and terminology

Core HIA documents, researchers and practitioners assert the significance of community participation in health impact assessment. Despite the rhetoric, there has been little critical examination of the role of community participation in HIA. Knowledge and debate regarding what constitutes community participation and how it may best be achieved is often confused and opinion is divided as to its usefulness and appropriateness for HIA. This paper does not seek to argue the merits or drawbacks of community participation; rather, the authors explore the origins and character of the current discord around public participation in HIA and provide a lexicon for moving practice and discussion forward. The authors argue that the origins of the participation problem stem from: (1) unexplored tensions within the Gothenburg consensus paper and other formative documents in the development of HIA; (2) inherent tensions arising from the dual origins of HIA, specifically Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Healthy Public Policy (HPP); and (3) a lack of rigour and clarity relating to the terminology of community participation where community participation is used as a 'catch all' phrase for every situation without critical examination. In order to move debate forward, the authors advance a model, the Typology of Public Involvement in HIA, for guiding discussion of community participation. This model comprises a set of context-specific HIA approaches with varying degrees of public involvement. The model also presents a suite of defined terms for understanding and discussing participation.

Histological alterations in the Antarctic cod, Trematomus bernacchii from Davis Station, East Antarctica

During the summer season 2009/10, a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the sewage discharge was conducted at Davis Station in the Vestfold Hills region of East Antarctica. As part of this project, a survey of the histology of liver, gill, gonad and muscle tissues in the Antarctic rock cod Trematomus bernacchii from nearshore sites in the receiving environment close to Davis Station in was completed. Fish from 4 sites were examined; 1 site adjacent to the Davis Station sewage outfall (within 500 m of the point of discharge), 2 sites approximately 2 km from the outfall (Anchorage Island and Antennae farm), and 1 site approximately 10 km away from the outfall and adjacent to an Adelie penguin population (Kazak Island). All fish sampled from the sewage outfall site exhibited significant histological alterations in all major tissues. Fish from the other 3 sites showed some alterations in either gill and/or liver tissues. Pathological abnormalities present in all fish collected near the sewage outfall included: extensive multifocal cysts of unknown etiology with necrotic liquification; multifocal granuloma with associated inflammation; coagulative necrosis in the liver; and lamellar hyperplasia with associated proliferation and lamella fusion of the gills. Results of this work form part of a weight of evidence approach alongside ecological monitoring, chemical analysis, ecotoxicological testing and dispersal modelling of the discharge plume which is being used to inform and direct upgrades to the Australian Antarctic Divisions operations and current sewage discharge practises at Davis Station.

Direct evidence of histopathological impacts of wastewater discharge on resident Antarctic fish (Trematomus bernacchii) at Davis Station, East Antarctica.

During the 2009/2010 summer, a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the wastewater discharge at Davis Station, East Antarctica was completed. As part of this, histological alteration of gill and liver tissue in Antarctic Rock-cod (Trematomus bernacchii) from four sites along a spatial gradient from the wastewater outfall were assessed. All fish within 800 m of the outfall exhibited significant histological changes in both tissues. Common pathologies observed in fish closest to the outfall include proliferation of epithelial cells with associated secondary lamellar fusion in the gills and multifocal granulomata with inflammation and necrosis as well as cysts in the liver. Fish from sites >800 m from the outfall also exhibited alterations but to a lesser degree, with prevalence and severity decreasing with increasing distance from the outfall. This study highlights the value of histopathological investigations as part of EIAs and provides the first evidence of sub-lethal alteration associated with wastewater discharge in East Antarctica.

Análise de Sustentabilidade em Projetos de Instalações de Produção de Petróleo

A proposal for a global analysis of sustainability in projects related in oil facilities is presented. By considering economic, environmental and social aspects in the early stages of design, the suggested method is more comprehensive and can be used to complement the analysis commonly applied in the petroleum industry, such as: Study of Technical and Economic Feasibility; Environmental Impact Assessment and Risk Analysis. Several authors, associations, certification bodies and oil companies suggest different approaches to study sustainability in some specific activities (or industries). In this study, a checklist of significant sustainability aspects for the oil industry (surface facilities) was assembled. In addition, a matrix was developed to assess the sustainability items relevant to these projects. In this work, the checklist interacts with the matrix to perform a "Preliminary Analysis of Sustainability of the Enterprise" (APSE). This method allows the identification of aspects that contribute significantly to global sustainability. From this analysis, which includes economic, social and environmental aspects, is built a report that is used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the impact of the sustainability aspects of the project. In this analysis are identified items that strongly influence the economic, social or environmental aspects and evaluated alternatives that can increase the overall sustainability of the project. Finally, the alternatives that can be used to indicate the most sustainable option are identified. This method was applied in a project (design) of a small offshore platform. This case study shows how the APSE can contribute to the identification of sustainability initiatives for the enterprise. The results showed that relevant aspects can contribute decisively to global sustainability. Finally, it was observed that the proposed method can contribute to increased rates of sustainability, even after application of analysis commonly used in these projects

Integração de critérios técnicos, ambientais e sociais em estudos de alternativas locacionais para implantação de aterro sanitário

A Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente tem como objetivo a conciliação do desenvolvimento econômico e social com a qualidade ambiental, e dispõe de vários instrumentos que procuram contemplara capacidade de suporte do meio. Assim, a discussão sobre a localização das atividades é uma etapa importante para a avaliação da viabilidade ambiental de um determinado empreendimento, notadamente em processos de licenciamento ambiental. O trabalho apresenta uma abordagem metodológica para integração de critérios técnicos, ambientais e sociais em estudos de alternativas de localização de aterros sanitários, com especial atenção à interação entre os aspectos ambientais e os elementos fundamentais de um projeto (a saber, requisitos locacionais e concepção tecnológica), aplicado em um estudo de caso em São Carlos (SP). Como resultados principais, destacam-se o maior foco nos impactos significativos e a possibilidade de envolvimento de segmentos importantes da sociedade previamente à elaboração dos estudos ambientais.

O licenciamento ambiental da mineração no Quadrilátero Ferrífero de Minas Gerais: uma análise da implementação de medidas de controle ambiental formuladas em EIAs/RIMAs

Instrumento de política pública ligado ao licenciamento ambiental prévio de projetos de empreendimentos potencialmente degradadores do ambiente, a Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA), atualmente, apresenta algumas inconsistências. Dentre elas, autores registram a disparidade no que se refere à indicação e à efetiva implantação das medidas de controle ambiental estabelecidas nos EIA/RIMAs. Diante disso, o presente trabalho analisa a implantação das medidas mitigadoras estabelecidas para empreendimentos minerais licenciados pela Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente (FEAM) do Estado de Minas Gerais, para a região do Quadrilátero Ferrífero. No estudo, constata-se que intervenções ambientais são hoje partes integrantes dos projetos minerais; porém, como na mineração a operação impõe certo dinamismo ao empreendimento, verifica-se que parte das medidas mitigadoras apontadas no EIA acaba não sendo executada, como o previsto e o aprovado na fase da Licença Prévia (LP), enquanto outras apenas ficam listadas como propostas de mitigação de impactos, deixando de ser efetivamente executadas.

Foraging, diet and community structure in an epigaeic ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) assemblage: the role of recruitment

The significance of recruitment systems for community structure of epigaeic ants in a tropical upland forest in southern Brazil was evaluated by examining patterns of spatial occurrence at fixed points. Normal exploratory activity was evaluated with pitfall traps, while the effect of recruitment and diet was evaluated by using honey and sardine baits at the same points. Through techniques developed for environmental impact assessment, the significance of recruitment was evaluated following perturbation, or the placement of bait. Of the 46 species encountered, 15 were sufficiently frequent to study. Of these, only 6 showed significant spatial frequency changes at baits when compared with pitfall trap collections. In one analysis, monthly differences were important for a few smaller species, suggesting thermic limitations, while bait types either increased or decreased spatial point usage. The magnitude of spatial point variation is an index for the strength of recruitment in community organization. Bait types suggest nutritional possibilities of each species. Both recruitment and diet are probably functions of the species composition of the ant community.

Impactos do uso público EM atrativos turísticos naturais no município de AltinóPolis (SP)

This work was developed aiming to evaluate the environmental impacts of the public use in natural touristic attractive at Altinópolis city (SP), using the Visitor Impact Management method (VTM). In each analyzed natural resource a specific questionnaire was elaborated in accordance with the appropriate pointers that allowed to determinate environmental quality of each point. The results indicated that only two tourist areas need special attention for their preservation. Minimization methods, monitoring and educational practices are proposals in order to tourist practices be made with environmental responsibility.

Ecoeficiencia y desarrollo de infraestructura urbana sostenible en Asia y América Latina: revisión de las prácticas vigentes y los criterios utilizados para integrar aspectos ambientales y sociales en la infraestructura urbana de Chile, Colombia y México

Incluye bibliografía

Expenditures, investment and financing for sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago

Includes bibliography