published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Air pollution is a major environmental problem that poses numerous health risks to those exposed to it. The adverse health effects are compounded in a place as dense as Hong Kong and further intensified due to its proximity to industrial and manufacturing plants across the border in Mainland China. Hong Kong has attempted to address the issue of air pollution through the enactment of legislation and policies such as the 1983 Air Pollution Control Ordinance and Air Quality Objectives, but so far these measures have not proven to be particularly effective. The new Air Quality Objectives are not as stringent as claimed by the Environmental Protection Department, the legal system is limited in enforcing air pollution legislation, and the Air Pollution Control Ordinance itself is flawed at best and requires urgent attention. An examination of the air pollution legislation and policies of overseas jurisdictions such as Ontario, California, and Tokyo show that these regions have made significant progress in addressing air pollution by prioritizing public health and utilizing a variety of measures to reduce air pollution. Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act gives the Ministry of the Environment numerous ways to deal with polluters and the Environmental Bill of Rights helps facilitate public participation in environmental decision-making by granting the public the right to apply for an investigation or review of existing legislation and policies. California’s Air Resources Board has been commended for enacting air pollution regulations that are more stringent than national standards and many states have adopted the Golden State’s standards as their own. In Japan, government, corporate, and public responsibilities for reducing air pollution and protecting the environmental are outlined in the Basic Environmental Law. Legislation providing compensation to victims of pollution as well as the use of a Total Mass Emissions Control system has helped the country achieve an extraordinary rate of compliance with national air quality standards. By studying, modifying and applying air pollution control legislation and policies being used in the three jurisdictions to its own Air Pollution Control Ordinance and air pollution control management as a whole, Hong Kong can be better prepared to protect public health and it’s environment in the future. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

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The Constitution of South Africa I, (the Constitution) envisages in the Bill of Rights that: Everyone has the right -(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and (b) to have the environment protected. for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; II. promote conservation; and III. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promolingjuslifiable economic and social development.3 There are other statutes that support the Constitution. for example, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).4 This Act states in its preamble that : " Whereas many inhabitants of South Africa live in an environment that is not harmful to their health and well being everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or well being; and everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and futu re generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation ... Both the Constitution and NEMA are not only concerned with the environment but also with the health and well·being of South Africans. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined health, as ' more than the absence of disease and infirmity, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.' Environmental health in broad term is concerned with factors in the environment associated with health, well-being and disease, including physical, chemical and biological conditions. / Thesis (LL.M)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

Ann F. Friedlaender, editor. / Includes index.

Air pollution, health and poverty convey overtones of moral dereliction of our people by the confederacy of perpetrators. It is true that a cocktail of chemical emissions pollute the Durban South area and the residents paying an enormous price to survive. With poverty abound, the people feel disenfranchised as their plea for a better environment fails to improve their standing. This short treatise looks at the role of people and the business as one part and the inclusion of the government on the other part. A comparison of covert techniques and manipulations used by business to circumvent the system. Legislation although adequate but lacking enforcement together with legal remedies as a way to stop this incursion to our Constitutional right. A paradigm shift to sustainability in exploring the many facets of invaluable 'practical solutions' to save and sustain our existence and our intergenerational society. The government authorities saddled with internal strife and the under-funded NGOs who are buoyed by media support still prove ineffective. The conglomerates with all their abundant resources covertly or otherwise propagate their maliciousness unchecked. The enforcement authorities, the judicial officers, the NGOs and the people must work harmously to stem this unacceptable moral degradation before it reaches abysmal proportions. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 361-380. / by Andrew Schiffrin. / M.C.P.

Attention has been drawn to the observation that environmental benefits under the current regulatory approaches are diminishing with respect to increased pollution control costs. Regulators have begun to appreciate that while environmental gains can still be achieved under the current command and control system, the most significant environmental gains have already been made, and an alternative regulatory approach might be warranted for continued environmental improvement. This study found that regulatory initiatives that seek to address business incentives and disincentives may yield better environmental outcomes. Internal characteristics such as corporate environmental directives, waste audit and environmental performance tracking systems and linkage of compensation to environmental performance are evident in firms that have attempted to adapt to regulatory pressures. These characteristics, according to organizational models, are posited to improve the environmental performance of firms as environmental issues are linked to key business decisions. This study was conducted by surveying firms in the forest products industry. Certain firms were found to exhibit specific internal characteristics indicative of good environmental performance. The study attempts to identify the implication this finding has on regulators in terms of policy design and implementation. The study suggests that the optimum regulatory strategy is a hybrid of a command and control approach and a market-based approach which blends the compliance assurance of the command and control approach to address motivating firm behavior with the flexibility of the market-based approach to provide firms incentives to improve environmental performance. The study concludes that the value of such a hybrid approach which attempts to address firm incentives and disincentives related to their environmental practices will result in improved environmental performance. / Graduation date: 1998

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