A multi-integrative approach was used to identify spatial and temporal relationships of natural and anthropogenic environmental variables affecting riverine ecosystem structure and function in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR). A series of inter-related field studies were conducted to assess three key components of the freshwater food web (physico-chemical environment, basal productivity, benthic macroinvertebrates) utilizing an a priori environmental disturbance gradient experimental design. The gradient design was formulated to best discriminate the possible effects of natural and anthropogenic environmental variables on two river basins (Steepbank and Ells Rivers) each having different levels of oil sands (OS) land use disturbance. Findings from this study showed that natural variation explained most longitudinal and seasonal responses of physico-chemical environmental variables for both rivers, including possible mechanisms such as physical and chemical effects from the OS geological deposit and inputs from shallow groundwater upwelling. Basal productivity was likely controlled by natural variables within the Steepbank and Ells Rivers, such as potential OS deposit effects, nutrient availability and influences from turbidity and physical factors, with disturbance from OS development either negligible or not detected. Longitudinal and seasonal differences in benthic macroinvertebrate community composition were mostly related to natural variation, including possible mechanisms such as high discharge and sediment slump events on the Steepbank River, and community shifts from elevated metal concentrations from natural sources at upstream sites on the Ells River. This study demonstrated that developing baseline information on watersheds can be essential at discriminating sources of disturbance, with natural variation potentially confounding with anthropogenic factors. This study also highlights the need for further research to obtain an improved understanding of mechanistic pathways to better determine natural and anthropogenic non-point source disturbances and cumulative effects on the structure and function of tributary ecosystems in the AOSR at relevant spatial and temporal scales. / Graduate / 0329 / clsuzann@uvic.ca

Includes bibliographical references (leaves [268]-285) / xiv, 285, [85] leaves : ill. (some folded), maps (col., folded) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2002

Streams and rivers are examples of vital ecosystems that frequently undergo various environmental and anthropogenic stresses. A core question in population ecology is whether a given population will persist under changing ecological conditions. This thesis consists of three papers and is devoted to the mathematical analysis of responses of river-dwelling species to population persistence threats. The first paper presents a stochastic approach to the 'drift paradox' problem, where the classical reaction-advection-diffusion model is replaced by a birth-death-emigration process. We explore the effects of temporally varying flow on the persistence probability and highlight the importance of the benthic stage for the persistence of stream organisms. The second paper addresses the problem of river network fragmentation through disconnecting structures such as dams. We construct a population matrix model that incorporates the spatial structure of the studied river network and compare structural connectivity to an indicator of population persistence. The third paper adapts the same basic matrix model to examine fish response to disturbances travelling downstream from upstream sites. The study of these three aspects of persistence challenges for river populations contributes to the cumulative effects assessment on river networks.

The public lands of the United States administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are used for multiple purposes, like conservation, recreation, grazing, mining, logging, and oil and gas development. Many of these activities have the potential to disturb the surface of the landscape, which can negatively impact scenic values. While the BLM has a system for managing visual resources and mitigating the potential impacts of development on visual quality, it does not adequately consider cumulative visual effects, which are the combined impacts of the same type of activity on the environment over space and time. This paper studies the challenges and opportunities faced by managers of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwestern Colorado, a landscape particularly affected by oil and gas development, at measuring and managing cumulative visual effects. This paper also reviews the results of a series of interviews conducted with experts in the field of cumulative visual effects and of a visual preference survey that highlight the strengths and limitations of existing methods for assessing cumulative visual effects. This research paper concludes with a list of recommendations for the BLM to incorporate cumulative visual effects into its existing visual resource management system and details directions for future research on this subject.

Synen på negativ miljöpåverkan har stärkt miljölagstiftning under de senaste decennierna i Sverige och internationellt. Människor vill leva bättre och längre liv med högre livskvalité än någonsin och miljöpåverkan kan vara ett stort hinder. I Sverige är miljöbalken försvaret för att förhindra negativ miljöpåverkan och samtidigt stärka en ekonomiskt tillväxt i förhållande till miljön. Där det lagstiftning inom Sverige som beskriver kumulativa effekter och europeisk lagstiftning kräver beskrivning av dessa effekter. Denna studie analyserar hur olika miljökonsekvensbeskrivningar beskriver och hanterar kumulativa effekter.  Den valda metoden är tematisk innehållsanalys för att analysera tre olika miljökonsekvensbeskrivningar med ett teoretiskt ramverk som består av path dependecy och politisk ekologi. Resultatet visar att samtliga dokument enbart indirekt beskriver kumulativa effekter. Kumulativa effekter beskrivs vanligtvis inte i miljökonsekvensbeskrivningarna emellertid finns det flera bilagor som kan hantera kumulativa effekter även det inte är sannolikt. Resultatet visar på att det saknas stora beskrivning och hantering av de kumulativa effekter och andra prioriteringar ligger först till hands på grund av olika orsaker som framför i resultatet, resultatdiskussion och slutligen i slutsatsen.   Nyckelord: Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, Miljöbedömning, Kumulativa effekter, Path dependency / The view of negative environmental impact has strengthened environmental legislation in recent decades in Sweden and internationally. People want to live better and longer lives with a better quality of life than ever before, but negative environmental impacts can be a major obstacle. In Sweden, the Environmental Code is the defense to reduce negative environmental impacts and at the same time strengthen economic growth in relation to the environment. The Swedish legislation describes cumulative effects and European legislation requires a description of these effects. This study analyzes how different environmental impact statements describe and manage cumulative effects. The chosen method is thematic content analysis to analyze three different environmental impact statements with a theoretical framework consisting of path dependency and political ecology. The result shows that all documents only indirectly describe cumulative effects. While cumulative effects are often not described in the environmental impact statements, however, they could be addressed in the several appendices. However, this is not very likely. The result shows that there is a lack of description and management of the cumulative effects. Other things are prioritized over cumulative effects because of various reasons as presented in the result, result discussion and finally in the conclusion.

A avaliação de efeitos cumulativos e sinérgicos constitui um elemento essencial à boa prática da Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA), no sentido do fortalecimento do processo de tomada de decisão e integração de aspectos ambientais no planejamento das atividades econômicas, mas a despeito da sua importância, a cumulatividade dos impactos é vista como um elemento que aumenta a complexidade do processo de AIA. Uma perspectiva promissora para a integração dos efeitos ambientais cumulativos no processo de AIA tem sido contemplada a partir inclusão da gestão dos impactos ao ciclo de avaliação de efeitos cumulativos, representada neste caso pela abordagem da Avaliação e Gestão de Efeitos Cumulativos (AGEC). Tendo em vista as limitações apontadas para o Brasil em relação à avaliação de efeitos cumulativos, considera-se relevante verificar em que medida a experiência consolidada de AGEC no contexto internacional poderia contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento da AIA no país. Deste modo, o presente trabalho é voltado para a identificação de boas práticas em AGEC no contexto brasileiro, valendo-se do estudo do caso da Coordenação Geral de Petróleo e Gás (CGPEG) do Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA), responsável pelos processos de licenciamento ambiental de sistemas de produção de petróleo e gás no país. Por meio de uma abordagem metodológica baseada na triangulação entre literatura, documentação, e entrevistas junto ao corpo técnico do órgão ambiental, foram identificadas oportunidades e dificuldades para a aplicação de AGEC no âmbito de atuação da CGPEG. Os resultados indicam que a prática da AGEC encontra-se em fase inicial de desenvolvimento, com a identificação de algumas evidências de boas práticas devidamente internalizadas pelo órgão ambiental, como a abordagem regionalizada e a utilização de metodologia semelhante às práticas internacionais identificadas. Nota-se também o esforço da CGPEG em promover uma atuação mais eficiente e integradora, exigindo programas regionalizados com visão sistêmica, o que leva a ganhos de longo prazo nas atividades de avaliação do corpo técnico. Como destaque está a prática inovadora do Projeto de Avaliação de Impactos Cumulativos (PAIC) no licenciamento da produção de petróleo da camada pré-sal da bacia de Santos, como referência para o órgão, em que houve contribuições significativas por parte de stakeholders mobilizados em espaços de acompanhamento da instalação da cadeia petrolífera na região e resolução de conflitos, o que sugere um quadro promissor para investimentos em sua estruturação e na capacitação de seu corpo técnico e gerencial, com vistas ao aprimoramento da atuação orientada para os efeitos cumulativos. / The evaluation of cumulative and synergistic effects consists in an essential element for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) good practices, in the sense that it enhances the decision-making process and environmental aspects integration in development planning. Despite its importance, impact accumulation is seen as adding complexity to EIA process. A promising perspective to integrate cumulative environmental effects on EIA process starts at implementing management to cumulative assessments, in this case represented by Cumulative Environmental Assessment and Management (CEAM) approach. Also recognizing Brazil\'s limitation to implement cumulative effects assessment, it is relevant to verify at which extent internationally recognized CEAM practices can improve the country EIA process. Therefore, the present study aims to identify CEAM good practices on Brazilian context, using a federal agency responsible for oil and gas environmental licensing, the \"Coordenadoria Geral de Petróleo e Gás\" (CGPEG/IBAMA). Using triangulation of methods, starting by literature review on good practices, documents and norms content analysis and semistructured interviews with CGPEG technicians, opportunities and difficulties for CEAM implementation were identified for agency performance. Results shows CEAM practices still in its early stages of development, with good practices adoption evidences for the agency, striving forth cumulative effects performance improvement. Also, CGPEG singular functional structure promotes long therm benefits for technical analysis, such as demanding a more integrated and regional approach in environmental monitoring programs. A innovative practice is the cumulative impacts assessment project demanded at the environmental licensing for Santos\' basin pre-salt layer oil and gas production, or \"Projeto de Avaliação de Impactos Cumulativos\" (PAIC), a \"reccomended administrative process\", seen as a orientative material for oil and gas future projects. The PAIC development context had important stakeholder contribuitions on public particiapion processes, such as follow-up foruns for community discussion over oil industries installation at São Paulo\'s North Coast.

A avaliação de efeitos cumulativos e sinérgicos constitui um elemento essencial à boa prática da Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA), no sentido do fortalecimento do processo de tomada de decisão e integração de aspectos ambientais no planejamento das atividades econômicas, mas a despeito da sua importância, a cumulatividade dos impactos é vista como um elemento que aumenta a complexidade do processo de AIA. Uma perspectiva promissora para a integração dos efeitos ambientais cumulativos no processo de AIA tem sido contemplada a partir inclusão da gestão dos impactos ao ciclo de avaliação de efeitos cumulativos, representada neste caso pela abordagem da Avaliação e Gestão de Efeitos Cumulativos (AGEC). Tendo em vista as limitações apontadas para o Brasil em relação à avaliação de efeitos cumulativos, considera-se relevante verificar em que medida a experiência consolidada de AGEC no contexto internacional poderia contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento da AIA no país. Deste modo, o presente trabalho é voltado para a identificação de boas práticas em AGEC no contexto brasileiro, valendo-se do estudo do caso da Coordenação Geral de Petróleo e Gás (CGPEG) do Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA), responsável pelos processos de licenciamento ambiental de sistemas de produção de petróleo e gás no país. Por meio de uma abordagem metodológica baseada na triangulação entre literatura, documentação, e entrevistas junto ao corpo técnico do órgão ambiental, foram identificadas oportunidades e dificuldades para a aplicação de AGEC no âmbito de atuação da CGPEG. Os resultados indicam que a prática da AGEC encontra-se em fase inicial de desenvolvimento, com a identificação de algumas evidências de boas práticas devidamente internalizadas pelo órgão ambiental, como a abordagem regionalizada e a utilização de metodologia semelhante às práticas internacionais identificadas. Nota-se também o esforço da CGPEG em promover uma atuação mais eficiente e integradora, exigindo programas regionalizados com visão sistêmica, o que leva a ganhos de longo prazo nas atividades de avaliação do corpo técnico. Como destaque está a prática inovadora do Projeto de Avaliação de Impactos Cumulativos (PAIC) no licenciamento da produção de petróleo da camada pré-sal da bacia de Santos, como referência para o órgão, em que houve contribuições significativas por parte de stakeholders mobilizados em espaços de acompanhamento da instalação da cadeia petrolífera na região e resolução de conflitos, o que sugere um quadro promissor para investimentos em sua estruturação e na capacitação de seu corpo técnico e gerencial, com vistas ao aprimoramento da atuação orientada para os efeitos cumulativos. / The evaluation of cumulative and synergistic effects consists in an essential element for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) good practices, in the sense that it enhances the decision-making process and environmental aspects integration in development planning. Despite its importance, impact accumulation is seen as adding complexity to EIA process. A promising perspective to integrate cumulative environmental effects on EIA process starts at implementing management to cumulative assessments, in this case represented by Cumulative Environmental Assessment and Management (CEAM) approach. Also recognizing Brazil\'s limitation to implement cumulative effects assessment, it is relevant to verify at which extent internationally recognized CEAM practices can improve the country EIA process. Therefore, the present study aims to identify CEAM good practices on Brazilian context, using a federal agency responsible for oil and gas environmental licensing, the \"Coordenadoria Geral de Petróleo e Gás\" (CGPEG/IBAMA). Using triangulation of methods, starting by literature review on good practices, documents and norms content analysis and semistructured interviews with CGPEG technicians, opportunities and difficulties for CEAM implementation were identified for agency performance. Results shows CEAM practices still in its early stages of development, with good practices adoption evidences for the agency, striving forth cumulative effects performance improvement. Also, CGPEG singular functional structure promotes long therm benefits for technical analysis, such as demanding a more integrated and regional approach in environmental monitoring programs. A innovative practice is the cumulative impacts assessment project demanded at the environmental licensing for Santos\' basin pre-salt layer oil and gas production, or \"Projeto de Avaliação de Impactos Cumulativos\" (PAIC), a \"reccomended administrative process\", seen as a orientative material for oil and gas future projects. The PAIC development context had important stakeholder contribuitions on public particiapion processes, such as follow-up foruns for community discussion over oil industries installation at São Paulo\'s North Coast.

No description available.

People living in the north have been and will continue to be affected by increasing exploration and exploitation of the region's natural resources. To understand the human impacts a qualitative approach and sense of place, place attachment, and disruption in place theories were used to analyze the experiences of young Aboriginal adults in a Dene Tha' community in northwestern Alberta. The major finding of this study was that the young people developed deep attachments to their place; however, environmental, social, and cultural changes have altered life here and as a consequence many of the young people no longer want to remain living in their community. The results suggest that the Dene Tha' are being gradually displaced and their homeland is becoming increasingly unable to sustain them or their culture. The findings also indicate that gradual environmental deterioration can lead to profound social and cultural changes that should be considered before land use decisions are made. / Rural Sociology