IntroductionLao People Democratic Republic (Lao PDR / Laos) has a population of 5.8 million people and is today one of the least developed countries in Asia. That Luang Marsh (TLM) is the largest remaining urban wetland (2000 hectare) in Vientiane Capital, which historically has supplied wildlife and local people with several eco-services. Some important functions are wastewater treatment, flood control (water storage), and several agricultural and aquacultural services. Due to the flat landscape and the low permeability in soil, the area becomes naturally flooded during the wet season when the water level in the Mekong River is high. All storm water in Vientiane is drained through TLM. There have been several projects in Vientiane aimed to solve the drainage and sanitarian situation. However, the problems have still not been completely solved today. Aim and objectives This Master of Science thesis aims at providing a prestudy for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which may be used for creating a full-scale SEA in the future. The main objectives that will be analyzed are: Wastewater treatment in Vientiane. The environmental impact caused by human activity and how it can be reduced in TLM / Vientiane / Mekong River. Sustainable development in Vientiane. The need of SEA in TLM. Flood control in Vientiane. • Agriculture and aquaculture in Vientiane. The WATER Project and New Town Development Project. Socioeconomic overview of Laos / Vientiane. Methodology This thesis is a collaboration between the Swedish university KTH and the Thai university AIT. The student (author of this report) was linked to Dr. Shipin, co-advisor at AIT through Dr. Frostell, supervisor at KTH, and Dr. Berg. A field study was made from October 2008 - December 2008 in Vientiane Capital, Laos. The student has collected information from NGOs, institutions, departments, laboratories, libraries, local people, and Internet in the form of hardcopy literature, electronic documents, e-mail contacts, and interviews. During two days the student had the favour to join a team sent out by WWF for collecting water samples around the marsh. The team consisted of representatives from WWF and the three districts that surround That Luang Marsh. Strategic Environmental Assessment The main purpose of a SEA is to support sustainable decision-making processes in an area. Except from environmental aspects, the SEA also considers socioeconomical aspects. SEAs may differ in terminology and practice between countries and organisations but do usually include stages like preliminary scan, conduction of SEA, preparation of the report, implementation of SEA in PPP (policy, plans, or programmes), and review of the implementation. This report gives a short briefing about how SEAs are produced by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) and according to the European Directive. The European Directive is the standard SEA for several European countries. The report does also present the project oriented EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Wetland valuation Wetlands may be valuated in different ways. This report explains one method where the valuation is separated into: DUV (Direct Use Value), IUV (Indirect Use Value), OV (Option Value), and NUV (Non Use Value). These are added to TEV (Total Economical Value). WATER Project The WATER project is a response to the environmental and socioeconomical problems that have occurred in Vientiane. Several past projects have been less successful, which have resulted in adverse impact on the society and the ecosystem. The WATER project tries to highlight the wetland values and convince authorities to use CWs (Constructed Wetlands) instead of conventional wastewater treatment plants for treating wastewater. This project will first do five pilot studies in Vientiane. Three will be used for treating domestic wastewater and two for industrial. The project is a part of the Wetland Alliance Programme. Main partners during the project are the government of Lao PDR, WWF Laos, WWF Germany, Wild Fowl & Wetland Trust (WWT). Other involved partners are CORIN, AIT, WFC, CIDA, and Sida. It seems that the authorities will allocate 22 hectares for constructing a CW that will purify Vientiane’s most polluted urban water canal Hong Ke. The WATER Project recommends that even Hong Xeng is included which totally requires 61 hectare CW area. New Town Development Project The New Town Development is a collaboration between the Lao and Chinese government. The plan is to develop the city so it attracts more foreign and domestic investors. 1000 hectares low valued land will be developed for business and 200 hectare will be used for creating an artificial lake aimed for compensating lost wetland area. As a part of the negotiations, the Chinese has already constructed a stadium that was used during the SEA Games 2009. 670 hectare will be developed in TLM, 100 hectare in Dongphosy Forest, and 430 hectare close to the new stadium. The Chinese investors will lease the developed land for 50 years. This may be used for business. When the project period is over, the Lao government have the right to reclaim all developed land without compensation. The Chinese Suzhou City stands as model for the development project in Vientiane. The estimated cost of the project is USD 800-1000 million. Discussion and conclusions Choosing SEA, CEA (Cumulative Effect Assessment), or another strategic assessment method should not be the main issue. As long as the method contributes to a strategic sustainable development and is internationally accepted it may be used for PPPs. The main issue of SEA is not to create a report, but convincing authorities about the importance of sustainable decision-making processes. Factors that may inhibit a sustainable development in Laos are low education, corruption, and greedy investors that devastate the environment for own profit. The laws are in several cases enough but due to the lack of a judicial organization and economical funding the legislative system becomes inefficient. It is difficult to valuate wetlands. The greatest challenge is to valuate OVs and NUVs. OVs are difficult because they are just options. NUVs are based on a subjective estimation because these consider cultural and aesthetical values. A problem with the New Town Development Project is that some vulnerable groups that live in TLM will be forced to live in a resettlement area. These people may have difficulties to adapt to the new environment. It is important that the authorities work extra hard with helping project affected people. Wetland degradation is probably a result of i) intense water pollution (wastewater from households and industries), ii) physical destruction (housing, filling, and artificial drainage), iii) overuse of wetland VI resources, iv) invasions or invitations of new species (golden apple snail). In theory, wetlands may be replaced with modern technology for protecting the city against flooding. One way is to build a cement layer in Houay Mak Hiao River for increasing the drainage capacity. However, because the country has very small economical margins and the hydrological situation is not completely investigated, this could be treated as a risk project. Another problem is that the wastewater capacity will reduce and the biodiversity in the river will be lost. The loss of wastewater treatment needs to be compensated with modern technology. Something needs to be done for increasing the sanitarian situation in Vientiane. This report has compared the benefits of using conventional wastewater treatment plants and CWs. Probably the most reasonable solution is to use a CW for treating the wastewater in Hong Ke while the new centre in TLM uses a conventional wastewater treatment plant. This is an optimal solution because a conventional wastewater treatment plant for treating the water in Hong Ke would require a completely new sewage system, which could become very expensive. Maintaining a conventional wastewater treatment plant is also expensive and requires special trained staff. An easier alternative would be to use CWs for the old part of Vientiane. Because the new centre will be built in a modern style with new infrastructure this part of Vientiane could treat wastewater conventionally. Building a conventional wastewater treatment plant would also save some high-valuated land. Conventional Wastewater TreatmentAdvancedStandardizedQuick turnover timeRequire small spaceCould be more sanitarianProcesses better evaluated Constructed WetlandLong lifetimeEffective in warm climatesNo chemical inputEasy to maintainLow sludge productionAestheticalLess need to change infrastructureLow running cost (flat topography) The author will not decide if Vientiane should develop into a top modern city or remain as a small sized capital as it is today. However, today the situation is unsustainable and something needs to be done. Better organization and planning is necessary for not repeating mistakes that were made during past projects. All decisions have to be based on a non-corruptive process and sustainable thinking. Integrating an environmental and socioeconomical strategy into the future of Vientiane should be of interest for all Laotians. Vientiane is the economical centre of Laos and an increased discharge of polluted water into the Mekong would increase the stress of the important river. A collapse of the biodiversity in the Mekong would strike hard on Laos’ fishing industry and economy. Decisions made today will surely more or less affect people at local, regional, national, and international level in the future. / Inledning Mänsklig aktivitet har på vissa håll resulterat i en allvarlig miljöpåverkan. Laos har en befolkningsmängd på 5,8 miljoner invånare och räknas idag som ett av Asiens minst utvecklade länder. That Luang Marsh (TLM) är huvudstaden Vientianes största urbana våtmarksområde (2000 hektar). Våtmarksområdet bjuder på flertalet ekologiska tjänster som under historiens lopp gynnat både människor och djur. Några av dessa är naturlig vattenrening och översvämningsskydd (vattenlager). Våtmarken bidrar till ett rikt jordbruk och akvakultur. Under regnperioden stiger vattennivån i Mekongfloden så att området naturligt svämmas över. Dräneringen av Vientiane försvåras eftersom landskapet är platt och permeabiliteten i jorden är låg. Huvudsakligen flödar vattnet ut via TLM och floden Houay Mak Hiao innan det når Mekongfloden. Flertalet projekt har försökt effektivisera Vientianes dräneringseffektivitet och minska de sanitära problemen. Dock finns det en hel del kvar att göra. Syften och mål Detta examensarbete är en förstudie till en Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Förstudien skulle kunna utnyttjas till uppbyggandet av en komplett SEA. Huvudområden som undersöks i denna rapport är: Vattenreningen i Vientiane. Den mänskliga miljöpåverkan och hur denna kan lindras i TLM / Vientiane / Mekongfloden. Hållbar utveckling i Vientiane. Behovet av SEA i TLM. Översvämningsskydd i Vientiane. Jordbruk och akvakultur i Vientiane. Projekten WATER Project och New Town Development Project. En socioekonomisk översikt för Laos /Vientiane. Metod Projektet är ett samarbete mellan det svenska universitet KTH och det thailändska universitet AIT. Författaren till denna rapport, Fredrik Olsson är mastersstudent på KTH och har genomfört och utvecklat projektet tillsammans med handledaren Dr. Frostell, KTH och bihandledaren Dr. Shipin, AIT. Även Dr. Berg har haft en viktig roll i utvecklandet och det praktiska genomförandet av projektet. Oktober 2008 – december 2008 genomfördes fältstudier i Vientiane, Laos. Fakta till rapporten inhämtades främst från NGOs (Non- Governmental Organizations), institutioner, laboratorier, bibliotek, lokalbefolkning och internet. Detta skedde i form av tryckta papper/avhandlingar, elektroniska dokument, e-mail kontakter samt intervjuer. Under två dagar genomfördes fältstudier i TLM i samarbete med WWF. Syftet var att mäta vattenkvaliteten i våtmarken på ett antal förutbestämda platser. Gruppen bestod av en representant från WWF samt representanter från de tre distrikt som delar TLM. Strategic Environmental Assessment (Strategisk Miljöbedömning) Syftet med en SEA är att skapa hållbarhet i myndigheters beslutsprocesser. SEA integrerar både miljö och socioekonomiska aspekter i samma studie där målet är att sträva mot en hållbar utveckling. Olika SEA kan skilja sig i utformningen beroende på vilken handledning som används. Dock är dessa skillnader små och inträffar oftast i form av annorlunda terminologi och utförande. Normalt ingår moment som preliminär undersökning, genomförande av SEA, förberedelse av rapport, implementering av SEA i PPP (Policy, Plan och Program) samt utvärdering av implementeringen. Den här rapporten redovisar ytligt hur VIII en SEA genomförs enligt CIDA-modellen (Canadian International Development Agency) och enligt Europeiska Direktivet. Den senare handledningen används som standard i flertalet europeiska länder. Denna rapport kommer även att redovisa grunderna i EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). Värdering av våtmarker Det finns ett antal olika sätt att värdera våtmarker. Ett sätt som redovisas i rapporten är att separera värderingsområdena till DUV (Direct Use Value), IUV (Indirect Use Value), OV (Option Value), och NUV (Non Use Value). Dessa summeras sedan till TEV (Total Economic Value). DUV beskriver de direkt synliga värdena av att bevara en våtmark, IUV de värden som är indirekta, OV de värden som kan vara möjliga i framtiden, NUV de värden som inte kan bedömas ur ett ekonomiskt och TEV våtmarkens sammanlagda värde. WATER Project Detta projekt är ett svar på de sanitära och ekologiska problemen som förekommer i Vientiane. Flertalet projekt har varit mindre framgångsrika vilket påverkat både samhället och ekosystemet negativt. För att råda bot på de sanitära problemen pågår för närvarande ett försök att informera myndigheterna om fördelarna med att bygga konstruerade våtmarker. Dessa skulle kunna vara ett alternativ till konventionella reningsverk. För att bevisa våtmarkernas effektivitet planeras nu byggandet av fem pilotanläggningar i Vientiane. Tre kommer användas för att rena kommunalt avloppsvatten medan två är avsedda för industriellt bruk. Projektet är en del av Wetland Alliance Programme. Samarbetspartners för WATER Project är laotiska staten, WWF Laos, WWF Tyskland och Wild Fowl & Wetland Trust (WWT), CORIN, AIT, WFC, CIDA och Sida. Indikationer tyder på att konstruerade våtmarker (22 hektar) kommer att byggas för rening av vattnet i dräneringskanalen Hong Ke. Detta är Vientianes mest förorenade kanal. Dock önskar WATER Project att totalt 61 hektar avsätts så att även kanalen Hong Xeng kan renas. New Town Development Project Projektet är ett samarbete mellan den laotiska och kinesiska staten. Planen är att ett omfattande utvecklingsprojekt ska locka flera utländska och inhemska investerare till Vientiane. Totalt kommer 1000 hektar lågt värderad mark att kommersialiseras. Ytterligare 200 hektar kommer att användas till byggandet av en konstgjord sjö som kompenserar för förlorad våtmarksyta. Kineserna har i gengäld lovat att bygga en sportarena för SEA Games 2009. 670 hektar kommer exploateras i TLM, 430 hektar i närheten av den nya sportarenan och 100 hektar i Dongphosy skogen. Kinesiska investerare kommer att arrendera marken under 50 år. Under denna period kan investerarna fritt göra affärer och har rätt att sälja marken till vem de vill. När 50 år har passerat har den laotiska staten rätt att ta tillbaka den arrenderade marken utan kompensation. Som modell för utvecklingsprojektet står kinesiska Suzhou City. Projektet beräknas kosta 800-1000 miljoner amerikanska dollar. Diskussion och slutsats Det spelar ingen större roll vilken metod som används för att nå en hållbar utveckling om den har någon form av internationell acceptans, är strategisk och tar hänsyn till att integrera både miljö och socioekonomiska frågor i samma studie. SEA och CEA (Cumulative Effect Assessment) är endast några alternativ. Målet med en SEA är först och främst inte avsedd för att skapa en rapport utan snarare hållbarhet i beslutsprocesser på PPP-nivå. Faktorer som motverkar hållbar utveckling i Laos är bland annat korruption, dålig utbildning och giriga investerare som maximerar sina ekonomiska vinster på miljön och samhällets bekostnad. Det är svårt att värdera OV eftersom denna parameter endast tar hänsyn till möjliga framtida värden. Samtidigt är NUV näst intill omöjligt att värdera eftersom denna parameter värderar kulturella och etiska värden. Värderingen av NUV blir då en subjektiv bedömning. Under New Town Development Project kommer flertalet människor i TLM tvingas flytta till en mer urban miljö. Dessa grupper är ofta speciellt sårbara eftersom de har bristfällig kunskap om urbana arbeten. Det är extra viktigt att myndigheterna följer upp dessa människor så att deras lidande minimeras. Förstörelsen av våtmarker beror troligtvis på i) stor tillförsel av vattenföroreningar (kommunalt och industriellt avloppsvatten), ii) fysisk destruktion (husbyggen, utfyllnad och konstgjorda dräneringssystem), iii) överutnyttjande av våtmarksresurser samt iv) invasioner och införanden av främmande arter som till exempel ”golden apple snail”. Teoretiskt skulle det vara möjligt att ersätta våtmarker med moderna tekniska lösningar för att undvika översvämningar. En lösning skulle vara att floden Houay Mak Hiao beläggs med ett cementlager för att öka vattenflödet ut från Vientiane. Dock har landet mycket svårt att finansiera denna typ av projekt och efterkommande underhåll på grund av små ekonomiska marginaler i statens budget. Det är heller inte helt kartlagt hur hydrologin i området fungerar. Ett annat problem med denna typ av lösning är att Houay Mak Hiaos vattenreningskapacitet och biodiversitet går förlorad. Om projektet genomförs måste vattenrening ske på annat sätt. Den här rapporten har försökt jämföra fördelarna med att använda konstruerade våtmarker (CW) istället för traditionella vattenreningstekniker. Att använda CW för att rena vattenmassorna i Hong Ke (avloppsvatten från gamla Vientiane) är nog det enklaste och billigaste alternativet medan den nya stadsdelen i mitten av TLM skulle kunna utrustas med ett konventionellt reningsverk. Detta eftersom de utländska stadsutvecklarna antagligen kommer ha tillräckligt med medel och kunskap för att stödja modern vattenreningsteknik som rymmer inom New Town Development Project. Infrastrukturen för att använda konventionella reningsverk är inte tillräckligt utvecklad i resterande Vientiane så att bygga ett konventionellt reningsverk i dessa delar av staden kan bli kostsamt. Dock blir situationen en annan i den nya stadsdelen eftersom denna byggs upp från grunden. Eftersom marken beräknas få ett avsevärt högre marknadsvärde kommer antagligen modern reningsteknik spara en del yta. Fördelar med konventionella reningstekniker är att dessa allmänt är mer avancerade, standardiserade, har en snabb omsättningstid på avloppsvattnet, är mindre platskrävande och processerna i dessa verk är bättre kartlagda. Däremot kan CWanläggningar användas under en längre tidsperiod, de har en hög effektivitet i varma klimat, har låg slamproduktion, kräver mycket små tillsatser av kemikalier, är enkla att underhålla, är mer estetiska, kräver enklare infrastruktur och har en låg driftskostnad. Författaren till denna rapport kan inte avgöra om det bästa för staden är att utvecklas till ett modernt urbant komplex. Dock är den nuvarande situationen ohållbar och därför bör någon form av åtgärder vidtas. Om organisationen och planering inom och mellan projekt förbättras minskar risken för misslyckade projekt. Det är viktigt att alla beslut som fattas grundas på ett korruptionsfritt hållbarhetstänkande. Om Vientiane strävar mot att ta ett större ansvar för miljö och socioekonomi så kommer landet som helhet att gynnas, eftersom huvudstaden är motorn i Laos ekonomi. Ett ökat okontrollerat utsläpp av vattenföroreningar från Vientiane kommer att öka belastningen på Mekongfloden. En biodiversitetskollaps i Mekongfloden skulle få allvarliga konsekvenser för landets fiske och ekonomi. De beslut som fattas idag kommer i framtiden att mer eller mindre påverka människor på ett lokalt, regionalt, nationellt och internationellt plan.

Since the discovery of oil in Nigeria, way back in 1950s, the country has invariably suffered some negative environmental consequences such as oil pollution resulting from gas flaring and oil extraction, loss of mangrove trees, which before now was a source of livelihood for the indigenous people and habitat for the area’s biodiversity. Oil production activities have caused contamination of marine life, and habitat, which in turn have had negative consequences on the health of humans, who consume the sea food. Inadequate attention had been paid by the successive Governments of Nigeria and the oil companies to these environmental problems over the years. In this study, an assessment of the effects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation on the nearby communities in some of Chevron’s operational areas was carried out using the Ugborodo community as a case study. Furthermore, investigations were carried out on the toxicity effects of the Escravos crude oil on aquatic organisms like Tilapia and a terrestrial organism such as the Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris,). The study established the effect and the impact of crude oil when exposed to such organisms mentioned above. The rate of death of barbus fingerlings of Tilapia and the Earthworm (Lumbricus Terrestris) at different concentrations of crude oil was determined and reported. The community survey undertaken by polling data shows the dwindling of the natural resources of the area due to oil exploration and the survey indicate the impacts on natural resources from pollution by crude oil and the consequences on the affected communities using the Ugborodo community in the Chevron’s Nigeria Limited Operational base as a case study. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

En se basant sur le principe organisationnel des deux types d’ensembles politiques rencontrés au Bénin, le but de cette recherche est d’explorer un ou des modèles conjoints, classiques et coutumiers, de participation en vue de promouvoir une démocratie participative plus proche des citoyens. Trois échelons spatiaux ont constitué le terrain de la recherche : l’Afrique, le Bénin centre et les milieux proches des anciennes royautés. La documentation et les données d’observations et d’entrevues ont été analysées par la démarche de théorisation ancrée et l’appréhension des phénomènes socio-spatiaux. Des quatre modèles originaux avec les critères endogènes d’appréciation de la participation mis en évidence et caractérisés dans les cultures du Bénin, deux, Togbésso-Hon-Togbassa et Daŋnou, émergent comme représentatifs des exigences d’une démocratie avec des formes territorialisées de la participation. La mise en perspective de la participation au Bénin avec les États d’Afrique montre une bonne performance qui le fait référencer comme le plus performant pour ses procédures et pratiques et comme source d’inspiration de mise en place des dispositifs participatifs dans le palmarès des grandes démocraties. Ses deux instruments de la décision, l’analyse participative et l’audience publique, restent perfectibles. La première, une innovation intéressante à encadrer, limite la participation à des acteurs choisis selon des critères généralement non énoncés. L’audience publique reste insatisfaisante par son inadéquation à la production de la décision collective et un modèle antinomique de la pensée politique africaine qui vise le consensus dans une démarche inclusive à essence délibérative sous forme de palabre. Fondement de la démocratie participative, la palabre offre le soubassement pour un modèle synergique basé sur les principes de délibération collective, d’offre de l’initiative de la décision au citoyen, de l’invitation aux débats et de l’écoute active (DROIE), d’un dispositif décisionnel flexible et adapté, au centre duquel se trouvent la délibération, le huis clos, la validation populaire et la reddition de compte, le recours et la réparation ainsi que le contrôle de qualité de la décision, essentiels à la gestion, et structurants à l’évaluation environnementale. / Based upon the organizational principle of two types of political entities found in Benin, the purpose of this research is to explore one or several joint, classic and traditional participation models in order to promote a participative democracy closer to citizens. Three spatial scales have been used for the field research: Africa, central Benin and communities close to ancient kingdoms. Documents and data generated through observation and interviews were analyzed using grounded theory principles and ”appréhension des phénomènes socio-spatiaux”. Among the four original models including endogenous criteria for assessing participation which correspond to Benin’s cultures, two – Togbésso-Hon-Togbassa and Daŋnou – appear as properly suited to meet the requirements of a democracy with territorialized forms of participation. When participation in Benin is compared with that of other African States, its good performance elevates it as a reference in terms of effectiveness of procedures and practices. As such, Benin has become a source of inspiration for implementation of participatory mechanisms within major democracies. Both its decision making instruments – namely participatory analysis and public hearing – may still be perfected. The first of the two –an interesting innovation which nonetheless deserves to be highlighted – limits participation to players selected according to criteria which generally remain implicit. Conversely, public hearing remains unsatisfactory by inadequately allowing the production of collective decision making, as well as by instituting a model in contradiction with African political thought, which rather seeks consensus through an inclusive and deliberative approach known as ”la palabre”. At the founding of participative democracy, “la palabre” provides a synergistic, flexible and responsive model based on the DROIE principles for decision making, at the center of which prevail deliberation, ”le huis clos”, popular validation and reporting, use and repair, as well as quality control of decision. All of these are essential as much to management as to the structure of environmental assessment.

In environmental impact assessment (EIA), accident risk should be considered as one impact. However, few studies have compared assessed risk levels with documented accidents. There is thus a need for assessing accuracy of risk assessment methodologies. The aim of this study was to develop and examine a risk assessment guideline based on environmental assessment. The guideline examination was carried out along the railway and the road between Kiruna and Narvik, Northern Scandinavia. The examined hazards were avalanches, debris flows, rock falls, slush flows, torrents, moose and reindeer. Documented accidents were quantified into an accident level. For each hazard type, six sections/sites were assessed. The propensities of these hazards were analysed through environmental assessments, especially by utilising geomorphology. Then, the accident densities along the sections/sites were compared with assessed accident phase indices describing risk and hazard in both spatial and temporal dimensions. The average uncertainty factors for both the risk and the hazard indices were about 5. This implies a fairly good precision. Risk and hazard indices were also rated and compared to the accident density rates. Thereafter, railway and road information was split up as different proposal alternatives in an EIA context. The total risk for each proposal was compared with the total accident density. The risk assessment guideline proved to be cost-efficient, rapid and relatively reliable in comparing accident risk.

In environmental impact assessment (EIA), accident risk should be considered as one impact. However, few studies have compared assessed risk levels with documented accidents. There is thus a need for assessing accuracy of risk assessment methodologies. The aim of this study was to develop and examine a risk assessment guideline based on environmental assessment. The guideline examination was carried out along the railway and the road between Kiruna and Narvik, Northern Scandinavia. The examined hazards were avalanches, debris flows, rock falls, slush flows, torrents, moose and reindeer. Documented accidents were quantified into an accident level. For each hazard type, six sections/sites were assessed. The propensities of these hazards were analysed through environmental assessments, especially by utilising geomorphology. Then, the accident densities along the sections/sites were compared with assessed accident phase indices describing risk and hazard in both spatial and temporal dimensions. The average uncertainty factors for both the risk and the hazard indices were about 5. This implies a fairly good precision. Risk and hazard indices were also rated and compared to the accident density rates. Thereafter, railway and road information was split up as different proposal alternatives in an EIA context. The total risk for each proposal was compared with the total accident density. The risk assessment guideline proved to be cost-efficient, rapid and relatively reliable in comparing accident risk.

Le secteur de la construction est considéré comme un des facteurs principaux qui affectent la dépense énergétique et les émissions des gaz à effet de serre. Dès lors, la valorisation de la qualité environnementale des bâtiments constitue une réponse importante aux enjeux du développement durable. Dans ce contexte, notre recherche aborde le problème de l'incertitude inhérente aux démarches HQE®, notamment dans l'évaluation de la qualité environnementale des bâtiments tertiaires. Notre étude s'appuie sur la théorie des possibilités qui présente des atouts intéressants au regard de notre problématique, notamment sa capacité à modéliser l'expertise humaine et la présentation simple et unique des incertitudes et des imprécisions sur la base d'un volume limité d'informations. Ce travail vise à associer une crédibilité à l'évaluation de la qualité environnementale du bâtiment en traitant des paramètres tant quantitatifs que qualitatifs. La modélisation des incertitudes permet aux concepteurs de mieux hiérarchiser les impacts des différents paramètres contribuant à l'amélioration de la qualité environnementale d'un bâtiment et d'identifier les informations qui nécessiteraient en priorité une instigation plus poussée afin de crédibiliser l'évaluation environnementale / It is well known that the construction sector is considered one of the main factors that affect the energy consumption and the emissions of greenhouse gases. Thus, the enhancement of the environmental quality of buildings is an important response to the challenges of sustainable development. In such context, this research discusses the problem of the uncertainty inherent in the French approach HQE®, particularly the assessment of the environmental quality of tertiary buildings. In fact, this study is based on possibility theory, which presents interesting advantages in terms of our problem, especially its ability to model human expertise or knowledge in addition to simple and unique presentation of uncertainties and inaccuracies on the basis of a limited amount of information. Moreover, this work aims to associate a credibility assessment of the environmental quality of buildings by handling two types of input parameters which are the quantitative and the qualitative ones. This uncertainty modeling offers the designers a better prioritization of the impacts of the different parameters, which thus contribute to the improvement of the environmental quality of a building, and identify the information that would require more instigation to enhance the credibility of the environmental assessment

The increase of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation along with the current inadequate waste management and the issue of the Solid Waste National Policy (PNRS) in 2010, have brought a bigger concern in regards to the matter to Brazilian municipalities. Besides all the demands of the Policy, improper waste disposal sites still represent 40% of the destination of the waste collected in Brazil. In addition, only about 3.6% of recyclables are currently recovered. Campo Grande is the state capital of Mato Grosso do Sul and has a sanitary landfill with two more years of lifespan. The city has recently published its new tool to aid waste management – the Selective Collection Plan (PCS), which is comprised of planning and goals for the next 20 years. Facing this situation, the aim of this research was to analyze and compare different waste management systems for Brazil (Chapter 2) and Campo Grande (Chapter 3). A consequential Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was employed, with the software EASETECH for modelling. The general results showed that the improper disposal sites (i.e. dumps) have the highest environmental impacts due to the untreated landfill gas and leachate. The combination of high recycling rates and low amounts of waste disposed in landfills presented overall good performance in both cases. From all the scenarios assessed, the best performance was achieved by anaerobic digestion of the biowaste, with biogas utilization as fuel substitute, combined with a material recovery facility and a mixed waste mechanical biological treatment, with residue derived fuel directed to cement kilns avoiding coke combustion. In conclusion, the environmental awareness must be raised towards the population and the decision-makers are entitled to the changes that need to happen in order to decrease the environmental impacts of the systems and comply with the Brazilian waste legislation. / O aumento da geração de Resíduos Sólidos Urbanos (RSU) juntamente com a atual gestão inadequada de resíduos e a promulgação da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (PNRS) em 2010, trouxeram uma maior preocupação em relação ao assunto nos municípios brasileiros. Apesar de todas as exigências da Política, os locais de disposição inadequados ainda representam 40% do destino dos resíduos coletados no Brasil. Além disso, apenas cerca de 3,6% dos recicláveis são atualmente recuperados. Campo Grande é a capital do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul e possui aterro sanitário com apenas dois anos de vida útil. O município publicou recentemente sua nova ferramenta para auxiliar a gestão de resíduos sólidos – o Plano de Coleta Seletiva (PCS), que é composto por planejamento e metas para os próximos 20 anos. Diante desta situação, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar e comparar diferentes sistemas de manejo de resíduos para o Brasil (Capítulo 2) e Campo Grande (Capítulo 3). Foi utilizada a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) consequencial, com o software EASETECH para modelagem. Os resultados gerais mostraram que os locais de disposição inadequados (ou seja, lixões) possuem os maiores impactos ambientais devido à falta de tratamento do gás de aterro e do lixiviado. A combinação de altas taxas de reciclagem e baixa quantidade de resíduos dispostos em aterros apresentou bom desempenho global em ambos os casos. De todos os cenários avaliados, o melhor desempenho alcançado foi através da digestão anaeróbia dos resíduos orgânicos, com a utilização de biogás como substituto de combustível, combinada com uma unidade de triagem e um tratamento mecânico biológico de resíduos misturados, e combustível derivado de resíduos destinado a fornos de cimenteiras evitando a combustão de coque. Em conclusão, a conscientização ambiental deve ser direcionada à população e a responsabilidade conferida aos tomadores de decisão para as mudanças que precisam ocorrer visando a redução dos impactos ambientais dos sistemas e o cumprimento da PNRS.

A agricultura é considerada uma das atividades antrópicas ambientalmente mais impactantes, sejam esses impactos em âmbito econômico, social e ambiental. Acarreta, portanto, interferência nos meios natural e socioeconômico, tanto positivos quanto negativos. Destaca-se, no Brasil, o cultivo da cana-de-açúcar, que utiliza práticas consideradas impactantes em todo o seu ciclo agrícola e industrial. Com o objetivo de praticar os valores de sustentabilidade, o setor sucro-alcooleiro precisa incorporar a variável ambiental na tomada de decisão desde as etapas iniciais do planejamento, permitindo a construção de cenários preditivos que tornem as atividades humanas menos impactantes negativamente para os sistemas ambientais, econômicos e sociais. Com isso, fazer esforços no sentido de praticar o desenvolvimento sustentável. Assim, o presente trabalho avalia as possíveis contribuições do instrumento de política ambiental Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica - AAE - para o setor agrícola, tendo como referência o Projeto Ambiental Etanol Verde Estratégico (PAEVE), do Governo do Estado de São Paulo, tomando como estudo de caso da região da bacia do rio Pardo. Para tanto, após uma revisão bibliográfica internacional dos conceitos, procedimentos e resultados do uso do instrumento (AAE), com maior enfoque para os casos realizados na agricultura, são analisados os procedimentos utilizados para a elaboração do PAEVE como um plano setorial estratégico da cana-de-açúcar no estado de São Paulo, à luz dos procedimentos comumente utilizados em AAE, por meio de uma matriz de avaliação da qualidade, técnica SWOT e análise crítica. Posteriormente é utilizado Sistemas de Informações Geográfica para avaliar aspectos relacionados ao Zoneamento Agro Ambiental do PAEVE e seus condicionantes técnicos, tendo como estudo de caso a região da bacia do rio Pardo, no estado de São Paulo. Dentre os resultados, merece destaque a indicação dos procedimentos dos planos e programas relacionados ao setor agrícola sucro-alcooleiro que podem ser influenciados pela Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica a fim de endereçar a sustentabilidade ao processo decisório. / Agriculture is considered one of the most environmentally impacting human activities. These impacts are in the economic, social and environmental aspects. Therefore, it entails interference in the natural and socio-economic, both positive and negative issues. It stands out in Brazil the cultivation of sugar cane, which uses practices considered striking all along its life cycle. Aiming to incorporate the environmental variable into decision make since its initial stages of planning, an important task is to build predictive scenarios on sugarcane sector activities for a less harmful development into environmental, economic and social aspects. Thus, this study assesses the possible contributions of environmental policy instrument Strategic Environmental Assessment - SEA - for the agricultural sector, with reference to the Strategic Green Ethanol Project of São Paulo State, in a case study on Pardo´s river basin. To do so, it is established an international review of the use of the instrument, with greater focus on the cases used in agriculture. So, it is analyzed the procedures of Strategic Green Ethanol Project within a SEA framework, throughout a quality assessment matrix, SWOT and critical analysis. Its used Geographic Information System for evaluating aspects related to the Agro Ecological Zoning of Strategic Green Ethanol Project, its conditioning technical factors, having as case study the region of Pardo´s river basin, in the state of São Paulo, Among the results, deserves attention the indication of the procedures in plans and programs related to agricultural sector of sugarcane that could have beneficial influential of Strategic Environmental Assessment towards promoting sustainable development into the decision making.

O estabelecimento e manejo de áreas protegidas constituem importantes estratégias para a conservação e proteção da biodiversidade. Para as Áreas de Proteção Ambiental (APAs), os planos de manejo são essenciais para a consecução dos objetivos. Para melhorar os resultados, alguns países utilizam a Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica (AAE) na elaboração dos planos de manejo. Esta estratégia tem apresentado bons resultados, com a melhora do planejamento e da gestão da área protegida da categoria V da IUCN (equivalente à APA). No Brasil, a AAE não tem regulamentação e os planos de manejo não são submetidos a uma AAE. Para orientar a elaboração dos planos de manejo no Brasil, roteiros metodológicos são utilizados. Contudo, os planos de manejo das APAs têm apresentado uma baixa taxa de implementação. Ao constatar esse cenário, a presente pesquisa propõe diretrizes e procedimentos para a elaboração de planos de manejo de APAs a partir das contribuições da AAE. Para alcançar este objetivo, em um primeiro capítulo, as contribuições da AAE para os planos de manejo da categoria V da IUCN são avaliadas. Este cenário internacional é composto por uma avaliação de oito casos de dois Parques localizados na Escócia, onde os respectivos planos de manejo são submetidos a AAE. Para avaliar as contribuições da AAE para estes planos de manejo, critérios baseados nas diretrizes da IUCN para elaboração dos planos de manejo da categoria V e nas boas práticas da AAE (Diretiva Europeia (2001/42/CE), no Protocolo da UNECE e Therivel (2004) são utilizados. Um segundo capítulo avalia o cenário nacional do planejamento de 17 APAs localizadas nos Estados do Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Pernambuco e no Distrito Federal. Para a avaliação do planejamento destas APAs, a metodologia proposta por Faria (2004), que avalia a eficácia da gestão das unidades de conservação, é adaptada para o contexto do planejamento das APAs por meio das recomendações da IUCN. Os resultados do Capítulo I mostram importantes contribuições da AAE para os planos de manejo, a saber: a compatibilização dos objetivos das dimensões ambiental, social e econômica com a minimização dos conflitos entre estas dimensões; a promoção do acompanhamento da qualidade do estoque ambiental; a identificação e a avaliação do impacto do plano de manejo sobre os objetivos e a base de dados da AAE, com a avaliação de como as ações propostas podem afetar o estoque ambiental; e outros. O segundo capítulo apontou os pontos fracos e os fortes do planejamento das APAs avaliadas, como, por exemplo: a baixa execução dos planos de manejo; os planos de manejo apresentam-se com pouca utilidade prática para o dia a dia da gestão; e o monitoramento e a gestão adaptativa são precários. Em contra partida a estes pontos fracos, o zoneamento apresentou-se como uma ferramenta essencial para a gestão e como suporte às tomadas de decisão. A partir da análise do cenário nacional foi possível verificar de que maneira a AAE pode potencializar os pontos fortes e minimizar os pontos fracos. Com isso, verificou-se que a AAE apresenta potenciais contribuições para o planejamento das APAs no Brasil, como: a articulação e minimização dos conflitos entre os objetivos dos planos de manejo com outras ações estratégicas; a inserção da variável ambiental no planejamento do uso do solo; a avaliação de outras alternativas para alcançar os objetivos do plano de manejo; entre outras. Assim, ao considerar o potencial da AAE para os planos de manejo das APAs, verifica-se que a aplicação da AAE para a elaboração dos planos de manejo das APAs é necessária para otimizar potencialidades e minimizar fraquezas. Sendo assim, com base nos resultados e discussões obtidas no capítulo I e II, um terceiro capítulo é apresentado com as diretrizes e os procedimentos para uma base metodológica para a elaboração de planos de manejo de APAs com a avaliação da AAE. / The plans establishment and management for protected areas are key strategies for biodiversity protection and conservation. The management plans are essential to achieving the goals for Environmental Protected Areas (EPA), one of the conservation areas types in Brazil (equivalent to IUCN category V). Some countries use Strategic Environmental Assessment to make management plans and they are getting good results. On the other hand, in Brazil, the management plans preparation applied in EPAs follow a specific methodological guide and the SEA is not applied in the context of protected areas in Brazil. However, the management plan of EPA have shown low implementation rate. In this context, the present research proposes guidelines and procedures for the preparation of EPAs management plans from the contribution of SEA. To achieve this goal, the first chapter evaluates the SEA contribution to management plans of IUCN category V protected areas. This international scenario consists of an evaluation of eight case studies of two parks of the Scotland, where theses management plans are subject to SEA. To evaluate the contributions of SEA for theses management plans, criteria based on the management guidelines for IUCN category V protected areas and on the best practice of SEA (European Directive (2001/42/EC) in the UNECE Protocol and the Therivel author (2004)) are used. The second chapter evaluated the planning of 17 EPAs in Brazil located in the States of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Pernambuco and Distrito Federal. The method used to evaluate the planning of these 17 EPAs was proposed by Faria (2004) and adapted for planning context of EPAs in accordance with the recommendations of IUCN. The results show SEA important contributions for plans management, namely: the compatibility of the objectives of environmental, social and economical and the minimizing conflicts between these dimensions; the monitoring the quality of the environment stock; the impact assessment of the management plans on the objectives and baseline SEA, with the evaluation of how the management plan\'s actions can affect the environment stock. As a result of the second chapter showed the weaknesses and the strengths of the planning of the evaluated 17 APAs, such as: the low implementation of management plans; management plans present with little practical use for day to day management; and monitoring and adaptive management are precarious. In contrast to these weaknesses, the zoning is a good tool for the management and support decision-making. Based on these analyzes it observed how SEA can maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses. Thus, it was found that the SEA has potential contributions to the EPAs planning in Brazil, as an example: reconcile conflicts between the objectives of the management plan with other strategic actions; the integration of the environmental issue in land use planning; and the evaluation of other alternatives for achieving the objectives of the management plan. Considering the potential of SEA to EPAs management plans, it is found that the application of the SEA for the preparation of the APAs management plans is needed to optimize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Therefore, based on the results obtained and discussions in the first and second chapter, a methodology basis with guidelines and procedures for the preparation of EPAs management plans with the evaluation of SEA is presented.

L’idée de ce sujet de thèse a émergé du constat des difficultés auxquelles sont aujourd’hui confrontés les aménageurs de grands projets d’infrastructures linéaires. Le contexte actuel leur impose de prendre en compte les enjeux environnementaux, notamment en termes de préservation des milieux naturels et de la biodiversité, à différentes échelles, tout en veillant à faire aboutir leurs projets dans de bonnes conditions, sans surcoûts. Cependant, les maîtres d’ouvrage de grands projets d’infrastructures linéaires peinent pourtant à intégrer ces enjeux efficacement faute de méthodes et d’outils adaptés. Dans ce contexte, cette thèse propose une lecture et une analyse de l’évaluation environnementale au travers du prisme d’une géographie environnementale et d’une géographie de l’aménagement expérimentales et de l’étude d’un projet à enjeux environnementaux à échelles emboîtées, du niveau européen au niveau local, avec son lot de contradictions scalaires : le projet Seine-Nord Europe. Tout d’abord, au travers de la présentation et de l’évaluation de ce projet au regard de la prise en compte de ces enjeux, cette thèse se veut une contribution théorique à la connaissance des dynamiques et des stratégies d’aménagement et de leur trajectoire en matière d’intégration des enjeux environnementaux : la biodiversité et la question de la préservation des milieux naturels constituent l’enjeu environnemental plus particulièrement envisagé. D’autre part, cette thèse est aussi conçue comme une recherche-action et un accompagnement de la maîtrise d’ouvrage. Trois outils d’évaluation de la vulnérabilité écologique des milieux le long du tracé du projet ont ainsi été élaborés pour répondre à cet objectif. / This thesis is led by difficulties experienced by planners during linear infrastructure studies and developments. In the present context, they have to ensure a successful project without any extra cost while also taking into account environmental issues at different scales, as natural habitats and biodiversity protection. Until recently, these issues were not a main source of concern and studies were carried out to simply cover regulatory requirements as environmental assessment. Nevertheless, since The Grenelle Environment Forum, environment concerns have been considered as a key challenge for linear infrastructure projects in spite of difficulties due to a lack of process and efficient tools. Therefore this thesis provides an environmental assessment analysis based on environmental and experimental spatial planning geography and focused on the North-Seine canal project with some inconsistencies from European to local scale. Firstly, based on the description and analysis of this project, this thesis is a contribution to the knowledge improvement of planning strategies and the way they take into account environment issues: biodiversity and natural resources and environment protection are the main environmental concerns. Furthermore, this thesis is also designed as an “action research” and a help for project planners and managers with effective help. Three different ecological vulnerability assessment tools have been created to analyze natural resources and environments along the route proposition and they are described in this paper.