Global climate change is one of the most important tasks that scientists are trying to solve today. With the help of a Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) method, the impact that many materials and services have on the environment and humans, have been determined.  As a task given by Gävleborg County Administrative Board, this work examines which of the material, glulam or steel, is most suitable as load-bearing material for agricultural buildings (barns). The goal of this study is to perform a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of the two materials during production, use, transportation and reuse. The steel's advantage is to be reused again without losing its properties and the wood's benefits to be used as an energy source during combustion, is only one of the steps involved in a life cycle analysis.  The information that an LCA study requires can be infinite and complex and therefore needs limitations in resources and time. A system boundary makes a basis on which phases and influences are the vital parts of a study. The system boundary also includes geographical areas. The study examines only local agricultural buildings in Gävleborg, Sweden, with floor areas of approximately 1300 m2 and their global environmental impact.  Environmental impact of a product is usually allocated in several different environmental impact categories, in which the study examines only three of these: global warming, acidification and eutrophication.  The results show a great difference in emissions depending on how the materials are produced and how they are handled after use. It proves that glulam has significant fewer emissions than steel when it used as an energy source instead of being deposited. With help of the weighting method the result show that iron ore produced steel have 1.2 times greater emission then glulam with landfill and 5.2 times greater when it is used in energy recovery. The weight also shows that scrap produced steel have 0.5 less emission than glulam with landfill and 2.4 greater than glulam with energy recovery. / Problematiken kring den globala klimatförändringen är ett av de problem som forskare försöker lösa idag. Med hjälp av metoden livscykelanalys har många material och tjänster utretts gällande dessas påverkan på miljön och människan. På uppdrag från Länsstyrelsen Gävleborg granskas vilket av materialen, trä eller stål, som är lämpligast som stomme i stallbyggnader ur miljösynpunkt. Målet med denna studie är att utföra en LCA (livscykelanalys) av de två materialen vid produktion, användning, transport och återanvändning. Stålets möjligtvis största fördel innebär att det kan återanvändas om och om igen utan att förlora sina egenskaper och trädets möjligheter till återvinning som energi vid förbränning är endast två av de stegen som ingår i en livscykelanalys. Informationen som en LCA studie består av kan vara oändlig och komplex och kräver därför tydliga avgränsningar gällande resurs och tid. En bestämd systemgräns utgör därför ett underlag på vilka faser och påverkningar som är vitala delar för undersökningen. Systemgränsen innefattar också vilka geografiska områden som undersöks. Studien granskar därför lokala lantbruksbyggnader i Gävleborg med golvarea på cirka 1300 m2 och deras globala miljöpåverkan. Olika typer av miljöpåverkan som uppstår från en produkt kategoriseras i miljöeffektkategorier där studien undersöker tre av dessa: den globala uppvärmning, försurning och övergödning. Resultatet visar en stor skillnad i utsläpp beroende på hur materialen producerats och även hur de hanteras efter användning. Det visar sig att limträ har betydligt mindre utsläpp än stål om den kan energiåtervinnas. Med hjälp av viktningsmetoden visar det sig att järnmalm släpper ut 1,2 gånger mer utsläpp från de sammanlagda miljöeffektkategorierna än limträ som deponeras och 5,2 gånger mer om den energiutvinns. Vid viktningen av skrot blir utsläppet 0,5 gånger mindre än limträ med deponi och 2,4 mer än limträ med energiutvinning.

There is a vision in the EU for a transition to a low carbon society, including a carbon-neutral energy system, containing a high share of renewable energy. However, this vision is not isolated from other political goals, such as halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020. Both of these goals are accompanied by EU legislation promoting their respective aims. One of the central challenges, in light of this transition, is the very nature of the legal system – that it is rather fragmented – both regarding the substantive law applicable to renewable energy activities and the legal processes that renewable energy activities face. The aim is therefore to discuss certain challenges arising from the fragmented legal system applicable to renewable energy activities. The dissertation is based on EU and Swedish law. First, I investigate the EU’s competence in the field of renewable energy and address how such policy may better reflect the protection of biodiversity. Thereafter, in a Swedish context, I analyse the relationship between protection of biodiversity and promotion of renewable energy. Finally, I address the problems arising from the fragmented legal procedures of renewable energy activities, with the main example of wind power installations and new transmission lines. In general, this study suggests that the current system lacks consistency between renewable energy and nature protection legislation and there is a coordination problem with regards to the permit processes of the development of renewable energy activities. These conclusions point towards a need for a broader perspective on the development of renewable energy activities, which could include: a more integrated planning system for renewable energy activities; exploring the use of derogation rules from the Water Framework Directive; and a more integrated EU renewable energy policy with specific sustainability criteria.

The main goal of my thesis is to provide an in-depth analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is currently one of the significant legal tools of environmental quality protection. In case any public or private project is likely to have a significant effect on the environment, it needs to pass through the EIA proceedings. This process precedes the development consent to the project. The original EU legal regulation (Council directive 85/337/EEC amended by Directives 97/11/EC, 2003/35/EC and 2009/31/EC) is described in the first part of the thesis. The main sources of this chapter are the judicial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities that reflect the incorrect transpositions of the directive into the legal order of the individual member states. The second chapter is focused on specific attributes of the Czech legal regulation that is included in the legal act no. 100/2001 Sb. modified by further amendments. The regulation is divided into two parts: The first part, the assessment, is concluded by a non-binding opinion, while the second part is concluded by development consent or refusal, as based on particular legal regulations. The most severe issue of the Czech regulation is the insufficient ensurance of participation opportunities of members of the public...

The topic of the thesis is Public participation in the environmental impact assessment proceedings (EIA). The thesis is divided into three chapters further divided into subchapters. The first chapter deals with the EIA proceedings in general including the history and legal sources of EIA. Moreover the Aarhus convention (as a principal source confirming the public participation in decision making proceedings in environmental matters) is described in detail. The following chapter examines the term of "development consent" and related term "subsequent procedure" as a fundamental conditions to ensure public participation in the appropriate extent as is set down by the directive 2011/92/EU. The third chapter is focused on the main issues related with the Czech legislation regarding the form and methods of public participation in the EIA proceedings and subsequent procedures as well as an access of a public concerned to a review procedure before a court.

This thesis aims to provide an analysis of the environmental impact assessment procedures in the Czech republic, including its international and european context, with focus on the topic of public participation in these procedures. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter provides a definition of environmental impact assessment and enumerates its fundamental principles. The second chapter deals with international, european and historical roots of EIA and SEA procedures. The next chapter describes the course of EIA procedure in the Czech republic. The fourth chapter describes the SEA procedure. The last, fifth chapter deals with the topic of public participation in environmental impact assessment. Finally, the thesis comprises a summary of contained conclusions.

The process of environmental impact assessment is a control procedure that aims to summarize and evaluate the impact of a project on the environment at the stage of project planning and thus to reduce its potential negative impacts in the future. One of the main ideas of the EIA process is to avoid since the very beginning problems and confrontation which would otherwise appear in the future in connection with the planned project. This principle is particularly important in cases of transboundary assessment where communication between countries and joint consultations on the project in its early stages of planning might prevent potential conflicts and disruption of mutual relations in the future resulting from an already implemented plan. The cornerstone of a transboundary assessment is the understanding that the harmful effects of a specific project do not stop at the borders of one state, but can reach a territory of many other countries, mutual cooperation in this subject is thus with regard to environmental protection necessary. The necessity of such a cooperation on one hand, as well as its pitfalls and difficulties on the other hand, are illustrated in the case of transboundary EIA between the Czech Republic and Austria, that is specifically in the case of the construction of the nuclear power plant...

The subject of this dissertation are selected issues of legal regulation of the environmental impact assessment. The dissertation aims to assess the legislation from the viewpoint of efficiency of an environmental protection against the negative impacts of projects on the environment and public health. The dissertation is divided into four chapters further divided into subchapters. The first two chapters are focused on a development of an EIA institute since its start, as well as international, European subsequently Czech incorporation into legislation. The third chapter examines the term of subsequent procedure as a fundamental condition for defining the set of rights and obligations in the proceedings in which projects should be allowed. The last chapter is a comprehensive overview of the various forms of public participation and opportunities for the public to enforce their interests in the assessment of the effects of projects on the environment.

M.Sc. (Environmental Management) / The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide and its role as a fundamental contributor to the economic sector cannot be understated. However, this growth has led to an increase in negative environmental impacts. The success of tourism rests on the quality of the natural environment where it has been developed. Therefore should the natural environment and its resources be damaged or destroyed, the very resource that attracted tourists is destroyed, and the tourism industry will eventually collapse. The worldwide drive toward sustainable development and the growth in environmental awareness has placed pressure on tourism ventures to measure and mitigate their environmental impacts. This study was initiated to investigate the current sustainable performance of two safari camps owned by Wilderness Safaris. The primary reason for selecting these specific camps, relates to the fact that they are situated on the boarder of one of the most sensitive environments on earth the Namib Desert, and therefore demand effective management in order to ensure environmental degradation is prevented. The study engaged in the development of a list of sustainable tourism issues and their associated indicators, to assess the current sustainability of the two camps. The research also aimed to formulate baseline data for future comparisons. The camp's current sustainability was determined by applying the selected sustainability indicators, to assess the camp's environmental, social and economic impacts on the surrounding biophysical and socio-economic environments. A cross-case analysis was then conducted comparing the results of each camps performance. The results were also compared to the company's group environmental minimum standards. This was done to provide Wilderness Safaris with an external verification of their camps current sustainable performance and to provide baseline data for future comparisons. The chosen set of sustainable tourism indicators provided a time and cost-effective means of assessing the current sustainable performance of the two camps. Site specific recommendations were made for each camp to improve their sustainable performance. Future studies conducted by Wilderness Safaris can use this study as a benchmark to compare the sustainable performance of their camps. In addition this study can also be used as a benchmark for comparisons by other tourism ventures in other developing countries around the world. The study contributes to the academic body of knowledge in the field of study surrounding the application of sustainable tourism indicators to measure and operationalize sustainable development of tourism ventures. Conclusions recounting the sustainable performance of the two camps are made as well as recommendations for further research.

M.Sc. (Environmental management) / An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most important tools used all over the world to ensure that the impacts of developments are addressed and the principles of sustainable development are applied. Since the promulgation of EIA Regulations in South Africa in 2010, there has been limited empirical research on the quality of authorized environmental impact statements (EISs). To determine the effectiveness of the EIA process, it is important to determine the quality of EISs performed under the new EIA system. This research investigated the quality of selected EISs in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Most of the coal reserves in South Africa are found in Mpumalanga and it is a province from which electricity is generated and transmitted to different parts of the country. Therefore, the potential for developments to have significant impacts on the environment is high. Eighteen (18) EISs were assessed using the Lee and Colley Review Package (Lee et al., 1999). The results showed that 67% of the EISs achieved a satisfactory grade; however, the analysis revealed that several key areas of the EIS did not receive sufficient attention. This leaves the effectiveness of EISs in question and the study offers several suggestions that could potentially improve the EIA process.

MSc. (Geography) / Please refer to full text to view abstract