Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been successfully adopted in South Africa in line with international trends. A number of international scholars found that EIA offers distinct advantages to a proposed project (Bartik, 1988; Porter & van der Linde, 1995; Annandale & Taplin, 2003). The widespread successful adoption of EIA could be an indication that the benefits of conducting EIAs outweigh the potential economic loss due to delays and costs related to the EIA. However, there are negative perceptions about EIA and its influence on development. But the question is whether South African engineers are experiencing these benefits at project level? South African civil engineers are faced with the legislative requirements of EIAs on a daily basis. Through a survey of professionally registered civil engineers this research examined the merits that EIA has for civil engineers. It was found that EIA helps engineers to ensure that they have all the legal aspects of the development in place before the development starts. Furthermore EIA creates the opportunity for the engineers to design out the most significant adverse environmental impacts. It was found that since the implementation of EIA engineers are observing a shift towards more environmentally sound design alternatives. Therefore, if the EIA process is influencing engineers to review their designs from an environmental point of view, it could significantly minimise environmental impacts. According to engineers it was found that, EIA is assisting them in taking all the potential impacts of a new development into account during the design process. The engineering design normally determines the true environmental impact of a development. According to the respondents, the majority were aware of projects where the design was changed as a result of potential impacts highlighted by the EIA. It was found that for the majority of the respondents the environmental review of the design was a key component of the design process. According to the engineers that took part in the survey, they were aware of projects where the EIA improved the sustainability of the design by effecting a change to the design or to the construction materials. Since the implementation of EIA they have become more aware of, not only the life cycle, but also the sustainability of the development. EIA is therefore creating awareness about sustainability in the engineering fraternity. The engineers experienced EIA as a useful tool for improving the sustainability of the design. However, it was found that EIA also caused a significant delay in the majority of the projects where the respondents were involved. The delays were sometimes so severe that it jeopardised the economic feasibility of the projects in question. According to the respondents, the delays are mainly due to slow decision making by the competent authority. Due to this slow decision making process, the engineers blame the competent authority if they start with the construction of the project before authorisation. However, in spite of these delays, the engineers are still of the opinion that EIA is doing more good to the environment than harm to the economy. It was found that what the majority of the engineers knew about the EIA process was what they had learned from their own experience. They agreed that there was very little focus on environmental sustainability during their undergraduate studies and that EIA training during their undergraduate study would have been useful. But in spite of this, the majority of respondents did not complete any environmental short courses or post graduate studies. It was found that EIA does in fact have a positive influence on the work of civil engineers and that they experience these benefits at project level. The engineers have a positive attitude towards EIA and it is increasingly influencing their work positively. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been successfully adopted in South Africa in line with international trends. A number of international scholars found that EIA offers distinct advantages to a proposed project (Bartik, 1988; Porter & van der Linde, 1995; Annandale & Taplin, 2003). The widespread successful adoption of EIA could be an indication that the benefits of conducting EIAs outweigh the potential economic loss due to delays and costs related to the EIA. However, there are negative perceptions about EIA and its influence on development. But the question is whether South African engineers are experiencing these benefits at project level? South African civil engineers are faced with the legislative requirements of EIAs on a daily basis. Through a survey of professionally registered civil engineers this research examined the merits that EIA has for civil engineers. It was found that EIA helps engineers to ensure that they have all the legal aspects of the development in place before the development starts. Furthermore EIA creates the opportunity for the engineers to design out the most significant adverse environmental impacts. It was found that since the implementation of EIA engineers are observing a shift towards more environmentally sound design alternatives. Therefore, if the EIA process is influencing engineers to review their designs from an environmental point of view, it could significantly minimise environmental impacts. According to engineers it was found that, EIA is assisting them in taking all the potential impacts of a new development into account during the design process. The engineering design normally determines the true environmental impact of a development. According to the respondents, the majority were aware of projects where the design was changed as a result of potential impacts highlighted by the EIA. It was found that for the majority of the respondents the environmental review of the design was a key component of the design process. According to the engineers that took part in the survey, they were aware of projects where the EIA improved the sustainability of the design by effecting a change to the design or to the construction materials. Since the implementation of EIA they have become more aware of, not only the life cycle, but also the sustainability of the development. EIA is therefore creating awareness about sustainability in the engineering fraternity. The engineers experienced EIA as a useful tool for improving the sustainability of the design. However, it was found that EIA also caused a significant delay in the majority of the projects where the respondents were involved. The delays were sometimes so severe that it jeopardised the economic feasibility of the projects in question. According to the respondents, the delays are mainly due to slow decision making by the competent authority. Due to this slow decision making process, the engineers blame the competent authority if they start with the construction of the project before authorisation. However, in spite of these delays, the engineers are still of the opinion that EIA is doing more good to the environment than harm to the economy. It was found that what the majority of the engineers knew about the EIA process was what they had learned from their own experience. They agreed that there was very little focus on environmental sustainability during their undergraduate studies and that EIA training during their undergraduate study would have been useful. But in spite of this, the majority of respondents did not complete any environmental short courses or post graduate studies. It was found that EIA does in fact have a positive influence on the work of civil engineers and that they experience these benefits at project level. The engineers have a positive attitude towards EIA and it is increasingly influencing their work positively. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

<p>The forests are essential for healthy environment. Trees which are part of the</p><p>forest help to stabilize the forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of</p><p>wind, protect watershed and reduce the amount of carbon released into the</p><p>atmosphere. Many industries use trees as raw materials and in most cases impact</p><p>the environment, but there are great differences in the impact they make. There is</p><p>a need therefore to continually evaluate the operational activities of these</p><p>industries to ensure that the environment is protected. The use of environmental</p><p>management systems like ISO and EMAS standards has helped in the evaluation</p><p>of organizations and industries.</p><p>In this thesis, two sawmills Iretunde and Irepodun in Etsako-West local</p><p>government area Edo state Nigeria were evaluated with the aim to determine their</p><p>operational activities and how the environment is being affected by them. Subaims</p><p>were to determine the most significant environmental aspects of the sawmill</p><p>and their organizational structure. In actualizing the aim of this thesis, literature</p><p>review, site investigation as well as oral interview of the staff and management of</p><p>both sawmills were conducted. In the evaluation of the environmental aspects, the</p><p>detailed method of environmental impact evaluation by Ammenberg (2004) was</p><p>used were each environmental aspect that was weighted against nine identified</p><p>criteria.</p><p>The result obtained from the environmental aspect evaluation of both sawmills</p><p>shows that the use of raw materials and emissions to air are the most significant</p><p>environmental aspects. In conclusion, it was observed that the both sawmills are</p><p>well structured and carry out their operational activities effectively. Neither of</p><p>them has registered under any environmental management system but there is a</p><p>need for them to do so in order to help check their operational activities in order to</p><p>reduce their environmental impact.</p>

The forests are essential for healthy environment. Trees which are part of the forest help to stabilize the forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of wind, protect watershed and reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Many industries use trees as raw materials and in most cases impact the environment, but there are great differences in the impact they make. There is a need therefore to continually evaluate the operational activities of these industries to ensure that the environment is protected. The use of environmental management systems like ISO and EMAS standards has helped in the evaluation of organizations and industries. In this thesis, two sawmills Iretunde and Irepodun in Etsako-West local government area Edo state Nigeria were evaluated with the aim to determine their operational activities and how the environment is being affected by them. Subaims were to determine the most significant environmental aspects of the sawmill and their organizational structure. In actualizing the aim of this thesis, literature review, site investigation as well as oral interview of the staff and management of both sawmills were conducted. In the evaluation of the environmental aspects, the detailed method of environmental impact evaluation by Ammenberg (2004) was used were each environmental aspect that was weighted against nine identified criteria. The result obtained from the environmental aspect evaluation of both sawmills shows that the use of raw materials and emissions to air are the most significant environmental aspects. In conclusion, it was observed that the both sawmills are well structured and carry out their operational activities effectively. Neither of them has registered under any environmental management system but there is a need for them to do so in order to help check their operational activities in order to reduce their environmental impact.

The role of Universities in building a sustainable society is paramount. It is therefore essential for Universities to adopt and apply tools such as EMS in creating a culture of sustainability which is vital in creating awareness for students as they graduate to fulfil the needs of society.The purpose of this thesis was to investigate what was required of a University in handling this challenge; to start up and be successful with implementation of an Environmental Management System.To do this an environmental review has been performed using the University of Borås as a case study. Indirect and direct aspects of the University have been identified and will be evaluated. The result of the review is based on information from interviews, questionnaires and meetings and will serve as the foundation for the University of Borås‟ further work with EMS.By comparing four Swedish Universities and their work with EMS, factors to be considered during the development and implementation an EMS have been found. An in depth-interview of key personal together with published and unpublished data from the four Universities have been used for the study. The drivers which prompted the EMS work as well as factors for a successful implementation were identified. Using a prioritization matrix, management commitment, Approach to the process, training and communication have found to be the most important success factors. Other factors worth considering during implementation of EMS in Universities have been found to be duration of the system, timing of success factors, and handling of barriers specific for academia and keeping a simple system.Using a performance excellence diagram, the different level of commitment to each of the contributing factors for a successful EMS implementation has been established and used in performing a gap- analysis for University of Borås. Based on the outcome of the gap-analysis, appropriate recommendations for EMS work have been given.

Abstract SEA is currently becoming an important tool for sustainable development. The main principles of SEA are to incorporate environmental considerations to the process of development of strategic documents and to make the process of the decision-making more transparent. Over the past years, there have been an increasing number of countries especially transitional and developing countries such as Belarus that consider joining the international conventions for SEA such as EU Directive 2001/42/EC (the SEA Directive) and UNECE SEA Protocol. This research focuses on the capacity assessment for SEA implementation in Belarus. The benchmarks for SEA capacity assessment were defined. For identifying the approaches for SEA implementation in the countries in transition, the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed. The capacity assessment for Belarus was made involved three levels, namely, system level, as well as organizational and individual levels. The paper analyses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for SEA implementation in Belarus. The study concludes with some suggestions that might help to improve capacity for SEA implementation.

The environmental aspects of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping is not as popularly known to thegeneral public as its socio-economic issues. This thesis work looks at UN peacekeeping from theenvironmental perspective by carrying out an environmental review of peacekeeping in the NorthKivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo using ISO 14001 as model.Chapter one describes sustainable development as a shared responsibility and the need to ensurebalance in the social, economic and environmental issues in the pursuit of peace in host nationsduring peacekeeping.Chapter two summarizes the key issues in ISO 14001 and the requirements for conducting anenvironmental review. In chapter three, the research methodology is highlighted and chapter fourgives an overview of UN peace and security actions and the interaction among other peaceinstruments and peacekeeping. That chapter also highlights peacekeeping in Africa and in the DRCwith emphasis on the North Kivu province.The results obtained from the environmental review are presented in chapter five and the analysis ofthe result based on the ‘three party model tool for ethical risk analysis’ presented in chapter six.The research findings revealed that, the United Nations peacekeeping operations have environmentalaspects which the author identified to include emissions to air, waste, energy consumption, chemicalsusage, discharge to water, training, water consumption, exploration of resources, location/land useand fire and other uncontrolled activities. The environmental impacts and ethical risk analysis of theidentified aspects were also assessed.Conclusions and recommendations are given in Chapter seven which include the need for the UnitedNations to implement an effective environmental management system to handle its significantenvironmental aspects.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6028.pdf: 5665248 bytes, checksum: 6c72cfa1aa75c6afdbbc1ad8801ac70d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-04 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The construction of wastewater collection systems and the implantation of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are not guarantees that environmental and public health problems on the wastewater are fully resolved, because the WWTPs require inputs to function and generate wastes and tailings during their operation and may, thus, also become sources of environmental pollution and cause damage to the population. Besides the Environmental Licensing, which includes the Preliminary License, Installation License and Operating License, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), two management tools can assist the management of WWTPs in this way: the NBR ISO 14001:2004, for the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS), and NBR ISO 14004:2005, which recommends conducting an Initial Environmental Review before installing the system, although does not have tools that can be used for this purpose. Thus, the general objective of this work was to develop tools to aid in conducting this Review in WWTPs, having as object of study WWTP-Monjolinho - São Carlos-SP, which wastewater treatment consists of: preliminary treatment, biological treatment with UASB reactors, dissolved-air flotation - preceded by flocculation with metallic coagulants and polymers -, ultraviolet (UV) radiation disinfection and postaeration of treated wastewater by cascade aeration before its throwing to Monjolinho river. The research was performed in four stages. At first, it was performed theoretical background; in the second, the knowledge of the object of study; in the third, the tools of Initial Environmental Review were developed and applied to WWTP-Monjolinho; and in the fourth stage there was the presentation and discussion of the results, as well as the research finals considerations. Eight tools and also the results of their application to WWTP-Monjolinho were obtained. It is considered that, through the tools developed in this work, the WWTPs, as WWTP-Monjolinho, can guide themselves more appropriately in search of the EMS installation and improve their activities, in order to more adequately meets increasing aspirations from society for a better quality of life and environmental protection and conservation. / A construção de redes coletoras e a implantação de Estações de Tratamento de Esgoto sanitários (ETEs) não são garantias de que os problemas ambientais e de saúde pública acerca do esgoto sanitário sejam plenamente resolvidos, pois as ETEs necessitam de insumos para funcionar e geram resíduos e rejeitos durante sua operação e podem, portanto, também tornar-se fontes de poluição ambiental e causar danos à população. Além do Licenciamento Ambiental, que inclui a Licença Prévia, a Licença de Instalação e a Licença de Operação, e da Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA), duas ferramentas gerenciais podem auxiliar o gerenciamento das ETEs neste sentido: a NBR ISO 14001:2004, para a implantação de um Sistema de Gestão Ambiental (SGA), e a NBR ISO 14004:2005, que recomenda a realização de uma Análise Ambiental Inicial antes da instalação do sistema, embora não apresente instrumentos que possam ser utilizados para esta finalidade. Assim, o objetivo geral deste trabalho foi desenvolver instrumentos de auxílio à realização desta Análise em ETEs, tendo como objeto de estudo a ETE-Monjolinho - São Carlos-SP, cujo tratamento de esgoto sanitário é constituído por: tratamento preliminar, tratamento biológico com reatores UASB, flotação por ar dissolvido - precedido de floculação com coagulantes metálicos e polímeros -, desinfecção com radiação ultravioleta (UV) e por pós-aeração do esgoto tratado em escada hidráulica, antes de seu lançamento ao rio Monjolinho. A pesquisa foi realizada em quatro etapas. Na primeira, foi realizado embasamento teórico; na segunda, o conhecimento do objeto de estudo; na terceira, foram elaborados os instrumentos de Análise Ambiental Inicial e realizada sua aplicação à ETE-Monjolinho; e na quarta etapa realizaram-se a exposição e discussão dos resultados, bem como as considerações finais do trabalho. Foram obtidos oito instrumentos, e também os resultados de sua aplicação à ETE-Monjolinho. Considera-se que, por meio dos instrumentos desenvolvidos neste trabalho, as ETEs, como a ETE-Monjolinho, podem guiar-se de maneira mais apropriada em busca da instalação de um SGA e melhorar suas atividades, de forma a atender mais adequadamente aos anseios crescentes da sociedade por mais qualidade de vida e proteção e conservação ambientais.

Detta examensarbete är skrivet som en del i programmet industriell organisation och ekonomi, med inriktning logistik och ledning vid Tekniska Högskolan i Jönköping. Rapporten är skriven på uppdrag av Skövde flygplatsbolag AB, som är ett kommunalt flygplatsbolag. Skövde flygplats är belägen ett par mil utanför Skövde centrum. Flygplatsen trafikeras idag mestadels av transportflyg men även enstaka mindre passagerarflyg. Idag är Kinnarps, Volvo Powertrain, Räddningstjänsten och klubbverksamhet deras största aktörer.   Syftet med examensarbetet har varit att beskriva Skövde flygplats nuvarande verksamhet, samt att utreda flygplatsens miljöledningssystem (MLS). Flygplatsen har även efterfrågat en översyn av det nuvarande miljöledningssystemet på Skövdes flygplats. Rapporten avspegla därför den genomförda undersökningen, men även ge förslag på förbättringar som kan göras med avseende på flygplatsens miljö och verksamhet.   För att uppfylla examensarbetets syfte, har ett antal delmål skapats. Delmålen är till för att förbättra rapportens resultat och syfte. I studiens teoriavsnitt beskrivs därför vilka delar som ingår i ett MLS, standarder och förenklade MLS. Studien har även kartlagt Skövde flygplats verksamhet, eftersom verksamheten idag är otydlig och ofullständig.   Eftersom flygplatsens verksamhet idag saknar information och dokumentation kring flygplatsen, har ett antal studiebesök genomförts. Under studiebesöken har studenterna observerat och intervjuat personal, samt fått ta del av dokumentation kring flygplatsen. Därför har studien valt att genomföra en dokumentstudie. Resultatet av dokumentstudien redovisas sedan i rapportens kapitel 4, ”Nulägesbeskrivning”, 5 ”Nulägesanalys”.   Under arbetets gång har ett antal brister påträffats på Skövde flygplats. Idag saknar till exempel flygplatsen information och dokumentation om sin verksamhet och MLS. Flygplatsen är till exempel idag miljödiplomerad, men saknar samtidigt stöd från studiens teori att få kalla sig miljödiplomerad. Verksamheten är idag komplex och det finns många olika uppfattningar kring flygplatsens verksamhet. Resultatet är baserat på examensarbetets dokumentstudie tillsammans med studiens teoriunderlag. Resultatet presenteras i det avslutande kapitlet i form av förslag och rekommendationer till Skövde flygplats. / This report was written as a part of the bachelor program, Industrial Organization and Economics, focusing on logistics and management, at the School of Engineering in Jonkoping.  The report was written on behalf of Skövde Airport Company, which is a municipally owned airport company.  Skövde Airport is located within a few miles outside the city of Skövde, Sweden.   The airport serves mainly cargo planes but occasionally serves smaller passenger flights as well.  Today, companies like Kinnarps AB and Volvo Powertrain, are their biggest customers.  The airport also includes a fire station service and offices for these larger customers.   The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of Skövde Airport’s surrounding issues. Our goal is to provide suggestions as to what the airport can implement as well as continue working on to improve the airport environment.  Therefore the study also examines other options in terms of ways to prepare to work with the environment; these systems are called “Environment Management Systems (EMS).”  Consequently, the study has taken parts of these EMS: s to identify and describe what parts are most critical from an environmental perspective.   The report includes a critical examination of the airport and explanation on how the airport works with the environment. The investigation portion of this thesis presents our mapping of the Skövde Airport Company’s current EMS.  The analysis describes everyday business activities and how these everyday activities are impacting the environment. Finally, the report concludes our reflection of the outcome of implementing these suggestions we have presented.   During this process the study found a number of deficiencies at Skövde airport. Today Skövde airport is missing vital information and documentation on its activities and the EMS. The airport currently holds a diploma for their EMS, but according to this study it’s missing vital information and documentation. Skövde airport is a complex organization to describe and even today there are many different opinions and views about its function and business.   The result of this study is therefore based on a document study. During the project time information had been collected from documentation, visits at the airport, interviews and communication with employees.  The result is presented in the final chapter in the form of proposals and recommendations to Skövde Airport.