In Canada, interest in regional strategic environmental assessment as a framework for assessing cumulative environmental effects is growing. Strategic environmental assessment, and in particular regional strategic environmental assessment, is generally regarded as the preferred assessment framework within which to address cumulative effects due to its broad scale of assessment and its focus on influencing future development. However, very little research has been done to confront the challenges, either conceptually or methodologically, in operationalizing strategic environmental assessment at a regional scale and in assessing cumulative environmental effects in this regional and strategic context. This dissertation advances work in this area by defining a conceptual framework and generic methodology for regional strategic environmental assessment that deliberately integrates cumulative effects considerations.<p> The research methodology includes a literature review, framework and case reviews, and three sets of interviews with Canadian and international practitioners, academics, and administrators knowledgeable on strategic environmental assessment and cumulative effects assessment issues. The research results are reported in four manuscripts. The first manuscript presents a typology of current approaches to regional cumulative effects assessment. The second manuscript reviews lessons from recent attempts at regional-scale, strategically-focused environmental analysis in Canada that include an impact assessment component and explicit attention to cumulative environmental effects. The third manuscript presents a structured framework for regional strategic environmental assessment in Canada, and the fourth manuscript discusses conceptual and methodological challenges that accompany the integration of strategic environmental assessment and cumulative effects assessment.<p> Significant findings include that cumulative effects assessment does indeed represent a significant conceptual and methodological challenge in a strategic assessment context and that cumulative effects assessment in this context requires more than simply adding up direct effects. Further, this research indicates that the seminal contribution of regional strategic environmental assessment is to determine the pace and nature of future development in a region, including significant regional environmental thresholds, targets, and limits; and to inform decision makers of the broader, the slower-moving, the farther-reaching, and perhaps the more insidious currents of environmental change. Moving forward, there is a need to further develop and demonstrate approaches to cumulative effects assessment in a strategic context, develop a supportive legislative and regulatory framework for regional strategic environmental assessment in Canada, and define the unique contribution of regional strategic assessment in relation to regional planning and management.

Activities, conducted in the logistics sector, contribute to pollute the world. Especially, road transportation contaminates the environment with the release of exhaust emissions. Transport volumes as well as the proportion of the road sector are constantly rising, which intensifies its environmental impacts. In order to determine the main culprits of pollution, Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) are used. These concepts are mostly ambiguous, fuzzy and hard to present in a comprehensive way. The main purpose of the present thesis is to develop an analysis in order to investigate the environmental impacts of road transportation along a certain supply chain. An academic resource was used as database, in order to develop and test an exhauste mission calculation in cooperation with a case company. Besides CO2, this assessment also focuses on the measurement of other exhauste missions like Nox, PM or CO. Furthermore, economic factors like, costs caused per transport are calculated. Aspects, like capacity utilization, the use of environmentally friendly tires or eco-friendly driving styles, are included in the analysis. These factors influence fuel consumption and thus the final production of exhaust emissions. A detailed description of each factor and calculation step is illustrated in this thesis. Due to a high complexity of transportation, this analysis is limited to road transportation. The fundament of the analysis builds the categorization of crafts due to the Euro standards. Hence, just transports conducted with crafts, manufactured within the European Union, can be evaluated. A validation test and in-depth interviews were conducted in order to approve the practicability of the developed assessment. During this process, strengths and weaknesses of the analysis were identified. Finally, the analysis is critically examined by showing its application constraints as well as prospective development opportunities. An enlargement, to include other transport modes, material handling activities in order to measure impacts during intermodal transportation along a whole transportation chain, is a prospect outlook.

In an event of environmental impact assessment (EIA), encouraging public participation is particular important during the process of open deliberation attributed to the following reasons. First, people may contribute vital environment information to support decision making for the authority in charge. Secondly, through the process of participation, not only satisfying the right of "be aware" for people but establishing the consensus toward a feasible alternative in advance. In the past several years, Decision Support Systems (DSS), through the integration of human intelligence and software engineering, has been widely used to solve semi-structure or ill-structure problems. Nevertheless, DDS is designed for single user. In most situations involving many stockholders, a decision may not be made simply by a single person but by a group of people after reaching some agreement. It is therefore important to develop Group Decision Support System (GDSS) to deal with such problems. The current research employs the concept of GDSS and develops the prototype of a GDSS for promoting "public participation" in EIA. Such system fully integrates various techniques to cover "Delphi", "Certainty Factor", and "3D Geographic Information System (GIS)". "Delphi" is used as the mechanism to facilitate the reduction of dissentient view, while "Certainty Factor" offers an easy yet effective approach to evaluate public opinion under a multi-criteria decision making environment. Finally people can visualize the future landscape of all alternatives with the virtual scene generated by 3D GIS. To make the general public aware the EIA related information, the GDSS also takes full advantage of the Internet to deliver message in multimedia form. The case study to demonstrate the usage of such GDSS is the transportation project of building a sightseeing cross-harbor cable car between Mt. qi-hou and Mt. shou. Through using the GDSS by the stockholders, more people are willing to take part in EIA and thus put "public participation" in practice. In consequence, the authority in charge of EIA may make more appropriate decision in light of the results from public participation.

It was determined in the mid- 1990s that Highway 95 in southern Nevada had experienced a tremendous increase in traffic and increased safety hazards for motorists due to growth in population and commerce in the Southwest. Federal, state, and local governments worked to find a solution to the impacts of increased traffic and have chosen a number of alternatives related to highway expansion. This is an American Indian ethnographic study for the Big Springs Highway 95 Corridor Project. The study area included the Big Spring Complex and associated American Indian sites potentially impacted by the westward expansion of U.S. 95 north of its junction with U.S. 15. The study does not include an analysis of U.S. 95 impacts to the east of the Big Springs complex towards what is known as Lorenzi Park. This report is based on interviews with American Indian representatives from six Southern Paiute tribes and the Las Vegas Indian Center. Each tribe and organization chose to send one or more tribal members to evaluate the potential impacts to American Indian cultural resources that would occur if Highway 95 were to be expanded to incorporate a portion of the current Big Spring location. This report provides the Southern Paiute evaluations of the proposed expansion.

Forskare argumenterar för att det krävs mer deliberativa kvaliteter i dagensdemokratiska Sverige för att vi dels ska kunna kallas oss för en fungerande demokratioch dels för att vi ska ha en chans att kunna nå något vi nästan alla strävar efter idag –hållbar utveckling. En lagstadgad och därmed vanlig metod som används idag för attutreda en planerad verksamhets miljökonsekvenser är att upprätta enmiljökonsekvensbeskrivning (MKB). Samrådsprocessen i MKB:s för projekt är ettmedel att göra processen mer demokratisk. Syftet med denna studie är att utvärderadetta demokratiska medel för att kunna dra slutsatser kring om det fyller sin funktionoch hur det skulle gå att förbättra för att generera fler positiva utfall. Syftet harbesvarats med hjälp av två litteraturstudier, sex djupintervjuer och enenkätundersökning som alla har kopplats till studiens teoretiska utgångspunkter. En delav uppsatsens teori är relevant bakgrund (d.v.s. avsnitt Miljökonsekvensbeskrivningar)medan andra delar är vetenskapliga och har som syfte att jämföras med resultaten (d.v.s.avsnitt Samtalsdemokrati). Det viktigaste resultatet från de två litteraturstudierna var att kapitlet om MKB imiljöbalken inte har genomgått någon större förändring från det att det skapades tillsidag och att det behövs andra metoder (ex. intervjuer och observationer) för att kunnaavgöra om det som kommer fram på samrådet tas hänsyn till i MKB:n. Det mestframträdande resultatet från intervjuer och enkätundersökning var dels att denvanligaste formen på samråd är antingen skriftligt eller ett stormöte och dels attupplägget på stormöten ofta inleds med att verksamhetsutövaren håller en långpresentation och i slutet blir det en kort frågestund. Resultatet visar också att det verkarvara form och upplägg på samrådsprocessen som skapar de största problemen för att videls ska få ut de kvaliteter som konsulter och verksamhetsutövare själva anser ärviktigast, nämligen synpunkter och dels för att kunna säkra att detta verktyg för att ökademokratin, som samråd just är, inte bara gör det i teorin utan också i praktiken. Det ärkring detta som diskussionen till största del har kretsat och det är detta som äruppsatsens viktigaste slutsats. Resultatet visar också att konsulter ochverksamhetsutövare är medvetna om att de vanligaste formerna för samråd inte äroptimala för att leverera de synpunkter de så gärna vill ha, ändå finns en motvilja till attändra och utveckla formen. Ett förslag för vidare utredning är att gå djupare in på vaddetta beror på för att på sikt kanske finna nyckeln till hur man kan ändra på dennamotvilja att utveckla form och upplägg på samrådsförfarandet. / Researchers argue that it takes more deliberative qualities in today's democratic Swedenboth that we should be able to call us for a functioning democracy but also for us tohave a chance to achieve something we almost all endeavors today - sustainabledevelopment. A statutory and thus a common method used today to investigate whatenvironmental impact a planned activity may cause is to establish an EnvironmentalImpact Assessment (EIA). The consultation process in EIA:s for projects is a means tomake the process more democratic. The purpose of this study is to evaluate thisdemocratic means in order to draw conclusions about whether it fulfills its function andwhether it would be possible to improve in order to generate more positive outcomes.The aim has been answered with the help of two literary studies, six in-depth interviewsand a survey which has been linked to the study's theoretical points. Part of the thesis isrelevant background theory (i.e the Environmental Impact Assessments section) whileother parts are scientific and are intended to be compared with the results (i.e thedeliberative democracy section).The most important result from the two literature studies was that the chapter on EIA inthe environmental code has not undergone any major change from the time it wascreated until today and the need for other methods (e.g. interviews and observations) todetermine whether the comments during the consultation will be considered in the EIA. The most striking result from the interviews and survey were that the most commonform of consultation is either writing or a public meeting and partly that the layup atlarge meetings often begin with the operator holding a long presentation and in the endit will be a short question and answer session. The result also shows that it seems to bethe form and structure of the consultation process that creates the biggest problems forus both to get out the qualities that consultants and operators themselves consider mostimportant, namely observations, and partly to ensure that this tool can enhancedemocracy, which consultation is about, not just in theory but also in practice. It is onthis that the discussion mainly revolved around, and it is this that is the essay's mainconclusion. The result also shows that consultants and operators are aware that the mostcommon forms of consultation are not optimal to deliver the comments they want sobadly, yet there is a reluctance to change and develop shape of the consultation process.A proposal for further investigation is to go deeper into what causes this to be able toeventually find the key to how to change this reluctance to develop the form andstructure of the consultation process.

It is generally accepted that the environment has three inter-dependent components: economic, socio-political and natural Consequently, integrated environmental management coupled with sustainable development is critical, and in order to achieve this goal, effective guidelines and implementable legislation are necessary. This evaluation aims to determine and compare the effectiveness of the South African and Malawian environmental impact assessment (EIA) legislation, using the comparative criteria set out by Wood (1995, 2003), and accordingly to determine whether any further amendments are necessary to improve the effectiveness of these countries' EIA systems. In the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, it is particularly important that environmental legislation and policies are aligned across borders, to allow for better integration of these economies. The alignment of EIA systems in the SADC region could enhance regional sustainable development if managed using similar criteria. The primary objective of this study is to compare the EIA legislation of South Africa and Malawi using Wood's (1995, 1999, 2003) 14-point evaluation criteria. The effectiveness and not the implementation and practice of the legislation is being compared. The secondary objective of this study is to determine whether Wood and Roux's recommendations have been incorporated into the South African National Environmental Management Amendment Act 8 of 2004 and the January 2005 draft EIA regulations, and whether South African legislation meets Wood's 14 criteria for a sound EIA system. In the South African evaluation, 11 of Wood's 14 criteria are met, while an additional two criteria are partially met and one criterion is failed, resulting in an overall improvement in the South African EIA system. The Malawian EIA legislation meets 11 of Wood's 14 criteria, with three criteria being partially met, in principle making it more effective than the South African EIA legislation. However, although Malawi theoretically has a slightly more effective EIA legislation than South Africa, in practice this is not the case. Ideally, when South Africa's updated EIA legislation is published it will meet with all 14 of Wood's criteria for an effective EIA system based on international standards. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process that seeks to reduce the negative environmental consequences of listed development activities, which could have a detrimental effect on the environment, in the advance of their implementation, and a requirement of legislation in South Africa. An important element of the systematic EIA process is the submission of an environmental impact or scoping report or an environmental impact report (EIR) to the relevant governmental department, interested and affected parties and/or specialist for review to determine the report's adequacy before a project can be authorised or if further information is required. The information made available in reports to decision-makers with regard to developments with the potential of affecting explosive projects, plays a significant role in the authorisation of the project after the authority review process, which is dependent on the quality of the report. In order to contribute more effectively to sustainable development, more attention must be placed on assessing the quality of ElA's as part of determining how effectively EIA has been functioning in South Africa; hence this study is aimed at assessing the quality of EIA assessment reports of four projects with the potential of impacting on explosive industry projects. The objectives of the study included the review by independent reviewers of the quality of four-selected impact reports using a checklist, analysis of the review process results and provision of recommendations to improve the quality of environmental impact reports for-explosive projects. Based on the review results it is concluded that the quality of the four reports for-explosive projects. Based on the review results it is concluded that the quality of the four reports were of an acceptable standard, although certain areas were found poorly performed i.e. improvement with regard to identification of key impacts and considerations of alternatives and mitigation as well as the control and treatment of waste. Otherwise the review method is fairly robust and consistent and therefore can be seen as a reliable indication of EIR quality. The following was recommended to improve the quality of the reports for explosive projects: The use of a quality review checklist for explosive projects by EIA practitioners and authorities to be used as an additional tool to the EIA regulations (DEAT 2002) and the Integrated Environmental Management series (DEAT 2002) can further improve the quality of the El reports for explosive projects. • The use by EIA practitioners of an explosive review checklist will assist in ensuring that all key aspects are addressed before submission to relevant authorities, i.e. the report contains all pertinent information and is technically sound, the report is set-up clearly and coherently organized and presented so that it can be understood and that it has addressed all the key issues to make a decision about the proposed development. This will further assist in fast-tracking the approval process often delayed by the request of additional information from the applicant as a result of inadequate reports. • Regular use of the review checklist by EIA practitioners and authorities for ascertaining the quality of the environmental impact reports will contribute to a baseline of EIR quality for evaluating EIA practice for explosive projects under the new regulations promulgated in June 2006. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process that seeks to reduce the negative environmental consequences of listed development activities, which could have a detrimental effect on the environment, in the advance of their implementation, and a requirement of legislation in South Africa. An important element of the systematic EIA process is the submission of an environmental impact or scoping report or an environmental impact report (EIR) to the relevant governmental department, interested and affected parties and/or specialist for review to determine the report's adequacy before a project can be authorised or if further information is required. The information made available in reports to decision-makers with regard to developments with the potential of affecting explosive projects, plays a significant role in the authorisation of the project after the authority review process, which is dependent on the quality of the report. In order to contribute more effectively to sustainable development, more attention must be placed on assessing the quality of ElA's as part of determining how effectively EIA has been functioning in South Africa; hence this study is aimed at assessing the quality of EIA assessment reports of four projects with the potential of impacting on explosive industry projects. The objectives of the study included the review by independent reviewers of the quality of four-selected impact reports using a checklist, analysis of the review process results and provision of recommendations to improve the quality of environmental impact reports for-explosive projects. Based on the review results it is concluded that the quality of the four reports for-explosive projects. Based on the review results it is concluded that the quality of the four reports were of an acceptable standard, although certain areas were found poorly performed i.e. improvement with regard to identification of key impacts and considerations of alternatives and mitigation as well as the control and treatment of waste. Otherwise the review method is fairly robust and consistent and therefore can be seen as a reliable indication of EIR quality. The following was recommended to improve the quality of the reports for explosive projects: The use of a quality review checklist for explosive projects by EIA practitioners and authorities to be used as an additional tool to the EIA regulations (DEAT 2002) and the Integrated Environmental Management series (DEAT 2002) can further improve the quality of the El reports for explosive projects. • The use by EIA practitioners of an explosive review checklist will assist in ensuring that all key aspects are addressed before submission to relevant authorities, i.e. the report contains all pertinent information and is technically sound, the report is set-up clearly and coherently organized and presented so that it can be understood and that it has addressed all the key issues to make a decision about the proposed development. This will further assist in fast-tracking the approval process often delayed by the request of additional information from the applicant as a result of inadequate reports. • Regular use of the review checklist by EIA practitioners and authorities for ascertaining the quality of the environmental impact reports will contribute to a baseline of EIR quality for evaluating EIA practice for explosive projects under the new regulations promulgated in June 2006. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

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