Dmytro Palekhov

Implementing environmental and resource management

From the contents: Part I - Energy Efficiency and Innovation.- Part II - Planning and Decision-making.- Part III - Limits to Managing the Environment.

Standards and Thresholds for EA in Highly Polluted Areas — The Approach of Ukraine

This chapter aims to discuss Ukrainian practice of environmental regulation (i.e. setting environmental norms) in the context of applying environmental assessment procedures — EIA and SEA. For highly polluted areas, which are plentiful in Ukraine, the development of standards and thresholds is of key importance for the successful application of modern methods of environmental assessment, since the adaptation of these methods can help provide a higher level of protection for the environment. The main focus of this chapter is to discuss the necessary changes in Ukrainian practice of environmental regulation, which can contribute to a more environmentally thoughtful management of the economy. It provides an example of how a major environmental problem, in this case air pollution, can be a driver of change in environmental standards. It also reflects a concern to improve environmental performance to meet international standards, in particular EU standards.

Strategic Environmental Assessment to Assess and Monitor Sustainable Resource Use in Progressive Development: Potentials and Limitations

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is recognised by a vast number of countries worldwide as an important instrument for integrating environmental concerns into development strategies – policies, plans and programmes [1]. SEA is a planning and decision-aiding tool that informs decision-makers about potential effects of development strategies on the environment. In the EU it is legally defined by the EC SEA Directive.

Sustainability in the Desert

According to the definition of sustainability, the achievements of past civilizations, e.g. the floodwater farming near the site of Umm el-Jimal, were sustainable since they did not rely on non-renewable resources. But they did not allow continuous settlement from antiquity until today. It is often assumed that breaks in settlement history were due to over-exploitation of the environment, e.g. overgrazing and soil erosion [1].

Editorial - Environmental Challenges and Management of Natural Resources

Today, we live in a world in which the issues of environmental protection and sustainable management of natural resources are of significant concern. Globally, several challenges of various severities to sustainable environmental and natural resources management have been reported (EIA 2008; IPCC 2007; FAO 2006; MEA 2005; WCED 1987). These include problems significantly affecting land, atmosphere, water, and biodiversity, at various spatial and temporal scales. These challenges take several forms e.g. pollution, degradation, decreasing biodiversity and degraded ecosystem services (MEA 2005; IPPC 2007; Taylor and Buttel 1992). Hence, the world’s societies are facing the crucial task of developing corrective, adaptive and coping mechanisms (Clini et al. 2008; Clark and Noin 1998). Policy-makers and practitioners have aimed at transforming these problems into manageable challenges (Pepper 1996). This is aptly exemplified by current efforts to meet the challenges posed by climate change and global warming, and the potential attendant impacts (Ranganathan et al. 2008; FAO 2006). Other efforts can be found in the conventions and norms, policies, programmes and projects, at various levels of governance (Albrecht et al. 2007; Hendricks and Guruswamy 1997).

Requirements and Issues with Implementing SEA as a Sustainable Development Instrument in Ukraine

This chapter aims to discuss the requirements and issues associated with the implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an instrument for sustainable development in Ukraine

The Proportionate Impact Assessment of the European Commission – Towards More Formalism to Backup “The Environment”

The paper reflects main findings from a presentation on “Problems and challenges of the EU impact assessment with emphasis on environmental aspects” presented on the International Workshop “Improving the integrated European impact assessment?” from 15th to 17th September 2008 in Berlin. The discussion concentrates on an analysis of the EC communication and guidelines on IA on the consideration of environmental issues and draws a conclusion with recommendations for an assessment tool, which supports a more transparent assessment of environmental impacts in the future. This addresses particularly Directorate Generals of non-environmental policy such as the DG Trade, where desk officers have limited experience in the selection of methods to assess environmental impacts.

The Potential of Progressive Development

The overview of developments in the desert makes clear that Progressive Development is already implemented is many areas, although it is not acknowledged as such and a coordinating master plan is missing. International plans would be very desirable, since water is a transboundary issue. For example, exploitation of the Disi aquifer led to conflict between Jordan and Saudi Arabia [1]. Jordan, Syria, Israel and Palestine share the Yarmouk River as the primary freshwater resource, which is a very sensitive political issue.

Some Examples of Development in the Desert Belts

Most semi-arid regions face strong population growth. For example, with the actual growth rate in Jordan, population doubles every 25 years. Many countries in the desert belt experienced rapid modernisation during the last 50 years. Taking Jordan again as an example, modern western life styles are spreading quickly. They co-exist with traditional herding and farming in the rural areas, but urbanization is rapidly expanding.

The Socio-Economic Framework: What Can be Learned from Earlier Failures?

Large-scale irrigation projects are theoretically beneficial; however there are examples of outstanding failures which partly led to ecological catastrophes. We think that irrigation per se does not necessarily lead to land degradation. Even in the famous case of the Mesopotamian plains, the idea that ancient Sumerian irrigation caused irreversible salinization [1] is far less evident than often assumed in the public discussion [2].