Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) systems are under pressure in many countries, driven by a call for efficiency and streamlining. Such a phenomenon is particularly clear in Brazil, where, in the ...past few years, a number of influential associations put forward documents proposing significant changes to environmental licensing and impact assessment regulations. So far, there is no publicly available information about any initiative towards scrutinizing those proposals. The objective of this study was to critically review the merits and drawbacks of the changes proposed in those documents. The analysis triangulated content analysis, focus group and online survey data. The focus group included ten seasoned Brazilian EIA specialists; the survey, based on Likert-scale and open-ended questions, resulted in 322 valid responses from EIA professionals. Results show that the proposals generally agree that the current EIA system, while playing a key role in mitigating impacts and enhancing project design, needs many changes. Nonetheless, the proposals neither offered solutions to overcome political, technical and budget barriers, nor established a sense of priority of the most urgent issues. Findings from the focus group and the survey signaled that a number of proposed actions might face public outcry, and that those changes that do not depend on legislative action are more likely to be implementable. Previous studies about EIA reform focused mostly on the context of developed countries after changes had taken place. This study, while addressing the perspective of a large developing country in a “before-reform” stage, shows that capacity-building is a key requirement in EIA reform.
•Brazil's EIA system is under strong pressure for change.•Findings corroborate ineffectiveness in current system.•There are tensions as to the best approaches to overcome problems.•Exact effects of proposals are uncertain.•Low institutional capacity can play strong role in driving EIA reform.
The aim of this study was to assess the environmental impact of three alternatives for wastewater treatment in small communities. To this end, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out comparing ...a conventional wastewater treatment plant (i.e. activated sludge system) with two nature-based technologies (i.e. hybrid constructed wetland and high rate algal pond systems). Moreover, an economic evaluation was also addressed. All systems served a population equivalent of 1500 p.e. The functional unit was 1 m3 of water. System boundaries comprised input and output flows of material and energy resources for system construction and operation. The LCA was performed with the software SimaPro®8, using the ReCiPe midpoint method. The results showed that the nature-based solutions were the most environmentally friendly alternatives, while the conventional wastewater treatment plant presented the worst results due to the high electricity and chemicals consumption. Specifically, the potential environmental impact of the conventional wastewater treatment plant was between 2 and 5 times higher than that generated by the nature-based systems depending on the impact category. Even though constructed wetland and high rate algal pond systems presented similar results in terms of environmental impact, the latter showed to be the less expensive alternative. Nevertheless, the constructed wetland system should be preferred when land occupation is of major concern, since it has a smaller footprint compared to the high rate algal pond alternative.
Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been recognized as contaminants of emerging concerns by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) due to their environmental impact. ...Several advisory guidelines were proposed worldwide aimed at limiting their occurrences in the aquatic environments, especially for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This review paper aims to provide a holistic review in the emerging area of PFAS research by summarizing the spatiotemporal variations in PFAS concentrations in surface water systems globally, highlighting the possible trends of occurrences of PFAS, and presenting potential human health impacts as a result of PFAS exposure through surface water matrices. From the data analysis in this study, occurrences of PFOA and PFOS in many surface water matrices were observed to be several folds higher than the US EPA health advisory level of 70 ng/L for lifetime exposure from drinking water. Direct discharge and atmospheric deposition were identified as primary sources of PFAS in surface water and cryosphere, respectively. While global efforts focused on limiting usages of long-chain PFAS such as PFOS and PFOA, the practices of using short-chain PFAS such as perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and PFAS alternatives increased substantially. These compounds are also potentially associated with adverse impacts on human health, animals and biota.
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•Global shift in use of PFAS was observed from western to eastern part of the world.•Use of long-chain PFAS decreased due to regulations promoting short-chain PFAS.•Most studies reported PFOS and PFOA occurrences over US EPA threshold of 70 ng/L.•Discharge from WWTP acts as primary direct emission source of PFAS in rivers.•Globally high PFAS concentrations were observed in China, Japan, Korea, Australia.
•A dynamic LCA framework for EIA of buildings is proposed.•Progress in DLCA research is reviewed and the limitations are summarized.•Four dynamic properties are identified and introduced into the ...DLCA framework.•The impacts on EIA by technological progress are considered from three aspects.•Occupancy profiles in residences are described from three levels.
Traditional life cycle assessment (LCA) methods are used to conduct building environmental impact assessment (EIA) with little consideration of influential factors that vary in time and of variation in occupancy behaviors. Because the life cycle of a building is quite long, such details have significant influence on the accuracy of evaluation results. To fill in this gap and extend the LCA system, this paper developed a dynamic assessment framework based on LCA principles after reviewing the research progress of DLCA (dynamic LCA). The new framework identified four dynamic building properties (i.e., technological progress, variation in occupancy behavior, dynamic characteristic factors, and dynamic weighting factors) and considered them in corresponding assessment steps to realize real-time EIA. In addition, residential occupancy profiles were described at personal level, family level, and social level; and three potential quantification methods were introduced to explore the relationship between occupancy profiles and household energy consumption. The DLCA framework expands the connotation of the LCA system from a dynamic perspective, making it possible to present time-varying EIs of buildings over their long life cycle and guide occupancy behavior in time. This framework has the potential to be base for developing a useful tool for conducting forecast evaluation and promoting sustainability.
A Life Cycle Assessment was carried out in order to assess the environmental performance of constructed wetland systems for winery wastewater treatment. In particular, six scenarios which included ...the most common winery wastewater treatment and management options in South-Western Europe, namely third-party management and activated sludge systems, were compared. Results showed that the constructed wetland scenarios were the most environmentally friendly alternatives, while the third-party management was the worst scenario followed by the activated sludge systems. Specifically, the potential environmental impacts of the constructed wetlands scenarios were 1.5–180 and 1–10 times lower compared to those generated by the third-party and activated sludge scenarios, respectively. Thus, under the considered circumstances, constructed wetlands showed to be an environmentally friendly technology which helps reducing environmental impacts associated with winery wastewater treatment by treating winery waste on-site with low energy and chemicals consumption.
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•A Life Cycle Assessment of winery wastewater treatment was performed.•Constructed wetlands, third-party management and activated sludge were considered.•Constructed wetlands showed to be the most environmentally friendly solution.•Environmental impacts of constructed wetlands were up to 180 times lower.
Environmental impact assessment system has made great progress in recent years in China, but it still cannot meet the needs of practice, and there are still various problems in the compilation of ...environmental impact assessment report, but the existing environmental impact assessment system still needs to be improved. Therefore, in order to promote the normative and scientific development of the environmental impact assessment system, this paper constantly finds problems and draws experience from the development, improves the system, and provides improvement measures for the improvement of the environmental impact assessment(EIA) report in terms of content and form that adapt to the development of practice.
From the beginning of humanity, our generation has been on the edge of finding suitable solutions to increase the product’s life-cycle and reduce the environmental impact of the product. Life-cycle ...assessment is a process to evaluate the effects of products or services whereas environmental impact assessment is an inter-related process of evaluating the environmental impact of a product or service. Plant fibre reinforced composites are developed by researchers, which are kindled by economic and environmental trepidations. The forest’s wood resources will decline and deplete due to environmental issues caused by natural and renewable resources. The main objective of this review is to conduct life-cycle assessment and environmental impact assessment studies on plant fibres and manufacturing of bio-composites from these fibres. It identifies the differences and causes to the environment, in particular about the total effect on the surrounding atmosphere. Another aim of this work is to assess a techno-economic feasibility based on the environmental impact category. In addition to this, inventory assessments of these composites are also dealt with, alongside the industrial applications. This review concludes a summary of current research and point out the opportunities and challenges for future researchers.
Environmental regulations have always been an essential component in the natural gas supply chain, with recent and greater emphasis on shipping operations. Recently more stringent regulations have ...been imposed by the International Maritime Organization on global maritime shipping operations. This review explores the challenges and opportunities associated with substituting heavy fuel oils used for maritime transportation with relatively cleaner fuels. First, the review considers the feasibility and environmental dimensions of different bunker fuels, including liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and ammonia. Also, the operational viability and optimal conditions for these fuels are examined. Secondly, the review considers the entire supply chain, with an emphasis on how liquefied natural gas exporters can establish synergies across the supply chain to also deliver the end-product required by customers instead of delivering only liquefied natural gas. Finally, measures that can support ship operators to comply with environmental regulations are suggested. The outcomes of this review supports the notion that the demand for alternative fuels will continue to increase as the transportation sector moves towards integrating cleaner fuels to comply with increasing environmental regulations.
•Growing stringency in environmental regulation will result in a major shift in maritime fuels.•General description of the production and consumption of current and potential bunker fuels while exploring their market prospects.•An introduction of LNG, Hydrogen, Ammonia and biofuel potentials as bunker fuel candidates.•Technical and financial obstacles that can hinder the complete transition to clean fuels.•LNG presents a readily available transition fuel for the maritime industry from heavy oils.
Robust impact assessments (IAs) for deep-sea fisheries are essential for safeguarding deep-sea ecosystems against the impacts of bottom fishing. In the high seas, United Nations Resolution ...commitments require States (independently or through Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)) to conduct IAs to evaluate if fishing is putting vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) at risk. To enhance the efficacy of future IAs, this study evaluated nine IAs against the criteria in the FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas. We find that in all IAs, the information required by the FAO Guidelines is either completely lacking or only partially addressed. The main shortcoming of the IAs was inadequate description of the ecosystems potentially affected by fishing. Additional shortcomings include incomplete description of the proposed fishing activities, lack of baseline data and risk assessments, and limited consideration of the indirect impacts of fishing. This study identifies several ways to strengthen the IA process; i) making IAs publicly available; ii) improved collection of baseline data and VME identification; iii) assessment of impacts on broader range of species associated with VMEs or potentially impacted by deep-sea fishing; iv) enhanced cooperation between RFMOs and more streamlined IA processes; v) comprehensive assessment of different types of impacts from fishing and climate change, and vii) improved consideration of uncertainty. Fully compliant IAs are a minimum requirement for the effective function of RFMOs, since they are the primary tool for preventing significant adverse impacts upon vulnerable marine ecosystems and the wider deep-sea environment.
To better understand the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and to support improvement efforts aimed at enhancing its genuine effectiveness, this study proposes a novel approach ...to evaluating EIA effectiveness. The proposed framework was applied to the EIA system of Espírito Santo state, Southeastern Brazil. Unlike previous research, which often examined EIA effectiveness in isolation, this study introduces a comprehensive framework for a multifactorial analysis of EIA effectiveness (procedural, substantive, transactive, and legitimacy). By integrating various dimensions of EIA effectiveness and conducting a systematic longitudinal analysis from 2007 to 2016, this research provides insights into the effectiveness of the EIA process in the analyzed context. Grounded in multidimensional aspects of EIA effectiveness, our heuristic methodological framework facilitates an in-depth examination of the complexity of analyzing the effectiveness of EIA, aiming to provide efficient and adaptive responses. We analyzed forty-seven case studies through a combination of fieldwork and desk analysis, employing documentary research and interviews for data collection, and document analysis, discourse analysis, and statistical analysis for data analysis. Additionally, a meticulous quality review of all Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) produced during the study period significantly enhances our understanding of the EIA system's effectiveness. Our analysis reveals a notable gap in EIS quality, particularly regarding impact identification and analysis. These gaps, along with the subsequent need for supplementary information, contribute to prolonged durations and increased costs in EIA processes. Weaknesses were also identified in the screening and scoping phases of the EIA process. Despite these challenges, we identified knowledge repositories, instances of learning, and benefits that the EIA has brought to projects. Overall, this research represents a significant advancement in understanding EIA effectiveness, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the field. Additionally, the framework's adaptability to other contexts enhances its utility and relevance beyond the study area.
•The adopted framework facilitated a comprehensive analysis of EIA effectiveness.•The pursuit of effectiveness is an ongoing process of improvement, unveiling interconnections among its dimensions.•Overall effectiveness can be perceived as a maturation process.
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