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Amsterdam's North-South Metro Line (NZL) megaproject has had a long eventful history. From the initial proposal in the 1990s, through construction in the 2000s to 2010s, to its opening in 2018, the NZL overcame many challenges. Several geotechnical incidents in the Vijzelgracht neighbourhood in 2008 cost the City of Amsterdam and the Dutch government millions of Euros. These incidents required complex recovery management actions, and there was a complete re-evaluation of the project, resulting in extensive reformulation of the project's communications and impact management strategies, and in more-transparent public participation. Despite NZL's significance, it never underwent any formal Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), thus it provides an interesting case to consider how social impacts are addressed when there is no formal ESIA. Drawing on document review, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group, we considered the experiences of key decision-makers and project team members to learn how social impacts were assessed and managed over time in the absence of ESIA. We conclude that, when combined with appropriate urban governance frameworks, applying ESIA in urban and transport planning would improve the assessment and management of the social impacts of future megaproject infrastructure developments.

"Untersuchungen der Verteilung materieller und immaterieller Güter auf soziale Klassen und Schichten, von rechtlicher und faktischer Chancengleichheit und Segregation haben in der Soziologie eine feste Tradition. Paradoxerweise war diese Thematik in der Umweltsoziologie lange ein 'blinder Fleck' - wenn nicht sogar theoretisch postuliert wurde, dass Umweltbelastungen eben alle betreffen, ungeachtet von Klasse und Schicht. Die wenigen empirischen Untersuchungen im deutschsprachigen Raum stammen vorwiegend von Sozialmedizinern und Epidemiologen, z.B. anhand des Datenmaterials von Schuleingangsuntersuchungen. In dem Vortrag werden empirische Befunde aus deutschen und Schweizer Untersuchungen berichtet. Dabei zeigen sich deutliche Abweichungen zwischen der physikalischen Messung 'objektiver' Umweltbelastungen und der subjektiven Betroffenheit. Hinweise zur subjektiven Wahrnehmung von Umweltlasten erhalten wir aus Analysen der Daten des Schweizer Umweltsurveys und des Eurobarometers. Abschließend wird ein Forschungsprogramm vorgestellt, in dessen Rahmen Befragungsdaten mit objektiven (GIS-referenzierten) Daten der Umweltbelastung verknüpft werden." (Autorenreferat)

The global environmental crisis is caused by wrong and failed policies, low political commitment, deviant behavior from state actors ranging from trans-national corporations, consumerism and individualism culture, which ultimately harms the environment. The purpose of this research is to analyze environmental law, the form and importance of law enforcement in realizing sustainable development. The method used in this paper is to use a normative juridical approach. The results of the research show that currently environmental law is still weak in overcoming various environmental problems that occur. The cause of not optimal environmental law is the lack of a firm and real form of law enforcement. Therefore, law enforcement must be enforced for the realization of sustainable development

Development of Bhutan's untapped hydro power resources has the potential to spur economic growth, rapidly increase export revenue,reduce poverty, and bring about sustained improvements in human development. The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) has,therefore, embarked on an ambitious plan to develop the renewable hydropower resourcesin the country. Large hydropower plants generating 1,606 MW are already operational,and new plants with an additional capacity of3,658 MW are under construction and expectedto be commissioned by 2018 and 19. According to these plans, the RGoB will commission closeto 12,600 MW of new hydropower by the end of the next decade, becoming by far the highest hydropower producer per capita in the world. The findings of this study are framed in the Bhutanesecontext and focus on recommendations that are relevant for Bhutan. The study has found that the main impacts of hydropower development in Bhutan relate to aquatic biodiversity and are cumulative,meaning that they are not of immediate concernbut should get priority attention once the development of hydropower accelerates. This study has identified a number of gaps inthe management of E&S impacts and rankedthem according to relevance for Bhutan. In conclusion, despite due awareness and a goodregulatory framework for managing the E&Simpacts of hydropower in Bhutan, challengesremain in the upstream planning and in the implementation of the assessment and mitigation of impacts, mainly because of the lack of capacity among key government institutions to ensure quality and enforce good practices. Addressing the capacity constraints, and providing keyinstitutions with the tools, structures, and skills necessary for proper E&S management of hydropower would benefit the sustainability of Bhutan's natural and cultural values, as well as its hydropower and economic development.

Environmental issues are very important for all the people thorough the world. They impact the quality of human life. Each of us must protect the environment and must take part in preventing problems. The social workers have a great role regarding environmental issues. The paper aims to obtain opinions of students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, Bachelor degree, third academic course regarding environmental issues. The research question are : "What are the perceptions of students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, Bachelor degree, third academic course about environmental issues?" and ""What are their perceptions about their contribution to environmental protection as future social workers?". It is used the focus-group method and technique of interviewing the students of Social Work branch, Bachelor degree, third academic course. In the study, we had the participation of 39 students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, and third academic course. There are given the appropriate conclusions. All the students consider very serious thes issues related to the environment. They accept that environmental protection is very important. Regarding the quantity of information that the students have about environmental issues, 10 students accept that they are very informed and the rest of the respondents said that they are less informed. The students affirm that they must contribute as future social workers in the environmental protection and they list a lot of actions for solving environmental problems, including: a)recycling, choosing the best products for the environment, c)avoiding travelling by car, d)the use of public travel, e)saving electricity,b)f)becoming a member and contribution to environmental organizations, g)giving donations for environment protection. The students will contribute as future social workers for environmental protection in their city/village residence in a lot of ways, as:a)population informing, b)raising public awareness about environment keeping clean, c)organizing activities for cleaning their city/village, d)implementation of environmental protection legislation, e)participation in environmental organizations, f)organizing awareness campaigns for environmental protection, g)cooperation with competent authorities in order to reduce environmental pollution and to protect the forests. There are given, also, the appropriate suggestions. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p121

Sobre: José Galindo (ed.), Mexico in Focus. Political, Environmental and Social Issues, Nova Publishers, New York, 2015, 430 pp.

Sobre: José Galindo (ed.), Mexico in Focus. Political, Environmental and Social Issues, Nova Publishers, New York, 2015, 430 pp.

Market Intelligence Report ; Electric vehicles do not directly emit CO2. However, the generation of electricity to charge their Li-ion batteries does. More importantly, though, the manufacturing of Li-ion batteries has considerable environmental and societal impact. On one hand, manufacturing processes are highly energy-intensive, which leads to CO2 emissions and negative environmental impacts. On the other hand, batteries contain raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, graphite, and nickel, of which the mining and processing entail a negative impact on both local societies and ecosystems. Mining operations for cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo have often been accused of using artisanal miners and child labour, while leaks of toxic chemicals f rom lithium mines in Tibet have caused the deterioration of local fauna. Considering the global increase in battery demand, these issues are only expected to increase, should nothing change. Solutions are being developed. Pyro, hydro, and other, innovative recycling processes are being further developed and upscaled, which could partly replace raw material mining. Although up to now just around 5% of all Li-ion batteries (f rom smaller devices such as laptops or cell phones) are recycled or reused, the volume of larger EV batteries that is expected to reach their end of life in the next few years is expected to change this trend, as recycling of larger batteries – with higher content in valuable materials – is predicted to make recycling f inancially attractive. In addition, new battery technologies with low or no content of "troublesome" raw materials are being developed, such as the cobalt-f ree battery developed in COBRA . This market intelligence report aims to highlight the main environmental and social impacts of Li-ion batteries, as well as technologies and measures to reduce them. ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::12 - Producció i Consum Responsables ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::12 - Producció i Consum Responsables::12.2 - Per a 2030, assolir la gestió sostenible i l'ús eficient dels recursos naturals ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::12 - Producció i Consum Responsables::12.4 - Per a 2020, aconseguir la gestió ecològicament racional dels productes químics i de tots els residus al llarg del seu cicle de vida, de conformitat amb els marcs internacionals convinguts, i reduir-ne de manera significativa l'alliberament a l'atmosfera, a l'aigua i al sòl a fi de minimitzar-ne els efectes adversos sobre la salut humana i el medi ambient ; Preprint

Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have fueled a rapid increase in the development of marine renewable energy installations (MREIs). The potential ecological consequences of increased use of these devices emphasizes the need for high quality environmental impact assessment (EIA). We demonstrate that these processes are hampered severely, primarily because ambiguities in the legislation and lack of clear implementation guidance are such that they do not ensure robust assessment of the significance of impacts and cumulative effects. We highlight why the regulatory framework leads to conceptual ambiguities and propose changes which, for the most part, do not require major adjustments to standard practice. We emphasize the importance of determining the degree of confidence in impacts to permit the likelihood as well as magnitude of impacts to be quantified and propose ways in which assessment of population-level impacts could be incorporated into the EIA process. Overall, however, we argue that, instead of trying to ascertain which particular developments are responsible for tipping an already heavily degraded marine environment into an undesirable state, emphasis should be placed on better strategic assessment. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

Abstract Purpose of the study: The objective of this research was aiming at understanding the effect of hybrid cars on the environment. The research was also aimed at proposing a government policy that must be implemented to regulate the usage of hybrid vehicles. Design/Methodology: An analysis of the hybrid cars was carried out along with evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of said vehicles from the perspective of customers, support and maintenance. The study was based on a product substitute, introduced to replace vehicles that run on gasoline, with a hybrid of electric and gasoline vehicles. Findings: The result after testing the vehicles and its components is that Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) does is indeed less harmful to the environment due to it consuming less gasoline. With increasing production of hybrid variants, batteries are being planned and designed in way that extends its life as well as provides the ability of recycling. This turns to be safer, healthier and also a money saver package, saving a fine amount spent on fuel. Research Implications: The researchers hope to achieve a clear understanding of the influence of hybrid cars on the environment and individuals, the way hybrid cars operate, its advantages and disadvantages and the proposed government policy that will regulate the impact of hybrid cars on the environment. Originality: The study is of its first kind and no one has carried out such study ever before in Oman Purpose of study

Environmental and Social Impact Assessments or ESIA's are one of the main project decision-making tools in use to address environmental and social externalities related to project development. They have evolved in response to the ever-growing need to better acknowledge and mitigate negative environmental and social impacts of human development that began with the so-called environmental awakening in the 1960s. This movement led to the first impact assessment tool being developed and implemented in the USA under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is known as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The ESIA today is found in numerous national legislations, international agreements, lending institution requirements and is viewed as key to addressing the problem of sustainable development. This study will try and understand how ESIA has evolved by using hydropower development as a case study. This is particularly relevant as hydropower faces a paradox in that they are viewed as bought merely a renewable source of energy and a source of negative local or regional environmental and social impacts. Through a literature review and interviews with relevant experts in the field, this study will look at the evolution of the ESIA in hydropower to better understand what has made the ESIA what they are today, how they fit into the changing agendas and how they address the issue of sustainability in hydropower. The findings were that the evolution of the ESIA was driven by changing environmental agendas due to growing awareness of the scope of environmental and social issues. Furthermore, the interaction between different actors such as legislators/regulators, developers/investors, practitioners, academics, and civil society is what has shaped the ESIA into what it is today. Despite this long evolution, however, in practice ESIA's have encountered some limitations due to scoping, cumulative impacts, timing of their intervention and putting them properly into practice in hydropower development projects. This has led to questions in the role of ESIAs regarding the future of sustainable hydropower development. The hydropower industry is evolving into a more integrative approach where Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Basin Management Plans (MBP's) are being strongly advocated by key international and regional actors in hydropower such as the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC). ESIA's are still an integral part of hydropower development and are developing new methods of valuation to better address some limitations and to address sustainability for better cost-benefit analysis. These two organizations cited above, along with international lenders (World Bank, International Finance Corporation, EIB etc.) have over the past two decades advocated, integrating project-related ESIA's into a larger-scale assessment that allows for better sustainability assessment of hydropower development on a national or regional scale and thus satisfy their safeguard policies that allows them to confirm or not whether they will lend money to developers or not. This is in line with the growing understanding and acknowledgment that the scope of environmental and social issues is usually beyond what a single project assessment can address. ; M-IES

Article ; This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permission. ; Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have fueled a rapid increase in the development of marine renewable energy installations (MREIs). The potential ecological consequences of increased use of these devices emphasizes the need for high quality environmental impact assessment (EIA). We demonstrate that these processes are hampered severely, primarily because ambiguities in the legislation and lack of clear implementation guidance are such that they do not ensure robust assessment of the significance of impacts and cumulative effects. We highlight why the regulatory framework leads to conceptual ambiguities and propose changes which, for the most part, do not require major adjustments to standard practice. We emphasize the importance of determining the degree of confidence in impacts to permit the likelihood as well as magnitude of impacts to be quantified and propose ways in which assessment of population-level impacts could be incorporated into the EIA process. Overall, however, we argue that, instead of trying to ascertain which particular developments are responsible for tipping an already heavily degraded marine environment into an undesirable state, emphasis should be placed on better strategic assessment. ; Technology Strategy Board