Linking BMPs to Receiving Water Impact Mitigation in Austin, TX

This report mentions how the water quality of upstream Waller Creek can affect downstream sites.Changes to receiving water bodies following Best Management Practices project (BMP) implementation were evaluated using the Environmental Integrity Index (EII). Data from five wet ponds and one channel restoration project were used. Changes in the six EII sub-indices (water quality, sediment quality, contact recreation, non-contact recreation, habitat quality and aquatic life support) were generally positive except for habitat quality, which declined initially but tended to recover. Water quality through wet pond sites improved by an average of 7%, and the channel erosion site improved water by 18%. Additional data collection is needed to strengthen conclusions.Waller Creek Working Grou

Indigenous aspirations and ecological integrity: Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of an ancestral river for future generations in Aotearoa New Zealand

This paper seeks to provide a domestic example of the application of the environmental ethic of the indigenous Māori which ensures that humans are kaitiaki (guardians) of their surrounding environment by virtue of shared genealogy and how this ethic is being applied to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest. This particular river restoration project reflects many of the important aspects of ecological integrity. It serves too. as a domestic example of the most sophisticated attempt at powersharing to date between Māori and the Crown in relation to natural resources, which may be of interest to other jurisdictions

The response of neotropical dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) to local and regional abiotic factors in small streams of the Amazon

Since the relative role of local and regional abiotic factors on the Odonata diversity in rainforest streams is still poorly understood, we evaluated the effects of these factors on adult Odonata (Insecta) from preserved and altered streams in the Amazonian region. Adult Odonata were sampled in 98 streams in the Eastern Amazon, Pará, Brazil. Six variables were used to measure local environmental factors: habitat integrity index; mean canopy over the channel; and four physical and chemical descriptors of the water. To measure regional environmental factors, six variables were also used: altitude gradient, three bioclimatic variables and two percentage forest variables. In partial redundancy analysis, both abiotic factors (local and regional) were important to explain the variation in the Odonata community. The Odonata community can be influenced by regional and local factors. The relationship between Odonata and the local (e.g., integrity, canopy cover, and physical and chemical descriptors of the water) and regional (e.g., bioclimatic and forest cover variables) environmental variables recorded in this study has important implications for the use of these organisms to monitor small streams of the Eastern Amazon. The scale at which habitat is measured is an important issue in community structuring studies considering the rapid environmental changes. It is of great importance to consider the different scales in studies assessing community structure, once an adequate habitat must meet the ecological needs of all stages of the life of the Odonata.Funding Agency National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) CNPq Amazonian Biodiversity and Land Use project CNPq 574008/2008-0 Brazilian Agricultural Research Company-EMBRAPA SEG: 02.08.06.005.00 Darwin Initiative, United Kingdom 17-023 Nature Conservancy and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) NE/F01614X/1 NE/G000816/1 National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) 307597/2016-4 Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology UID/Multi/04326/2019 PROPESP/UFPA through Edital 01/2018 (Programa de Apoio a Publicacao Qualificada-PAPQ)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of human pressures on large river structure and function

A large river study was conducted as part of the Cross Departmental Research Pool (CDRP) ecological integrity project to (i) provide an overview of the macroinvertebrate faunas of large rivers, including those in deep-water habitats, and (ii) to elucidate links between these faunas, river function and anthropogenic stressors. Eleven sites on 6th-order or 7th-order rivers were sampled; four in the South Island and seven in the North Island. We measured (i) macroinvertebrate communities colonising wood, riffles (where present), littoral habitats (1.5 m deep) (ii) ecosystem metabolism using a single-station open-channel approach based on natural changes in dissolved oxygen concentration over a 24-hour period, and (iii) wood and cellulose breakdown. Relationships were investigated between these response variables and reach-scale assessments of habitat quality, underlying upstream and segment environmental variables provided in the Freshwater Environments of New Zealand (FWENZ) database, and anthropogenic pressure variables provided by the Waters of National Importance (WONI) database

Risk assessment for the installation and maintenance activities of a low-speed tidal energy converter

The study presented in this paper, is part of the Deep Green project, which includes the development of a power converter/device for employment in low-speed tidal currents. It mainly focuses on the initial steps to investigate the ways on how to minimize the risks during handling, operation and maintenance (O&M) activities of the full-scale device particularly in offshore operations. As a first tep, the full-scale device offshore installation and O&M tasks are considered. The overall risk analysis and decision making methodology is presented including the Hazard Identification (HAZID) approach which is complemented with a risk matrix for various consequence categories including personnel Safety (S), Environmental impact (E), Asset integrity (A) and Operation (O). In this way, all the major risks involved in the mentioned activities are identified and actions to prevent or mitigate them are presented. The results of the HAZID analysis are also demonstrated. Finally, the last section of this paper presents the discussion, conclusions and future actions for the above-mentioned activities regarding the full-scale device

Ideal integrated national environmental management system for South Africa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University

The South African environmental management system has been characterised by fragmentation and the lack of effective legislation. The number of statutes concerned with conservation issues is an associated problem. The implementation of the Environmental Conservation Act 1989 has been viewed as inefficient because of the lack of enforcement and control of environmental management issues. The Act has not provided opportunities for public participation, particularly from black communities, in decision-making about environmental matters. The South African environmental management system has not recognised and integrated indigenous peoples resource management systems into the country's legal framework. This is illustrated by the impacts of conservation programmes which have resulted in black communities being uprooted from their lands for the establishment of national parks and tourism facilities, without compensation to traditional owners. Research has identified the need for a revision of environmental impact assessment (EIA) practices in South Africa. There is also an associated need to integrate environmental impact assessment (EIA) into the planning process to achieve sustainability. Studies carried out in South Africa have identified the lack of effective regulations for enforcing the provisions with regard to the status of the coastal zone. The criticisms of the White Paper delivered by participants at the Conference held at Megawatt Park, Sandton, 10 June, 1993, highlight the need for a comprehensive environmental management system to ensure the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. An ideal system would improve the quality of life in the South African community, while maintaining the integrity of the natural resource base. Even though the criticisms have been valid, they fall short of suggesting ideas for the formulation of a new integrated environmental management system for South Africa. Research carried out in South Africa has also identified the inadequacies of the proposed Integrated Environmental Management procedure referred to in the White Paper. This procedure has been perceived as inadequate to achieve the universal principles of sustainable development. This project evaluates the White Paper, the submissions criticising the White Paper and the proposed Integrated Environmental Management system in South Africa. A matrix is used as a method to examine both the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991 and the South African environmental management provisions against the recommended national actions in the IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991) and Agenda 21. Research from a number of disciplines concerned with integrated environmental management, are used to recommend changes to the South African environmental management system. Criteria derived from the IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991) strategy and Agenda 21 are used in the thesis to evaluate the White Paper, submissions criticising the White Paper, and the proposed Integrated Environmental Management system. Finally, An ideal National Integrated Environmental Management System for South Africa is proposed

Cozine Creek Restoration Project

Our Environmental Studies senior capstone class (ENVS 470) wrote and submitted an application for a $15,000 grant from the Oregon Watershed and Enhancement Board (OWEB) to restore a section of the college’s property along Cozine Creek. We worked in partnership with the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council (GYWC) and Upshot LLC, a local contractor, to develop a restoration plan. The initial step will be to control invasive species, mainly Himalayan blackberry and English ivy. We then will plant native species such as Oregon grape, salmonberry, and Indian plum. The site will have five treatment options including combinations of manual and chemical removal. Future ENVS classes will monitor the effectiveness of the treatment options, the growth and survival of native plants, and the effectiveness of deer exclusion devices. The ENVS department, GYWC, and community members will maintain the area through ongoing volunteer work parties. The grant will also fund a Cozine Creek Stewardship student internship position to help coordinate future efforts. The goal of this project is to restore the water quality and ecological integrity of the area, encourage proper usage of the property, and renew our connection to Cozine Creek, both for Linfield College and the surrounding community

Linkage and Multilevel Governance

Economic models of emissions trading implicitly assume a simple unitary governance structure, where a single regulator designs and enforces an emissions trading program. The Kyoto Protocol, however, employs a multilevel governance structure in which international, regional, national, sub-national, and even private actors have significant roles in designing and enforcing the trading program. Under this structure, international trading of credits requires complex linking of disparate regional, national, and subnational trading program. This paper describes the multilevel governance model employed in the Kyoto Protocol and then analyzes some of the problems this complexity creates for the project of creating an international market in environmental benefit credits to realize technology transfer benefits. This paper shows that multilevel governance creates costs that can interfere with technology transfer and free trade in credits. It concludes that rules sufficiently stringent to encourage technology transfer in the face of significant additionality problems will likely burden free trade in credits. Unfortunately, rules sufficiently relaxed to make international transactions simple and problem free will lack integrity and spawn non-additional credits greatly limiting the Kyoto Protocol\u27s potential as a technology transfer mechanism. The paper suggests that these governance complexities counsel against automatic embrace of linkage

Environmental qualification testing of the prototype pool boiling experiment

The prototype Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) flew on the STS-47 mission in September 1992. This report describes the purpose of the experiment and the environmental qualification testing program that was used to prove the integrity of the prototype hardware. Component and box level vibration and thermal cycling tests were performed to give an early level of confidence in the hardware designs. At the system level, vibration, thermal extreme soaks, and thermal vacuum cycling tests were performed to qualify the complete design for the expected shuttle environment. The system level vibration testing included three axis sine sweeps and random inputs. The system level hot and cold soak tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate over a wide range of temperatures and gave the project team a wider latitude in determining which shuttle thermal altitudes were compatible with the experiment. The system level thermal vacuum cycling tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate in a convection free environment. A unique environmental chamber was designed and fabricated by the PBE team and allowed most of the environmental testing to be performed within the project's laboratory. The completion of the test program gave the project team high confidence in the hardware's ability to function as designed during flight

Compensatory measures for large-scale projects in European nature conservation law after the Briels case

Compensatory measure