An assessment of the formulation of permit conditions associated with environmental authorisations and implications for compliance monitoring
- Authors: Jennings, Patricia Jean
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental impact analysis , Environmental management , Economic development projects , Licenses , Environmental monitoring , Compliance -- Environmental aspects , Environmental policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil (Environmental Studies)
- Identifier: vital:11873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/437 , Environmental impact analysis , Environmental management , Economic development projects , Licenses , Environmental monitoring , Compliance -- Environmental aspects , Environmental policy
- Description: Environmental impact assessment is a widely accepted planning tool used in environmental management. Internationally it has been adopted as a formal permitting requirement for development projects in many jurisdictions. Historically the focus has been on the pre-decision making stages of environmental impact assessment. It has, however, been widely acknowledged that post-decision environmental impact assessment follow-up is an important component in confirming initial predictions, enabling responsible adaptive management of environmental impacts and ensuring compliance with permit conditions. It is this last function which is the focus of this study. Specifically, the role of permit conditions in enabling compliance and facilitating compliance monitoring is addressed. Permit conditions of twenty-one environmental authorisations were examined and tested for conformance with legislated requirements, and practicality of monitoring for compliance (monitorability). It was found that there are many contributors to achieving monitorable permit conditions. Amongst the most significant of these are conformity in interpretation of the regulations specifying permit content by officials, gaps in guidance on the part of the regulations themselves, and a tendency to focus on construction related impacts. The lack of clarity regarding the roles and functions of environmental control officer and environmental auditor further contribute to poor monitorability of permit conditions. Specific areas of shortcoming and best practice in the permit conditions analysed were identified and discussed. Finally, recommendations are made for the improvement of permit condition monitorability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Jennings, Patricia Jean
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Environmental impact analysis , Environmental management , Economic development projects , Licenses , Environmental monitoring , Compliance -- Environmental aspects , Environmental policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil (Environmental Studies)
- Identifier: vital:11873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/437 , Environmental impact analysis , Environmental management , Economic development projects , Licenses , Environmental monitoring , Compliance -- Environmental aspects , Environmental policy
- Description: Environmental impact assessment is a widely accepted planning tool used in environmental management. Internationally it has been adopted as a formal permitting requirement for development projects in many jurisdictions. Historically the focus has been on the pre-decision making stages of environmental impact assessment. It has, however, been widely acknowledged that post-decision environmental impact assessment follow-up is an important component in confirming initial predictions, enabling responsible adaptive management of environmental impacts and ensuring compliance with permit conditions. It is this last function which is the focus of this study. Specifically, the role of permit conditions in enabling compliance and facilitating compliance monitoring is addressed. Permit conditions of twenty-one environmental authorisations were examined and tested for conformance with legislated requirements, and practicality of monitoring for compliance (monitorability). It was found that there are many contributors to achieving monitorable permit conditions. Amongst the most significant of these are conformity in interpretation of the regulations specifying permit content by officials, gaps in guidance on the part of the regulations themselves, and a tendency to focus on construction related impacts. The lack of clarity regarding the roles and functions of environmental control officer and environmental auditor further contribute to poor monitorability of permit conditions. Specific areas of shortcoming and best practice in the permit conditions analysed were identified and discussed. Finally, recommendations are made for the improvement of permit condition monitorability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Rainfall intensity, kinetic energy and erosivity of individual rainfall events on the island of Mauritius
- Authors: Mongwa, Themba
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Rain and rainfall -- Mauritius , Soil erosion -- Mauritius , Rainfall intensity duration frequencies -- Mauritius
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Geography)
- Identifier: vital:11506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/452 , Rain and rainfall -- Mauritius , Soil erosion -- Mauritius , Rainfall intensity duration frequencies -- Mauritius
- Description: On most tropical volcanic islands the risk for soil erosion is enhanced due to a complex topography, high intensity rainfall and the exploitation of land for agriculture. Mauritius is a typical maritime tropical volcanic island with a distinct elevated interior. Rainfall is dominated by tropical weather systems and trade winds and the island is under intensive cultivation. Rainfall depth, duration, intensity, kinetic energy and erosivity were analysed for 385 erosive rainfall events at five locations over a five year period (2004 to 2008) on the island of Mauritius. Two stations located on the west coast and three stations sited on the Central Plateau above 550 m a.s.l. are used to provide detailed rainfall data at six minute intervals. Erosive storm events, defined here as a total rainfall exceeding 12.5 mm and a maximum 6-minute intensity exceeding 25 mm/hour, are found to differ markedly between the coastal lowlands and the elevated interior with regards to the frequency, the total rainfall generated, the duration, total kinetic energy and total erosivity of individual events. However, mean kinetic energy, mean and maximum rainfall erosivity (EI30) and maximum intensities (I30) from individual erosive events do not show this distinct differentiation. Erosivity measured during summer exceeds that recorded in winter, but the data indicate that large percentages of winter rainfall on Mauritius are defined as erosive and non-tropical cyclone rainfall can pose a substantial erosion risk. In this maritime tropical environment with its elevated interior, soil erosion risk occurs from storm scale to synoptic scale rainfall events and extreme events generate the bulk of the erosivity. Findings show that using rainfall records at an event scale within soil erosion risk assessments on tropical islands with a complex topography will increase the effectiveness of erosivity estimates
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Mongwa, Themba
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Rain and rainfall -- Mauritius , Soil erosion -- Mauritius , Rainfall intensity duration frequencies -- Mauritius
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Geography)
- Identifier: vital:11506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/452 , Rain and rainfall -- Mauritius , Soil erosion -- Mauritius , Rainfall intensity duration frequencies -- Mauritius
- Description: On most tropical volcanic islands the risk for soil erosion is enhanced due to a complex topography, high intensity rainfall and the exploitation of land for agriculture. Mauritius is a typical maritime tropical volcanic island with a distinct elevated interior. Rainfall is dominated by tropical weather systems and trade winds and the island is under intensive cultivation. Rainfall depth, duration, intensity, kinetic energy and erosivity were analysed for 385 erosive rainfall events at five locations over a five year period (2004 to 2008) on the island of Mauritius. Two stations located on the west coast and three stations sited on the Central Plateau above 550 m a.s.l. are used to provide detailed rainfall data at six minute intervals. Erosive storm events, defined here as a total rainfall exceeding 12.5 mm and a maximum 6-minute intensity exceeding 25 mm/hour, are found to differ markedly between the coastal lowlands and the elevated interior with regards to the frequency, the total rainfall generated, the duration, total kinetic energy and total erosivity of individual events. However, mean kinetic energy, mean and maximum rainfall erosivity (EI30) and maximum intensities (I30) from individual erosive events do not show this distinct differentiation. Erosivity measured during summer exceeds that recorded in winter, but the data indicate that large percentages of winter rainfall on Mauritius are defined as erosive and non-tropical cyclone rainfall can pose a substantial erosion risk. In this maritime tropical environment with its elevated interior, soil erosion risk occurs from storm scale to synoptic scale rainfall events and extreme events generate the bulk of the erosivity. Findings show that using rainfall records at an event scale within soil erosion risk assessments on tropical islands with a complex topography will increase the effectiveness of erosivity estimates
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
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