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Water pollution is a major issue in developing countries. 2.2 of the 2.3 billion people who suffer annually from waterborne diseases live in this part of the world. Moreover, it causes the deterioration of aquatic ecosystems the living of billions of poor people depend on. A major source of water pollution is the discharge of untreated municipal wastewater. On average, cities in developing countries discharge 80-90% of their sewage untreated. Though treatment of municipal wastewater remains a huge challenge in developing countries, the situation is not equally adverse all over the place. Treatment rates vary substantially across localities. From this observation, the question arises what drives and what impairs wastewater treatment. No quantitative analysis of this topic has been performed yet at the municipal level in a developing country.
Therefore, this thesis investigates the impact of social factors on municipal wastewater treatment in Mexican municipalities in order to gain insights on what improves wastewater treatment in a developing country. 846 of 2,456 Mexican municipalities treat a share of their municipal wastewater that ranges from single-digit percentages to full coverage while the majority of municipalities treats no wastewater. The study relies on econometric techniques to scrutinize 10 hypotheses on the relationship between social factors and wastewater treatment. More precisely, it applies binary outcome models to estimate the conditional probability wastewater treatment takes place in a municipality for a sample of 2,290 Mexican municipalities. In addition, it applies the Tobit and Fractional logit model to estimate the percentage of treated municipal wastewater depending on social factors for 425 municipalities.
The thesis identifies geographic spillovers, environmental federalism, institutional aspects like the corporatization of municipal water service, urbanization, per capita income and its distribution as significant influencing factors. A significant effect of education, ethnic heterogeneity, female participation in municipal politics and water scarcity is not found. In addition, the involvement of superior government tiers of a developing country in the funding of municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure seems to mitigate the influence of social factors on wastewater treatment. Based on these findings, the thesis develops policy recommendations to improve municipal wastewater treatment in developing countries.
This dissertation closely examines industrial pollution along the Atlantic coast of Cameroon. In recent years, there has been the formulation of both governmental initiatives and corporate voluntary practices with the view of curbing industrial pollution along the coast of Cameroon. However, a majority of studies have failed to ascertain the extent to which these initiates and practices have been successful in addressing industrial pollution, which is undoubtedly fundamental to policy makers in the decision making process. Therefore, this thesis attempts to bridge this major gap by examining both governmental and voluntary corporate practices vis-à-vis industrial pollution along the polluted coast of Cameroon. The thesis analysis efforts formulated by the government of Cameroon to mitigate industrial pollution. It identifies constraints to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice in Cameroon. Environmental management system (EMS) initiatives adopted by industries along the coast of Cameroon that has been hitherto ignored is unveiled as well in this thesis. Furthermore, a more compelling case is made by addressing the drivers, benefits and barriers stemming from EMS implementation by these industries. A robust reflexive methodological research strategy is developed and utilized both qualitative and quantitative data collected from unstructured interviews, questionnaire based surveys, personal observations, relevant literature, consultancy reports and documentation form governmental departments. Analysis of these data facilitates detailed discussion of both governmental initiatives and corporate environmental management systems.The thesis contends that there is an urgent need to complement governmental policy and regulations with corporate voluntary environmental management systems. It purports that efforts made by the government of Cameroon to address industrial pollution have had minimal impacts on industrial pollution along the coast of Cameroon and submits that the EMS process in these industries is still at its infancy. Moreover, it is argued that a plethora of barriers still prevail that deter a rigorous implementation of EMS in these industries. On the basis of this, the thesis advances a comprehensive strategy for the effective and efficient management of industrial pollution along the coast of Cameroon and emphasizes that a holistic or concerted approach from all stakeholders is absolutely mandatory for the successful implementation of the recommended strategies.
Over the last decade or so, there has been an increasing need to acknowledge the role played by local resource users in environmental decision making and to incorporate their perceptions in the management of natural resources. This has led to the development of various methods of assessing environmental attitudes and of natural resource valuation. Most of these studies have been conducted in developed countries and have utilised economic methods of valuation. This study highlights the environmental attitudes and values of a very important group of stakeholders - women - and the significance of taking these into consideration in the management of local coastal natural resources. Using respondents from two Ghanaian coastal communities, Bortianor and Moree, the study also investigated poverty-coastal natural resource linkages and how this knowledge can be used to improve Natural Resource Management in Ghana. In proposing specific policy options for managing the coastal environment an examination of formal, informal institutional and legal framework was also done. Primary data was collected by means of focus group discussions, personal interviews and participant observations. A total of 304 women (151 from Bortianor and 153 from Moree) took part in the study. The results showed that the study communities had poor access to basic amenities such as potable water, schools, health facilities as well as basic sanitation services. Their livelihood patterns revolve around the availability of coastal natural resources such as fish and fuel wood. The attitudinal scale used to assess environmental attitudes achieved adequate internal consistency with Cronbach’s (1951) Alpha reliability coefficients of 0.729 in Bortianor and 0.735 in Moree. The environmental attitudes of respondents were overwhelmingly positive; this however did not match the state of affairs in the area. The study showed that positive attitudes do not always result in pro-environmental behaviour. In the study areas poverty, low educational levels and other social and cultural practices could also influence the ability of respondents to translate the generally positive environmental attitudes into positive environmental action. The section on environmental values assessed the environmental values of respondents through the relative importance they placed on the different benefits derived from coastal natural resources. It also prioritised environmental issues or concerns in the study areas from the perspectives of the respondents. Rather than use a simple ordinal ranking of all objects, the paired comparison approach was used. The study showed that in both areas respondents placed the greatest importance on the coastal natural resources as sources of wealth creation and food. When it came to environmental concerns, it was not surprising that issues of safe drinking water, available fish and good sanitation were most important to respondents. From the results it was argued that since coastal natural resources as sources of food and income ranked highest, developing activities and policies that add value to the fishery industry, generate income and improve the standard of living of respondents would be most effective. Improving their standard of living could shift their focus from more utilitarian values to that of more pro-natural resource values. After examining existing institutional capacities and respondents’ perceptions of who should manage local coastal natural resources, the study concludes by using the findings to make some practical policy recommendations.
This dissertation examines the structure of current vehicle mitigation initiatives of leading domestic trade policy proposals (emission reduction actions) of four major countries along the Gulf of Guinea after lead gasoline phase out in sub-Sahara Africa. The dissertation assesses these proposals based on establishing criteria for assessing domestic trade policy performance in curbing used vehicle emissions simultaneously with core sustainable development priorities. The dissertation argues that a more pronounced dilemma of synergies exist between vehicle emissions reduction and core development concerns as the major players target emissions too narrowly. The dissertation seeks to bridge this major gap by proposing a stakeholder-assisted representation and a policy design framework for sustainable road transport in sub-Sahara Africa. This was achieved by extracting individual stakeholders’ underlying concerns, interests, values, local knowledge and technical expertise through publicly available documentation and interviews and then constructing a conceptual systems model based on the inputs and best available science. In order to cope with the uncertain developments in road transport energy system and climate in sub-Sahara Africa, the dissertation employs a scenario approach by constructing sets of desirable and undesirable characteristics to explore possible future developments of road transport in sub-Sahara Africa with technological change, policies, attitudes and preferences playing a pivotal role. Next, the dissertation analyses and compares the levels of voluntary environmental management initiatives within the South African automotive Industry. It provides an insight into the behavioural patterns - drivers, barriers and benefits - of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger South African automotive companies in their quests to engage in environmental change and determine if these patterns are similar to previous studies, as given in the literature, or if they differ, in what ways. Moreover, the dissertation assesses how external South African environmental auditors interpret and apply the central requirements of ISO 14001 and their views about the efforts of certified organisations and the different models that could be used to ease EMS implementation and certification. Finally, low-carbon strategies resulting from impact modelling have been provided within this dissertation but, in addition, the acceptance of recommended strategies is crucial towards a real added value for a stabilisation target.
This study closely examined how oil exploration has caused environmental degradation and untold hardship to the local communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Nigeria is known to be the sixth largest producer of crude oil among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and thelargest in the African continent. The crude oil that puts Nigeria in this position is being produced in the Niger Delta region of the country. Nigeria’s economy is based on crude oil exports. Despite this enormous wealth coming from the Niger Delta, there is pervasive poverty and despicable environmental damage as a result of crude oil mining activities going on in this region. Suffice it to say that, there is total neglect of the region in terms of infrastructural development and economic empowerment of its local populace by the government and oil companies operating in the region. This has led to youth restiveness and hostage taking in the area. A sound methodological research approach was developed and utilized in this study. Both primary and secondary data were collected from questionnaires, structured interviews, personal observations, relevant literature, documentation from government agencies and oil companies. These data were analyzed, and they synthesized the discussions contained in this study. This study is all about charting a new course in the way the oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region carry out their activities in order to ensure the environmental sustainability of the region, and improve the economy of the rural communities in the region at the same time. It identifies the constraints to effective implementation of Nigeria’s environmental laws and policies especially the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as it concerns oil prospecting, which has hitherto contributed in hindering her environmental sustainability. It also unveils the critical issues concerning the deplorable state of the economy of the local populace of the region. After identifying the various problems contributing to the environmental woes, and the poor economic growth of the region, this research proffers recommendations that should be conscientiously and vigorously implemented to reverse the trend. Although, the oil companies have made some efforts towards providing the necessary infrastructures needed in the region, they need to do more in the area of capacity building, and use of green technologies to ensure healthy environment of their host communities. The government on her part should strengthen the various Ministries and Agencies vested with the responsibility of protecting the Nigerian environment, by providing them with the necessary incentives for maximum efficiency. This study therefore emphasizes a concerted approach from all the stakeholders in the Niger Delta region for the successful implementation of the recommendations herein to ensure the sustainable development of the region, and Nigeria in general.
Participatory management of community-based ecotourism at Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, China
(2019)
Community-based ecotourism (CBET) is promoted in protected areas of developing countries as a strategy for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. The success of CBET initiatives relies on effective participatory management programs that can build up collaborative relationships between key stakeholders – protected area administrative staff and local communities – and foster community empowerment. The performance of CBET participatory management programs, relationships between administrative staff and local community, and the level of community empowerment were previously assessed from the perspective of local communities. This study addresses both the perspectives of local community members and administrative staff, through an interview survey in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, China. This reserve is a key protected area for the conservation of giant panda and other endangered species in China, and is therefore of high priority for the national biodiversity strategy. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to survey 200 local Tibetan villagers and 80 administrative staff members. The results indicate that both staff members and locals support the existing participatory management program - ecotourism development plan (EDP), but locals criticized the sustainable management policy (SMP). Younger, better educated and higher income interviewees were generally most supportive of the EDP and SMP. The relationship between staff members and locals was expressed as problematic with a lack of trust being mentioned as a key issue. The local community is empowered to some extent in economic and environmental dimensions, but not in social, psychological and political dimensions. The CBET generates economic income, but creates problems like inequality of benefit distribution, insufficient social infrastructure, loss of cultural identity, ecological degradation and participation as tokenism. Key factors that hinder the success of CBET from protected area governance and management aspects are a prevalent top-down approach, a mixture of property and operation rights, single sources of funding creating dependencies, a lack of efficient administrative structure and management capacity, and a lack of capacity building programs for the local community. This thesis provides empirical evidence for issues and limitations of policy implications under CBET participatory management programs in a protected area and offers recommendations on how to improve programs in the future.
Map-Making for ERM Studies
(2005)
This paper discusses the need for a concept “environmental and resource management” (ERM), and what ERM meaningfully could be. This problem is approached first by an analysis of the environmental and developmental issues. Consequently the hegemonic discourse on sustainability is questioned. Second, the paper uses Kuhn’s “Structure of Scientific Revolutions” as a basis for drafting a scientific field “ERM”. From the perspective of both approaches, different paradigms of environmental management are studied. Based on this analysis a fundamental problem is obtained, namely, how to make individuals and institutions co-operate and under which societal conditions co-operation can be engendered. Subsequently ERM is defined. ERM-Science is being worked out, as being goal-driven, seeking sustainability. It is pointed out that ERM, ERM-Science and its supporting scientific fields are not identical. The major findings following this method are: ERM is stipulated as an inherent social activity. Therefore the scientific field ERM needs to critically focus on the environmental and resource (ER)-manager’s behaviour and her context, that both have indicated and non-indicated environmental influences upon the world. To inquire in that object of interest, the following point of view is developed: “How to make people and society not only speak about environmental problems but implement solutions?” This leads to the discussion of consequences in terms of ethical implications and methodology. Basing on these results, the legitimate problems for the scientific field ERM are illustrated. The developed definition and its consequences are applied on the three ERM-programs at Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) (Germany) and concludes that a radical reform of the BTU-approach to ERM is required.
Implementation of End-of-Life Vehicle’s Recycling for Developing Countries: Case Study, Mexico
(2008)
Currently, the Directive 2000/53/EC regulates the ELV management in 27 countries in Europe, and for the forthcoming years, more accession countries are foreseen. Since, the international nature of automotive industry, the Directive has affected industries beyond the EU. Hence, countries with important national-based automotive industry are moving towards the accomplishment of this legislation, in order to keep their competitiveness in European markets. The ELV chain in the EU is a complex system, which involves several commercial relationships between different sectors. The generation of ELV in the EU-15 was around 11.4 million units in 2005. The total number of ELV generated, considering the accessing countries, is still unknown. The number of treated ELV in the EU-15 was 7.7 million units. There are some obstacles to be overcome by ELV management already in implementation in the EU. The main difficulties are related to the reluctance of car-manufacture industry to implement Directive’s provisions related to: ban of use of specific substances in automotive applications, and about recycling quotas. Another obstacle is the export of ELV from the EU, which represents a loss in input material for the system. The case of the USA, regarding the ELV management, has very different connotations than the implemented system in the EU. The current ELV management in the USA does not have specific regulations regarding the collection and recycling of ELV. The structure of the ELV chain in the USA is similar to its counterpart in the EU. The main difference lies in dismantling and post-shredder sectors. The 80% of dismantling industry is composed of salvage/scrap yards performing no-standardized operations, and the remaining 20% is represented by high value parts dismantlers. One special feature of the system is the classification of ASR as no-hazardous waste which generates almost no incentives for further treatment. The current system of ELV management in the USA works with relative efficiency. However, there are still items to be improved, e.g. poor dismantling practices in a big number of dismantling facilities (scrap yards), use of hazardous materials in car-manufacture, disposal of ASR as non-hazardous waste, scrap tyres, etc. The ELV problem has different connotation in developing countries like Mexico, than in industrialized countries. Problems, like illegal introduction of used cars from the USA to Mexico and poor practices in the management of ELV, affect the Mexican economy, environment and society. In Mexico, there exists no specific legislation to regulate the Management of ELV. This kind of product, at its End-of-Life stage and wastes generated by its treatment, has been ruled by general laws before the year 2004. More recently a semi-specific law has been addressed to solid wastes, the LGPGIR. The structure of ELV chain in Mexico is similar to its counterpart in the USA and the EU, except for an additional stage. The present work depicts the available information about the number of Mexican operators, at every stage of ELV management. The described evidence presents a deficient management of ELV in Mexico. The current management allows a maximum recycling rate of 75%, which mainly corresponds to the ferrous fraction content in vehicles which enters to the management system. The present work develops a proposal for a suitable system to manage End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) in a developing country, case study Mexico. This, is divided in three main parts. As a first step, the proposal estimates the future numbers of ELV generated in Mexico, which are estimated in a current ELV generation of around 687,000 vehicles by 2007, and by 2020 in the range of 1.1 to 1.3 million units per year. The second step is to propose a structure for the ELV chain in Mexico. The proposed structure describes the recommended operations, equipment and facilities’ configuration at every stage of the management. The third step of the proposal is the configuration of strategic facility network at every stage of ELV management in Mexico. The system is configured under assumption of three different scenarios, i.e. 100%, 90% and 75% of covered demand for ELV management. The algorithm is identified for this specific problem as a Fixed Charge Facility Location Problem. The algorithm is solved through Facility Location Software SITATION©. The results show the optimal number of facilities at every stage of the management, to cover the demand for ELV management considered in the different scenarios. The fourth part is to propose a model to finance the ELV management in Mexico. The main features of this scheme are explained, as well as its advantages, disadvantages and incentives thought to be triggered into the Mexican ELV chain.
While much is known about ISO 14001 and EMAS environmental management systems in general, comparatively little knowledge is about the application of these management instruments in non-industrial sectors, including the municipal waste sector. Consequently, the intention of this paper is to assist municipal waste treatment facilities with the development of environmental management systems in which the continual improvement of environmental performance can be coupled with an increased economic efficiency and quality of delivered services. For this purpose, a manual that provides sample polices, programmes and approaches to the successful realisation of the ISO 14001 environmental management system was written. Due to more stringent requirements for the sound management of municipal solid waste, a growing number of Polish municipal waste treatment facilities have implemented or intend to implement the ISO 14001 system. By the end of 2005, 25% of facilities were formally certified to the ISO 14001 EMS, 60% of which have integrated it with the ISO 9001 QMS. The facilities, despite encountering a number of difficulties, for instance during the identification and assessment of significant environmental aspects, are also gaining numerous benefits, resulting in an improved environmental performance. Ipso facto, 37.5% of municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland have admitted that the environmental-improvement potential of EMSs is higher than economic-human costs related to its introduction and operation. All the presented information, if other sources are not adequately referenced, are based upon the author’s research, encompassing quantitative and qualitative study methods, conducted among municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland in years 2004 – 2006. The response rate of 68% guarantees credibility of the collected data.
This study analyses corporate environmental performance in the manufacturing and mining sectors of Ghana within a framework of environmental governance. The research is premised on the fact that industry contributes to pollution, raw material depletion and natural resources use. Hence industry is equally expected to play a role in pollution reduction and minimisation of raw materials and natural resources usage. The study makes use of both quantitative and qualitative research approaches drawing on both primary and secondary sources of data. Through SWOT analysis, an evaluation of the regulatory framework governing environmental governance was carried out and new opportunities for effective environmental management espoused. In addition, the policy instruments available for environmental governance were thoroughly analysed and discussed in this research. Further, through comparative analysis the environmental initiatives of industries in the manufacturing sector were investigated on the basis of size and industry type. The study developed a model based on 22 indicators in 3 thematic areas namely (1) legal and regulatory compliance, (2) pollution control and resource conservation initiatives and (3) environmental planning and policy initiatives to evaluate corporate environmental performance in manufacturing industries. To quantify corporate environmental performance, a Likert-scale 1-5 was applied to assess performance in the 3 thematic areas mentioned. These scores were aggregated, averaged and analysed using Microsoft Excel software. A “Corporate Environmental Performance Perception (CEPPI) index” was developed to evaluate how different industries performed on key corporate environmental governance dimensions. The results among other things showed that in terms of size, Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) lagged behind large enterprises in their environmental performance. In terms of industry type however, “metal works” showed relatively low performance on the “CEPPI” scale. The findings were discussed and strategies to help enterprises that lag behind to improve their environmental performances were given. In addition to the above, the study further investigated the Corporate Social and Environmental responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the mining industry. Corporate social and environmental responsibility has been used as proxy measure of environmental performance by the mining industry. Among other things, the findings showed that CSR as “preached” by the mining companies was to some extent inconsistent with CSR as “perceived” by the mining communities. The evidence thus seems to suggest a lot more has to be done by the mining companies as well as local communities where these mining firms operate to achieve high environmental performance. The implications of this research in terms of what has to be done to improve environmental responsiveness of the mining companies were given. A comprehensive strategy, focussing on both voluntary codes and ‘command and control’ regulations, as well as a strategy for institutionalising environmental management culture in Ghana’s manufacturing and mining industries were provided.