Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management

In order to learn about public participation in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and identify opportunities for improvement of SEA, this research examined the Western Newfoundland Offshore Area SEA case in Canada. Through analysis of observation and interview data, findings reveal that participants involved recognized the shortcomings of the SEA process implemented despite being SEA neophytes. Data also showed that participants were aware that the basics of meaningful public consultation were not met. Participants recognized the need for alternative approaches and possibly an alternative name for the process in which they participated. They also indicated their dissatisfaction with the SEA, and related participation activities, noting they were left with feelings of distrust in the process and the sense that decisions were foregone. These findings undermine the credibility of SEA and erode its potential as a promising tool for enhancing policy, plans, and programs and eventually project decisions.

Payments for Ecosystems Services (PES) schemes are an underdeveloped component of the policy mix for catchment management in many countries. The importance of intermediaries to such schemes is acknowledged in the literature but few studies go beyond theory to evaluate practice. This paper analyses generic intermediary functions for PES. It then evaluates an innovative example from southwest England that provides illustrations, and some lessons regarding necessary capabilities and characteristics for intermediaries, and understanding of their form, functions and modalities. The ‘UpStream Thinking’ project was co-developed by a private water company and an environmental charity. The former translated effective demand from shareholders and water customers for improved raw water quality into finance, whilst the latter had capabilities for catchment-scale on-farm delivery and trusted acceptance as an intermediary. While any sector can potentially provide a PES intermediary, the value driven, not-for-profit and politically neutral voluntary sector proves to be a good fit. Such ‘boundary organisations’ are also well placed for horizontal coordination of catchment management authorities and actions.

Aiming towards good practice in the planning and approval of offshore wind farms suggestions are provided for the amendment of environmental impact assessment (EIA), an effective marine spatial planning and the establishment of marine compensation measure. The investigation is focused on the situation in Germany as a frontrunner in ecological research on offshore wind energy. After 10 years of research in Germany, it is timely to offer a synopsis of the results especially regarding the successful investigations of mitigation measures. The results are based on published data collected in Germany over the last 10 years, as well as international research. The outcomes of the research were validated by interviewing experts using the Delphi method.

Key findings for good practice in impact assessment, mitigation and compensation:

• 1. EIAs should focus on decision-relevant subjects of protection (i.e. specific bird species and harbour porpoises).
• 2. There is a strong necessity for thresholds for the approval process.
• 3. Exclusion of OWFs in hotspots of sensitive species.
• 4. Application of state-of-the-art mitigation measures particularly against underwater noise to avoid damages of the hearing of porpoises.
• 5. The introduction of marine compensation measures is strongly suggested.

South African democracy witnessed considerable effort to redefine Environmental Impact Assessment regulations to improve participation of citizens towards sustainable development activities. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of participatory processes has generally been mixed and in many cases fallen below expectations, with lack of empirical evidence especially in South Africa to understand the underlying elements that may contribute to poor public participation in Environmental Impact Assessments. This paper attempts to investigate the participatory inefficiencies of Environmental Impact Assessments for mining development specifically in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga and presents viewpoints from key stakeholders. Results indicate that Environmental Impact Assessments especially for mining development are conducted as tokenistic tools to approve developments rather than to genuinely engage with the concerns of interested and affected groups. There is a need for environmental practitioners to be impartial during assessments, including the independence of government as regulator and enforcer of environmental assessment processes rather than spearheading mining development for economic development. The paper makes recommendations to improve participation of citizens during Environmental Impact Assessment processes.

Eco-design practices are still incipient in Brazilian furniture industries, although some improvement can be identified in recent years. This paper describes the performance of an industrial furniture cluster located in Southern Brazil regarding such practices. An embedded case study involving four companies — two manufacturers and two suppliers — was carried out using in-depth interviews. It enabled to depict particularities of how these companies deal with sustainable aspects of design in their respective business. Critical issues identified as obstacles for eco-design implementation in these industries were: control of both, productive process and product durability; product distribution; rational use of space for transportation and storage. Minor difficulties were identified regarding the lack of renewable energy sources and the scarcity of knowledge dissemination. Such hurdles could provide opportunities and support future eco-design strategy implementation, improving the competitiveness and contributing for the eco-efficiency of the Brazilian furniture industry.