Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management

The paper presents an “Analytical Interdisciplinary Methodological Framework” (AIMF) to promote the institutional role of environmental assessment in Egypt. This is based on two main factors; the institutional procedure and application implementation, as well as factors influencing the decision-making process. The study starts with reviewing the levels of environmental assessment; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); noting that each level builds from its subsequent level in an attempt to constitute an additive cumulative benefit. This analysis is coupled with structured interviews and designed questionnaires for local planning professionals to investigate the external and internal factors affecting the application of environmental assessment systems in Egypt. This is developed into an interlacing scheme of a sort of continuous process that considers their application status, construction of systems, country laws, and technical aspects. A scoring evaluation matrix has been distributed among the same group of planning professionals to compare the current status and proposed framework of environmental assessment. Eventually, this qualitative investigation provides a novel approach for characterising the institutional background of environmental assessment in Egypt while exploring the interplay and progression between these successive levels of assessment, particularly for low and middle-income countries such as Egypt.

In light of the scarcity of literature exploring Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) legislation, this paper aims to analyse how national legislation and regulations in Africa include key principles for effective SEA. To achieve this aim, a content analysis of Environmental Assessment (EA) legal arrangements was conducted. Findings reveal that most countries do not have legal provisions for SEA at strategic levels. However, some countries have formal requirements for Environmental Impact Assessment at specific strategic levels. Such requirements may be attributed to an implicit recognition of the need of EA for specific strategic actions. Countries with legal and regulatory requirements for SEA showed varied degrees of conformity with process principles, screening, scoping, impact assessment and documentation strengths, but there are weaknesses in monitoring. Further findings echo a warning as none of the legal arrangements were fully adequate. This paper concludes with recommendations to improve legislation and strengthen SEA practice in Africa.

This study analyzes the effects of setting policy measures for reducing the emission of air pollutants. The study focuses on five main air pollutants, PM${}_{10}$, PM${}_{2.5}$, O₃, NO₂ and SO₂. Appropriate policy measures for improving air quality were determined based on data on current and expected air quality obtained by dispersion models, as well as on expected emission inventories for the target years 2015 and 2020. The scenario anticipated to result from implementing these measures was also analyzed by dispersion models. The findings indicate that “business as usual” (BAU) policy measures are not sufficient for meeting the target values for the target years. This study identifies additional policy measures that can considerably improve air quality. However, the concentrations of several pollutants are still expected to exceed their target values in many areas, requiring an even greater expansion of the proposed measures for their reduction.

Retracted at the request of the authors for duplicate publication.