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Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a systematic decision support process, aiming to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects are considered effectively in policy, plan and program making. In this context, following Fischer (2007) SEA may be seen as: *a structured, rigorous, participative, open and transparent environmental impact assessment (EIA) based process, applied particularly to plans and programmes, prepared by public planning authorities and at times private bodies, *a participative, open and transparent, possibly non-EIA-based process, applied in a more flexible manner to policies, prepared by public planning authorities and at times private bodies,Ahmed, Kulsum; Sánchez-Triana, Ernesto. 2008. Strategic Environmental Assessment for Policies : An Instrument for Good Governance. © Washington, DC : World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/6461 *a flexible non-EIA based process, applied to legislative proposals and other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decision Support
A decision support system (DSS) is an information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations and planning levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and help people make decisions about problems that may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance—i.e. unstructured and semi-structured decision problems. Decision support systems can be either fully computerized or human-powered, or a combination of both. While academics have perceived DSS as a tool to support decision making processes, DSS users see DSS as a tool to facilitate organizational processes. Some authors have extended the definition of DSS to include any system that might support decision making and some DSS include a decision-making software component; Sprague (1980)Sprague, R;(1980).A Framework for the Development of Decision Support Systems" MIS Quarterly. Vol. 4, No. 4, pp.1-25. defines a properly termed DSS a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable living). Sustainability is commonly described as having three dimensions (also called pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many publications state that the environmental dimension (also called "planetary integrity" or "ecological integrity") is the most important, and, in everyday usage, "sustainability" is often focused on countering major environmental problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem services, land degradation, and air and water pollution. Humanity is now exceeding several "planetary boundaries". A closely related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used synonymously. However, UNESCO distinguishes the two thus: "''Sustainability'' is often thought of as a lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Design
Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability and also aimed at improving the health and comfortability of occupants in a building.McLennan, J. F. (2004), The Philosophy of Sustainable Design Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and well-being of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments. Theory The sustainable design intends to "eliminate negative environmental impact through skillful sensitive design". Manifestations of sustainable design require renewable resources and innovation to impact the environment minimally, and connect people with the natural environment. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategic Environmental Assessment (Denmark)
The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), is a process in Denmark for assessing the environmental effects of proposed government projects and programmes. Established in 1993 by an administrative order of Denmark's Prime Minister’s Office,Dalal-Clayton and Sadler, Strategic Environmental Assessment A Sourcebook and Reference Guide to International Experience, Earthscan, London, 2005. this requirement was not initially enshrined in law, but was supported by a government circular which required an SEA to be carried out on “government proposals with major environmental effects”. The SEA process was limited only to government proposals and did not extend to plans and programmes. SEAs were required to focus on the impacts proposals would have on physical, ecological, cultural, health and risk factors. In 1995, the SEA requirement was extended to new parliamentary acts in addition to government proposals at the national level. Initial administrative order The administrative or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is a major assessment of the human impact on the environment, called for by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000, launched in 2001 and published in 2005 with more than $14 million of grants. It popularized the term ecosystem services, the benefits gained by humans from ecosystems. History During the 1990s, international conventions such as the UNEP Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification identified the need for a global scientific ecosystem assessment. There had been advances in resource economics with little effect on environmental policy. In November 1998, UNEP, NASA, and the World Bank published a study called "Protecting our Planet, Securing our Future: Linkages Among Global Environmental Issues and Human Needs". In 2001, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was launched with work over a period of four years. Over 1300 contributors from 95 countries were involved as authors. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol
The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) is a global framework for assessing the sustainability of hydropower projects. The Protocol defines good and best practice at each stage of the life-cycle of a hydropower project across twenty-four environmental, social, technical and economic topics. The Protocol was developed between 2007 and 2010 by a multi-stakeholder forum made up of representatives from industry, civil society, donors, developing country governments and financial institutions. The final version was published in 2010 after a trial period in sixteen countries. The Protocol was updated in 2018 to include good and best practice in climate change resilience and mitigation. After the Protocol's launch, the governance entity of the Protocol approved the development of two additional tools derived from the HSAP, the Hydropower ESG Gap Analysis Tool (HESG Tool) to identify gaps against basic good practice and the Hydropower Sustainability Guidelines on Good I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the "venue and voice" of the world's major donor countries. "The DAC in Dates"">DAC website >> "The DAC in Dates" On the DAC's self-description, see the introductory letter. On other events, refer to the relevant section by date. The Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD) is the Secretariat of the DAC and is the OECD Directorate within which the DAC operates. Members As of 16 Novembre 2022 there are 31 members of DAC (see list below), including the European Union which acts as a full member of the committee. In addition, there are "Participants" and "Observers". The listed Participants at this time are: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Observers are: World Bank, the IMF, UNDP, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. The majority of OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI), and are regarded as developed countries. Their collective population is 1.38 billion. , the OECD member countries collectively comprised 62.2% of global nominal GDP (US$49.6 trillion) and 42.8% of global GDP ( Int$54.2 trillion) at purchasing power parity. The OECD is an official United Nations observer. In April 1948, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Development Assistance
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: developmental aid, development assistance, official development assistance, development policy, development cooperation and technical assistance. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by aiming at a sustained improvement in the conditions in a developing country, rather than short-term relief. Development aid is thus widely seen as a major way to meet Sustainable Development Goal 1 (end poverty in all its forms everywhere) for the developing nations. Aid may be bilateral: given from one country directly to another; or it may be multilateral: given by the donor country to an international organisation such as the World Bank or the United Nations Agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNAIDS, etc.) which then distributes it among the developing countries. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resource Management Act 1991
The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management. The RMA and the decisions made under it by district and regional councils and in courts affect both individuals and businesses in large numbers, and often in very tangible ways. The Act has variously been attacked for being ineffective in managing adverse environmental effects, or overly time-consuming and expensive and concerned with bureaucratic restrictions on legitimate economic activities. In February 2021, the Government confirmed that the RMA is to be replaced by three separate acts. These will be the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBA), the Strategic Planning Bill (SPA), and the Climate Change Adaptat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNECE
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and integration among its member states. The commission is composed of 56 member states, most of which are based in Europe, as well as a few outside of Europe. Its transcontinental Eurasian or non-European member states include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United States of America and Uzbekistan. History The commission was established by the Economic and Social Council on 28 March 1947 in order to "Initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic reconstruction of Europe," as well as to "maintain and strengthen the economic relations of the European countries, both among themselves and with o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
