4,939 research outputs found
Environmental (waste) compliance control systems for UK SMEs
No full textWhile the ‘environment’ is often perceived as a heavily regulated area of business, in reality, directly-regulated businesses represent a small proportion of the business community. This study aimed to evaluate and outline potential improvements to compliance controls for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those involved in the waste sector. Forty-four SMEs from England were interviewed/audited between April-September 2008. Using a UK-based system as a case-in-point, the Environment Agency’s (EA) Operational Risk Appraisal (‘Opra’)/Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) system was analysed. Environmental compliance performance indicators and an initial assessment methodology for SMEs were developed. The study showed:• Compliance with permitting legislation was poor in many areas.• Regulatory authorities are either unable/failing to implement their enforcement policies or unable/failing to identify non-compliances due to the infrequency or limited nature of their inspections.• Improvements are needed to the EA Opra/CAR system – control measures are not fully taken into account when calculating risk.Recommendations to improve SME compliance controls include using internationally applicable general and specific compliance and non-compliance performance indicators, re-designing the Opra system and using an initial assessment methodology based on understanding the hazardousness of SME categories, compliance levels and operator competency.<br/
The feasibility of reintroducing burbot (Lota lota) to the British Isles
No full textThe last confirmed capture of a burbot (Lota lota) in a UK river, was on the 14th of September 1969, in the Old West River at Aldreth, Cambridgeshire (Marlborough, 1970). Despite sporadic reports of subsequent captures, it is generally accepted that the species has been extirpated from the British Isles. However, Dr Paul Kemp, Dr Patrick Osborne and PhD student Tom Worthington from the International Centre for Ecohydraulic Research are researching whether it is feasible to reintroduce the burbot back to the British Isles. The research will follow the structure of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) guidelines on species reintroduction (IUCN, 1998). The overall aims of the project are to investigate the causes of the burbot’s extinction in the UK, determine whether these factors are still prevalent and whether any future risks threaten the species. Opinion is divided over the reasons for the loss of this species; climate change, overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction have all been advanced as possible causes. However, no research has been carried out to fully quantify the burbot’s decline. This study will examine the role of changes in water temperature, habitat connectivity and river discharge in the burbot’s extinction
Editorial. Bridging the gap between fish behaviour, performance and hydrodynamics: an ecohydraulics approach to fish passage research
No full textDevelopment of the world's rivers has long been associated with the disruption of ecological processes and degradation of physical and chemical habitat quality. A substantial and growing literature documents large-scale environmental impact associated with the construction of physical barriers such as dams and road crossings. One of the dominant effects of these barriers is the obstruction and delay of movements of aquatic biota. The resulting fragmentation of habitats leads to a broad-scale reduction in habitat quality and ultimately to the loss of diversity and abundance both upstream and downstream of the barrier.Mitigation technology and strategies to ameliorate these impacts are widely employed and include provision of alternative routes of migration (e.g. fishways), transportation systems that carry fish past obstructions, screens that divert fish to less hazardous areas, hatcheries intended to compensate for lost natural production or in some cases the removal of the offending structure. Mitigation is not always successful, however, and efficiency of the approach adopted often fails to meet management objectives. As a consequence, ecological condition deteriorates, and population abundance and resilience continue to decline.There may be several explanations for these failures. Mitigation options are not always considered during the design and planning phase of projects and hence if applied then retrospectively are sometimes based on a process of ‘trial-and-error’ (Kemp et al., 2008, Williams et al., 2012). As a result, efficiency is dictated by site-specific characteristics (Bunt et al., 2012) and can be highly variable. Even when the requirement to mitigate for environmental impacts is recognized at the planning stage, socio-economic factors may impede or prevent application of appropriate solutions. The primary cause for ineffective mitigation, however, is perhaps due to a lack of understanding of biological motivators, cues and constraints and lack of meaningful performance evaluations of structures once they are built (Bernhardt et al., 2005; Castro-Santos et al., 2009; Palmer et al., 2005).This special edition presents the results of an initiative to advance understanding of fish behaviour and performance in relation to hydrodynamics, a first step to improving fish passage design for multiple species. A network of international participants funded by the Leverhulme Trust was formed with the aim to bridge five key gaps to address the challenge posed. These gaps were (1) between disciplines, including the behavioural ecology of fish, fluid dynamics and engineering; (2) between approaches and methodologies, for example, empirical experimental and field-based research and modelling; (3) between theoretical and applied science; (4) among regions, with participants representing North and South America, Europe and Asia; and (5) among generations, with senior researchers working closely with those in the early stages of their career. The network held three annual workshops in Southampton (UK, 2008), Nashville (USA, 2009) and Winnipeg (Canada, 2010), during which an interdisciplinary ecohydraulics-focused approach was adopted to identify current and future challenges in river restoration, concentrating mainly on fish passage. Some of the results of the meetings are presented in this special edition as a series of papers that highlight the challenges identified and provide recommendations for potential solutions
University sustainability: where should we focus our energies?
No full textThe Guardian Higher Education Network live chat (Invited panel member)
Editorial. The importance of education to carbon management
No full textThe importance of education to help solve environmental problems is long established, having gained international prominence at the UN Conference on the Human Environment (the Stockholm Conference) in 1972. Principle 19 of the Stockholm Declaration professed environmental education for children through to adults as essential for conduct that protects and improves the environment. Further international agreements such as the Tbilisi International Declaration on Environmental Education of 1997, the Rio Summit in 1992, and Rio+20 in 2012 have strengthened the critical role of education in developing pro-environmental and societal behaviors, although ‘Environmental Education’ has evolved to ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD). In the 40 years since the Stockholm Conference, many environmental issues have captured the public’s imagination, but recognition that education is central to changing unsustainable behaviors, developing the critical scientific and engineering skills and knowledge to form sustainable solutions, has remained constant. It is this common focus that makes ESD such an important componentof successful carbon management
Recommendations for a "coarse-resolution rapid-assessment" methodology to assess barriers to fish migration, and associated prioritization tools
No full textEfficacy of a side-mounted vertically oriented bristle pass for improving upstream passage of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) at an experimental Crump weir
No full textGlobally, populations of diadromous anguilliform morphotype fish, such as eel and lamprey, have experienced substantial declines, partly as a result of habitat fragmentation caused by river infrastructure. In the UK, a new configuration of hydraulically unobtrusive bristle pass (side-mounted and vertically oriented) has been developed to help upstream moving European eel (Anguilla anguilla) negotiate gauging weirs. The efficacy of vertically oriented bristle passes remains untested, despite their potential as a low-cost low-maintenance solution to improve habitat connectivity at low-head structural barriers worldwide. This study assessed the ability of small (82–320 mm) and large (322–660 mm) European eel and adult (291–401 mm) river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) to pass upstream over an experimental Crump weir installed in a large open-channel flume with (treatment) and without (control) side-mounted vertically oriented bristle passes under three different hydraulic regimes. Both species were highly motivated to explore their surroundings and move upstream during the trials. Under flooded control conditions, passage efficiency (the total number of times fish passed the structure as a percentage of total attempts) and passage success (the number of fish that passed the structure as a percentage of those that attempted) were high, delay was short, and number of failed attempts before passage was low for both species. When difference in head was at its greatest (230 mm) and velocity and its variation downstream were high (maximum u and ?: 2.43 ms?1 and 0.66 ms?1, respectively), the upstream movement of small eel and lamprey was blocked, and passage efficiency and success for large eel low (4.6% and 17.2%, respectively). For large eel that successfully passed, delay was long, and number of failed attempts before upstream passage was high. When bristle passes were installed, passage efficiency for small (91.5%) and large eel (56.7%), and passage success for large eel (76.5%) and lamprey (36.7%) was higher, while delay and the number of attempts before passage was lower for both species. Bristle passes helped European eel and river lamprey pass a small experimental Crump weir, although interspecific variation in efficacy was evident
Variation in performance reveals discharge-related energy costs for foraging Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr
No full textThe energetic costs associated with foraging and social interaction for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr was estimated by measuring gross differences in performance (growth and lipid content) during two experimental trials conducted in an artificial river channel, under similar food input at two discharges. The discharges provided velocities within the range commonly experienced by salmon in the wild. Fish growth (second trial) and lipid content (first trial) were the highest at the lower discharge. Fish were less active and used a smaller area of the experimental arena under high flow. These behavioural adjustments are consistent with the reduction of energy costs at high discharge. However, there was no effect of discharge on aggressive behaviour or food intake. Therefore, despite evidence of energy economy in response to high discharge and velocity, the energetic costs of foraging were sufficiently high to cause substantial reduction in performance. In common with the findings of previous studies, dominance status was associated with individual variation in performance and habitat use
Carbon footprinting in the UK waste management sector
No full textThe UK waste management sector is under increasing pressure to measure, report and manage its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In recent years, it has become common for large waste management companies to report their annual “carbon footprint” and a sector-specific standard has been developed, the EpE Protocol. In this paper, we have critically evaluated approaches taken within the waste management sector to measure, report and verify its carbon footprint. Although the EpE Protocol has been made freely available, its use has been limited. With no commonly-agreed sector-specific standard, carbon footprinting has become highly subjective. This has resulted in high levels of inconsistency between companies and the reporting of inaccurate, incomplete and non-comparable carbon footprints. Consequently, calculated carbon footprint information is ineffective in guiding corporate GHG management. There is a need for a robust, transparent, commonly-agreed waste management sector-specific standard that facilitates accurate, measurement, reporting and verification of organisational GHG emission
Fish behaviour and passage efficiency: lessons from North America.
No full textThe guidance efficiencies associated with many mechanical structures designed to divert fish are often much lower than expected. Existing models of fish passage often ignore fish behaviour or are based on assumptions that may be false. A series of experiments were conducted at McNary dam, USA, to assess the influence of hydraulic transition and overhead cover on the behaviour of seaward migrating juvenile Pacific salmon. Fish passing through a flume encountered a choice of route that varied based on hydraulic factors and overhead cover. Direct observation revealed that individuals elicit strong avoidance behaviour when they encounter areas where hydraulic conditions change rapidly or are covered. Our findings have implications relevant to fish pass design and culvert restoration in Europe. The behavioural component of fish migration must be considered in order to improve current fish pass design and to develop alternative mechanisms that block access and divert fish
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