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Sustainability
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Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability
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Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 26510

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ana Villarroya

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
University of Navarra
Interests: Environmental impact assessment; offsets; human–nature relationships; environmental education; environment and culture; environmental ethics
Dr. Jordi Puig

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, 31008, Spain
Interests: Environmental Impact Assessment; landscape; nature and culture; social and environmental justice; environmental ethics; nature and spirituality

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Since its early beginnings in the 1970s, and within the wider umbrella of environmental assessment, the discipline of environmental impact assessment has evolved significantly. Most countries legally require this procedure, which constitutes a unique tool to foster the sustainability of some projects that include environmentally significant effects. There is much research and literature on how to improve the procedural efficiency of EIA: valuing the environment, assessing the significance of impacts, managing public participation, and calculating appropriate mitigation measures are some common topics addressed in academic papers.

In addition to its technical aspects, EIA also has a cultural dimension that plays a twofold role: EIA may influence the growing culture of sustainability, and at the same time, it is affected by it. Understanding how this interaction between EIA and mainstream environmental culture happens is relevant, among other things, to identify strengths and weaknesses of the EIA process in different contexts, and to learn how to use EIA as a tool to restore a healthy, sustainable relationship between humans and our environment. After all, the rise of the consciousness of our impact on the natural and social environments (a step forward in environmental culture) brought EIA into existence. At the same time, its growingly widespread use has strengthened awareness about the need for environmental standards.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to set a discussion on how to make explicit and expand this cultural side of EIA. Both conceptual and case-based papers are welcome. Examples of contents include but are not limited to:

  • Cultural lessons we may learn from the EIA procedure;
  • Case studies on the ethical dimensions of EIA;
  • Cultural traditions that may provide inspiration to enhance the EIA procedure;
  • Cultural views on EIA practices.

This Special Issue will contribute to an integrated understanding of the importance EIA has in current societies. Complementing technical knowledge with a humanistic perspective is key for researchers and practitioners to understand and perform EIA in a holistic way that maximizes the full potential of this procedure as a tool for sustainability.

Dr. Ana Villarroya
Dr. Jordi Puig
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability culture
  • applied environmental ethics
  • environmental awareness
  • human–nature interaction

Published Papers (6 papers)

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19 pages, 2242 KiB  
Article
The Environmental Impact Assessment in Aquaculture Projects in Chile: A Retrospective and Prospective Review Considering Cultural Aspects
by Dante Rodríguez-Luna, Nuria Vela, Francisco Javier Alcalá and Francisco Encina-Montoya
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9006; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169006 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3666
Abstract
In recent years, social and environmental conflicts concerning the aquaculture sector have increased. These conflicts arise from the different perception that individuals, collectives, private companies and the State have about the potential impacts of aquaculture on the environment and quality of life. The [...] Read more.
In recent years, social and environmental conflicts concerning the aquaculture sector have increased. These conflicts arise from the different perception that individuals, collectives, private companies and the State have about the potential impacts of aquaculture on the environment and quality of life. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquaculture projects in Chile is the main administrative tool for decision-making, allowing identify, predict, and propose preventive measures to mitigate negative consequences of this growing sector. This article analyzes the performance of the EIA in Chile concerning aquaculture projects between 1994 and 2019. Of the 5323 projects entering the Chilean EIA during this period, the EIA system-performance analysis selected the 71 most representative. For a reliable comparative analysis, the selected projects were first classified in accordance with the active regulation within the period. Subsequently, 14 performance indicators were selected and similarities—by means of a principal coordinate analysis—were explored. Significant differences between the third (SD40) and the first two (SD30 and SD95) regulations were observed. Based on these results and considering demands of local communities and social leaders (who request continuous articulations among technical areas, administrative tools, and policies to increase the sustainability standards of aquaculture), four opportunities for improving the EIA in aquaculture projects are proposed: incorporation of synergistic and cumulative effects, adaptation to climate change, development of a general methodology, and incorporation of early citizen participation (in projects having environmental charge) increasing the performance and confidence of the EIA. The introduced methodology enables comparisons of the EIA process in different regulatory periods using indicators, serving as guidance to evaluate the performance of the EIA in aquaculture. This methodology can also be used by other aquaculture producing countries around the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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14 pages, 1463 KiB  
Article
Partial Correlation Analysis of Association between Subjective Well-Being and Ecological Footprint
by Jinting Zhang, F. Benjamin Zhan, Xiu Wu and Daojun Zhang
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031033 - 20 Jan 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1892
Abstract
A spatial-temporal panel dataset was collected from 101 countries during 2006–2016. Using partial correlation (PC) and ordinary correlation (OR) analyses, this research examines the relationship between ecological footprint (EF) and subjective well-being (SWB) to measure environmental impacts on people’s happiness. Gross domestic product [...] Read more.
A spatial-temporal panel dataset was collected from 101 countries during 2006–2016. Using partial correlation (PC) and ordinary correlation (OR) analyses, this research examines the relationship between ecological footprint (EF) and subjective well-being (SWB) to measure environmental impacts on people’s happiness. Gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization rate (UR), literacy rate (LR), youth life expectancy (YLE), wage and salaried workers (WSW), political stability (PS), voice accountability (VA) are regarded as control variables. Total bio-capacity (TBC), ecological crop-land footprints (ECL), ecological grazing-land footprint (EGL), and ecological built-up land footprint (EBL) have significant positive influences on SWB, but ecological fish-land (EFL) has significant negative influences on SWB. Ecological carbon footprint (ECF) is significantly negatively related to SWB in developed countries. An increase in the amount of EF factors is associated with a country’s degree of development. Political social–economic impacts on SWB disguised environmental contribution on SWB, especially CBF impacts on SWB. The use of PC in examining the association between SWB and EF helps bridge a knowledge gap and facilitate a better understanding of happiness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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15 pages, 1299 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Efficiency, Environmental and Economic Effects of Compact Type On-Site Wastewater Treatment Plants—Results from Random Testing
by Agnieszka Karczmarczyk, Agnieszka Bus and Anna Baryła
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 982; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020982 - 19 Jan 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2740
Abstract
This study presents the results of random testing of selected on-site wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) constructed in Poland in Masovia Voivodship in the years 2011–2016. The vast majority of tested on-site WWTPs were compact (container) type treatment plants, based on low rate activated [...] Read more.
This study presents the results of random testing of selected on-site wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) constructed in Poland in Masovia Voivodship in the years 2011–2016. The vast majority of tested on-site WWTPs were compact (container) type treatment plants, based on low rate activated sludge (AS), sequencing batch reactors (SBR), or a hybrid (activated sludge supported with biological film, AS + BF) method. Compact type plans are becoming more and more popular in single households in Poland, due to the option of co-financing. According to certificates provided by producers and distributors, container on-site wastewater treatment plants are efficient in BOD5 removal, with the expected removal rate being over 80%. The aim of this study was (1) to analyze BOD5 in effluents sampled from randomly selected on-site WWTPs, (2) to evaluate predicted and real environmental effects of the implementation of on-site WWTPs in selected communes within Masovia Voivodship, and (3) to calculate unit environmental and economic effects of container on-site WWTPs in three different technologies. Results of this study show that in most cases, there is a gap between the declared and the real BOD5 removal efficiency. There is also a difference between the performance of different container type technologies. The lowest real environmental effect was obtained for AS technology, and the highest for the hybrid one. The predicted environmental effect has only been almost achieved in the case of hybrid systems. Based on net present value (NPV) benefits, technologies can be set up as follows: AS > SBR > AS + BF, making the AS method the most effective technology from the point of view of the economy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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20 pages, 6750 KiB  
Article
Assessing and Predicting the Impact of Multi-Scenario Land Use Changes on the Ecosystem Service Value: A Case Study in the Upstream of Xiong’an New Area, China
by Zhiyin Wang and Jiansheng Cao
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020704 - 13 Jan 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2422
Abstract
The evaluation of ecosystem service value has become the basis of ecological protection, ecological regionalization, and ecological compensations. Land use changes have taken place due to several natural and anthropogenic reasons, significantly influencing the ecosystem services value (ESV). In this study, we used [...] Read more.
The evaluation of ecosystem service value has become the basis of ecological protection, ecological regionalization, and ecological compensations. Land use changes have taken place due to several natural and anthropogenic reasons, significantly influencing the ecosystem services value (ESV). In this study, we used an interactive coupling model that simulates future land use changes and the equivalent coefficient table method to predict and evaluate the ecosystem service value in the upstream of Xiong’an New Area in 2035, and we quantitatively calculated the impact of land use changes on the ecosystem service value under four future scenarios. The results indicate that from 2015 to 2035, the ecosystem service value in the production scenario and life scenario decreased significantly by CNY 1635.39 million and 561.95 million, respectively, and the areas where the ESV decreased mainly appeared in river banks and surrounding areas of towns. The conversion of forest land to cultivated land and the conversion of grassland to construction land are the main reasons for the reduction of the ecosystem service value in the production scenario and life scenario, respectively. The ecosystem service value in the ecological scenario increased significantly by CNY 2550.59 million, and the conversion of grassland to waters is the main reason for the increase in ecosystem service value, with a contribution rate of 73.89%. Moreover, due to the trade-off between ecosystem services, the overall change of ecosystem service value in the current scenario is not obvious. In conclusion, strictly controlling the scale of construction land, strengthening the management and protection of water resources, and expanding the afforestation scale may improve the ecosystem service value of the upstream Xiong’an New Area in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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25 pages, 59873 KiB  
Article
Applicability of Feng Shui Concepts for Korean Eum-Taek Sites Verified Using Three-Dimensional Digital Mapping and Simulations
by Seung-Ju Choe and Seung-Hoon Han
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8904; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218904 - 27 Oct 2020
Viewed by 2132
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine whether eum-taek, a feng shui theory for the dead, can be applied to Korean modern architecture. In the first step, common environmental factors that are valued in both feng shui and ecological architecture were [...] Read more.
The purpose of this research is to examine whether eum-taek, a feng shui theory for the dead, can be applied to Korean modern architecture. In the first step, common environmental factors that are valued in both feng shui and ecological architecture were derived, and then this research reviewed how properly the traditional site assessment method evaluated them; for example, metaphorized basic concepts of the evaluation theory based on territorial settings can be applied to evaluate common environmental factors. For the second step, this paper reviewed whether the evaluation method for feng shui presented in the previous step was applied equally between yang-taek and eum-taek theories, investigated the differences between them in general, and derived environmental factors to be utilized for evaluation in the field of architecture. As a result, it was found that the major concepts presented in the previous step have been commonly used evaluation criteria, regardless of the categories from traditional theories. The third step was to simulate whether sites selected by each theory actually have similar environmental conditions. The simulation analysis found that all analysis sites were able to obtain a higher sun exposure time than the Korean average; therefore, it was considered that their locations could have environmental advantage, in terms of solar radiation and thermal environment. The simulation results confirm that the target sites have a living environment that would be easy for humans to live in. Finally, the simulation results confirm that the eum-taek site has a living environment that is comfortable for humans to live in. If studies of the site assessment method are carried out considering yang-taek and eum-taek with different evaluation categories, the modern applicability of feng shui may increase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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9 pages, 264 KiB  
Commentary
No Net Loss: A Cultural Reading of Environmental Assessment
by Jordi Puig, Ana Villarroya and María Casas
Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 337; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010337 - 29 Dec 2021
Viewed by 12590
Abstract
Global environmental quality decline builds up through innumerable decisions at many scales that cause damage to ecological and social values. Environmental assessment (EA) is a relevant decision-making framework in this sense. Besides its technical role, EA has a cultural side we should consider [...] Read more.
Global environmental quality decline builds up through innumerable decisions at many scales that cause damage to ecological and social values. Environmental assessment (EA) is a relevant decision-making framework in this sense. Besides its technical role, EA has a cultural side we should consider in the pursuit of sustainable societies. Despite its limited reach, EA exemplifies and confronts some cultural implicit stances that may unwittingly favor the overall decline of environmental quality, and limit the advancement and efficiency of EA. Many of these cultural traits are well known and easier to point to than to reverse, namely: (1) too tolerant-to-damage standards of environmental protection and equality; (2) inadequate criteria to assess environmental performance; (3) tolerance of the net loss of environmental quality; (4) confrontation between ecological and social values in decision-making; and (5) neglect of full, in-kind compensation of environmental impacts. EA may have not only a technical or procedural, but also a cultural role to play in confronting these sources of unsustainability. A lack of attention to the cultural causes of environmental impacts neglects the deepest roots of environmental damage. This commentary addresses the topics above and brings attention to their disregard for environmental values, which should guide EA towards increased levels of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment and the Culture of Sustainability)
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