Environmental Compensation Actions in Costa Rica: Disparity between Commitments and Actions

Introduction: Environmental compensation is a legal-administrative instrument used by agencies that supervise the environmental impact assessment (EIA) to offset irreversible impacts generated by development projects. The compensation is usually framed in the principle of ecological equivalence, which seeks to equate the losses due to the impact with a net environmental gain obtained by the compensatory actions. Methods: We analyzed the records of development projects that have merited an environmental compensation plan registered by the National Environmental Technical Secretariat of Costa Rica (SETENA) between January 2018 and June 2020. Results: Seventy-four projects were analyzed;just over 75% of them corresponded to infrastructure projects while the rest concerned exploitation activities of materials and resources. The main impacts that elicited compensation plans were: deforestation and destruction of riverbanks (13%), earthworks (15.5%), poor water management (15.5%), and administrative faults or non-compliance with environmental commitments (62%). The main compensatory measures conducted were: building school infrastructure (20% of the projects), support for environmental education programs (17%), and reforestation programs (>15%), although actions such as the purchase of school supplies, donation of equipment to local communities and the arrangement of roads and causeways were also recorded. In only three projects, the replacement of the impacted habitat was used as compensation for projected damage. Discussion: The registered compensatory measures do not endorse the spirit of return on components equivalent to those impacted that generate a net environmental gain and respond only to impacts that had not been considered during the preliminary evaluation of the project. The compensation plan used in Costa Rica is a sanctioning instrument based on economic valuation and does not guarantee a return equivalent to environmental losses. Therefore, compensation must be integrated in the preliminary evaluations of the projects, identifying these measures in the early stages and separating them from administrative faults.

Application of a DPC for PMD Compensation in Environmental Perturbed Transmission System

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensation is presented on environmental perturbed fiber-optical transmission system in this paper. We achieve a dynamic polarization controller (DPC) to feedback control the PMD, successfully.

Review on the Theory of Ecological Environment Damage Assessment

In the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China,the damage of ecological environment hinders the people's pursuit of good environmental quality.As a technical means of ecological environment protection,the assessment of ecological environment damage has been attached great importance by all walks of life.However,there are still some problems in the current practice of environmental damage assessment.Therefore,based on the understanding of ecological environment damage assessment and related concepts,this study systematically studies the theory of ecological environment damage assessment.Based on the research,it can be seen that the assessment of ecological environment damage is the inevitable product of social and economic development and the promotion of environmental protection awareness,and ecological environment damage belongs to the subordinate concept of"environmental damage".The assessment of ecological environment damage includes the assessment of ecological damage and environmental damage,paying attention to the interests of human society and the unclaimed pure environment and pure ecological damage.The assessment of ecological environmental damage determines the goal and direction for the construction of environmental damage compensation system.This study enriches the theory of environmental damage assessment and provides theoretical reference and method basis for environmental damage assessment.

Drivers of farmers’behavior toward compensation scheme for cultivated land protection in chengdu pilot area,China

Studying farmers’behavior affected by economic incentive is necessary to promote positive behavior among farmers toward protecting the quantity,quality,and ecological environment of cultivated land.In this study,we investigated the current situation regarding economic incentive policies for cultivated land protection,which has attracted the attention of Chinese government.Then,we focused on the earliest pilot scheme(i.e.,Cultivated Land Protection Fund,CLPF)implemented in the west of China since 2008 to empirically analyze farmers’behavior.Statistical analysis and path analysis methods were applied,with data collected from 296 questionnaires.Our results showed that positive actions,including the enhancement of initiatives to protect cultivated land,the improvement of ecological environment of cultivated land,and the investment in agricultural infrastructure,have been adopted by farmers since the implementation of the CLPF.Furthermore,gender,education level,labor force size,cultivated land area,migration out of traditional farming areas,average annual household income,and farmers’knowledge of the policy impacted significantly on farmers’behavior.On the premise of comprehensive consideration of the diversity of farmers’livelihoods,new communication technologies and sufficient funds,we suggested that a long-term and sustainable project should be established at the national level to effectively compensate farmers.