Life cycle assessment as a prospective tool for sustainable agriculture and food planning at a local level

Owing to the far-reaching environmental consequences of agriculture and food systems,such as their contribution to climate change,there is an urgent need to reduce their impact.International and national governments set sustainability targets and implement corresponding measures.Nevertheless,critics of the globalized system claim that a territorial administrative scale is better suited to address sustainability issues.Yet,at the subnational level,local authorities rarely apply a systemic environmental assessment to enhance their action plans.This paper employs a territorial life cycle assessment methodology to improve local environmental agri-food planning.The objective is to identify significant direct and indirect environmental hotspots,their origins,and formulate effective mitigation strategies.The methodology is applied to the administrative department of Finistere,a strategic agricultural region in North-Western France.Multiple environmental criteria including climate change,fossil resource scarcity,toxicity,and land use are modeled.The findings reveal that the primary environmental hotspots of the studied local food system arise from indirect sources,such as livestock feed or diesel consumption.Livestock reduction and organic farming conversion emerge as the most environmentally efficient strategies,resulting in a 25%decrease in the climate change indicator.However,the overall modeled impact reduction is insufficient following national objectives and remains limited for the land use indicator.These results highlight the innovative application of life cycle assessment led at a local level,offering insights for the further advancement of systematic and prospective local agri-food assessment.Additionally,they provide guidance for local authorities to enhance the sustainability of planning strategies.

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT ON LAND-USE PLANNING-A Case Study of Changchun Economic and Technological Zone

The study centers on the necessity,t he workflowand the synthetically in tegrated methods(Principal Compo-nentAnalysis(PCA),AndyticalHierarchy Process(AHP)andFuzzy Comprerhensive Evaluatio n(FCE))ofstrategic environ-ment assessment (SEA)on land-use planning.The whole article includes three main parts:firstly,some attribute database,graphic-base and the spatial transform matrix,which reflect the change of regional land-use pattern,can be ob-tained by GIS technique;secondly,a dopting fitting method of trend-sur face analysis will convert environm ent monitoring data from scattered spots to regular control spots,based on which we can p erform regional environment impact assess-ment;finally,Changchun Economic a nd Technological Developmen Zone is chosen as a case study on land-use pla nning.Through those efforts the results ma y be obtained as follows:1)according to transform matrix,the p ossibility of transforma-tion from one land-use to another can be obtained after the planning is carried out;2)environment quality would change as a result of the change of land-use p attern;3)the SEA on land-use plan is an effecti ve tool to make land-use pattern more reasonable.

Practice and Thinking on Current Planning Environmental Impact Assessment of Transmission and Transformation Power Grid in Jiangsu Province

The planning environmental impact assessment （EIA） of transmission and transformation power grid at levels of 500 and 220 kV had been finished completely in the 13 municipalities of Jiangsu Province by the end of 2012, which played important roles in guiding and planning the following transmission and transformation projects in environmental protection. In this paper, through the detail analysis on the objective and significance of the planning EIA of transmission and transformation power grid, legal basis and planning EIA practices, some suggestions and thinking about the planning EIA of transmission and transformation power grid were put forward.

Alternatives of Strategic Environmental Assessment for Road Traffic Development Planning——Case of Changchun City,China

On analyzing the achievement of the goal in the modem urban road traffic development planning, the alternative of Strategic Environmental Assessment for urban traffic planning should include the basic scheme, the extended scheme and the environmental protection scheme. This study from different perspectives designed the alternatives for Changchun＇s county-level road and urban road system planning, and used the method of System Dynamics to simulate, optimize and analyze those alternatives. Thereafter, some methods including the correlation function method were used to comprehensively assess and rank those alternatives for recommending two best alternatives with the consideration to the indicators, such as the total emission amount of CO, the total emission amount of nitrogen oxides, the noise value, the road construction cost, the fossil oil consumption and the traffic capacity. The result showed that the study would provide substantial supports for decision-makers to make more scientific decisions and promote the sustainable urban traffic in Changchun City.

Planning Environmental Impact Assessment Orienting Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges

Strategic Environmental Assessment is a frontier subject in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment. In the past two decades, especially in recent years, much more importance has been attached to Strategic Environmental Assessment. The Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the P.R. China which was promulgated provides a great opportunity for the development of Planning Environmental Impact Assessment and brings great challenges for the development of traditional Project Environmental Impact Assessment and Planning Environmental Impact Assessment at the same time. In order to promote the implementation of "The EIA Law", the inherent limitations of Project Environmental Impact Assessment must be identified sufficiently and the theory research and practice of Planning Environmental Impact Assessment should be strengthened as well. Measures should be taken currently to enforce the operation system. The authors wish to offer a few references to the progress and implementation of Planning Environmental Impact Assessment in China.

A Study on the Theory and Approach of Environmental Impact Assessment in General Land Use Planning

In this paper,the theory and approach of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning are studied from different aspects.First,starting from the content and concept of general land use planning,the necessity of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning is illustrated.On the basis of its evaluation theories and methodologies,it attempts to establish index system of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning,and point outs that current general land use planning requires public participation.

Preliminary Investigation on Tracking Evaluation of Planning Environmental Impact Assessment in Ecological Civilization Construction of Wuhan City

On the basis of experimental works of planning environmental impact assessment, works of planning environmental impact assessment such as each of the city＇s special planning and development zone planning were comprehensively promoted in Wuhan City, which effectively promoted the adjustment of Wuhan industrial structure, the rational layout of functions and the efficient utilization of resources, and laid a solid foundation for Wuhan City to be the supporting point for the rise of central China. Here, the work carried out in Wuhan was reviewed, combined with the new requirements of the current ecological civilization construction in Wuhan City, and the framework, the key technical points and the important focuses of the carrying out of the tracking evaluation of planning environmental impact assessment were proposed.

THE LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTAND PLANNING IN THE CONTROL WATERSHED BY RESERVOIR OF ERLONG MOUNTAIN

Based on the theories of landscape ecology, landscape eco environment in the control watershed by reservoir of Erlong Mountain in Heilongjiang Province was analyzed and assessed by using GIS technique and statistical model of Principal Component Analysis and Spatial Cluster Analysis. It is found that 100.08km2(36%)of the total area is in the state of kilter,85.73km2(31%)of the total area is in the state of general,and 47.26km2(17%)and 15.48km2(16%)is in the relatively poor state and ideal state. According to landscape ecological structure,there are three landscape function areas being planned and designed. 1) Agricultural landscape function area: its developmental direction is tour agriculture and high benefit agriculture. 2) Eco environment protected function area:the direction of development and utilization of this region is to develop vigorously forest for soil and water conservation, and try to increase the rate of vegetation cover. 3) Forest landscape function area: rational cut and utilization of forest resources, space optimization disposal of category of forest, foster of forest and protection of wildwood will become the main development directions for this region. This study trys to provide scientific foundation for ecological restoration of the whole valley and its sustainable development.

Environmental impacts assessment for hydropower development planning in China

This article briefly introduced China’s law framework and technical standards related to environmental impacts assessment(EIA) for hydropower development, and the EIA developing process for hydropower development planning. Authors summarized the working experiences about hydropower development planning EIA done in the recent years in China, discussed the considerations and methods of hydropower development planning EIA, and put forward the index system for hydropower development planning EIA initially.

Urban Flood Disaster Risk Assessment and Planning Response: A Case Study of Handan, Hebei Province

Flood disaster is a serious threat to urban security,and flood control and drainage planning is an important measure to ensure urban security.This paper takes planning guidance to empirical research as the main axis.On the basis of meteorological data and spatial data,through the analysis on the risk of disaster-causing factors of flood disasters,the sensitivity of disaster-pregnant environment,the vulnerability of disaster-bearing bodies and the ability of disaster prevention and mitigation,12 indicators are selected to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system for flood disaster risk.Handan City is taken as an example to study the spatial distribution characteristics of flood disaster risk.Based on AHP,weights are assigned to the evaluation indicators of flood disasters in the system,and the risk visualization is carried out in GIS.According to comprehensive risk assessment results,it could put forward corresponding disaster prevention planning strategy for defending flood disaster in Handan City.

Research and Analysis of Regional Ecological Positioning in Planning Environmental Impact Assessment

The regional ecological positioning of one area is based on the region’s ecological orientation by the country or a larger region.Combined with the region’s natural geographical features,ecological background,main ecological problems,regional ecological structure,pattern,process,function and service,etc.,the position of a certain area in ecological space,structure,process,function and service,etc.is determined through the analysis and research.Regional ecological positioning is an important prerequisite and core basis for regional ecological impact assessment.However,in the current regional ecological impact assessment,most of them have not analyzed and studied the regional ecological positioning.Due to the lack of research on regional ecological positioning,it is rare to apply the research results of regional ecological positioning to the establishment of regional ecological objectives and the construction of index system.Regional ecological positioning does not guide the direction of regional ecological protection and construction well,and there is a general tendency of regional ecological positioning being one-sided and slogan-based.This paper analyzes the necessity and importance of research of regional ecological positioning,puts forward the technology framework of study on regional ecological positioning.With regional ecological positioning research in planning ecological impact assessment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone as an example,how to carry out the study on the regional ecological positioning and how to apply the results of the study on the regional ecological positioning in regional ecological impact assessment are explained and illustrated.

The Research Framework Model of Rapid Assessment and Emergency Plan Selection for Urban Flood Disaster

Given that it is difficult to assess the harmfulness and make emergency response timely in the early stage when flood disasters happen in cities for that the data are complex and rapidly changing, this article constructs a rapid assessment model, namely Simple Simos Procedure and PROMTHEE II Model (SSPPM), to assess the severity of flood disaster occurring in cities at the early stage based on a view of the rapid flood disaster assessment. On this basis, the fuzzy VIKOR method is applied to choose a scientific emergency plan. This article aims to construct a research framework model, which can provide some practice implications to reduce the losses caused by flood disaster.

Monitoring and Assessment of Water Quality of Centralized Drinking Water Sources in Kaixian County during the " Twelfth Five-year Plan " Period

Based on the monitoring data of water quality of more than 40 centralized drinking water sources in 40 towns （townships or streets） of Kaixian County in the first and second half of each year during the ＂Twelfth Five-year Plan＂ period, the changing rules of the water quality were studied to provide scientific references for the improvement of drinking water safety of urban and rural residents and drinking water quality. The re- sults show that the water quality of centralized drinking water sources in Kaixian County improved year by year during the ＂Twelfth Five-year Plan＂ period, and most monitoring sites with water quality exceeding the standard are distributed in reservoirs. Total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, and permanganate index exceeded the standard obviously. Main pollution sources are domestic pollution and non-point source pol- lution caused by excessive discharge of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic pollutants. To improve drinking water quality, it is suggested that some towns can get drinking water from other reservoirs, surface water or underground water with better quality instead of previous reservoirs with water quality exceeding the standard, and the control of non-point source pollution should be enhanced.

Frontier Progress of Landscape Character Assessment in China

The role of Landscape Character Assessment(LCA)at the level of territorial landscape governance spans both natural and social sciences.By analyzing the development history,research distribution,methods and applications of cutting-edge cases of LCA in China,the following conclusions are drawn:①the LCA research in China originated earlier than that in Europe,but has not yet been systematically applied to the implementation of urban and rural planning at all levels;②the fundamental theory of LCA in China has been well constructed,with three main research directions:technologyled,assessment-led,and assessment combined with other theories;③the development of LCA in rural areas is more mature than in urban areas,but the progress of research is uneven across regions;④the current research presents significant“bottom-up”academic characteristics,and there is an urgent need for government decision-making authorities and academia to jointly promote a“top-down”standardized governance mechanism to comprehensively promote the modernization of territorial landscape governance.

Urban Air Quality Plans and Integrated Assessment Methodologies

The air quality directive （2008/50/EC （of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008）） requires European Member States to design appropriate AQPs （air quality plans） for zones and agglomerations where the air quality does not comply with the limit values and to assess possible emission reduction measures to decrease concentration levels. The Portuguese agglomeration of Porto Litoral is one of the several European Union urban areas that had to develop and implement AQPs to reduce particulate matter （PM10）. The AQPs were initially designed based on a scenario approach and using an air quality model, which was applied over the study region for the reference situation with the current PM10 emissions, and for a reduction scenario with PM10 emissions re-estimated considering the implementation of abatement measures. Aiming to cost-efficiently optimize Porto Litoral PM10 abatement measures, the assessment procedure was repeated using an optimization approach based on the RIAT ＋ （regional integrated assessment tool ＋）. Porto Litoral urban area＇s technical and non-technical measures were characterized （including associated costs） and, through the application of the air quality model to 20 emissions abatement scenarios, S-R （source-receptor） relationships were created. This paper comparatively describes the air quality plans designed to improve PM10 levels in the Porto Litoral agglomeration based on both the scenario analysis and the optimization approach.

Practice and Thinking of Plan Environmental Impact Assessment of Power Transmission and Transformation Grid in Nanjing

At present,the plan environmental impact assessment of power transmission and transformation grid is relatively mature. How to further improve the quality of plan environmental impact assessment of power grid during the "14^(th) Five-Year Plan" period is very important. In this paper,the plan environmental impact assessment of power grid in the Development Plan for Power Grid in Nanjing during the "13^(th) Five-Year Plan" Period is studied to further discuss the ideas,evaluation system and content framework of plan environmental impact assessment of power grid.

Risk Assessment from Catchment to Consumers as Framed in Water Safety Plans: A Study from Maiduguri Water Treatment Plant, North East Nigeria

Water safety plan as conceived by WHO can lead to prevention of pollution in each component of water supply chain which leads to ensuring safe drinking water. Risk assessment is one of the key components during the development of water safety plan, achieved by identifying hazardous events and estimating their risk towards implementing control measures. This study reports the risk assessment from catchment to consumers in Maiduguri water treatment plant in Northeast Nigeria. Tools such as the field visits, key informant interviews, questionnaire and water quality monitoring were used to identify the hazards and estimate their risk using semi-quantitative matrix. With the existing control measures, the study showed a total of 33 hazardous events;5 in catchment, 16 in treatment plant, 6 in distribution system and 6 at consumers’ points. The risk score indicated 6 are of medium risk and 9 of high risk. Catchment activities, upgrade of treatment facilities and lack of routine maintenance in the treatment plant, pipeline damages in distribution lines, and consumers’ lack of hygiene knowledge and awareness were found to be the major contributory factors which affect the desired quality. Therefore participation and commitment by all relevant stakeholders are fundamental requisite to manage the identified health risks.

Substituted plan analysis in the environmental impact assessment of Yongchuan wastewater treatment project

Substituted plan in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) mainly means the treatment technology and the substituted site of plant, and it also includes the many kinds of environment protection measures. This paper will make detailed analysis on the treatment technology, the substituted site of plant, the purpose of discharged water and the dispose of sludge in the Yongchuan wastewater treatment project.

Assessment of Human Rights Action Plans and Use of Its Results from a Global Perspective

Since the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993,more than a quarter of the participating countries have developed National Human Rights Action Plans(NHRAPs)to promote human rights.An assessment of the NHRAPs can help to understand the realities of the implementation,improve the quality of the follow-up plan,and improve the effectiveness of the plan in the implementation process.From the texts and practices of the NHRAPs,such an assessment includes the 'self-assessments' of the plans’ implementers,comprehensive assessments of inter-departmental committees(groups),and evaluations of policy objects,social organizations and human rights experts.The assessment methods include field research,qualitative evaluation,indicator measurement and process monitoring,among other things.The results of the assessment can promote the cohesion between the NHRAPs in different periods,promote the accumulation and transmission of the implementation experience of the plan,and promote the optimization and adjustment of related matters during the implementation period.