Environmental Management:
Theories, Principles and approaches
Lecture 4
Dr. Asib Ahmed
Department of Geography and Environment
UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA
3. Environmental Management:
Theory, Principles and Key terms and concepts on
Environment
Environmental components & func:ons
Evolu:on of Environmental Management
Scope & approaches to environmental management
Concept of environment & Its components
- The aggregate of all external factors or conditions that
influence the activities and existence of living things
including humans.
- The earth is a complex system consisting of different
components, the Lithosphere, the Hydrosphere, the
Atmosphere & the Biosphere.
- Each of these components have their own characteristic
features and their specific functions but these have strong
interlinks with each-other so that any change in one may
bring about changes in the other.
- The environment is our basic life-support system (Park,
2001). It provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, the
food we eat, and the land we live on.
- We also rely on the environment to provide us with
natural resources (e.g., wood, energy & minerals).
- Environmental hazards (natural & human-induced)
cause much disruption, damage, death, injury and
hardship.
- Many parts of the environment have been badly
damaged by over-use or unwise use.
Major Concepts, Scope and Approaches to
Environmental Management (EM)
• EM is an approach that goes beyond natural resources
management to encompass the political and social as
well as natural environment.
• EM is the formulation of environmentally sound
development strategies.
• The process of allocating natural and artificial
resources so as to make optimum use of the
environment in satisfying basic human needs at
minimum, and more if possible, on a sustainable basis
(Jolly, 1978).
• A decision-making process which regulates the impact of
anthropogenic activities on the environment in such a
manner that the capacity of the environment to sustain
human development will not be impaired.
• A generic description of a process undertaken by
professionals with a natural science, social science, or less
commonly, an engineering, law or design background,
tackling problems of the human-altered environment on an
interdisciplinary basis from a quantitative and or futuristic
viewpoint (Dorney, 1989).
-Seeking the best possible environmental option to promote
sustainable development.
-The control of all human activities which have a significant impact
upon the environment.
Evolution of Environmental Management
-From prehistory human-being developed strategies mainly
for exploiting nature.
-To help regulate resource use people evolved superstitions
and common rights, formulated laws to improve stewardship
and even undertook natural resources inventories.
-Some managed to sustain reasonable lifestyles for long
periods, the idea that pre-modern people ‘close to nature’
caused a little environmental damage.
-Pre-historic people (a fraction of today’s populations) used fire and
weapons of flint, bone, wood and leather and managed to alter the
vegetation of most continents and probably to wipe-out many species of
large mammals.
-Developments in the late twentieth century brought global pollution,
loss of biodiversity, soil degradation and urban growth.
-Many challenges arose but there were advances in understanding the
structure and functions of the environment, monitoring impacts, data
handling and analysis, modeling assessment and planning.
-Therefore, the role of EM is to co-ordinate and focus such
developments, to improve human well-being and mitigate or prevent
further damage to the earth and its organisms
-From 1830s onward, technological optimism in the west
expressed in natural resources management, altered a little after
1945 as environmental problems grew.
-Limited efforts were made to ensure natural resources
exploitation but was integrated with social and economic
development before 1970s.
-NRM in contrast with EM is more concerned with specific
components of the earth (Resources which have utility and can be
exploited mainly for short-term gain and the benefit of special-
interest groups, companies or govts.). Therefore, NR managers
have often been drawn from a limited range of disciplines with
little sociological and limited environmental expertise.
EM has to work with environmental planning. The focus of
EM is on implementation, monitoring and auditing.
Therefore, EM is a field of study dedicated to understanding
of human-environment interactions and the application of
science and common sense to problem-solving.
Characteristics of EM
•It is supportive to the concept of sustainability (sustainable
development)
•It deals with a world affected by humans (entirely natural
environments)
•It demands a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary approach
•It has to integrate different development viewpoints
•It seeks to integrate science, social science, policy
making and planning.
•It recognizes the desirability meeting and exceeding basic
human needs.
•The time-scale involved extends beyond the short- term
and concern ranges from local to global.
•It should show opportunities and address threats and
problems.
•It stresses stewardship rather than exploitation
Establishment of EM
A number of development activities have helped in
establishing EM as discipline/studies
-After the World War II, rapid growth of population
globally led to over-exploitation of natural
environment .
-During 1946-1970; high emphasis was on growth based
economy, high production of agriculture, rapid growth in
manufacturing etc.
•People in increasing number of countries have become
environmentally aware and unwilling to trust govt. and
corporations to protect the environment. This has largely grown
out of their witnessing accidents, misuse of resources and from
concern about ecological threats.
•NGOs, international agencies, business community and
govt. have started to pursue EM.
•The media monitor and report on environmental issues
•International Conferences, agreements and declarations have
publicized issues and supported EM
•The establishment of UNEP in 1973 was another
milestone
•The creation of US NEPA in 1970
•Publications in North America and Europe which raised
environmental concern after mid-1960s. (A Silent Spring by
Rachel Carson, 1962)
The book ‘Silent Spring’
published in 1962 was a
revolutionary book in the
field of environmental
movement.
The book also
helped the ban of the
pesticides in the
United States in 1972
•The development of green politics since 1970s
•Aid and funding agencies in the late 1970s began to require
EA and EM before supporting development.
•The Brundtland report (WCED, 1987) increased
awareness of the need for environmental care.
Recent Development
Since mid 1980s new branches have appeared on the
evolutionary process of EM
•Environmental law
•Green business
•Impact, risk and hazard assessment
•Total quality management which has led to total
environmental quality management
•Environmental standards
•Eco-auditing
•Environmental management systems
ISO
ISO 14001:2015
Environmental management systems -- Requirements with
guidance for use
ISO 14004:2004
Environmental management systems -- General guidelines
on principles, systems and support techniques
ISO 14006:2011
Environmental management systems -- Guidelines for
incorporating eco-design
ISO 14064-1:2006
Greenhouse gases -- Part 1: Specification with guidance at the
organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse
gas emissions and removals
ISO 9001:2015, a standard for general organizational quality
management systems (QMS), including vendor management.
ISO 27001:2013, a standard for Information Security
Management Systems (ISMS)
- An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of
processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its
environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.
- It is a framework that helps a company achieve its
environmental goals through consistent control of its
operations.
- EMS refers to the management of an organization's
environmental programs in a comprehensive, systematic,
planned and documented manner. It includes the
organizational structure, planning and resources for
developing, implementing and maintaining policy for
environmental protection. The goals of EMS are to
increase compliance and reduce waste.
Approaches
Ad Hoc- an approach which is developed in reaction to a
specific situation
Regional approach- mainly ecological zones or
biophysical units, which can be international, i.e.,
involve different states (for instance, internationally
shared river basin)
Economic Approach- an approach which emphasizes on the
economic development to environmental management
strategies.
Structural/engineering– to consider structures (adopting
engineering methods) while doing environmental
management.
Integrated Approach- an approach integrates multidiscipline to
conduct EM.
Integration refers to:
-integration of different disciplines
-integration of sectors
-integration of objectives
Proac:ve and reac:ve approaches to environmental decision-making
Elements of EM Approaches
● top-down (authoritarian/existing);
● bottom-up (inclusive/participatory/evolving);
● centralized (existing);
● decentralized (evolving);
● compartmentalized (existing)
● Integrated (evolving)
● social equity;
● light-green (technology accepted);
● dark-green (technology opposed);
● giving priority to social development (poverty
alleviation);
● giving priority to environment before human welfare.
Participants in environmental management
● Existing users: Land or resource users (males and females
may make different demands); there may well be
multiple users.
● Groups seeking change: Government (may be conflicting
demands from various ministries or policy makers);
individuals seeking personal gain or to change the situation,
international agencies, NGOs, media, academics).
●Groups pressed into making changes: The poor with no
option but to overexploit what is available without
investing in improvement; refugees, migrants, relocatees,
eco- refugees (forced to move or marginalised so that they
change the environment to survive), workers in industry,
mining and so on, who face health and safety challenges
while carrying out changes.
●Public (may not be directly involved): May be affected as
bystanders; may wish to develop, conserve or change
practices (if aware of what is happening); expatriate or
global concern.
●Facilitators: Funding bodies, consultants, planners,
workers, migrant workers (latter two groups affected by
health and safety issues)
●Controllers: Government and international agencies,
traditional rulers and religions, planners, law, consumer
protection bodies and NGOs (including various green/
environmentalist bodies), trade organisations, media,
concerned individuals, academics, global opinion, and the
environmental manager.
