-
environmentalSCIENTIST
Journal of the Institution of Environmental Sciences
✦ How a campaign against particulates could help to boost
further air quality improvement 4
✦ Why sustainable development should form part of every
environmental scientist’s initial training 11
✦ Your chance to become a Chartered Environmentalist 14
✦ Why universities are competing for a declining pool of
environmental science students 15
Air
quality
September/October 2006
-
2 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
environmental
SCIENTISTJournal of
the Institution ofEnvironmental Sciences
ISSN: 0966 8411Vol 15 No 2
Established 1971
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Early in 2007, the Institution isplanning to base a special
edition ofEnvironmental Scientist on issuessurrounding nuclear
powergeneration. This will be in light of aWhite Paper being
released at theend of 2006, and the call for the useof ‘cleaner’
energy production froman increasing number of interestgroups.
The Institution is thereforeseeking written contributions on
this matter, from members orrelevant parties. Articles
shouldconcentrate on the science or effectof nuclear power on
ourprofessional lives, society or theenvironmental science field as
awhole.
If you are interested in supplyingan article, or know of someone
whomight wish to contribute, pleasesend an email to
[email protected]
The Institution of EnvironmentalSciences has recently launched
anew online e-newsletter entitledEnviroSci News.
This newsletter providesmembers with an update of what
ishappening within the Institution,an overview of relevant news
fromthe Environmental field, as well asinteresting and informative
articlessupplied by our diverse member-ship.
Recent contributors have includ-ed Phil Cumming,
EnvironmentalProject Manager for the London2012 Organising
Committee(LOCOG), and Dr Mark Everard,Vice Chair of the IES. Since
itsrelease in early September, the e-newsletter has received
much
positive feedback from members.EnviroSci News would like to
take
this opportunity to call for thecontribution of articles for the
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asbiographies from our most activemembers.
We hope you get the most out ofEnviroSci News, and will continue
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All enquiries for contributions, aswell as suggestions and
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LAUNCH OF ENVIROSCI NEWS ONLINE E-NEWSLETTER
NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION
-
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 3
CAROLYN ROBERTS considers the importance
of getting across the message about the value
of environmental science
Environmental scientists are becoming more andmore embedded into
the political economy of theUK and beyond. Issues such as climate
change,ecological adjustments, urban flooding and thesustainable
management of business and industry
require us to liaise with a wide spectrum of stakeholdersin the
public, private and voluntary sectors. Rather thanseeking to
distance ourselves from potential aggravation,or to maintain a
purist view of ourselves only as‘dispassionate scientists’, we need
to be sensitive to ourresponsibilities, and aware of communication
styles andthe differences in impact that these may promote
amongthose who need to hear what we say. We also need topromote
effective public and governmental educationabout environmental
sustainability, seeking out everyopportunity effectively to press
home our messages.
The Society for the Environment is increasinglyproviding a
platform for communication on UKenvironmental matters, and in order
better to exploit thisopportunity the Institution is starting a
round ofdiscussions with other constituent professional
bodies.Consideration is being given to developing closerworking
relationships, maximising the opportunities forbringing effective
pressure to bear nationally andinternationally, extending the
opportunities for staffdevelopment for environmental practitioners,
whileensuring that the distinctive contribution of theenvironmental
scientist continues to be recognised.
To the same end, Council has agreed that theInstitution will
join the European Federation ofAssociations of Environmental
Professionals, which againwill raise our profile within the
European Union, fosterinternational levels of activity, and provide
additionalservices for members. You will receive more
informationabout this initiative in a forthcoming mailing, and
Council is keen to have feedback from readers. The multiple
competencies required by today’s
environmental professionals are very well represented inthe
personal portfolio of Emma Bennett, the firstInstitution of
Environmental Sciences member tocomplete the full ‘portfolio and
interview’ route toachieving Chartered Status, last month. Emma has
had avaried and fascinating career, with particularresponsibilities
for coastal management, water quality andcommunity involvement in
both public and privatesectors. You will be able to read more about
her work andviews in the next edition of the journal.
She joins an astonishingly diverse set of theInstitution’s
Members and Fellows who are now entitledto use the coveted ‘CEnv’
post-nominal, and theInstitution’s Council takes this opportunity
to wish her,and other practitioners, well. We hope that their
pathwaywill be followed by many others. P■ Carolyn Roberts FRGS
FIEnvSc CEnv ILTM is Chair
of the Institution of Environmental Sciences andAssociate Dean
of the Faculty of Education at theCentre for Active Learning in
Geography at theUniversity of Gloucestershire.
A MESSAGE FROM THE IES CHAIR
-
BERNARD FISHER and DAVID MUIRsuggest that action against
particulates would be an effective driver for local action
to improve air quality
Recently the Government released its new air qualitystrategy for
consultation. Any discussion of the UKAir Quality Strategy Review
needs to put thedocument issued on 5 April 2006 in context. This
isthe fourth document in a series of Strategy Reviews,
starting with the National Air Quality Strategy in 1997,which
set up a series of objectives for eight pollutants1. Theaim of the
strategy was to ensure that air quality met oraimed to achieve
these objectives. The revised Strategy ofJanuary 2000 contained
revised objectives and the StrategyAddendum of February 2003
introduced tighter objectivesand different objectives in different
parts of the UK.
The current review differs from the earlier two in that,instead
of laying out an objectives driven strategy, it ismore of an
evaluation of whether the Strategy has beeneffective in achieving
health benefits. The objectives formany of the pollutants are
already being met andtherefore these are not discussed further in
this article.For these pollutants objectives will be retained to
ensurethat problems do not return and it is expected that theywould
be strengthened if clear evidence for effects,especially at lower
concentrations, was demonstrated.
Further health benefits are potentially very large; it hasbeen
estimated that in 2005 man-made particulate airpollution reduced
average life expectancy by eightmonths; less in some cases, more in
others. Moreoverwhat has emerged is that for certain pollutants
long termstrends are flattening or even at some locations
reversing.It appears that one is reaching a region of
diminishingreturns. For NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and PM10
(particlesof aerodynamic size less than 10 µm on average, 1 µm =
10-6 metres), achieving objectives appears to be difficult asthere
are no obvious easy ways of making further largeimprovements. The
present strategy review also extendsthe time frame from 2010, as in
the original strategy, outto 2020 and starts to include some
reference to climatechange effects.
The structure of the 2006 review is to use models topredict
concentrations out to 2020 using a baseline, whichassumes that
policy measures are adopted, and forecasts
for air quality improvements if further policy measures
areintroduced. One could imagine a whole range of potentialpolicy
measures, but focus to the review has been given byconsidering a
simple range of measures with emphasis ontechnological improvements
mainly associated with roadtransport. It turns out that the most
effective measures interms of estimated benefit are of this type
and are broadlyof the kind: incentives for early uptake of Euro
standards(for road vehicles), reducing emissions from
smallcombustion plants and reducing emissions from shipping.A total
of 14 individual measures are evaluated along withthree scenarios
combining two or more of the individualmeasures. One of these,
designated Q in the review, ispredicted to give considerable
benefits and because of theimportance placed on this measure it is
discussed in moredetail later. It is recognised that measures can
havebenefits in other ways apart from air quality and they canhave
qualitative benefits, which are not possible toquantify in monetary
terms. The 2006 strategy review alsogives greater emphasis to the
effects of air pollution onecosystems and begins to address the
links between airquality and climate change.
Particles and exposure reductionIn this article, however, we
focus particular attention onone aspect of the review, the approach
to particles, whichis seen as rather novel compared with the
objectivesdefined in earlier strategies. It was recognised in
theearlier strategies that particulate matter has no thresholdfor
health effects, nor were these species dependent, sothat any
reduction in total particulate concentrationwould produce an
improvement in terms of life yearssaved. One change in the 2006
Strategy revision has beenthat smaller particles PM2.5 (particles
of aerodynamic sizeless than 2.5 µm on average), which would be
included inany PM10 measurement, are now seen as being moreharmful.
There are currently no objectives for PM2.5 andit is not widely
monitored in the UK at present. Thetreatments of PM10 in earlier
Strategies set objectives forPM10 in terms of a numerical value
which should not beexceeded, accepting that particulate matter
concentrationscould not be reduced to zero everywhere, if
anywhere.
What is new is a change in approach to an ‘exposurereduction’
method and this is worth elaborating as itshows how thinking about
achieving environmentalobjectives can develop. The review of past
trends ofmeasurements has confirmed that reducingconcentrations of
particles by any single measure can beintractable. One wishes to
set an objective, which acts as adriver towards reducing
concentrations, but at the sametime this has the effect that
attention is focused towardsareas of exceedence. Eliminating these
areas of exceedencedoes not necessarily have the desired effect of
generallyreducing particle concentrations, which is what is
4 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
AIR QUALITY – IS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SUSTAINABLE?
1. The eight pollutants are sulphur dioxide, nitrogendioxide,
particles as PM10, benzene, 1,3-butadiene,ozone, carbon monoxide
and lead.
-
desirable for a pollutant, which has no safe threshold ofeffect.
Hence a proposal has been put forward, which alsohas support in
European negotiations on theimplementation of Directives, which is
based on theassessment of the exposure of the population as a
whole,to particles.
The starting point is that the exposure reduction isformulated
in terms of the smaller particle fraction PM2.5which has
implications for the way measurements aremade. Based on
measurements in urban background site(these are sites which are
neither near the roadside nor inrural areas) the objective is that
between 2010 and 2020the exposure of the population to ambient
levels of PM2.5should reduce by 15%. The 15% has been chosen to act
asa reduction since it has been estimated that existing
policyshould reduce levels by about 10% and the extra
policymeasures, such as the combined measure Q, would lead toan
extra 5% reduction. There is also merit in addressingthe PM2.5
fraction in this way rather than PM10 in thatthis fraction is
potentially more amenable to control thanthe PMCoarse = ([ PM10] –
[ PM2.5]) fraction.
This is illustrated explicitly by Table 1, which is
takendirectly from page 118 of Volume 1 of the Strategydocument. It
compares the benefits achieved by a numberof alternative measures.
The baseline is the predictedeffect of current measures already
agreed, some of which,for example tighter vehicle standards, will
take time towork through the system before they are fully
effective.The general principle was to include in projections
thosepolicies or commitments that are already in place or thoseon
which agreement has been reached, even if fulladministrative
procedures have not been finalised.
Combined measure Q involves three actions: 1. a programme of
incentives introduced to the UK in
which Euro V standards are applied to light duty vehi-cles from
2006 onwards, and Euro VI standards areapplied to heavy duty
vehicles from 2010 onwards;
2. a series of incentives to increase the use of low
emissionvehicles to replace petrol and diesel cars; and
3. a reduction in SO2 and NOx from small combustion plant.
These measures and others described in the review areones which
could be implemented and costed, acceptingthe inevitable
uncertainties in this kind of policyevaluation. It is clear that
this is a national review and sothe impacts of the large number of
other possible, localmeasures cannot be evaluated in the same way.
It is amatter for regret that the Department for Transportrecently
announced the end of some of the incentiveschemes for cleaning up
vehicle emissions.
Example of strategy evaluationThe table shows four alternative
ways of assessing therelative benefits of proposed measures. The
first one is thepercentage of the population exposed to
concentrationgreater than 20 µgm-3 (microgrammes per cubic
metre).This is the current National Air Quality Strategyobjective
for the UK (excluding London and Scotland),which is the hardest to
achieve. The equivalent levels forLondon and Scotland are 18 and 23
respectively. It is alsoan indicative value in an EU Directive.
The benefit can also be assessed in terms of the lifeyears
saved. These are large numbers. However theyroughly equate to a
reduction in life expectancy of a fewweeks.
The exposure reductions are relative measures ofimprovements
expressed as percentages based on thereduction in the estimated
concentration multiplied bythe population density over all urban
areas relative to thebase year. A large percentage reduction
indicates a largeimprovement. The assessments are undertaken
separatelyfor PM10 and PM2.5. The PM2.5 is the amount ofparticulate
in the smaller size fraction.
Scenario Z does not correspond to any actual measuresto control
emissions. Instead it represents a hypotheticalsituation in which
all concentrations above 20 µgm-3 havebeen reduced to 20, with all
other concentrations stayingthe same. It represents a situation in
which measures aretaken on a local basis just to reduce
concentrations in thehot spots defined as areas where
concentrations are above20 µgm-3. It is hypothetical because many
of the
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 5
Improvementmeasure
Baseline
Combined measure Q
Scenario Z
Percentage of UKpopulation
above 20 µgm-3
(background areas only)
in 2020
26.7
11.9
0
Public healthimprovementsexpressed as
additional million life years savedcompared to
baseline in 2020
0
3.25
1.57
Percentage exposurereduction in urban
areas between 2010 and 2020,
PM10
6.7
11.7
10.1
Percentage exposurereduction in urban
areas between 2010 and 2020,
PM2.5
11.5
17
13.4
Table 1: Comparison of measures using four different
criteria
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6 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
components of PM10 are long-range, that is they travellong
distances before being removed from theatmosphere, so that a source
control measure does notnecessarily have a localised effect. It is
not known atpresent which component of particulate matter has
themost damaging effect so that each µgm-3 is treated in thesame
way, regardless of whether it is soil dust, sea salt, anorganic
compound or carbon, sulphate or nitrate, metaletc. The increased
focus on PM2.5 would mean asignificant change in the way many local
authorities didtheir monitoring.
Figure 1 shows a picture of the inside and outside of
amonitoring site run by Bristol City during acomprehensive trial
comparing different methods ofsampling for particulate matter. It
turns out that evenwhen monitors are placed side by side different
results areobtained and it is not easy to derive a simple
correctionfactor to enable readings from one instrument to
beconverted into the equivalent reading from another.
Table 1 also illustrates how the other assessments in thereview
have been undertaken. They all rely on acomparison between
projected concentrations and airquality objectives, expressed in a
variety of ways, such as interms of background air concentrations
or roadsideconcentrations, with the aim being to see how close
thecountry as a whole can get to a desirable outcome. Since
forparticles there is no safe limit, there will always be a
healthdisbenefit, unless particles could be removed from
theatmosphere completely, which is an impossible aspiration.
The question of exposure reduction reopens a certainquestion,
which has been glossed over in earlier strategyreviews. The review
nowhere considers the thornyquestion of personal exposure, which is
the realmechanism of exposure, since people generally spendmost of
their time indoors particularly in the case of theyoung or elderly,
who may be at greatest risk.
A new kind of objectiveThe conclusion to be drawn from the table
is that measureQ achieves notable benefit to human health by
2020,however it is judged, but does not totally eliminate
theproblem. The hypothetical scenario Z, which removes allareas
with high concentrations, does not do as much forhealth
improvements. This leads to the proposal for anovel approach to
this otherwise intractable problem. Itrequires that on the base of
measurements averaged over asuitable long period to remove
meteorological variability,a new ‘exposure-reduction’ objective
should be introducedfor PM2.5, because of its greater health
significance. Thedraft Strategy proposes a 15% reduction in PM2.5
at urbanbackground monitoring sites between 2010 and 2010.Although
such a reduction is welcome, the figure of 15%does seem to reflect
what can be achieved without much,if any, additional action.
The proposal would be applied on a national level. Therole of
the local authorities, which hitherto has been veryimportant, would
thus be diminished. Local authoritiesare required to designate Air
Quality Management Areason the basis of exceedences(s) of
objectives in specifiedlocations. Since exposure reduction on its
own could leadto PM concentrations remaining high in some
areas,notably in the centres of large urban areas, there is
aproposal for a so-called backstop objective of 25 µgm-3 forPM2.5
to be achieved everywhere by 2010. The choice of25 µgm-3 arises
because of the current annual meanobjective of 40 µgm-3 PM10, to be
achieved everywhere by2004, which has been successful, and because
PM2.5 isroughly 5/8 of 40 µgm-3 by mass. In Scotland the current18
µgm-3 objective for PM10 is a legal objective, and so thebackstop
objective for Scotland has to be chosen to be12 µgm-3 PM2.5. One
might well argue that theproliferation of objectives is
unnecessarily complicatedand harms the successful implementation of
air quality
-
improvements. A local authority elected member mightnot have the
patience to listen to the logic behind thearguments for setting
objectives, though he or she wouldappreciate the principle of
improving air quality.
Implications for local authorities The key question for local
authorities is how to continueto fulfil their role in the future.
Local authorities currentlyhave as part of Local Air Quality
Management duties theresponsibility to review and assess air
quality in theirareas, an activity undertaken or managed by
localauthority staff. Over 180 Air Quality Management Areashave
been declared, the majority of which are due to likelyexceedences
of the air quality objectives for NO2 andPM10 as a result of road
transport, either on localauthority roads or the strategic road
network. Theseobjectives are set in order to tackle local air
qualityproblems where air quality objectives are exceeded. The2006
Strategy Review continues to recognise that localauthorities have
an important role to play in helpingGovernment and the devolved
administrations delivercleaner air. They will still be required to
take action, byimplementing measures within an action plan in
pursuit ofthe air quality objectives in the designated air
qualitymanagement areas. The question which arises under thenew
arrangements is how much of a driver is theretowards local air
quality improvement?
Action and action plansThe 2006 Strategy Review documents
summarise whatlocal authorities have done. Over 110 local
authorities haveso far produced action plans. Local authorities in
Englandare being encouraged to integrate their air quality
actionplans into Local Transport Plans, where road transport isthe
major source of local exceedence of the air qualityobjective. The
content of action plans can vary from oneauthority to another, and
depends on the main sources ofthe pollutants of concern. It is
assumed that localauthorities know best how to tackle local
problems, butthere are some common elements to many of the
actionplans, especially those relating to road transport.
Action plans comprise local measures, which contain;1.
commitments, such as putting air quality at the heart of
the decision making process, particularly in other poli-cy areas
such as planning decisions or including airquality in the unitary
development plan; promotinggreen travel plans; working closely with
the HighwaysAgency and/or the Environment Agencies on
emissionsreduction measures; sustainable freight
distributionstrategies; school and business travel plans etc;
2. measures, such as local traffic management measures tolimit
access to, or re-route traffic away from problemareas; Low Emission
Zones; using cleaner-fuelled vehiclesin the authority’s own fleet;
bus or fleet operators using
cleaner, quieter vehicles, or more flexible freight
deliveryarrangements; congestion charging schemes and/orworkplace
parking levies; park and ride schemes;improved public transport;
roadside emissions testing etc;
3. raising awareness and generating behavioural change
byinforming members of the public about air qualityissues via local
newsletters or other media; publicitycampaigns, workshops and
stakeholder dialogue, etc.These local measures could be part of a
future national
strategy. However it is difficult to evaluate them using the2006
Strategy Review methodology. Some attempt hasbeen made and studies
undertaken in support of the 2006Strategy Review conclude that the
most successfulmeasures in delivering health and economic benefits
fromair quality improvements are usually larger or citywideschemes.
This is different to the focus on reducing airquality exceedences,
where the location of emissions isimportant. Specifically targeting
particular roads ortransport corridors (usually the air quality
hotspots ofconcern where objectives are exceeded) leads to
greatestprogress towards eliminating objective exceedences,which
has essentially been the local authority role up tonow. Moreover,
it is also likely that improvements in airquality from many local
measures will decline in futureyears, as the general traffic fleet
becomes cleaner,assuming that traffic does not grow in city
centres, wheremany of the air quality management areas are
situated.
Accepting that the role of local schemes directed atemission
improvements may decline in importance in future,the local schemes
thought to bring the highest improvementsin air quality and health
benefits are Low Emission Zones,early scrappage schemes and local
motorway speedrestrictions. Local schemes whose primary aims do
notinclude the reduction of air pollution (such as improvementto
public transport), have low air quality benefits comparedto the
costs of the scheme. However since these schemes areimplemented
mainly to address other concerns (such ascongestion or improvement
in accessibility) any air qualitybenefits would be complementary.
There are a number ofdifferent local transport measures that can
successfullydeliver improvements to air quality at a local level.
It isimportant that air quality benefits should be taken
intoaccount when considering proposals aimed at improving thelocal
urban environment more generally (such as othertransport measures
included in local transport plans or anyother spatial development
plans formulated at local andregional level). An example would be
to consider air qualityin the design of sustainable communities,
for new housing inthe South East of England.
A local air quality strategy review?The evaluation of the Local
Air Quality Managementsystem in 2003 concluded that the system was
successful.The recent encouragement to integrate air quality
action
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 7
-
plans into the second round of Local Transport Plans forEnglish
local authorities, shows that the Government andthe devolved
administrations remain committed to LocalAir Quality Management as
a tool to deliver improved airquality. The third round of the Local
Air QualityManagement system started in April 2006 and the
UKGovernment and the devolved administrations, arecommitted to
re-evaluate the role of the Local Air QualityManagement system in
2010.
The local authority role to promote local measures isweakened by
the 2006 Strategy Review. The future role oflocal authorities in
tackling hotspots is unclear. By thisstage in the local air quality
management process oneexpects that there should be more specific
treatment of thevalue of local powers. There is also the
recognition thattechnical measures, such as end of pipe
technologies, areshowing diminishing returns. Greater emphasis is
neededon non-technical measures of precisely the kind
beingsuggested in Action Plans. One must therefore concludethat the
2006 Strategy Review does not give enoughweight to the future role
of these so-called softermeasures. There is also the question of
public reaction toa shift away from dealing with hot spots that are
perceivedas affecting a number of individuals to addressing themore
wide ranging question of exposure reduction.
What will happen, if the strategy is adopted, is that alocal
authority cannot designate an Air QualityManagement Area for
particulate matter on the basis ofexposure reduction. The backstop
objective of 25 µgm-3
PM2.5 will be too weak to require any additional action toreduce
PM concentrations in all but a very few locationsexcept in Scotland
where the 12 µgm-3 objective will drivepolicy. NO2 will be the
driver for air qualityimprovements in urban areas in the rest of
the countryeven though particulate matter is the pollutant of
greatestconcern. For England and Wales one might consider amore
ambitious target for PM2.5, such as setting thebackstop and
exposure reduction objectives as 20 µgm-3
and 20% respectively, would have the desired effect ofretaining
the best elements of national and local air qualitymanagement.
Other issues in the strategy reviewThere are other issues in the
2006 Strategy Review whichare not discussed in the article, such as
the protection ofecosystems and ammonia. The purpose has been to
focuson implementation of the Strategy and the future
localauthority role.
It is also a consideration that climate change as opposedto air
quality is now a powerful political driver foremissions reduction
and the Strategy Review ought toreflect this. One concept that is
gaining credence is thatgreater effort is required to harmonise the
management ofair quality and climate concerns both at local and
national/international levels.Although the assessments and
projections are based on
the best available knowledge, it would also be prudent
toconsider alternative scenarios. For example,
technologicalsolutions may not deliver as anticipated, or
whereconsumer and societal trends impact detrimentally uponair
quality.
ConclusionsThe 2006 Strategy Review needs to consider
morecarefully how a national strategy works in relation to
localaction. One needs to retain sufficiently challenging
localobjectives to ensure that progress on local air
qualitymanagement is continued. This means setting a
stricterbackstop objective for particulate matter, which acts as
aneffective driver for local action.
A Local Air Quality Strategy Review needs to beundertaken, which
would give national advice on theopportunities for effective softer
air quality improvementmeasures, such as financial incentives,
energy efficiency,demand management and behavioural change. P
ReferencesAll the information referred to in this article is
availableon the web page and
links:www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/airqualstratreview/
index.htmSpecific information is given in the following
threedocuments:Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales
andNorthern Ireland.A consultation document on options for further
improvement inair quality.Volume 1: Main consultation
document.Volume 2: Technical annex and Regulatory Impact
Assessment.An economic analysis to inform the Air Quality
Strategyreview consultation – Third report of the
InterdepartmentalGroup on Costs and Benefits.See also:Laxen D. and
Moorcroft S., 2006, Options for an
Exposure-Reduction Approach to Air Quality Managementin the UK,
Air Quality Consultants report.
Watkiss P., 2004, An evaluation of the Air Quality
Strategy:Additional Analysis of Local Road Transport Measures,AEA
Technology report.
For health effects
see:www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/comeap/pdfs/
interimlongtermeffects2006.pdf■ Bernard Fisher works in Risk and
Forecasting at the
Environment Agency, Reading, and David Muir in theEnvironmental
Quality Unit of Bristol City Council.The views expressed in this
paper are those of theauthors and are not necessarily those of the
organisa-tions for which they work.
8 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
-
BERNARD FISHER, Chairman of IAQM, describes the role of
the environmental scientist in improving air quality
The Institute for Air Quality Management (IAQM) isa division of
the Institution of EnvironmentalSciences (IES) set up to promote
the practice of airquality management. Since the publication of
thefirst National Air Quality Strategy in 1997, there
has been a framework in this country for improving airquality,
supported by underlying national and Europeanlegislation. The aim
is to meet objectives chosen so as toprotect human health and
ecological systems. The aim issimple, but the practice is complex
and rather technical.
The national capability has been advanced by theidentification
of the main pollutants of concern, thesetting of standards, the
establishment of emissionsinventories, making measurements and
modelling usingemissions inventories, leading to the prediction
ofconcentrations, so that trends can be assessed and futurepolicy
determined to bring about improvements. Detailedguidance at a local
level have been provided to assist in theproduction of air quality
reviews. This has led to the needfor the air quality management
professional.
Ultimately there is the requirement for action, often inrelation
to transport plans. The professional needs a widerange of skills
and ultimately the ability to persuadedecision makers. The subject
is technically involved but is
a legal requirement, arguably the most technicallyadvanced
legislation to implement, but does not alwayslead directly to
action as seen in the new draft NationalStrategy for which 100-plus
action plans were reviewed.
Local measures included in action plans range from: acorporate
commitment to putting air quality at the heartof the decision
making process, particularly in otherpolicy areas, such as planning
decisions or including airquality in the unitary development plan;
to practical trafficmanagement measures to limit access to, or
re-routetraffic away from problem areas and in the longer
term,perhaps, congestion charging schemes and/or workplaceparking
levies. One role of the air quality managementprofessional in the
future is to make these plans more of areality.
However, compared with other environmental areas,air quality
management has a clear structure and purpose.It is recognised that
for air quality there are large costbenefits, of concern mostly to
people who live in urbanareas.
Air quality practice can be rather procedural, butinvolves
wider, more subjective issues. This is why theIAQM values its place
within the Institution ofEnvironmental Sciences. For example, there
has beenincreasing concern about the overall environmentalquality
of a locality (noise, litter, green space, etc),particularly in
socially deprived areas.
The UK Government’s Sustainable DevelopmentStrategy published in
March 2005 contained a list ofindicators relating to environmental
effects (stresses) thatthe population of the country were subject
to. Some arerelated to consumption, such as resource use, some
arerelated to the adverse effects of modern life, e.g.
emissionsfrom road transport, some are related to social factors,
e.g.employment and housing, some are, as yet, undefined,such as
social justice/inequality/local environmentalquality.
It would be valuable to be able to establish a commonlyaccepted
set of these indices to cover the naturalenvironment. It is
anticipated that each of the variablesrepresents a way of measuring
a distinct environmentaleffect. The Environment Agency has
attempted toidentify the worst (high priority) environmental
areasaccording to local wards, based on criteria related to
1. ambient air pollution, 2. industrial airborne releases, 3.
green space, 4. bio-diversity, 5. derelict land, 6. flood risk, 7.
river water quality, 8. street cleanliness, 9. road traffic noise,
and 10. fly tipping.
Figure 1:Theconsultationdocumentdescribingthe draftNational
AirQualityStrategy onwhich viewsare activelysought.
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 9
AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST
-
Help us to keep in touch If you have moved, or if any of your
other contact details have changed, please fill inand return this
form.
We are particularly anxious to have all members’ email addresses
as this provides afast, economical means of communication. So even
if none of your other contactdetails have changed, please supply
your current email address by completing thisform and sending it
to:
The Institution of Environmental SciencesSuite 7
38 Ebury StreetLondon SW1W 0LU
First Name Surname
Email
Telephone House Name/No
Street Town
City County
Country Postcode
To undertake this task in detail would involve most of
thespecialist areas of the IES.
Readers of the Environmental Scientist with interests inthese
environmental areas should be involved inpromoting the overall
environmental quality of life. Themain issue with many of the
individual factors in anenvironmental index is the choice of the
proximity factorrelating environmental data with a distinct effect
on thelocal quality of life. For air quality this is
straightforwardand is the defined by the model relating an emission
to theambient concentration. In the air quality managementcommunity
this is described by the dispersion modelselected, which while the
selection may still be open todiscussion, is a well established
field (see the DispersionModellers Users Group).
It may be wishful thinking to suppose that practitionerswithin
the Institution of Environmental Sciences inwidely differing
environmental areas should be working
together. However, I am encouraged by the way that theEPSRC
Sustainable Urban Environment (SUE)programme has promoted science
engagement with, andresponsiveness to, the needs of local
communities,through its is Citizen Science for Sustainability
(SuScit)Programme.
Further information about the Institute of Air QualityManagement
can be found on the IES and IAQM websites, and about SuScit on its
web site. P
Web sitesInstitute of Air Quality Management:
www.iaqm.co.ukInstitution of Environmental Sciences:
www.ies-uk.org.ukUK Dispersion Modellers User Group
(UK-DMUG):
www.nsca.org.ukCitizen Science for Sustainability (SuScit)
Programme:
www.suscit.org.uk
10 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
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JOHN BAINES outlines views aboutthe place of sustainable
development
in the initial training of environmental scientists
Environmental professionals increasingly need to beknowledgeable
about and competent in sustainabledevelopment. There is strong
support frommembers of IES for the inclusion of
sustainabledevelopment in environmental degree programmes.
Research undertaken for the Higher Education AcademySubject
Centre for Geography, Earth and EnvironmentalSciences (GEES) shows
that while environmental degreeprogrammes provide a useful broad
base on which tobuild, graduates need to take further education
andtraining to be better qualified to integrate
sustainabledevelopment principles into their chosen
environmentalprofession.
About the researchThe primary aim of this research project was
to identifycurriculum priorities for the initial training
ofprofessionals in the field of environmental sciences andrelated
subjects to enable them better to integratesustainable development
principles into their professionalwork. A questionnaire survey of
350 members of the IESwas undertaken to find out if sustainable
developmentknowledge and skills were required in their
professionalwork and, if so, how well their undergraduateprogrammes
had equipped them for this. Forty-sixrespondents completed the
questionnaires. Twelve hadstudied Environmental Science/Studies and
the remaindera related degree. Thirty-three had a further
academicqualification.
It was decided not to be too prescriptive about
theinterpretation of the phrase ‘sustainable development’.Although
there are numerous definitions, there issufficient consensus about
key concepts for there to be ashared understanding of what
sustainable development isall about, especially among this target
group. Theresearcher considered the research was best served
byallowing respondents to use their own interpretation,albeit
guided by the provision of some key concepts. A fewrespondents
appeared to interpret sustainabledevelopment only in ecological and
environmental terms.The social aspects seemed to have a low
priority.
The questionnaire required respondents to assess thevalue of
their undergraduate programmes to theapplication of sustainable
development principles in theircurrent and previous employment
posts. Respondentswere asked to name their undergraduate programme
andthe date of their graduation.
Respondents had received their degrees over the past40 years but
sustainable development did not start tobecome a mainstream concept
until after the publicationof Our Common Future1 in 1987. However,
mostrespondents who graduated pre-1990 recognised thatparts of
their programmes were covering environmental,social and economic
matters and were therefore coveringaspects of sustainability in all
but name.
The findings
Yes to sustainable developmentWithout exception, all respondents
agreed thatsustainable development should be included
inundergraduate programmes and some expanded theiranswer with
comments including that it needed to beappropriate and rigorous.
The universal ‘Yes’ from somany different subject areas suggests
there is a high levelof support from environmental professionals
for theinclusion of sustainable development in
undergraduateprogrammes.
Sustainable development contentRespondents were asked to specify
if the following topicswere included in their programmes and if so
whether in aminor or substantial manner.■ Environmental and
ecological aspects■ Economic aspects■ Social/cultural aspects■
Systems thinking (inter-relationships)■ Future responsibilities■
Equity ■ Practical aspects, eg legislation, company policies
and
practice, application of technology, standards■ Other aspects
Respondents mentioned some very specific topics underother aspects,
including: ■ Land contamination and pollution, ■ Resource
management ■ Diffusion and dispersion ■ Environmental impact
assessment ■ Management of flood risk ■ Geographic planning theory■
Environmental psychology■ Field work
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 11
INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLESINTO PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE
1 Our Common Future, The World Commission onEnvironment and
Development, Oxford University Press1987.
-
■ Energy, soil science, geology, environmental
chemistry,atmospheric chemistryThe responses from those who
graduated up to and
including 1990 were analysed separately from thosegraduating
after 1990. As one would expect,undergraduate degree programmes
after 1990 show amarked increase in sustainable development
content.Before 1990 environmental and ecological topics andissues
were covered well. These remained important after1990, but there
was a rise in the study of social and moralissues, albeit still
minor parts of programmes. Thegreatest growth was in the practical
aspects of sustainabledevelopment such as legislation, company
policies andpractice, application of technology and achieving
relevantstandards. Surprisingly only two post-1990
environmentalscience programmes provided substantial covering
ofsystems thinking, a major competency identified byrespondents if
professionals are to adopt an holisticapproach to sustainable
development issues.
Need for sustainable development knowledge and skillsRespondents
were asked if they needed sustainabledevelopment knowledge and
skills in both their currentand previous employment. Fifty-three
per cent ofrespondents scored eight2 or more for their current
postand 33% for their previous post. When asked how welltheir
undergraduate programme had prepared them forthis aspect of their
work, only three respondents in theircurrent posts scored 8 or
above. Eight gave a score ofzero. In their previous posts, out of
19 responses, norespondents gave a score of 8 or more and four
scoredzero. It appears that undergraduate programmes are
notproviding specific knowledge and skills to cope with
thesustainable development aspects of the jobs they moveinto. Given
the range of posts that respondents filled, it isprobably
unrealistic to expect undergraduate programmesto provide
comprehensive coverage of sustainabledevelopment. What some did say
was that the degreeprovided a sound basis of sustainable
development onwhich to build specific knowledge and skills later
asneeded.
There was a minority opinion that newly qualifiedgraduates may
have sufficient knowledge and skills insustainable development to
integrate sustainabledevelopment principles into their professional
work, butthat senior management fails to provide opportunities
forthem to do so. This perceived obstacle was not
exploredfurther.
What knowledge and skills?When asked to consider what were the
sustainabledevelopment knowledge and competencies/skills requiredin
their current post, responses fell into three broadcategories:
knowledge related, skills related and attituderelated.
KnowledgeThe knowledge competencies listed by respondents
wereoften very closely tied to their professional work, such
asknowledge of waste minimisation and recycling, andknowledge of
flood hydrology and management of floodrisk. Others were less
specific but still orientated towardsparticular professions or
areas of work, for example havinga good knowledge of environmental
managementmethods. There were also other responses that
suggestedthere is some general background knowledge that is
usefulin most of the professions. These included: ■ Possessing a
sound knowledge and understanding of
natural systems and their importance.■ Having an understanding
of the meaning of sustainable
development and a good knowledge of sustainabledevelopment
issues.
■ Being familiar with the UK’s sustainable developmentpolicies
and mechanisms including appropriatelegislation.
■ Understanding the impacts of human activities and themeans,
such as environmental impact assessments, ofreducing their damaging
impacts.
■ Having a broad knowledge of the environmental,ecological,
economic, political and socio/culturalcomponents of sustainable
development and howactions in one area affect another.
■ Having awareness and understanding of a ’systemsthinking’
approach and its benefits to planning andimplementing projects to
make them more sustainable.
■ Being aware of the costs and benefits of
implementingsustainable development in their professional area.
SkillsMany of the skills cited by respondents were
appropriatefor particular professions or areas of interest, for
example,how to do an environmental impact assessment. Othermore
generalised skills were cited too. Many recognisedthat effective
sustainable development actions develop outof inclusive processes
that require good social andcommunications skills to enable them to
work with arange of stakeholders. Other important skills cited
werethe ability to think holistically and to work
acrossdisciplinary boundaries. Underlying many of thestatements
seemed to be a suggestion that professionalsshould be able to
understand the sustainable developmentcontext of their work and
adapt or use their professionalskills appropriately. One respondent
suggested, ‘Perhaps
12 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
2 Using a scale of 0-10 (0 = not at all, 10 = completely).
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September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 13
you should be asking why some graduates don’t use
theirskills?’
Specific task related skills included:■ Be able to understand
and assess risk and then apply
appropriate measures to reduce unwanted risks.■ Be able to carry
out social impact assessments.■ Be able to use environmental
management systems and
auditing techniques of sustainable objectives andtargets.
■ Be able to facilitate local decision making by
differentsectors of the indigenous society.
■ Have the social skills, including the ability tocommunicate
with all levels of stakeholders.
■ Be able to use assessment and evaluation techniques,including
quantitative assessment methods.
■ Be able to deliver training for sustainable development.
Values and attitudesSustainable development is not only a
technical issue, it isa moral one as well. For example, it
considers issues inrelation to equity, future generations and
participation.Although not specifically requested, many
respondentslisted values and attitudes. They mentioned
remainingobjective, being fair to all and managing resources now
tosustain future generations.
What can we learn from this?The research showed there is strong
support for theinclusion of sustainable development in
undergraduateenvironmental programmes. At the moment it is
theperception of former students that there is a huge gapbetween
what undergraduate degrees in environmentalsubjects provide in
relation to sustainable developmentand the sustainable development
knowledge and skillsrequired by environmental professionals.
However, therewas also recognition that undergraduate
programmesprovided a basis on which to build sustainabledevelopment
knowledge and skills appropriate to theirprofessional work at a
later date.
Undergraduate programmes are becoming moreresponsive to the
sustainable development agenda but donot yet provide a coherent or
comprehensiveunderstanding of sustainable development. The
emphasisis on environmental and ecological aspects and
otherimportant aspects are considered in a minor way or not atall.
The research has identified some areas of knowledge,skills and
processes that could provide students with abroad but rigorous
understanding of sustainabledevelopment.
A number of respondents working in the private sectorcommented
that their situation is not conducive tointegrating sustainable
development principles into theirprofessional work. Ignorance and
perceived economicpriorities provided obstacles at middle and
senior
management levels. They suggested that otherprofessionals need
sustainable development training aswell if progress is to be
made.
Some personal reflections The following statements are the
personal reflections ofthe researcher but arise out of the findings
of the research.They are offered to assist a further discussion of
thereport.
Environmental undergraduate programmes focus onthe science of
the environment and the importance ofusing this science in
addressing global problems such asclimate change, pollution and
natural disasters. Suchprogrammes are not claiming to address
sustainabledevelopment issues explicitly yet assert they are
critical tofinding solutions to issues such as climate
change,pollution and habitat loss that are part of a
sustainabledevelopment agenda. Advocates of sustainabledevelopment
hold that such problems can only beresolved if economic, social,
cultural and political factorsare considered as well.
Those providing environmental sciences and relatedcourses need
to be explicit about how far their purposeand learning outcomes
intend to prepare students fortackling sustainable development
issues.
Those that intend to extend their programme into amore coherent
and comprehensive programme forsustainable development will need
to:■ Build on sustainable development learning received at
school■ Provide a holistic and academically rigorous
understanding of sustainable development■ Demonstrate the
relevance of sustainable development
to their area of study and future employmentopportunities
■ Learn and practise skills that enable them to makeprofessional
use of that understanding
■ Give greater emphasis to the economic, social, culturaland
political factors that provide greater understandingof the
issues.
■ Consider if students need to be taught different skillsor be
taught how to use existing skills within thecontext of their
understanding of sustainabledevelopment?
■ Consider how to integrate the moral aspects ofsustainable
development into courses. When considering change to existing
programmes
programme developers will need to consider if thematerial should
be additional to, instead of or integratedwith existing course
material? P
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The Society for the Environment is celebrating4,000 Chartered
Environmentalists on its registeronly 18 months after receiving its
royal charter.Working in many different aspects of theenvironment –
regulation, industry, consulting,government, research, academia –
CharteredEnvironmentalists hold the highest level
professionalqualification available to environmental
practitioners.It demonstrates high standards of
professionalpractice, knowledge and engagement.
‘This is a great achievement, especially for thosewho have been
awarded the qualification,’ said DrPeter Matthews, chair of the
society. ‘It demonstratesa real need for a single high level
qualification thatemployers, environmental professionals and
thepublic can support and trust.’
Chair of the Society’s Registration Authority, NeilAtkinson,
added: ‘The Chartered Environmentalistqualification is now the
recognised standard ofexcellence for environmental practitioners.
It is theChartered Environmentalists, working in many
sectors of business, regulation, academia and nationalagencies,
who will take a leading role in managingenvironmental assets and
who will play such animportant part in the goal of a sustainable
world.’
Mike McNulty said: ‘I’m very proud to be the4,000th registered
Chartered Environmentalist andpart of a network of professionals
who can really helpindustry, commerce and the public sector
makedecisions and deliver projects in a much moresustainable way.’
In his role as Environment AgencyProject Manager of the Tees Valley
Project, Mikeleads a wide range of bodies improving theenvironment
and quality of life of local communities.
The Society for the Environment (SocEnv) wasfirst established in
2000 and gained its Royal Charterin 2004. It is the leading
co-ordinating and regulatoryumbrella body in environmental matters
and a pre-eminent champion of a sustainable environment.Now with
over 4,000 Chartered Environmentalists,the Society says it has the
resources to influence thesustainability agenda in a meaningful
way.
Following the success of the ‘grandparenting’ scheme,which saw
more than 200 IES members achieveChartered Status, the Institution
is inviting membersto apply through the ‘full process’. The
Institution isa Licensed Constituent Body of the Society for
the
Environment (SocEnv). This enables the IES to award theChartered
Environmentalist qualification to thosemembers who meet the
criteria laid down by SocEnv,which include key competences in
relation to work andacademic experience as well as knowledge of
sustainablepractice.
For more information on the Society for the Environ-ment, please
go to its web site at www.socenv.org.uk
Why become a CharteredEnvironmentalist? Chartered
Environmentalist embraces a wide range ofdisciplines and is an
excellent way of recognisingvirtuosity in environmental management
andsustainability.
The designation benefits all concerned with theenvironment:■ the
public, who can be confident in the knowledge
and competence of an environmental practitioner; ■
practitioners, by identification as a professionally
qualified environmentalist that puts them at the fore-front of
their profession;
■ employers, with confirmation of the professional abil-
ity and competence of employees and candidates;■ governments and
governmental bodies seeking to
appoint advisers or consultants will be assured aboutan
individual competence;
■ professional bodies, which will be able to benchmarkthe
qualification for membership purposes;
■ higher education, in setting and monitoring bench-marks for
environmental courses, and promoting studyprogrammes;
■ regulatory bodies, which could be confident in speci-fying the
CEnv designation in Acts of Parliament andregulations;
■ legal credibility, enabling expert witness participationat a
defined standard;
■ professional standing, recognising equality of excel-lence
across a wide range of environment disciplines.
Applying for Chartered Environmentalist Chartered
Environmentalist status is only open to FullVoting Members of the
Institution. If you are an existingAssociate Member and would like
to be considered for re-grading, please contact the IES office.
Application for Chartered Status is through a ‘threestage
process’ and we advise applicants to read throughthe application
pack thoroughly before applying.
If you require more information, please contact theIES. The
application pack is available on line at www.ies-uk.org.uk or by
emailing [email protected]
14 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
IES MEMBERS INVITED TO APPLY FORCHARTERED ENVIRONMENTALIST
STATUS
SOCIETY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT REGISTERS 4,000 CHARTERED
ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN FIRST 18 MONTHS
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September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 15
Environmental science is being subverted by a management
culture
that is preoccupied more by targets andcompliance with
methods
than by evolving best practice informed by advances in
environmental thinking,
argues DR MARK EVERARD
‘Environmental science’ first appeared as anundergraduate course
in the UK, and arguably asa discreet discipline, in the mid-1970s.
This wasin response to escalating concerns about theenvironmental
issues that had forced themselves
into public consciousness throughout the 1960s and early1970s as
unexpected consequences of society’s pathway ofeconomic
development.
The emergence of environmentalawareness and scienceIn reality,
‘environmental science’ is not a primarydiscipline. However, what
its constitution achieved was tocontextualise pure disciplines of
biology, chemistry,geography, geology, ecology and others into a
concertedwhole that represented at least some of the
fundamentalways in which the environment functions as an
integratedunit. ‘Environmental science’ as an integrating theme
hassince been successful in bringing environmental concernsto
organisational consciousness and into policy- and
otherdecision-making.
Time has, of course, moved on. The concept of‘sustainable
development’ has since emerged into publicdialogue, particularly
since the publication in 1987 of theBrundtland report. The concept
of a direction of humandevelopment that simultaneously resolves
environmental,social and economic challenges clearly rests
uponfundamental knowledge of the mechanisms and functionsof the
environment, as it is these environmental processesthat ultimately
provide the ‘goods’ and ‘services’underpinning all subsequent
social and economicprogress.
The concept of sustainable development has been
tested and evolved for nearly two decades since, and
isincreasingly embedding itself within the vocabulary oflocal and
national government, corporate reporting andthe media.
Proportionate action remains as yet lesstangible than rhetoric,
though the need for seriousprogress towards sustainability is
gaining wideracceptance. The relatively recent emergence of the
issueof climate change into mainstream public consciousnessand
political dialogue, backed up particularly by theinterest of
insurance and other financial institutions,means that this aspect
of sustainable development isbecoming truly embedded. This
progressive ‘main-streaming’ is implicitly ‘a good thing’, if we
intend toengineer a future that is not impoverished by thecontinued
erosion of social wellbeing and environmentalsupport systems
including natural water and airpurification services, productive
soils and oceans, climaticstability, and so forth.
As we begin to challenge the direction of global,corporate and
other forms of human governance,propelling ourselves towards either
a sustainable future orthe dystopia of degraded societal cohesion
and supportiveecosystems, then the underpinning science base
thatinforms our decisions grows in importance. After all,without
robust scientific foundations, can we be sure thatour decisions
will incrementally lead us onto a sustainablepathway?
Underpinnings in robust scienceCommon sense suggests that the
answer to this rhetoricalquestion is a resounding ‘No!’ After all,
unless ourdecisions are founded upon how the world actually
works,how can we be sure that we are doing the right things?The
shifting sands of opinion alone offer greater scope forcontinued
debate and prevarication than for the kind ofconsensus from which
substantive action and associatedinvestment will flow. It is
inconceivable to think thatsustainable development will happen by
pure chance,given the trajectory of industrialised society to this
point,and the embedded vested interests that reinforce a coursethat
most acknowledge as unsustainable. It is for thesereasons that
current trends in environmental scienceeducation give great cause
for alarm.
Commitment to a more sustainable future by manysectors of
society surely means that we have a growingneed for environmental
scientists. But where will they allcome from?
At its peak in 1998, UK universities were producing15,000
environmental science graduates. Today, in 2006,that number is
believed to be closer to 5,000, althoughchanges in the way student
data are captured means that itis hard or impossible to be
prescriptive about recentfigures. Many leading educators in the UK
believe that, inten years time, environmental science will have
been
STEMMING THE DECLINE OF A VITAL NATIONAL RESOURCE
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16 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
reduced to a predominantly postgraduate preoccupation.Crudely,
if the reduction by two-thirds of the number ofenvironmental
science graduates in just eight yearscontinues on its current trend
or even merely stabilises attoday’s depressingly low level, what
does this say aboutour commitment and capacity to underpin the
roll-out ofsustainable development?
Declining capacityThe universities have fought back against this
decline, forexample by the formation of CHES (the Committee ofHeads
of Environmental Science) as an academic‘pressure group’ to raise
the profile of the discipline.However, the exclusion of the topic
of ‘environment’ fromthe 2004 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)
has hadradically negative implications for the funding
ofenvironmental science capacity in the UK
institutions.Furthermore, publication of RAE ‘league tables’ has
aknock-on negative impact in dissuading students fromapplying for
institutions offering environmentaleducation.
The net consequence is that universities end upcompeting for a
declining pool of student numbers, or elseshutting science
departments, for a topic that nonethelessremains of fundamental
importance to the long-termaspirations of society at regional,
national and globalscales.
However, this importance remains sadly under-represented in
government priorities, educationalexpenditure and the consequent
public perception of thediscipline.
The vanishing environmental scientistPart of the tale of the
vanishing environmental scientist isthat, a generation and more on
from the creation of thediscipline, ‘the environment’ is making the
journey fromthe periphery to the mainstream.
It is certainly true that ‘environmental’ issues featurenow in
higher education courses in engineering, watermanagement,
fisheries, geography, etc. Furthermore,many professional bodies –
engineering, chemistry, soilscience, waste management, urban
planning, etc – nowfeature environmental matters where 20 years ago
therewas little or no awareness let alone acknowledgment
oreducation. Equally, ‘environmental science’ is clearly
anunderpinning of sustainable development, to which many,even most,
organisations across society profess some levelof commitment.
Dumbing down?However, the take-up of environmental matters
intoacademic courses, professional development andorganisational
management is sometimes more at the levelof a briefing in
environmental management practices and
tools, rather than education in the underpinningenvironmental
sciences themselves. And yet it is thefundamental environmental
sciences that are the ‘seedcorn’ from which current environmental
managementprinciples and methods have sprouted.
As time goes on, unless our study and application of
theunderpinning environmental sciences continues to evolve,all that
this sub-optimal mainstreaming of sustainabledevelopment will serve
to achieve is to cement today’simperfect environmental management
practices in theircurrent form. Instead, we need to continue to
deepen andcommunicate basic environmental understanding, uponwhich
evolving management methods may stem to driveus incrementally
towards a truly sustainable society.
Already, we see the pervasion of businessadministration
qualifications rather than genuineenvironmental science expertise
populating the keydecision-making roles in government and its
agencies, aswell as business and the education sector. This is a
certainindicator of the devaluation of the science itself in the
faceof subsidiary environmental management protocols.Somewhere
along the line, environmental science, and thecontinuing insight it
can offer in guiding society’s evermore complex choices, is being
subverted by amanagement culture that is preoccupied more by
targetsand compliance with methods than by evolving bestpractice
informed by advances in environmental thinking.
Investment in a critical national resourceIt is for this set of
reasons that the UK government,indeed governments more widely, must
back up statedcommitments to sustainable development and to
‘joined-up government’ as an urgent priority. This has to gobeyond
mere rhetoric, delivering tangible support for theailing yet
essential discipline of environmental science.
‘Education, education, education’ was the manifestomantra, so
let’s see the erosion of funding and reputationof environmental
science education rapidly redressed todeliver the environmental
science capacity that we need toachieve a better world for all
people. This is actually arelatively minor step for government and
for the publicpurse, yet has huge significance. It is certainly a
necessarymove if we are to have confidence in our ability to
achievetrue sustainable development.
It is the primary Charitable Object of the Institution
ofEnvironmental Sciences (IES) to ‘…advance theeducation of the
public in the environmental sciences’. Itis therefore incumbent
upon all trustees and members ofthe IES to urge government
leadership to regenerate theenvironmental science capacity of the
UK, urgentlyrequired in the short term if the best interests of all
are tobe met in the long term. PThis article was informed by
discussions with the IES Council atthe February 2006 strategic away
day.
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Mrs Louise Adams Laboratory Supervisor A Miss Harriet Astbury
Environmental Scientist A Mr Richard Baldwin Trainee Environment
Protection officer AMiss Julie Bankes Environmental Advisor MMrs
Emma Bennett Environmental Strategy co-ordinator MProf Clive
Bentley Acoustic Consultant MMr Kirkland Braithwaite Manager,
Health, Safety, Security and Environment AMs Charlotte Bryant
Advisory Officer MDr Euan Burford Pollution Control Officer A Ms
Melissa Burgan Senior Transport Planner MMr Philbert Chan Junior
Environmental Consultant AMr William Clark Regional Co-ordinator
MMiss Emma Collins Environmental Scientist A Miss Rachel Conti
Environmental Consultant AMiss Charlotte Cook Flood Risk Manager A
Mr Richard Cope Senior Environmental Scientist MMr Benjamin Crabb
Self employed MMr Peter Daniels Health, Safety and Environmental
Consultant MMr Samuel Davison Asbestos Surveyor A Mr Aaron Dixey
Planning Liaison Team Leader MMr Paul Duce Air Quality Specialist
MProf Bernard Fisher Air Quality Assessor MMr Kieran Gaylor
Acoustic Consultant MMr Andre Gilleard Geo-Environmental Engineer
Manager MMiss Sofia Girnary Senior Consultant MMs Victoria Gouge
Environmental Scientist A
INTRODUCINGOUR VOLUNTEER SCHEME
IESNEW MEMBERS
KEY: F = Full Member A = Associate Member
A new volunteer scheme, designed to help the IES
withadministration and launching special projects, is underwaythis
summer. Two fantastic volunteers are currentlyworking with the
Project Officer, on accreditation,monthly newsletters, promotion,
events and updatingmembership details.
Adam DonnanAfter graduating with a 2:1 from the University of
EastAnglia Adam moved to San Francisco. Between extensivetravel
around the US and Canada, he worked with anappellant lawyer
attempting to reduce the sentences ofimprisoned youths and as a
researcher on a local TVstation producing current affairs
programmes. On hisreturn to England he set himself up as a
self-employedconsultant advising engineering companies on
theirsupply-chain and business development, includingenvironmental
aspects. He aims in the future to becomean environmental consultant
and is currently workinghard on making Westminster into a Fairtrade
Borough.
email: [email protected]
Adrian MillAfter graduating with Honours from the University of
theSunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, Adriancontinued working
for the university in research andconsultancy. He was subsequently
invited to study theenvironmental impact of beavers with the
OmoraFoundation, an NGO in Puerto Williams, Chile. Hiscontributions
to a number of projects helped theorganisation to obtain ‘Biosphere
Reserve’ status for theCape Horn region. Most recently, he has
travelledextensively, published an article in the Marine
PollutionBulletin journal, worked for London South BankUniversity
in a teaching role, and is currently looking tocontinue his
development in the UK Environment sector.email:
[email protected]
The IES volunteer scheme is ongoing, if you orsomeone you know
might be interested in applying for aplacement please contact the
office.
September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 17
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18 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006
Mr Lee Heffernan Environmental Specialist MMr Giles Hewson
Environmental Team Leader MMr Philip Hill Environmental Control
Officer MMr Jamie Hinks Environmental Consultant AMr Gerald Hughes
Environmental Scientist AMr Emlyn Jones Group Environmental Officer
MMr Jeremy Kirkham Principal Environmental Scientist MMr David
Kirkup Project Manager MMr David Lord Environmental Assessor A Mr
John McDonald Health Safety and Environmental Advisor A Miss
Heather McIlwraith Assistant Chemist AMr Robert Meldrum Self
employed MMr John Mills Environmental Analyst A Mr Philip Morris
Field Monitoring and Data Officer A Miss Martina Mullarkey Peaked
Elm Cottage MMr John Naylor Environmental Protection Officer MMr
Stuart Nelmes Engineer, Water Team MMs Carol Pettit Senior Research
Fellow MMr Kanan Purkayastha Senior Scientific Officer MMiss
Cherri-Ann Rennie Engineering Geologist/Geoenvironmental Engineer
MMr James Richer Technical Director – Air Quality MMr Philip
Roberts Admin Team Leader/Duty Manager A Mr Archibald Rowatt
Environment Protection Officer AMs Linda Rudd Student MMr Mark
Scerri Environment Protection Officer A Miss Antonia Scrase
Environmental Consultant AMiss Caroline Shaw Assistant Drainage
Engineer MMrs Jane Shaw Graduate MMr Paul Sheehan Principal
Environmental Consultant MMr James Short Senior Environmentalist
MDr Philip Sinclair Research Fellow MMr Randip Singh Pollution
control officer MMiss Sarah Slater Alcan Smelting and power UK AMr
Paul Slaughter Scientific Officer MMr Neil Smith Engineer –
Environment Department MMr Michael Stallard Town and Country
Planning MDr Tom Stenhouse Senior Environmental Scientist AMiss
Gemma Stroud Environmental Scientist A Mr Robert Thomas Graduate
Air Quality Scientist A Mr Cameron Thomson Senior Environmental
Scientist MMiss Nicola Trought Assistant Air Quality Specialist A
Mr Damon Tweedie CORUS Engineering Steels A Mr Konstantinos Tzoulas
Research Assistant A Mr Nigel Weller Senior Environmental Scientist
MMiss Kirsty Weston Senior Air Quality Consultant MMr David Wilson
Graduate Trainee Software Tester A Mr Gareth Wilson Senior
Environmental Planner MMr Wai Wong Environmental and Safety Manager
MMiss Ella Yerushalmi Environmental Scientist AMs Catherine Yong
Environmental Scientist M
KEY: F = Full Member A = Associate Member
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September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 19
The Higher Education Authority National SubjectCentre for
Geography, Earth and EnvironmentalSciences, GEES, is facilitating a
project, investigatingstudent perceptions of the discipline.
Geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES)are very much
in the media at present. There are a widevariety of natural history
television programmes and thenews regularly contains references to
natural disasters,climate change and so on. However, this coverage
doesnot seem to translate into a high demand for highereducation
courses in the disciplines (at least not in thesame way that dramas
such as Silent Witness have created ademand for forensic science
courses, for example).
Do school students make the connection between‘natural history’
and our disciplines? What are theirperceptions of the disciplines
in general? Developing anunderstanding of school students’
attitudes to andperceptions of the GEES disciplines will help to
informHE departments’ transition and retention strategies aswell as
providing an opportunity to better promote thedisciplines in
schools, colleges and to the public.
Project objectivesGiven the limited time and financial resources
of thisproject, the main objective will be to provide
informationfor higher education staff in geography, earth
andenvironmental sciences that will help to enhance theiroutreach
activities into secondary schools.
ActivitiesThe following activities will be undertaken:■
Literature review of the UK education system,
focusing on:• student choice (including media influences)
(‘generic’)• perceptions of GEES• transition from secondary to
higher education in GEES
■ Research to develop a better understanding of:• school
texts/language in GEES;• learning environments/styles in schools;•
youth culture;• HE staff’s perceptions of their subject (GEES)
and
reasons for choosing their degree;• undergraduate students’
perceptions of their subject
(GEES);• school students’ (studying any subject area)
perceptions of GEES;• examples of HE GEES outreach
activities.
(Items in bold will be the primary activities of the project.The
other items will be researched to a much lesser extentin order to
provide relevant supporting information.)
OutcomesAs a result of the above activities, the following
outcomeswill be produced:■ resource pack for higher education staff
in GEES;■ further ideas for extending the research;■ papers and
articles as appropriate.
Progress to dateThis project has generated a large amount of
interest andover 20 colleagues from throughout the UK have
becomeinvolved to various degrees. A literature review has
beenconducted to provide background information andrecommendations
(available shortly on the web site) and asurvey of A level students
is to be piloted. The mainsurvey will be conducted in
September/October with aview to the final papers and toolkit of
resources beingproduced by May 2007.
This project provides opportunities for links to otherprogrammes
and organisations including the DfES ActionPlan for Geography and
the Experiential Learning in theEnvironmental and Natural Sciences
CETL. P
GEES PROJECT TO INVESTIGATE WHAT SCHOOL STUDENTS THINK ABOUT
GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Assessment in the Earth Sciences & EnvironmentalSciences and
Environmental Studies:Peter Hughes and Alan Boyle; ISBN
1-84102-143-1(available to download from
www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/guides/assess/gees%20assesment.pdf).This is the
first in a short series of guides aiming toprovide academics
teaching in Earth Science,Environmental Science and Environmental
Studies (ES3)subjects in higher education with some support and
ideasfor their practice. It has been written from a UK context,but
much of what follows is relevant internationally.
The existence of these guides acknowledges that thereare
learning and teaching issues specific to thesedisciplines, and that
academics in these disciplines can findthe generic educational
literature inaccessible.
Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesEmployability
Profiles Resource Pack(available to download from
www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/emp/empprofs.htm).This resource pack
contains profiles of the subjectdisciplines of Geography, Earth
Science andEnvironmental Sciences (GEES), written from
an‘employability’ perspective. The profiles are intended toassist
students in articulating what they have to offeremployers, i.e.
what was their degree about and whatqualities it has helped them
develop.
The employability profiles are not intended to bedefinitive
descriptions of the GEES subjects. Rather, theyare summaries that
are designed to emphasise the skills,knowledge and competencies
that students can offer.
RECENT GEES PUBLICATIONS
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About the Institution of Environmental SciencesThe Institution
of Environmental Sciences is a charitable organisation which
promotes and raises public awareness ofenvironmental science by
supporting professional scientists and academics working in this
crucial arena. As a seminalenvironmental sciences organisation,
founded in 1971, the Institution is consulted by the Govemment and
otherinterested parties on environmental issues. The Institution
has strong ties with higher education and promotes andsupports
environmental science and sustainable development in universities
and colleges both nationally andintemationally.
Membership of the Institution offers stepping stones on a career
path, from student to Chartered status, attractingprofessionals of
high standing with significant specialist and interdisciplinary
experience.
Student MembershipStudents who are enrolled on theInstitution of
Environmental Science’saccredited undergraduate orpostgraduate
programmes andcourses may apply for the specialgrade of Student
Member of theInstitution.
This grade is available free of chargeand students will be able
to use thepost-nominal StMIEnvSc.
On graduation, students will be ableto use their membership up
to theend of that calendar year. Additionally,on graduation Student
Members areeligible for the higher grade ofAssociate Member of the
Institution.
The application forms for Student andAssociate membership can be
foundon our web site: www.ies-uk.org.uk
Benefits of Student Membership● The experience of being a member
of a long established and highly
reputable environmental science professional body
● The ability to use StMlEnvSc up to the end of the calendar
year in which yougraduate, signalling your professional commitment,
to potential employers
● First steps on an environmental career path which could take
you toChartered status
● Exclusive access to the members’ area of our web site, with
news aboutjobs and events, in addition to information on our
careers web site:www.environmentcareers.org.uk
● Access to the Members’ Forum, to network with other students
andenvironmental science professionals
● Access to the latest edition of our journal Environmental
Scientist withopportunities to publish articles about news, current
issues, or even yourproject work
● Preferential opportunities for volunteer placements in the
Institution’soffices in London
● Opportunity to participate in student events supported by the
Institution
● Free of charge
Steps on the Environmental Sciences Career Path
● StMlEnvSc post-nominal
● Exclusive grade to students on
IES-accreditedcourses/programmes
● Free of charge
● MIEnvSc post-nominal
● Full voting status
● Can apply for Chartered Environmental status
● Offered to Environmental Science practitioners ofacademic and
professional merit and high standing
● FIEnvSc post-nominal
● Full voting status
● Offered to members in recognition of theirexceptional academic
and professional standing
● Can apply for Chartered Environmental status
● CEnv post-nominal
● Internationally recognised award of excellenceacross a wide
range of environmental disciplines
Chartered Environmentalist
● AMIEnvSc post-nominal
● Recognised membership of a professional body
● Membership made up of leading professionalsand academics
● Access to journal and workshops/seminars
● Continuing professional development (CPD) for your career
● Offered to students graduating from IES-accredited
courses/programmes
● Offered to ES professionals with relevantacademic and some
professional experience
Fellow
(Full) Member
Associate Member
Student Member
The Institution of Environmental SciencesThe professional body
for environmental scientists
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP