LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL ARRANGEMENT OF STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN CHINA AND GERMANY: TAKING SPATIAL PLANNING AS EXAMPLE

Having witnessed significant advancement from an academic aspect and practical experiences, strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in China is still undergoing a series of challenges. These challenges result from the legislative background or procedural arrangement. Moreover, with the increasing significance of spatial planning in China, the integration of SEA into the Chinese spatial planning system is becoming a hot topic; whereas, the practice of SEA in the Chinese spatial planning system is currently rather weak. Against these backgrounds - urgency of the integration of SEA into the spatial planning system, lack of related experiences and a SEA system with challenges in China, and SEA for the spatial planning with abundant experiences and lessons in Germany-, this research takes the form of a comparative study on SEA in China and Germany, using the example of spatial planning. Its primary concern is to identify legislative and institutional differences and similarities between SEA in the two countries and analyse the reasons causing these differences. Based upon these, feasible recommendations are proposed to address these challenges which the Chinese SEA is facing. A total of four SEA cases from China and Germany were described and analysed, and 22 experts were interviewed in the form of semi-structured interviews. The specific objectives of the research are to: • to obtain an overview of the SEA application in Chinese and German spatial planning systems; • to compare legal requirements, institutional and procedural arrangements for SEA between China and Germany, taking the examples of spatial planning; • to identify similarities and distinctions lying in both systems, and explore the reasons and motivations causing them; and • to propose recommendations and suggestions for the optimization of Chinese and German SEA, in particular in the aspects of legal requirements, institutional arrangements and operational procedures. Comparative outcomes indicate both SEA systems possess some similar general requirements while delivering differences as well. Main similarities are embodied in SEA understandings, the establishment of related national legislation and adoption of some common steps, reflecting the two SEA systems are influenced by international SEA development. However, significant differences exist in many aspects, especially regarding SEA modes, application of some stages owned by the individual country as well as the concrete requirements for the same stages which both nations have. Outcomes of this research show different SEA characteristics in the two countries. From the aspect of legislative background, German SEA legislation holds a dynamic nature and highlights communication and cooperation. This communication and cooperation can take place between the EU and Germany, the German federal government and the Federal States or even between Federal States. Comparably, Chinese SEA legislation has less interaction with other planning laws and is mainly dependent on the frequent formulation of related technical guidelines and rules. From procedural arrangements, Germany aims to develop an integrated, highly transparent, efficient and wide participation SEA process while China values the independence of the SEA approach, cherishes experts’ opinions and advantages of the intervention of environmental authorities. Based upon the comparative outcomes, several recommendations to improve the application of SEA in Chinese spatial planning are provided

The practice and challenges of lake management in Ethiopia- the case of lake Koka

Lake Koka, found within the Ethiopian Rift Valley, is an artificial lake built in 1960 in order to generate hydroelectric power. Since then, it has been serving in parallel not less than 15,000 local people as source of water for drinking, cleaning, animal watering, recreation, irrigation, fishing, etc. Basin wide unisectoral development, uncoordinated uses and management practices, lack of transparent and efficient regulatory institutions, through adequate policy and legal frameworks, uncontrolled human interactions with the ecosystem etc. have all led to the rise of a huge social and environmental problem, i.e. pollution of Lake Koka. This has consequently been adversely affecting the local people, whose livelihoods are entirely dependent up on the existence and continuity of the lake, and its ecosystem that something urgent needs to be done in order to curb the trend and create a convivial future. Therefore, this study aims at analyzing and understanding the issue from the views and perspectives of different stakeholders, including the institutional contexts, and thereby initiates change for improvements. Soft System Methodology (SSM) was opted as method of dealing with such socially triggered complex and unstructured set of environmental problem so as to foster learning and knowledge development while appreciating the methodology The study tries to address the existing challenges of using and managing the lake with the help of SSM and approaches of Integrated Water Resource Management(IWRM) by seeking answer to the major research question: ‘given the existing condition of the lake Koka and the livelihoods of the local communities, which aspects of the Lake’s integrated management offer opportunities for bringing about improvements and leading to restoration of the lake, and what desirable and feasible actions could be implemented?’’ Accordingly, the study revealed that, despite its limitations, there are considerable lacks of institutional coordination, environmental awareness and stakeholder participation. For this, a more sustained intervention of bringing coordination and collaboration among different stakeholders and actors, improving transparency and environmental awareness, fostered stakeholder participation, and effective local management, through empowerment of the local community, etc. are considered both desirable and feasible integrated aspects of the Lake Koka. This will subsequently lead to improvement and restoration of the Lake which will ultimately benefit both the community and the ecosystem. Otherwise, if the trend continues it is expected that the Lake will be in a condition to reach at its worst level that it can no longer support the different uses, especially for the local community

The role of knowledge and institutional challenges to the adoption of sustainable urban drainage in Saudi Arabia: implications for sustainable environmental development

Urban drainage in Saudi Arabia is an increasingly challenging issue due to factors such as climate change and rapid urban expansion. The existing infrastructure, based on traditional drainage systems, is not always able to cope with the increased precipitation, sometimes leading to rainwater runoff and floods causing disturbances and damage to property. Therefore, there is a need to find new ways of managing drainage, such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). This thesis places knowledge as a central issue in the adoption of Sustainable Urban Drainage approaches, as revealed through qualitative research with representative officials and professionals from key government departments and organisations in Riyadh. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted during fieldwork in 2013 and 2014, which explored the challenges in adopting sustainable drainage approaches, and through a Grounded Theory analysis, the key role of knowledge was revealed. This research identifies barriers to change in favour of the adoption of sustainable drainage approaches, such as the marginal status of sustainable development in drainage decisions; lack of technical standards for other unconventional drainage solutions; and lack of consideration by decision makers in other disciplines such as contributions from environmental and geographical studies. Due to the form of centralisation revealed, decision-making processes are complex and time-consuming; resulting in the discouragement of the adoption of new knowledge and approaches. Stakeholders with knowledge of sustainable approaches are often excluded from the hierarchical system of urban planning and drainage management. In addition, the multiplicity of actors involved in drainage implementation and the different technical standards cause problems around coordination and cooperation. Three types of knowledge of sustainable approaches and unconventional experiences were revealed across government departments and institutions. From those participants who have procedural and explicit knowledge, a range of opportunities (e.g. significant increase in government support) and obstacles (e.g. the deficit in specialists on sustainable approaches) were revealed regarding adopting new approaches. The thesis presents recommendations for overcoming some of the challenges revealed in the context of Saudi Arabia; such as enhancing the decision-making process through applying decentralisation, and promoting awareness of sustainability and sustainable development through establishing educational and outreach programmes. This would enhance knowledge and facilitate the adoption of sustainable drainage approaches to promote sustainable development

Designing national electronic services in the public healthcare sector.

Papers 2 and 5 of this thesis are not available in Munin 2. Larsen, E. and LK. Johannessen (2014), 'Top-down or bottom-up? Building information system for healthcare', (manuscript) 5. Larsen, E. and G. Ellingsen (2014) 'Nothing free about free market', Rossitto, C. et al. (eds.), COOP Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems: COOP 2014 Nice, France, May 27 – 30, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, Springer: 69-85. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06498-7_5This thesis deals with a socio-technical approach towards the development of inter-organisational ICT tools in healthcare. My overall case is Norwegian healthcare, and I investigated how national inter-organisational ICT tools were developed and why good results were difficult to achieve. Three public projects make up the basis of my data collection in which the main categories of data are interviews, participant observations and document studies. The data collection period spanned 2005 to the completion of this thesis. The main contribution of this thesis is the empirical insight into the long-standing establishment of inter-organisational health care services in Norway, a country that is characterised primarily by a publicly funded healthcare system. Studying this domain have demanded an inter-disciplinary approach because of the need to understand work practices, the implications of development and the complexities of information infrastructures, financing, project management, political governance and political philosophies. This study demonstrates how the strategies adopted by Norwegian authorities have changed. These strategies began as measures for invigorating the sector through the funding of public projects that establish specifications which vendors can use in developing new services. The strategies have transitioned into a top-down approach, with the Directorate of Health as the dominant stakeholder in a dedicated and specialised market. The recent strategy represents an approach that prioritises projects in a political process instead of basing such projects in extensive discussions in the healthcare sector. On the basis of the results, I suggest that a middle position be adopted in organising large-scale projects on integrated information systems. Such a strategy will give more power to the users of the information system. I believe that in real-world settings, a step-by-step strategy is favourable but requires good conditions for continued growth. Critical tasks are to break down large projects into a series of smaller ones, prioritise direct business value and assemble stable, full-time and cross-functional teams that execute these projects along a disciplined agile and optimisation approach