Defining freshwater as a natural resource: a framework linking water use to the area of protection natural resources

© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Purpose: While many examples have shown unsustainable use of freshwater resources, existing LCIA methods for water use do not comprehensively address impacts to natural resources for future generations. This framework aims to (1) define freshwater resource as an item to protect within the Area of Protection (AoP) natural resources, (2) identify relevant impact pathways affecting freshwater resources, and (3) outline methodological choices for impact characterization model development. Methods: Considering the current scope of the AoP natural resources, the complex nature of freshwater resources and its important dimensions to safeguard safe future supply, a definition of freshwater resource is proposed, including water quality aspects. In order to clearly define what is to be protected, the freshwater resource is put in perspective through the lens of the three main safeguard subjects defined by Dewulf et al. (2015). In addition, an extensive literature review identifies a wide range of possible impact pathways to freshwater resources, establishing the link between different inventory elementary flows (water consumption, emissions, and land use) and their potential to cause long-term freshwater depletion or degradation. Results and discussion: Freshwater as a resource has a particular status in LCA resource assessment. First, it exists in the form of three types of resources: flow, fund, or stock. Then, in addition to being a resource for human economic activities (e.g., hydropower), it is above all a non-substitutable support for life that can be affected by both consumption (source function) and pollution (sink function). Therefore, both types of elementary flows (water consumption and emissions) should be linked to a damage indicator for freshwater as a resource. Land use is also identified as a potential stressor to freshwater resources by altering runoff, infiltration, and erosion processes as well as evapotranspiration. It is suggested to use the concept of recovery period to operationalize this framework: when the recovery period lasts longer than a given period of time, impacts are considered to be irreversible and fall into the concern of freshwater resources protection (i.e., affecting future generations), while short-term impacts effect the AoP ecosystem quality and human health directly. It is shown that it is relevant to include this concept in the impact assessment stage in order to discriminate the long-term from the short-term impacts, as some dynamic fate models already do. Conclusions: This framework provides a solid basis for the consistent development of future LCIA methods for freshwater resources, thereby capturing the potential long-term impacts that could warn decision makers about potential safe water supply issues in the future

Caractérisation de la matière organique naturelle et de son évolution dans les sols et les sédiments à l'aide du couplage US/UV

Natural organic matter in soils and sediments is transformed mainly by biological processes which may have an impact on surface and groundwater quality. A global characterization of this organic matter is proposed with the use of UV-Visible spectrophotometry after selective solvent extraction. Studied samples are pine and leafy humus, peat and sediments coming from a marsh. Oxidation index and humification index, calculated from UV-Visible spectra exploitation, respectively A220nm / A280nm and A465nm / A665nm, allow to estimate the evolution level of organic matter by mineralization and/or humification.La matière organique naturelle présente dans les sols et les sédiments subit des transformations, essentiellement par voie biologique, qui sont susceptibles d'avoir un impact sur la qualité des eaux de surface ou souterraines. Une caractérisation globale de cette matière organique naturelle est proposée à l'aide du couplage US/UV consistant en une extraction sélective par solvant, assistée par ultrasons, suivie d'une détection par spectrophotométrie UV-Visible. Les échantillons étudiés sont des humus de résineux et de feuillus, une tourbe et des sédiments provenant d'un marais. Un indice d'oxydation et un indice d'humification, calculés à partir de l'exploitation bi longueur d'onde du spectre UV-Visible des différents extraits aqueux et alcalins, respectivement A220nm / A280nm et A465nm / A665nm, permettent d'estimer le degré d'évolution de la matière organique par minéralisation et/ou humification

Évaluation environnementale d'un territoire: Panorama des méthodes et outils disponibles

International audienceIn order to reduce our environmental impact, methods for environmental assessment of human activities are urgently needed. In particular in the case of assessment of land planning scenarios, there is presently no consensual and widely adopted method although it is strongly required by the European Directive (2001/42/EC) on Strategic Environmental Assessment. However, different kinds of tools and methods are available such as human and environmental risk assessment, the ecological footprint, material flow analysis, substance flow analysis, physical input-output table, ecological network analysis, exergy, emergy or life cycle assessment. This review proposes a discussion on these tools and methods specifically applied to territories. After the meaning of territory is clarified, these approaches are presented and analyzed based on “key features” such as formalization, system modeling, inventoried flows, indicators provided and usability. This comparison highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. It also emphasizes that the approach of life cycle assessment could provide a relevant framework for the environmental assessment of territories as it is the only method which can avoid burden shifting between life cycle stages, environmental impacts and territories

Évaluation environnementale d'un territoire. Une synthèse des méthodes et outils disponibles

Territories are submitted to environmental assessment through regulation such as the European Directive n°2001/42/CE which states that an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment, like those related to territorial planning. However, managers are confronted to a lack of methodology to perform such assessments. This statement highlights the need to develop a tool able to assess the impact of a territory as a whole. Firstly, this reports defines the notion of territory as well as its spatial boundaries. Then, it outlines the tools applied to the environmental assessment of this complex system. It includes tools developed for the assessment of sites (risks analysis), of economies (material flow analysis), or of products or services (life cycle assessment, emergy). Finally, the report compares the tools so as to propose a comprehensive method overcoming their major shortcomings.Avec la mise en ½uvre de la directive européenne n°2001/42/CE, les territoires peuvent désormais faire l'objet d'une évaluation environnementale. La directive stipule que "certains plans et programmes susceptibles d'avoir des incidences notables sur l'environnement soient soumis à une évaluation environnementale". Cette règle s'applique donc pour les plans et programmes en lien avec l'aménagement du territoire. Cependant, dans la pratique, les gestionnaires peuvent faire face à l'absence de cadre méthodologique formalisé. Il est donc nécessaire de développer une méthodologie permettant de faire l'évaluation environnementale d'un territoire dans sa globalité. Dans un premier temps, ce rapport explicite la notion de "territoire" et précise ses frontières géographiques. Puis, une description des différents outils et méthodes déjà appliqués à un tel système est réalisée. Elle intègre les outils développés à la base pour l'évaluation d'un site (analyse de risques), d'une économie (analyse de flux de matières) ou d'un service, bien ou procédé (analyse de cycle de vie, émergie). Ces outils et méthodes sont ensuite comparés afin de proposer une démarche générale palliant les défauts des méthodes actuelles

Détermination des efforts articulaires exercés au cours de trois types d'élan en barre fixe

Contraintes mécaniques articulaires engendrées par l'optimisation de l'élan circulaire préparatoire à la réalisation de la figure acrobatique 'tkatchev' à la barre fixe. La réussite de cette acrobatie nécessite de produire, à la hanche et à l'épaule, des moments importants pour réaliser des actions de fouettés du corps de 125° à 160°

Adaptation du cadre méthodologique de l'ACV à l'évaluation environnementale de territoires

International audiencePurpose: Since the implementation of the European directive (EC/2001/42) on strategic environmental assessment, an ex-ante evaluation has become mandatory for plans and programmes. This requirement could have significant consequences for the environment. Local authorities, who are in charge of land planning issues, must therefore conduct such assessments. However, they are faced with lack of uniform methodology. The aim of this paper is thus to propose a methodological framework for the required environmental assessment stages in land planning. Methods: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been identified as a promising tool to perform environmental assessment at a meso-level (i.e., territories). Yet, the standardized LCA framework has never been used for assessing the environmental impacts of a territory as such, which can be explained by the complexity that its application would involve. Four major methodological bottlenecks have been identified in this paper, i.e., (i) functional unit definition, (ii) boundary selection, (iii) data collecting, and (iv) the refinement of the Life Cycle Impact Assessment phase in order to provide useful indicators for land planning. For each of these challenges, recommendations have been made to adapt the analytical framework of LCA. Results and discussion: A revised framework is proposed to perform LCA of a territory. One of the major adaptations needed concerns the goal and scope definition phase. Henceforth, the association of a territory and the studied land planning scenario, defined by its geographical boundaries and its interactions with other territories, will be designated as the reference flow in LCA. Consequently, two kinds of indicators will be determined using this approach, i.e., (i) a vector of environmental impacts generated (conventional LCA) and (ii) a vector of land use functions provided by the territory for different stakeholders (e.g., provision of work, recreation, culture,...). This revised framework has been applied to a theoretical case study in order to highlight its utility in land planning. Conclusion: This work is a first step in the adaptation of the LCA framework to environmental assessment in land planning. We believe that this revised framework has the potential to provide relevant information in decision-making processes. Nonetheless, further work is still needed to broaden and deepe

Chapter 10 Leachates and organic extracts from solids

International audienceThis chapter presents some applications related with landfill leachates, contaminated soils, and solid waste composts. A complementary study concerning natural sediments is presented in the chapter. Landfill leachates are considered to be highly polluted media, containing various organic compounds refractory to biodegradation. Regarding leachate analysis, ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry can be useful for a fast characterization or the study of landfill evolution. Depending on the nature of organic components, aqueous solutions can limit the interest of the approach. In this case, an extraction step of the solid matrix with an organic solution can be necessary in order to have more specific information. The aim of solid wastes treatment is both to reduce their size and to stabilize their organic content. The characterization of natural soils and sediments with UV spectrophotometry applied after leaching tests is possible

Adaptation du cadre méthodologique de l'ACV afin d'aider les politiques d'aménagement du territoire

International audienceSince the implementation of the European Directive on strategic environmental assessment (2001), local authorities are in charge of carrying studies on the environmental impacts of land use planning policies. However, they are facing with a lack of standardized approaches to perform such assessement. Methodological developments are therefore needed for the environmental assessment of spatial planning policies adopted on a territory. In order to achieve this, different kinds of tools and methods can be used. Among them, LCA has been identified as a promising tool as it has the ability to avoid burden shifting between environmental impacts as well as between life cycle stages. Yet, no study which performs the environmental assessement of a territory as a whole has been reported. The aim of this presentation is twofold. Firstly, the main methodological bottlenecks which can partlty explain the lack of applications of LCA to territories have been identified and discussed, i.e., (i) functional unit definition, (ii) boundary selection, (iii) data collection and (iv) the refinement of LCIA indicators in order to provide useful information for land planning policies. Secondly, for each bottleneck, proposals have been made to overcome it and to provide a general framework adapted to land planning issues. One of the main adaptations relies on the functional unit definition. The territory (defined by its geographical boundaries) and its related land planning scenario will now be considered as the reference flow. The adapted framework will hence deliver two kinds of indicators (calculated outputs), the environmental impacts and a set of services provided by the territory. This adapted framework offers a new perspective on the issue of the environmental assessment of land planning policies by proposing a global approach which include all the activities located on a territory, avoiding burden shifting between territories, prioritizing environmental issues and identifying the most polluting activities on a territorial context which could need a complemetary analysis (e.g., environmental risk analysis)

Évaluation environnementale d'un territoire basée sur une adaptation du cadre méthodologique de l'ACV: principaux enseignements tirés de la mise en oeuvre sur un cas d'étude réel (le territoire du Bassin de Thau)

International audienceThe LCA framework was recently adapted to perform the environmental assessment of a territory. The expectations of this framework, called "territorial LCA", are in line with the European Directive (2001/42/EC) on Strategic Environmental Assessment applied to land planning programs, i.e., providing an environmental baseline and comparing land planning scenarios. To test "territorial LCA" applicability for establishing a diagnosis, the approach was implemented in a French Mediterranean case study. According to the "territorial LCA" approach, system boundaries and land use functions must be defined and selected. Then, the inventory for all production and consumption activities is performed with a particular emphasis on data collection and on different ways to handle data gaps. Based on this inventory, certain land use functions are quantified, and the impacts are assessed through the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method. Indicators of land use functions are compared to different references to highlight the main features of the territory (e.g., high level of societal functions). For environmental impacts, the results point out that most impacts occur beyond the territory borders. Four environmental issues are identified, i.e., climate change, particulate matter formation, human toxicity and land occupation. Finally, the associated driving forces are determined (i.e., the most important ones are imports of food, goods and services and manufacturing activities). For these hotspots, the strategy applied to bridge data gaps was discussed (i.e., using environmental input output tables (EIOT)). In addition, the sensitivity to the chosen impact assessment method was analyzed by using another LCIA method (Impact Worldþ)