Principles for effective impact assessment: Examples from Western Australia

What makes an impact assessment process effective with respect to underlying legal and other principles? Prompted by a local review of administrative processes for environmental impact assessment (EIA), I identify 10 key aspects of IA legislation and practice in Western Australia along with corresponding principles. The EIA system in Western Australia (WA) has established an international reputation as a strong model for successful practice, and draws on more than 30 years of operation. Recent government reviews pose some threat and uncertainty regarding the future. In this context I reflected on the key ingredients of the legal and operating framework and realised that each conformed with important principles for good practice. Examples include a significance test at the screening step based on an environment-centred approach; public involvement that upholds natural justice expectations, transparency and accountability; the application of rational-scientific principles in the pursuit of adaptive environmental management; as well as upholding the polluter pays principle by ensuring that the proponent is responsible for all major EIA tasks and outcomes which in turn are legally binding and enforced. I outline each of the 10 principles using extracts from the legal arrangements for EIA in WA practice to illustrate each. I argue that the simultaneous attainment of all principles is necessary to deliver an effective impact assessment practice. The WA arrangements may have relevance to practice elsewhere in the world. I conclude with some observations on the implications of recent EIA review for the situation in Western Australia

Latest developments ignored

Review of Environmental Impact Assessment in Australia: Theory and Practice by I Thomas and M Elliot

Utility of Environmental Impact Assessment Processes in Western Australia: submission to inquiry into the environmental effects statement process in Victoria, Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Victoria

I have been asked to discuss a number of issues relating to the inquiry, including: •the key strengths of environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes in Western Australia (WA), including objectives, project referrals, levels of assessment, appeal rights for third parties, and the role of the Environment Protection Authority; •proposed reforms to the WA EIA Framework; •your experiences in environmental impact assessment processes in other jurisdictions, including examples of EIA best practice in Australia and overseas; •the role of strategic environmental assessment; •the most suitable body/agency to carry out EIA; and •post-EIA monitoring and enforcement. A brief report addressing these points is provided following an account of the EIA context in WA

Transparency in environment impact assessment decision-making: Recent developments in Western Australia

Transparency in decision-making, involving the establishment of explicit goals and objectives combined with open, facilitative procedures, has recently been advocated as an important principle for effective environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper examines recent changes to EIA practice in Western Australia that emphasise clear procedures for decision-making. Current practices focus on objectives established for relevant environmental factors identified during the screening and scoping stages of EIA. These objectives are then used as decision criteria for project decision-making following public review. An example from a recent assessment is provided. Some strengths and weaknesses of this approach to transparent EIA decision-making are also examined

Being subject-centred: A philosophy of teaching and implications for higher education

Being subject-centred as a higher education teacher offers a rich and illuminating philosophical and practical understanding of learning. Building upon previous research on subject-centred learning, we draw on reflection, literature review and a phenomenological approach to show how our ways of being infuse the teaching and learning environment. Philosophically, it is our way of being with our subject as teachers that influences the learning within our students. We show how posing the question: 'What is the best way to teach this subject?' helps a teacher find the best way to enhance the learning experience. It entails moving away from reliance solely on approaches that simply 're-present' content, such as lectures and online learning management systems, to interactive classrooms where space is created for the students to enter into their own engagement with the subject in a shared pursuit with the teacher, resulting in more effective teaching and learning. We illustrate this with personal accounts of our own journeys as teachers. We acknowledge that it takes courage to teach and to fully be subject-centred in the face of prevailing trends and pressures for other ways of teaching currently prominent in the higher education sector. But, ultimately, it is who we are as teachers that matters most, and being subject-centred provides the most effective way for us to most meaningfully reach our students

Impact of trail-side interpretive signs on visitor knowledge

Interpretive signs provide an important tool for enhancing visitor knowledge and understanding during a natural area experience. The Tree Top Walk (TTW) site in Western Australia adopted a minimal approach to interpretive signs to reduce distractions and allow the site to speak for itself. A 1999 pilot visitor survey indicated that many visitors were frustrated at this approach and wanted more signs installed along the walk trails despite the presence of information displays around the visitor kiosk. An interpretive sign trial was carried out in 2001 to assess the impact on visitor knowledge of the natural aspects of the site. While the trail-side interpretive signs provided no additional improvement in visitor knowledge, there appeared to be a positive increase in the perception of the site as providing a learning experience. The addition of trail-side interpretive signs also provided a point of interest for repeat visitors already familiar with the unique experience of the Tree Top Walk

Repeat and first time visitation in an experience specific context: The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk.

Communication with the public is a primary consideration in the design of natural area tourist attractions (Manfredo & Bright,1991; Roggenbuck, 1992; Vogt & Stewart, 1998). In a management context, communication is essential in ensuring a relevant and enjoyable experience on the part of the visiting tourists (Magill, 1995). Communication also serves as an important management aid in reminding visitors of appropriate behaviour while ensuring continued visitor interest in the attraction (Moscardo, 1998; Moscardo & Woods,2001). This paper presents the results of a .survey examining motivations and attitudes of repeat and first time visitors to the Tree Top Walk site in the context of the communication strategy used at the site

MM Observations of IRAS Galaxies: Dust Properties, Luminosity Functions and Contributions to the Sub-MM Background

We have studied the FIR/{\it mm} spectrum of IR galaxies by combining IRAS photometry with new {\it mm} data on a complete southern IRAS galaxy sample. The observed spectra and a dust model emphasize a dicothomy in the galaxy population: half of the objects with a lot of warm dust are characterized by higher values of the bolometric (UV-FIR) luminosity, of the dust-to-gas mass ratio, of the dust optical depths and extinction, while those dominated by cold ({\it cirrus}) dust show opposite trends. From these data we derive the {\it mm} luminosity function of galaxies and estimate their contribution to the sub-{\it mm} background (BKG).Comment: 4 pg Latex file (using included crckapb.sty) gzip'd tar'd file including 3 ps figures. Proceedings of 'Cold dust Morphology Conference', Johannesburg, South Africa, January 21-26 1996 A wrong figure is replace

Foaming-electrolyte fuel cell

Foam structure feeds fuel gas solution into electrolyte. Fuel gas reacts at static, three-phase interface between fuel gas, electrolyte, and electrode material. The foam forms an electrical contact between main body of electrolyte and the electrode, and aids in removal of by-products of the chemical reaction