203
Chapter 11
Tools for Environmental Analysis,
Evaluation and Management
11.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Environmental management aims at rationally dealing with man’s interaction with the environment—mainly with the decrease of the environmental
impact that human activity entails. Its goal is not simply the protection and
preservation of the environment but the optimal utilization of its structure and functioning for the benefit of humanity. Environmental management presupposes the recognition of the dynamic function of ecosystems;
it includes the organization of regulations so that the preservation of their
important characteristics may be achieved and also the modification of
their structure and function may be under scientific and social control. The
regulations pertain to the physical, chemical, biological, geological, aesthetic etc. components of the environment, both biotic and abiotic, as well
as their relationships with the social, cultural and economic environment of
man. Many different environmental management tools are available.
11.2 DEFINITION AND ASSESSMENT
OF IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Many human activities including industrial production, technical works
and agriculture degrade the atmosphere, the soil, the waters, trophic
chains, biological diversity and the structure and function of the biosphere
in general; they also have a negative influence on human health, cultural
monuments, social conditions etc. Thus they lead to various consequences
on the quality of human life, on natural ecosystems and the landscape, on
the cultural, social and economic conditions etc. Those consequences are
generally called environmental impacts and are due not only to pollution
but to other perturbations of environmental systems as well. The impacts,
which are usually negative but can sometimes also be positive, may be
local, regional or planetary, direct or indirect, short term or long term,
reversible or irreversible.
DOI: 10.1201/b14609-11
Chapter 11
Tools for Environmental Analysis,
Evaluation and Management
11.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Environmental management aims at rationally dealing with man’s interaction with the environment—mainly with the decrease of the environmental
impact that human activity entails. Its goal is not simply the protection and
preservation of the environment but the optimal utilization of its structure and functioning for the benefit of humanity. Environmental management presupposes the recognition of the dynamic function of ecosystems;
it includes the organization of regulations so that the preservation of their
important characteristics may be achieved and also the modification of
their structure and function may be under scientific and social control. The
regulations pertain to the physical, chemical, biological, geological, aesthetic etc. components of the environment, both biotic and abiotic, as well
as their relationships with the social, cultural and economic environment of
man. Many different environmental management tools are available.
11.2 DEFINITION AND ASSESSMENT
OF IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Many human activities including industrial production, technical works
and agriculture degrade the atmosphere, the soil, the waters, trophic
chains, biological diversity and the structure and function of the biosphere
in general; they also have a negative influence on human health, cultural
monuments, social conditions etc. Thus they lead to various consequences
on the quality of human life, on natural ecosystems and the landscape, on
the cultural, social and economic conditions etc. Those consequences are
generally called environmental impacts and are due not only to pollution
but to other perturbations of environmental systems as well. The impacts,
which are usually negative but can sometimes also be positive, may be
local, regional or planetary, direct or indirect, short term or long term,
reversible or irreversible.
DOI: 10.1201/b14609-11