Directive

About: Directive is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5695 publications have been published within this topic receiving 56084 citations.

Sea and regional planning—overcoming the institutional constraints: some lessons from the EU

Abstract: The long lasting debate on the need for a European Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) now seems to be approaching closure, with a common position agreed by the European Council in December 1999, albeit applied to plans and programmes only and not to government policy. This paper considers the institutional structures within which such a directive would be implemented, structures far more complicated than those met by the project EIA Directive 97/11. This paper reviews the existing but limited application of SEA to plans in Europe, in particular to regional plans, using an existing framework for the institutional analysis of integrated water management developed by Mitchell. The application of SEA to plans for regional structural funding by the European Commission, to regional and sub-regional plans in England, the Netherlands and Spain, suggests that it is the overall context that influences the observed variations in both SEA and plan-making practice. This highlights in particular the strength of the politico-environmental lobby and the relative powers of planning, sectoral and environmental executives. Approaches to SEA can be modelled as incremental (The Netherlands), stapled (Spain) and concurrent (England). It is perhaps the latter model, an iterative and multi-staged but ‘weaker’ approach to SEA, that offers a future route to a wider form of sustainability appraisal. How well the more formal and ‘stronger’ application of SEA required by the European Union integrates into existing institutional structures remains to be seen. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Environmental Displacement in European Asylum Law

Abstract: Environmentally displaced persons can be included in several existing categories of protected persons under international law, but there may be a normative protection gap for many of those who cross an international border. This article looks at protection possibilities within the EU framework and national European legislations. Environmental displacement can arguably trigger temporary protection according to the EU Temporary Protection Directive. There may also be environmentally displaced persons who require longer-term or permanent protection. Drawing on the EU Qualification Directive and case-law from the European Court of Human Rights, one can argue that subsidiary protection should be granted in certain cases of extreme natural disaster or degradation. In less extreme cases, humanitarian asylum could be granted. Human rights principles such as non-refoulement could also be used to extend at least basic protection. In addition, legal labour migration could supply a work force, assist distressed countries and enhance protection of the individual. A strategy to meet the challenge of environmental displacement must also include climate change mitigation and external measures such as adaptation. Most of the displaced persons in the world today and in the near future do not arrive at the EU borders.

A population-based study on advance directive completion and completion intention among citizens of the western Canadian province of Alberta.

Abstract: Determining what proportion of the public has completed an advance directive and which population subgroups complete or do not complete such a directive is crucially important for planning purposes. Our research objective was to examine and compare advance directive completion, intention to complete, and noncompletion rates among citizens of one Canadian province. A telephone survey was conducted with 1,203 Albertans who met gender, age, and other requirements for a representative sample. When asked, "Do you have a living will or personal directive?" 43.6 percent reported having completed a directive and 42.1 percent indicated that they planned or intended to complete one. Completion rates increased with age. Widowed, self-employed, and retired people, and those who had lost a family member or friend and had other select end-of-life experiences and viewpoints were significantly more likely to have completed one. Although older people more often had an advance directive, personal life-and-death experiences should be recognized as major influences on directive completion.

Life cycle assessment of two personal electronic products—a note with respect to the energy-using product directive

Abstract: Personal electronic products have received little attention regarding life cycle assessment (LCA), possibly due to the fact that their energy consumption is not high in general. In fact, the European Union has decided to enforce a law (Directive 2005/32/EC, the EuP Directive hereafter) for regulating the environmental consequences of all energy-using products (EuPs), the scope of which also covers such personal electronic products. In complying with the directive, LCA is a useful tool to draw conclusion and to compare the performance of alternatives. In this connection, a pilot study is carried out to assess the environmental impacts of two personal electronic products through LCA, subject to the scope of the said directive. Main objective of this technical note is to raise the awareness of eco-design for personal electronic products.