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Off-grid systems, and mini-grids in particular, are expected to play a significant role in improving electricity access to one billion people until 2040. One of the major challenges for mini-grids is associated with their high costs, low financial viability and local development impact. Productive use of electricity can be an important driver of local development and impacts the total load in a mini-grid. By using a mixture of high-resolution (minutes) measurements and long-term data (years) on electricity expenditures and purchased electricity from a mini-grid in the Tanzanian highlands, we analyse the technical and economic impact from household and productive use of electricity, respectively. The high-resolution data is analysed using performance indicators and the long-term data using regression tools. We find that a mixture of household use and productive use of electricity provides both technical and economic benefits for the operator. In addition, we find that while productive use customers only represent 25% of the customers, they generate 44% of the operator's income. Furthermore, productive use of electricity customers are also likely responsible for the peak demand in the mini-grid, which occurs during day time. Lastly, we find empirical evidence suggesting that expenditures and demand are unit elastic, which has implications on economic policies for supporting rural electrification.

Mini-grids are considered important in order to improve access to electricity in developing countries. Their technical and organizational independence from the large national grids and their interactions with local social, economic, and environmental factors suggests that system dynamics is a useful method of analysis. However, the successful implementation of mini-grids in rural electrification has partly been prevented due to complexity issues, making problem formulation difficult. Most problem-solving methods, such as system dynamics, require well-defined problems. Previous work on the problem formulation process in system dynamics is limited. This work presents a conceptual framework for tackling complexity and uncertainties in rural electrification. The conceptual framework is general and draws on research in conceptual modelling and system dynamics. The focus is on the learning that can be achieved from a system description and how it can be used to tackle complexity by reducing uncertainties and improving knowledge.

Claims for ocean space are growing while marine ecosystems suffer from centuries of insufficient care. Human pressures from runoff, atmospheric emissions, marine pollution, fishing, shipping, military operations and other activities wear on habitats and populations. Ecosystem-based marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged worldwide as a strategic instrument for handling conflicting spatial claims among competing sectors and the environment. The twofold objective of both boosting the blue economy and protecting the environment is challenging in practice and marine planners need decision support. Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) was originally developed to provide an overview of the human imprint on the world's ocean ecosystems. We have now added a scenario component to the CIA model and used it within Swedish ecosystem-based MSP. This has allowed us to project environmental impacts for different planning alternatives throughout the planning process, strengthening the integration of environmental considerations into strategic decision-making. Every MSP decision may entail a local shift of environmental impact, causing positive or negative consequences for ecosystem components. The results from Swedish MSP in the North Sea and Baltic Sea illustrate that MSP certainly has the potential to lower net cumulative environmental impact, both locally and across sea basins, as long as environmental values are rated high and prevailing pressures derive from activities that are part of MSP. By synthesizing innumerous data into comprehensible decision support that informs marine planners of the likely environmental consequences of different options, CIA enables ecosystem-based MSP in practice.

The immense energy potential of the oceans is being increasingly recognized the world over, at the same time the integrity of marine ecosystems is challenged by pressure from multiple human activities. For good reasons environmental licensing procedures are precautionary and new industries must declare their detrimental impacts and provide mitigation measures. New ocean energy industries target renewable energy sources thus, on a grand scale, partly mitigating climate change. However, on-site environmental impacts are yet to be established. In this review we compare ocean energy industries with a wide range of conventional, better understood, human activities and outline environmental risks and research priorities. Results show that ocean energy systems are thought to incur many pressures, some familiar and others with yet unknown effects. Particular uncertainties regard ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and large fast-moving turbines. Ocean energy industries should not be considered in isolation because the significance of environmental impacts depend on the full spectra of human activities in each area. Marine spatial planning provides a platform for holistic assessments and may facilitate the establishment of ocean energy industries, as long as risk-related uncertainties are reduced.

Tidal current technologies have the potential to provide highly predictable energy, since tides are driven by lunar cycles. However, before implementing such technologies on a large scale, their environmental performance should be assessed. In this study, a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a 12 MW tidal energy converter array of Minesto Deep Green 500 (DG500) prototypes, closely following the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) standards, but including scenarios to cover various design possibilities. The global warming potential (GWP) of the prototype array was in the range of 18.4–26.3 gCO2-eq/kWhe. This is comparable with other renewable energy systems, such as wind power. Material production processes have the largest impact, but are largely offset by recycling at the end of life. Operation and maintenance processes, including the production of replacement parts, also provide major contributions to environmental impacts. Comparisons with other technologies are limited by the lack of a standardized way of performing LCA on offshore power generation technologies.

Purpose: Many municipalities are facing increasing pressure to adapt solid waste and wastewater management infrastructures in order to better close nutrient cycles. The focus of this study is on the estimation of the human toxicity potential associated with chemical contaminants released upon the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land. More specifically, this study investigated the effect of modelling choices regarding fate and exposure assessment. Methods: Monitoring data were collected for contaminants present in the sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in Gothenburg and from other municipal wastewater treatment plants in Sweden. Based on these monitoring data, an overall burden of disease was estimated using characterisation factors taken from the USEtox models (versions 1.01 and 2.0). For the exposure through vegetables, an alternative life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) model was developed. The intake fractions thus obtained were used in combination with human health effect factors taken from the USEtox 2.0 database. The model results were compared with the USEtox models, and whether these two versions of the USEtox model provide significantly different results was also examined. The potential relevance of accidental ingestion of sludge was also considered. Results and discussion: The different LCIA models provided burden of disease estimates that differed from one another for individual contaminants (up to five orders of magnitude). The aggregated burdens of disease (i.e. sum for all contaminants considered in this study) estimated through different model variants, however, were of the same order of magnitude. For both metals and organic contaminants, only a small set of contaminants was found to make significant contributions to the aggregate burden of disease. However, it is uncertain whether the 15 metals and 106 organic contaminants covered by this study are those of greatest health significance of all contaminants potentially present in sewage sludge. Conclusions and recommendations: The results of this study indicate that the technical information provided by the various approaches to modelling human toxicity in life cycle assessment (LCA) in the context of land application of sewage sludge management is consistent on the whole. However, given the uncertainties associated with the assessment of human toxicity in LCA, it is important to also contemplate the extent to which LCA in general is capable of informing the sewage sludge debate when it comes to human toxicity and possibly also other indicators. Future research could focus on identifying which types of questions of interest in the context of sewage management can be answered by LCA and which cannot.

Fisheries management and sustainability assessment of fisheries more generally have recently expanded their scope from single-species stock assessment to ecosystem-based approaches, aiming to incorporate economic, social and local environmental impacts, while still excluding global-scale environmental impacts. In parallel, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has emerged as a widely used and recommended framework to assess environmental impacts of products, including global scale impacts. For over a decade, LCA has been applied to seafood supply chains, leading to new insights into the environmental impact of seafood products. We present insights from seafood LCA research with particular focus on evaluating fisheries management, which strongly influences the environmental impact of seafood products. Further, we suggest tangible ways in which LCA could be taken up in management. By identifying trade-offs, LCA can be a useful decision support tool and avoids problem shifting from one concern (or activity) to another. The integrated, product-based and quantitative perspective brought by LCA could complement existing tools. One example is to follow up fuel use of fishing, as the production and combustion of fuel used dominates overall results for various types of environmental impacts of seafood products, and is also often linked to biological impacts of fishing. Reducing the fuel use of fisheries is therefore effective to reduce overall impacts. Allocating fishing rights based on environmental performance could likewise facilitate the transition to low-impact fisheries. Taking these steps in an open dialogue between fishers, managers, industry, NGOs and consumers would enable more targeted progress towards sustainable fisheries.

Recognition of human excreta as a resource, rather than as waste, has led to the emergence of a range of new and innovative nutrient recovery solutions. Nevertheless, the management of human excreta remains largely rooted in current sanitation and wastewater management approaches, which often makes nutrient recovery an add-on to existing infrastructures. In this paper, we argue that framing human excreta management as a resource recovery challenge within waste management obscures important trade-offs. We explore the factors that would be brought to the fore by reframing human excreta management as part of food and farming systems. We find that such a reframing would accentuate (at least) six aspects of critical importance that are currently largely overlooked. Recognizing that the proposed framing may also have its limitations, we argue that it has the potential to better guide human excreta management towards long-term global food, soil, and nutrient security while reducing the risk of compromising other priorities related to human and environmental health.

Studded tires are used in a number of countries during winter in order to prevent accidents. The use of tire studs is controversial and debated because of human health impacts from increased road particle emissions. The aims of this study are to assess whether the use of tire studs in a Scandinavian studded passenger car actually avoids or causes health impacts from a broader life cycle perspective, and to assess the distribution of these impacts over the life cycle. Life cycle assessment is applied and the disability-adjusted life years indicator is used to quantify the following five types of health impacts: (1) impacts saved in the use phase, (2) particle emissions in the use phase, (3) production system emissions, (4) occupational accidents in the production system, and (5) conflict casualties from revenues of cobalt mining. The results show that the health benefits in the use phase in general are outweighed by the negative impacts during the life cycle. The largest contribution to these negative human health impacts are from use phase particle emissions (67&ndash, 77%) and occupational accidents during artisanal cobalt mining (8&ndash, 18%). About 23&ndash, 33% of the negative impacts occur outside Scandinavia, where the benefits occur. The results inform the current debate and highlight the need for research on alternatives to tire studs with a positive net health balance.

Worldwide raising energy consumption demand gives a fast development of marine renewable energy (MRE). Here, we give a short overview on the risks and uncertainties that may affect the marine environment by these installations. Knowledge transfer from traditional offshore industries and the gain of new knowledge through environmental monitoring, applying old and new methods and standardised data collection will give further insights to understand changes induced by MRE on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Forecasting models for array effects will contribute to the indicating of MRE development respecting the environment.

Risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are two analytical tools used to support decision making in environmental management. This study reviewed 30 environmental assessment case studies that claimed an integration, combination, hybridization, or complementary use of RA and LCA. The focus of the analysis was on how the respective case studies evaluated emissions of chemical pollutants and pathogens. The analysis revealed three clusters of similar case studies. Yet, there seemed to be little consensus as to what should be referred to as RA and LCA, and when to speak of combination, integration, hybridization, or complementary use of RA and LCA. This paper provides clear recommendations toward a more stringent and consistent use of terminology. Blending elements of RA and LCA offers multifaceted opportunities to adapt a given environmental assessment case study to a specific decision making context, but also requires awareness of several implications and potential pitfalls, of which six are discussed in this paper. To facilitate a better understanding and more transparent communication of the nature of a given case study, this paper proposes a "design space" (i.e., identification framework) for environmental assessment case studies blending elements of RA and LCA. Thinking in terms of a common design space, we postulate, can increase clarity and transparency when communicating the design and results of a given assessment together with its potential strengths and weaknesses.

Foreword Kate Fletcher Introduction Miguel Angel Gardetti and Ana Laura Torres Part I: The systemic vision and the value chain in the textile and fashion industry 1. Slow fashion: Tailoring a strategic approach for sustainability Carlotta Cataldi, Crystal Grover and Maureen Dickson, Co-founders, Slow Fashion Forward 2. Wisdoms from the fashion trenches Lynda Grose, Fashion Design for Sustainability, California College of the Arts, USA 3. From principle to practice: Embedding sustainability in clothing supply chain strategies Alison Ashby, Melanie Hudson Smith and Rory Shand, Plymouth Business School, UK 4. Managing chemical risk information: The case of Swedish retailers and Chinese suppliers in textile supply chains Kristin Fransson, Birgit Brunklaus and Sverker Molander, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden Yuntao Zhang, The Fourth Research and Design Engineering Corporation of CNNC, China 5. Innovation power of fashion focal companies and participation in sustainability activities in their supply network Harrie W.M. van Bommel, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands 6. Sustainable colour forecasting: The benefits of creating a better colour trend forecasting system for consumers, the fashion industry and the environment Tracy Diane Cassidy, University of Leeds, UK 7. Fashioning use: A polemic to provoke pro-environmental garment maintenance Tullia Jack, The University of Melbourne, Australia 8. Fashion design education for sustainability practice: Reflections on undergraduate level teaching Lynda Grose, California College of the Arts, USA 9. Upcycling fashion for mass production Tracy Diane Cassidy, University of Leeds, UK Sara Li-Chou Han, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK 10. Creating new from that which is discarded: The collaborative San Francisco Tablecloth Repurposing Project Connie Ulasewicz and Gail Baugh, San Francisco State University, USA Part II: Marketing, brands and regulatory aspects in the textile and fashion industry 11. Sustainable consumption and production patterns in the clothing sector: Is green the new black? Ines Weller, University of Bremen, Germany 12. Redefining "Made in Australia": A "fair go" for people and planet Cameron Neil and Kirsten Simpson, Net Balance, Australia Eloise Bishop, Ethical Clothing, Australia 13. "Sustainability isn't sexy": An exploratory study into luxury fashion Iain A. Davies and Carla-Maria Streit, University of Bath, School of Management, UK 14. Ethical fashion in Western Europe: A survey of the status quo through the digital communications lens Ilaria Pasquinelli and Pamela Ravasio, texSture, UK 15. Effectiveness of standard initiatives: Rules and effectiveimplementation of transnational standard initiatives (TSI) in the apparel industry: An empirical examination Claude Meier, University of Zurich and University of Applied Sciences Zurich (HWZ), Switzerland Part III: The practice in textiles and fashion 16. Corporate responsibility in the garment industry: Towards shared value Anna Larsson, U&We, Sweden Katarina Buhr, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Linkoping University, Sweden Cecilia Mark-Herbert, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden 17. Zigzag or interlock? The case of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition Kim Poldner, University of St Gallen, Switzerland 18. Garments without guilt? A case study of sustainable garment sourcing in Sri Lanka Patsy Perry, George Davies Centre for Retail Excellence, Heriot-Watt University, UK 19. Next one, please: Integrating sustainability criteria in the procurement of operating-room textiles: The case of Germany Edeltraud Gunther, Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany Holger Hoppe, SCHOTT Solar, Germany Gabriel Weber, ENT Environment & Management, Spain Julia Hillmann, Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany 20. Development and the garment industry: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Sarah E. Heidebrecht, Alumna, Kansas State University, USA Joy M. Kozar, Kansas State University, USA Part IV: Consumer: purchase, identity, use and care of clothing and textiles 21. Young academic women's clothing practice: Interactions between fast fashion and social expectations in Denmark Charlotte Louise Jensen and Michael Sogaard Jorgensen, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark 22. Connecting meanings and materials: Identity dynamics in sustainable fashion Fernando F. Fachin, HEC Montreal, Canada 23. Consumers' attitudes towards sustainable fashion: Clothing usage and disposal Helen Goworek and Alex Hiller, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK Tom Fisher, School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University, UK Tim Cooper, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, UK Sophie Woodward, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, UK Index

Offshore wind power is expanding with particular development plans in the Baltic and the North Sea. To reassure an environmentally acceptable development, regulatory authorities need to make informed decisions even when evidence and experience are scarce. In this study Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) has been applied on a wind farm project in Kattegat, proposed within a spawning ground for the Kattegat cod, a threatened population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L). Six stressors with potential impacts on cod and related to wind farms were investigated. Three of them - extreme noise from pile driving, noise from vessels, and disturbances due to cable-trenching - are related to the construction phase, while lubricant spills and noise from turbines together with electric fields from cables are related to the operation phase. The ecological risk was derived from the combined likelihood and magnitude of potential adverse effects from stressors to the cod population using a weight-of-evidence (WOE) ranking procedure. Available evidence was evaluated based on its reliability, and contradictory arguments were balanced against each other using evidence maps. The option of performing hazardous construction events (e.g. pile-driving) outside biologically sensitive periods was incorporated in the assessment. It was shown that the construction of the wind farm poses a high risk to cod, as defined by the ranked and combined likelihoods and magnitudes of adverse effects. However by avoiding particular construction events during the cod recruitment period ecological risks can be significantly reduced. Specifically for this case, ecological risks are reduced from high to low by avoiding pile-driving from December through June, which confirms previous indications that pile-driving is the most ecologically hazardous activity of offshore wind power development. Additional risk reduction is achieved by avoiding cable trenching from January through May. The study thus illustrates the effectiveness of time-planning for risk reduction. Importantly, the study illustrates how combined ERA and WOE methods can be valuable for handling uncertainties of environmental impacts within offshore industrial development. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What constitutes a potentially hazardous object is often debated. This article analyses the polemic construction and negotiation of risk in the Swedish controversy over the use of antibacterial silver in health care and consumer products. This debate engages the media, government agencies, parliament and government, non-governmental organizations and companies. Texts and websites from these actors were studied using content analysis. Antibacterial silver is construed by some actors as a risk object with harmful effects on a series of objects at risk: the environment, public health, organisms and sewage treatment. In contrast, other actors deny that antibacterial silver is a risk object, instead construing it as mitigating risk. In such a schema, antibacterial silver is conceived of as managing the risk objects of bacteria and micro-organisms, in turn managing the risk objects of infection, bad smell and washing, and in turn helping the environment and public health (objects at risk). The structure of the debate suggests two basic modes of risk communication. First, antibacterial silver is construed as a risk object, endangering a variety of objects at risk, such as organisms, public health, the environment and sewage treatment. Second, this association between antibacterial silver and objects at risk is obstructed, by denying that antibacterial silver is a risk object or by associating silver with the benefit of mitigating risk.

The purpose of this synthesis paper is to present the motivations and conceptual basis for research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), addressing the need for interdisciplinary studies targeting the technological mediation of human–environment relationships. The background is the very limited number of collaborations between scholars of social-ecological systems and sociotechnical systems (SES), despite repeated calls for bridging work. The synthesis builds on an in-depth review of previous literature, interdisciplinary exchanges, and empirical examples. The result is arguments for why a sociotechnical understanding of ‘technology’ is of central importance for SES studies, related to how technology: (1) mediates human–environment relationships; (2) brings ambivalence to these relationships; (3) enhances and transforms human agency and provides a source of constitutive power; (4) changes scalar relationships, enabling our interaction with and impact on the natural world across time and space. Furthermore, we present an STES analytical approach which starts from symmetrical attention to technology, society, and environment, specifically targeting interfaces and relationships of critical relevance for SES scholars, and address counterarguments that we have encountered. We conclude that a shift to STES research will enhance our knowledge of system interfaces that are often overlooked, opening further avenues for research and real-world interventions.

Even though technological advances have occurred during recent decades today’s nutrient loading from Swedish on-site sewage systems (OSSs) is much higher than in the 1940s, despite a decreased rural population and the existence of potentially far better technologies than the existing inadequate installations. The objective of this paper is first, to explain this situation as the result of co-evolution of technology and institutions, which has resulted in a very stable conservation. Second, to properly understand how such stable configurations may change, the paper investigates how a power-distributional theory of incremental institutional change might complement the previous analysis and open up the thinking about how seemingly stable configurations may change endogenously. The analysis reveals how shifts in the distribution of power, i.e., public and private actors’ resources and tools to use in interaction with other actors, have influenced the direction of technological and institutional development. We conclude that the sequencing of events has been important, the series of choices made foremost between the 1950s and 1990s caused both institutional and technical lock-in effects that have been increasingly difficult to break out from. Despite parallel and later incremental developments, improvement in the environmental outcome is not yet seen on the large scale.

Biofuels are advanced to replace fossil fuels in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts. Yet freshwater scarcity is another growing concern and increased production of biofuels may increase this problem. In order to assess whether biofuels truly have a higher water use than do fossil fuels, a life cycle assessment study of a low input jatropha plantation in northern Mozambique was conducted. In addition to different water use indicators, the fossil energy use and global warming potential were assessed for 1 MJ of jatropha oil. The analysis compares results for jatropha oil with fossil diesel, generally showing lower global warming potential and fossil energy use for jatropha oil. However, aspects related to land use may alter the global warming potential of jatropha oil. Regarding water use, the choice of the water use indicator strongly influences the results. Specifically the indication of (1) so-called green water flows, (2) formation of so-called blue water and (3) water scarcity show crucial influences on the comparison. Depending on these specific features, jatropha oil may have higher or lower water use than fossil diesel. A number of uncertainties, such as the jatropha oil yield, are also shown to have a considerable impact on the results.

In the textile industry, a large number of potentially harmful chemicals are used during production. This raises the importance of communication about chemical risks between different actors in the supply chain and therefore this study aims at describing the flows of chemical risk information up- and downstream in an international textile supply chain. The outcomes show that the main communication between retailers and suppliers is through a list of restricted substances. Information most often only reaches the next tier up- or downstream in the supply chain. However, different approaches exist, of which one is described in further detail.

Several African countries in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) endure insufficiencies in the power sector, including both generation and distribution. One important step towards increasing energy security and availability is to intensify the use of renewable energy sources. The access to cost-efficient hydropower is low in coastal and island regions and combinations of different renewable energy sources will play an increasingly important role. In this study the physical preconditions for renewable ocean energy are investigated, considering the specific context of the WIO countries. Global-level resource assessments and oceanographic literature and data have been compiled in an analysis of the match between technology-specific requirements for ocean energy technologies (wave power, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), tidal barrages, tidal current turbines, and ocean current power) and the physical resources in 13 WIO regions Kenya, Seychelles, Northern Tanzania and Zanzibar, Southern Tanzania, Comoros and Mayotte, Northern-, Central-, and Southern Mozambique, Western-, Eastern-, and Southern Madagascar, Reunion, and Mauritius. The results show high potential for wave power over vast coastal stretches in southern parts of the WIO and high potential for OTEC at specific locations in Mozambique, Comoros, Reunion, and Mauritius. The potential for tidal power and ocean current power is more restricted but may be of interest at some locations. The findings are discussed in relation to currently used electricity sources and the potential for solar photovoltaic and wind power. Temporal variations in resource intensity as well as the differences between small-scale and large-scale applications are considered.

In this study we investigate how indicators for energy use are applied in a set of life cycle assessment (LCA) and energy analysis case studies of biofuels. We found five inherently different types of indicators to describe energy use: (1) fossil energy, (2) secondary energy, (3) cumulative energy demand, (4) net energy balance, and (5) total extracted energy. It was also found that the examined reports and articles, the choice of energy use indicator was seldom motivated or discussed in relation to other energy use indicators. In order to investigate the differences between these indicators, they were applied to a case. The life cycle energy use of palm oil methyl ester was calculated and reported using these five different indicators for energy use, giving considerably different output results. This is in itself not unexpected, but indicates the importance of clearly identifying, describing and motivating the choice of energy use indicator. The indicators can all be useful in specific situations, depending on the goal and scope of the individual study, but the choice of indicators need to be better reported and motivated than what is generally done today.

A variety of tidal current turbines (TCT) are emerging, the majority focussing on large-scale extraction of renewable energy at global tidal hot-spots. Concurrently, some turbines are small and may be suitable also for micro-scale applications (micro-TCT) in remote areas, such as decentralized electrification in countries where fuel-independent energy systems with high power predictability are particularly important. In shallow waters the force of tidal currents varies considerably over short distances and very site-specific measurements are important for assessment of localization, but are also expensive. For micro-TCT to be of interest site-screening and evaluation must be inexpensive, and low-cost methods are thus required. This study proposes a simplified tidal model that is calibrated to site-specific conditions by short-term observations using lightweight equipment. By measurements comprising down to 8% of the monthly tidal period the potential power output can be estimated, with uncertainty intervals up to ±20%, for currents applicable for micro-TCT. This site-screening method was tested at five sites in Mozambique where near-shore tidal currents were measured with lightweight current meters. At three of the sites, currents were estimated to exceed 1 m s−1 and power output was calculated based on technical assumptions for a micro-TCT device. Results are discussed from the perspective of micro-TCT development and decentralized remote area electrification.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.

Over 500 million people lack access to modern energy sources in sub-Saharan Africa as of today. Many of these people live in remote rural areas. Improving access to modern energy sources is considered an important goal towards reaching the Millennium goals. Minigrids are seen as an important technology to increase electricity access in non-electrified rural areas. There is currently a lack of measured load data from minigrids in developing countries. This paper investigates the differences between daily load profiles created from measurements and from appliance data collected through interviews. The paper reports differing results from the two methodologies. Specifically the interview data largely underestimate the base load from household. However, the study also concludes that measurements require special equipment and knowledge that can obstruct the access to data. Interview based load profiles can furthermore be used in previous non-electrified areas to indicate electricity usage before minigrids are constructed.

Institutions in developed countries have proposed several Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) procedures, and the majority of study cases have been carried out there. The use of (often expensive) existing ERA procedures in developing countries is questionable given their limited resources and scarce background information of relevance for risk assessments. There is an obvious need to adapt existing ERA procedures to account for data gaps and constrains on the acquisition of new data without compromising the scientific value of the assessment. This thesis presents a "Procedure for Ecological Tiered Assessment of Risks" (PETAR), which consists of a three-tiered evaluation of risks, successive tiers requiring more detailed investigations. The tiered approach assures that resources available for site-specific investigations are directed toward answering well formulated questions raised during the early stages of the assessment. The first tier, the preliminary assessment, is a qualitative evaluation of existing information on stressors, sources of stressors and expected ecological effects. The second tier is the regional risk assessment, a semi-quantitative evaluation of ecological risks posed by environmental problems over large geographical areas, which results in a ranking of sources and stressors having the greatest potential for ecological impact and subareas inside the study area more likely to be impacted. The final tier is a local risk assessment, a quantitative assessment of ecological risks posed by environmental problems over small geographical areas that incorporates methodologies for establishing causality between exposure to multiple stressors and effects on endpoints of ecological relevance. The applicability of the PETAR procedure was verified by a case study conducted in a reserve of the Atlantic rain forest in Brazil. Results of the evaluation of risks at the regional scale can be used by the reserve administration to establishing conservation priorities. The evaluation of risks at the local scale effectively assessed the causes and consequences of environmental degradation in a small geographic area.

Rockström et al. (2009a, 2009b) have warned that humanity must reduce anthropogenic impacts defined by nine planetary boundaries if “unacceptable global change” is to be avoided. Chemical pollution was identified as one of those boundaries for which continued impacts could erode the resilience of ecosystems and humanity. The central concept of the planetary boundary (or boundaries) for chemical pollution (PBCP or PBCPs) is that the Earth has a finite assimilative capacity for chemical pollution, which includes persistent, as well as readily degradable chemicals released at local to regional scales, which in aggregate threaten ecosystem and human viability. The PBCP allows humanity to explicitly address the increasingly global aspects of chemical pollution throughout a chemical's life cycle and the need for a global response of internationally coordinated control measures. We submit that sufficient evidence shows stresses on ecosystem and human health at local to global scales, suggesting that conditions are transgressing the safe operating space delimited by a PBCP. As such, current local to global pollution control measures are insufficient. However, while the PBCP is an important conceptual step forward, at this point single or multiple PBCPs are challenging to operationalize due to the extremely large number of commercial chemicals or mixtures of chemicals that cause myriad adverse effects to innumerable species and ecosystems, and the complex linkages between emissions, environmental concentrations, exposures and adverse effects. As well, the normative nature of a PBCP presents challenges of negotiating pollution limits amongst societal groups with differing viewpoints. Thus, a combination of approaches is recommended as follows: develop indicators of chemical pollution, for both control and response variables, that will aid in quantifying a PBCP(s) and gauging progress towards reducing chemical pollution; develop new technologies and technical and social approaches to mitigate global chemical pollution that emphasize a preventative approach; coordinate pollution control and sustainability efforts; and facilitate implementation of multiple (and potentially decentralized) control efforts involving scientists, civil society, government, non-governmental organizations and international bodies. Keywords: Planetary boundary, Chemical pollution, Chemical emissions, Stockholm Convention, Tipping point, Global threshold, Pollution controls, Ecosystem health protection, Human health protection, Chemical management

Exposure assessment of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) is a challenging task mainly due to the novel properties of these new materials and the complexity caused by a wide range of particle characteristics, ENP-containing products and possible environmental interactions. We here present a research agenda in which we propose to face the complexity associated with ENP exposure assessment through informed and systematic simplifications. Exposure modelling is presented as a method for addressing complexity by identifying processes dominant for the fate of ENPs in the environment and enabling an iterative learning process by studying different emission and fate scenarios. Furthermore, the use of models is important to highlight most pressing research needs. For this reason, we also strongly encourage improved communication and collaboration between modellers and experimental scientists. Feedback between modellers and experimental scientists is crucial in order to understand the big picture of ENP exposure assessment and to establish common research strategies. Through joint research efforts and projects, the field of ENP exposure assessment can greatly improve and significantly contribute to a comprehensive and systematic risk assessment of ENPs.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to compare the environmental loads from wastewater systems with different technical solutions. This study compared proposed conventional wastewater systems, both large and small scale, with separation systems: one in which urine is handled separately and one in which black water is treated in a liquid composting process. The study showed that large economies of scale, in environmental terms, could be gained both for the operation and for the construction phase. The separation systems outperformed the conventional systems by showing lower emissions to water and more efficient recycling of nutrients to agriculture, especially of nitrogen but also of phosphorus. This implies that the use of separation systems could significantly reduce the need for, and hence the production of, mineral fertilizers and thus reduce the overall use of energy and phosphate minerals. The combination of large-scale wastewater treatment and urine separation was found to be especially advantageous in these respects. It is concluded that some of the most important environmental advantages of separation systems emerge only when models of wastewater systems are expanded to also include potential effects on the production of fertilizers.

A new data model has been developed to handle information relevant to site-specific life cycle assessments (LCA). The model is orientated towards GIS-representations of three generalised subsystems; the technical, the environmental and the social subsystems. The technical and environmental systems are mainly linked through flows of energy and matter, which are the causes of environmental impacts, which subsequently is perceived, evaluated and acted upon by the social subsystem. For all three systems important differences, attributable to geographical locations can be determined. With the new data model a possibility to enhance LCA and reach more relevant results emerge due to a higher site specificity. The high level data model is expressed as relations between different entities using the entity relationship (ER) modelling language. An existing LCA-database, SPINE, which is already used by several companies for decision support in product development, can be utilised since the structure of the database supports geographical information. So far, applications with GIS-data are limited, but examples of area specific LCA impact characterisation factors exist.

The sustainability of an urban water system was studied by application of a set of indicators that focuses on environmental issues and the efficiency and performance of the technical system. Temporal variations of indicators reflecting freshwater resources, drinking water, wastewater and by-products, were investigated for the water and wastewater system in Göteborg. Extended time series of precise data were available for quantitative indicators such as water consumption, energy use and discharge loadings. Qualitative indicators such as drinking water quality, sewage sludge quality and ecosystem status were more difficult to assess, a situation complicated by variations in criteria set in different countries. Although large urban water systems are often considered unsustainable, the set of indicators demonstrate that the water and wastewater system in Göteborg has moved towards a more sustainable status; recycling of nutrients to agriculture remains, though, a major concern.

Hydrokinetic turbines, targeting the kinetic energy of fast-flowing currents, are under development with some turbines already deployed at ocean sites around the world. It remains virtually unknown as to how these technologies affect fish, and rotor collisions have been postulated as a major concern. In this study the effects of a vertical axis hydrokinetic rotor with rotational speeds up to 70 rpm were tested on the swimming patterns of naturally occurring fish in a subtropical tidal channel. Fish movements were recorded with and without the rotor in place. Results showed that no fish collided with the rotor and only a few specimens passed through rotor blades. Overall, fish reduced their movements through the area when the rotor was present. This deterrent effect on fish increased with current speed. Fish that passed the rotor avoided the near-field, about 0.3 m from the rotor for benthic reef fish. Large predatory fish were particularly cautious of the rotor and never moved closer than 1.7 m in current speeds above 0.6 ms(-1). The effects of the rotor differed among taxa and feeding guilds and it is suggested that fish boldness and body shape influenced responses. In conclusion, the tested hydrokinetic turbine rotor proved non-hazardous to fish during the investigated conditions. However, the results indicate that arrays comprising multiple turbines may restrict fish movements, particularly for large species, with possible effects on habitat connectivity if migration routes are exploited. Arrays of the investigated turbine type and comparable systems should therefore be designed with gaps of several metres width to allow large fish to pass through. In combination with further research the insights from this study can be used for guiding the design of hydrokinetic turbine arrays where needed, so preventing ecological impacts.

Goal, Scope and Background: The EU 5th framework project OMNIITOX will develop models calculating characterisation factors for assessing the potential toxic impacts of chemicals within the framework of LCA. These models will become accessible through a web-based information system. The key objective of the OMNIITOX project is to increase the coverage of substances by such models. In order to reach this objective, simpler models which need less but available data, will have to be developed while maintaining scientific quality. Methods. Experience within the OMNIITOX project has taught that data availability and quality are crucial issues for calculating characterisation factors. Data availability determines whether calculating characterisation factors is possible at all, whereas data quality determines to what extent the resulting characterisation factors are reliable. Today, there is insufficient knowledge and/or resources to have high data availability as well as high data quality and high model quality at the same time. Results: The OMNIITOX project is developing two inter-related models in order to be able to provide LCA impact assessment characterisation factors for toxic releases for as broad a range of chemicals as possible: 1) A base model representing a state-of-the-art multimedia model and 2) a simple model derived from the base model using statistical tools. Discussion. A preliminary decision tree for using the OMNIITOX information system (IS) is presented. The decision tree aims to illustrate how the OMNIITOX IS can assist an LCA practitioner in finding or deriving characterisation factors for use in life cycle impact assessment of toxic releases. Conclusions and Outlook: Data availability and quality are crucial issues when calculating characterisation factors for the toxicity impact categories. The OMNIITOX project is developing a tiered model approach for this. It is foreseen that a first version of the base model will be ready in late summer of 2004, whereas a first version of the simple base model is expected a few months later