Download Inland Waterways – Procedures and Concepts to ensure

PIANC - International Navigation Association
5th World Water Forum
Session “Inland Waterborne Transport”,
Istanbul, Turkey 17th March 2009
Inland Waterways –
procedures and concepts
to ensure environmental sustainability
Harald Köthe
Chairman
PIANC EnviCom - Environmental Commission
Inland Waterways –
procedures and concepts
to ensure environmental
sustainability
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Environmental aspects, procedures and concepts
- Impacts from Vessels (emissions, impacts on water)
- Maintenance and Development of Inland Waterways
(Environmental Assessment Procedures,
Management of Dredged Material)
3. Outlook and conclusions
PIANC – Environmental Commission
is
• responsible for dealing with both broad and very specific navigation
sustainability and environmental risk-related issues of interest to PIANC,
• developing and providing environmental guidance for sustainable
waterborne transport, ports and waterways,
• responsible for generic environmental risk-related issues that cross cut
all PIANC areas, partners activities and the other PIANC commissions,
• networking/communicating with international organizations and
associations dealing with sustainability and environmental risk issues,
• initiating efforts to enhance PIANC membership and co-operation with
environmental specialists, and sharing of information on navigation and
the environment with Countries in Transition.
has
currently 30 members from 15 nations and 6 partner organizations
worldwide and meets 2 times per year
MDGs + Inland waterways transport (IWT)
UN Millennium Development Goals
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
•Goal 2: Archieve universal primary education
•Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Sustainable means:
…“meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
Vessel Emissions with Regard to Climate Change
4 % of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission anthropogenic:
Transportion sector: road ~23%,
maritime shipping ~2,7% (~ 843 million t CO2/y)
inland shipping: more less!
Vessel Emissions with Regard to Climate Change
• IWT is characterized by low energy consumption and
therefore a small carbon footprint
• despite:
measures for the reduction of GHG emissions
from IWT have been identified for implementation e.g.
- reduction of fuel consumption (e.g. speed reduction,
wind drive, onshore power supply in ports and harbours)
- use of sulphur reduced fuels (decision of IMO Oct 2008)
and alternative fuels
- new vessel motors and use of particle filters
(reduction of CO, HC, NOx, particles)
Vessel Emissions with Regard to Climate Change
- Mitigation:
keep and develop IWT as
the most climate-friendly
mode of transportation!
- Adaptation:
Prepare IWT for the
challenges of climate
change impacts
(e.g. more droughts,
more floods)
published in 2008
Impacts from Vessels on inland waters
PIANC report (2008) :
“Considerations to reduce Environmental Impacts of Vessels
on inland waterways” :
• deeper insight into the most important impacts and their ecological
effects, overview of all possible interactions
• vessels vary widely worldwide in size and propulsion type
• Moving vessels primarily induce drawdown, return
currents, transversal stern waves, and slope supply flows
• Impacts from moving vessels can include e.g.
- fish larvae mortality from propeller impact,
- larval stranding due to drawdown,
- resuspension and transport of sediments in littoral zones that
support aquatic macrophytes and spawning habitats,
- scour and/or burial of benthic organisms,
but are usually not a serious environmental problem.
Impacts from Vessels on inland waters
Mitigation measures
can include
- specific navigation rules,
- adapted vessel design,
- adapted fairway design,
- modified revetments and
alternative bank protection
measures.
Highly efficient mitigation
of operation related impacts
is in most cases
relatively easy to achieve!
And: Prosecution of illegal discharges (e.g. oil, fuel or other waste
substances) from ships must be accomplished forceful worldwide.
Maintenance and Development of Inland Waterways
Highly increased awareness about importance of the environment
and its natural resources for the life on earth within the last decades
Various environmental conventions and regulations came into force, that
directly or indirectly applies for inland waterways, e.g. in Europe
• Birds Directive (European Union, 1979)
• Habitats Directive (European Union, 1992)
• NATURA 2000: network of over 26,000 protected areas
covering all EU Member States and 20 % of its territory
backbone
of the EU's
internal policy
on biodiversity
protection
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (EU, 1997)
• Water Framework Directive - WFD (EU, 2000)
Maintenance and Development of Inland Waterways
Environmental Assessment Procedures for IWT
established now in various countries worldwide:
• “Guidelines for Sustainable Inland Waterways and
Navigation” (PIANC 2003), includes
• a recommended procedure for both strategic and project planning
based upon an assessment of the interactions among inland
navigation and the ecosystems
• aimed primarily at mid-level managers involved in Inland Waterborne
Transport (IWT) planning and operations,
• useful to a broader audience involved with navigation or water
management and gives attention to developing countries
• European Guidance document (ECMT, 2006):
“Inland Waterways & Environmental Protection”
Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures (EIA) for IWT
Key steps of the EIA procedure to guide IWT project owners
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
(structured approach, PIANC 2003 + ECMT, 2006):
Project Preparations
Notification to Competent Authority
Screening
Scoping
Environmental Studies
Submission of Environmental Information to Competent Authority
Review of Adequacy of Environmental Information
Consultation with Statutory Environmental Authorities, other
interested parties and the public
Consideration of the Environmental Information by the competent
Authorities before making Development Consent Decision
Announcement of Decision
Post-Decision Monitoring if Project is Granted Consent
Environmental Assessment Procedures for IWT
Several countries in Europe have derived specific national
plans of procedures for waterways from this general EU
EIA procedure (ECMT 2006),
e.g. France, Germany, Austria, Romania, Ukraine
Similar procedures exist in other part of the world
e.g. USA
Current new EU guidance documents in preparation
(EU, 2008/2009):
• „Estuaries and Navigation“ (expert group on estuaries)
• „Inland Waterways & NATURA 2000“ (expert group on rivers)
Environmental Assessment Procedures for IWT
EIA Procedure in France for large infrastucture projects
Environmental Assessment Procedures for IWT
EIA Procedure in Germany for construction projects
Management of dredged material and sediments
Dredging is the excavation, lifting,
transport of sediments and soils,
necessary for the construction,
maintenance of ports and waterways,
dikes, other non-IWT infrastructures.
Globally, many hundreds of millions
of cubic metres (m3) of sediments
are dredged annually, most is being
handled in coastal areas.
Sediments are a basic component
of habitats that support aquatic life.
Problem of sediment contamination:
Usually navigation is not the polluter but has to deal with the
contamination in maintenance and development projects. This increases
the costs and sometimes the duration of plan approval procedures.
Management of dredged material and sediments
Established dredged material guidance worldwide:
• Dredged Material Assessment Framework of the London
Convention (LC-DMAF):
conduct of a thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA) to
identify potential effects of a given dredging project prior to its execution
and to reduce uncertainty about the scales of those impacts.
• Joint efforts between PIANC + WODA (World Dredging Association) +
IADC (International Association of Dredging Companies):
- lots of valuable guiding reports about the environmentally-sound
handling and management of dredged material,
- e.g. most recent PIANC reports provide up-to-date guidance:
- “Dredging Management Practices for the Environment –
A Structured Selection Approach” (PIANC 2008),
- “Dredged Material as a Resource - Options and Constraints”
(PIANC 2008)
Outlook: Working WITH Nature – Concept (PIANC 2008)
What do we mean? (1)
• Maximising opportunities
WWN is an integrated process
which involves identifying and
exploiting win-win solutions
which are acceptable to both
project designers and
environmental stakeholders
early in a project when
flexibility is still possible.
• reducing frustrations, delays and costs.
By adopting a determined and proactive approach from pre-design
through to project completion, opportunities can be maximised and importantly - frustrations, delays and associated extra costs can be
reduced.
Outlook: Working WITH Nature - WWN
What do we mean? (2)
A different process considering environmental impacts:
Fully integrated approach before initial design.
Doing things in a different order:
1. establish project objectives
2. understand the environment
3. engage stakeholders to identify possible
win-win opportunities
4. prepare initial project design to benefit
navigation and nature
A new way of thinking
Requires a subtle - but important - evolution in the way
we approach project development
Conclusions
• IWT sector has up-to-date Environmental Assessment Procedures and
practical experiences available to ensure that IWT can act sustainable
as an environmentally-sound and climate-friendly water user.
• The environmental guidance and the experiences can be transfered to
(e.g. via PIANC) and adopted tailor-made by every country.
• Early involvement of the navigation sector in the development and
implementation of environmental regulations is important.
• Through Integrated Water Resources Management a balance can be
achieved between protecting and enhancing the river ecosystem and all
other water uses including navigation.
• Implement the Working with Nature Concept
to find win-win-solutions.
Ecology
• With proper use of the existing guidance,
IWT is and will remain the most environmentally
responsible and safe transportation mode!
Water
WFD
Navigation Econom
y
PIANC is
“The global organisation providing guidance for sustainable
waterborne transport, ports and waterways”.
Visit the PIANC homepage:
http://www.pianc.org
Thank you for your attention !
Harald Köthe
Chairman PIANC EnviCom