env sci sept/oct 06 - ies | · [email protected] views expressed in the journal are those of...

environmentalSCIENTIST

Journal of the Institution of Environmental Sciences

✦ How a campaign against particulates could help to boost further air quality improvement 4

✦ Why sustainable development should form part of every environmental scientist’s initial training 11

✦ Your chance to become a Chartered Environmentalist 14

✦ Why universities are competing for a declining pool of environmental science students 15

Air

quality

September/October 2006

2 Environmental Scientist • September/October 2006

environmental

SCIENTISTJournal of

the Institution ofEnvironmental Sciences

ISSN: 0966 8411Vol 15 No 2

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Views expressed in the journal are those of the authors and

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Early in 2007, the Institution isplanning to base a special edition ofEnvironmental Scientist on issuessurrounding nuclear powergeneration. This will be in light of aWhite Paper being released at theend of 2006, and the call for the useof ‘cleaner’ energy production froman increasing number of interestgroups.

The Institution is thereforeseeking written contributions on

this matter, from members orrelevant parties. Articles shouldconcentrate on the science or effectof nuclear power on ourprofessional lives, society or theenvironmental science field as awhole.

If you are interested in supplyingan article, or know of someone whomight wish to contribute, pleasesend an email to [email protected]

The Institution of EnvironmentalSciences has recently launched anew online e-newsletter entitledEnviroSci News.

This newsletter providesmembers with an update of what ishappening within the Institution,an overview of relevant news fromthe Environmental field, as well asinteresting and informative articlessupplied by our diverse member-ship.

Recent contributors have includ-ed Phil Cumming, EnvironmentalProject Manager for the London2012 Organising Committee(LOCOG), and Dr Mark Everard,Vice Chair of the IES. Since itsrelease in early September, the e-newsletter has received much

positive feedback from members.EnviroSci News would like to take

this opportunity to call for thecontribution of articles for the e-newsletter. We are constantly onthe lookout for informative articlesrelating to the field ofEnvironmental Science, as well asbiographies from our most activemembers.

We hope you get the most out ofEnviroSci News, and will continue tostrive to provide our members withinformative and topical news withinthe environment sector.

All enquiries for contributions, aswell as suggestions and comments,should be directed to [email protected]. Please don’t forget toupdate your email address with us!

LAUNCH OF ENVIROSCI NEWS ONLINE E-NEWSLETTER

NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION

September/October 2006 • Environmental Scientist 3

CAROLYN ROBERTS considers the importance

of getting across the message about the value

of environmental science

Environmental scientists are becoming more andmore embedded into the political economy of theUK and beyond. Issues such as climate change,ecological adjustments, urban flooding and thesustainable management of business and industry

require us to liaise with a wide spectrum of stakeholdersin the public, private and voluntary sectors. Rather thanseeking to distance ourselves from potential aggravation,or to maintain a purist view of ourselves only as‘dispassionate scientists’, we need to be sensitive to ourresponsibilities, and aware of communication styles andthe differences in impact that these may promote amongthose who need to hear what we say. We also need topromote effective public and governmental educationabout environmental sustainability, seeking out everyopportunity effectively to press home our messages.

The Society for the Environment is increasinglyproviding a platform for communication on UKenvironmental matters, and in order better to exploit thisopportunity the Institution is starting a round ofdiscussions with other constituent professional bodies.Consideration is being given to developing closerworking relationships, maximising the opportunities forbringing effective pressure to bear nationally andinternationally, extending the opportunities for staffdevelopment for environmental practitioners, whileensuring that the distinctive contribution of theenvironmental scientist continues to be recognised.

To the same end, Council has agreed that theInstitution will join the European Federation ofAssociations of Environmental Professionals, which againwill raise our profile within the European Union, fosterinternational levels of activity, and provide additionalservices for members. You will receive more informationabout this initiative in a forthcoming mailing, and

Council is keen to have feedback from readers. The multiple competencies required by today’s

environmental professionals are very well represented inthe personal portfolio of Emma Bennett, the firstInstitution of Environmental Sciences member tocomplete the full ‘portfolio and interview’ route toachieving Chartered Status, last month. Emma has had avaried and fascinating career, with particularresponsibilities for coastal management, water quality andcommunity involvement in both public and privatesectors. You will be able to read more about her work andviews in the next edition of the journal.

She joins an astonishingly diverse set of theInstitution’s Members and Fellows who are now entitledto use the coveted ‘CEnv’ post-nominal, and theInstitution’s Council takes this opportunity to wish her,and other practitioners, well. We hope that their pathwaywill be followed by many others. P■ Carolyn Roberts FRGS FIEnvSc CEnv ILTM is Chair

of the Institution of Environmental Sciences andAssociate Dean of the Faculty of Education at theCentre for Active Learning in Geography at theUniversity of Gloucestershire.

A MESSAGE FROM THE IES CHAIR

BERNARD FISHER and DAVID MUIRsuggest that action against

particulates would be an effective driver for local action

to improve air quality

Recently the Government released its new air qualitystrategy for consultation. Any discussion of the UKAir Quality Strategy Review needs to put thedocument issued on 5 April 2006 in context. This isthe fourth document in a series of Strategy Reviews,

starting with the National Air Quality Strategy in 1997,which set up a series of objectives for eight pollutants1. Theaim of the strategy was to ensure that air quality met oraimed to achieve these objectives. The revised Strategy ofJanuary 2000 contained revised objectives and the StrategyAddendum of February 2003 introduced tighter objectivesand different objectives in different parts of the UK.

The current review differs from the earlier two in that,instead of laying out an objectives driven strategy, it ismore of an evaluation of whether the Strategy has beeneffective in achieving health benefits. The objectives formany of the pollutants are already being met andtherefore these are not discussed further in this article.For these pollutants objectives will be retained to ensurethat problems do not return and it is expected that theywould be strengthened if clear evidence for effects,especially at lower concentrations, was demonstrated.

Further health benefits are potentially very large; it hasbeen estimated that in 2005 man-made particulate airpollution reduced average life expectancy by eightmonths; less in some cases, more in others. Moreoverwhat has emerged is that for certain pollutants long termstrends are flattening or even at some locations reversing.It appears that one is reaching a region of diminishingreturns. For NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and PM10 (particlesof aerodynamic size less than 10 µm on average, 1 µm = 10-6 metres), achieving objectives appears to be difficult asthere are no obvious easy ways of making further largeimprovements. The present strategy review also extendsthe time frame from 2010, as in the original strategy, outto 2020 and starts to include some reference to climatechange effects.

The structure of the 2006 review is to use models topredict concentrations out to 2020 using a baseline, whichassumes that policy measures are adopted, and forecasts

for air quality improvements if further policy measures areintroduced. One could imagine a whole range of potentialpolicy measures, but focus to the review has been given byconsidering a simple range of measures with emphasis ontechnological improvements mainly associated with roadtransport. It turns out that the most effective measures interms of estimated benefit are of this type and are broadlyof the kind: incentives for early uptake of Euro standards(for road vehicles), reducing emissions from smallcombustion plants and reducing emissions from shipping.A total of 14 individual measures are evaluated along withthree scenarios combining two or more of the individualmeasures. One of these, designated Q in the review, ispredicted to give considerable benefits and because of theimportance placed on this measure it is discussed in moredetail later. It is recognised that measures can havebenefits in other ways apart from air quality and they canhave qualitative benefits, which are not possible toquantify in monetary terms. The 2006 strategy review alsogives greater emphasis to the effects of air pollution onecosystems and begins to address the links between airquality and climate change.

Particles and exposure reductionIn this article, however, we focus particular attention onone aspect of the review, the approach to particles, whichis seen as rather novel compared with the objectivesdefined in earlier strategies. It was recognised in theearlier strategies that particulate matter has no thresholdfor health effects, nor were these species dependent, sothat any reduction in total particulate concentrationwould produce an improvement in terms of life yearssaved. One change in the 2006 Strategy revision has beenthat smaller particles PM2.5 (particles of aerodynamic sizeless than 2.5 µm on average), which would be included inany PM10 measurement, are now seen as being moreharmful. There are currently no objectives for PM2.5 andit is not widely monitored in the UK at present. Thetreatments of PM10 in earlier Strategies set objectives forPM10 in terms of a numerical value which should not beexceeded, accepting that particulate matter concentrationscould not be reduced to zero everywhere, if anywhere.

What is new is a change in approach to an ‘exposurereduction’ method and this is worth elaborating as itshows how thinking about achieving environmentalobjectives can develop. The review of past trends ofmeasurements has confirmed that reducingconcentrations of particles by any single measure can beintractable. One wishes to set an objective, which acts as adriver towards reducing concentrations, but at the sametime this has the effect that attention is focused towardsareas of exceedence. Eliminating these areas of exceedencedoes not necessarily have the desired effect of generallyreducing particle concentrations, which is what is


AIR QUALITY – IS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SUSTAINABLE?

1. The eight pollutants are sulphur dioxide, nitrogendioxide, particles as PM10, benzene, 1,3-butadiene,ozone, carbon monoxide and lead.

desirable for a pollutant, which has no safe threshold ofeffect. Hence a proposal has been put forward, which alsohas support in European negotiations on theimplementation of Directives, which is based on theassessment of the exposure of the population as a whole,to particles.

The starting point is that the exposure reduction isformulated in terms of the smaller particle fraction PM2.5which has implications for the way measurements aremade. Based on measurements in urban background site(these are sites which are neither near the roadside nor inrural areas) the objective is that between 2010 and 2020the exposure of the population to ambient levels of PM2.5should reduce by 15%. The 15% has been chosen to act asa reduction since it has been estimated that existing policyshould reduce levels by about 10% and the extra policymeasures, such as the combined measure Q, would lead toan extra 5% reduction. There is also merit in addressingthe PM2.5 fraction in this way rather than PM10 in thatthis fraction is potentially more amenable to control thanthe PMCoarse = ([ PM10] – [ PM2.5]) fraction.

This is illustrated explicitly by Table 1, which is takendirectly from page 118 of Volume 1 of the Strategydocument. It compares the benefits achieved by a numberof alternative measures. The baseline is the predictedeffect of current measures already agreed, some of which,for example tighter vehicle standards, will take time towork through the system before they are fully effective.The general principle was to include in projections thosepolicies or commitments that are already in place or thoseon which agreement has been reached, even if fulladministrative procedures have not been finalised.

Combined measure Q involves three actions: 1. a programme of incentives introduced to the UK in

which Euro V standards are applied to light duty vehi-cles from 2006 onwards, and Euro VI standards areapplied to heavy duty vehicles from 2010 onwards;

2. a series of incentives to increase the use of low emissionvehicles to replace petrol and diesel cars; and

3. a reduction in SO2 and NOx from small combustion plant.

These measures and others described in the review areones which could be implemented and costed, acceptingthe inevitable uncertainties in this kind of policyevaluation. It is clear that this is a national review and sothe impacts of the large number of other possible, localmeasures cannot be evaluated in the same way. It is amatter for regret that the Department for Transportrecently announced the end of some of the incentiveschemes for cleaning up vehicle emissions.

Example of strategy evaluationThe table shows four alternative ways of assessing therelative benefits of proposed measures. The first one is thepercentage of the population exposed to concentrationgreater than 20 µgm-3 (microgrammes per cubic metre).This is the current National Air Quality Strategyobjective for the UK (excluding London and Scotland),which is the hardest to achieve. The equivalent levels forLondon and Scotland are 18 and 23 respectively. It is alsoan indicative value in an EU Directive.

The benefit can also be assessed in terms of the lifeyears saved. These are large numbers. However theyroughly equate to a reduction in life expectancy of a fewweeks.

The exposure reductions are relative measures ofimprovements expressed as percentages based on thereduction in the estimated concentration multiplied bythe population density over all urban areas relative to thebase year. A large percentage reduction indicates a largeimprovement. The assessments are undertaken separatelyfor PM10 and PM2.5. The PM2.5 is the amount ofparticulate in the smaller size fraction.

Scenario Z does not correspond to any actual measuresto control emissions. Instead it represents a hypotheticalsituation in which all concentrations above 20 µgm-3 havebeen reduced to 20, with all other concentrations stayingthe same. It represents a situation in which measures aretaken on a local basis just to reduce concentrations in thehot spots defined as areas where concentrations are above20 µgm-3. It is hypothetical because many of the


Improvementmeasure

Baseline

Combined measure Q

Scenario Z

Percentage of UKpopulation

above 20 µgm-3

(background areas only)

in 2020

26.7

11.9

0

Public healthimprovementsexpressed as

additional million life years savedcompared to

baseline in 2020

0

3.25

1.57

Percentage exposurereduction in urban

areas between 2010 and 2020,

PM10

6.7

11.7

10.1

Percentage exposurereduction in urban

areas between 2010 and 2020,

PM2.5

11.5

17

13.4

Table 1: Comparison of measures using four different criteria


components of PM10 are long-range, that is they travellong distances before being removed from theatmosphere, so that a source control measure does notnecessarily have a localised effect. It is not known atpresent which component of particulate matter has themost damaging effect so that each µgm-3 is treated in thesame way, regardless of whether it is soil dust, sea salt, anorganic compound or carbon, sulphate or nitrate, metaletc. The increased focus on PM2.5 would mean asignificant change in the way many local authorities didtheir monitoring.

Figure 1 shows a picture of the inside and outside of amonitoring site run by Bristol City during acomprehensive trial comparing different methods ofsampling for particulate matter. It turns out that evenwhen monitors are placed side by side different results areobtained and it is not easy to derive a simple correctionfactor to enable readings from one instrument to beconverted into the equivalent reading from another.

Table 1 also illustrates how the other assessments in thereview have been undertaken. They all rely on acomparison between projected concentrations and airquality objectives, expressed in a variety of ways, such as interms of background air concentrations or roadsideconcentrations, with the aim being to see how close thecountry as a whole can get to a desirable outcome. Since forparticles there is no safe limit, there will always be a healthdisbenefit, unless particles could be removed from theatmosphere completely, which is an impossible aspiration.

The question of exposure reduction reopens a certainquestion, which has been glossed over in earlier strategyreviews. The review nowhere considers the thornyquestion of personal exposure, which is the realmechanism of exposure, since people generally spendmost of their time indoors particularly in the case of theyoung or elderly, who may be at greatest risk.

A new kind of objectiveThe conclusion to be drawn from the table is that measureQ achieves notable benefit to human health by 2020,however it is judged, but does not totally eliminate theproblem. The hypothetical scenario Z, which removes allareas with high concentrations, does not do as much forhealth improvements. This leads to the proposal for anovel approach to this otherwise intractable problem. Itrequires that on the base of measurements averaged over asuitable long period to remove meteorological variability,a new ‘exposure-reduction’ objective should be introducedfor PM2.5, because of its greater health significance. Thedraft Strategy proposes a 15% reduction in PM2.5 at urbanbackground monitoring sites between 2010 and 2010.Although such a reduction is welcome, the figure of 15%does seem to reflect what can be achieved without much,if any, additional action.

The proposal would be applied on a national level. Therole of the local authorities, which hitherto has been veryimportant, would thus be diminished. Local authoritiesare required to designate Air Quality Management Areason the basis of exceedences(s) of objectives in specifiedlocations. Since exposure reduction on its own could leadto PM concentrations remaining high in some areas,notably in the centres of large urban areas, there is aproposal for a so-called backstop objective of 25 µgm-3 forPM2.5 to be achieved everywhere by 2010. The choice of25 µgm-3 arises because of the current annual meanobjective of 40 µgm-3 PM10, to be achieved everywhere by2004, which has been successful, and because PM2.5 isroughly 5/8 of 40 µgm-3 by mass. In Scotland the current18 µgm-3 objective for PM10 is a legal objective, and so thebackstop objective for Scotland has to be chosen to be12 µgm-3 PM2.5. One might well argue that theproliferation of objectives is unnecessarily complicatedand harms the successful implementation of air quality

improvements. A local authority elected member mightnot have the patience to listen to the logic behind thearguments for setting objectives, though he or she wouldappreciate the principle of improving air quality.

Implications for local authorities The key question for local authorities is how to continueto fulfil their role in the future. Local authorities currentlyhave as part of Local Air Quality Management duties theresponsibility to review and assess air quality in theirareas, an activity undertaken or managed by localauthority staff. Over 180 Air Quality Management Areashave been declared, the majority of which are due to likelyexceedences of the air quality objectives for NO2 andPM10 as a result of road transport, either on localauthority roads or the strategic road network. Theseobjectives are set in order to tackle local air qualityproblems where air quality objectives are exceeded. The2006 Strategy Review continues to recognise that localauthorities have an important role to play in helpingGovernment and the devolved administrations delivercleaner air. They will still be required to take action, byimplementing measures within an action plan in pursuit ofthe air quality objectives in the designated air qualitymanagement areas. The question which arises under thenew arrangements is how much of a driver is theretowards local air quality improvement?

Action and action plansThe 2006 Strategy Review documents summarise whatlocal authorities have done. Over 110 local authorities haveso far produced action plans. Local authorities in Englandare being encouraged to integrate their air quality actionplans into Local Transport Plans, where road transport isthe major source of local exceedence of the air qualityobjective. The content of action plans can vary from oneauthority to another, and depends on the main sources ofthe pollutants of concern. It is assumed that localauthorities know best how to tackle local problems, butthere are some common elements to many of the actionplans, especially those relating to road transport.

Action plans comprise local measures, which contain;1. commitments, such as putting air quality at the heart of

the decision making process, particularly in other poli-cy areas such as planning decisions or including airquality in the unitary development plan; promotinggreen travel plans; working closely with the HighwaysAgency and/or the Environment Agencies on emissionsreduction measures; sustainable freight distributionstrategies; school and business travel plans etc;

2. measures, such as local traffic management measures tolimit access to, or re-route traffic away from problemareas; Low Emission Zones; using cleaner-fuelled vehiclesin the authority’s own fleet; bus or fleet operators using

cleaner, quieter vehicles, or more flexible freight deliveryarrangements; congestion charging schemes and/orworkplace parking levies; park and ride schemes;improved public transport; roadside emissions testing etc;

3. raising awareness and generating behavioural change byinforming members of the public about air qualityissues via local newsletters or other media; publicitycampaigns, workshops and stakeholder dialogue, etc.These local measures could be part of a future national

strategy. However it is difficult to evaluate them using the2006 Strategy Review methodology. Some attempt hasbeen made and studies undertaken in support of the 2006Strategy Review conclude that the most successfulmeasures in delivering health and economic benefits fromair quality improvements are usually larger or citywideschemes. This is different to the focus on reducing airquality exceedences, where the location of emissions isimportant. Specifically targeting particular roads ortransport corridors (usually the air quality hotspots ofconcern where objectives are exceeded) leads to greatestprogress towards eliminating objective exceedences,which has essentially been the local authority role up tonow. Moreover, it is also likely that improvements in airquality from many local measures will decline in futureyears, as the general traffic fleet becomes cleaner,assuming that traffic does not grow in city centres, wheremany of the air quality management areas are situated.

Accepting that the role of local schemes directed atemission improvements may decline in importance in future,the local schemes thought to bring the highest improvementsin air quality and health benefits are Low Emission Zones,early scrappage schemes and local motorway speedrestrictions. Local schemes whose primary aims do notinclude the reduction of air pollution (such as improvementto public transport), have low air quality benefits comparedto the costs of the scheme. However since these schemes areimplemented mainly to address other concerns (such ascongestion or improvement in accessibility) any air qualitybenefits would be complementary. There are a number ofdifferent local transport measures that can successfullydeliver improvements to air quality at a local level. It isimportant that air quality benefits should be taken intoaccount when considering proposals aimed at improving thelocal urban environment more generally (such as othertransport measures included in local transport plans or anyother spatial development plans formulated at local andregional level). An example would be to consider air qualityin the design of sustainable communities, for new housing inthe South East of England.

A local air quality strategy review?The evaluation of the Local Air Quality Managementsystem in 2003 concluded that the system was successful.The recent encouragement to integrate air quality action


plans into the second round of Local Transport Plans forEnglish local authorities, shows that the Government andthe devolved administrations remain committed to LocalAir Quality Management as a tool to deliver improved airquality. The third round of the Local Air QualityManagement system started in April 2006 and the UKGovernment and the devolved administrations, arecommitted to re-evaluate the role of the Local Air QualityManagement system in 2010.

The local authority role to promote local measures isweakened by the 2006 Strategy Review. The future role oflocal authorities in tackling hotspots is unclear. By thisstage in the local air quality management process oneexpects that there should be more specific treatment of thevalue of local powers. There is also the recognition thattechnical measures, such as end of pipe technologies, areshowing diminishing returns. Greater emphasis is neededon non-technical measures of precisely the kind beingsuggested in Action Plans. One must therefore concludethat the 2006 Strategy Review does not give enoughweight to the future role of these so-called softermeasures. There is also the question of public reaction toa shift away from dealing with hot spots that are perceivedas affecting a number of individuals to addressing themore wide ranging question of exposure reduction.

What will happen, if the strategy is adopted, is that alocal authority cannot designate an Air QualityManagement Area for particulate matter on the basis ofexposure reduction. The backstop objective of 25 µgm-3

PM2.5 will be too weak to require any additional action toreduce PM concentrations in all but a very few locationsexcept in Scotland where the 12 µgm-3 objective will drivepolicy. NO2 will be the driver for air qualityimprovements in urban areas in the rest of the countryeven though particulate matter is the pollutant of greatestconcern. For England and Wales one might consider amore ambitious target for PM2.5, such as setting thebackstop and exposure reduction objectives as 20 µgm-3

and 20% respectively, would have the desired effect ofretaining the best elements of national and local air qualitymanagement.

Other issues in the strategy reviewThere are other issues in the 2006 Strategy Review whichare not discussed in the article, such as the protection ofecosystems and ammonia. The purpose has been to focuson implementation of the Strategy and the future localauthority role.

It is also a consideration that climate change as opposedto air quality is now a powerful political driver foremissions reduction and the Strategy Review ought toreflect this. One concept that is gaining credence is thatgreater effort is required to harmonise the management ofair quality and climate concerns both at local and

national/international levels.Although the assessments and projections are based on

the best available knowledge, it would also be prudent toconsider alternative scenarios. For example, technologicalsolutions may not deliver as anticipated, or whereconsumer and societal trends impact detrimentally uponair quality.

ConclusionsThe 2006 Strategy Review needs to consider morecarefully how a national strategy works in relation to localaction. One needs to retain sufficiently challenging localobjectives to ensure that progress on local air qualitymanagement is continued. This means setting a stricterbackstop objective for particulate matter, which acts as aneffective driver for local action.

A Local Air Quality Strategy Review needs to beundertaken, which would give national advice on theopportunities for effective softer air quality improvementmeasures, such as financial incentives, energy efficiency,demand management and behavioural change. P

ReferencesAll the information referred to in this article is availableon the web page and links:www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/airqualstratreview/

index.htmSpecific information is given in the following threedocuments:Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland.A consultation document on options for further improvement inair quality.Volume 1: Main consultation document.Volume 2: Technical annex and Regulatory Impact Assessment.An economic analysis to inform the Air Quality Strategyreview consultation – Third report of the InterdepartmentalGroup on Costs and Benefits.See also:Laxen D. and Moorcroft S., 2006, Options for an

Exposure-Reduction Approach to Air Quality Managementin the UK, Air Quality Consultants report.

Watkiss P., 2004, An evaluation of the Air Quality Strategy:Additional Analysis of Local Road Transport Measures,AEA Technology report.

For health effects see:www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/comeap/pdfs/

interimlongtermeffects2006.pdf■ Bernard Fisher works in Risk and Forecasting at the

Environment Agency, Reading, and David Muir in theEnvironmental Quality Unit of Bristol City Council.The views expressed in this paper are those of theauthors and are not necessarily those of the organisa-tions for which they work.


BERNARD FISHER, Chairman of IAQM, describes the role of

the environmental scientist in improving air quality

The Institute for Air Quality Management (IAQM) isa division of the Institution of EnvironmentalSciences (IES) set up to promote the practice of airquality management. Since the publication of thefirst National Air Quality Strategy in 1997, there

has been a framework in this country for improving airquality, supported by underlying national and Europeanlegislation. The aim is to meet objectives chosen so as toprotect human health and ecological systems. The aim issimple, but the practice is complex and rather technical.

The national capability has been advanced by theidentification of the main pollutants of concern, thesetting of standards, the establishment of emissionsinventories, making measurements and modelling usingemissions inventories, leading to the prediction ofconcentrations, so that trends can be assessed and futurepolicy determined to bring about improvements. Detailedguidance at a local level have been provided to assist in theproduction of air quality reviews. This has led to the needfor the air quality management professional.

Ultimately there is the requirement for action, often inrelation to transport plans. The professional needs a widerange of skills and ultimately the ability to persuadedecision makers. The subject is technically involved but is

a legal requirement, arguably the most technicallyadvanced legislation to implement, but does not alwayslead directly to action as seen in the new draft NationalStrategy for which 100-plus action plans were reviewed.

Local measures included in action plans range from: acorporate commitment to putting air quality at the heartof the decision making process, particularly in otherpolicy areas, such as planning decisions or including airquality in the unitary development plan; to practical trafficmanagement measures to limit access to, or re-routetraffic away from problem areas and in the longer term,perhaps, congestion charging schemes and/or workplaceparking levies. One role of the air quality managementprofessional in the future is to make these plans more of areality.

However, compared with other environmental areas,air quality management has a clear structure and purpose.It is recognised that for air quality there are large costbenefits, of concern mostly to people who live in urbanareas.

Air quality practice can be rather procedural, butinvolves wider, more subjective issues. This is why theIAQM values its place within the Institution ofEnvironmental Sciences. For example, there has beenincreasing concern about the overall environmentalquality of a locality (noise, litter, green space, etc),particularly in socially deprived areas.

The UK Government’s Sustainable DevelopmentStrategy published in March 2005 contained a list ofindicators relating to environmental effects (stresses) thatthe population of the country were subject to. Some arerelated to consumption, such as resource use, some arerelated to the adverse effects of modern life, e.g. emissionsfrom road transport, some are related to social factors, e.g.employment and housing, some are, as yet, undefined,such as social justice/inequality/local environmentalquality.

It would be valuable to be able to establish a commonlyaccepted set of these indices to cover the naturalenvironment. It is anticipated that each of the variablesrepresents a way of measuring a distinct environmentaleffect. The Environment Agency has attempted toidentify the worst (high priority) environmental areasaccording to local wards, based on criteria related to

1. ambient air pollution, 2. industrial airborne releases, 3. green space, 4. bio-diversity, 5. derelict land, 6. flood risk, 7. river water quality, 8. street cleanliness, 9. road traffic noise, and 10. fly tipping.

Figure 1:Theconsultationdocumentdescribingthe draftNational AirQualityStrategy onwhich viewsare activelysought.


AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

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To undertake this task in detail would involve most of thespecialist areas of the IES.

Readers of the Environmental Scientist with interests inthese environmental areas should be involved inpromoting the overall environmental quality of life. Themain issue with many of the individual factors in anenvironmental index is the choice of the proximity factorrelating environmental data with a distinct effect on thelocal quality of life. For air quality this is straightforwardand is the defined by the model relating an emission to theambient concentration. In the air quality managementcommunity this is described by the dispersion modelselected, which while the selection may still be open todiscussion, is a well established field (see the DispersionModellers Users Group).

It may be wishful thinking to suppose that practitionerswithin the Institution of Environmental Sciences inwidely differing environmental areas should be working

together. However, I am encouraged by the way that theEPSRC Sustainable Urban Environment (SUE)programme has promoted science engagement with, andresponsiveness to, the needs of local communities,through its is Citizen Science for Sustainability (SuScit)Programme.

Further information about the Institute of Air QualityManagement can be found on the IES and IAQM websites, and about SuScit on its web site. P

Web sitesInstitute of Air Quality Management:

www.iaqm.co.ukInstitution of Environmental Sciences:

www.ies-uk.org.ukUK Dispersion Modellers User Group (UK-DMUG):

www.nsca.org.ukCitizen Science for Sustainability (SuScit) Programme:

www.suscit.org.uk


JOHN BAINES outlines views aboutthe place of sustainable development

in the initial training of environmental scientists

Environmental professionals increasingly need to beknowledgeable about and competent in sustainabledevelopment. There is strong support frommembers of IES for the inclusion of sustainabledevelopment in environmental degree programmes.

Research undertaken for the Higher Education AcademySubject Centre for Geography, Earth and EnvironmentalSciences (GEES) shows that while environmental degreeprogrammes provide a useful broad base on which tobuild, graduates need to take further education andtraining to be better qualified to integrate sustainabledevelopment principles into their chosen environmentalprofession.

About the researchThe primary aim of this research project was to identifycurriculum priorities for the initial training ofprofessionals in the field of environmental sciences andrelated subjects to enable them better to integratesustainable development principles into their professionalwork. A questionnaire survey of 350 members of the IESwas undertaken to find out if sustainable developmentknowledge and skills were required in their professionalwork and, if so, how well their undergraduateprogrammes had equipped them for this. Forty-sixrespondents completed the questionnaires. Twelve hadstudied Environmental Science/Studies and the remaindera related degree. Thirty-three had a further academicqualification.

It was decided not to be too prescriptive about theinterpretation of the phrase ‘sustainable development’.Although there are numerous definitions, there issufficient consensus about key concepts for there to be ashared understanding of what sustainable development isall about, especially among this target group. Theresearcher considered the research was best served byallowing respondents to use their own interpretation,albeit guided by the provision of some key concepts. A fewrespondents appeared to interpret sustainabledevelopment only in ecological and environmental terms.The social aspects seemed to have a low priority.

The questionnaire required respondents to assess thevalue of their undergraduate programmes to theapplication of sustainable development principles in theircurrent and previous employment posts. Respondentswere asked to name their undergraduate programme andthe date of their graduation.

Respondents had received their degrees over the past40 years but sustainable development did not start tobecome a mainstream concept until after the publicationof Our Common Future1 in 1987. However, mostrespondents who graduated pre-1990 recognised thatparts of their programmes were covering environmental,social and economic matters and were therefore coveringaspects of sustainability in all but name.

The findings

Yes to sustainable developmentWithout exception, all respondents agreed thatsustainable development should be included inundergraduate programmes and some expanded theiranswer with comments including that it needed to beappropriate and rigorous. The universal ‘Yes’ from somany different subject areas suggests there is a high levelof support from environmental professionals for theinclusion of sustainable development in undergraduateprogrammes.

Sustainable development contentRespondents were asked to specify if the following topicswere included in their programmes and if so whether in aminor or substantial manner.■ Environmental and ecological aspects■ Economic aspects■ Social/cultural aspects■ Systems thinking (inter-relationships)■ Future responsibilities■ Equity ■ Practical aspects, eg legislation, company policies and

practice, application of technology, standards■ Other aspects Respondents mentioned some very specific topics underother aspects, including: ■ Land contamination and pollution, ■ Resource management ■ Diffusion and dispersion ■ Environmental impact assessment ■ Management of flood risk ■ Geographic planning theory■ Environmental psychology■ Field work


INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLESINTO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

1 Our Common Future, The World Commission onEnvironment and Development, Oxford University Press1987.

■ Energy, soil science, geology, environmental chemistry,atmospheric chemistryThe responses from those who graduated up to and

including 1990 were analysed separately from thosegraduating after 1990. As one would expect,undergraduate degree programmes after 1990 show amarked increase in sustainable development content.Before 1990 environmental and ecological topics andissues were covered well. These remained important after1990, but there was a rise in the study of social and moralissues, albeit still minor parts of programmes. Thegreatest growth was in the practical aspects of sustainabledevelopment such as legislation, company policies andpractice, application of technology and achieving relevantstandards. Surprisingly only two post-1990 environmentalscience programmes provided substantial covering ofsystems thinking, a major competency identified byrespondents if professionals are to adopt an holisticapproach to sustainable development issues.

Need for sustainable development knowledge and skillsRespondents were asked if they needed sustainabledevelopment knowledge and skills in both their currentand previous employment. Fifty-three per cent ofrespondents scored eight2 or more for their current postand 33% for their previous post. When asked how welltheir undergraduate programme had prepared them forthis aspect of their work, only three respondents in theircurrent posts scored 8 or above. Eight gave a score ofzero. In their previous posts, out of 19 responses, norespondents gave a score of 8 or more and four scoredzero. It appears that undergraduate programmes are notproviding specific knowledge and skills to cope with thesustainable development aspects of the jobs they moveinto. Given the range of posts that respondents filled, it isprobably unrealistic to expect undergraduate programmesto provide comprehensive coverage of sustainabledevelopment. What some did say was that the degreeprovided a sound basis of sustainable development onwhich to build specific knowledge and skills later asneeded.

There was a minority opinion that newly qualifiedgraduates may have sufficient knowledge and skills insustainable development to integrate sustainabledevelopment principles into their professional work, butthat senior management fails to provide opportunities forthem to do so. This perceived obstacle was not exploredfurther.

What knowledge and skills?When asked to consider what were the sustainabledevelopment knowledge and competencies/skills requiredin their current post, responses fell into three broadcategories: knowledge related, skills related and attituderelated.

KnowledgeThe knowledge competencies listed by respondents wereoften very closely tied to their professional work, such asknowledge of waste minimisation and recycling, andknowledge of flood hydrology and management of floodrisk. Others were less specific but still orientated towardsparticular professions or areas of work, for example havinga good knowledge of environmental managementmethods. There were also other responses that suggestedthere is some general background knowledge that is usefulin most of the professions. These included: ■ Possessing a sound knowledge and understanding of

natural systems and their importance.■ Having an understanding of the meaning of sustainable

development and a good knowledge of sustainabledevelopment issues.

■ Being familiar with the UK’s sustainable developmentpolicies and mechanisms including appropriatelegislation.

■ Understanding the impacts of human activities and themeans, such as environmental impact assessments, ofreducing their damaging impacts.

■ Having a broad knowledge of the environmental,ecological, economic, political and socio/culturalcomponents of sustainable development and howactions in one area affect another.

■ Having awareness and understanding of a ’systemsthinking’ approach and its benefits to planning andimplementing projects to make them more sustainable.

■ Being aware of the costs and benefits of implementingsustainable development in their professional area.

SkillsMany of the skills cited by respondents were appropriatefor particular professions or areas of interest, for example,how to do an environmental impact assessment. Othermore generalised skills were cited too. Many recognisedthat effective sustainable development actions develop outof inclusive processes that require good social andcommunications skills to enable them to work with arange of stakeholders. Other important skills cited werethe ability to think holistically and to work acrossdisciplinary boundaries. Underlying many of thestatements seemed to be a suggestion that professionalsshould be able to understand the sustainable developmentcontext of their work and adapt or use their professionalskills appropriately. One respondent suggested, ‘Perhaps


2 Using a scale of 0-10 (0 = not at all, 10 = completely).


you should be asking why some graduates don’t use theirskills?’

Specific task related skills included:■ Be able to understand and assess risk and then apply

appropriate measures to reduce unwanted risks.■ Be able to carry out social impact assessments.■ Be able to use environmental management systems and

auditing techniques of sustainable objectives andtargets.

■ Be able to facilitate local decision making by differentsectors of the indigenous society.

■ Have the social skills, including the ability tocommunicate with all levels of stakeholders.

■ Be able to use assessment and evaluation techniques,including quantitative assessment methods.

■ Be able to deliver training for sustainable development.

Values and attitudesSustainable development is not only a technical issue, it isa moral one as well. For example, it considers issues inrelation to equity, future generations and participation.Although not specifically requested, many respondentslisted values and attitudes. They mentioned remainingobjective, being fair to all and managing resources now tosustain future generations.

What can we learn from this?The research showed there is strong support for theinclusion of sustainable development in undergraduateenvironmental programmes. At the moment it is theperception of former students that there is a huge gapbetween what undergraduate degrees in environmentalsubjects provide in relation to sustainable developmentand the sustainable development knowledge and skillsrequired by environmental professionals. However, therewas also recognition that undergraduate programmesprovided a basis on which to build sustainabledevelopment knowledge and skills appropriate to theirprofessional work at a later date.

Undergraduate programmes are becoming moreresponsive to the sustainable development agenda but donot yet provide a coherent or comprehensiveunderstanding of sustainable development. The emphasisis on environmental and ecological aspects and otherimportant aspects are considered in a minor way or not atall. The research has identified some areas of knowledge,skills and processes that could provide students with abroad but rigorous understanding of sustainabledevelopment.

A number of respondents working in the private sectorcommented that their situation is not conducive tointegrating sustainable development principles into theirprofessional work. Ignorance and perceived economicpriorities provided obstacles at middle and senior

management levels. They suggested that otherprofessionals need sustainable development training aswell if progress is to be made.

Some personal reflections The following statements are the personal reflections ofthe researcher but arise out of the findings of the research.They are offered to assist a further discussion of thereport.

Environmental undergraduate programmes focus onthe science of the environment and the importance ofusing this science in addressing global problems such asclimate change, pollution and natural disasters. Suchprogrammes are not claiming to address sustainabledevelopment issues explicitly yet assert they are critical tofinding solutions to issues such as climate change,pollution and habitat loss that are part of a sustainabledevelopment agenda. Advocates of sustainabledevelopment hold that such problems can only beresolved if economic, social, cultural and political factorsare considered as well.

Those providing environmental sciences and relatedcourses need to be explicit about how far their purposeand learning outcomes intend to prepare students fortackling sustainable development issues.

Those that intend to extend their programme into amore coherent and comprehensive programme forsustainable development will need to:■ Build on sustainable development learning received at

school■ Provide a holistic and academically rigorous

understanding of sustainable development■ Demonstrate the relevance of sustainable development

to their area of study and future employmentopportunities

■ Learn and practise skills that enable them to makeprofessional use of that understanding

■ Give greater emphasis to the economic, social, culturaland political factors that provide greater understandingof the issues.

■ Consider if students need to be taught different skillsor be taught how to use existing skills within thecontext of their understanding of sustainabledevelopment?

■ Consider how to integrate the moral aspects ofsustainable development into courses. When considering change to existing programmes

programme developers will need to consider if thematerial should be additional to, instead of or integratedwith existing course material? P

The Society for the Environment is celebrating4,000 Chartered Environmentalists on its registeronly 18 months after receiving its royal charter.Working in many different aspects of theenvironment – regulation, industry, consulting,government, research, academia – CharteredEnvironmentalists hold the highest level professionalqualification available to environmental practitioners.It demonstrates high standards of professionalpractice, knowledge and engagement.

‘This is a great achievement, especially for thosewho have been awarded the qualification,’ said DrPeter Matthews, chair of the society. ‘It demonstratesa real need for a single high level qualification thatemployers, environmental professionals and thepublic can support and trust.’

Chair of the Society’s Registration Authority, NeilAtkinson, added: ‘The Chartered Environmentalistqualification is now the recognised standard ofexcellence for environmental practitioners. It is theChartered Environmentalists, working in many

sectors of business, regulation, academia and nationalagencies, who will take a leading role in managingenvironmental assets and who will play such animportant part in the goal of a sustainable world.’

Mike McNulty said: ‘I’m very proud to be the4,000th registered Chartered Environmentalist andpart of a network of professionals who can really helpindustry, commerce and the public sector makedecisions and deliver projects in a much moresustainable way.’ In his role as Environment AgencyProject Manager of the Tees Valley Project, Mikeleads a wide range of bodies improving theenvironment and quality of life of local communities.

The Society for the Environment (SocEnv) wasfirst established in 2000 and gained its Royal Charterin 2004. It is the leading co-ordinating and regulatoryumbrella body in environmental matters and a pre-eminent champion of a sustainable environment.Now with over 4,000 Chartered Environmentalists,the Society says it has the resources to influence thesustainability agenda in a meaningful way.

Following the success of the ‘grandparenting’ scheme,which saw more than 200 IES members achieveChartered Status, the Institution is inviting membersto apply through the ‘full process’. The Institution isa Licensed Constituent Body of the Society for the

Environment (SocEnv). This enables the IES to award theChartered Environmentalist qualification to thosemembers who meet the criteria laid down by SocEnv,which include key competences in relation to work andacademic experience as well as knowledge of sustainablepractice.

For more information on the Society for the Environ-ment, please go to its web site at www.socenv.org.uk

Why become a CharteredEnvironmentalist? Chartered Environmentalist embraces a wide range ofdisciplines and is an excellent way of recognisingvirtuosity in environmental management andsustainability.

The designation benefits all concerned with theenvironment:■ the public, who can be confident in the knowledge

and competence of an environmental practitioner; ■ practitioners, by identification as a professionally

qualified environmentalist that puts them at the fore-front of their profession;

■ employers, with confirmation of the professional abil-

ity and competence of employees and candidates;■ governments and governmental bodies seeking to

appoint advisers or consultants will be assured aboutan individual competence;

■ professional bodies, which will be able to benchmarkthe qualification for membership purposes;

■ higher education, in setting and monitoring bench-marks for environmental courses, and promoting studyprogrammes;

■ regulatory bodies, which could be confident in speci-fying the CEnv designation in Acts of Parliament andregulations;

■ legal credibility, enabling expert witness participationat a defined standard;

■ professional standing, recognising equality of excel-lence across a wide range of environment disciplines.

Applying for Chartered Environmentalist Chartered Environmentalist status is only open to FullVoting Members of the Institution. If you are an existingAssociate Member and would like to be considered for re-grading, please contact the IES office.

Application for Chartered Status is through a ‘threestage process’ and we advise applicants to read throughthe application pack thoroughly before applying.

If you require more information, please contact theIES. The application pack is available on line at www.ies-uk.org.uk or by emailing [email protected]


IES MEMBERS INVITED TO APPLY FORCHARTERED ENVIRONMENTALIST STATUS

SOCIETY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT REGISTERS 4,000 CHARTERED ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN FIRST 18 MONTHS


Environmental science is being subverted by a management culture

that is preoccupied more by targets andcompliance with methods

than by evolving best practice informed by advances in environmental thinking,

argues DR MARK EVERARD

‘Environmental science’ first appeared as anundergraduate course in the UK, and arguably asa discreet discipline, in the mid-1970s. This wasin response to escalating concerns about theenvironmental issues that had forced themselves

into public consciousness throughout the 1960s and early1970s as unexpected consequences of society’s pathway ofeconomic development.

The emergence of environmentalawareness and scienceIn reality, ‘environmental science’ is not a primarydiscipline. However, what its constitution achieved was tocontextualise pure disciplines of biology, chemistry,geography, geology, ecology and others into a concertedwhole that represented at least some of the fundamentalways in which the environment functions as an integratedunit. ‘Environmental science’ as an integrating theme hassince been successful in bringing environmental concernsto organisational consciousness and into policy- and otherdecision-making.

Time has, of course, moved on. The concept of‘sustainable development’ has since emerged into publicdialogue, particularly since the publication in 1987 of theBrundtland report. The concept of a direction of humandevelopment that simultaneously resolves environmental,social and economic challenges clearly rests uponfundamental knowledge of the mechanisms and functionsof the environment, as it is these environmental processesthat ultimately provide the ‘goods’ and ‘services’underpinning all subsequent social and economicprogress.

The concept of sustainable development has been

tested and evolved for nearly two decades since, and isincreasingly embedding itself within the vocabulary oflocal and national government, corporate reporting andthe media. Proportionate action remains as yet lesstangible than rhetoric, though the need for seriousprogress towards sustainability is gaining wideracceptance. The relatively recent emergence of the issueof climate change into mainstream public consciousnessand political dialogue, backed up particularly by theinterest of insurance and other financial institutions,means that this aspect of sustainable development isbecoming truly embedded. This progressive ‘main-streaming’ is implicitly ‘a good thing’, if we intend toengineer a future that is not impoverished by thecontinued erosion of social wellbeing and environmentalsupport systems including natural water and airpurification services, productive soils and oceans, climaticstability, and so forth.

As we begin to challenge the direction of global,corporate and other forms of human governance,propelling ourselves towards either a sustainable future orthe dystopia of degraded societal cohesion and supportiveecosystems, then the underpinning science base thatinforms our decisions grows in importance. After all,without robust scientific foundations, can we be sure thatour decisions will incrementally lead us onto a sustainablepathway?

Underpinnings in robust scienceCommon sense suggests that the answer to this rhetoricalquestion is a resounding ‘No!’ After all, unless ourdecisions are founded upon how the world actually works,how can we be sure that we are doing the right things?The shifting sands of opinion alone offer greater scope forcontinued debate and prevarication than for the kind ofconsensus from which substantive action and associatedinvestment will flow. It is inconceivable to think thatsustainable development will happen by pure chance,given the trajectory of industrialised society to this point,and the embedded vested interests that reinforce a coursethat most acknowledge as unsustainable. It is for thesereasons that current trends in environmental scienceeducation give great cause for alarm.

Commitment to a more sustainable future by manysectors of society surely means that we have a growingneed for environmental scientists. But where will they allcome from?

At its peak in 1998, UK universities were producing15,000 environmental science graduates. Today, in 2006,that number is believed to be closer to 5,000, althoughchanges in the way student data are captured means that itis hard or impossible to be prescriptive about recentfigures. Many leading educators in the UK believe that, inten years time, environmental science will have been

STEMMING THE DECLINE OF A VITAL NATIONAL RESOURCE


reduced to a predominantly postgraduate preoccupation.Crudely, if the reduction by two-thirds of the number ofenvironmental science graduates in just eight yearscontinues on its current trend or even merely stabilises attoday’s depressingly low level, what does this say aboutour commitment and capacity to underpin the roll-out ofsustainable development?

Declining capacityThe universities have fought back against this decline, forexample by the formation of CHES (the Committee ofHeads of Environmental Science) as an academic‘pressure group’ to raise the profile of the discipline.However, the exclusion of the topic of ‘environment’ fromthe 2004 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has hadradically negative implications for the funding ofenvironmental science capacity in the UK institutions.Furthermore, publication of RAE ‘league tables’ has aknock-on negative impact in dissuading students fromapplying for institutions offering environmentaleducation.

The net consequence is that universities end upcompeting for a declining pool of student numbers, or elseshutting science departments, for a topic that nonethelessremains of fundamental importance to the long-termaspirations of society at regional, national and globalscales.

However, this importance remains sadly under-represented in government priorities, educationalexpenditure and the consequent public perception of thediscipline.

The vanishing environmental scientistPart of the tale of the vanishing environmental scientist isthat, a generation and more on from the creation of thediscipline, ‘the environment’ is making the journey fromthe periphery to the mainstream.

It is certainly true that ‘environmental’ issues featurenow in higher education courses in engineering, watermanagement, fisheries, geography, etc. Furthermore,many professional bodies – engineering, chemistry, soilscience, waste management, urban planning, etc – nowfeature environmental matters where 20 years ago therewas little or no awareness let alone acknowledgment oreducation. Equally, ‘environmental science’ is clearly anunderpinning of sustainable development, to which many,even most, organisations across society profess some levelof commitment.

Dumbing down?However, the take-up of environmental matters intoacademic courses, professional development andorganisational management is sometimes more at the levelof a briefing in environmental management practices and

tools, rather than education in the underpinningenvironmental sciences themselves. And yet it is thefundamental environmental sciences that are the ‘seedcorn’ from which current environmental managementprinciples and methods have sprouted.

As time goes on, unless our study and application of theunderpinning environmental sciences continues to evolve,all that this sub-optimal mainstreaming of sustainabledevelopment will serve to achieve is to cement today’simperfect environmental management practices in theircurrent form. Instead, we need to continue to deepen andcommunicate basic environmental understanding, uponwhich evolving management methods may stem to driveus incrementally towards a truly sustainable society.

Already, we see the pervasion of businessadministration qualifications rather than genuineenvironmental science expertise populating the keydecision-making roles in government and its agencies, aswell as business and the education sector. This is a certainindicator of the devaluation of the science itself in the faceof subsidiary environmental management protocols.Somewhere along the line, environmental science, and thecontinuing insight it can offer in guiding society’s evermore complex choices, is being subverted by amanagement culture that is preoccupied more by targetsand compliance with methods than by evolving bestpractice informed by advances in environmental thinking.

Investment in a critical national resourceIt is for this set of reasons that the UK government,indeed governments more widely, must back up statedcommitments to sustainable development and to ‘joined-up government’ as an urgent priority. This has to gobeyond mere rhetoric, delivering tangible support for theailing yet essential discipline of environmental science.

‘Education, education, education’ was the manifestomantra, so let’s see the erosion of funding and reputationof environmental science education rapidly redressed todeliver the environmental science capacity that we need toachieve a better world for all people. This is actually arelatively minor step for government and for the publicpurse, yet has huge significance. It is certainly a necessarymove if we are to have confidence in our ability to achievetrue sustainable development.

It is the primary Charitable Object of the Institution ofEnvironmental Sciences (IES) to ‘…advance theeducation of the public in the environmental sciences’. Itis therefore incumbent upon all trustees and members ofthe IES to urge government leadership to regenerate theenvironmental science capacity of the UK, urgentlyrequired in the short term if the best interests of all are tobe met in the long term. PThis article was informed by discussions with the IES Council atthe February 2006 strategic away day.

Mrs Louise Adams Laboratory Supervisor A Miss Harriet Astbury Environmental Scientist A Mr Richard Baldwin Trainee Environment Protection officer AMiss Julie Bankes Environmental Advisor MMrs Emma Bennett Environmental Strategy co-ordinator MProf Clive Bentley Acoustic Consultant MMr Kirkland Braithwaite Manager, Health, Safety, Security and Environment AMs Charlotte Bryant Advisory Officer MDr Euan Burford Pollution Control Officer A Ms Melissa Burgan Senior Transport Planner MMr Philbert Chan Junior Environmental Consultant AMr William Clark Regional Co-ordinator MMiss Emma Collins Environmental Scientist A Miss Rachel Conti Environmental Consultant AMiss Charlotte Cook Flood Risk Manager A Mr Richard Cope Senior Environmental Scientist MMr Benjamin Crabb Self employed MMr Peter Daniels Health, Safety and Environmental Consultant MMr Samuel Davison Asbestos Surveyor A Mr Aaron Dixey Planning Liaison Team Leader MMr Paul Duce Air Quality Specialist MProf Bernard Fisher Air Quality Assessor MMr Kieran Gaylor Acoustic Consultant MMr Andre Gilleard Geo-Environmental Engineer Manager MMiss Sofia Girnary Senior Consultant MMs Victoria Gouge Environmental Scientist A

INTRODUCINGOUR VOLUNTEER SCHEME

IESNEW MEMBERS

KEY: F = Full Member A = Associate Member

A new volunteer scheme, designed to help the IES withadministration and launching special projects, is underwaythis summer. Two fantastic volunteers are currentlyworking with the Project Officer, on accreditation,monthly newsletters, promotion, events and updatingmembership details.

Adam DonnanAfter graduating with a 2:1 from the University of EastAnglia Adam moved to San Francisco. Between extensivetravel around the US and Canada, he worked with anappellant lawyer attempting to reduce the sentences ofimprisoned youths and as a researcher on a local TVstation producing current affairs programmes. On hisreturn to England he set himself up as a self-employedconsultant advising engineering companies on theirsupply-chain and business development, includingenvironmental aspects. He aims in the future to becomean environmental consultant and is currently workinghard on making Westminster into a Fairtrade Borough.

email: [email protected]

Adrian MillAfter graduating with Honours from the University of theSunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, Adriancontinued working for the university in research andconsultancy. He was subsequently invited to study theenvironmental impact of beavers with the OmoraFoundation, an NGO in Puerto Williams, Chile. Hiscontributions to a number of projects helped theorganisation to obtain ‘Biosphere Reserve’ status for theCape Horn region. Most recently, he has travelledextensively, published an article in the Marine PollutionBulletin journal, worked for London South BankUniversity in a teaching role, and is currently looking tocontinue his development in the UK Environment sector.email: [email protected]

The IES volunteer scheme is ongoing, if you orsomeone you know might be interested in applying for aplacement please contact the office.



Mr Lee Heffernan Environmental Specialist MMr Giles Hewson Environmental Team Leader MMr Philip Hill Environmental Control Officer MMr Jamie Hinks Environmental Consultant AMr Gerald Hughes Environmental Scientist AMr Emlyn Jones Group Environmental Officer MMr Jeremy Kirkham Principal Environmental Scientist MMr David Kirkup Project Manager MMr David Lord Environmental Assessor A Mr John McDonald Health Safety and Environmental Advisor A Miss Heather McIlwraith Assistant Chemist AMr Robert Meldrum Self employed MMr John Mills Environmental Analyst A Mr Philip Morris Field Monitoring and Data Officer A Miss Martina Mullarkey Peaked Elm Cottage MMr John Naylor Environmental Protection Officer MMr Stuart Nelmes Engineer, Water Team MMs Carol Pettit Senior Research Fellow MMr Kanan Purkayastha Senior Scientific Officer MMiss Cherri-Ann Rennie Engineering Geologist/Geoenvironmental Engineer MMr James Richer Technical Director – Air Quality MMr Philip Roberts Admin Team Leader/Duty Manager A Mr Archibald Rowatt Environment Protection Officer AMs Linda Rudd Student MMr Mark Scerri Environment Protection Officer A Miss Antonia Scrase Environmental Consultant AMiss Caroline Shaw Assistant Drainage Engineer MMrs Jane Shaw Graduate MMr Paul Sheehan Principal Environmental Consultant MMr James Short Senior Environmentalist MDr Philip Sinclair Research Fellow MMr Randip Singh Pollution control officer MMiss Sarah Slater Alcan Smelting and power UK AMr Paul Slaughter Scientific Officer MMr Neil Smith Engineer – Environment Department MMr Michael Stallard Town and Country Planning MDr Tom Stenhouse Senior Environmental Scientist AMiss Gemma Stroud Environmental Scientist A Mr Robert Thomas Graduate Air Quality Scientist A Mr Cameron Thomson Senior Environmental Scientist MMiss Nicola Trought Assistant Air Quality Specialist A Mr Damon Tweedie CORUS Engineering Steels A Mr Konstantinos Tzoulas Research Assistant A Mr Nigel Weller Senior Environmental Scientist MMiss Kirsty Weston Senior Air Quality Consultant MMr David Wilson Graduate Trainee Software Tester A Mr Gareth Wilson Senior Environmental Planner MMr Wai Wong Environmental and Safety Manager MMiss Ella Yerushalmi Environmental Scientist AMs Catherine Yong Environmental Scientist M

KEY: F = Full Member A = Associate Member


The Higher Education Authority National SubjectCentre for Geography, Earth and EnvironmentalSciences, GEES, is facilitating a project, investigatingstudent perceptions of the discipline.

Geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES)are very much in the media at present. There are a widevariety of natural history television programmes and thenews regularly contains references to natural disasters,climate change and so on. However, this coverage doesnot seem to translate into a high demand for highereducation courses in the disciplines (at least not in thesame way that dramas such as Silent Witness have created ademand for forensic science courses, for example).

Do school students make the connection between‘natural history’ and our disciplines? What are theirperceptions of the disciplines in general? Developing anunderstanding of school students’ attitudes to andperceptions of the GEES disciplines will help to informHE departments’ transition and retention strategies aswell as providing an opportunity to better promote thedisciplines in schools, colleges and to the public.

Project objectivesGiven the limited time and financial resources of thisproject, the main objective will be to provide informationfor higher education staff in geography, earth andenvironmental sciences that will help to enhance theiroutreach activities into secondary schools.

ActivitiesThe following activities will be undertaken:■ Literature review of the UK education system,

focusing on:• student choice (including media influences)

(‘generic’)• perceptions of GEES• transition from secondary to higher education in GEES

■ Research to develop a better understanding of:• school texts/language in GEES;• learning environments/styles in schools;• youth culture;• HE staff’s perceptions of their subject (GEES) and

reasons for choosing their degree;• undergraduate students’ perceptions of their subject

(GEES);• school students’ (studying any subject area)

perceptions of GEES;• examples of HE GEES outreach activities.

(Items in bold will be the primary activities of the project.The other items will be researched to a much lesser extentin order to provide relevant supporting information.)

OutcomesAs a result of the above activities, the following outcomeswill be produced:■ resource pack for higher education staff in GEES;■ further ideas for extending the research;■ papers and articles as appropriate.

Progress to dateThis project has generated a large amount of interest andover 20 colleagues from throughout the UK have becomeinvolved to various degrees. A literature review has beenconducted to provide background information andrecommendations (available shortly on the web site) and asurvey of A level students is to be piloted. The mainsurvey will be conducted in September/October with aview to the final papers and toolkit of resources beingproduced by May 2007.

This project provides opportunities for links to otherprogrammes and organisations including the DfES ActionPlan for Geography and the Experiential Learning in theEnvironmental and Natural Sciences CETL. P

GEES PROJECT TO INVESTIGATE WHAT SCHOOL STUDENTS THINK ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Assessment in the Earth Sciences & EnvironmentalSciences and Environmental Studies:Peter Hughes and Alan Boyle; ISBN 1-84102-143-1(available to download from www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/guides/assess/gees%20assesment.pdf).This is the first in a short series of guides aiming toprovide academics teaching in Earth Science,Environmental Science and Environmental Studies (ES3)subjects in higher education with some support and ideasfor their practice. It has been written from a UK context,but much of what follows is relevant internationally.

The existence of these guides acknowledges that thereare learning and teaching issues specific to thesedisciplines, and that academics in these disciplines can findthe generic educational literature inaccessible.

Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesEmployability Profiles Resource Pack(available to download from www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/emp/empprofs.htm).This resource pack contains profiles of the subjectdisciplines of Geography, Earth Science andEnvironmental Sciences (GEES), written from an‘employability’ perspective. The profiles are intended toassist students in articulating what they have to offeremployers, i.e. what was their degree about and whatqualities it has helped them develop.

The employability profiles are not intended to bedefinitive descriptions of the GEES subjects. Rather, theyare summaries that are designed to emphasise the skills,knowledge and competencies that students can offer.

RECENT GEES PUBLICATIONS

About the Institution of Environmental SciencesThe Institution of Environmental Sciences is a charitable organisation which promotes and raises public awareness ofenvironmental science by supporting professional scientists and academics working in this crucial arena. As a seminalenvironmental sciences organisation, founded in 1971, the Institution is consulted by the Govemment and otherinterested parties on environmental issues. The Institution has strong ties with higher education and promotes andsupports environmental science and sustainable development in universities and colleges both nationally andintemationally.

Membership of the Institution offers stepping stones on a career path, from student to Chartered status, attractingprofessionals of high standing with significant specialist and interdisciplinary experience.

Student MembershipStudents who are enrolled on theInstitution of Environmental Science’saccredited undergraduate orpostgraduate programmes andcourses may apply for the specialgrade of Student Member of theInstitution.

This grade is available free of chargeand students will be able to use thepost-nominal StMIEnvSc.

On graduation, students will be ableto use their membership up to theend of that calendar year. Additionally,on graduation Student Members areeligible for the higher grade ofAssociate Member of the Institution.

The application forms for Student andAssociate membership can be foundon our web site: www.ies-uk.org.uk

Benefits of Student Membership● The experience of being a member of a long established and highly

reputable environmental science professional body

● The ability to use StMlEnvSc up to the end of the calendar year in which yougraduate, signalling your professional commitment, to potential employers

● First steps on an environmental career path which could take you toChartered status

● Exclusive access to the members’ area of our web site, with news aboutjobs and events, in addition to information on our careers web site:www.environmentcareers.org.uk

● Access to the Members’ Forum, to network with other students andenvironmental science professionals

● Access to the latest edition of our journal Environmental Scientist withopportunities to publish articles about news, current issues, or even yourproject work

● Preferential opportunities for volunteer placements in the Institution’soffices in London

● Opportunity to participate in student events supported by the Institution

● Free of charge

Steps on the Environmental Sciences Career Path

● StMlEnvSc post-nominal

● Exclusive grade to students on IES-accreditedcourses/programmes

● Free of charge

● MIEnvSc post-nominal

● Full voting status

● Can apply for Chartered Environmental status

● Offered to Environmental Science practitioners ofacademic and professional merit and high standing

● FIEnvSc post-nominal

● Full voting status

● Offered to members in recognition of theirexceptional academic and professional standing

● Can apply for Chartered Environmental status

● CEnv post-nominal

● Internationally recognised award of excellenceacross a wide range of environmental disciplines

Chartered Environmentalist

● AMIEnvSc post-nominal

● Recognised membership of a professional body

● Membership made up of leading professionalsand academics

● Access to journal and workshops/seminars

● Continuing professional development (CPD) for your career

● Offered to students graduating from IES-accredited courses/programmes

● Offered to ES professionals with relevantacademic and some professional experience

Fellow

(Full) Member

Associate Member

Student Member

The Institution of Environmental SciencesThe professional body for environmental scientists

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP

env sci sept/oct 06 - ies | · [email protected] views expressed in the journal are those of...

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