Environmental Management and Local Economic Development

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Environmental Management and Local Economic
Development

• Using Material Energy Flows

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Local Economic Development

• What do we mean when we say we want economic
  development?
• What are the elements of economic development?
• What are the real goals of economic development?
• Is there an intrinsic conflict between economic
  development environmental sustainability?

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Basic Model of Material Flow
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Example from Textile Branch
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Example Portland Cement
Material flows only
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Important elements

• Raw materials
• Energy
• Knowledge
• Skill
• Are there other missing elements?

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Process Policy Goals

• Growth or development?
• Economic goals
• Maximizing GDP?
• Maximizing efficiency (output per unit input)?
• Social goals
• Maximizing jobs?
• Maximizing social wellbeing?
• Environmental goals
• Comfortable living environment?
• Sustain natural ecosystems?
• Identify conflicts between goals

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Process construct the diagram

• Identify main consumables in your community
• For each one trace the material energy,
  knowledge skill flows back to source
• import as one possible source
• Identify by-products wastes and
  environmental impacts along the way
• Try to quantify

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Look at consumption

• What are the environmental impacts of consumption
  / use?
• Can these be reduced, eliminated?
• Are there by-products that can be used?
• E.g. Heating from household equipment

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Product

• What are the materials in it?
• What are the environmental implications?
• Input sources? Processing? Distribution? Final
  disposal?
• Is recycling built-in? Could it be?
• Can recycling be done here?
• Development possibilities?
• Are there local substitution possibilities?
• Can production be done here?

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Process

• What are the process inputs?
• Where do they come from local, external?
• Effective from policy goal perspective?
• Environmental implications?
• Are there more efficient processes (BAT)?
• Can relocation reduce environmental impacts?
• Are there inbuilt vulnerabilities?

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Inputs

• Raw materials or recycled?
• From sustainable or non-sustainable sources?
• Local or external sources?
• Possibilities for reduction?
• Possibilities for substitution?

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Source T. Greenhow, SIPU. Visakhapatnam
Sustainability Review.
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Source T. Greenhow, SIPU. Visakhapatnam
Sustainability Review.
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Exercise

• Examine the chair you are sitting on
• Try to imagine the likely material and energy
  flows
• Make a simple diagram
• If it were in your community, would you be able
  to find an alternative that would be more
  environmentally sustainable and also create
  employment?
• Is it already happening, and if not, why not?