China.Ningxia.Minimizing Formation and Releases of Unintentionally Produced Persistent Organic Pollutants Project

Ningxia Meili Paper Industry Co., Ltd, as one of the key papermaking enterprises included in the program of “Ningxia Strategic Research and Development Plan for Papermaking Industry Development, is an entity with the annual capacity of roducing 90,000 tonnes of bleached wheat straw pulp, 34,000 tonnes of deinked pulp and 30,000 tonnes of waste board pulp for self use, i.e., an annual production of 250,000 tonnes of various types of cultural paper, special paper and cardboard paper.

In recent years, with the promulgation of industry policies and pollutants emission standards for pulp and paper making industry, a number of problems have emerged from the existing units of the old plant: low efficiency of the system of wheat straw cooking process, high level of energy consumption and low ratio of production, low quality of pulp and low level of alkali recovery; some paper machine rooms, due to backward productivity, are to be phased out according to the “Guiding Catalogue For Structural Adjustment of Industry (2011); in addition, due to the failure of effective operation and the low efficiency of wastewater treatment, the final discharge of wastewater failed in meeting the “Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Paper Industry (GB3544-2008). To solve these problems, Meili Paper Industry is planning to adopt the strategy of “Old + New Project Construction", i.e., to implement a new project of extended delignification and ECF (element chlorine free) bleaching technologies for realizing the annual production of 68,000 tonnes of wheat straw pulp, which is a part of the major technology reform approved by NDRC“ Development Project of Chemical Delignification and ECF Bleaching Technologies for Wheat Straw Pulp Production"

In February 2009, the Project’s EIA Report was approved by the Environmental Protection Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NingHuanShenFa [2009] 12), but the construction has not been kicked off in the Industry Park of Meili Paper in Zhongwei City. In 2011, the Project was restarted in a new location in the former Plant of Ningxia Meili Paper Industry Co., Ltd, without demand for new land appropriation. As required by the “Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China", the “Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People’s Republic of China" and the “Regulations on the Administration of Construction Project Environmental Protection", a new round of environmental impact assessment is necessary for certifying the environmental feasibility of the Project. Accordingly, the EIA task (see Annex I) was consigned by Meili Paper to the Light Industry Environmental Protection Research Institute (GuoHuanPing Certificate A 1028).

The Light Industry Environmental Protection Research Institute accepted the consignment and organized professionals to conduct on-site investigation and status quo monitoring and collect existing environmental protection records and supporting documents, based on which the assessment on environmental impacts was conducted according to the updated national demand and technical requirements, in addition to public participation and announcement, as a result, the compilation of “Ningxia Meili Paper Industry Co., Ltd EIA Report on the Project of Extended Delignification and ECF Bleaching Technologies Reform for the Annual Production of 68,000 Tonnes of Wheat Straw Pulp" was finished and submitted to the Environmental Protection Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for examination and approval.

World Bank.Document Date 2011/09/01.Document Type Environmental Assessment.Report Number E2813

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Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report (2011)

The unprecedented magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill presents significant challenges for oil spill responders and those tasked with assessing the impacts of the spill. Evaluating changes to ecosystem services—the benefits people receive from natural resources and processes—caused by the oil spill could expand the potential to capture and value the full breadth of impacts to the ecosystem and the public. This report assesses the methods and metrics that could help scientists effectively evaluate ecosystem services.

Key Findings

• The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 establishes a formal legal framework for determining when an oil spill results in an "injury"-- defined as an observable or measurable adverse change or impairment in a natural resource. This requires assessment of the extent and severity of an injury to a natural resource through a process known as the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA). In addition to quantifying the extent of damage the assessment includes plans for developing, implementing, and monitoring restoration and compiles expenses for both assessment and restoration costs from those deemed responsible.
• The magnitude and depth of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, together with the inherent complexity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, pose serious challenges to those charged with assessing damages and developing restoration plans. For a spill the size of the Deepwater Horizon, an "ecosystem services approach" may complement the Natural Resources Damage Assessment and offer a broader opportunity to capture, value, and appropriately restore the full breadth of impacts to the ecosystem and the public. This approach would focuses not only on replacing or repairing damaged natural resources but also on re-establishing or replacing the ecosystem's interdependent processes.
• In order to assess the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists need to establish a baseline of ecosystem conditions before the spill took place. However, there are natural variations in conditions in the Gulf of Mexico over time, as well as human-made changes to the environment. Analysis of the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will need to take into account the fundamental complexity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, and the past and ongoing affects of phenomena, both natural and human-induced, that are unrelated to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• Implementing an ecosystem approach to damage assessment requires an understanding of the complex linkages amongst various ecosystem components, including the impact of humans on the structure and function of the ecosystem, the resulting changes in ecosystem services, and how these changes affect human well-being.
• Determining the impact of human actions on the structure and function of the ecosystem
  Scientists will need to investigate each ecosystem service by carrying out specific types of sampling and analysis to complement the information collected under the existing damage assessment process. In order to extend the current damage assessment to include an ecosystem services approach, scientists need to understand how these various components have been affected by human actions, the consequences for the structure and function of the ecosystem, and ultimately the changes in ecosystem services caused by the spill.
• Establishing how changes in the ecosystem lead to changes in ecosystem services
  This step determines ecosystem production functions –how the ecosystem transforms inputs into outputs such as the yields of crops or fisheries. For many ecosystem services, a lack of mechanistic understanding and data inhibits accurate quantification of ecosystem services. The complexity of marine ecosystems makes it difficult to understand how disturbances to an ecosystem will reverberate through the system and ultimately lead to changes in the provision of ecosystem services.
• Establishing how changes in the provision of ecosystem services affect human well-being.
  The third component of the ecosystem services approach focuses on establishing the value of ecosystem services. This involves combining economic methods with ecological assessments to estimate the value of changes in ecosystem services as a result of environmental impacts. Valuation methods are used to provide a common, quantitative measure to facilitate comparisons among various services as an indication of how much the availability of the service contributes to the improvement in human well-being. Alternatively, in the case of damage to the environment, valuation methods could be applied to assess how much value has been lost as a consequence of reduced ecosystem services.     

Authoring Body: Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico Primary Board: Ocean Studies Board.Sponsor(s): Department of Commerce: NOAA Collaborating Unit(s):Water Science and Technology Board

Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report (2011)