Environmental risks and impacts - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 196

Figure 8.1 Scheme of environmental risk management.
Environmental protection means the conservation of natural values and ecological
services for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Environmental pro-
tection should integrate all activities at individual, organizational and governmental
levels in the areas of politics, management, technology and any other fields which have
an impact on the environment.
Environmental management is the practical implementation of environmental
policy; it is the way toward reaching the targets set by standards or scientific evi-
dence, integrating company management and the management of the global, regional
and local environment, including natural, residential, recreational, agricultural and
industrial land uses.
Environmental risk management deals with the short- and long-term threats to the
environment and humans. Elements of risk management are assessment and risk reduc-
tion by prevention, restriction or damage mitigation. The output of the assessment
process supplies the input for the management process. Various assessment tools are
used, depending on the scope of the management: risk assessment, impact assessment,
life-cycle assessment, socio-economic and multi-criteria assessments.
Environmental risk management requires science-based knowledge on the nature
of the risks and impacts and the normal, healthy state of the environment (reference),
or characteristic values, which serve as targets to be reached or maintained. Moni-
toring data about the threatened environment must be collected, while changes and
long-term trends should be observed and monitored. Based on monitoring data a thor-
ough evaluation is necessary to provide quantitative values, which can be compared
with our target (see Figure 8.1). The possible outcomes of the comparison and the
consequent management activity are questions of decision making. Recorded flow
charts, decision algorithms may help decision making and the management process
(Gruiz, 2009).