CountrySpecific

Developing country-specific impact procedures:: 

Developing country-specific impact procedures: Alan Brent Chair: Life Cycle Engineering University of Pretoria South Africa Tel: +27 12 420 3929 Fax: +27 12 362 5307 E-mail: abrent@eng.up.ac.za Human health and ecosystem quality as criteria for resource quality and availability

Objectives of the presentation/discussion: 

Objectives of the presentation/discussion Sustainability in the South African context Current Life Cycle Impact Analysis (LCIA) procedures in the South African context Impact categories and characterisation Normalisation Weighting A proposed framework for a LCIA procedure for South Africa Proposed regions for focussing LCIAs Additional work required

The South African natural environment: 

The South African natural environment Third highest level of biodiversity in the world 7.5% of the world’s vascular plants 18000 species of which over 80% occur no where else in the world 5.8% of the world's mammal species 8% of the world's bird species 4.6% of the world's reptile species 16% of marine fish species 5.5% of the world's recorded insect species Diversity is due to a broad range of climate, geological, soil, and landscape forms 18 eco-regions 68 vegetation types Less than 10% conserved Highest concentration of threatened plant groups in the world

Eco-regions of South Africa: 

Eco-regions of South Africa 91% of the country falls within the UN definition of “affected drylands” Low rainfall (average of 500 mm/year) High potential evaporation High variability in hydrological regime Highveld region Bushveld basin Eastern uplands Cape folded mountains Southern coastal belt Nama karoo region Southern kalahari desert Great escarpment mountains 10 other eco-regions

Surface freshwater runoff in South Africa: 

Surface freshwater runoff in South Africa

Associated problems experienced: 

Associated problems experienced Limited surface and groundwater resources compared to world averages Lack of important arterial rivers and lakes Water requirements and availability Demand is set to exceed supply by 2020 Pollution of freshwater systems Agricultural runoff Discharge from informal urban settlements Sporadic wet and dry periods Together with the lack of effective land-use planning and land mismanagement Loss of habitat and prime agricultural land For example, dramatic increase (35%) in the loss of topsoil

Related sustainability issues in South Africa: 

Related sustainability issues in South Africa 86% of land surface area is classified as agriculture Most is grazing rather than crop cultivation land But, agriculture only contributes 4% of the total GDP Largest agricultural export is maize; second is wool 27% of GDP attributable to the manufacturing industry Largest relating to the metallurgical industry Immense concentration of the world’s mineral wealth Chrome (72%), platinum (88%), gold (40%), manganese (83%) Export of raw materials, e.g. iron ore Associated mining activities and impact on land Industrial sector compares with developed countries, but a large proportion of the country and its population is subject to developing country conditions 50% of households have access to formal energy and water supply, and first world latrine and waste disposal facilities

Current Life Cycle Impact Analysis (LCIA) procedures in the South African context: 

Current Life Cycle Impact Analysis (LCIA) procedures in the South African context Categories Normalisation Weighting Water usage and quality Land usage and quality Air as a resource Available background data Region specification Decision support Decision makers

Impact categories and characterisation: 

Impact categories and characterisation Water usage and quality Quantity used critical for the overall resource Differentiation of type, i.e. pristine vs. treated water Additional quality indicators required Toxicity for human consumption and agricultural irrigation Water salination due to mining acitivities, etc. Acidification; from atmospheric SO2, and directly from acid drainage Land usage and quality Generalisation of land types for the different eco-regions Quality of land used different for different parts of South Africa Midpoint categories must reflect impact on land quality Air as a resource South African constitution dictates environmental rights Includes equatible allocation of resources of acceptable quality Comprises water, land and air

Normalisation: 

Normalisation Available background data National databases of emissions and resource uses seriously lacking Responsibility of three national governmental departments Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Department of Minerals and Energy Control and guidance allocated to regional level EIAs approved by local government National databases of current state and quality available Water measurements in all eco-regions Metals, organics, flow, etc. National land cover database Air quality measurements at local level Region specification Eco-regions of South Africa should be taken into account, if possible

Weighting: 

Weighting Decision support Design and engineering Single score for a new product Needs generalised normalisation and weighting (not eco-region specific) Single score for a new process Weighting needs to be eco-region specific Placement of a new plant in different regions of South Africa Analyses Requires indication of area-specific impacts; but not EIA Decion makers Cultural diversity in South Africa 11 official languages Corporate versus government-type decision maker Significance and value of impacts regarded differently Kind of person and external pressures, e.g. market forces

Proposed framework for a LCIA procedure in the South African context: 

Resources categories Proposed framework for a LCIA procedure in the South African context Air Water Land Abiotic Single score Midpoint categories Hazardous emissions Salination Acidification releases Water use Land use Energy Minerals Others ?

Midpoint categories: 

Midpoint categories Units of measurement Equivalences as defined in the current LCIA methodologies Some in development, e.g. water salination In line with practices in other fields of science Indicator species for South African aquatic and terrestrial environments Normalisation of the midpoint categories Current state data for the different eco-regions Weighting of midpoint categories Distance-to-target methodology Determined by the specific resource of impact Air, water, land, and abiotic Acceptable levels for the impact categories determined by human health and ecosystem quality requirements Ambient ratio rather than specific LCI ratio

Example of arsenic level requirements in fresh water #1: 

Example of arsenic level requirements in fresh water #1 As level Human health considerations Aquatic ecosystem considerations 200 10 130 10 Accute effects 20 Measurable accute effects in 5% of the species in the aquatic community Chronic effects Measurable chronie effects in 5% of the species in the aquatic community Target Water Quality Range Target Water Quality Range µg/m3 Tolerable concentration, but low risk of skin cancer in highly sensitive individuals over long term Unacceptable health risks

Example of arsenic level requirements in fresh water #2: 

Example of arsenic level requirements in fresh water #2 Weighting Value Background quality High Medium Low 5 4 3 2 1 0 – 10 µg/m3: No effects on human health or ecosystem in a region due to arsenic concentrations 10 – 20 µg/m3: Slight risk to human health and no measurable effects to the aquatic ecosystem 20 – 130 µg/m3: Increased risk to human health and measurable chronic effects to the aquatic ecosystem 130 – 200 µg/m3: High risk to human health and measurable acute effects to the aquatic ecosystem 200 µg/m3: Unacceptable risks to human health and the ecosystem in a region due to arsenic concentrations

Resources categories: 

Resources categories Assessed in terms of the sum of all midpoint categories that affect the considered resoure only No specific units of measurements No normalisation Weighting of the resources categories Multi-criteria procedures a possibility Subjective weighting will be required Costs to improve the quality and availability of the resources Social value of the resources Vague and strongly influenced by opinion of different cultural views Preferences of local government in a specific eco-region Annual costs budgetted to address concerns relating to the different resources These categories serve to focus the midpoint categories Caution must be taken for double-counting

Overall calculation of the single score: 

Overall calculation of the single score IS = Impact of life cycle system IC = Life cycle inventory value in a midpoint category NC = Normalisation value of a midpoint category wC = Midpoint category weighting value in a region wR = Resources category weighting value in a region

Four proposed life cycle regions within South Africa (based on the primary water catchments): 

Four proposed life cycle regions within South Africa (based on the primary water catchments)

Representation accuracy of the life cycle regions in terms of the vegetation types of South Africa: 

Representation accuracy of the life cycle regions in terms of the vegetation types of South Africa Percentage inclusion of a vegetation type in a life cycle region Cumulative % of total vegetation types 100 > 90 > 80 > 70 > 60 54 72 79 88 96 In excess of 90% of the surface area of more than two-thirds of the South African vegetation types are included in the life cycle regions

Representation accuracy of the life cycle regions in terms of the eco-regions of South Africa: 

Representation accuracy of the life cycle regions in terms of the eco-regions of South Africa Percentage inclusion of an eco-region in a life cycle region Cumulative % of all eco-regions 100 > 90 > 80 > 70 > 60 39 67 78 89 94 In excess of 90% of the surface area of more than two-thirds of the South African eco-regions are included in the life cycle regions

Additional work required: 

Additional work required Extrapolate background databases into LCIA format Water quality inventories Land cover database Existing air quality data Choose relevant indicators for South Africa Hazardous emissions Available background data Salination Equivalence factors South African case studies to evaluate procedures Products that impact all four resources Air, water, land, abiotic