DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAEVABILITY, CARRYING CAPACITY, AND TOTAL QUANTITY

摘要

The goals of the promotion for governmental policies, plans, and programs (PPPs) are to pursue sustainable development of a country or a region. While planning for the PPPs, the decision makers should manage the environmental resources and pollution quantities for achieving environmental sustainability, and keep the development level of the PPPs within the environmental carrying capacity. Therefore, an integrated methodology included environmental sustainability assessment, environmental carrying capacity analysis, and total quantity management for the PPPs is required. Based on the integrally systematical consideration, this study used the methods of Managing for Results, system analysis, and management thinking to develop the dynamic assessment and management framework which can be used in the strategic environment assessment (SEA) system. The PPPs which should be performed the SEA were also identified herein. The PPPs and projects in the same frame of time (past, current, future) and in the same subsystem of a selected spatial region (each drainage zone of a river basin; each town or grid square of a selected administrative region) with the same cumulative effects should be taken into consideration and assessed in the framework. Furthermore, this study employed the driving force-pressure-state-impact-response framework to develop the assessment indicator framework. The dynamic relationships among the indicators were identified and used to develop the definition and the value normalization method for each indicator, and to determine the weight of each indicator. In addition, the dynamic relationships were also used as the basis for developing an integrated assessment and management procedure and model for environmental sustainability, carrying capacity, and total quantity. Through this procedure and model, decision makers can effectively pursue maximal environmental sustainability for the PPPs subject to the constraints of equity, resource, technology, and legislation. When the maximal environmental sustainability assessment value is obtained, the environmental carrying capacity is simultaneously obtained which is the summation of each driving force for each subsystem of each assessment item in the social and economic phases. Meanwhile, each total quantity is also simultaneously obtained which is the summation of each pressure for each subsystem of each assessment item regarding the environmental resource and pollution. The integrated methodology can be used to enhance the SEA system in Taiwan and to effectively assist the decision makers not only to modify the PPPs for planning but also to ensure the promotion of PPPs achieving sustainable development.