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Каспинфо апрель 2000 |
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Название: Материалы на английском языке Главные Пункты: * Что говорят правительства разных стран мира об общественном мониторинге. *Дополнительные источники информации об общественном мониторинге в Интернет Из материалов семинара ИСАР по общественному экологическому мониторингу, Баку, 16-18 марта 2000 г. (11.04.2000) Полный Текст Материалы на английском языке What Governments are Saying about Community Monitoring Web site information compiled by ISAR-DC, February 2000 AUSTRALIA Waterwatch: National Community-based Water Quality Monitoring Program Kate Gowland, National Facilitator E-mail: kate.gowland@ea.gov.au Web site: www.waterwatch.org.au Around Australia there is a growing realization by the community that water is a precious resource which is being abused. The impacts of this abuse are being felt by both the natural environment and human populations which need clean water for drinking, household purposes, primary production and recreation. There are many parts of Australia where water quality has declined alarmingly. This is largely due to inappropriate landuse practices and/or direct pollution. In a number of areas, the community, with support from State and local governments and the private sector, is now mobilizing to identify and monitor these impacts and to take remedial actions. These monitoring projects are giving communities an understanding of the need for catchment-level planning and management as well as raising awareness of the natural environment. The concept of managing the total environment in an ecologically sustainable way is not new, but water quality provides an excellent indicator of environmental "health" and therefore can help to direct the energies of concerned communities. Species such as frogs, fish, insects and waterbirds may also indicate declining water quality and monitoring of these animal groups can help communities to pin-point problem areas within a catchment. One of the most important messages conveyed by monitoring programs is that everything which happens in a catchment can have downstream effects, and that all communities - both rural and urban - within each catchment must work together to correct the problems. Waterwatch: Communities Caring for Catchments The program has been developed by a committee with community, State and Federal Government representation, which was formed following a national workshop early in 1992. Waterwatch aims to provide a national focus for existing community-based water quality monitoring programs such as Streamwatch (NSW) and Ribbons of Blue (WA), and to encourage the emergence of similar new programs. The aims of the program are reflected in the vision for Waterwatch: " By encouraging community participation in monitoring water quality the Waterwatch program aims to raise community awareness of the natural environment, instill the wise use of natural resources ethic in communities and encourage appropriate on-ground activities in response." The program hopes to realize this vision through achieving the following objectives: · To encourage closer links between communities, their local government, the private sector and natural resource management agencies to create an "ownership" and understanding of water quality problems and the need for broad-scale environmental management. · To generate sufficient interest in water quality and general landuse issues within the community to result in on-ground remedial action by local government, natural resource management agencies, individuals or groups. · To establish a national network linking all community-based water quality monitoring programs. · To provide resources necessary to facilitate the careful expansion of community-based water quality monitoring into a comprehensive national network. · To facilitate cooperation and information sharing in the development of education, awareness and school curriculum material. · To encourage national consistency in the gathering, reporting and interpretation of water quality data. · To provide administrative arrangements to ensure Objectives 1-6 are achieved. Water Quality Monitoring What is it? Water quality monitoring means examining the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water - observing how these factors change over time, and over different positions along a water body. Physical characteristics include for example, temperature, pH and turbidity (i.e. the quantity of suspended solids in the water giving it a murky or cloudy appearance). Important chemical characteristics are the levels of nitrates, phosphates and salts in the water. An important biological characteristic of water is the number and type of macroinvertebrates (water bugs such as dragonflies, beetles, and even yabbies). Different animals have different tolerances to pollution in water, so by identifying which ones are present, and which ones are absent, it is possible to determine how much pollution is in the water. By making records of these and other factors at a number of points along local waterways it is possible for groups to build up a picture of local water quality and also to pinpoint problem areas. Collected data may then be exchanged through electronic networks with neighboring groups to build up a picture of water quality through an entire catchment - and beyond. An important process which community-based water quality monitoring programs hope to achieve is to translate the knowledge of any water quality problems into constructive actions. For example this might include tree planting and fencing of some areas of river banks to exclude stock, or reducing the community's use of fertilizers and pesticides. How it Works Each State has a Waterwatch panel which includes representatives from government agencies and the community. Facilitator. The panel is responsible for giving strategic direction to the development of Waterwatch activities within its State, and for making funding recommendations to the Waterwatch Program. In general terms, the panel will try to match priorities with existing regional catchment or landcare plans. A National Facilitator based with the Environment Australia Biodiversity Group is responsible for national coordination and development of the program. The Waterwatch Steering Committee, which comprises the Waterwatch facilitators from all States, assists with this task. Funding Applications for funding under Waterwatch are made in the first instance, to the appropriate State Facilitator. Much of the funding goes towards the provision of on-ground support. In this way, interested groups are able to obtain assistance in the setting up of a program, including advice on the best equipment and how to use it, how to link up with other groups in a catchment, and how to locate the best places to monitor. In general, individual groups are expected to purchase their own equipment. Depending on your area and requirements, this need not be very expensive. Many groups obtain sponsorship from local councils, businesses and other community groups for this purpose. ________________________________________________________________________ CANADA Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) Tom Brydges, Director, Ecological Monitoring Coordinating Office E-mail: tom.brydges@cciw.ca Web site: www.cciw.ca/eman The entire Canadian environment is being subjected to changing environmental conditions such as alterations to the chemical and physical characteristics of the atmosphere, introduction of toxic chemicals into food chains and the effects of invasion of exotic species. It is certain that the biological components of the environment will respond to these stresses. Whether the responses will be good or bad is not always known, but for certain, things will change! It is important for Canadians to understand how the ecosystem is responding to these stresses since a large component of our national economy is based on the sustainable management of resource-based industries such as fisheries, forestry, agriculture, ecotourism and hydro electricity generation. Long-term, multidisciplinary research and monitoring have provided answers to management issues such as controlling eutrophication, and acid rain. This multidisciplinary research and monitoring must be maintained because it is essential that decision-makers have access to reliable information in the future, as they grapple with maintaining a healthy economy, in the face of changing environmental conditions. The Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network is being organized to provide a national perspective on how Canadian ecosystems are being affected, to provide scientifically defensible rationales for control and management activities, to evaluate the effectiveness of control programs, and to identify new issues as they emerge. The Network is establishing links with similar programs in Europe, the United States and Mexico. The Ecological Monitoring Coordinating Office has been combined with the Indicators group of the downsized State of Environment Reporting Branch. The new Indicators, Monitoring and Assessment Branch (IMAB) will play a coordinating and facilitating role in the generation of data, the use of standard indicators, and in the production of issue- or area-related assessments. The assessments will provide a report to the Canadian people and decision-makers on the ecological condition of our country. The overall operating objective of IMAB is to promote the gathering and use of scientific information for the policy and management decision-making processes, and to provide a better link between the policy requirements and the scientific community. Volunteer Networks EMCO has a major interest in and applying some resources to the development of extensive volunteer networks. The participants in such networks, as the weather network, breeding bird surveys, plant phenology and amphibian surveys, have effectively gathered data for decades. These programs greatly assist various Departments in obtaining extensive environmental information. It is the objective of EMCO to have as many as possible of these extensive networks collecting data at EMAN sites. This will provide additional possibilities of being able to explain any changes that are observed in these measurements, and in turn, being able to extrapolate the results from the EMAN sites to larger geographical areas covered by the extensive network. The volunteer networks are an excellent mechanism to involve the public and to further educational aspects of environmental issues. ________________________________________________________________________ UNITED STATES Environmental Protection Office - Office of Water: Monitoring Water Quality U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water (4101) 401 M Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20460 E-mail: OW-GENERAL@epamail.epa.gov Web site: www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/index.html What Is Volunteer Monitoring? Across the country, private citizens are learning about water quality issues and helping protect our Nation's water resources by becoming volunteer monitors. Volunteers are analyzing water samples for dissolved oxygen, nutrients, pH, temperature, and a host of other water constituents; evaluating the health of stream habitats and aquatic biological communities; inventorying stream- side conditions and land uses that may affect water quality; cataloging and collecting beach debris, and restoring degraded habitats. State and local agencies may use volunteer data to screen for water quality problems, establish trends in waters that would otherwise be unmonitored, and make planning decisions. Volunteers benefit from learning more about their local water resources, identifying what conditions or activities might be contributing to pollution problems, and working with clubs, environmental groups, and state or local governments to address problem areas. What Is EPA's Role In Volunteer Monitoring? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the volunteer monitoring movement in a number of ways. It sponsors national and regional conferences to encourage information exchange between volunteer groups, government agencies, businesses, and educators; publishes sampling methods manuals for volunteers; produces a nationwide directory of volunteer programs; and through its ten Regions, provides some technical assistance (primarily on quality control and lab methods) and Regional coordination. Grants to States that can be used to support volunteer monitoring in lakes and for nonpoint source pollution control are also managed by the EPA Regions. How Many Programs Are There? Every year, many new volunteer monitoring programs are formed in the United States. Some programs have as many as several thousand volunteers. Many programs, however, are small and often affiliated with neighborhood associations, schools or local environmental organizations. Today, there are literally too many to count. The fast growth of the volunteer monitoring movement is clearly shown by increases in the number of programs that receive technical and/or organizational support from State water quality or natural resource agencies. In 1988, only 14 states supported such programs; by 1992, 32 states had programs and six additional states were planning to develop programs. Over 24,000 volunteers in these state-supported programs monitor more than 985 streams and rivers, nearly 2800 ponds, lakes, and wetlands, and four major estuaries. In many cases, these waters would go unmonitored if volunteers were not involved. Who Pays For Volunteer Monitoring? Volunteer monitoring programs are funded through a variety of sources. In some cases, state water quality or natural resource agencies may actually sponsor the volunteers and contribute staff, equipment, and services such as data analysis. City and county governments do the same. Some programs are supported by federal agencies such as the EPA (primarily through pollution control grants to the States), the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service. In addition, many volunteer programs receive private support through foundations, universities and other research centers, or corporate sponsors. This support may include funding for a full or part time organizer, equipment, training workshops, or data analysis. In many programs, volunteers themselves also help pay for monitoring by purchasing their own equipment and hosting training sessions. ***** Additional On-Line Monitoring Resources Information compiled by ISAR-DC, February 2000 Surf Your Watershed http://www.epa.gov/surf Surf Your Watershed is a US Environmental Protection website devoted to information about marshes, streams, rivers and lakes in the US. The site offers information about watershed throughout the country, environmental watershed programs, a database of environmental websites and on-line discussions about water quality issues. US National Directory of Volunteer Monitoring Programs http://yosemite.epa.gov/water/volmon.nsf This fifth National Directory of Volunteer Environmental Monitoring Programs Directory is focused primarily on monitoring of aquatic environmentsorivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands. The overwhelming majority of the nearly 800 groups listed here monitor water bodies. Yet many do so in the context of the watershed as a whole, which means that they monitor not just the water body itself but also the vegetation, wildlife, and land uses in the surrounding landscape. US National Monitoring Conference http://NWQMC.site.net This is the site for the National Water Quality Monitoring Council. The NWQMC was established to implement a voluntary, integrated, nationwide strategy to improve water resource monitoring, assessment, and reporting. It sponsored its first conference in 1998, during which over 400 attendees participated in workshops and discussions on a variety of topics related to water monitoring issues. The second conference will be held in Austin, TX April 25-27, 2000. US National Volunteer Monitoring Conference http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/monitoring/notice.html This is the site for "Moving into the Mainstream," the 6th National Volunteer Monitoring Conference to be held April 26-29, 2000 in Austin, TX. Topics to be covered at the conference include: planning, implementing and improving your volunteer monitoring program; new approaches and initiatives; and tools and methods. The Volunteer Monitor: The Newsletter of Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/monitoring/volunteer/vm_index.htm Eleanor Ely, Editor E-mail: volmon@rivernetwork.org The Volunteer Monitor is a twice yearly newsletter that facilitates the exchange of ideas, monitoring methods, and practical advice among volunteer environmental monitoring groups across the nation. Subscriptions are free. To be added to the mailing list for hard copies, write to the Volunteer Monitor. Several back issues are available on-line. The newsletter has a permanent editor and a volunteer editor board. In addition, a different monitoring group serves as co-editor for each issue. Past topics include: school-based monitoring; volunteer monitoring: past, present, and future; managing and presenting your data; the wide world of monitoring. Volunteer Monitoring Websites http://water.nr.state.ky.us/ww/vm.htm The list, maintained by Kentucky Water Watch, is a summary of high-quality web sites that deal directly with the field of volunteer monitoring. This page has links to over 60 school-based, local, state, national and international web sites. Watershed Education Resources on the Internet http://www.igc.apc.org:80/green/resources.html This page, compiled by GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) and EcoNet, has links to nearly 100 sites related to watershed education and monitoring programs worldwide. |