Environmental management system for forest industries in Developing Countries

Since time immemorial, human societies have had a tendency to use the environment as if it were an inexhaustible resource. This unsustainable use of resources may have led to disasters, which include destruction of tropical rainforests, greenhouse gases and greenhouse effect leading to climate change with associated droughts, floods and famine. Other disasters include soil degradation and erosion, acid rain, shortage of waste dumping space, depletion of ozone layer with accompanying dramatic increase in levels of dangerous ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the earth's surface, and loss of life-supporting biodiversity. Environmentally responsible behaviour of forest industries in most developing countries can be influenced by relevant sections of environmental law through a regulatory command-and-control approach (e.g. setting permissible levels of sulfur dioxide emission per hour from a paper and pulp mill, or requirement of environmental impact studies before a treatment plant license can be granted). Responsible behaviour can also be influenced by economic incentives such as pollution charges, deposit/refund schemes and performance bonds, etc. Furthermore, environmentally responsible behaviour can be influenced by adopting international environmental management standards, such as ISO 14000 series, although this has potential economic impacts on the business of forest industries in some developing countries like Zambia, as discussed in the later sections of Chapter Two. Implementation of some areas of environmental law can be challenging to most governments in the developing world. The case study on the implementation of mandatory environmental impact assessment legislation in Zambia provided some insights on the challenges that some developing countries might face as they try to carry out a vigorous implementation of the law to safeguard the environment. The challenges are many. It must be emphasised, though, that these challenges do not constitute a weakness or deficiency in the environmental legal structures of the countries concerned, and should not be taken advantage of by forest industries. It will not be long before tough land use and planning laws and effective implementation and monitoring systems are put in place in some of these countries. This will enable relevant regulatory agencies to effectively monitor operations of industries, including forest industries, and to impose fines and sometimes prosecution on offenders. Evidence from literature and the case study on potential environmental effects associated with some forest industries showed potential for these industries to pollute the environment in which they may operate and beyond. This potential for water and air pollution and other social and economic effects starts from growing and tending of wood resources both in indigenous and plantation forests, through wood processing to waste disposal. Use of chemicals to boost growth and to control pests and diseases that affect the trees, inappropriate silvicultural practices, and processing of wood into various wood products have potential to pollute the environment. Burning of forest biomass and wood waste, coupled with emissions from processing of wood products and associated activities, release substantial quantities of air and water pollutants. Despite the potential for environmental damage, the forest industries have opportunities to mitigate some or all adverse environmental impacts associated with their operations by means of a two-way approach suggested in Chapter Four. The case study in Chapter Five on the assessment of environmental management practices in some forest industries of. Australia revealed a variety of industrial experience, progress, and understanding with regard to environmental management. The study provided important lessons. The first lesson was that environmental management was essential to forest industries and that it could no longer be ignored. Second, environmental management could be achieved through various approaches and no one approach could be the best fit for all forest industries. Finally, any approach to environmental management would need support in terms of development of techniques for evaluating environmental impacts. The proposed environmental management system was not meant to be an exhaustive model or panacea which all forest industries in developing countries like Zambia would adopt for their environmental management systems or programs. The proposal would only be used as a reference model for development of more appropriate models for various forest industries in these countries. Although partly based on provisions of ISO 14000 environmental management standards, the proposal differed with this provision at the implementation stage. The proposal suggested certain measures that would emphasise or promote integration and ownership of the system. By and large, the thesis recommended putting in place a proactive system or program of environmental management in forest industries of developing countries