RESUMO
The effectiveness of impact assessment (IA) methods has been a neglected topic in procedural effectiveness research, which has placed higher relevance on the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and the environment impact assessment (EIA) process in general. This study analysed the effectiveness of methods used in IA in Colombia to demonstrate that they have been used in compliance with the Terms of Reference (ToR) but did not analyse their effectiveness. A total of 131 EIS were analysed using a revised version of the Effectiveness Index for Environmental Impact Assessment Methods (EIM) proposed by Caro and Toro (2016). It is concluded that, even if the environmental authority has accepted the EIS as a requirement for obtaining an environmental license, most of the methods that have been used in these technical documents, obtained a medium or low degree of effectiveness. The parameters regulated for the law have a higher percentage of compliance. The analysis suggests that the guidelines provided for the law, related to the design and implementation of the methods, should be improved to develop an effective EIA.
Assuntos
Meio Ambiente , ColômbiaRESUMO
Urban surfaces receive waste deposits from natural and human sources, which create a negative visual impact and are identified as potentially significant contributors to water and air pollution. Local councils are usually responsible for the sweep of roads and footpaths to keep the environment clean and free of litter. Quality controls are useful in order to check whether the services are being executed according to the quantity, quality and performance standards that are provided. In this sense, several factors might affect the efficiency of the management of cleaning and waste collection services; however, only a few contributions are available in the literature on the various aspects associated with the level of street cleanliness. In this paper, the suitability of a Cleanliness Index has been checked, for the case of Granada (South of Spain), in order to contribute to the proper management of public expenditure, improving the quality and cost of an essential service for any municipality. Results have concluded that the city exhibits a good level of cleanliness, although the standard of cleaning varied from one area of the city to another. The Cleaning Index fits well to the general situation of the different districts of Granada and thus, it could be considered a useful tool for measuring the level of cleanliness of the streets of the city and for evaluating the organization of the cleaning service, such that an outsourced company would not be responsible for controlling all the cleaning services.