ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND RENOVATION OF PORTS AND HARBOURS IN BULGARIA

EMMANUEL BOON Department of Human Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103 B-1090 Brussels, BELGIUM E-mail: eboon@vub.ac.be ABSTRACT Over the past few decades, the inextricable link between planning for socio-economic development and environmental health has become more obvious. Previously, the main policy objective of socioeconomic development in all countries of the world is improving the quality of life of the population. Most countries attempted to achieve this by formulating and implementing development plans without any serious effort to integrate environmental considerations into the process. However, in order to ensure that human activities interfere minamally with the functioning of the life support systems or natural ecological processes, environmental planning is becoming an increasingly important imperative in the rapidly globalised world economy. This paper provides an overview on the concept of planning, environment, and the importance of and approaches to environmental planning. The application of planning to port environments in Bulgaria certainly involves strategic management implications. The paper discusses a number of useful strategic management elements to guide an effective integration of environmental planning in the management of ports and harbours in Bulgaria. These key strategic considerations include environmental education and training; institutional and human capacity building; increasing and broadening participation; co-operation, networking and partnerships; and the evaluation and monitoring of port operations for the detection and mitigation of negative impacts. The discussion of the chapter is supported by a case study on the ports and harbours in Ghana . Keywords: Environmental education, Environmental planning, Institutional capacity building, Monitoring, Planning process, Strategic management, Sustainable development. 1. INTRODUCTION Although the extractors of the various natural resources hold different views on the justification of their activities, the continuing depletion of the earths resources at an increasing rate remains a fundamental and an increasingly serious problem. As Agenda 21 [UN, 1992] points out, the prevailing systems for decision-making in many countries tend to separate economic, social and environmental factors at the policy, planning and management levels. The various actors who exploit and use natural resources often look myopically at the environmental system and see only those parts which are within their own sphere of activity and/or interest. Indeed, it is because of this myopic viewpoint that various human interventions in the environment often tend to work against each other. Clearly, given the fact that environmental issues are complex, plagued with uncertainty and highly political in nature [Bardwell, 1991], more attention than hitherto is needed in planning 149

and implementing human activities in order to ensure a move towards sustainable development. The introduction of environmental management systems at the national level in many countries, and the requirement that such systems should go beyond merely restoring environmental damage to actually reducing or eliminating pollution, clearly show the importance of environmental planning in forestalling further damage to the natural environment and society. Not surprisingly, economic policies that are not integrated with environmental planning, or do not address environmental protection issues adequately, tend to exacerbate environmental pollution. The extensive damage that has been caused in many countries through the exploitation of resources such as forest products, minerals, agricultural lands and water bodies is symptomatic of the lack of proper environmental planning. Furthermore, planning for socio-economic development and the health of the environment are inextricably linked. For example, if the landscape loses its productivity, standards of living are bound to decline; and, when it loses its aesthetic appeal, property prices may fall. Clearly therefore, environmental planning needs to be done and implemented in an integrated manner at the level of the local community, as well as at regional, national and international levels. Rosenbaum [Rosenbaum, 1974] has identified a number of obstacles, which hinder effective environmental planning: '...in the past, national governments have been potent environmental degraders because their planners usually treated the environmental consequences of policy as a secondary effect unnoticed, unplanned, and seldom emphasised....Whether through indifference, ignorance, or political expediency, public officials, by disregarding ecological values, established a highly stable formal and informal policy process that circumvented the environmental problems they were generating.' Another increasingly serious problem facing the world today arises from the fact that environmental pollution does not respect national boundaries. Increasingly each nation is both creator and victim of pollution created by others and, consequently, it is becoming impossible for nations to protect their own environment without regional or international co-operation. Many Central and Eastern European countries and the South are seriously disadvantaged by their limited planning and administrative structures. Often their ability to plan effectively is also thwarted by poverty (sometimes extreme poverty), low level of public awareness, little or no public participation, and civil unrest. [OECD, 1995a] The absence of effective legislative and administrative procedures for incorporating ecological data into the decision-making process constitutes another major hindrance to effective environmental planning and management. The approach to development planning in most of these countries has been 'top down'; and this led to excessive centralisation of the planning machinery; concentration of development efforts on selected sectors of the economy without any appropriate linkages among the sectors or with the rest of the economy; and concentration of socio-economic activity in a few of the urban centres. Slocombe [Slocombe, 1993] adds that while the negative environmental and social impacts of mega-projects and suburb and urban growth have long been known, only recently have environmental problems been framed in planning terms. Devuyst [Devuyst, 1993] emphasises that 'environmental concerns in developing countries should be marked by a determination to achieve sustainable development in an environmentally sound manner'. Political and organisational obstacles constrain the ability of governments in developing countries to formulate more credible environmental management systems [Carley and Christie, 1992]. Also, the prevailing acute shortage of indigenous management skills at nearly all levels constitutes a major, if not the major, constraint to the achievement of socio-economic development. The inability of current managerial and planning systems to cope either with the dynamics of rapid change, or 150

with the interaction between numerous organisations, entrepreneurs and the environment, is referred to as limits to governance. These interactions among the various actors produce enormous turbulence in the environment, which further erodes the ability of governments and non-state actors to achieve sustainable development. Two other critical problems, which hinder effective sustainable environmental planning in both developed and developing countries, are fragmentation of policy and institution and tensions which can occur between central, regional and local governments. Governments often pursue contradictory policies. But both politicians and the public appear to be impotent and lack the necessary will or motivation to force those in power to undertake the difficult task of mediating between conflicting social, economic and environmental goals for protecting the environment. A further difficulty in environmental planning is caused by international rivalry. It creates tensions in international relations and makes collaboration between and among nations difficult to achieve. A typical example of this is the wide and growing socio-economic disparity between the rich and poor nations, which is often a critical issue in all discussions on environmental planning and management at the international level. Similar problems of both developmental planning and environmental planning also occur at the organisational level, as they do at national and international levels. G. Daneke [Daneke, 1982] illustrates the situation thus: 'The incentives for corporate planners to interact with social and environmental policy analysts are certainly present in terms of reducing investment uncertainties, but an atmosphere of mutual co-operation to achieve viable trade-offs between economic and environmental concerns may be difficult to achieve.' 2. UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT Clearly, ensuring a good environment, and moving towards sustainable development, require a complete understanding of the total environmental system as well as of the political, organisational and managerial functions of modern society. In other words, learning to understand the interactions between the environment and society is an important pre-requisite of effective environmental planning and management. The environment comprises many subsystems, actors and processes. The main environmental subsystems are physical, biotic, ecological, social, political, economic, and technological. These subsystems include all subsurface elements, all man-made and natural surface elements, as well as those of the atmosphere. The local community, public agencies, professional associations, property developers, property owners and the general public are the key actors in the environmental decision-making process Often, environmental decision-making is significantly influenced by both behavioural and cultural dimensions. Environmental decision-making can be nation-specific or region-specific. There are, on the other hand, increasingly serious global environmental problems that can only be addressed through international co-operation, collaboration and partnership. The stratospheric ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and diminishing biological diversity are today the main global environmental problems [Field, 1994]. A number of serious human health and agricultural crop damage are attributed to ozone depletion and the earths rich bio-diversity. This is putting at risk the proper functioning of global ecosystems that are so vital to both a healthy environment and human well-being. Given the complexity of the environment and the increasing environmental problems being created by various types of human activities, it is clear that a holistic approach to studying environmental problems is more effective. It is therefore important that the environmental subsystems and their 151

respective elements are analysed and documented in a way that facilitates easy communication and understanding by all the relevant actors and stakeholders. This means that formats, which permit intelligent debate and decision-making and minimise confusion and conflict between and among the actors, must be adopted. Understanding the environment as a system and the interactions amongst its subsystems should be based on an analysis of the cause and effect relationships between and amongst the various constituent parts and the stakeholders. In addition, a planning and management system that permits simplification and eliminates duplication or overlap within the existing system is needed. It should however be recognised that the final outcome of the environmental decisionmaking process of ports and harbours of Bulgaria depends on the values they the ports attached to the environment. It should also be noted that each port and harbour is unique, with its unique set of values which have evolved over time. The uniqueness of a given port should therefore be the principal determinant of its environmental planning and management system. 3. TRENDS IN PLANNING 3.1. Definition and importance of planning Planning takes place in different environments, in a village, town, country, region or in organisations such as ports and harbours. However, the elusive nature of planning is acknowledged in the literature [Smith, 1993; Wildavsky, 1973]. It is argued that planning can be all things to all people the ability to control the future by current acts, the application of causal knowledge, a form of political power, and an act of faith. Benveniste [Benveniste, 1989] sees planning as the elaboration of a set of related programmes designed to achieve certain goals ... [and the] ... planning process is the set of interventions and other actions undertaken during the elaboration of a plan. Planning may be said to be a rational methodology for approaching the future. It involves the definition of the problem to be addressed, establishment of planning objectives, identification of the assumptions on which planning is to be based, search for and evaluation of alternative courses of action, and the selection of a particular action to be followed [Compton, 1993]. What is probably more important is the fact that development, or human well-being, is a primary concern of planning. Development itself is increasingly defined in social and environmental terms. It is seen as enlarging the range of peoples choices, including access to income and employment opportunities, education, health and a clean and safe physical environment. Carley and Christie [Carley and Christie, 1992] recognise the prevalence and importance of developmental planning thus: 'Most...countries have...economic plans, forest plans, plans for tourism, industry, services, ranching etc. not to mention plans for rural agricultural development. All these plans and development efforts impact on one another; and can conflict with one another...in an attempt to harmonise economic development with sectoral objectives, a land use planning overview is essential ... a planning framework within which public bodies, the private sector and individuals can all operate.' Baldwin [Baldwin,1985] prefers to consider planning within a wider context of resource management as the initiation, transformation, distribution and disposal of resources in a manner capable of sustaining human activities, with a minimum disruption of physical, ecological, and social processes. For Slocombe [Slocombe, 1993], planning is the collection and analysis of information to serve the public interest by performing a wide range of human, economic and other developmental activities. Another significant trend in planning is the need to maintain cultural diversity, while at the same time aiming to provide people with an environment that supports their way of life. People from 152

different cultural backgrounds have different ideas about what constitutes a satisfactory environment. Planners should therefore have a proper understanding of how people react to their environment; otherwise unnecessary social costs may be incurred through the unintentional creation of environments that alienate people. 3.2. Approaches to planning There are many approaches to planning, including substantive planning and procedural planning. Substantive planning is concerned with the subject matter of planning, or the object of planning. Procedural planning, also called the classical model of the planning process is a means for promoting economic growth through the application of rational procedures of thought and action. [Faludi, 1973; Cayer and Weschler, 1988] The planning process should be separated from the substantive content of the plan itself. Procedural planning consists of the following inter-related steps [Cayer and Weschler, 1988]: identification of needs, specification of goals and objectives, development of alternative means to attain each goal, estimation of the costs of each alternative, selection of the most promising alternative(s). Darke [Darke, 1983] advocates the integration of substantive planning with procedural planning. He argues that procedural planning theory is only a partial approach to the explanation of planning, because it is inherently confined to a conservative political philosophy that views social action from a strictly functional perspective. Moreover, the role of the state as an agent of change is not taken into account in procedural planning, neither is an analysis based on class, gender or political ideology. Procedural planning theories are also said to have limited methodological basis and constrained by their adherence to the notion of rationality. These weaknesses of the approach prevent it from addressing adequately the larger social milieu of a planning endeavour. It is argued, therefore, that the substance of planning should not be separated from the planning process. Hudson [Hudson, 1979] suggested five types of planning, which include synoptic planning, incremental model of planning, trans-active approach to planning, advocacy planning, and radical planning. Other approaches to planning include the top-down approach, the bottom-up approach, a mixture of the top-down and bottom-up approaches, and the team approach. At the micro level planning generally entails the setting of the enterprise objectives and establishing the policies, procedures, and programmes for their realisation. It involves determining what needs to be done, by whom, and by when, in order to discharge ones assigned responsibilities. In other words, the exercise is to establish a predetermined course of action within an agreed policy framework. Customarily defined as strategic, tactical, or operational, it can be at the individual level, at the level of a working group, or at the functional level of an organisation. At the individual level, planning is required to deliver assigned tasks while at the working group or the functional level it must include agreement on purpose, assignment and acceptance of individual responsibilities, co-ordination of activities, increased commitment to group goals, and lateral communication. Mintzberg [Mintzberg, 1994] gives an excellent review of the various definitions of planning and their interpretation. For some, it is thinking about the future, or simply taking the future into account. To others, planning is about controlling the future not just thinking about it but acting on it or enacting it. More comprehensively, planning is decision-making the conscious determination of courses of action designed to accomplish purposes a formalised procedure for delivering an articulated result in the form of an integrated system of decisions. There are many reasons why organisations need to plan. One is to ensure the co-ordination of their 153

activities, taking the future into account by preparing for the inevitable, pre-empting the undesirable, and controlling the controllable. Organisations must plan to be rational. The planning process also determines the position of the planner and indicates how, and to what extent, the general public should be involved [Slocombe, 1993]. 4. CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING It is unfortunate that while developmental planning is largely the work of economists and mainstream urban and regional planners, environmental planning remains the exclusive and separate realm of environmentalists, ecologists, and resource managers of various kinds. Beer [Beer, 1990] sees the role of the planner as thinking more widely about how environments can be maintained or created to ensure human well-being within the socio-economic constraints and conditions of the community in question and its perception of the environment. In other words, planners do need to translate the concerns of the community for their immediate habitat into strategies and policies in order to guide the planning process. Growing concern for the quality of the environment, and for the preservation and conservation of nature, is thus a fundamental objective of environmental planning. It underlines the need for integrating both environmental and health aspects into the decision-making process of national planning. W. Rosenbaum [1974] argues the central role of environmental planning thus: Faludi [Faludi, 1987] sees environmental planning as the sum total of all public environmental measures which an environmental authority can take. According to him, an environmental plan which is a document (or documents) used in guiding operational decision-making on public environmental measures therefore stands for the outcome of deliberations in environmental planning. Westman [Westman, 1978] views environmental planning in terms of measuring the value of the earths resources and predicting changes caused by disturbances. It is concerned with the analysis of social, economic and environmental relationships resulting from human activities, and with the design of programmes and action plans for improving both social well-being and environmental health. He stresses the importance of environmental planning in these words: 'It seems clear that if we are to preserve for future generations some semblance of the biological order of the world of the past and hope to improve on the deteriorating standards of urban public health, environmental science and technology must quickly come to play a dominant role in designing our social and industrial structure for tomorrow ... The prediction of impacts may form part of tasks in environmental planning and design, resource management, and applied ecology.' The objectives of environmental planning thus include measures to be taken under a variety of circumstances, some of which cannot be known in advance. The environmental planning process also forces public officials to aggressively assert governmental power in vast areas of the economy that have been left largely to private interests. National governments need to establish priorities for environmental protection, calculate and create the trade-offs to be made between environmental protection and other national goals, and plan resource use and protection over several generations. In addition, the planning process should give equal emphasis to both national socio-economic development and environmental quality. It is very important for national governments to be more sensitive to the environmental impacts of their own policies, and more willing to sacrifice other objectives to environmental protection when good ecology so dictates. Nations will bear not only severe environmental costs for delaying such planning, but will also incur high political and economic costs. Delaying environmental planning may lead to severe environmental costs; it may also lead to near-crisis situations whose management would entail high or very high social costs. 154

The design and implementation of appropriate and effective environmental plans depend on the ability to prepare accurate Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). The purpose of EIA is two-fold: first, it attempts to identify what functions of the affected resources would be modified by each alternative proposal; and secondly it attempts to predict reliably the direction and magnitude of any modification likely to result from each alternative decision or action as compared to when that action is not taken. Evaluation, on the other hand, is the subsequent examination of both the patterns of modifications caused by the action(s) taken and the consequences thereof. The approach to environmental planning should be broad, based on both monetary and non-monetary considerations. Good inter-disciplinary skills are needed in an integrated planning approach. From the very outset, the environmental planner needs to understand the distinction between environmental assessment and evaluation. Faludi [Faludi, 1987] suggests that planning should depend on the context in which it takes place the planning environment Ryding [Ryding, 1994] proposes two different but closely related environmental planning and decision-making approaches which are very relevant to ports and harbours: the institutional approach, used in the social planning process (including agricultural, forestry, municipal and transportation sectors), in which remedial measures are often in the form of legislation, regulations, taxes and charges; and the commercial approach, used for planning in the business sector (including energy production, and industrial, trade and retail sectors), in which remedial measures can be in the form of nonregulatory initiatives for improving existing treatment processes, developing new environmentally-friendly processes and products, reducing waste through waste minimisation programmes, and/or for improving the logistics of transportation, storage and sale of products. A generalised planning and decision-making model for all aspects of environmental protection is shown in Figure 1. Three pertinent features of environmental planning can be deduced from this figure. The first is the multi-disciplinary nature of planning which, for example, involves economic, social, ecological, land-use and technical considerations. The second and third features refer to public involvement in the planning process, and to the systematic approach of the process starting from the setting of objectives through to the implementation of remedial programmes, assessment of results and a permanent feedback mechanism. Input to the general planning and decision-making model derives from the separate priorities set in the institutional and commercial approaches and from the outcome of analyses of potential consequences based on user and cost/benefit elements. The following must be considered during the environmental planning process of ports and harbours in Bulgaria: environmental effect-oriented issues should focus on the minimisation of ecological threats vis--vis the input of the mixture of pollutants released; technologically-oriented issues should focus on access of all countries to best available technologies; economically-oriented issues should focus on potential financial consequences before decisions are made; also, both financial aid programmes and modalities for transferring necessary technology should be decided upon. The planning and decision-making approach of ports and harbours in Bulgaria may be based on the following: initial evaluation of the environmental areas under threat; priority list of actions; plan of action; procedure for remedial actions; and regular auditing. 155

Figure 1. General sequence of planning and decision-making aspects in implementing remedial programmes. [S. Ryding p. 681,1994].

In order to ensure that all the various issues are properly addressed and that nothing important is forgotten or omitted, each step in developing a common strategy needs to be comprehensively assessed and checked with the help of rules-of-the-thumb. The acronym ACTION, explained below, provides a suitable set of such rules:

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A : Anticipate the participation/involvement of all the stakeholders and the general public in the environmental planning and decision-making process as well as in the different environmental, technical and economic consequences; C: Conclude the most plausible economic and environmental development; T: Tabulate the possible advantages and disadvantages of all potential decisions; I: Initiate a thorough evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of alternative decisions; O: Omit all less useful alternatives and highlight the preferred ones; and N: Negotiate with all relevant parties for the acceptance of the preferred action. In general, the following characterise an environmental plan: all stakeholders and the general public should be involved in setting and discussing environmental priorities; the plan should be relevant and capable of meeting the stated environmental objectives; the plan should be operational and cost-effective at both regional and global scales (this implies the allocation of environmental investments beyond national and regional boundaries); and the plan should be realistic and feasible. 4.1. Strategic environmental planning and management Effective environmental planning and renovation of ports and harbours in Bulgaria require a sound application of the concept of strategic planning and management. The relevant elements of strategic planning and management for ports and harbours include the following: the setting of clear environmental objectives and the definition appropriate policies and programmes for their achievement; effective environmental education and training; institutional and human capacity building; participation; co-operation; networking; partnerships; and harmonisation of policies; and finally, evaluation, monitoring and control. 4.1.1. Strategic environmental planning Environmental management is about the achievement of particular environmental goals and objectives which may be broadly defined in terms of the protection and/or improvement of environmental quality [Compton, 1993]. The setting of clear environmental objectives for ports and harbours in Bulgaria is important in the planning process; the objectives help to determine how specific policies and actions should be developed for their achievement. It is important that environmental planning and management of ports and harbours in Bulgaria are guided by long-term strategic considerations and the need for renovation. Environmental objectives may be set as precise quantitative targets, or expressed as broad aspirations. Strategic planning is an effective tool which nation states and organisations can use to estimate the degree of risk of port policies and actions in Bulgaria, This will help to facilitate the realisation of their environmental goals and objectives. However, the top management of port organisations must have a sound conceptual understanding of long-term planning if it is to apply this tool effectively. Daneke [Daneke, 1982] sees strategic planning as a process for distilling social goals and objectives, and design of alternative scenarios or road maps that become the basis for meaningful collective choice. According to Steiner and Miner [Steiner and Miner, 1977] the essential features of strategic planning are: 157

it deals with the future impact of current decisions and actions; it examines the cause-and-effect relationships of an actual or intended decision or action over time; it examines the alternative courses of action that could be taken in the future, and, when choices are made, how they should form the basis of current decisions; it considers future opportunities and threats together with other relevant data, thereby creating a management regime to improve current decisions for exploiting future opportunities and for avoiding future threats; it is a process which begins with the setting of objectives and the definition of strategies and policies to achieve those objectives; detailed plans should be developed to make sure that appropriate strategies are implemented to achieve the stated objectives; it is a continuing process of deciding in advance what is to be done, when it is to be done, how, and who is going to do it; it is a philosophy, an attitude and a way of life. It is an understanding that planning requires dedicated action based on the contemplation of the future; a determination to plan constantly and systematically as an integral part of management; and it may be defined as a structure of plans a structure which integrates strategic plans with short-term operational plans.

In the absence of comprehensive strategic environmental planning and management, most countries and organisations, especially the developing and Central and Eastern European countries, will face mounting social costs in the long-term. Studies made by the UNDP [UNDP, 1995] on the experience of a number of developing countries in formulating and implementing their national conservation strategies, national environmental action plans and national Agenda-21 reveal the following weaknesses: the strategy was not a priority, either at the government level or at the local level; the process was externally-driven, without domestic resources and without prioritisation; emphasis was on the product (ie. strategy or action plan as a document) rather than on the process; there was lack of stakeholder involvement, and no ownership or implementation; each report or strategy was treated in isolation; no coherence, no information gathering and no historical antecedent which could facilitate subsequent work; locally available management skills were insufficient, sometimes grossly so. As Box 1 shows, port management in Bulgaria must acquire a number of critical skills if they are to succeed in developing workable environmental plans. Box 1: Skills needed in drawing up an environmental plan Preparation of the plan: Preparing a plan can be a long, complicated and expensive process, for the ports, harbours and the stakeholders. Handling the sometimes thousands of submissions and the consequential hearing and decisions can be a highly complex process, with many stakeholders and consultants involved. Good project management techniques are essential to maximise efficiency, reduce delays and co-ordinate resources and inputs. Plan Structure: The structure of an environmental plan is a fundamental matter to resolve at the beginning of the plan preparation process. Complex structures may seem better in theory, but can be difficult to use and more expensive to change. Plan Contents: A plan typically contains a range of supporting technical information such as appendices, diagrams, tables, and maps. There are a variety of techniques that can be used some more effective than others. 158

Engaging Decision-makers: Active engagement of the decision-makers (EPA, local authorities, etc.) in the process is an important aspect of plan preparation. This can be difficult given the complexity of the issues and the length of the process (often over many years and election cycles). Decision-makers must also have a full understanding of the issues and the statutory and legal requirements. They should be fully informed and involved in the process, and appropriate means should be taken to facilitate the hearing and decision-making process. Writing Rules: Writing rules, which have the effect of regulation, is a critical skill to plan preparation. It requires a good understanding of legal principles, as well as a clear focus on the purpose of each rule. Alternative Methods: In order to produce a good environmental plan, the ports must assess the full range of possible ways of achieving good environmental outcomes, and must produce a written record of this assessment process. Plan Integration: Integrating a plan with the policies of other plans can present some challenges. A plan might need integrating with the plans of other local authorities (districtregional integration, or the plans of adjoining local authorities) and with the ports own internal plans and policies, such as strategic plans, codes of practice, and safety and security plans Making Plans User-friendly: Plans can be large and intimidating documents, and often difficult to use, especially for the lay person. It is therefore important to use appropriate techniques to improve their legibility and ease of understanding and use. Dispute Resolution: Dispute resolution is an essential skill for policy-makers, and is needed throughout the plan preparation process. In resolving disputes it is important that the views of different parties are given credence, while ensuring that plan provisions remain cohesive and effective policy instruments. 4.1.2. Strategic environmental management Strategic management is a process by which organisations determine their purpose, objectives and desired levels of attainment; decide on actions for achieving these objectives in an appropriate timescale, and frequently in a changing environment; implement the actions; and assess progress and results. Whenever and wherever necessary, the actions may be changed or modified. The magnitude of these changes can be dramatic and revolutionary, or more gradual and evolutionary [Thompson, 1997]. As is illustrated in Figure 2, an effective strategic environmental management system for the ports and harbours of Bulgaria can serve as a basis for overcoming the above deficiencies. It is essential that port management should ensure a creative and error-correcting system that gives the ports their purpose and cohesion, and assures a satisfactory return on investment. Strategy refers to a well co-ordinated set of action programmes aimed at securing a long-term sustainable advantage whiles strategic management is the systematic identification of, and response to, opportunities and threats, both of which can and do originate from a firms domestic and/or international market. Strategic management is a continuous iterative process founded on the reality of good management practice. It focuses on the present strategy of the organisation, supported by the resources and strengths generated in the past. It also focuses on the design and implementation of a strategy that will carry it successfully into the future [Stahl and Grigsby, 1992]. The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, referred to as SWOT analysis, usually covers both the internal and external environments of the organisation.

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Figure 2: The Strategic Management Model. Source: Wheelen, T. and Huger, J. (1995) Wheelen and Hunger [Wheelen and Hunger, 1995] have proposed a strategic management model, shown in Figure 2, which separates the various activities that must be linked together in making strategic decisions for an organisation. As can be seen from this figure, strategic management involves the formulation, implementation, evaluation and control of strategic plans of the organisation in question. Strategic management is also concerned with how an organisation goes about translating its policies, missions, objectives and goals into results. This, however, can only be done if the organisation carries out a proper assessment of its internal and external environments. 4.1.3. Environmental education and training Probably the most demanding task in environmental planning and management of ports and harbours in Bulgaria is that of educating and providing its employees with training and skills for predicting the likely outcome of human activities on society and the environment itself needs to be integrated into environmental education (EE) programmes. Indeed, enhanced public awareness of environmental issues and problems is a critical and over-riding concern in successful environmental planning and management [Buckley, 1991]: In the longer term this may be done through the normal school education system. Unless public environmental awareness is improved in the short-term, however, long-term improvements will be too late. More effective means to communicate the importance of environmental concerns to those in business, government and the general electorate are urgently needed.' Clearly, therefore, any effort to develop an innovative and productive environmental planning system is unlikely to succeed unless public officials, charged with a nations environmental management, cultivated an ecological conscience themselves Environmental education and training are most appropriate for equipping such officials and other environmental stakeholders with essential skills in environmental planning and management. In particular, environmental education would help port administrations and stakeholders to acquire essential skills for understanding and using basic analytical techniques and tools such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Economic Impact Assessment (EcIA) [Clark, 1989; Jain and Hutchings, 1978; Welford and Gouldson, 1993].

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Apart from helping to redress the lack of skills referred to above, environmental education and training will also equip environmental scientists, especially in the developing countries, with expertise in the appropriate and integrating styles of environmental management, as well as in institutional and organisational development. However, the approach must be multi-dimensional, as shown in Figure 3. Single issues must be analysed in their wider environmental context. And this would require the acquisition of wider and deeper knowledge of the environment which should be documented and disseminated in a simple but effective manner to all the social sectors concerned.

Figure 3. Multidimensional Approach to Planning. (Ryding, 1994) Dissemination of information would facilitate both the setting of environmental priorities and international co-operation in environmental planning and management. 4.1.4. Increasing participation For Stohr and Taylor [Stohr and Taylor, 1981] the most appropriate approach to environmental planning is planning from below; that is, planning for the people and with the people. As Carley and I. Christie [Carley and Christie, 1992] point out, environmental issues must be fully integrated into socio-economic planning and involve public participation at all levels individual, community and global. Faludi [Faludi, 1987] also refers to planning as teamwork in which discussions should not be limited to the chief planners and politicians, but should involve all sections of the community. He sees participation as a means of furthering criticism, thereby expanding the range of options considered. Ryding [Ryding, 1994] also suggests that, at the individual level, people should assist in environmental protection work through participation in environmental organisations. At the community level, environmental considerations should be integrated into all sectors of society, while the responsibility for safeguarding the environment at the global level should be shared by all countries, both rich and poor. Planning without participation is ineffective, undemocratic, paternalistic, and doomed to failure. Effective participation will 161

however depend on the scope and goals of the strategy and the likely participants as well as on the political and social circumstances [OECD, 2002]. 4.1.5. Co-operation and partnerships Chechile and Carlisle [Chechile and Carlisle, 1991] cite a number of new environmental challenges which compel the various stakeholders in the environment to change their attitudes to environmental issues. These challenges include the high degree of uncertainty attached to the longterm; complex inter-relationships of numerous variables and time constraints; shrinking distances; widening scope; and cultural diversity. The complexity of these challenges implies that environmental policies, plans and programmes of individual countries and organisations need to be effectively co-ordinated and harmonised. Principle 27 of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development [1992] held in Rio de Janeiro emphasized the need for cooperation and partnerships by the world community to ensure the attainment of sustainable development. Also, the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 [United Nations, 2002] recommended the establishment of partnerships amongst sustainable development stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the Plan of Implementation (PoI). The OECD [OECD, 1995b] recognises that environmental planning needs to be effectively coordinated at the international level, because planning requirements are proliferating and becoming increasingly more complex. Also, given that environmental plans are made at the local, regional, national and international levels, and that the planning process often involves several agencies, it is clear that co-operation between and among the different agencies is paramount. To this end Morell [Morell, 1995] suggests that the planning process must have two characteristic features: first, a mechanism for wide dissemination of decisions and information; and, secondly, established structures enabling cross-functional activity. Effective modalities of communication are critical to both and should be developed to ensure wide access to relevant information. For example, video and tele-conferencing facilities can help to reduce the cost of interaction and, at the same time, increase the frequency of communication among the experts. Also, partnerships and networks should be developed to facilitate both understanding and consensus-building among people with diverse expertise, outlook and cultural background. Both governments and environmental stakeholders often play an important role in ensuring that environmental policies, programmes and actions are co-ordinated and harmonised. A successful implementation of environmental plans requires co-ordination at all levels. In the case of developing countries, a high level of co-operation between aid donors and the recipient countries is needed to make sure that all these actors understand each other and that they do not work against each other [OECD, 1995c]. National governments must be at the centre of co-ordination at the following levels: between sectoral ministries and their related organisations; between local, regional and national authorities; between various external actors such as UN agencies, bilateral donors, and international organisations. Some current attempts to improve co-ordination include the following: better information networks; sensitivity to national characteristics (culture, tradition, etc); multi-layer co-ordination; institution-building and tools; co-ordination at the sectoral level as a practical starting point; 162

providing incentives for co-ordination at the individual career level; training experts in multi-sectoral planning and implementation; indicators of sustainability; agreed indicators to measure changes in both natural and social environments to determine whether sustainability of activities is being achieved.

4.1.6. Human and institutional capacity building Human and institutional capacity building, also referred to as institutional and organisational development in literature, is critical for effective environmental planning. Institutional development addresses legal and organisational constraints and limitations in human resources, while legal institutions underlie the fabric of development and environmental control [Carley and Christie, 1992]. For example, property systems and land use planning controls are very important factors in the development and conservation initiatives in ports; yet, very often programmes are initiated without an analysis of these fundamental systems. Legal systems include the necessary laws, regulations and environmental standards, and the government framework to implement them. The legal system also embodies formal arrangements for centralisation or decentralisation of planning and implementation, as well as the institutional arrangements of government. In some countries environmental plans are made by a number of agencies. Such multi-planning agencies are clusters of related planning organisations which permit a wider input of specialisation as well as co-ordination of tasks [Faludi, 1987]. The aim of inter-organisational development should be to forge new, formal and informal linkages among agencies of the government, and beyond government to business and the voluntary and community sectors. There is now an urgent need in most of the developing countries for institutional capacity building for sustainable development. For this, it is suggested that a critical element in strengthening institutional and legislative structures is the selection of environmental policy instruments [Buckley, 1991]. There are three main types of instruments for putting environmental policies into effect, namely technological, regulatory and economic. Training of professionals and strengthening of institutional structures are the two critical areas in which aid donors can assist the developing countries [Buckley, 1991]. The OECD [OECD, 1995a], for example, regards co-ordination and harmonisation of donor approaches to the formulation and implementation of sustainable development activities as key factors for improving the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of development co-operation. Measures proposed for improving co-ordination include setting realistic goals; better information networks; the recognition that people count; training of relevant donor and recipient personnel; and the assessment of co-ordinated activities as part of professional evaluation processes. A key challenge in harmonising environmental plans and planning requirements is to find ways of mutually acknowledging the substance of different plans and strategies, or even common points or areas between different plans. It is also necessary to develop a better understanding of how sectoral strategies relate to the overall planning framework. The translation of plans to suit different national requirements on the basis of experience is an important measure for promoting harmonisation. For example, donors, whether bilateral or multilateral, need to be careful so that they do not accentuate the existing problems of the recipient countries. Inter-organisational development and networks help to facilitate both exchange of information and resources needed for environmental problem-solving. Acting as non-hierarchical social systems, networks permit co-operation and collaboration in implementing sustainable environmental projects. For example, research by Lee [Lee, 1994] on community participation in the planning process shows that, with necessary support, citizens at neighbourhood and community levels can manage lanes, waterways, and waste collection and disposal systems; and that they can also develop 163

and enforce access rules and reciprocal obligations among the members of the community. According to Carley and Christie [Carley and Christie, 1992] there are four main types of networks serving different functions. They include policy networks that are based on the major functional interests of the government. Such networks are characterised by stable relationships, continuity of restricted membership, shared responsibilities for service delivery, and insulation from other networks. Issue networks are considerably less integrated by comparison. They have a large number of participants but a limited degree of inter-dependence. Some are based on the need to share technical information, while others on shared concern over issues such as conservation of the rain forest. Professional networks cut across policy and issue networks, while producer networks are concerned with economic functions and relationship between the private and the public sector. Investment in individual and team skills is one of the keys to organisational innovation for improving the management process, not only in terms of both personnel and professional development, but also for upgrading all other supporting organisational, institutional and legal structures. Incentives are an important means of generating commitment. At higher levels both networking and consensus-building must be made so stimulating and essential to good decisionmaking that senior officials would not like to be left out of the process. 4.2. Case study on combating marine pollution in ports and harbours in Ghana A summary of the main environmental concerns in the Port of Tema in Ghana and management responses to the issues clearly illustrate the importance of systematic environmental planning of ports in developing countries and those of Central and Eastern Europe. Until very recently, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) did not have a clear and documented environmental policy. A draft policy exits but is still awaiting approval by the Board of Directors. GPHA has two main ports located at Takoradi and Tema. The Port of Tema commenced operations in 1962 and comprises the commercial port, the fishing port and an industrial area. Through their daily operations, each of these subsystems of the port contributes significantly to the pollution of the coastal and terrestrial environments. The Port of Tema was opened in 1962. It encloses a water area of 1,659,247 square metres and a total land area of 3,904,754 square metres. It has 12 multipurpose berths with a maximum draft of 9.6 metres. These berths include one oil terminal for the Tema Oil Refinery. Of the 80 per cent of the international trade handled by the two deep-water ports of the country, the Port of Tema alone handles 66 per cent. Imports make up 85 per cent of the trade passing through the port. Major imports include crude oil, petroleum products and dry bulk cargo including alumina, pitch and petroleum coke. As a result of a significant increase in shipping operations at the terminals of the port. The vessels calling may be discharging their oily waste, sewage and garbage along the coast and even in the ports, in the absence of any reception at the ports. Tar balls found on Ghanaian beaches have been attributed to unlawful discharges of waste by ships in the coastal environment. 4.2.1. Existing regulations on pollution Ghanas current vessel-source pollution prevention law is modeled on the 1954 Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL 54). Under this convention, Ghanas domestic legislation enables her to prevent discharge of oil only within 50 miles of her coast. Ghana has ratified MARPOL 73/78 but it is not legislated into domestic law. It requires port operators to provide oil reception facilities to enable ships to discharge or deposit oil residues. This is not so under OILPOL 1954. Article 45 of the Ports Regulations, 1964 (LI 352) under which no ballast, ashes, oils, pants or other objectionable matter shall be thrown overboard or allowed to escape in a port supplements the provisions of OILPOL 54. If a master wants to discharge clear ballast, he must 164

first obtain a written permission of the Harbour Master. MARPOL 73/78 specification requires Ports to provide oil reception facilities in ports. These are absent from our ports. Oil in Navigable Waters (ONWA, 64) does not take account of the 1962 and 1969 amendments to the 1954 Convention, which leaves Ghanas initial treaty obligations concerning ships unimplemented. These ships may lawfully discharge oil outside the old 1954 prohibited areas (50 mile limit). The continuing oil pollution around the fishing harbour from bilges in breach of the ONWA 64 and the port regulation 1964 calls for implementation of current conventions such as the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), 1982 and MARPOL 73/78 which have been ratified by Ghana. 4.2.2. Vessel-source pollution The port was rehabilitated during the 1980s and this resulted in an increase in the port cargo throughput from 2.8 million metric tones in 1987 to about 5million metric tones in 1996. The total number of vessels has also increased from 679 in 1987 to 1022 in 1993. Tanker traffic has increased from 25 in 1987 to 110 in 1995 and 100 in 1996. All these vessels release some oil into the water through operational discharges. 4.2.3. Risk of collision in the port With the increase in the number of tankers, the risk or threat of pollution in the coastal environment from vessel collision or grounding exists in or near the port areas. Emergency response facilities at the ports are therefore necessary. The numerous minor accidents at the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) berth are evidence of possible accidents occuringin the port. There is a probability of offshore oil pollution of the coastal waters from seabed exploration and exploitation. 4.2.4. Tanker operations Oil tankers discharge oil at the oil terminal through an oil pipeline that feeds the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) storage facilities. Small spillages into surrounding waters do occur. When off-loading is completed, the disconnection of the hose between the tanker and the pipeline also results in releases of oil into the water. The cumulative effect of these spillages on the environment could become significant over time. Tema Port has no waste oil reception facilities even though this is a requirement of the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from ships and MARPOL73/78 Protocol. 4.2.5. Vessel operations at the fishing port The Fishing Harbour has a draft of 7 meters and can accommodate vessels up to 250 tonnes. Smaller vessels use the inner harbour, whiles the outer harbour is built for bigger vessels. It has an 800-ton oil storage facility (Ghana Bunking Services Ltd) inside the outer Fishing Harbour. The lines run along the quay walls and supply fuel to fishing vessels. Pollution associated with oil discharges is a problem at the harbour. The Fishing Harbour has a large fleet of vessels. While some of the fleet are actually engaged in fishing, a large number of them lie idle in the port. These end up in the port for long periods and generate a lot of bilge, which is pumped directly into the sea. There are no reception facilities in the port and the port has been unable to monitor these vessels and to stop them from polluting the coastal waters. Many of the small crafts laid up face the risk of sinking. The port monitors these and whenever a list is observed on any vessel, the port takes steps to pump out any water intake. In some instances, particularly when a vessel is lying in a traffic lane and found to be sinking, the port authority tows and dumps in near coastal waters. 165

4.2.6. Oil spill emergency response plans Ghanas Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a national oil spill response plan in place. It has also trained personnel who would direct any response action nationally. The Port of Tema has adopted its own plan from the national one. To ensure the mitigation of oil spillage impacts, the port has procured equipment for oil-spill control. This includes a dispersant pump and booms fitted on tug boats (one each for Tema and Takoradi). The list also includes oil containment booms, floating oil skimmer and high pressure cleaner. Periodic oil spill combating exercises are performed with the equipment on the tugboats. Training has also been provided the personnel who operate the equipment in time of need. Regular exercises are also done by the staff of the marine operations department in preparation for any combat action. It must be emphasized that the technology for oil-spill response is still evolving and therefore scientific information is needed to determine the type of equipment needed for a particular spill. The Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) is working towards the establishment of a marine hydraulic laboratory. This will enable member ports to jointly collect and analyse data for oil-spill and other activities.The provisions of the protocol to the Abidjan Convention should be implemented. More importantly, the OPRC Convention should be ratified by Ghana. 4.2.7. Land-based pollution The port handles among others, chemicals including those for the soap industry, textile industry and bagged fertilizers. Although the storage facilities at the terminals where these cargoes are kept are cleaned regularly to ensure health and safety in the port environment, the wastewater is directly discharged into the sea. The difficulty is that the type of chemicals and their potential toxicity are not fully known by the port or other relevant agencies. Land-based pollution is caused bythe following human activities: a) Industries The quantity and diversity of industrial wastes have increased without any proper waste management practice in the country. There are about 4,000 manufacturing industries nation-wide with about half of these classified as medium to large. Sixty per cent of these medium to large scale industries is located within the Accra/Tema area an area which covers only one per cent of the total land area of the country. The concentration of industries in the Accra/Tema area is a cause for concern with regard to pollution. Industries in Tema include the Tema oil Refinery (TOR), Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), textile Industries, food processing, steel works and cement works. For many of these, the Chemu Lagoon that drains the entire industrial region of Tema is used as a receptacle for both industrial and domestic waste. These streams of waste eventually end in the sea with their attendant adverse effects on marine life. TOR is said to contribute about 20 percent of industrial pollutants by weight through its refining process. However, Act 235 of the oil in Navigable Waters (ONWA) 1964 prohibit the discharge of oil and oily mixture within designated waters from any such operations. b) Fish market and surrounding areas A lot of waste is generated at the Fish Market and the surrounding areas in the Fishing Harbour. A number of fishing companies, fish canning factories and Banks are located within the Fishing 166

Harbour. There is a large fish market at the Fishing Harbour for retail activities. Waste from fish and `other food items sold in this area are collected by vehicles to a central dumping point for burning. Some solid waste may be thrown into the seas. While their effluents are discharged into drains leading to the sea, solid waste is dumped at a central point and burnt. At the canoe fishing area, a similar situation occurs. Here rubbish collecting along the beach washes into the sea creating all manner of litter. Hawking takes place at the Fishing Harbour and is a significant contributor to solid waste generation. The port provides waste receptacles and the rubbish is removed regularly. c) Port administration Port administration also generates significant amounts of paper. In the absence of recycling, large quantities of daily paper waste are dumped into bins that are later burnt 4.2.8. Capacity building Efforts GPHA accords priority to capacity building, especially in the following areas: a) Plant maintenance workshop b) Civil engineering workshop c) Electrical and marine workshops 4.2.9. Recommendations In view of the fact that pollution problems (both vessel-source and land-based) are real in the port, the following recommendations are made for the ports consideration and action. a) Port Environmental policy and management A thorough environmental policy and management plan are required for the port. These will provide standard guidelines for ensuring pollution control in the ports terrestrial and marine environments. The policy should include an effective environmental management system. b) National maritime legislation GPHA is directly supervised by the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways. Under its extensive training programme, the GPHA has trained three maritime lawyers, two of whom attended the IMO International Maritime Law Institute. One of the ports lawyers has been involved in drafting the new Merchant Shipping Act The port needs to liaise with the sector Ministry and the Attorney Generals office to work towards the domestication of international conventions ratified by Ghana. Ghana has only a few surveyors and with over a thousand vessels calling per year, their effectiveness is hampered. GPHAs two surveyors trained at the World Maritime University in Sweden should be designated to assist the government surveyors to inspect all vessels calling at the port. c) Public awareness The port needs to undertake a public education programme for its staff and customers. This will help minimize the level of pollutants. Many industries appear not to be aware of the need for protection of the environment. Key members of the port community such as industries, shipping agencies and ship owners should be educated and requested to comply with port regulations and international conventions. Training in environmental issues must become a formal part of the training programmes of the port. This is to ensure that environmental awareness is created among the rank and file of the port staff so as to help them eliminate their own adverse or harmful environmental practices.

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Steps must be taken to minimize the ports land based pollution to the sea. Strategies that will minimize the full discharge of effluent into the sea (e.g. providing oil separators in drains currently lead to the sea to separate off oil or oily substances on the surface of the water) must be considered. Treatment plants for sewage, garbage and oily water must be aimed at in the long term. d) Environmental impact assessment (EIA) EIA has not been conducted for some of the development projects in the port and its surrounding areas. The Environmental Protection Agency now has power to request companies to conduct EIAs. The EPA must take further steps in requesting industries within the port surrounding areas to practice EIA. The port has to upgrade its regulation and procedure and introduce into it the requirements for EIA. This will enable it to monitor the implementation of the EIA during the project development stage. This is significant in the light of the free port regime being introduced by the port. e) Reception facilities With regard to marine pollution in the Ports of Tema as well as current strategies for combating marine pollution, it is apparent that vessel-source pollution, particularly in the fishing port is not regulated. The port itself is a large generator of solid waste. The provision of reception facilities is very important. This must be incorporated into the management plans of the port to ensure their implementation. In the meantime, the idea of providing vehicles to receive the different kinds of waste must be pursued. This is actually done by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) on a limited scale. In the long run, however, in view of the large amounts of waste generated by the port itself, a treatment plant must be considered for both vessel and shore-generated wastes. A concrete effort directed at environmental management is required to remedy this situation in the port. It is gratifying to note that the port is taking steps to arrest the situation. Plans to draw up an environmental management system are in progress. 4.3. Evaluation, monitoring and control Evaluation, monitoring and control are important strategic elements in developing and implementing environmental plans and management systems. They enable planners to keep track of planned actions and to monitor and compare the actual performance of plans with their anticipated performance. This process permits corrective measures to be taken as and when necessary. Taking the case of the USA as an example, D. McAllister [McAllister, 1986] has shown how the evaluation and monitoring of environmental actions can be inadequate; he argues that a disappointingly small proportion of the decisions by local governments is made on the basis of systematic evaluations of alternatives. Evaluations are often ad hoc, quick, and impressionistic. It is important for monitoring and evaluation to pervade the whole planning process. In simple terms, the process should involve the following inter-related steps: identification of the problem to be addressed; design of alternative solutions to the problem; evaluation of the alternatives; decision on actions to be taken through the appropriate political process, and the implementation of those actions; and monitoring of the results. The first phase of an evaluation exercise involves the definition and estimation of the various impacts of the proposed action. This phase facilitates a good understanding of the consequences of the action. But, at the same time, it poses a dilemma with regard to achieving coherence of the many diverse parts of an environmental action programme. The second phase is basically a synthesis, which attempts to solve the dilemma by integrating the impacts into an overall view so 168

that a judgement can be made as to whether the action should or should not be undertaken. The evaluation process should include the following: performance monitoring to control the use of inputs and the production of outputs; process monitoring to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness with which the plan is implemented; impact evaluation to estimate the quantitative effects of the project on the socio-economic conditions of the target population; and cost-benefit analysis to compare alternative projects in terms of their costs and benefits [Bamberger and Hewitt, 1986]. The responsibility for monitoring and evaluating environmental plans lies with the environment ministry (or its equivalent) and related agencies. Plans may be evaluated in-house, or through the services of consultants for an independent perspective. In order for the evaluation to be operationally useful, senior management must participate actively in the planning and review of the evaluation programme. Taking the investigation of the Parliamentary Committee, Government of Ghana, into an illegal importation of toxic plastic waste materials into that country as an example, Box 2. high lights the importance of evaluating, monitoring and controlling environmental actions; it also provides an insight into some of the fundamental problems environmental authorities face in the process.

Box 2: Evaluation, monitoring and control: investigation into the disposal of plastic waste materials in Ghana by Metalloplastic (Ghana) Limited. Metalloplastic (Ghana) Limited is a registered company in Ghana which manufactures plastic goods from imported raw materials. The company was alleged to have illegally imported into Ghana a quantity of cytotoxic materials from an American company, Petroco Americas Uniondale of New York, for disposal in Ghana. On receipt of a quotation from the supplier, Metalloplastic (Ghana) Ltd. established irrevocable letters of credit at the Bank of Ghana through the National Investment Bank to pay for the raw materials to be imported. Socit Gnrale de Surveillance (Ghana) Ltd. (SGS) confirmed its inspection of the cargo prior to shipment from Houston, USA, on March 9, 1992. The consignment arrived at the Port of Tema, Ghana, on April 15, 1992, and was cleared under a certificate of urgency. The arrival of the waste material caused a stir in the country and had to be referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Science and Technology for investigation. The Committees terms of reference were to determine the following: the circumstances under which Metalloplastica (Ghana.) Ltd. imported plastic waste material into the country and cleared it from the Tema Harbour; whether any post-shipment tests were made on the toxicity or otherwise of the material; who approved the disposal of the waste locally and under what circumstances; whether there was any evidence of toxicity prior to its disposal; whether a second batch of plastic waste material imported by Metalloplastica (Ghana) Ltd. was re-exported to its supplier and, if so, under what circumstances; why was the first batch of the plastic waste material, imported by the company, not re-exported to the supplier; why was the Ghana Standards Board not involved in the laboratory examination of the plastic waste material; and any other issues incidental to the foregoing. The following gave evidence to the Committee: forty-three witnesses from Metalloplastica (Ghana) Ltd.; the Ghana Police Service; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana; the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA); the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC); the Ghana Standards Board (GSB); Socit Gnrale de Surveillance (Ghana) Ltd. (SGS); the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) of Ghana; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana. In addition to the above evidence, the Committee visited the Accra Metropolitan Waste Management 169

Departments landfill site to see where the material had been dumped by Metalloplastica (Ghana) Ltd. Inspection of the cargo, which was stored in the companys warehouse, revealed that only 1,063 of the bags (10 percent), out of a total of 9,334, contained the imported material. This implied that 90 percent of the cargo was not meant for the manufacture of plastic products. Although the results of laboratory tests did not establish the presence of radioactivity, the material was found to contain heavy metals like lead and copper. Part of the cargo was also found to be cytotoxic. In spite of these revelations, and instructions from the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology that the material should not be disposed of in Ghana, the EPA issued Metalloplastica (Ghana) Ltd. a licence to dump the waste in AMAs landfill site. Surprisingly, however, the company could not provide the Committee with any record to prove that the waste was actually disposed of at that site. Since it had no expertise for determining the toxicity or otherwise of the material, the National Toxic Waste Task Force recommended the re-exportation of the waste to the supplier. But Metalloplastica went ahead regardless and dumped the waste at AMAs landfill in Accra. A second consignment of plastic waste material arrived at the Port of Tema on May 10, 1992, but it was re-exported to the supplier on June 4, 1992. A relevant question to ask here is, why was the first consignment not re-exported to the supplier even though 90 percent of it did not comply with the specifications of the import order? It was established, furthermore, that Ghana did not have any need for such waste, neither did it have any facility for treating it. Moreover, no prior consent was given by the Government of Ghana for accepting such wastes, as required under the Basel Convention. A reason given for dumping the waste material in Ghana, contrary to instructions, was that attempts to return it to the US exporter through the American Embassy in Ghana and Green Peace International had not been successful. Also, while investigations were going on in Ghana into the circumstances leading to the illegal importation of the waste, Petroco Americas Uniondale could no longer be contacted in the USA. This case shows, clearly and typically, that the evaluation, monitoring and control of environmental actions in Ghana and many of the developing countries is far from efficient. Co-ordination of the roles of the various organisations in the country, responsible for protecting the environment, was rather weak and poor. Indeed, the fact that the National Investment Bank and the Bank of Ghana agreed to issue irrevocable letters of credit to Metalloplastic (Ghana) Ltd. for the import is ample evidence of the deficiency in evaluating, monitoring and controlling environmental actions in Ghana. The lack of effective communication between and among the various organisations involved in the episode has been a major contributory factor. For example, the Ghana Standards Board was not informed about the arrival of the material in the country, neither was it asked to take samples for testing. The directive issued by the EPA, authorising Metalloplastica (Ghana) Ltd. to go ahead with the disposal of the waste in spite of instructions from the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology not to do so, is symptomatic of the total breakdown of the environmental decisionmaking process; it also illustrates vividly the lack of effective co-operation, collaboration and coordination among the environmental agencies in the country. Furthermore, the capacity of these agencies and their staff to ensure effective environmental planning is questionable. For example, the National Toxic Waste Task Force did not have the expertise to interpret SGS laboratory test results sent from Belgium. Also, different laboratory test results were obtained, each capable of different interpretations, variously by the SGS, the Nogouchi 170

Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana, and the Ghana Standards Board. This points to a lack of uniformity in international environmental standards, as well as to lack of capacity in Ghana for evaluating, monitoring and controlling environmental actions. Finally, the reluctance of both the American Embassy in Accra and Green Peace International to help reexport the first consignment of the waste to the US supplier highlights the problems of international co-operation and co-ordination in matters of environmental protection.
Source: Parliament house, 1994

5. CONCLUSION The crucial need for integrating the environment into developmental planning in a holistic manner has been highlighted in this paper. Such an approach, it is argued, would help arrest the rapid decline of the earths natural resources and restore the health of the environment in the long-term. In order to do this effectively, a deep understanding of the environment as a system is needed, together with access to essential information, basic methodologies, and appropriate instruments of environmental planning and management. Being organisations that heavily impact the environment and communities in their neighbourhood, ports and harbours in Bulgaria need to do environmental planning in a more systematic and effective manner. In addition, the application of strategic planning and management to environmental planning and management of ports in Bulgaria is proposed as an appropriate conceptual framework for enhancing their environmental management practices. The conceptual framework includes environmental education; training; greater participation of the key actors and the general public in planning and management processes; facilitating effective co-operation and partnerships between and amongst the different ports and countries of the world; harmonising policies and plans at all levels; and building human and institutional capacity for the sustainable development of ports and harbour areas. The planning process needs to guarantee the right of all to participate. Environmental information should be reduced to a form in which it is easy to understand, and it should be easily accessible. Future environmental plans should be made more relevant and cost-effective on a national, regional and global scale. Thus, effective environmental planning, especially to deal with trans-boundary problems, would require investment in the environment beyond national and regional boundaries. In order to ensure this, port and harbour employees responsible for planning should have access to effective environmental education and training to enable them to acquire the necessary scientific and multi-disciplinary skills. Environmental planners of ports and harbours in Bulgaria must be skilled in integrating new environmental fields into the planning process. They should also develop their capacity for integrating the different contributions to the process in terms of general points of departure, time spans, ways of formulating hypotheses, and uncertainties which inevitably are attached to environmental problems. It is equally important for them to be able to present the conclusions of their plans in a simple and succinct way for the attention and scrutiny of both the public and decision-makers. Strategic environmental planning is a very useful analytical tool in this regard. Finally, environmental plans would become effective instruments for improving the environment only if they are subjected to continuing and systematic evaluation, monitoring and control. This process should include performance monitoring, process monitoring, impact evaluation, and cost-benefit analysis of the vision, objectives, targets, triggers, action plans and institutional roles.

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