Quantification of social impacts of large hydropower dams- a case study of alborz dam in mazandaran province, northern Iran

Despite the numerous advantages of large dams, there is still a deep suspicion about the real, long-term benefits and costs of their construction. Land use change on a vast scale, displacement of a large population of indigenous people, loss of biodiversity and production of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as environmental, socioeconomic and cultural consequences resulting therefrom, indicate clearly the need to reconsider the growing trend of dam construction in the world. The present study was conducted to calculate the real cost of generating electricity imposed on communities and environment in order to clarify the adverse socioeconomic impacts of large dams that are often ignored due to short-term, economic benefits. Accordingly, Alborz Dam, a large dam in northern Iran, was selected as a case study to run cost-benefit analysis by SIMPACTS Software. The obtained results revealed that the total external cost of electricity generation by the hydropower dam is about 0.16 US$/kWh. In other words, the annual cost of the electricity generation by Alborz Hydropower Plant is US$ 4.8 million/year. The highest share [163 US$/MWh] belongs to the loss of agricultural production while the lowest cost [0.10 US$/MWh] is associated with the loss of life. According to the estimated values, a total amount of 1074 tons of greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be released into the air by the hydropower dam operation. It should be stated that SIMPACTS Software only considers the adverse effects of hydropower dams and there is a need to improve the capability of the software by adding the positive impacts in to the overall computations, as well

Breeding biology of the great cormorant phalacrocorax carbo sinensis in southern coasts of the caspian sea, Iran

Breeding biology of the Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis is assessed in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea, Iran during the years 2008-2010. About 84 nests located on 63 trees were examined. Nests were built on large trees located in Abbas abad marsh, Gilan Province. Initially, eggs were found on first week of April and egg laying continued until the last week of May. Clutch size varied from 2 to 5 eggs, with a mean clutch size of 2.8 +/- 0.69. Mean shape index for all eggs were 1.68 +/- 0.035 and 1.706 +/- 0.048, respectively. The length of the incubation period was estimated at 26.6 +/- 2.2 days. in 2010 of the 84 eggs laid, 26.6% were lost. In 2009 of 92 eggs laid, 62% were lost. Number of eggs hatched per nest averaged at 1.57 +/- 0.57 in small ones and 1.8 +/- 1.6 in large nest. Mean weight of eggs was estimated at 46.8 +/- 1.28g [N=10, mean =48.9, min=45.2]

Legal criteria and executive standards of solid waste disposal subjected to solid waste management act

This research work attempts to compare the legal and technical criteria of locating household and municipal landfills and discuss them along with legal and technical principles. For this purpose, it was attempted to discuss and compare the related most important national and international standards. Due to say, employing the legal standards of locating household and municipal landfills in corporation with managerial decision making is considered as the most significant issues. Thus, selection of evaluation legal methods of and weighting the criteria of locating the landfills were technically investigated. The main landfill location of Tehran [Kahrizak] was investigated in order to analyze the analytical hierarchical process of its impacts resulted from environmental problems along with the legal aspects of the main landfill site's by the means of Delphi, AHP and Expert Choice techniques, in conflict with the rules adopted from waste act, enacted executive guidelines and content of the published references on Guidelines of Department of the Environment. Ultimately, regarding the questionnaires, recommendations of the learnt and through the items resulted from investigation and analysis of hierarchical process; the following 4 conclusions were achieved: 1] Education and discipline of people as well as the authorities who enforce the rules; 2] Investigation and amendment of Waste Management Act clauses; 3] Receiving the costs of waste management from waste producers and 4] Setting up waste exchange market to utilize the wastes economically. Considering the results [investigation and amendment of Waste Management Act clauses] was selected and recommended as the best option. As a result of further technical investigations on the Waste Management Act, the necessity of employing the criteria of impact evaluation in amending the clauses of Waste Management Act was also recommended

Role of metal species in flocculation rate during estuarine mixing

Flocculation can be considered as an effective mechanism in self-purification of metals during estuarine mixing. In the present investigation, flocculation of metals during mixing of Minab River water with the Strait of Hormuz [The Persian Gulf] water is studied for the first time. Flocculation behavior of metals [except for Pb] is governed by dissolved organic carbon. The source of dissolved organic carbon is terrigenous in the estuarine waters of study area. The general pattern of flocculation of studied metals is manganese [180 micro g/L] > zinc [88 micro g/L]> nickle [73 micro g/L]> copper [30 micro g/L]> lead [19 micro g/L]. The results of present study show that metal species are a very important factor in overall flocculation rate. It is found that solids and oxides have the highest and lowest flocculation levels, respectively. Eh-pH diagram indicated that lead is present as lead oxide in Minab River water and the least flocculation rate is attributed to this element. The results also showed that flocculation rate of metal species could be as solids > free ions = hydroxides > oxides. The amount of metal flocculation is about 30.5, 6.6, 25.3, 10.4 and 62.5 ton/y for zinc, Pb, Ni, Cu and Mn, respectively

Ecological impact assessment of highways on National Parks: Tehran - Padis highway [Iran]

Population growth and urbanization increase the demand for developing new roads. Heavy traffic of the east of Tehran imposes high pressure on transportation. Network of this city and old road of Tehran-Rudehen does not meet this need. Therefore, constructing the new highway [Tehran - Pardis] in the east of Tehran would be needed. But the new highway passes through protected area of Jajrood and next to Khojir National Park. These areas include ecologic values as well as national importance. Therefore, constructing the new highway next to or inside these regions, have potential impacts. In this study, parameters such as noise and air pollutions in 10 stations were measured. Also, for anticipating the effects, simple Matrix and Pastakia matrix methods, were used. The results of the research show that noise and air pollutions have no effect on mammals and birds of Khojir National Park. It is assessed that constructing of new highway has less environmental impacts when compared with the option of widening the present road

[Feasibility of minimization of industrial liquid waste materials in the Ammonia Unit of Raazi Petrochemical Complex]

The Razi Petrochemical Complex is one of the greatest factories producing nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers and various other chemicals. The site, comprising 17 production units with a total surface area of around 100 hectares, is located on the outskirts of Imam Khomeini port. The ammonia [1] section of the plant, with its production capacity of 1000 tons/year, was selected as the setting for this research on the feasibility of waste minimization programs. Material and Methods: This study was conducted form October 2003 to May 2005, and it involved more than 20 visits to the site to gather data. We covered areas such as quality and quantity of liquid waste, reasons for waste generation and the production period. We also studied the current system of waste management. The materials were subsequently classified according to method proposed by the United Nations. Finally, strategies were proposed to minimize waste production. Results showed that the unit produced 305509.38 cubic meters of liquid waste annually, and water used for cooling accounted for 62.35% of the total volume. The main reasons for the production of liquid waste were problems with the production. Over 95% of the waste was produced on a permanent basis. After classification, it emerged that 18.02% of the material was dangerous. Currently, 85.65% of the liquid waste in this factory is disposed of in the surrounding environment, and 14.35% is recycled. The proposed strategies for minimizing the liquid waste production materials in the factory are: recycling and re-use [95%], production process modifications [4.79%], and volume reduction [0.01%]. With the use of waste minimization methods, we can avoid the dumping of huge amounts of waste into the environment, reduce the loss of raw material, and make out a strong case for the efficiency of waste minimization efforts