Environmental and Social Assessment

Code:

EC0012

Acronym:

IASO

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Territory Planning and Environment

Instance: 2013/2014 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://elearning.up.pt/lrcportal/frmStart.asp
E-learning page:	https://moodle.fe.up.pt/
Responsible unit:	Spatial Planning and Environment Division
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Civil Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIEC	242	Syllabus since 2006/2007	2	-	4,5	60	118

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

- Raise students’ awareness of issues related to the preservation of the quality of the Environment 
- The nature of environmental and social impacts related to projects of Civil Engineering
- Introduction to the elaboration of EIS, the process of EIA and legal procedure in Portugal
- Methodologies of prediction and evaluation of environmental and social impacts; mitigation of impacts 
- Discussion of the nature of environmental and social conflicts related to specific projects and presentation of methodologies to identify and solve those conflicts

Learning outcomes and competences

SKILLS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge: Describe the main policies regarding Environment and the interaction with territory management policies. Identify the different stages of the process of Environmental Impact Assessment
Application: Apply methodologies for assessing impacts
Analysis: Analyze and discuss the results of an impact assessment process and the related conflicts 
Summary: Proposing criteria and explain the choice of design solutions that minimize impacts
Assessment: evaluate and criticize the decision processes

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Students should have a basic knowledge of various works / projects Civil Engineering

Program

PROGRAMME
1. Introduction and concepts
2. Policies and Management instruments for the Environment
- Environment Policies (internationals, Europeans, nationals)
- the Environment in the territorial management plans
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- EIA and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Process
3. Environmental Impact Assessment
- Environmental Impact Studies
- Characterization, Prediction, Mitigation, Monitoring
- Environmental Factors: Climate and Air; Water; Noise; Biological Resources (nature & Biodiversity); Landscape; Waste & construction and demolition waste
- Socioeconomic Factors: population, housing, employment, economic activities, quality of life
4. Public participation. Resolution of environmental and social conflicts.
5. Global Assessment of impacts. Decision-support techniques for project evaluation.

Scientific content - 80%
Technological content - 20%

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYLLABUS COHERENCE WITH THE CURRICULAR UNIT'S OBJECTIVES:
The engineers’ professional practice requires to know and to assess the main environmental, social and economic impacts in projects and interventions of Civil Engineering.

Mandatory literature

Partidário, Maria do Rosário; Avaliação de impacte ambiental. ISBN: 972-8577-09-5
Glasson, John; Therivel, Riki; Chadwick, Andrew; Introduction To Environmental Impact Assessment (Natural and Built Environment Series), Routledge; 4 edition (22 Dec 2011), 2011. ISBN: 978-0415664707
Morris, Peter; Therivel, Riki; Methods of Environmental Impact Assessment (The Natural and Built Environment Series), Routledge; 3 edition (5 Mar 2009), 2009. ISBN: 978-0415441759

Complementary Bibliography

Glasson, John; Introduction to environmental impact assessment. ISBN: 1-85728-117-9
Canter, Larry W.; Environmental Impact Assessment. ISBN: 0-07-114103-0
Partidário, Maria do Rosário 340; Avaliação do impacte ambiental. ISBN: 972-96010-0-0
Partidário, Maria do Rosário 340; Guia para avaliação estratégica de impactes em ordenamento do território. ISBN: 972-8569-34-3

Teaching methods and learning activities

- Lectures
- presentation of case studies
- Work group
- whenever possible, visit to the construction site of a Civil Engineering project with relevant environmental impacts  

DEMONSTRATION OF THE COHERENCE BETWEEN THE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND THE LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The applied teaching methodologies allow applying impact assessment methodologies, analyzing and discussing the results of an evaluation process impacts and conflicts generated by this process. In this way it can be proposed and explained the criteria used to choose design solutions that minimize impacts.

Software

ArcMap

keywords

Technological sciences > Engineering > Civil engineering

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	75,00
Participação presencial	0,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

Achieving final classification requires compliance with attendance at the course unit. It is considered that students meet the attendance requirements if, having been regularly enrolled, the number of absences of 25% for each of the classes’ types is not exceeded. The following cases are exempted from the attendance requirements:
i) cases prescribed by law, including student workers;
ii) students who were admitted to exams in the previous academic year.

Calculation formula of final grade

CF - Final Grade

   EX - Exam

   Trab1 - Work n. 1

   Trab2 - Work n. 2

CF = 0,75*EX + 0,05*Trab1 + 0,2*Trab2

(ratings of all evaluation components of a course are expressed on a scale of 0 to 20)

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students who are exempted from compliance with the conditions of listed attendance in point i) may be assessed solely by examination, but may opt for the same evaluation conditions of ordinary students.

Students who are exempted from compliance with the conditions of listed attendance in point ii) and opting for non-realization of new distributed evaluation will be evaluated similarly to ordinary students, with the classification of distributed evaluation obtained in the previous school year.

Students who for reasons not dependent of their actions, duly justified and accepted by the direction of the MIEC, may have the the evaluation of the distributed component added to the Exam classification.

Observations

Working time estimated out of classes: 3 hours