Issue 20
Dam Construction: Th Adverse Social Consequences of Displacement and Resettlement
By Norma Cherry-Fevrier
Economist
Department of Planning and National Development
Castries, Saint Lucia
A dam can be defined as a barrier constructed across a river or stream to hold and control the flow of water for the purposes of water storage and supply, irrigation, transportation, electric power generation and flood control (River Keepers, 2005; Beck et al., 2012). Referred to as one of the oldest branches of engineering (Baxter, 1977) the construction of dams across rivers dates back to ancient times when the Sumerians dammed the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to provide flood control and irrigation for their crops (Beck et al., 2012). In recent times, the world's growing population and the need to meet its accompanied growing water and energy demands, has resulted in almost half of the world's rivers having at least one dam constructed across them (Wijensundara and Dayawansa, 2011).
Environmental Literacy
By Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal BSc., MPhil., FLS., MSB.
Dept of Life Sciences
University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus
I first heard the term "environmental literacy" in a presentation by Kyle DeLima at the "Second Youth Forum on Climate Change" hosted by Earth Conscious magazine in early August of 2012. At first I assumed that it just referred to educating oneself by reading the relevant literature. But as the presentation progressed I realised that this topic was more complex and more structured than my first impression. The goal of this article is to introduce this aspect of environmental education.
The goal of environmental literacy is to educate persons so that they can individually or collectively act to conserve and protect our environment. But in order for environmental literacy to be successful, five components need to take place: awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills and collective action (CEL, 2012). Of course it is more comprehensive if we explain the simplest to the most complex concept. The simplest component of environmental literacy and the first step in sowing the seeds of environmental literacy is awareness, which refers to a person's consciousness or general impression of the topic. For example a person may know that global warming is bad for people and the environment but they do not know in detail the mechanisms that cause it. Environmental education is one of the ways in bringing about awareness of environmental topics.
Construction and the Public
By Mohamed Abd Elsalam
HSE Consultant and Trainer
Egypt
Construction sites create risks not only for the construction worker, but also for members of the public where the construction work is carried out on a site that is near or adjacent to the property boundary or to any public place where the general public operates. These operations require rules and safety procedures which are similarly as critical as for the construction employees on site. It is vital for the organisation managing the construction site to be able to control who is admitted to the site at particular times. If this isn't done they face the risk of injuries to the trespasser(s) and their employees.
The public is defined as all persons and property not affiliated with the construction project. This includes invitees to the construction project who are not employed by project constructor or contractor.