Small Decentralized Hydropower Program National ... - Cd3wd.com

centrales hidroektricas. La esencia de1 asesora-
miento ambiental esti en la oportunidad que propor-
cionz para observar un proyecto dado con una
perspectiva m5s amplia. Se lo dehe considerar corn,
una oportunidad de ganar al m&ximo 10s beneficios
de1 proyecto al mismo tiempo que se reducen al
minim0 las consecuencias negativas a 10s recursos
fkicos y humanos, mas bien que considerarlo coma
una dificultad adicional para la planificaci6n.
Vista Panorkmica de1
Asesoramiento Ambiental
El desarrollo de 10s recursos energeticos es un area
de t6pico ideal para examinar el proceso de asesora-
miento. Voy a abarcar en este document0 el impact0
de 10s proyectos de pequefias centrales hidro-
elkctricas (menores de 1 MW) primordialmente sobre
el ambiente natural o fisico, sin incluir el element0
social, o sea, el fabricado por el hombre.
La categotia de la ecologia humana, o el ambiente
formado con intervencicn de1 hombre es importante
por cuanto tiende a integrar muchos de 10s impactos
de otras areas (social, econ6mico. etc.) y presenta
una visi6n total de1 panorama, !o cual no es nuestra
inter&n. Los impactos scJ!re 4 ambiente humano
constituyen un paso poster11 rr y al fin de este articulo
voy a resumir una tkcnica ultra entrelazar 10s impac-
tos fisicos con 10s de1 ambiente humano.
El ambiente fisico incluyfa rw.wsos acukticos y ter-
restres ambos, con vida y sin vida. Ejemplos de
recursos vivos son 10s pece5 ;,’ las vitlas silvestres, su
ambiente natural y ntimero (I(3 habit;mtes. Ejemplos
de recursos sin vida son el aqua y el suelo y sus pro-
priedades fisicas y qtimicas.
Hay dificultades inherentes a la conducci6n de un
asesoramiento ambiental, y dichas dificultades no se
relacionan exclusivamente a 10s paises en desarrollo.
Ellas inciuyen, pero no estin limitadas a la falta de
personal. caualificado, entrenamiento inadecudo de1
personal, presupuestos insuficientes, inexistencia de
irZormaci6n, conflictos institucionales, irracionales
limitaciones de tiempo, planificaci6n con prejuicios y
envolvimiento de1 ptiblico.
A menudo se da poca consideraci6n a 10s recursos
requeridos para desarrollar una capacidad para
reallkar an6lisis ambientales que den buenos
resultados. Aunque hay algunas excepciones,
usualmente no se da alta prioridad a la considerack
de 10s impactos ambientales en el proceso de for-
mular decisiones.
Es muy difkil encontrar personal calificado y con
experiencia para formar un equip0 de trabajadores
additional burden on planning, it is a means of
maximizing the utility of the project while
minimizing negative consequences to physical
and human resources.
Overview of Environmental
Assessment
The development of energy resources is an
ideal topic area to examine this assessment pro-
cess. I shall limit the scope of my discussion to
the impact of small hydropower (less than IMW)
projects on primarily the natural, or physical
environment and to not include the social or
man-made element.
The category of human ecology or the man-
made environment is important as it tends to
integrate many of the impacts from other areas
(social, economic, et al ) and presents a more
holistic view than is intended here. The impacts
on the human environment are a later step and,
at the end of the paper, I will describe a tech-
nique for interfacing the physical impacts with
the human environment.
The physical environment includes the water
(aquatic) and land (terrestrial) resources, both liv-
ing and non-living. Examples of living resources
are fish and wildlife, their habitats and popula-
tcons. Examples of non-living resources are water
and soil and their physical and chemical
properties.
There are difficulties inherent to conducting an
environmental assessment and they are not
unique to developing countries. These include,
but are not limited to, lack of qualified personnel,
inadequate staff training, insufficient budget, no
existing information, institutional conflicts,
unreasonabie time frames, prejudiced planning
and public involvement.
The resources required to develop a capability
for sclccessful environmental analyses are often
underestimated. Although there are some excep-
tions, environmental impacts are usually not top
priority in the decision process. It is very difficult
to find qualified and experienced personnel to
employ in an analytical staff or to retain for con-
sulting. In the latter case, there is the additional
uncertainty of availability at the right time. At
least a partial solution te this problem is govern-
ment-subsidized environmental education in high
schools, universities, and technical-vocational
schools. Another partial solution is the develop-
ment in both the public and private sectors of
environmental laboratories. Some may emphasize
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