CPR

Name: Chun Yin Fu

Membership Number: 64325453

Session: Edinburgh – Spring 2014

Written Exercise

Question (2)

Discuss how engineers can contribute to environmental protection and the prudent use and re-use of natural resources as part of sustainable development without adversely affecting economic growth?

Introduction

Civil engineers create infrastructures that sustain civilized life and improve and quality of living of the human beings. However, the development of infrastructures also brings adverse impacts on the environment and consumes the limited natural resources of the Earth. The concept of sustainability thus becomes very important in engineers’ decision-making process. The United Nations defined sustainable development as “the development that meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In this regard, engineers play an important role in striking balance between environmental, economic and social aspects throughout the implementation of a project, from planning, option assessment, detailed design, construction, operation and maintenance stage. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how engineers can contribute to sustainable development in the aforementioned stages.

Planning stage

A well-planned project is essential to minimize the conflicts of the proposed works with the natural environment. During an early stage of a project, the design engineer should take into account the possible undesirable environmental effects in the selection of engineering solutions or selection of sites. The selected scheme should not only satisfy the functional requirements, but also ensure environmental protection can be achieved.

For instance, th...

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...ectiveness of the mitigation measures in the operation and maintenance stage. For instance, for the Express Rail Link project in Hong Kong, one of the ventilation shafts is located at Mai Po, which is very close to the habitats of many rare bird species. Bird surveys are carried out regularly throughout the project cycles to ensure the mitigation measures are effective.

Conclusion

Although the implementation of civil engineering projects will bring benefits to the community, their associated environmental impacts should never be overlooked. Engineers play an important role to minimise the environmental impact from project planning to maintenance stage, and to balance this with the social and economic factors. If engineers carry out their professional duties effectively, sustainable development can be achieved without affecting economic growth of the society.