Environmental Sustainability and Pollution Prevention: Editorial
Environmental Sustainability and Pollution Prevention: Editorial
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0619-5
EDITORIAL
Received: 8 October 2017 / Accepted: 24 October 2017 / Published online: 10 July 2018
# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017
Environmental sustainability implies meeting our current needs Environment and Development 1987). Sustainability has become
without jeopardizing the right and the ability of future genera- a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of
tions to meet theirs. Opportunities should be identified and taken life on Earth, from local to a global scale and over various time
to reduce the production of wastes and the use of toxic materials, periods. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are exam-
to prevent soil, water, and air pollution and to conserve and reuse ples of sustainable biological systems. Invisible chemical cycles
resources, as feasible. Environmental pollution with its health redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon through the
impacts is a key issue for sustainable environment (United world’s living and non-living systems and have sustained life
Nations General Assembly 1987). Sustainability and sustainable since the beginning of time. As the earth’s human population
development focuses on balancing that fine line between com- has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and a change
peting needs, our need to move forward technologically and in the balance of natural cycles has had a negative impact on both
economically, and the needs to protect the environments in which humans and other living systems (Hawken 2007).
we and others live. Sustainability is not just about the environ- Pollution prevention reduces the amount of pollution gen-
ment (Kates et al. 2005); it’s also about our health as a society in erated by a process (industry, agriculture, or consumers).
ensuring that no people or areas of life suffer as a result of Pollution-control strategies, in general, seek to manage a pol-
environmental legislation, and it’s also about examining the lon- lutant after it is emitted and reduce its impact upon the envi-
ger term effects of the actions humanity takes and asking ques- ronment; the pollution prevention approach, however, seeks to
tions about how it may be improved (World Commission on increase the efficiency of a process (Sherman et al. 2016),
hence reducing the amount of pollution generated at its
source. Although there is wide agreement that source reduc-
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues tion is the preferred strategy, some professionals also use the
term pollution prevention to include pollution reduction.
* Farah Bouhamed With increasing human population, pollution has become a
[email protected]
great concern. Pollution from human activities is a problem that
Boubaker Elleuch
does not have to be inevitable. With a comprehensive pollution
[email protected] prevention program, most pollution can be reduced, reused, or
prevented. Reducing and managing pollution may decrease its
Mabrouk Elloussaief
[email protected] health impacts (Thiel et al. 2015).
Pollution prevention however is a key issue to sustainability.
Madi Jaghbir
[email protected]
Pollution results from waste. The best way to deal with pollu-
tion is to prevent it from being created in the first place. This
1
Laboratory of Environmental Engineering and Ecotechnology
means finding new efficiencies, doing things smarter, and val-
(GEET) LR16ES19, National Engineering School, University of uing every resource. Understanding how waste is produced and
Sfax, P. Box 1173-3038, Sfax, Tunisia how it can be minimized, or even prevented, is the first step to
2
Family and Public Health Department, The University of Jordan, reduce waste and protect our environment; in that way, pollution
Amman, Jordan prevention is an essential component of sustainability.
18224 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2018) 25:18223–18225
Fundamental ideas of preventing pollution rather than fix- sustainable environment and pollution prevention manage-
ing problems are essential for efficient, economically viable ment. It includes, but is not limited to:
manufacturing, providing services, and addressing many en-
vironmental problems (Jorgenson and Wilcoxen 1990). – Environmental assessment
With new business tools, new materials, and new ap- – Soil, water, and air pollution
proaches, it is expected to innovate methods to reduce waste. – Pollution prevention and treatment
Prevention is the first priority within an environmental – Assessment of pollution impact on the environment and
management hierarchy that includes prevention, recycling, on health
treatment, and disposal or release. Pollution prevention, how- – Sustainable environment
ever, requires a cultural change, one which encourages more
anticipation and internalizing of real environmental costs by
those who may generate pollution (United States
Environmental Protection Agency n.d.). References
Our responsibility is to utilize our knowledge to take ac-
tions that are protective of human health and the environment. Habicht FH (1992) EPA Definition of "Pollution Prevention"
All of the publications retained in this journal issue deal with Memorandum. United States Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC
methods and techniques suggested to maintain sustainable en-
Hawken P (2007) Blessed unrest: how the largest movement in the world
vironment with its various components through pollution pre- came into being and why no one saw it coming. Viking, New York,
vention and treatment. They were selected from the presenta- p 172
tions in the International Conference in Integrated Management Jorgenson DW, Wilcoxen P (1990) Environmental regulation and U.S.
of Environment (ICIME) congress that has been conceived as a economic growth. RAND J Econ 21(2):314–340
Kates R, Parris T, Leiserowitz A (2005) What is sustainable develop-
special platform to exchange knowledge among researchers ment? Goals, indicators, values, and practice. Environment 47(3):
from the Euro-Mediterranean region. The main idea was to 8–21
share the different approaches to counteract the negative im- Sherman J, McGain F; FANZCA, FCICM (2016) Environmental sustain-
pacts of pollutants on the environment and human health: recent ability in anesthesia pollution prevention and patient safety. 34:47–
61
achievements of researchers acting within the region for reme-
Thiel CL, Eckelman M, Guido R et al (2015) Environmental impacts of
diation, protection, and smart management of pollution prob- surgical procedures: life cycle assessment of hysterectomy in the
lems. It is the duty of the region scientist to find solutions for the United States. Environ Sci Technol 49:1779–1786
negative impacts of pollutants resulting from our activities. The United Nations General Assembly (March 20, 1987) BReport of the world
ICIME conference was held in Sousse, Tunisia, from 25 to 28 commission on environment and development: our common future;
Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document
September 2016 to serve this purpose. More than 250 partici- A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation:
pants attended this event to share new findings and discuss the Environment; Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards
potential applications of such new processes that can be turned Sustainable Development; Paragraph 1^. United Nations General
out to viable technique for sustainable development. A good Assembly
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our com-
and transparent work of selection has been undertaken to mon future. Oxford University Press, Oxford, p 27
choose researches to inclusion in this special issue. The intense
and fruitful exchange between the attending researchers
showed their common concern to address the problem of waste Boubaker Elleuch obtained his
and remediation together. Few problems may be specific to a PhD at the University of Lyon,
given region, but similarity in the diagnosis as well as the re- France. He published more
mediation approaches demonstrated that the scientific commu- than 60 international scientific
papers and framed some 15
nity is in charge of bringing solutions for sustainable environ- doctorates of young re-
mental protection. So, we are really grateful for researchers who searchers. Pr Elleuch has been
attended this edition of ICIME; congratulations to the authors head of ENIS (1997–2003) and
with published papers. We are thankful for all authors who Head of ISET Sfax (2003–
2009). Pr Elleuch organized
actively contribute to the success of the meeting, hoping that several international scientific
there will be other occasions to meet and exchange ideas and events and is an active funder
new scientific findings. Doctor Philippe Garages, editor-in- of the research lab of Water,
chief of the Environmental Sciences and Pollution Research, Energy and Environment. Full
professor of Organic
and the editorial team are acknowledged for their endless help Chemistry and Environment in the Engineering School of Sfax.
during the review process of this special issue.
Special Issue is intended to improve our understanding of
the current research and achievements in the broad field of
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2018) 25:18223–18225 18225