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Land use planning
as many people know it, concerns creating convenient, conducive,
healthy and efficient and attractive living environments. For eg,
residential areas are planned adjacent to communal facilities such
as schools and open spaces. Industrial areas can be located adjacent
to residential areas provided they are of clean and non-pollutive
industries or if sufficient physical buffer provided. Land use planners
evaluate planning, development or even land matters from a wide
angle from urban design, architecture, statistics, sociology to
government. This emerging new field, Industrial Ecology,
further adds another dimension to planning which concerns the siting
of sources of power, water, infrastructure works vis-à-vis major
industries for the good of the environment and revitalisation of
older industrial areas which can be adapted as new development areas
with new downstream industries.
The traditional perspective of relationships between industries
and nature is that they work together on equal footing. This traditional
perspective tacitly allows industries to exploit natural systems
("the silent partner": author's editorial comment) as in the geographic,
economic, or institutional conditions of a region. Industrial
Ecology, on the other hand, subsumes industrial systems as part
of the natural systems. Instead of a linear or one-directional flow,
industrial ecology promotes circular flow and increases recycling.
Prof Chertow, gave an eye-opening talk on Industrial Ecology
which examines the relationship between different industries which
can co-exist in harmonious relationship and can benefit one another.
In order to achieve this, the flow of materials and energy through
natural and industrial systems can influence siting of such industries
within a geographic location where one industry would depend on
another for the supply of raw materials and in turn, its waste or
by-products could be used as raw materials for another industry
or industries. This is referred to as industrial symbiosis,
a further development of the concept of industrial ecology.
She cited Kalundborg, Denmark as an example of industrial
symbiosis whereby different chemical industries, such as oil refinery,
pharmaceutical, gypsum and fertilizer companies working together
with the existing water source from Lake Tisso, the power plant
and farms feeding each other with different byproducts and waste
products. Prof Chertow quoted from the Kalundborg power plant manager,
V Christensen his interpretation of industrial symbiosis as "Cooperation
between different industries by which the presence of each industry
increases the viability of the other (s) by which the demand (of)
society for resource savings and environment protection are considered."
Other examples quoted like the cement and steel industries at Chaparral,
Texas, USA; Guitang Sugar refinery at Guitang, Guangxi; Waigaoqiao
Power Plant at Shanghai, and her current work at Puerto Rico, an
island of 3.9million and land area of 8,959 sq km off Florida with
3 main industrial clusters.
At the end of her presentation, Prof Chertow fielded questions from
the audience which addressed practical problems such as the eventuality
if where is a change of ownership of any of the industries, reduction
of output of one company which correspondingly leads to a reduction
of volume of products which can be used by other industries or the
tough environmental laws of some countries which regulate toxic
waste disposal. Another poser was that if a certain industry may
have to be closed down/ merged with another allied industry or acquired
by a larger company to increase efficiency or economies of scale,
political issues would come into play when there are labour unions
involved.
The concept of industrial symbiosis can be a useful analytic tool
to reassess ways to revitalise existing businesses as well as for
identifying new development that could be recruited to exploit synergistic
opportunities. Additionally, these new developments could lead to
increase employment opportunities for the residents of areas near
to the industries.
Prof Chertow is optimistic that principles of industrial ecology,
an emerging field, can practised to bring about change for the good
and the evolutionary approaches include firms organised over a broader
region or an "anchor tenant" industrial plant with other industries
building around the facility.
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