Commitment 09Read more
Health and Quality of Life
Creating Good Living Conditions: A Priority for Port Cities
Allowing independent, transparent measurement of air quality, water quality, sound levels, and light pollution in the City Port territory.
How to assess a port’s environmental impact?
The limitations set forth by environmental laws at both national and supranational levels present a unique opportunity to embrace a proactive stance instead of a merely reactive one. This involves a dedicated commitment to developing dynamic and forward-thinking environmental strategies. A critical prerequisite is the comprehensive identification and assessment of these impacts to initiate practical measures for monitoring and controlling the environmental consequences of ports, particularly in regions where cities and ports converge.
This good practice also includes objective 4.4 (Developing collaborative approaches, drawing on scientific and technologic knowledge from the scientific community and civil society to support decision making) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
The (W)E-nose network was installed in the port of Rotterdam to identify any pollution originating from port activities that could be harmful to the city. The network is not controlled by the port authority of Rotterdam but by DCMR Milieudienst Rijnmond, a local environmental authority. The network was initially comprised of 100 electronic sensors that detect the nature and location of odours so that action can be taken more quickly. It has been rolled out in the Rotterdam Rijnmond area, and its coverage area was extended to 250 sensors in 2017. The project also represents an opportunity for dialogue with the population. A platform has been set up for consultation with local residents and the private sector so that they can also report any nuisance from the port. In this way, if it has not been identified by the sensors already, the port can record in its system and locate the origin of the nuisance. This project was completed to create a safer environment for the citizens in residential areas located around the port as well as the keep the natural environment as clean as possible.
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