In the past two decades, research on environmental issues in East and Southeast Asian countries has mainly focused on existing institutional mechanisms of environmental management, the establishment of new environmental management structures, the introduction of incentives to improve natural capital and foster environmental protection, and the culture of environmental or "green" groups. Virtually no rigorous research has been directed into the nature and significance of the existing relationship between government and civil society in individual country studies, with specific reference to the environmental policy sector, or into how this relationship may be evolving. This book explores this connection in Singapore, and what causes it to evolve, through three case narratives. Its rationale is to address this gap in the literature from a "governance theory" perspective that focuses on state adaptation to the external environment and new forms of coordination and collaboration between government and civil society to tackle new societal problems. The application of the "governance theory" approach to specific case studies is itself a topic that deserves much greater study than what it has so far received.
Integrating environmental policies into the policies of all other sectors is the core European environmental policy. But there has been no thorough investigation of the political process involved. This volume provides the first. It analyses the process of policy integration - the greening of public policy - across the relevant sectors and countries. It finds significant variation from sector to sector and from country to country, and analyses the reasons for this. (Surprisingly the UK, traditionally the 'dirty man' of Europe is far more actively engaged than environmental 'progressives' such as Germany.) It identifies the obstacles to integration and offers solutions for policy formulation, decision making and implementation at the relevant political levels.
Giving particular attention to intergovernmental working relationships, this revised edition of Federalism and Environmental Policy has been significantly updated to reflect the changes that have taken place since the highly praised first edition. Denise Scheberle examines reasons why environmental laws seldom work out exactly as planned. Casting federal-state working relationships as "pulling together," "coming apart," or somewhere in-between, she provides dozens of observations from federal and state officials. This study also suggests that implementation of environmental policy is a story of high stakes politics--a story rich with contextual factors and as fascinating as the time the policy was formulated. As four very different environmental programs unfold--asbestos (updated to include the fallout from the World Trade Center), drinking water, radon, and surface coal mining--Scheberle demonstrates how programs evolve differently, with individual political, economic, logistical, and technical constraints. The policy implementation framework developed for the book provides the lens through which to compare environmental laws. Federalism and Environmental Policy goes beyond the contents of policy to explore the complex web of federal-state working relationships and their effect on the implementation of policy. It is unique in how it portrays the nuts-and-bolts, the extent to which the state and federal offices work together effectively--or not. Examining working relationships within the context of program implementation and across four different environmental programs offers a unique perspective on why environmental laws sometimes go awry.
Globalization today is as much a problem for international harmony as it is a necessary condition of living together on our planet. Increasing interconnectedness in ecology, economy, technology, and politics has brought nations and societies into even closer contact, creating acute demands for cooperation. Earthly Politics argues that in the coming decades global governance will have to accommodate differences even as it obliterates distance, and will have to respect many aspects of the local while developing institutions that transcend localism. This book analyzes a variety of environmental-governance approaches that balance the local and the global in order to encourage new, more flexible frameworks of global governance. On the theoretical level, it draws on insights from the field of science and technology studies to enrich our understanding of environmental-development politics. On the pragmatic level, it discusses the design of institutions and processes to address problems of environmental governance that increasingly refuse to remain within national boundaries. The cases in the book display the crucial relationship between knowledge and power—the links between the ways we understand environmental problems and the ways we manage them—and illustrate the different paths by which knowledge-power formations are arrived at, contested, defended, or set aside. By examining how local and global actors ranging from the World Bank to the Makah tribe in the Pacific Northwest respond to the contradictions of globalization, the authors identify some of the conditions for creating more effective engagement between the global and the local in environmental governance.
The term Anthropocene denotes a new geological epoch characterized by the unprecedented impact of human activities on the Earth’s ecosystems. While the natural sciences have advanced their understanding of the drivers and processes of global change considerably over the last two decades, the social sciences lag behind in addressing the fundamental challenge of governance and politics in the Anthropocene. This book attempts to close this crucial research gap, in particular with regards to the following three overarching research themes: (i) the meaning, sense-making and contestations emerging around the concept of the Anthropocene related to the social sciences; (ii) the role and relevance of institutions, both formal and informal as well as international and transnational, for governing in the Anthropocene; and (iii) the role and relevance of accountability and other democratic principles for governing in the Anthropocene. Drawing together a range of key thinkers in the field, this volume provides one of the first authoritative assessments of global environmental politics and governance in the Anthropocene, reflecting on how the planetary scale crisis changes the ways in which humans respond to the challenge. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of global environmental politics and governance, and sustainable development.
Presents a diverse set of perspectives and experiences on how to support sustainable development through the integration of environmental issues into various policy sectors. Examines existing research on environmental policy integration (EPI) at three levels of policy-making: the national level, both in relation to strategic and sectoral decision-making; the regional level, where both supra-national and sub-national regional entities are discussed; and, the local level, where strategies available to municipalities or individuals for furthering environmental policy integration are presented. New and innovative approaches to the study of EPI at these levels of governance are proposed. Also demonstrates how the effectiveness of EPI depends on factors such as national, legal and administrative structures and culture, the stage of the policy cycle to which EPI measures are applied, and the level of integration among various modes of governance and instruments.
More than twenty years after the Bruntland Commission report, Our Common Future, we have yet to secure the basis for a serious approach to global environmental governance. The failed 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development showed the need for a new approach to globalization and sustainability. Taking a critical perspective, rooted in political economy, regulation theory, and post-sovereign international relations, this book explores questions concerning the governance of environmental sustainability in a globalizing economy. With contributions from leading international scholars, the book offers a comprehensive framework on globalization, governance, and sustainability, and examines institutional mechanisms and arrangements to achieve sustainable environmental governance. It: considers current failures in the framework of global environmental governance addresses the problematic relationship between sustainability and globalization explores controversies of development and environment that have led to new processes of institution building examines the marketization of environmental policy-making; stakeholder politics and environmental policy-making; socio-economic justice; the political origins of sustainable consumption; the role of transnational actors; and processes of multi-level global governance. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, international studies, political economy and environmental studies.
Walter A. Rosenbaum’s classic Environmental Politics and Policy, Tenth Edition once again provides definitive coverage of environmental politics and policy, lively case material, and a balanced assessment of current environmental issues. The first half of the book sets needed context and describes the policy process while the second half covers specific environmental issues such as air and water; toxic and hazardous substances; energy; and a global policymaking chapter focused on climate change and transboundary politics. Covering major environmental policy initiatives and controversies during President Obama's two terms and capturing the sudden and radical changes occurring in the American energy economy, this Tenth Edition offers the needed currency and relevancy for any environmental politics course.
Private sector action provides one of the most promising opportunities to reduce the risks of climate change, buying time while governments move slowly or even oppose climate mitigation. Starting with the insight that much of the resistance to climate mitigation is grounded in concern about the role of government, this books draws on law, policy, social science, and climate science to demonstrate how private initiatives are already bypassing government inaction in the US and around the globe. It makes a persuasive case that private governance can reduce global carbon emissions by a billion tons per year over the next decade. Combining an examination of the growth of private climate initiatives over the last decade, a theory of why private actors are motivated to reduce emissions, and a review of viable next steps, this book speaks to scholars, business and advocacy group managers, philanthropists, policymakers, and anyone interested in climate change.
'An imaginative and stimulating collection of essays that makes an indispensable contribution to the literature on forest and environmental policy and governance.' – David Humphreys, the Open University, UK 'This is a very timely, relevant and interesting volume. Environmental problems are pertinent problems, as the book rightly states, so we need continuous attention and effort to analyse and apply environmental governance modes. Although urgently needed, their effectiveness and legitimacy are neither straight forward nor given. Therefore, a thorough in-depth analysis of these modes, their characteristics and their pros and cons is very helpful, both for academics and policy makers. This is exactly what this book offers.' – Bas Arts, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands 'This excellent collection of articles by leading scholars in a variety of natural resource policy fields examines cases in participation, horizontal and vertical co-ordination, and the role of science and expertise in environmental policy formation. the legitimacy and effectiveness of each of these key components of governance and meta-governance regimes is assessed in important areas such as climate change and parks and wilderness preservation. the volume brings an admirable consistency of focus to the analysis of new governance modes in environmental policy and sheds new light upon important recent trends and developments in the area.' – Michael Howlett, Simon Fraser University, Canada Environmental policy making has become an experimental field for new modes of governance. This timely book focuses on three prominent characteristics of new governance arrangements: the broad participation of non-state actors, the attempt to improve vertical and horizontal coordination, and the effort to integrate different types of expertise in an effective and democratically accountable way. Building on the analytical perspectives of legitimacy and effectiveness, which are seen as genuine acid test criteria for new governance, this book provides a critical assessment of current practices of participation, coordination and evidence-based policy making in various case studies of environmental governance, in particular in the fields of biodiversity, climate and forest policy. the book provides insights from selected governance processes that go beyond consultancy-style best-practice examples but are embedded in a solid conceptual and theoretical discussion that will be invaluable to policymakers. It will also prove essential for scholars interested in environmental politics; policy studies; public policy; public administration; European politics; as well as science and technology studies.
