Week 3: Environmental governance : lecture + pre-reading Flashcards
What is governance?
A complex process that considers - multi-level participation beyond the state, where decision making includes the state, the private sector, civil society and society in general.
According to Lemos and Agrawal what are the four themes in Environmental governance?
1) Globalisation
2) Decentralisation
3) Market and Agent focused instrument
4) Cross-scale environmental governance.
How does globalization impact environmental governance? (According to Lemos an Agrawal) (advantages and dissadadvantages)
positive:
+ technology and information transfer
+ shared standards
+ diversifys actors that participate in discourses
+ global partnerships
negative:
- Increases demand
- Race to the bottom: Companies may move production to countries with lax environmental regulations to save costs.
- Free trade limitations: trade agreements often lack environmental protections
- Actions in one area (e.g., pollution) can affect distant regions due to interconnected ecosystems.
What is a ‘public-bad’ and how does it relate to environmental governance? (Lemos and Agrawal)
= a global environmental issue like ozone depletion.
> requires more than one nation to handle it.
What are the three main negative aspects of international environmental regimes ? (Lemos and Agrawal)
1: Undemocratic Participants: Some participating countries in environmental agreements are not democratic, affecting fair representation.
2: Limited Non-State Actor Participation: While large NGOs and expert groups may participate, other smaller non-state actors often lack access and influence.
3: Power Imbalance: Wealthier countries often dominate negotiations, which can limit the influence of poorer or less powerful nations.
What does decentralization in terms of governance mean?
A power shift from central governments to local communities and smaller administrative units.
What are the benefits of a de-centralised government approach?
1) Efficiency : local governments are often more efficient
2) Community involvement : brings decicion making power to the actual people affected
3) Usage of local knowledge : leading to more tailored decisions.
What are the risks of a decentralized government?
1: Missuse of power - (possible, without proper oversight)
2: Dependecy of central support (possible)
3: lack of unformity (possible)
1) what does MAFI stand for, and 2) what is their purpose
1) Market and Agent Focused Instruments
2) To use economic incentives to encourage environmentally friendly behavior
What are advantages of MAFIS?
- more flexible
- more cost-effective
than regulatory controls
What are some examples of MAFIS?
- ecotaxes (taxes on pollution and resource use.eg carbon tax)
- carbon trading (buy and sell carbon credits)
- certification and labelling
What are some dissadvantages of MAFIS?
- Free-riding behavior.
- Uneven impact on different industries.
- ## Requires robust monitoring
Why are cross- scale environmental governance solutions important?
Environmental problems span local, national, and global scales, requiring multi-level coordination.
What is an example of a cross-scale environmental issue
A car pollutes the local environment, but the co2 has global effects. Therefore, efforts from individuals, communities, nations and international organizations are needed.
Paris Agreement (global) and city emission targets (local).
What are the challenges of cross-scale governance?
1: Unequal cost and benfits: Problems like climate change are caused by wealthy, industrialized countries but often impact poorer countries the most.
2:Governance across borders: Many issues (e.g., acid rain, pollution) cross borders, making national-only solutions ineffective.
What are the three new hybrid governance models? And which actors are involved?
Co-management: State and community
public-private partnerships:State and the market.
private- social partnerships: community and market
Give some examples of private- public partnerships:
Logging, mining:
concessionary agreements = a contract that gives a company the right to operate a specific business within a government’s jurisdiction or on another firm’s property, subject to particular terms.
Give an example of the “commanagement” hbyrid relationship.
Community Based Natural Resource Mangement: e.g Forest management, fisheries,
Give an example of the “private-social partnership” hbyrid relationship.
Reforestation Programs:
.
The private company: provides funding and markets the carbon credits generated.
The community : plants and maintains the trees while benefiting from job creation and improved local ecosystems.
Ecotourism:
Private Sector: Businesses invest in eco-friendly tourism facilities and services, generating revenue.
Social Sector: Local communities provide cultural knowledge, manage resources, and benefit from jobs and improved livelihoods.
What are the limitations of hybrid models?
Accountability: who is accountable ?
and Equity: if too much influence is given to to elite or corporate interests.
explain why climate change is a issue that requires cross-scale governance, and eco-system degradation requires hybird models ?
climate change is transboundary = multiple levels of governance are involved,
eco-system degradation: requires action from different sectors, e.g government and local communities.
