Environmental Policy And Developing Nations

Examines in depth the ecological problems, policies, and politics of ten major developing countries.

Uses Brazil as a case study of how governments implement environmental policies despite urgent needs for economic development.

The twelve chapters in this work--written by political scientists, economists, and environmental experts--deal with environmental policy in the developing nations of Africa, Asia, East Europe and Latin America, as well as the worldwide environment. Part One discusses environmental policy analysis and presents information both on sources of pollution--which include manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation--and methods for dealing with pollution, which encompass government structures, incentives, issues of privatization or contracting out, and technological fixes. The other five parts deal with the developing nations individually and discuss environmental policy as it relates to each one and the unique problems that each one faces.

Vieira focuses on the relationship between environmental pollution and socioeconomic underdevelopment and emphasizes the role information can play in the protection of the Third World environment. She identifies the main governmental and nongovernmental institutions related to important aspects of the Third World environment--pollution control, sanitation, public health, and development and alternative technologies. The Brazilian institutional panorama is analyzed and then compared with Mexican, Indian, and Egyptian systems in an effort to identify common points that might be applied to the Third World as a whole. Finally, she recommends the establishment of an informal international network of both nongovernmental institutions and individuals for the exchange of information considered important to the developing countries or pertinent to the environmental realities of the Third World. Providing the core for such a network is an appendix listing organizations interested in the environment and development of the Third World.

'Environmental Policy' clearly explains how the social sciences relate to environmental policy-making and how they can be used to achieve policies for a sustainable future.

This book is the second collection of systematic case studies describing national environmental policies in 17 countries in terms of capacity building (see Appen dix). The OECD defines environmental capacity building as "a society's ability to identify and solve environmental problems. " While various institutions, including UNEP, FAO, World Bank and OECD, have hitherto used the terms environmental capacity and capacity building almost exclusively with reference to developing countries, we have extended the concepts to industrialized countries, as well. The first collection, edited by Martin Janicke, Helge Joergens (both Free University Berlin) and Helmut Weidner (Social Science Research Center Berlin), was pub lished in 1997 under the title "National Environmental Policies - A Comparative Study of Capacity-Building" (Berlin, etc. : Springer Verlag). It included 13 studies of countries. As in the first volume, chapter I presents the conceptual framework underlying the national case studies. It is a slightly shorter version of the corresponding chap ter in volume I. The design of all case studies in the two volumes is largely con gruent with this conceptual framework. Although the various sections of the stud ies do not always have identical titles and subtitles, the central elements of the capacity-building approach have been applied in all cases.

Environmental management is a global phenomenon, embracing all businesses in all countries, whether or not there already exists an organised response to managing environmental impacts. Today, there are gross inequalities between the world's richest and poorest nations in terms of income distribution, consumption patterns, access to resources and environmental impact. Yet both the developed north and the developing south are committed, at least in words, to achieving sustainable development. Public awareness of environmental issues in the North has been rising in recent years and further degradation is now largely minimized through more stringent regulatory regimes, voluntary agreements and growing consumer and stakeholder pressure on corporations. Still, the north is continuing to lead an environmentally unsustainable lifestyle as environmental improvements are nullified by overall increases in consumption levels. In the south, a billion people still do not have access to the most basic needs. Poor countries need to accelerate their consumption growth if they are to ensure that the lives of their people are enriched. However, with rapid economic growth and corresponding increases in consumption now under way, their environmental impact is soon to become substantially greater. In a world that strives towards stemming global crises such as climate change, the path already taken by the rich and high-growth economies over the past century cannot be repeated by the south if the desired objective is to create a future that is truly sustainable. Growing Pains examines environmental management in the south from a number of perspectives. It is designed to stimulate the discussion about the role that corporations and national and international organizations play in sustainable development. It does not offer panaceas, as each country has its own problems and opportunities; and, after almost 50 years of failed panacea-oriented economic development policy transfer from the north to the south, it is time to abandon hope for universal solutions and instead look to individual approaches that work. The book is divided into five themes: globalization; the role of business; a focus on national strategies; trade and the environment; and the organizational and structural challenges of sustainable development. With contributions from an outstanding collection of authors in both the developed and developing worlds including UNIDO; the Thailand Environment Institute, Arthur D. Little, Inc., Shell Peru; IUCN, the Russian Academy of Sciences and IIED, this important and unique new book presents a body of work that will provide essential reading for businesses working in developing countries, environmental and developmental NGOs and researchers engaged in the debate and sharing of best practice in this increasingly critical subject area.

Publisher description

This unique book traces the origins and evolution of environmental policy formation, comparing the differences in this process between developing and developed countries. It focuses on the importance of the state's role and issues of timing and sequence in the creation of environmental policies. Expert contributors provide new insights into how the environment as a concept and environmental policies have evolved. They analyse how 'latecomer public policy' is related to the dilemma between industrial development and maintaining high environmental standards, especially in developing countries. Chapters also examine these processes in a variety of regions with rich records of environmental policies and trajectories of change. Taking a historical and path dependence approach, the book emphasises the significance of the role of administrative systems, policy coordination and timing in the success or failure of environmental policies. This book will be a valuable resource for academics and students of environmental studies, public policy, public administration and regional studies. Its synthesis of empirical data and case studies from countries including China, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Germany will also be beneficial for policymakers.