Governments
Shortcuts and Solution Stimulators for Most Important Government Information:
Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) refers to the process of integrating environmental objectives into non-environmental policy areas, such as energy, agriculture and transport, rather than leaving them to be pursued solely through purely environmental policy practices.
Environmental issues are addressed at a regional, national or international level by government organizations.
Governments enact environmental policy and enforce environmental law and this is done to differing degrees around the world.
The largest international agency, set up in 1972, is the United Nations Environment Programme.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature brings together 83 states, 108 government agencies, 766 Non-governmental organizations and 81 international organizations and about 10,000 experts, scientists from countries around the world.
International non-governmental organizations include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and World Wide Fund for Nature.
Environmental policy instruments are tools used by governments and other organizations to implement their environmental policies.
Governments, for example, may use a number of different types of instruments. For example, economic incentives and market-based instruments such as taxes and tax exemptions, tradable permits, and fees can be very effective to encourage compliance with environmental policy.
The assumption is that corporations and other organizations who engage in efficient environmental management and are transparent about their environmental data and reporting presumably benefit from improved business and organizational performance.
Environmental impact assessments (EIA) are conducted to compare impacts of various policy alternatives. Moreover, although it is often assumed that policymakers make rational decisions based on the merits of the project, Eccleston and March argue that although policymakers normally have access to reasonably accurate environmental information, political and economic factors are important and often lead to policy decisions that rank environmental priorities of secondary importance.
Government agencies at the global, national, state and local areas can be information sources.
There are various departments that create policies, deal with the application of laws, act as regulatory authorities, give licences and permits, and can prosecute non-compliance.
It is a good idea to email or call one or several of them for relevant, up-to-date information about legal requirements around the environment.
Local government councils and shires also administer their own laws and regulations around organisations and individuals. If you email or call these, they can give you relevant, up-to-date information about legal responsibilities.
To help governments realize their policy goals, the OECD Environment Directorate, for example, collects data on the efficiency and consequences of environmental policies implemented by the national governments.
The website, www.economicinstruments.com, provides database detailing countries' experiences with their environmental policies.
To date, the European Union's Environmental Policy is determined by the 7th Environmental Action Programme and is expected to be followed up through 2020.
The EU has goals beyond this however and hopes by 2050 to have an "innovative, circular economy where nothing is wasted and where natural resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity is protected, valued and restored in ways that enhance our society’s resilience."
The EU has three core objectives to help achieve this vision: conservation of natural resources, conversion to an efficient, environmentally sustainable economy, and protection of the health of citizens.
Over the past decade the European Union has given the environmental more attention with more strict legislation on such issues as air, soil, and water pollution.
The role of Non-Governmental Organizations
Non-Governmental organizations have influence on environmental policies.
These days, many countries are facing huge environmental, social, and economic impacts of rapid population growth, development, and natural resource constraints.
As NGOs try to help countries to tackle these issues more successfully, a lack of understanding about their role in civil society and the public perception that the government alone is responsible for the well-being of its citizens and residents makes NGOs tasks more difficult to achieve.
NGOs such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund can help tackling issues by conducting research to facilitate policy development, building institutional capacity, and facilitating independent dialogue with civil society to help people live more sustainable lifestyles.
The need for a legal framework to recognize NGOs and enable them to access more diverse funding sources, high-level support/endorsement from local figureheads, and engaging NGOs in policy development and implementation is more important as environmental issues continue to increase.
International organizations have also made great impacts on environmental policies by creating programmes such as the United Nations Environment Programme and hosting conferences such as the United Nations Earth Summit to address environmental issues.
