Transaction costs and agri-environmental policy measures: are preferences influencing policy implementation?

This paper investigates whether the level of transaction costs of a Swedish agri-environmental policy measure is attributable to technical factors or whether political factors, such as lobby groups and political majorities at the county level, influence the costs. A previous study indicated that political factors may influence the level of transaction costs, but the extreme bounds analysis performed in this paper reveals that those results are fragile. It shows that three of the technical variables are robust with respect to model specifications but that none of the political variables are. Thus, no evidence can be found that political factors influence the level of transaction costs.     

Campaign to governance: science,engineering, and policy innovation for America’s top infrastructure projects

The 2016 US Presidential Campaign of Donald J. Trump described renewing ‘America’s crumbling infrastructure’ with an extensive program for transportation, water, power grids, telecommunications, security, and other facilities. The program includes incentive-based contracting, jobs creation that leads to increased tax revenues, and attention to reducing waste in procurement. This editorial outlines how key differences between campaigning and governance can affect Presidential transitions for areas such as developing infrastructure policy. The editorial then outlines strategies that can assist with the selection and implementation of infrastructure improvement projects for the Trump Administration moving forward.     

Clarifying relationships between participatory approaches,issues, processes,and results,through crosscutting case analysis in Japan’s environmental,energy, and food policy areas

Participatory public engagement approaches such as Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polling^®, and Planning Cells have been used to try and resolve environmental disputes in Japan; however, the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches have not been analyzed adequately or comprehensively. This paper evaluates practical applications of each of the above participatory approaches and conducts a crosscutting analysis of these applications to evaluate how effectively each approach provides scientific information to participants and to consider how the quality of deliberations that occur during these processes affect their outputs. Based on existing classification of participatory processes, and methodology for public involvement in US environmental decision-making, this study compares and contrasts the processes and outcomes of 25 participatory planning case studies in Japan. After compiling a case inventory of participatory approaches, the features of one approach are documented using qualitative analysis, and the aspects of four other approaches are confirmed using crosscutting analysis. In so doing, the likely strengths and weaknesses of each approach are suggested as follows. When discussions require an understanding of scientific knowledge, the Consensus Conference tends to be more suitable than the DP approach. If the consensus of participants is expected, the Consensus Conference is also thought to be suitable. But through a DP process or Simplified Planning Cells approach, we can know the quantitative portion of each opinion through results of ballots. In sum, new participatory approach that incorporates strengths of the Consensus Conference and the Simplified Planning Cells into Local Environmental Planning is needed. Thus, the quality of consensus building could be improved.     

Environmental management from left to right – on ideology,policy-specific beliefs and pro-environmental policy support

Due to growing environmental challenges, the demand for effective management through pro-environmental policy measures is increasing. The effectiveness is, however, largely determined by the degree to which the policy measures are supported by the actors affected by them. A consistent finding in the literature is that ideology (or subjective positioning on the left–right dimension) affects environmental policy support, with left-leaning individuals being more pro-environmental. A major caveat with previous research is that it seldom makes a distinction between different kinds of policies. Therefore, we are concerned with investigating how different ideological positions affect attitudes towards different forms of environmental protection. Using unique survey data, we show that ideology is related to conceptions about the fairness and effectiveness of different policy tools, which in turn steer preferences. In that sense, this paper makes the discussion on the effects of ideological position on pro-environmental policy support more nuanced.     

Two decades,three WEEE systems: How far did EPR evolve in Korea's resource circulation policy?

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has become a dominant policy paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the last two decades. In South Korea the principle has guided the evolution of the resource circulation policy even before its official introduction through a revision of the recycling law in 2002. Elements of producer responsibilities could be found in the producer-based deposit refund system (DRS) a decade earlier and they were strengthened through the enactment of a new resource circulation law in 2008. This article reviews the policy changes in South Korea for the management of WEEE during the past 20 years. The focus of the analysis is on the impacts of EPR and the producers’ responses that were expressed through the quantity and the quality of material flows in the society. The findings are discussed in light of international experiences in order to outline measures to improve the effectiveness of the EPR-based resource circulation policy that could have broader implications beyond the case study.     

Why slaughter? The cultural dimensions of Britain's foot and mouth disease control policy, 1892–2001

In 1892, the British agricultural authorities introduced a policy of slaughtering animals infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD). This measure endured throughout the 20th century and formed a base line upon which officials superimposed the controversial "contiguous cull" policy during the devastating 2001 epidemic. Proponents of the slaughter frequently emphasized its capacity to eliminate FMD from Britain, and claimed that it was both cheaper and more effective than the alternative policies of isolation and vaccination. However, their discussions reveal that a less obvious but nonetheless important reason for maintaining the slaughter policy was the conviction that in its manner of operation and its outcomes, it benefited the state and status of the British nation. To its supporters, slaughter was far more than a method of disease control; it acted also as a moralizing and civilizing force, an indicator of veterinary ability and a "virility symbol" of British international leadership. This "cultural" rationale for FMD control by slaughter declined during the late 20th century and was wholly undermined by the 2001 epidemic, when extensive culling failed to convey the intended image of an organized, enlightened Britain.     

National infrastructure,small towns and sustainable mobility – experiences from policy and strategy in two Swedish municipalities

This study explores the implications of improved access to national rail and road infrastructure for urban planning and land use in two small Swedish towns. The promotion of sustainable mobility is considered a strategic objective at the municipal level, yet the study questions the extent to which national investments, and increased access to regional labour markets, support local efforts to increase sustainable mobility. The results indicate that municipalities struggle to adopt coherent approaches to increasing sustainable mobility and continue to develop physical plans that induce use of motor vehicles, a trend reinforced by national investments in road infrastructure in peri-urban areas.     

Realization of participation and spatiality in participatory forest management – a policy–practice analysis from Zanzibar,Tanzania

The efforts in sustainable natural resource management have given rise to decentralization of forest governance in the developing world with hopes for better solutions and effective implementation. In this paper, we examine how spatially sensitive participation is realized from policy to practice in the process of establishing participatory forest management in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Our policy–practice analysis shows that the policies in Zanzibar strongly support decentralization and local level participation has in practice been realized. However, the policy does not emphasize participatory process design nor address the possibilities of using spatial information and technologies to ensure wider participation. Thus, the practices fall short in innovativeness of using site-sensitive information with available technologies. Reflecting the Zanzibari Community Forest Management Agreements (CoFMA) context with examples of participatory use of spatial information and technologies in other parts of the world, we discuss ways to improve the Zanzibari CoFMA process towards increased participation, communication, local sense of ownership and more sustainable land management decisions, and argue for the future implementation of CoFMA as a spatially sensitive participatory process.     

Cause,catalyst or conjunction? The influence of the Habitats Directive on policy instrument choice in Member States

In the process of implementing EU policy, Member States sometimes introduce new policy instruments in cases where this is not obligatory. To better understand this phenomenon, this paper reviews three cases in which new instruments emerged and develops a methodology to trace back the influence of EU Directives on instrument choice. The method is illustrated by a narrative of the emergence of new management planning instruments during the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive in three EU Member States: Finland, Hungary and the Netherlands. Three key features of a policy instrument are defined, namely, its authoritative force, action content and governance design. These are used to measure the contribution of the Habitats Directive compared to other potential explanatory causes for the emergence of the new policy instrument. In all three reviewed countries a nested causal relationship between the Habitats Directive and the introduction of the new policy instrument is identified. Based on the relative contribution of the Habitats Directive to the emergence of the new instrument a distinction is made whether the Directive acted as a cause, catalyst or if conjunction occurred.     

Amsterdam: planning and policy for the ideal city?

Is Amsterdam the “ideal city?” Many of the social, economic, and environmental problems facing Amsterdam are considerably less than those in cities in the USA, and in most cases, Western Europe. Amsterdam, at this moment in history, might be the world's greatest city because of its ability to ensure basic necessities, freedom, and creativity. Tolerance of drugs, sexual freedom, along with the integration of different races helps reduce many of the “social problems” faced by most cities. We have compared, on a per capita basis, differences between Amsterdam/Holland and the USA. The Netherlands is a tiny country, and comparisons are made on a city and per capita numbers at the national level. Our data show that Amsterdam has lower crime, murder, rape, drug usage (cocaine, marijuana), teenage pregnancy, diabetes, obesity, suicide, abortion rates, infant mortality, dependence on fossil fuels, and homelessness, and racial segregation is considerably less. People live longer because of Amsterdam's walkability and bike usage and access to parks. Indeed, the Netherlands leads both Western European and the USA in the proportion of trips made walking and bicycling, with significantly reduced car dependency. Ghettos are nearly non-existent compared with the segregation in the 1940s/1950s. Quality housing is supplied to everyone that gives pride of place compared with the stark, cold, and institutional “projects” provided by the US federal government. Amsterdam leads Western Europe by 35% in social housing, compared with runner-up UK, which has significantly less. The modernism of the 1960s where the poor were warehoused is nearly all gone. People living in Amsterdam seem more tolerant, secure, happier, and healthier compared with citizens in the USA. Great cities provide opportunities for all citizens to enhance their lives and ensure an unrivalled level of freedom. We demonstrate that social and environmental justice are tied together. Amsterdam is by no means perfect, but in comparison with many other democratic industrial cities, it is a far better place for citizens of all races, religions, and incomes.     

Urban economy or environmental policy? The case of Egypt

This paper shows how prevailing economic development paradigms over the last five decades have favoured an urban-based model of economic development at the expense of environmental considerations in developing countries. How the disjuncture between these competing agendas has been experienced in Egypt forms the focus of the paper. Tension between environmental and development/urbanization policies reflects their political encoding aimed at maintaining regime stability. The state has attempted to mediate between the domestic interests of an urban-based elite and the urban poor, international donor dominance of Egypt's economic and urban development strategies, and the country's limited institutional capacity to manage its developmental aspirations. In a policy configuration that buttresses macro-economic policy with urban development priorities, the unfettered role of market processes has produced vast but unregulated urban expansion with, now, increasingly severe environmental consequences. Despite attempts to reconcile the two agendas in the last decade, the paper concludes that the main issues endemic to the public policy domain in Egypt, and in many developing countries, remain: poor line ministry coordination, weak enforcement of environment law, resistance to participation, limited implementation capacity, conflicts between sectoral and cross-sectoral policy formulation, and dependency on external donors. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (part 1): integrating knowledge, education, and action for a better world?

The environmental sciences/studies movement, with more than 1000 programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, is unified by a common interest??ameliorating environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. Unfortunately, environmental programs have struggled in their efforts to integrate knowledge across disciplines and educate students to become sound problem solvers and leaders. We examine the environmental program movement as a policy problem, looking at overall goals, mapping trends in relation to those goals, identifying the underlying factors contributing to trends, and projecting the future. We argue that despite its shared common interest, the environmental program movement is disparate and fragmented by goal ambiguity, positivistic disciplinary approaches, and poorly rationalized curricula, pedagogies, and educational philosophies. We discuss these challenges and the nature of the changes that are needed in order to overcome them. In a subsequent article (Part 2) we propose specific strategies for improvement.     

Can area managers connect policy and tenants? Implementation and diffusion of a new waste management system in Linköping,Sweden

Recycling and reducing household waste are political goals internationally, nationally and locally. In Sweden, households in apartment buildings seem to sort their waste to a lesser extent than households in single-family houses. This paper analyses the challenges of the diffusion of a new waste management system in apartment buildings, and focuses on a municipal housing company and the actions of its area managers. It is argued that area managers can be regarded as street-level bureaucrats who act as ‘collectors’ of tenants’ everyday practices in the studied implementation process. The study is based on interviews, document analysis and observations.     

Upstream Addicks–Barker reservoir damages during Hurricane Harvey: A case study of urban hydrology and policy failure in Houston,TX

Addicks and Barker reservoirs were built in the 1940s to protect downtown Houston from flooding and have generally worked very well until 2017 when Hurricane Harvey devastated much of Houston and surroundings with up to 40 inches (102 cm) of rainfall causing flooding of 154,000 homes in over 22 watersheds in Houston/Harris County alone. However, the story of how Addicks and Barker flooded upstream residential areas from a hydrologic standpoint is a harsh lesson in flood infrastructure policy and funding. This failure to protect both downstream properties in Buffalo Bayou and upstream areas behind the dams ended up with tens of thousands of flooded homes and properties, with many having flood waters for over 10 days. This paper explores the main causes for the flooding and addresses the hydrologic issues upstream in both reservoirs. The main causes of flooding were not just related to a massive rainfall event, but also explosive urban expansion of land use upstream of reservoirs, altered and updated reservoir design issues, and lack of governmental action in the years leading up to the disaster. Potential long-term solutions to the flooding and design problems are addressed in this article as well.     

Putting Sustainable Development into Practice? The role of local policy partnership networks

This paper examines how the concept of sustainable development is being put into practice by local policy partnership networks. We suggest that due to the highly contested nature of the concept, these networks are facing problems in trying to unravel what sustainable development actually means. Few organisations are grappling with the more fundamental implications of the concept and, as a result, policies for sustainability are being developed cheek by jowl with those of economic growth and competitiveness. Moreover, established local policy networks play a dominant role in defining a vision of sustainable development to the detriment of groups outside the policy process. Mechanisms and institutions need to be established to widen participation and debate on the issue and to draw upon lessons and ideas from organisations outside established networks, such as environmental and campaign groups, third sector organisations, community associations and socially responsible businesses. Este documento examina como el concepto de desarrollo sostenible esta siendo puesto en práctica por redes de sociedades normativas locales. Nosotros sugerimos que debido a la alta naturaleza competitiva del concepto, estas redes estan enfrentando problemas al tratar de desenredar lo que significa realmente desarrollo sostenible. Pocas organizaciones están intentando resolver las implicaciones mas fundamentals del concepto y como resultado las políticas para la sostenibilidad estan siendo desarrolladas lado a lado con esas de crecimiento económico y competitividad. Además, las redes normativas locales establecidas juegan un papel predominante en definir una visión de desarrollo sostenible para el detrimento de grupos por fuera del proceso regulador. Los mecanismos y las instituciones necesitan ser establecidos para ampliar la participación y debatir sobre el asunto y para deducir sobre lecciones e ideas tomadas de organizaciones por fuera de las redes establecidas tales como grupos ambientales y de campaña, organizaciones del tercer sector, asociaciones comunitarias y negocios socialmente responsables.     

Municipal Environmental Policy in Norway: From 'mainstream' policy to 'real' Agenda 21?

The Brundtland report and Agenda 21 focus on the global environment and development problems. Though Norway is usually considered a pioneer with respect to sustainable development, analyses have shown that this has not been the case with respect to Local Agenda 21. Still, Norwegian municipalities have strengthened their institutional capacity on environmental policy, and have thereby strengthened their ability to follow up the recommendations in Agenda 21. Through the high-profile government-financed reform programme, Environment in the Municipalities, which ran from 1988 to 1996, a great majority of the municipalities have employed their own environmental officers, and environmental considerations have gradually obtained a footing in municipal planning. So far, however, it is the local environmental problems that have received most attention rather than global environmental and development problems. By the start of the 21st century a crucial question is, therefore, whether the growing number of Local Agenda 21 initiatives in Norway will in fact adopt the global perspectives outlined by the Brundtland report and Agenda 21, or just keep on with a 'business as usual' environmental policy approach. So far national environmental policy in Norway seems to be reluctant to face the global problems, leaving the municipalities with the great challenge of being the 'engine' in steaming up Norwegian environmental politics.     

Where do we go from here? Environmental focus groups and planning policy formation

Focus groups have achieved a profile in the analysis of public values unparalleled since the emergence of national opinion polls. While they have been used in a variety of public policy, academic and political settings it is their employment within the field of environmental policy, specifically the land-use planning system, that is the focus of this paper. Using evidence from empirical research it is argued that the research-policy interface of environmental focus groups and planning is currently both undertheorised and underpractised. Undertheorised in that much of the literature on focus groups concentrates on their conduct rather than how they can inform policy. Underpractised because focus group data are failing to have much impact on policy. This paper concentrates on the second of these propositions by showing that while some of the problems with quantitative public environmental values surveys can be overcome by focus groups, the nature and content of the data they produce are not easily assimilated by existing planning structures. In an era when the role of the public, in all its diversity, is being emphasised in policy circles, and collaborative projects between academia and policy communities on environmental issues are becoming increasingly commonplace, early warning signs of tensions between research findings and policy development need to be heeded. A failure to acknowledge these problems may well lead to impoverished environmental policy in planning, a further marginalisation of publics from policy processes and an unjust devaluation of the focus-group method.     

Local opposition against high-voltage grids: public responses to agency-caused science–policy trolls

High-voltage (hV) transmission grids are projects of societal importance that potentially have controversial social and environmental impacts. Former research shows that public opposition is sparked by the perception of negative local impacts and unjust concessionary processes. In this paper, we complement these perspectives by assessing the institutional practices of the regulatory agencies in dealing with scientific uncertainties. The regulatory agencies’ ‘ways of doing things’ are often designed to serve policy and management needs. A critical point is that the demarcation between scientifically based facts, values and assessments is often blurred in the decision-making process. This paper draws on two Norwegian case studies to investigate how the regulatory agencies dealt with (1) electromagnetic fields and health risks and (2) overhead lines versus sea cables. We argue that ambiguities and uncertainties that arise in the hV transmission line processes create ‘trolls’, and we explore how the local inhabitants and affected stakeholders in the two cases responded to these and how it triggered further opposition. By investigating how and why trolls appear and are handled, we conclude by discussing how public opposition related to hV transmission grids may be reduced – and how some ‘trolls’ may crack.