Authority Pooling and Regional Organic Agriculture Standard-Setting: Evidence from East Africa

A key characteristic of global organic agriculture governance through standards is the coexistence of regulatory fragmentation and regional integration. To reduce barriers to organic trade, especially for market participants from developing countries, international and transnational entrepreneurs increasingly promote the setting of organic agriculture standards (OAS) in different world regions, for example, in East Africa, the Pacific, or Asia. Although scholars from different disciplines have done a lot of research on the role of standards in global governance, we still know little about why and how regional standard-setting processes evolve. Applying findings from regime analysis, entrepreneurship, and political authority, the article introduces the concept of authority pooling. It argues that legal, moral, and technical authority sources interact in a blurred functional division of labour between the public and the private sector in standard-setting. The article presents results from a within-case study of the development of the East African Organic Products Standard using the process-tracing method. It detects the underlying causal mechanism by which international and transnational entrepreneurs pooled different authority sources and, thus, significantly influenced political actors in East Africa to set the first regional OAS in the developing world.     

Farmers’ market governance and its role on consumer motives and outcomes

Local food systems and farmers' markets across the USA have experienced unprecedented growth and development in the past 20 years. While scholarship has examined participant demographics and motives for engaging in farmers' markets, few studies have considered the coupled nature of those attending the markets with institutional governance systems used for market coordination. This study examined participation in farmers' markets under the framework of high and low market governance systems, specifically considering the demographics, values for local foods, motives for attending farmers' markets, and outcomes of the experience based on the dichotomous governance classification. Governance was characterized using four attributes: market rules or policies, paid employee(s), a rule governing geography of food origin, and affiliation with an organisation or agency. Our results suggest that market governance may impact (1) which consumers attend the market, (2) motives among those who attend the market, and (3) satisfaction outcome levels among market participants. By better understanding how the emerging governance system impacts who ultimately attends the market (and the outcomes of the experience), agencies coordinating farmers' markets and market managers can ultimately improve the market's reach and experience with greater intentionality.     

Socio-technical Systems as Place-specific Matters of Concern: The Role of Urban Governance in the Transition of the Wastewater System in Denmark

In recent years, cities have been portrayed as important loci for transformations of large-scale systems. This paper contributes to scholarship on urban transitions by exploring why the boundaries, functions and challenges of large-scale systems typically are framed differently at the urban level of governance than at more aggregated levels of governance. Empirically, we examine the wastewater system in Denmark by contrasting framings at the urban and national levels over the last 20 years and the transition dynamics that emerged as a consequence of their juxtaposition. The findings illustrate that urban governance of the wastewater system was influenced by a particular concern with developing attractive and competitive urban spaces. The wastewater system emerged as a ‘place-bound’ and even ‘place-making’ governance concern; as such, the boundaries and functions of the system were subject to continuous redefinition at the city level. This urban framing conflicted with the national-level, efficiency-oriented framing of the wastewater system as homogenous, without regard to place-specific differences. The research findings suggest that a distinct characteristic of urban-level governance is concern for place-specific development; this concern can be transformative because it leads to ongoing reinterpretation of traditional boundaries and dependencies between large-scale systems and local contexts.     

农村环境善治的逻辑重塑——基于利益相关者理论的分析

农村环境污染问题是我国实现十八届五中全会倡导的五位一体重大战略的突出矛盾,也是学术界需要研究的核心问题之一。本研究利用利益相关者理论分析法,对我国农村环境治理失灵的内在机理进行理论解释,认为政府、企业、城市、村民、环保组织、科研院校等利益相关者的不同利益诉求和行为导向,造成了目前农村环境污染的现实困境。分析发现:正是政府层面重视经济发展,轻视监管职责;企业层面重视经济利润,轻视社会责任;农民层面重视生计诉求、轻视安全需求;城市层面突破政府管制,转嫁污染成本;环保组织力量资源有限,难以提供环保功能以及科研院校重视环保技术研发,轻视科技推广,才导致了现阶段农村环境污染愈演愈烈。因此,只有明确政府、企业、城市、村民、环保组织、科研院校等利益相关者的角色定位,充分发挥好各自的环保功能,真正构建起农村环境的共同治理体系,才能克服不同利益相关者之间的冲突和相互博弈状态,进而实现农村环境善治的目标。研究结论表明:农村环境善治的内涵体现为政治国家与公民社会的合作参与、共同治理乡村环境问题.其主要特征为合法性、透明性、责任性、回应性、有效性,其实质是在乡村环境治理中,构建起强国家和强社会的"双强"模式。通过构建这种"双强"模式使国家与社会在乡村环境治理中达成利益均衡共识,彼此协同合作,共同致力于乡村环境的善治之道,以此彻底改变现在的乡村污染面貌,最终实现十八届五中全会倡导的生态良好农村战略构想。     

环境治理的社会规范路径

环境问题的根源在于人类的行为,引导个体实施环境友好行为是环境治理的基本思路。环境社会规范会对环境行为产生重要的影响,是环境治理的重要路径。本研究在阐述社会规范的种类及其作用机制的基础上,借鉴环境社会规范激活的相关理论,阐明环境社会规范激活的影响因素及环境社会规范作用于环境行为的基本机理,分析中国环境社会规范激活存在的障碍,提出政府通过促进环境社会规范的激活来治理环境所应当采取的措施。研究结论表明,整体环境社会规范的激活水平决定着环境社会规范对环境行为的作用力,其取决于相互影响的环境描述性规范、环境命令性规范、环境个人规范的激活水平以及外部约束条件。由于受到客观物质生活条件的制约,中国环境社会规范的激活存在一些障碍,导致环境社会规范激活处于较低的水平,这些主要的障碍包括环境消极描述性规范反向作用大、环境个人规范激活水平低和行为的成本、行为的技术障碍、行为的便利性等外部因素的制约突出。在此,提出的建议是政府相关部门可以采取积极措施,通过提高环境社会规范的激活水平来达到环境治理的目标。政府相关部门可通过描述性规范信息的传递提高环境描述性规范激活水平。环境宣传教育中通过生态价值观确立、环境污染行为不利后果的明确认知、环境不利后果避免的正确归因来提高环境个人规范的激活水平。通过降低遵守环境社会规范的难度和成本消除环境社会规范激活的外部制约因素。通过完善环境立法并强化环境法的实施可有效提高环境描述性规范、环境命令性规范、环境个人规范的激活水平,从而提高整体环境社会规范的激活水平。     

Who counts,what counts: representation and accountability in water governance in the Upper Comoé sub‐basin,Burkina Faso

This article examines the unfolding of integrated water resource management (IWRM) reforms in southwest Burkina Faso, where water resources are subject to conflicting claims by a diversity of users. We first describe the establishment a local water user committee, showing how choices regarding composition and operations grant varying levels of recognition to different stakeholders. We then discuss the implications for key dimensions of decentralized governance, namely representation and accountability. In particular we focus on: (a) how the interplay of political agendas and policy disconnects shapes the committee's viability and credibility and (b) how tensions between techno‐scientific and local knowledge affect participation and transparency. We argue that in contexts defined by contentious politics and neo‐patrimonial practices, representativeness is better ensured by the direct inclusion of user groups rather than elected officials. Though limited discretionary power, information access, and technical capabilities of committee members inhibit accountability, rural producers uphold their claims through social mobilization and reliance on local knowledge. Recognizing the opportunities offered by the country's recent democratic turn, we formulate recommendations aimed at addressing structural drivers and enabling citizen agency in decentralized water governance. At the same time, further research is needed on local people's understandings of representation and accountability, to ensure that they are involved in institutional design and practices in ways that affirm what they value and what they know.     

Assessing participatory and multi-level characteristics of biodiversity and landscape protection legislation: the case of Poland

In this paper, we present a comprehensive framework for analysing formal rules regulating the involvement of various actors in protected areas decision-making over time and apply it to Poland. Based on the analysis of legal acts and policy documents, we suggest that since the democratic transition started in 1989, the governance of Polish protected areas has been increasingly multi-level and participatory. However, different designations indicate different levels of involvement by non-state actors, with Natura 2000 standing out from the traditional protected areas. Regarding governance issues, establishing and taking management decisions were characterised by the greatest changes in actors’ involvement. While participation of non-public actors is still limited mostly to information and consultation, the involvement of non-state public actors of various levels increased significantly. The paper highlights the importance of a systematic analysis of legal rules as a starting point for empirical investigation of the governance of protected areas.     

“They give you lots of information,but ignore what it's really about”: residents' experiences with the planned introduction of a new high-voltage power line

Cases of strong local opposition to the planned introduction of new high-voltage power lines (HVPLs) have been documented in the past. During and after the planning process for a new HVPL, local residents will be informed about the siting process and its outcomes. Although it has been suggested in the literature that this communication plays an important role in residents' responses to a new HVPL, it has been rarely empirically studied. In this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 15 residents about their experiences with the planned introduction of a new HVPL near their homes. Thematic analysis revealed that residents' experiences were centred around negative expectations of living near the new HVPL and perceived injustice of the planning process and its outcomes. Residents' perception that communication was not tailored to their information needs played a significant role in these negative experiences. Suggestions for improving communication will be discussed.     

Partnerships and governance at the environment–health nexus in Ontario: lessons from five case examples

The move towards partnerships and collaborative governance models has been advocated in global health discussions for many years now. A case example methodology was applied to this study. It was composed of a document review and semi-structured interviews with key informants from five environment and public health partnerships in the province of Ontario, Canada. These case examples highlight the merits and the challenges of diverse partnerships, and the importance of governance and leadership models, scaling up (and out) impact, and cross-cultural communications to these arrangements. Further work is required to articulate situations in which public health partnerships can be strengthened.     

A study on the dilemmas of resource utilization and tourism in Africa

This paper explores,explains and discusses issues around the dilemma between local conservation of natural resources(often,endangered species and habitats)and tourism needs in Africa.Often and in constitutional terms,local people have a right to exploit and use resources endowed in their local area.However,tourists often are interested in viewing the vegetation and animal resources undisturbed.Inevitably,there is an undeclared animosity of values and interests between local communities and tourists and state agencies.As a result,the dilemma is thus of governance.The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the governance dilemma of resource utilization and tourism in Africa in a bid to create an informed stewardship framework for sustainability.This is achieved by way of case studies and narratives from Africa.As such,this paper will be a review literature on how different communities perceive tourism and derive livelihoods from their immediate environment.It also explains how the external factors influence local needs and interests.A more sustainable and operational framework that reduces friction among stakeholders is suggested.