Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-88). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 322-354).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 355-377).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 379-391).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-325).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Also available in print.

This study focuses on South African Environmefltal policy; in particular its policies regarding hazardous waste. These policies are addressed within the framework of a case study which serves as basis to critically evaluate government environmental policies both past and present. The thesis examines South African environmental policy against the backdrop of competing schools of thought regarding the relationship between growth and development on the one hand and long term environmental security on the other. Development strategies such as Sustainable Development and the government's Growth, Employment and Redistribution as well as philosophies such as Deep Ecology will be discussed. The thesis argues that Non-Governmental Organisations are the holders of a real environmental ethic and thus their role in preventing environmental degradation is of critical importance. Furthermore, it is imperative that this ethic be disseminated across society if South Africa is to successfully pursue sound environmental policies. This argument is pursued by way of a case study, Thor Chemicals: a company responsible for the running of the largest mercury recovery facility in the world. This plant, which operated in Cato Ridge, KwaZulu-Natal, has been the source of much controversy since it was found that many of its employees and ex-employees were suffering from severe mercury poisoning resulting in two fatalities. The company was also involved in the importation of hazardous wastes as well as the pollution of the surrounding environment. Thor is currently the subject of inquiry by the government-appointed Davis Commission. It is pointed out that ill the past South Africa held no real environmental ethic and environmental degradation ensued as a result. The presented thesis argues that, despite assurances to the contrary, the present government is also without a true environmental ethic that will be effective in preventing future degradation.

In the first chapter, "Does the Stage of Development Matter for Infrastructure Payoffs?”, I consider infrastructure as a channel for economic development. I address the question of whether the impact of infrastructure varies according to the stage of development of a country. I answer this question through an innovative methodology exploiting the information included in papers that provide estimates of infrastructure payoffs. I use a logit model whose dependent variable indicates whether these estimates are positively significant. To account for the variation of this dependent variable, I consider the sample characteristics of estimates. One of these characteristics is the stage of development of the countries included in the samples. Specifically, I use the weight of each of four income categories in the sample as an explanatory variable.<p><p>The second chapter, "Climate Change Mitigation in the Presence of Technology Spillovers", explores the implications of an increase in clean technology spillovers between developed and developing countries. I build a 2-stage 2-country game of abatements in which players are linked with technology spillovers. The two countries are asymmetric in their technology endowment. Country 1 - the developed country - is the only one able to invest in technology that lowers abatement costs. Country 2 - the developing country - captures only part of the technology provided by country 1.<p><p>The third chapter, "Threshold Effects in Self-Enforcing International Environmental Agreements" is co-written with Renaud Foucart. In this chapter, we address the stability of self-enforcing International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) with the presence of a threshold of irreversible climate change. Climate scientists recognize the existence of human-induced abrupt climate changes that are likely to occur when the climate system crosses some threshold. We show that taking into account these threshold effects - when identified with enough accuracy - allows for the existence of more ambitious agreements than those predicted by the traditional literature on IEAs. When considering abrupt irreversible damage, the contribution of any country that helps prevent the world from such a catastrophe is very large. Consequently, a high number of signatories that could potentially prevent the climate system from crossing the threshold could form a self-enforcing agreement. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Civil society participation in the policy and law making process is necessary in environmental management as it ensures the consideration and inclusion of the views of those affected by decisions made by the state. Despite the recognition of the importance of participation, it is not clear what role Civil society organisations(CSOs) in Uganda have actually played in the formulation of environmental policies and laws. The aim of this research therefore is to analyse the participatory role played by CSOs in these processes. The study is conducted around the conceptual framework of participation in environmental management as a part of the broader notion of participatory governance as a necessary element for the consolidation of democracy. It studies the role of civil society actors working in the area of environmental rights and protection in the formulation of environmental policy and law. The time frame is from the advent of the Constitution and National Environmental Management Act both enacted in 1995 which provide the overall legal framework for environmental policy and law and for participation in its formulation. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of S Tindifa, Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This dissertation examines the environmental discourse of the USDA Forest Service, focusing on the language of ecosystem management (EM). A two pronged approach was employed: eleven interviews were conducted with agency executives (chapter two); thirty-three interviews were conducted with agency staff specialists and decision-makers, working at the agency's operational levels (chapter three and four). Differences between how agency executives view EM and how agency operators view EM were identified. Chapter two shows that agency executives generally believed that the process of EM is ingrained in the agency. Chapter three explores this assertion at the forest and district levels, and reveals conflicting stories concerning the current practice of EM. Agency operators explained EM as a process driven by ecological science, but also revealed an alternate planning process. The alternate planning process is driven by the agency's budget and strict employee roles. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with agency operators, a model of how agency operators construct agency planning was created. It illustrates the potential mismatch between planning focused on ecological science and an agency focused on budgets, cost-benefit calculations, and strict employee roles. The model also shows that agency operators described active and passive publics in their constructions of agency planning. Chapter four focuses on these constructs of the public, and shows how they are partly created by agency interpretations of the public involvement processes required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In some cases, the agency applies a standard for public participation (substantive sieve) that requires publics to couch their concerns in scientific or legal terms. Publics that are able to navigate the substantive sieve are typically viewed as active publics, while those that cannot meet this standard are viewed as passive publics. A feedback mechanism was identified between constructs of the public and agency process; constructs of the public shape agency process and agency process shapes agency constructions of the public. The dissertation concludes by showing that agency focus on budgetary targets and the use of the substantive sieve can be understood as attempts to instill accountability into a decentralized agency with an ambiguous mission. / Ph. D.