Traditional theories of industrial restructuring assign the most explanatory weight of the structural change phenomenon to increasing pressures via globalization and falling trade barriers. This thesis offers a new model of thinking about industrial restructuring that includes multiple stressors. The thesis focuses on three main drivers of structural change: market pressures, environmental regulation and changes in land use and land pricing, using two case studies of leather and footwear industrial clusters in Mexico, located in the cities of León and Guadalajara. Evidence of multiple drivers of structural change is found in the dissertation. Furthermore, responses to restructuring drivers in León and Guadalajara are found to be substantially different. Firms in the leather and footwear cluster in León have implemented countervailing strategies such as price competition, government lobbying, and more recently, investment in socio-economic research (competitiveness) projects. However, firms in the leather and footwear cluster in Guadalajara focused on a specific, high-end target market. At the larger, urban scale, footwear and its allied industries in the city of León resisted change and have tried to remain in operation while the city of Guadalajara has focused on a diversification strategy, attracting new (arguably more technically advanced) industries. This thesis offers empirical and theoretical advances. Empirically, it applies a firm demographics approach to the study of industrial clusters under multiple stressors. This approach has not been previously used on Mexican data. Theoretically, it demonstrates that future analyses of industrial complexes’ structural change can be strengthened through the use of an integrated assessment framework investigating the effect of multiple stressors (market forces, land pricing, technical change, environmental regulations, and consumer preferences) on industrial restructuring. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The contemporary challenge of developing entrepreneurship with the responsible use of resources is also present at the food retail sector. The search for competitiveness leads entrepreneurs to postpone environmental policy inclusion in their entrepreneurial activities. In this sense relating entrepreneurship and environmental matters in SME s in Brazil is convenient and recent, once the majority of existing researches deal with industries or big size enterprises. Despite their operational limitations the SME s contribute for income and job generation and are able to introduce innovations due to their flexibility. Considering this extremely relevance context for the sector development this study goal is to establish guidelines for the introduction of environmental policy trough entrepreneurial dialectics in the food retail sector. This is a study of qualitative, exploratory and descriptive nature, having as its basis SINDIGÊNEROS enterprises in Santa Maria, RS. Results suggest that the majority of local entrepreneurs understand the importance of environmental preservation, on the other hand ignore the meaningful impacts resulting from activities practiced by the sector, as well as they don t know the ways to reduce or eliminate this impacts. Aiming at contributing for the improvement of the situation, it is proposed that the environmental policy is inserted in the entrepreneurial management process, leading to entrepreneurial actions. The inter-relation complexity between entrepreneurship and environment, when applied to SME s reality in the food retail sector, represents peculiar and simple actions whose implementation can promote the sector development. / O desafio contemporâneo em desenvolver o empreendedorismo aliado a utilização responsável dos recursos também está presente no setor de varejo alimentício. A busca da competitividade leva os empreendedores a protelar a inclusão da política ambiental em suas atividades empresariais. Nesse sentido, relacionar empreendedorismo e a questão ambiental em MPEs no Brasil é oportuno e recente, pois a maioria das pesquisas existentes trata das indústrias ou de empresas de grande porte. Apesar de suas limitações operacionais as MPEs contribuem para geração de emprego e renda e são capazes de introduzir inovações devido a sua flexibilidade. Considerando esse contexto extremamente relevante para o desenvolvimento do setor, o objetivo deste estudo é estabelecer diretrizes para a introdução da política ambiental, por meio da dialética empreendedora, no setor de varejo alimentício. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva, tendo como base as empresas vinculadas ao SINDIGÊNEROS em Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Os resultados sugerem que a maioria dos empreendedores locais compreendem a importância da preservação ambiental, no entanto ignoram os impactos significativos resultantes das atividades praticadas pelo setor, assim como, desconhecem meios que venham a reduzir ou eliminar esses impactos. Visando contribuir para a melhoria dessa situação, propõe-se que seja inserida a política ambiental no processo de gestão empresarial norteando as ações empreendedoras. A complexidade da inter-relação entre empreendedorismo e meio ambiente quando aplicada a realidade das MPEs do setor de varejo alimentício traduziu-se em ações simples e peculiares, cuja implementação pode proporcionar o desenvolvimento desse setor.

Magister Legum - LLM / This study unveiled the trade-environment debate which has been revolving in the World Trade Organization for quite a long time now. While economic integration and trade liberalization offer the promise of growth and prosperity, environmentalists fear that free trade will lead to increased pollution and resource depletion. On the other hand, free traders worry that over-reaching environmental policies will obstruct efforts to open markets and integrate economies around the world. Trade liberalization has the potential to affect the environment both positively and negatively. Trade and environment tensions have therefore emerged as a major issue in the debate over globalisation. This paper examined the contours of these tensions and argued that trade policy and environmental programs can be better integrated and made more mutually supportive. / South Africa

A growing interest in urban food production has prompted many North American cities to revise their municipal policies regarding agricultural activities. In March 2011, the City Council of Burlington, VT, created the Urban Agriculture Task Force to investigate and recommend policies to provide city officials with tools to effectively govern urban agriculture. In coordination with the Task Force as a community partner, I used a governance framework and participatory action research (PAR) to analyze: (1) the needs of local stakeholders, including urban agriculture practitioners, the general Burlington community, and government officials; (2) the policy tools available to the City of Burlington, including the direct provision of services, regulation, public information, and partnerships with other organizations; (3) the actors and relationships present in Burlington’s urban agriculture governance network; and (4) policy approaches used in other cities. Based on this analysis, over 50 policy recommendations were developed for the City of Burlington, ranging from ordinance revisions to the development of new urban agriculture initiatives. Key findings include that (1) a balance must be struck between stakeholder needs (e.g. practitioners desire that regulations be minimal, while municipal officials need measurable standards to ease implementation); (2) a legal basis for governing some aspects of urban agriculture, such as the humane treatment of livestock, is needed, but other aspects, such as managing neighbor conflicts or connecting people to available land, are not easily regulated and require innovative programming; and (3) the City has an opportunity to partner with other organizations that are better suited to provide technical expertise to practitioners. These recommendations lay the groundwork for the City to better govern and support current and future urban agriculture activities.

The study examines the development of wildlife conservation policy and practice in Kenya from 1895 to 1975. Started by the colonial state as part of its resource control programme, wildlife conservation in Kenya gradually became an important aspect of the country's economy chiefly because of its significance as the basis of a vibrant tourist industry. The conservation programme was also important to conservationists who viewed Kenya's wildlife as a heritage to humanity. Similarly, local communities, which were affected in various ways by wildlife conservation policies, had their own perceptions of the programme. All this led to the proliferation of groups whose interests were potentially conflicting. Wildlife conservation in Kenya during the period under examination was thus characterised by various struggles between interest groups such as conservationists, the state, and local communities. The struggles centred around such issues as the costs and benefits of conservation and were manifested through anti-conservation activities like the poaching of wild animals by dissatisfied groups. These struggles changed over time in line with social, economic, political, and ecological developments. International events/processes (such as the two world wars, economic booms/depressions, and decolonisation) triggered local processes which influenced conservationism either positively or negatively. Wildlife conservation in Kenya during the period under study was dynamic. The thesis challenges the myth of a monolithic 'colonial' wildlife policy often implied in many studies on the subject. The thesis also lays emphasis on the ecological basis of wildlife conservation while recognising the impact of social, political, and economic developments on the evolution of wildlife conservation policy and practice in Kenya. The country's 'geography' not only provided the foundation for conservation but also influenced the programme over time. Droughts, floods, army worm infestations, and other 'natural' occurrences interacted with social and economic changes, such as population growth and the development of capitalism, to shape conservation policy. The conservation programme was thus influenced by a complex interaction of a variety of factors.

This dissertation explores the central role of numbers in environmental policy and discourse, with a particular focus on the "economic turn" in nature conservation. The aim has been to understand and explain why, despite the parallel increase in environmental problems and in quantitative information about the environment, the faith in and focus on numbers to do something about the problems seem as strong as ever. The dissertation draws on discourse analysis and insights from historical and sociological studies about numbers and quantification and combines it within a critical realist methodology. The main empirical case analysed is the UN-backed study of "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity" (TEEB), supplemented by an historical review of the development of environmental statistics since the 1970s and a review of the developments within conservation science with respect to the role of numbers. The historical review demonstrates a change from biophysical numbers to new measures of equivalence (e.g. CO2-equivalents), paralleling the move from central planning and administrative rationality to neoliberalism and market rationality. While monetary valuation has been much criticised in the environmental politics literature for leading to the commercialisation of nature, this study shows a more nuanced picture: the role of monetary valuation has rather been to "bridge" the transition from administrative rationality to market rationality. It is the newly developed measures of equivalence which allow setting up new markets for financial instruments and compensation schemes for environmental damage. In the case of TEEB, monetary valuation and its related arguments of efficiency, rational decision-making etc., are first and foremost rhetorical since the main recommendations (economic incentives and markets) are taken for granted. The centrality of numbers in current environmental policy discourse is explained by a combination of structural conditions, the search for business opportunities and actors' perceptions of money as the only possible language of communication. Some structural conditions are of a more general kind specific for modernity, while others are specific for the neoliberal era. A main problem with the number focus in environmental policy, is that it allows to not address the underlying drivers of the problems, and hence strengthens the "actualist" perception of reality. The study concludes that numbers have potential as evidence of environmental problems. However, change does not happen by the numbers themselves (contra mainstream economics), but must achieve political support. Further research is needed to understand better how numerical information can be combined with approaches which move beyond actualism, instrumentalism and relativism.

Environmental impact assessment is a widely accepted planning tool used in environmental management. Internationally it has been adopted as a formal permitting requirement for development projects in many jurisdictions. Historically the focus has been on the pre-decision making stages of environmental impact assessment. It has, however, been widely acknowledged that post-decision environmental impact assessment follow-up is an important component in confirming initial predictions, enabling responsible adaptive management of environmental impacts and ensuring compliance with permit conditions. It is this last function which is the focus of this study. Specifically, the role of permit conditions in enabling compliance and facilitating compliance monitoring is addressed. Permit conditions of twenty-one environmental authorisations were examined and tested for conformance with legislated requirements, and practicality of monitoring for compliance (monitorability). It was found that there are many contributors to achieving monitorable permit conditions. Amongst the most significant of these are conformity in interpretation of the regulations specifying permit content by officials, gaps in guidance on the part of the regulations themselves, and a tendency to focus on construction related impacts. The lack of clarity regarding the roles and functions of environmental control officer and environmental auditor further contribute to poor monitorability of permit conditions. Specific areas of shortcoming and best practice in the permit conditions analysed were identified and discussed. Finally, recommendations are made for the improvement of permit condition monitorability.

Because of the potential for development to have negative environmental impacts, one of the most important questions addressed by environmental law and policy is whether and how to allow development to proceed. In Canada this question is answered primarily through environmental impact assessment ("EIA"). At the federal level, EIAs are required under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, S.C. 1992, c. 37 ("CEAA") for certain types of proposed projects and activities. Although CEAA's purposes include fostering both a healthy environment and economy, the Act does not provide any instruction on how to balance or choose between these goals in situations where both goals cannot be served. In 1999 Professor Daniel Farber developed a methodology he refers to as 'eco-pragmatism' in an attempt to create a means by which society's competing (and often contrary) values can be balanced and satisfactory trade-offs arrived at. In this thesis the differences between CEAA and eco-pragmatism are explored and consideration is given to whether eco-pragmatism might assist in resolving the value conflicts that often characterize EIAs. Of particular interest is whether Farber's approach might improve the CEAA framework and assist CEAA decision-makers in determining whether proposed projects should be approved. It is argued that although eco-pragmatism is useful, it is not adequate if the ultimate goal is environmental protection that is sustainable into the future. Both CEAA and eco-pragmatism focus on the mitigation of negative environmental effects, rather than on achieving long-term environmental gains or observing a minimum environmental standard. Accordingly, both arguably have the effect of slowing the erosion of environmental quality, but each fails to observe some sort of environmental 'bottom line' that would impose an ultimate limit on negative impact. It is suggested that an ultimate limit is a necessary (albeit difficult) element of environmental law. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

This study focuses on the institutional problems involved in planning for large-scale energy and resource projects in B.C. Fundamental to planning for these projects is the resolution of the tension between economic growth and environmental quality. Concern is expressed that, to date, planning has stressed economic values at the expense of environmental values held in society. A more equitable planning structure is needed whereby interested groups in society may present informed views to the planners and decision-makers to help them achieve solutions that more nearly represent the public interest. To reach a solution that reflects the public interest an advocacy approach to planning is suggested in Chapter Two. This approach stresses interest group participation in the "planning process" to conduct planning that meets public expectations. In order that environmental interests are incorporated into the planning and decision-making for major power and resource projects, an environmental review agency is proposed. This agency would have the power to conduct is own investigations into issues that might affect the environment and advocate its findings in the debate over the proposed Projects. To test the suitability in British Columbia of the advocacy approach a number of criteria are developed, The criteria reflect some basic democratic values held in our society and the problems associated with institutional design. The criteria include public participation and representation, information generation, efficiency, equality, professional humility, natural justice, liberty and political leadership. The characteristics of B.C.'s political milieu are examined in Chapter Three to see what problems the implementation of the advocacy approach for environmental and resource planning might face in the province. Three characteristics of the political milieu are seen as possible constraints on the effective implementation of a review agency - materialist values held in the province, lack of strong interest groups and the dependence on resource extraction for economic prosperity. A case study of the planning and decision-making for the Bennett Dam on the Peace River, presented in Chapter Four, outlines the inadequacy of the planning process. Even though there have been some changes in planning procedures since the initial planning for the Peace project, two principal deficiencies remain - there is virtually no scope for public involvement in the planning process and the information produced is too highly technical to make for effective public participation. As a consequence major energy and resource planning will likely produce results that favour energy and development interests. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

In this diploma thesis is being explored the possibility of using tradable permits in waste management as an efficient tool for motivating and guiding market participants. Waste in the world each year is increasing and burdensome for the economy in terms of the cost of disposal or storage, and for the environment in terms of expanding the number of landfills. The European Union has set mandatory guidelines through a specific quantitative value of natural resources in the field of waste management, which Member States are obliged to respect. These include a minimum percentage return and recycling of packaging materials, or the maximum amount of biodegradable waste that can be stored in landfills. The Directive also set the exact dates of compliance with those commitments. The goal of the diploma thesis is to critically analyze existing knowledge and experience in using tools of tradable permits. On the economic analysis follows the discussion options for wider application of this instrument in the regulation of waste management.