This Bachelor's thesis in Environmental Science studies the quality of an index of performance measurement of Swedish municipalities' sustainability governance offered by the environmental magazine Miljöaktuellt. Executed for six consecutive years, this evaluation is arguably the most comprehensive and widely spread local sustainability assessment in Sweden. Contextualizing this quantitative measurement tool in the paradigm of New Public Management, the research questions posed are: 'to what extent does the index employed by Miljöaktuellt correspond to the requirements of a set of quality criteria for sustainability assessment?' and 'is the index appropriate as a measure of, or a goal for, Swedish municipalities' internal sustainability efforts?' Through the perspective of evaluation theory, Miljöaktuellt's index is seen as a performance evaluation, thus categorizing this study as a meta-evaluation. Through a qualitative thematic approach, the index is analyzed using the 8 BellagioSTAMP-principles that were developed as tools for assessing quality of sustainability assessments as themes for the analysis. The results found by Miljöaktuellt are clearly and effectively communicated, but the index in itself is shown to be inadequate in methodological rigour in its handling of indicator data, lacking analytical power as ecological indicators are given disproportionate attention compared to economic and social indicators, and insufficient in transparency due to unexplained theoretical considerations, rendering the index inappropriate as a basis for policy guidance in Swedish municipalities. / Denna kandidatuppsats i miljövetenskap syftar till att undersöka kvaliteten hos tidningen Miljöaktuellts utvärderingssystem av svenska kommuners hållbarhetsarbete som de har granskat och rankat årligen i sex år. Detta index är antagligen den mest genomgripande utvärderingen av kommunalt hållbarhetsarbete i Sverige. Miljöaktuellts kommunrankning sätts in i New Public Management-paradigmet och utvärderingssamhällets kontext för att besvara frågeställningarna som lyder: ”Hur väl överensstämmer Miljöaktuellts kommunrankning med en uppsättning kvalitetskriterier för utvärdering av hållbar utveckling?" och ”Är kommunrankningen lämplig att använda som mått på, eller mål för kommuners interna hållbarhetsarbete?" Från ett utvärderingsteoretiskt perspektiv betraktas kommunrankningen som en kvalitetsutvärdering; denna studie kategoriseras därmed som en metautvärdering. Indexet analyseras som en tematisk innehållsanalys med utgångspunkt i de 8 BellagioSTAMP-principerna som utvecklats som ett mätverktyg av utvärderingar av hållbar utveckling. Även om Miljöaktuellt kommunicerar sina resultat väl bedöms tidningens index sakna metodologisk tyngd i behandlingen av dess indikatorer, brista i analytisk kapacitet då ekologiska indikatorer ges oproportionerlig tyngd på bekostnad av ekonomiska och sociala indikatorer, samt sakna nödvändig transparens då teoretiska överväganden inte uttrycks och motiveras. Dessa brister gör indexet olämpligt som underlag för politiska beslut inom svenska kommuners hållbarhetsarbete.

Claims related to the environment increasingly permeate the domain of human and fundamental rights. It is widely accepted that a direct functional relationship exists between the pursuit of environmental aims generally, and the protection of environmental rights. By and large, this relation compelled 'the environment' to have become a prominent contemporary focus point in legal thought, discourse and adjudication. Since local government operates closer to citizens than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. In the main, this study questions the extent to which the South African legal framework facilitates local government progress in the decentralised fulfilment of the section 24 environmental right in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Firstly, this thesis provides a theoretical literature review of a number of approaches to, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. As part of this review a number of generic elements is identified for the fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions, generally. The literature review attends also to the notions of local environmental governance and 'local politics of pollution', amongst other concepts related to local government. Secondly, this thesis (by employing the comparative research method and by using the generic elements for fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions as benchmarks) critically considers the Constitution or Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949 (Grundgesety and relevant developments in Germany with reference to the European context and a local government case study on the municipality of Heidelberg. It considers also the Constitution of Namibia of 1990 and relevant developments in Namibia with reference to the African and Southern African contexts and a case study on the Walvis Bay municipality. The South African position is subsequently analysed, first with a focus on section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, environmental law and related developments, then shifting the focus to the constitutional provisions on local government, local government law, related developments and the case of the Drakenstein Local Municipality. Thirdly, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all three of the countries considered, this study concludes with a set of recommendations for the South African context. / Thesis (LL.D.) -- North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Claims related to the environment increasingly permeate the domain of human and fundamental rights. It is widely accepted that a direct functional relationship exists between the pursuit of environmental aims generally, and the protection of environmental rights. By and large, this relation compelled 'the environment' to have become a prominent contemporary focus point in legal thought, discourse and adjudication. Since local government operates closer to citizens than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. In the main, this study questions the extent to which the South African legal framework facilitates local government progress in the decentralised fulfilment of the section 24 environmental right in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Firstly, this thesis provides a theoretical literature review of a number of approaches to, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. As part of this review a number of generic elements is identified for the fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions, generally. The literature review attends also to the notions of local environmental governance and 'local politics of pollution', amongst other concepts related to local government. Secondly, this thesis (by employing the comparative research method and by using the generic elements for fulfilment of constitutional environmental provisions as benchmarks) critically considers the Constitution or Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949 (Grundgesety and relevant developments in Germany with reference to the European context and a local government case study on the municipality of Heidelberg. It considers also the Constitution of Namibia of 1990 and relevant developments in Namibia with reference to the African and Southern African contexts and a case study on the Walvis Bay municipality. The South African position is subsequently analysed, first with a focus on section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, environmental law and related developments, then shifting the focus to the constitutional provisions on local government, local government law, related developments and the case of the Drakenstein Local Municipality. Thirdly, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all three of the countries considered, this study concludes with a set of recommendations for the South African context. / Thesis (LL.D.) -- North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.