This dissertation analyzes how political competition and judicial institutions shape environmental governance in democratic societies. The three chapters frame environmental problems in several different ways. In the first chapter, environmental policy is framed as an ideologically contentious public good. In the second chapter, two conceptions are juxtaposed: the environment as just another policy domain subject to political haggling, or the environment as bringing about new fundamental commitments in society, prone to becoming constitutionalized through legal deliberation. In the third chapter, the dynamic properties of technological transitions toward more sustainable modes of production are emphasized. Different types of institutions are considered in the three chapters. The first two chapters examine how political and legal processes interact. They also consider the different ways in which they channel the inputs and wishes of civil society. Chapter one is a formal model of the institution of citizen suits – a prevalent institution in environmental governance – and its interaction with the legislature. It shows that the reshaping of laws by citizens and courts after their enactment by the legislature might improve the decision process of the legislature and the public good outcomes that ensue. Chapter two is an empirical analysis of the dynamics of environmental legal rules. It uses the network of citations to legal precedent to test whether the dynamic body of law governing the environment is driven by political shifts in power or follows a process that is autonomous from these shifts in power. The results suggest that environmental law is now constitutionalized – its main principles entrenched in democratic culture rather than subject to the ebb and flow of democratic turnover of power. Chapter three also considers the dynamic aspects of governance. It uses a computational model to examine how political parties with different ideological commitments towards renewable energy might strategically use the path-dependence of technological transitions to shape policy over the long-term. It also examines how electoral pressures might constrain or help them in this endeavor.

This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of international environmental law as it relates to plants. In doing so, it offers new perspectives on some of the key debates in the law, as well as on humanity's relationship with the natural world. The first part of the thesis looks at the philosophical rationales for giving legal protection to plants. Drawing on the literature relating to value, different interpretations of the value of plants are identified, including instrumental, intrinsic and ecological. Each interpretation is then tracked in international conservation law and policy. An almost exclusively anthropocentric picture is revealed, and the implications of this for conservation policy and practice are discussed. Attention then turns to global and regional approaches to protecting plants. First, the construction and content of key legal agreements are assessed against a range of criteria for effectiveness. Second, an analysis of the design and form of conservation mechanisms is conducted, focussing on the extent to which protected areas reflect the ecological needs of plants and the representativeness of lists of protected and endangered species. In each case the law is found to fall short, and proposals on how to address this are given. In the third part of the thesis, how the law responds to some of the main threats to plants, namely climate change, international trade and alien/invasive species, is considered. Each impacts on plants in different ways and has been subject to very different legal responses. In each case, however, weaknesses can be identified that undermine the law's ability to adequately protect plants. Finally, the extent to which the law supports and frustrates the work of conservation practitioners is examined. As well as offering practical reforms to make the law a better tool for practitioners, consideration is given to wider governance reforms to international environmental law.

<p>The purpose of environmental impact assessments (EIA) is to increase the consideration for environmental matters and management of resources in the decision-making through a regulated process of consultation, irrespective of whether they are about projects of environmentally hazardous activities and water activities or plans of physical planning (land planning of natural and agricultural landscapes). The clarifcation of consultation in the environmental code connected to Legislation the planning and building Act, as well as its practical application in cases of significant impact, has catched my interest in environmental policy. The consultation should enable insight and influence from the ones particularly concerned, as well as the public and other actors that are to strive toward a sustainable development alongside the developer. Through systematically retrieving data from literature, practical application by authorities, and case studies, several important problems have been discerned in the consultations since the environmental code was introduced. The intention is to augment the public's insight and influence in the process by means of clarificationed in the environmental code, which is connected to the Legislation the planning and building act and the regulation of environmental impact assessment since 2004/ 2005.</p><p>The clarification involves that concerns should be entered on an early stage, for instance already in stages where location and design are surveyed, and be included in the basic data for decision-making during the entire process up to a decision. Above all, it is important that standpoints are observed before projects and plans are fully developed, in order for proposed locations to be changed to alternative locations before the proceedings become too lengthy and the costs unreasonably high.</p><p>The consultation-related problems may also be solved by creating a democratic collaboration from the start through planned communication planning. This will provide the conditions for a constructive and durable dialogue between different interested parties in the process and favour the environmental concerns, as well as saving costs up to the decision. In Legslation the planning and building Act, it is important to already in ”program consultation” discuss if the implementation of the plan may entail significant impact, in order for the consultations about EIA and plan to take place in a context in ”the plan consultation”. This makes it easier for interested parties in the consultation to understand the significance of the interference with the environment from the start, and thus counteracts conflicts. What has been found in the case studies by EIA:s from the time after the alteration of consultation, is that the wider stakeholder analysis is introduced earlier and that they have a clearer process and a shorter decision-making timeframe. In some project–EIA:s, however, the application made by the authorities is not fully clear in the environmental assessment process. This may entail that different interested parties in the consultation will not come in from the start, and/or that the project will not receive the environmental assessment process that is necessary. The actual consequences of the fact that environmental impact are being made visible through follow-up of the consultation and environmental impact in the EIA, is that the experiences are returned to monitoring and that the need of additional measures may be detected.</p>

I den industrialiserade delen av världen är luftföroreningar ett allvarligt miljö- och hälsoproblem. Det har resulterat i att man i EU och Sverige har tagit fram normer för att skydda människors hälsa. Normerna benämns miljökvalitetsnormer för utomhusluft och de fastställer nivåer för vilken luftföroreningsmängd som är tillåten. Nivåerna sätts utifrån vad som människor och naturen beräknas tåla. Det är främst urban miljö, d.v.s. i stadsmiljöer, som problem med höga halter av luftföroreningar uppstår och utsläpp från trafiken utgör en stor del av luftföroreningarna. Hur städerna är planerade påverkar den föroreningsmängd som människor utsätts för eftersom att täta gaturum och stadsmiljöer medverkar till att luftföroreningarna inte sprids. Därför är stadsplanering ett viktigt verktyg för kommunerna i arbetet med att förbättra luftkvaliteten. God stadsplanering kan bidra till mindre trafik samt till en utformning av stadsbebyggelsen som inte stänger inne luftföroreningar. Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats är att genom intervjuer studera vilken hänsyn två svenska kommuner tar till miljökvalitetsnormerna för utomhusluft i planeringsarbetet av externhandelsområden. Uppsatsens syfte uppfylls genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie av kommunala politiker och tjänstemän. Slutsatserna av studien är att arbete och förhållningssätt till miljökvalitetsnormerna skiljer sig åt mellan de studerade kommunerna. Kommunernas organisationsstruktur upplevs av intervjuade politiker och tjänstemän i studien påverka arbete och hänsyn till miljökvalitetsnormerna i planeringsarbetet. De intervjuade upplever en tydlig eller mycket tydlig målkonflikt mellan externhandeln och arbetet med att säkerställa en god luftkvalitet. Det finns en rädsla i kommunerna för att luftmätningar ska visa på höga föroreningsnivåer i och med att luftförbättrande åtgärder medför stora kostnader. Större ansvarstagande och ekonomiska resurser från nationell nivå efterfrågas av kommunerna.

The purpose of environmental impact assessments (EIA) is to increase the consideration for environmental matters and management of resources in the decision-making through a regulated process of consultation, irrespective of whether they are about projects of environmentally hazardous activities and water activities or plans of physical planning (land planning of natural and agricultural landscapes). The clarifcation of consultation in the environmental code connected to Legislation the planning and building Act, as well as its practical application in cases of significant impact, has catched my interest in environmental policy. The consultation should enable insight and influence from the ones particularly concerned, as well as the public and other actors that are to strive toward a sustainable development alongside the developer. Through systematically retrieving data from literature, practical application by authorities, and case studies, several important problems have been discerned in the consultations since the environmental code was introduced. The intention is to augment the public's insight and influence in the process by means of clarificationed in the environmental code, which is connected to the Legislation the planning and building act and the regulation of environmental impact assessment since 2004/ 2005. The clarification involves that concerns should be entered on an early stage, for instance already in stages where location and design are surveyed, and be included in the basic data for decision-making during the entire process up to a decision. Above all, it is important that standpoints are observed before projects and plans are fully developed, in order for proposed locations to be changed to alternative locations before the proceedings become too lengthy and the costs unreasonably high. The consultation-related problems may also be solved by creating a democratic collaboration from the start through planned communication planning. This will provide the conditions for a constructive and durable dialogue between different interested parties in the process and favour the environmental concerns, as well as saving costs up to the decision. In Legslation the planning and building Act, it is important to already in ”program consultation” discuss if the implementation of the plan may entail significant impact, in order for the consultations about EIA and plan to take place in a context in ”the plan consultation”. This makes it easier for interested parties in the consultation to understand the significance of the interference with the environment from the start, and thus counteracts conflicts. What has been found in the case studies by EIA:s from the time after the alteration of consultation, is that the wider stakeholder analysis is introduced earlier and that they have a clearer process and a shorter decision-making timeframe. In some project–EIA:s, however, the application made by the authorities is not fully clear in the environmental assessment process. This may entail that different interested parties in the consultation will not come in from the start, and/or that the project will not receive the environmental assessment process that is necessary. The actual consequences of the fact that environmental impact are being made visible through follow-up of the consultation and environmental impact in the EIA, is that the experiences are returned to monitoring and that the need of additional measures may be detected.

<p>I den industrialiserade delen av världen är luftföroreningar ett allvarligt miljö- och hälsoproblem. Det har resulterat i att man i EU och Sverige har tagit fram normer för att skydda människors hälsa. Normerna benämns miljökvalitetsnormer för utomhusluft och de fastställer nivåer för vilken luftföroreningsmängd som är tillåten.</p><p>Nivåerna sätts utifrån vad som människor och naturen beräknas tåla. Det är främst urban miljö, d.v.s. i stadsmiljöer, som problem med höga halter av luftföroreningar uppstår och utsläpp från trafiken utgör en stor del av luftföroreningarna. Hur städerna är planerade påverkar den föroreningsmängd som människor utsätts för eftersom att täta gaturum och stadsmiljöer medverkar till att luftföroreningarna inte sprids. Därför är stadsplanering ett viktigt verktyg för kommunerna i arbetet med att förbättra luftkvaliteten. God stadsplanering kan bidra till mindre trafik samt till en utformning av stadsbebyggelsen som inte stänger inne luftföroreningar.</p><p>Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats är att genom intervjuer studera vilken hänsyn två svenska kommuner tar till miljökvalitetsnormerna för utomhusluft i planeringsarbetet av externhandelsområden. Uppsatsens syfte uppfylls genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie av kommunala politiker och tjänstemän. </p><p>Slutsatserna av studien är att arbete och förhållningssätt till miljökvalitetsnormerna skiljer sig åt mellan de studerade kommunerna. Kommunernas organisationsstruktur upplevs av intervjuade politiker och tjänstemän i studien påverka arbete och hänsyn till miljökvalitetsnormerna i planeringsarbetet. De intervjuade upplever en tydlig eller mycket tydlig målkonflikt mellan externhandeln och arbetet med att säkerställa en god luftkvalitet. Det finns en rädsla i kommunerna för att luftmätningar ska visa på höga föroreningsnivåer i och med att luftförbättrande åtgärder medför stora kostnader. Större ansvarstagande och ekonomiska resurser från nationell nivå efterfrågas av kommunerna.</p>

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Graduate School of the Environment, 2001. / Bibliography: p. 10-1 to 10-23.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 116 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

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Over the last twenty years, international environmental law has attempted to address the global threats to the health of our planet including ozone layer depletion, climate change, global deforestation, the pollution of freshwater resources and the oceans and species extinction. Unfortunately, the state of the environment is not improving as fast as environmental conventions come forth. The premise for this thesis is therefore that international environmental law is not effective in protecting the natural environment. Responsible for the survival of their families and communities, women in developing countries are the most vulnerable to environmental degradation as dwindling natural and freshwater resources and soil erosion threaten their survival base. Unfortunately, international environmental law does little to acknowledge this vulnerability and even less to assist women in developing countries cope with environmental degradation. The vast knowledge of ecosystems held by women in developing countries is also largely ignored, thus marginalizing their way of knowing and disregarding potential solutions to environmental problems. This thesis therefore takes a critical look from an ecofeminist standpoint at the traditional characteristics of international environmental law such as states' sovereign right to exploit their natural resources, states' right to development and the emphasis of international environmental law on science and technology. The thesis also examines emerging principles of international environmental law such as sustainable development, intergenerational equity, common concern of humankind, and the precautionary principle, which attempt to address some of the concerns raised by the more traditional approach. However, the thesis concludes that despite these new developments, international environmental law is still premised on an androcentric perspective of the natural environment which impedes it from achieving true environmental protection and which serves to continue the marginalization of women. In this thesis, I argue that a new conceptualization of the relationship between humankind and the natural environment is necessary in order to save our planet from ecological disaster and that ecofeminism can offer such an alternative view. Finally, the conclusion will suggest a few concrete ways of including women's perspectives and ways of knowing into the negotiation of environmental conventions and in their implementation.