The South China Sea is known as an area where the Chinese government stands against its Southeast Asian neighbors in unresolved sovereignty conflicts over the disputed islands and the exploration for natural resources. Therefore, the South China Sea presents challenges for multilateral environmental cooperation. China was not an active participant in the multilateral environmental cooperation in the South China Sea before the 1990s. However, the approval of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)/Global Environmental Facility (GEF) South China Sea Project in 1999 marked a dramatic attitude change by the Chinese government towards the South China Sea environmental protection. It is the first multilateral inter-governmental initiative signed by China on any issues related to the South China Sea. Before signing its approval of the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project, the Chinese government strongly opposed any multilateral cooperation concerning the South China Sea, since most of the islands in the South China Sea are territorially disputed islands between China and other coastal countries. This thesis tries to find the reasons why China changed its attitudes on the multilateral environmental cooperation in the South China Sea. Based on an analysis what happened for China from 1995 when the UNEP/GEF South China Sea project was initiated, to 1999, when China approved this project, this thesis found that the motivations for China to participate in the multilateral environmental cooperation in the South China Sea are collective of national interests, rather than a pure environmental interest. / Master of Arts

The diploma essay named The development and orientation of the Czech environmental politics in the historical and geopolitical context aims to introduce in detail the forms of the Czech environmental politics since 1990. The first chapter of the essay provides readers with the theory of environmental politics and sustainable development, for example with different types of environmental instruments, actors or goals. Three following chapters are grounded in this theory and in detail introduce the main pillars of the environmental politics of the Czech Republic, or rather CSFR. The development of the Czech environmental politics is in the essay divided into a few phases, the accession to the EU represents the main milestone. The fourth chapter summarizes the development of the Czech environmental politics, compares it with the environmental politics of the EU and offers the evaluation of the current form of the Czech environmental politics.

[pt] Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar a capacidade do Regime Internacional da Biodiversidade (RIB) em resolver o problema de perda da diversidade biológica. Considerando que regimes são efetivos quando servem para solucionar os problemas que motivaram sua criação, este exercício se fundamentou no cruzamento de dois modelos de avaliação: o modelo pressão-estado-resposta, e o modelo de avaliação da efetividade de regimes ambientais. Como resultado, argumenta-se que é possível dar uma visão instrumental ao Regime da Biodiversidade de modo que ele seja visto como um indicador de sustentabilidade ambiental, através de seu grau de efetividade. Neste sentido, utilizando-se do caso exemplar da Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável de Mamirauá, discutiu-se a contribuição dos diferentes atores envolvidos na implementação do RIB e, em que medida os mecanismos de cooperação internacional e financiamento propiciam o fortalecimento institucional necessário para a implementação do Regime. Na conclusão, observou-se que o RIB viabiliza o arcabouço institucional diversificado que contempla a flexibilidade administrativa necessária para gestão e captação de recursos na solução da perda de diversidade biológica. Sua efetividade, entretanto, está diretamente ligada a um processo político onde através do diálogo entre atores estatais e sociedade civil global é possível estabelecer um fluxo continuado de experiências, entre o local/global, que em muito contribui para redução da perda de diversidade biológica, ampliando estoques de recursos naturais e, conseqüentemente, contribuindo para a promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável. / [en] The goal of this study is to analyze the capacity of the International Biodiversity Regime (IBR) to resolve the problem of the biology diversity loss. Considering that regimes are effective when they serve to solve the problems that caused his creation, this exercise was based on the crossroad of two models of evaluation: the model pression-state-answer and the model of evaluation of the effectiveness of the environmental regimes. As the result, it is argued that is possible to give an instrumental vision to the Biodiversity Regime, in way, throught his degree of effectiveness, it is seen as an indicator of environmental sustainability. In this sense, using the exemplary case of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, there was discussed the contribution of the different actors wrapped in the implementation of the IBR and in which measure the mechanisms of international cooperation and financing can favor institutional strengthening necessary to the Regime implementation. In the conclusion, it was observed that the IBR make practical the institutional diversified outline that contemplates administrative necessary flexibility for management and resources collectation in the solution of the biology diversity loss. His effectiveness, however, is straightly connected with a political process, where throught the dialog state actors and civil global society is possible to settle a continuated flow of experiences, between the local and the global, which in much contributes to the reduction of the biological diversity loss, enlarging the natural resources stocks and consequently, contributing to the promotion of the sustainable development.

O acordo entre a DERSA, a municipalidade e o Estado de São Paulo, criou quatro parques naturais no município de São Paulo, decorrente da política de compensação ambiental do licenciamento do Rodoanel Trecho Sul. Dentre esses destacamos o Parque Natural Municipal Itaim. Diante de seu contexto de implantação, a pesquisa trabalha na perspectiva de que esse novo equipamento, voltado à conservação ecológica, tem potencial para catalisar transformações socioambientais. Tais transformações podem ser alcançadas a partir da sensibilização, da interpretação ambiental e de práticas socioeducativas promovidas pelo parque. A partir do diálogo com seu entorno define-se a sua contribuição como promotor da integração social, em um possível sistema de áreas de conservação e uso público na região. Uma vez que, a par de sua importância ambiental, também analisada por essa pesquisa, o parque está inserido na periferia de São Paulo, no avanço do urbano sobre o rural. Uma região marcada pela extrema espoliação de sua população, carente de espaços de lazer, equipamentos culturais e educativos. A pesquisa parte do entendimento que o parque tem uma função social a cumprir e, para que sua implantação e gestão tenha êxito, a interação entre esse novo equipamento e a comunidade local é vista como essencial. Trabalha com análises cartográficas, dados socioeconômicos, sobreposição de cartas temáticas integrados às percepções obtidas a partir da vivência em campo, da rede e dos atores sociais mapeados, bem como do acompanhamento do processo de implantação do parque. A pesquisa resgata as propostas para o parque incitadas pelas equipes da área social do Plano de Manejo e seus estudos decorrentes, por entender que na situação atual o parque caminha para visões reducionistas ancoradas no discurso da inviabilidade orçamentária, da escassez de recursos humanos e das dificuldades institucionais verificadas. Defende-se o caráter singular e inovador do Parque Natural Municipal Itaim, onde a figura de seu gestor se destaca pela articulação e potencialização das redes de relações existentes, a partir de projetos e ações pilotos. / Four natural parks are being created in the city of Sao Paulo as result from an agrément reached by the Brazilian Road Authority (Dersa), municipal and State authorities. These parks were designed to compensate the environmental impact of the new Rodoanel Trecho Sul highway. This study analyses the impact of the \"Parque Natural Municipal Itaim\", not only from an environmental perspective, but also as a catalyst for social transformation in its neighboring communities. This park is situated in the poor suburbs of Sao Paulo, an area where rural and urban settings co-exist. The communities in the surroundings of the park are extremely poor and marginalized, lacking all sorts of service, leisure, cultural and educative activities. In this context, the park plays a fundamental role, not only from its inherent environmental benefits, but also by offering a place where the local communities can meet, enjoy and where they have access to social and educative initiatives promoted by the park. In this context, the park has also a central social role providing a jump-start in offering access to leisure and incorporating these poor communities in the city. This park should have a key social importance to them, marginalized communities that are usually neglected by local authorities, with limited access to basic public services. The study emphasizes the importance of the park in facilitating the regional environmental connectivity and as a fundamental transformation agent for the surrounding communities by analyzing demographical and socioeconomic data, cartographs and thematic charts combined with the qualitative data and interviews collected in loco. The study also made extensive use of qualitative data gathered in loco in order to understand how the park is viewed from the perspective of the individuals who live in its vicinity - how they perceive and appreciate their landscape and the educational role of the park in sensitizing and stimulating the local populations to the importance and role of the local green areas, either the ones that exist today or that will be created in the future. The singular and innovative aspects of the park are reemphasized in a moment when authorities discuss budgetary cuts, under staffing and face organizational challenges. This could potentially limit the scope of this project that is still being developed. However, there is still time and we (NEP-FAUUSP) hope there is enough commitment to deliver the full scope of the park, that would have a key role in improving the life of adjacent communities.

nÃo hà / O presente estudo sobre o movimento ambientalista em Fortaleza faz uma anÃlise de sua organizaÃÃo, da inserÃÃo das questÃes ambientais nos debates polÃticos e nos movimentos sociais no contexto das dÃcadas de 1970 e 1980. Pela da anÃlise das falas, dos panfletos, manifestos e artigos de jornais, foi possÃvel compreender o processo histÃrico do movimento, suas contradiÃÃes, seus limites, potencialidades e prÃticas sociais. Um dos momentos significativos para os ambientalistas foi a luta vitoriosa pelo Parque do Cocà que configurou na legitimaÃÃo deste movimento, tornando-se referÃncia para as lutas posteriores num processo de politizaÃÃo da ecologia, num novo contexto onde a SOCEMA sede lugar para as ONGs. / The present study on the environmentalist movement in Fortaleza analyzes its organization, the insertion of environmental issues in the political debates and in the social movements in the contexts of the 70âs and 80âs. Through the analysis of oral narratives, pamphlets, manifestos and newspaper articles, it was possible to understand the historical process of this movement, its contradictions, limits, potentialities and social practices. One of the most significant moments for the environmentalists was the victorious struggle for the Cocà Park, which represented the legitimacy of this movement, becoming a reference for the subsequent fights in the ecology politicization process, in a new context where SOCEMA yields place to NGOs.

Despite a general consensus regarding anthropogenic global climate change across the international scientific community, many of the major greenhouse gas producers in the world, especially the United States, are hesitant to implement strict emissions regulations. According to some prominent atmospheric scientists, such as James Hansen and Michael Mann, if industrialized countries continue to produce carbon emissions at current rates, an irreversible planetary tipping point of raising temperatures 2°C above pre-industrial levels could be reached in less than 40 years. Societies have a wealth of information from the natural sciences to understand the climate problem and currently possess the technological means to address it. But substantial regulatory policies have not been implemented, clean energy technologies have not been established as the primary energy source, and widespread behavioral changes needed to create sustainable societies have not been fostered. This dissertation seeks to understand why the preponderance of scientific evidence surrounding climate change has not produced a sea change of public perceptions of the climate change problem consistent with the dire projections of climate science. It is grounded in four interrelated questions: (1) What are the prevalent discourses of climate change and to which institutions can these be attached? (2) How do suburban residents understand climate change? (3) Since electricity is a major link between suburban lifestyles and climate change, how does knowledge of climate change compare with knowledge of electricity production and consumption? (4) In what ways do institutional discourses of climate change connect to the viewpoints of suburban consumers? These questions were explored through a case study carried out in a neighborhood in the city of Tampa, Florida. Forty-six semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted to understand perceptions related to climate change, suburban consumption, and environmental conservation. The interviews compiled information pertaining to personal knowledge and representations of socio-ecological relationships. The findings indicate that most relationships or connections to the natural world in general, and climate change in particular, are produced by the arrangements and processes of capital accumulation as experienced in everyday practices. Suburban residents seemed disconnected from or ignorant about how their everyday consumption is related to climate change. Based on ideological formations, as manifest in institutional discourses and material practices, suburban residents accept the social processes and spatial forms that they inhabit as being the only possible options for suburban living.

Hållbar utveckling som begrepp används frekvent i dagens samhälle och är också det övergripande målet för svensk nationell strategi. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka i vilken utsträckning hållbar utveckling och/eller ekologisk modernisering beskriver miljöpolicyn hos de två största politiska partierna i Sverige. Dessa två partier, Socialdemokraterna och Moderaterna, tillhör varsitt partipolitiskt block med olika ideologier. Resultaten i uppsatsen visar att det finns väsentliga skillnader mellan de båda partiernas miljöpolicys som är grundade i olika politiska ideologier. Socialdemokraterna har sina rötter i frågor som demokrati, social rättvisa och välfärdsfrågor, och deras miljöpolicy överensstämmer till stor del med hållbar utveckling. Moderaterna utgår från liberalkonservativa idéer med utgångspunkt i individualism och marknadsbaserade ekonomier och deras miljöpolicy harmoniserar överlag med ekologisk modernisering. Att dessa skillnader existerar kan uppfattas som något överraskande eftersom båda partierna stödjer den nationella strategin för hållbar utveckling tillsammans med att senaste ordförandeskapet för kommissionen för hållbar utveckling innehades av Moderaternas partiledare. / Sustainable development as a concept is frequently utilized nowadays in our society and is additionally used as a comprehensive goal of Swedish national strategy. The purpose of this essay is approach this issue and to examine whether sustainable development and/or ecological modernization best describes the environmental policy of the two major political parties in Sweden. Socialdemokraterna and Moderaterna belong to opposite ideological parties, one on the left wing and the other one on the right wing. The result of this essay concludes that there are essential differences between the environmental policies of the two parties that are related to the underlying political ideology. Socialdemokraterna, on the one hand, has its root in democracy, social justice and welfare issues and the environmental policy mostly agrees with sustainable development. Moderaterna, on the other hand, takes its starting point in liberal-conservative thoughts with individualism and market-based economies and their environmental policy is in almost every aspect in accordance with ecological modernization. Yet, the differences in environmental policies are to some extent unexpected since both parties support the national strategy of sustainable development. Besides, the latest chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development was the party leader of Moderaterna.

Whaling is one of the longstanding environmental controversies that has sharply divided perceptions and allegiances on a global scale. Despite the international moratorium on commercial whaling, Japan remains one of the few nations that continues to hunt and consume whales for food under the name of “scientific research.” Yet, given the highly polarized and value-laden nature of this environmental controversy, Japan’s resolute pro-whaling stance appears puzzling for whaling has become an economically, socially, and politically insignificant industry within the country. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at a Tokyo-based whaling company, my research explores why and how this marginal industry has survived today amidst fierce international criticism. In this dissertation, I investigate the process of institutionalization and forms of discursive practices by means of which state and industrial actors secure whaling and constrain environmentalist mobilizations. I examine the ways in which both formal and informal political networks are formed across political, bureaucratic, and corporate institutions. I situate this small-elite echelon of pro-whaling protagonists against a backdrop of wider ideological legitimizations, namely cultural and scientific discourses that shape public opinion and perception toward whaling in Japan. By closely examining their organizational and representative practices, this study illustrates how they acquire political power, material advantage, and legitimacy to continue scientific whaling as a state project in Japan. / Anthropology

This dissertation joins the history of science and medicine with environmental history to explore the language of health in environmental politics. Today, in government policy briefs and mission statements of environmental non-profits, newspaper editorials and activist journals, claims about the health of the planet and its human and non-human inhabitants abound. Yet despite this rhetorical ubiquity, modern environmental politics are ideologically and organizationally fractured along the themes of whose health is at stake and how that health should be protected. This dissertation traces how these competing conceptions of health came to structure the landscape of American environmental politics. Beginning in the early 1950s, an expanding network of environmental activists began to think in terms of protecting the health of the planet and its inhabitants from the unprecedented hazards of nuclear energy and chemical proliferation. They did this by appropriating models and metaphors of health developed by postwar ecologists, philosophers, epidemiologists and nuclear physicians. Through this process of appropriation, scientists and philosophers were likewise drawn into environmental activism. Through five case studies, this dissertation traces the collaborations between scientists, environmental activists, philosophers, and medical doctors which enabled a broad range of articulations of health: the health of the wild, the health of the environment, the health of the planet, and the health of humans within the environment. Each case study attends to the intersection of political thought and practice, and explores how science and environmental activism were in constant dialogue in the postwar period. Drawing on archival materials and extensive oral history interviews, this dissertation demonstrates the centrality of health to American environmental politics from the end of World War Two until the present day. / History of Science

In 1975, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grizzly bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Following the listing, a recovery plan was drafted in which the Bitterroot Ecosystem of central Idaho and extreme western Montana was one of six proposed grizzly bear recovery areas. It was the only one of the six, however, which did not contain a resident population of grizzlies. The Fish and Wildlife Service eventually accepted a proposal submitted by a coalition of environmental and timber industry groups. The coalition proposed to reestablish a population of grizzlies in the Bitterroot by translocating 25 bears over five years from existing populations in the US and Canada. The proposal, however, included significant concessions, including reduced protection for the reintroduced grizzlies and management of the grizzly population by a Citizen Management Committee. A large contingent of regional and national environmental groups quickly rose up in vociferous objection to the proposal exposing a significant rift within the environmental movement. These environmentalists objected to the very idea of Citizen Management and also claimed that the proposed recovery area was too small to ensure recovery. Drawing on interviews and document analyses, this dissertation employs an environmental pragmatist approach to examine the intra-environmentalist disputes that flared up throughout the Bitterroot grizzly recovery debates. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between environmental ideologies, science, and conservation advocacy, with an eye toward examining how environmentalists crafted and defended rival proposals for grizzly recovery. Through this interpretive lens, the dissertation aims to explain the existence and persistence of this intra-environmentalism rift as well as explore its ramifications for environmentalism in the region. While no wholly unified environmental movement can ever be possible or is even necessarily desirable unwavering commitments to unreachable ideals on the part of many environmentalists are hindering the growth, flexibility and efficacy of conservation in the region. The main contribution of this dissertation will be to provide an empirical case study that defends the environmental pragmatist assertion that hostile and unnecessary divisiveness within the environmental movement ultimately obstructs the development of a more successful environmentalism.