Study field

Contents

Field of study

Background

Where are we now

The future

References

 

Field of study

Global environmental problems are high on the international agenda, reflected in such regimes as the Rio Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, the UN's Millennium Goals, and COP 15.

 

Solving global environmental problems entails enormous challenges. The problems and solutions are complex, social consequences differ within the context of local populations, and decisions are being made in a highly politicized environment.

 

Environmental governance involves a growing number of national and international actors and organisations. It is these and international agreements that increasingly set the agenda for national governments, including requirements of involving local populations in decision making.

 

This raises questions of how to best organize relations between the many global actors, the global society and the environment.

International institutions and how they are interlinked with national and local levels of governance are at the core of the program.

 

 

Background

Global environmental concerns emerged in the 70s as declining biodiversity, diminishing forests, disappearing wetlands and expanding deserts gained international awareness. These alarming trends have carried through to the present with global significance.²

 

To address these concerns, meetings were held on a global scale, including the 1972 Stockholm conference on the Human Development, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Each of these spurred hundreds of preparatory meetings sponsored by different interest groups. Conventions and agreements were developed and ratified, e.g. the Biodiversity Convention and the Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and many others.

 

Each of these agreements is supported by a structure of formal and informal advisory committees, secretariats, programs and commissions. For instance, The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) was created to play the lead role in GEG.¹

In summary, global environmental governance comprises an immense body of institutions, agreements, documents and interest organizations. Though each body play a significant role, the complex web that ensues lends itself to overlap, fragmentation and problems of co-ordination.

 

 

Where are we now?

Despite the numerous meetings, documents and agreements that have progressed, the disturbing trends of environmental degradation and endangerment persist today.² The aforementioned complexity of international efforts could explain, in part, why progress has been slow. Difficulties arise in the implementation stage because of bureaucratic decisions surrounding secretariat location, staffing, determining what authority various institutions have and not least program financing. Funding for program implementation traditionally comes from bilateral grants, low interest loans, and to a lesser extent from NGOs, foundations and corporate investment. However, funding is nowhere near what is required to fulfil present commitments.¹ Further problems of poor coordination, fragmentation, and inadequate use of resources contributes to program inefficiencies. Rectifying these issues is paramount as reversing environmental degradation becomes more and more urgent.³

 

 

The future

Several reform initiatives have commenced within the last decade, and the demand for action is growing. Under the auspices of the UN, one of the latest initiatives has been the establishment of a “High Level Panel,” prompted by the World Summit in New York 2005. The directive of this Panel is to explore how the UN system could work more coherently across the areas of environment, development, and humanitarian aid. Furthermore, the UN General Assembly supports informal consultations regarding international environmental governance. This is complemented by NGOs and academic scholars who are forwarding on their own reform agendas as well. Ultimately, this policy debate seeks to outline an optimal institutional form and function for the global environmental governance system.^{3, 4}

 

 

References

 ¹⁾Saunier, R.E. and R.A. Meganck, 2007. Dictionary and Introduction to Global Environmental Governance. London: Earthscan

²⁾Speth, J.G. (year?) The Global Environmental Agenda: Origins and Prospects. ???

³⁾Najam, A; Papa, M. and N. Taiyab, 2006. Global Environmental Governance. A Reform Agenda. Winnipeg, Manitoba: International Institute for Sustainable Development

⁴⁾Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy: http://www.environmentalgovernance.org/history/project_summary.php. The Global Environmental Governance Project.