In most countries, the development of environmental programs follows a similar pattern. Early efforts concentrate on direct threats to public health, such as contaminated drinking water and air pollution. Only after these problems are addressed does the need to improve day-to-day management of hazardous wastes reach the top of the environmental agenda. In this new report, RFF's Katherine Probst and Thomas Beierle compare the development of hazardous waste management programs in eight countries---the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand---and discuss steps taken to foster proper hazardous waste management. The authors focus on two questions: What were the major steps in the evolution of a successful hazardous waste program? What role, if any, did the public sector play in financing modern treatment and disposal facilities? Based on interviews and secondary sources, this report includes country-specific profiles that detail the steps in the evolution of each country's hazardous waste management program and describe the role of the public sector in facility financing.

Environmental problems do not respect international boundaries; they affect the entire globe, and dealing with them is a matter for international political negotiation, law and institutions. Greening International Law assesses the extent to which the international community has so far adapted to address environmental problems, and examines the fundamental changes needed to the structure and organisation of the legal system and its institutions. The contributors to this volume have all played a central role in the development of international environmental law over the past decade, and their essays will be of interest to all those professionally, academically or individually concerned with the resolution of environmental problems.

Claims to land and territory are often a cause of conflict, and land issues present some of the most contentious problems for post-conflict peacebuilding. Among the land-related problems that emerge during and after conflict are the exploitation of land-based resources in the absence of authority, the disintegration of property rights and institutions, the territorial effect of battlefield gains and losses, and population displacement. In the wake of violent conflict, reconstitution of a viable land-rights system is crucial: an effective post-conflict land policy can foster economic recovery, help restore the rule of law, and strengthen political stability. But the reestablishment of land ownership, land use, and access rights for individuals and communities is often complicated and problematic, and poor land policies can lead to renewed tensions. In twenty-one chapters by twenty-five authors, this book considers experiences with, and approaches to, post-conflict land issues in seventeen countries and in varied social and geographic settings. Highlighting key concepts that are important for understanding how to address land rights in the wake of armed conflict, the book provides a theoretical and practical framework for policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and students. Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding is part of a global initiative to identify and analyze lessons in post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resource management. The project has generated six edited books of case studies and analyses, with contributions from practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Other books in the series address high-value resources, water, livelihoods, assessing and restoring resources, and governance.

For any government agency, the distribution of available resources among problems or programs is crucially important. Agencies, however, typically lack a self-conscious process for examining priorities, much less an explicit method for defining what priorities should be. Worst Things First? illustrates the controversy that ensues when previously implicit administrative processes are made explicit and subjected to critical examination. It reveals surprising limitations to quantitative risk assessment as an instrument for precise tuning of policy judgments. The book also demonstrates the strength of political and social forces opposing the exclusive use of risk assessment in setting environmental priorities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created to protect public health and the environment, and it has traditionally emphasized its regulatory mission over its scientific mission. Yet for environmental policy to be credible with the public and policymakers, EPA's actions must have a sound basis in science. In Science at EPA, Mark Powell offers detailed case studies that map the origins, flow, and impact of scientific information in eight EPA decisions involving the agency's major statutory programs. Drawing on extensive research and interviews, he provides the most comprehensive examination available on the acquisition and use of science in environmental regulation. Powell describes the key obstacles to the practical, efficient, and effective acquisition and use of knowledge in what is a crucial, but complex endeavor. His book is an essential contribution for practitioners, scholars and students, and citizens who are determined to protect our environment rationally and effectively.

The Yearbook on Space Policy is the reference publication analysing space policy developments. Each year it presents issues and trends in space policy and the space sector as a whole. Its scope is global and its perspective is European. The Yearbook also links space policy with other policy areas. It highlights specific events and issues, and provides useful insights, data and information on space activities. The Yearbook on Space Policy is edited by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) based in Vienna, Austria. It combines in-house research and contributions of members of the European Space Policy Research and Academic Network (ESPRAN), coordinated by ESPI. The Yearbook is designed for government decision-makers and agencies, industry professionals, as well as the service sectors, researchers and scientists and the interested public.

This volume brings together both academic and institutional perspectives to examine the production, use and contestation of indicators in global governance. It provides a unique and comprehensive guide to the latest research in the study of indicators and their use in global governance and policy making. The editors provide a guide to the recent vast body of literature and practice on measuring governance and measurement as governance at the global level, and present a state-of-the-art analysis of social science research on indicators at both the transnational and the global level. The Handbook brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, as well as policy-makers from international organisations and non-government organisations working in the field. This volume will be a valuable resource for students and academics in the fields of public policy, administration and management, international relations, political science, law, and globalisation, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

A thought-provoking and invaluable book for anyone who cares about risk communication and management in the 21st century Anna Jung, Director General, European Food Information Council Professor Ragnar L fstedt has once again produced a most interesting book on risk management and trust, well-based on theory and built on empirical findings Mikael Karlsson, President, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Highlights the difficult balancing task facing risk regulators. Regulatory inaction against real risks can undermine public trust. However, exaggerated responses to risks can also jeopardize regulators credibility. The diverse international case studies developed by Ragnar L fstedt provide guidance for how regulators can navigate these and other frequently competing concerns W. Kip Viscusi, Cogan Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard University, USA In democracies, government policies cannot succeed without public acceptance. Yet complex risk management requires technical expertise. How to reconcile these competing needs? Ragnar L fstedt provocatively challenges recent research claiming that risk managers must engender public trust via deliberative dialogue. He uses four cases studies to argue that the reasons for distrust vary and demand different responses; that in some cases trust can flow from technical competence without public deliberation; and that in others public deliberation can actually aggravate distrust. Trust me: L fstedt s book will add spice to the debate over risk, experts, the public and trust Jonathan B. Wiener, Perkins Professor of Law and Environmental Policy, Duke University, USA We live in post-trust societies, in which public confidence in governments and corporations over health, food and environmental risk is eroding rapidly. Good risk communication can help companies, governments and institutions minimize disputes, resolve issues and anticipate problems. Without such communication, the best policies can become

Since its original publication by the International Institute for Environment and Development in 1999, Policy That Works for Forests and People has been recognised as the most authoritative study to date of policy processes that affect forests and people. Providing a thorough analysis of the issues, options and factors that determine different outcomes and bolstered by a major annex containing tools and tactics, the book offers clear and practical advice on how to formulate, manage and implement policies appropriate to different contexts. These are policies that result in real improvements in the governance, use and economic benefits that can flow from forests to those who depend upon them. This book is essential reading for policy-makers, forestry practitioners and academics and students in all areas of forest policy, management and governance.

Growing numbers of residents are getting involved with professionals in shaping their local environment, and there is now a powerful menu of tools available, from design workshops to electronic maps. The Community Planning Handbook is the essential starting point for all those involved: planners and local authorities, architects and other practitioners, community workers, students and local residents. It features an accessible how-to-do-it style, best practice information on effective methods, and international scope and relevance. Tips, checklists and sample documents help readers to get started quickly, learn from others' experience and to select the approach best suited to their situation. The glossary, bibliography and contact details provide quick access to further information and support. This fully updated new edition contains extra material on following up after community engagement activities.

This volume examines case studies on EU countries' policy to combat climate change, examining the constraints of and opportunities for the implementation of climate change strategies in these countries. The introductory section provides an overview of the climate change problem and its potential effects, examining the roles of different greenhouse gases, the main emission sources, the likely consequences of climate change and the scope for abatement and adapation. The second part consists of six detailed case studies on diverse national strategies. The book concludes with a comparative analysis of the findings of the case studies, and suggestions for approaches to implement emission reduction strategies.

A report written by two environmental lawyers which explains the responsibilities of company directors under UK and European environmental law, and their potential personal liabilities. It sets out what steps to take to avert liabilities and what to do in the event of environmental problems, including chapters on whistle-blowing by employees and liabilities for overseas activities.

A reference and sourcebook to the organizations involved in environmental and resource conservation in all parts of the world and to their activities. It describes over 2000 organizations and programmes in over 200 countries, providing access to sources of information, expertise and action. A user's guide identifies who is doing what in over 50 areas, such as air quality, environmental economics, toxic materials and wildlife. There are also regional overviews, detailed analyses of the UN system, over 250 intergovernmental agencies, over 400 international NGOs, and over 1500 national organizations with full country and area listings, plus indices, a glossary and a list of landmark events.

A discussion on the future of trade, investment and the environment. It sets out the trade, investment and environment agenda in the run-up to the Millennium Round of trade negotiations. Topics covered include: building markets for sustainable trade; environmental regulation; finance and transnational corporations; environmental regulation and international investment; and conflict resolution in the World Trade Organization. The contributors include Renato Ruggiero (WTO Director General), Brian Wilson MP (UK Trade Minister), and John Gummer MP (former UK Secretary of State for the Environment).

The affluence of western society has given rise to unprecedented quantities of waste, presenting one of the most intractable environmental problems for contemporary society. This book examines recycling and municipal waste management in three major cities: London, New York and Hamburg. A range of political and economic issues are examined to illustrate how any reduction in the size of the waste stream in order to achieve more equitable and environmentally sustainable patterns of resource use is incompatible with the current emphasis in the use of the market for environmental protection. The case studies show how, contrary to the hopes of many environmentalists and policy makers, municipal waste management is moving steadily towards the profitable option of incineration with energy recovery, rather than the recycling of materials or waste reduction at source. The evidence suggests that the achievement of a more sustainable pattern of recycling and waste management policy would demand a fundamental change in public policy, to give government a more active role in environmental protection.

For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting programmatic 'economic analyses,' also known as Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs), to assess the economic effects of its regulatory efforts. This important volume explains the purpose of these analyses, along with their design, execution, conclusions, and their ultimate impact on environmental rules. Richard Morgenstern, formerly director of EPA's Office of Policy Analysis, has assembled twelve original case studies of RIAs performed over the past decade on matters such as lead in gasoline, ozone depletion, asbestos, clean drinking water, and sewage management. The contributors, most of whom actually worked on these RIAs, provide detailed examination of why and how they were performed. The case studies critique the nature, amount, and quality of data used by the EPA in their benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses as well as the use (or abuse) of the results in final decisionmaking. The authors illustrate how the analyses take into account difficult issues such as discounting, risk, nonmonetized benefits and costs, and equity. Morgenstern provides the necessary historical context and the legal framework for requiring and conducting EAs. He describes new procedures outlined by the Clinton administration and synthesizes the case studies into thoughtful cross-cutting conclusions, drawing important lessons that will improve future analyses.

In Private Military and Security Contractors (PMSCs) a multinational team of scholars and experts address a developing phenomenon: controlling the use of privatized force by states in international politics. Robust analyses of the evolving, multi-layered tapestry of formal and informal mechanisms of control address the microfoundations of the market, such as the social and role identities of contract employees, their acceptance by military personnel, and potential tensions between them. The extent and willingness of key states-South Africa, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel-to monitor and enforce discipline to structure their contractual relations with PMSCs on land and at sea is examined, as is the ability of the industry to regulate itself. Also discussed is the nascent international legal regime to reinforce state and industry efforts to encourage effective practices, punish inappropriate behavior, and shape the market to minimize the hazards of loosening states' oligopolistic control over the means of legitimate organized violence. The volume presents a theoretically-informed synthesis of micro- and macro-levels of analysis, offering new insights into the challenges of controlling the agents of organized violence used by states for scholars and practitioners alike.

Evidence has come to light regarding the impact of benzene emissions from road transport, the incidence of asthmatic attacks and the possible toll of particulate matter from diesel engines on human health. This book examines the issues and argues that, without a fundamental change in policy, it is inevitable that the transport sector will continue to impose increasing costs on the natural environment, human health and the economy. It also quantifies the external costs of road transport and suggests new measures, such as road pricing and financial incentives, to pave the way to a sustainable transport system.

Has the future a future? Are we bringing history to an end? Observing any one of several individual but critical trends suggests that, without rapid and positive action, history may have only a very short way to run. Whether it is the growth of world population, of greenhouse gas concentrations and the accelerating rate of climate change, the running down of oil and natural gas reserves, growing shortages of fresh water for agriculture, industry and domestic use, or the increasing difficulty in controlling epidemic diseases we are facing a mounting global crisis that will peak in less than a generation, around the year 2030. Taken together, these trends point to a potentially apocalyptic period, if not for the planet itself then certainly for human societies and for humankind. In this compelling book, and update to The 2030 Spike, Colin Mason explains in clear and irrefutable terms what is going on largely below the surface of our daily or weekly news bulletins. The picture he paints is stark, and yet it is not bleak. Being forewarned, we are forearmed, and he draws on his own extensive political experience to describe how much we can do as individuals, and above all collectively, not merely to avert crisis but to engineer thoroughgoing change that can usher in genuinely sustainable and valuable alternatives to the way we live now.

In this study, the award-winning environmental analyst Lester Brown and his colleagues have charted progress in building the eco-economy - an economy in harmony with the Earth's ecosystems, not undermining them. This edition of the biennial reader highlights 12 key trends, from population growing by 80 million annually, to ice melting, to the boom in use of solar cells. It explains, for example, why wind-generated electricity is emerging as the foundation of the new post-fossil fuel energy economy. It also specifically investigates China's desertification problem, the issues surrounding food production, and the challenge of controlling climate change. Drawing on research and analysis by the Earth Policy Institute, the reader monitors the shift from the old economy to the new.

Focusing on the likely impacts on trade of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, this book examines the actual and potential conflicts between whether liberalization of trade undermines the efforts of industrialised countries to mitigate climate change. It will be essential reading for environmental economists and those engaged in international environmental relations and policy.

International organizations are typically intergovernmental in nature and endowed with a bipolar institutional structure where organs of States are usually juxtaposed with the Secretariat. On these premises, in Non-Governmental Interests in Regional Organizations: The Role of Parliamentary, Socio-Economic and Territorial Institutions Elisa Tino aims at analysing the unexplored phenomenon of institutional multipolarism of regional organizations, namely the trend to establish institutions representing non-governmental interests. Particularly, illustrating their diffusion in various geographic areas, explaining rationales underlying their establishment and investigating their institutional aspects, Elisa Tino pinpoints the contribution of these institutions to the development of regional organizations both according to the functionalist approach and the constitutionalist one. Thus, she aims at providing food for thought in the study of international organizations.

Low carbon technology transfer to developing countries has been both a lynchpin of, and a key stumbling block to a global deal on climate change. This book brings together for the first time in one place the work of some of the world's leading contemporary researchers in this field. It provides a practical, empirically grounded guide for policy makers and practitioners, while at the same time making new theoretical advances in combining insights from the literature on technology transfer and the literature on low carbon innovation. The book begins by summarizing the nature of low carbon technology transfer and its contemporary relevance in the context of climate change, before introducing a new theoretical framework through which effective policy mechanisms can be analyzed. The north-south, developed-developing country differences and synergies are then introduced together with the relevant international policy context. Uniquely, the book also introduces questions around the extent to which current approaches to technology transfer under the international policy regime might be considered to be 'pro-poor'. Throughout, the book draws on cutting edge empirical work to illustrate the insights it affords. The book concludes by setting out constructive ways forward towards delivering on existing international commitments in this area, including practical tools for decision makers.

Over the past decades, considerable debate has emerged surrounding the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to analyze and make recommendations for environmental and safety regulations. Critics argue that CBA forces values on unquantifiable factors, that it does not adequately measure benefits across generations, and that it is not adaptable in situations of uncertainty. Proponents, on the other hand, believe that a well-done CBA provides useful, albeit imperfect, information to policymakers precisely because of the standard metrics that are applied across the analysis. Largely absent from the debate have been practical questions about how the use of CBA could be improved. Relying on the assumption that CBA will remain an important component in the regulatory process, this new work from Resources for the Future brings together experts representing both sides of the debate to analyze the use of CBA in three key case studies: the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the Clean Air Mercury Rule, and the Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule (Phase II). Each of the case studies is accompanied by critiques from both an opponent and a proponent of CBA and includes consideration of complementary analyses that could have been employed. The work's editors - two CBA supporters and one critic - conclude the report by offering concrete recommendations for improving the use of CBA, focusing on five areas: technical quality of the analyses, relevance to the agency decision-making process, transparency of the analyses, treatment of new scientific findings, and balance in both the analyses and associated processes, including the treatment of distributional consequences.

The cutting-edge contributions to this book analyse different facets of the European Union (EU): closer integration among the member states, policymaking within a 'normal' political system, and the implications of European integration for its member states. This book also considers whether the challenges currently confronting the EU - the lingering Eurozone debt crises, the migrant/refugee crisis, the British decision to leave the EU, and terrorist attacks in Belgium, France and Germany - mark an inflection point for the Union and for the study of the EU. For the first time, 'less Europe', rather than closer integration, has emerged as a serious option in response to crisis. This possibility reignites questions of (dis)integration and calls into question the assumption of the EU as a 'normal' political system. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.