Environmental Sustainability
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Volume 7 – Issue 4 – November 2011 Special Issue: Environmental Sustainability Coordination of Policies and Governance Regime From Competition to Collaboration Requirements in Dutch Freshwater Management Challenges for New Zealand science Cheryl de Boer, Hans Bressers and Stefan Kuks 3 David Penman, Andrew Pearce and Missy Morton 44 Improving Water Governance in New Zealand: Stakeholder Pragmatism and Caffeine: Lessons from views of catchment management processes and plans cross-agency, cross-sector working Andrew Fenemor, Diarmuid Neilan, Will Allen Jo Cribb, Robbie Lane, Heather Penny, and Shona Russell 10 Kylie van Delden and Kathie Irwin 50 Single Worthwhile Policy, Seeking Legitimacy and Does the Reform of English Local Government Implementation: Sustainable tourism at the regional Contain Lessons for New Zealand? destination level, New Zealand Michael Reid 55 Brent Lovelock 20 How to Get Closer Together: Impacts of Promoting Sustainability From Above: Reflections income inequality and policy responses on the influence of the EU on tourism governance Paul Barber 62 Constantia Anastasiadou 27 Paid Parental Leave Policy – A response Biophysical Limits and Green Growth to Maureen Baker Jonathan Boston 34 Paul Callister and Judith Galtry 69 among policy-makers and the business community. Despite the rhetoric in the national and subnational strategies for tourism, policy legitimacy emerges as a major obstacle Editorial for incorporating sustainability in the governance of local tourism. Two destinations are more closely examined: Catlins, which is an emerging destination for which a preventive regulatory approach to sustainability should apply; and Note Queenstown, an established destination where a recovery Volume 7 – Issue 4 – November 2011 The 1992 Local Agenda 21 adopted at the Rio de Janeiro approach is needed, as the unplanned intensive growth over conference - the United Nations Conference on Environment the past decades has already generated negative social Policy Quarterly (PQ) is targeted at readers and Development - required governments to adopt and and environmental impacts. These case studies reveal that in the public sector, including politicians and implement National Strategies for Sustainable Development. the 1991 Resource Management Act does not provide an their staff, public servants and a wide variety of These were meant to offer guidance for the subsequent adequate regulatory approach to tourism permitting. The professions, together with others interested in re-design of their economic and social governance systems legal and institutional frameworks relevant for sustainable based on a set of four key governance principles for development are weak, which lies at the heart of the public issues. Its length and style are intended sustainability. The new governance systems were expected legitimacy problem for a sustainability-based tourism to make the journal accessible to busy readers. to facilitate the coordination of policies and strategies across governance in New Zealand. The journal welcomes contributions of the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and The Member States of the European Union (EU) about 4,000 words, written on any topic economic, as well as the coordination of such policies across seem to have the opposite problem: too many policy and relating to public policy and management. governmental levels. Two other key governance principles legislative tools and many levels of governance affecting Articles submitted will be reviewed by require the incorporation of intergenerational perspectives tourism development locally. However, from this thick members of the journal’s Editorial Board and/or and interests into policy-making, and the involvement of policy soup something meaningful still seems to emerge, as by selected reviewers, depending on the topic. citizens and wide range of stakeholders into governance Anastasiadou explains. For decades, tourism was excluded processes, especially decision-making and implementation. from the economic sectors for which EU Treaties gave Although issues will not usually have single The question that this special issue of Policy Quarterly European political authorities competencies to adopt policies, themes, special issues may be published from raises is – to what extent do we see evidence of the and enforce them on Member States. In this context, the EU time to time on specific or general themes, incorporation of such principles in the governance of key tried to steer tourism towards sustainability through soft perhaps to mark a significant event. In such economic sectors and natural resources? Four contributions instruments, such as guidelines and recommendations, cases, and on other occasions, contributions to this issue provide insights by exploring successes and and by means of generic tools such as the Lisbon Strategy, may be invited from particular people. failures, threats and opportunities in two policy domains: the Cohesion Policy and the Sustainable Development Subscriptions: The journal is available in PDF tourism development and the management of freshwater Strategy. Many financial schemes also target sustainability format on the IPS website: www.vuw.ac.nz/ips/ resources. Two contributions are from Europe, and two from goals at project level. Although the impact of these multiple pq. Readers who wish to receive it by email New Zealand; they explore key intercontinental differences interacting top-down tools is yet to be rigorously evaluated, and similarities. signs are emerging that the EU approach warmed hearts and should register as PQ subscribers De Boer and colleagues explore the implementation opened minds among both local public authorities and the [email protected]. This service is free. challenges associated with sustainable freshwater business community, in established and emerging tourism For all subscription and membership enquiries management in the Netherlands. In the Dutch context this destinations. please e-mail [email protected] or post to requires the coordination of interventions in four relevant Such behavioural change, underpinned by significant Institute of Policy Studies, P.O. Box 600, policy domains: recreation, agriculture, nature and flood policy and governance innovations, is what numerous Wellington. management. Their case study shows how an inclusive participants to the recent symposium on biophysical limits Electronic Access: The IPS directs interested governance approach, with wide public and stakeholder in Wellington advocate (‘Biophysical Limits and their Policy individuals to its website: www.vuw.ac.nz/ participation, improves sustainability outcomes. In addition, Implications’, 8-9 June 2011). Jonathan Boston reviews the an adaptive approach to implementation is crucial: they key themes explored during this symposium. He explains ips/index.aspx where details of the Institute’s reveal that governance for sustainability implies finding the that the earth’s resources are typically categorized as non- publications and upcoming events can be right balance between central government leadership and renewable, conditionally renewable and inexhaustible. The found. local flexibility to adapt to the complexities and uncertainties sustainability debate is connected to the normative debate on Permission: In the interest of promoting debate emerging in various local contexts. But adaptive which – and whether – the first two types of resources are and wider dissemination, the IPS encourages implementation requires flexible institutions and ‘open- substitutable. Here lies a key difference between ‘weak’ and use of all or part of the papers appearing in ended’ regulatory structures that enable revisions in the light ‘strong sustainability’. Such conceptualizations are important PQ, where there is no element of commercial of learning and new facts. Moreover, it requires an allowance as they underpin policies and institutions that should move gain. Appropriate acknowledgement of both for policy process phases to interact, rather than conceiving societies towards a greener type of development, respecting them as linear. the physical boundaries of planet Earth – its resource, sink author and source should be made in all The importance of more integration of policy processes, and thermodynamic boundaries. Boston reflects further on cases. The IPS retains copyright. Please direct particularly design and implementation, is also discussed in the policy design and political challenges ahead to enable a requests for permission to reprint articles from the New Zealand context of water management by Fenemor safer, sustainable development. this publication to [email protected]. and colleagues. An interactive approach to policymaking is Aside from the five articles on sustainability issues, this Editor: Jonathan Boston recommended by the surveyed freshwater stakeholders, as issue of Policy Quarterly contains four other contributions. Guest Editor: Valentina Dinica one of the 14 attributes of good governance distilled in their These canvass a diverse range of topics: David Penman, Editorial Board: David Bromell, paper. The authors discuss how ‘techno-corporatist legal Andrew Pearce and Missy Morton reflect on one of the key Valentina Dinica and Mike McGinnis formalism’ dominating New Zealand’s freshwater governance challenges facing New Zealand science, namely how to ISSN: 1176 - 8797 (Print) for decades has resulted in water permits and contracts embrace a more collaborative mode of inter-institutional that fix inefficient