Publications

This chapter discusses how and why environmental policies have changed over time, both internationally and in the developing world. It provides an overview of policy diffusion and policy integration. The main policy paradigms and principles, policy instruments, selection criteria and methods of making environmental policy choices, and factors...

This paper examines the transfer and diffusion of sustainable transport policies around the world and reviews the implications for policy-making in the Asia-Pacific region. Through a focus on a range of good practice case studies, this paper investigates why there are significant differences in the major factors involved in the transfer of...

Governments are increasingly involving local communities and non-governmental organizations in the management of natural resources. The ways in which different stakeholders are involved varies from being consulted to taking a central role in planning and monitoring, andinfrequentlybeing given the legal right to manage resources. There can be many...

Environmental policymakers in developing countries, including those of the Asia-Pacific region, often face a tough dilemma. They realize that formulating good policy requires careful consideration of various options to arrive at policies that are well suited to the particular circumstances of their country or area, but can still achieve the desired...

No natural disaster in recent history has affected so many people’s lives as the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The world’s response in the wake of the tsunami seems so far to have revolved around recognition of the need for early warning systems linking countries and regions that are likely to be affected by the same tsunami or similar...

Local people contribute much to wetland conservation, and the Pacific island countries offer invaluable information demonstrating the cultural value of wetlands vis-à-vis sustainable livelihoods. Drawing primarily on examples from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji, but generalizing for many of the Pacific countries, this paper argues...

The focus of the Urban Environmental Management Project of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in 2005-2007 was on the opportunities and barriers for integration of global environmental concerns into local planning and management, taking greenhouse gas emission reduction as a distant but ultimate goal. Accordingly, the project builds...

Newsletter for the Kitakyushu Initiative programme which provides the latest information on activities of the Kitakyushu Initiative Network, as well as research and trends in urban environmental management

This chapter introduces and describes the methodology used in a recent research program aimed at identifying useful lessons about what has made environmental policies successful in developing countries, particularly in Asia-Pacific. These lessons are intended mainly for policymakers. The study used qualitative research methods, including textual...