This document discusses various topics related to environmental governance including definitions of governance, good governance, global governance, and environmental governance. It contrasts the realist and liberalist perspectives on these topics. Some key issues of environmental governance are identified such as soil degradation, climate change, biodiversity loss, water issues, and ozone depletion. The roles of various environmental actors like international institutions, states, businesses, and NGOs are outlined. International environmental politics and the global environmental movement are also briefly described.

1. Environmental governance
Professor Ferdous
Prepared by shoboocktagin

2. Environmental governance
◦ Government is a political system by which a body of people is administered
and regulated.
◦ National government nominally controlled all the territory within internationally
recognised borders and responsibility not shared by sub national counterparts.
◦ Most governance is: executive, legislative and judiciary.
◦ What is Governance?
◦ It is the way government govern. It is a process of decision making and by
which decisions are implemented or not implemented.
◦ Governance comprises all of the processes of governing - whether undertaken
by the government of a state, by a market or by a network - over a
social system (family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a
territory or across territories) and whether through the laws, norms, power or
language of an organized society.

3. What is Good Governance?
◦ PRACTEES R
◦ Participation
◦ Rule of law
◦ Accountability
◦ Consensus orientation
◦ Transparency
◦ Efficiency and effectiveness
◦ Equally and equity
◦ Strategic vision
◦ Responsibility
B
a
s
e
d
o
n
a
l

4. What is Global Governance?
◦ Global governance or world governance is a movement towards political cooperation among
transnational actors, aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region. Institutions of global
governance—the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the
World Bank, etc.—tend to have limited or demarcated power to enforce compliance.
◦ The term world governance is broadly used to designate all regulations intended for organization and centralization of
human societies on a global scale. The Forum for a new World Governance defines world governance simply as "collective
management of the planet".
◦ Traditionally,
government has been associated with "governing," or with political authority, institutions, and, ultimately, control.
Governance denotes a process through which institutions coordinate and control independent social relations, and that have the ability
◦ Adil Najam
has defined global governance simply as "the management of global processes in the absence of global government.“
◦ Global governance'—which can be good, bad, or indifferent—refers to concrete cooperative problem-solving
arrangements, many of which increasingly involve not only the United Nations of states but also 'other UNs,' namely
international secretariats and other non-state actors."[6] In other words, global governance refers to the way in which global
affairs are managed.
◦ global governance may be defined as "the complex of formal and informal institutions, mechanisms, relationships, and
processes between and among states, markets, citizens and organizations, both inter- and non-governmental, through which
collective interests on the global plane are articulated, Duties, obligations and privileges are established, and differences are
mediated through educated professionals."

5. What is Environmental
Governance ?
◦ Environmental governance is a concept in political ecology and
environmental policy that advocates sustainability (
sustainable development) as the supreme consideration for
managing all human activities—political, social and
economic.[1] Governance includes government, business and civil society, and emphasizes wh
system management.
◦ It views natural resources and the environment as global
public goods, belonging to the category of
goods that are not diminished when they are shared.[3] This means that everyone benefits from
atmosphere, stable climate and stable biodiversity.
◦

7. Realist or Realism VS Liberalist or Liberalism
◦ Realist’s View:
◦ End will justify means Machiavellians.
◦ To achieve goals any means can be used.
◦ Give emphasis on state.
◦ Motivated by national Interest and use of power to retain national
Interest.
◦ Power politics.
◦ Divide domestic and international interests and give emphasis on
domestic or national Interest.
◦ Realism, set of related theories of international relations that emphasizes the role of the
state, national interest, and military power in world politics.

8. ◦ Liberalism or Liberalist’s View:
◦ Power and legitimacy are different
◦ Max Weber: Power + Legitimacy = Authority
◦ Legitimacy is the recognition of people
◦ The concept of liberalism came from individualism
◦ Liberalism, political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics. Liberals typically believe that
government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others, but they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty.
◦ Source of power is people
◦ The concept of democracy developed from liberalism
◦ Adam Smith is the founder of liberalism. The Wealth of Nations.
◦ Market economy and free market economy
◦ No government intervention in the market
◦ Rules and regulations will be controlled by the government but do not interfere in the personal and social life and in the market.
◦ Minimal state: Minimal state refers to a state with the least possible amount of powers. It is a term used in political philosophy where the state's duties are so minimal
that they cannot be reduced much further without becoming a form of anarchy.
◦ There should not be any interference in personal freedom
◦ Each individuals’ interest, rule of law, and collective interest will be addressed in liberalism.
◦ It is a humanitarian and expanded concept.
Realist or Realism VS Liberalist or Liberalism

9. ◦ Realist View:
◦ Environmental curative and preventive measures within the
nation
◦ Problem identification and solution within the nation
◦ International cooperation is unlikely as international laws, rules,
regulations and authority does not have sufficient capacity
◦ There is no other actual authority other than state or nation
◦ There is no effective international authority
◦ Priority is given on state institutions
Realist or Realism VS Liberalist or Liberalism

10. ◦ Liberalist View :
◦ Association of the states is the International Organization
◦ There are some international arrangements
International laws, conventions, protocols, treaties etc. For example:
Paris Agreement 2015 – A global agreement within the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse gas
emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting from 2020. Kyoto
Protocol 1997 – Signed in 1997 and came into effect from 2005 commits
state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the premise
that global warming exists and human-made CO2 have caused it.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Non state actors are given priority in addition to state actors
Realist or Realism VS Liberalist or Liberalism

11. ◦ Soil degradation
◦ Climate change
◦ Bio diversity
◦ Water
◦ Ozone layer
◦ Nuclear risk and Nuclear waste, nuclear boiler radiation, nuclear weapons of mass
destruction
◦ Social environmental conflicts
◦ Transgenic organism-genetically modified food-poultry, fruits.
Issues of Environmental Governance

12. Environmental Actors
◦ International institutions
◦ State
◦ Business
◦ NGOs, INGOs, civil society
◦ International initiatives: rules, regulations, agreements and protocols etc.
◦

13. Environmental Actors

14. International Environmental
Politics
◦ Politics among nations
◦ State is the most important actors but there are some international environment
related actors.
◦ Water sharing, carbon taxation, carbon emissions.

15. Global Environmental Movement
◦ The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the
ecology movement), also including conservation and
green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and
political movement for addressing environmental issues.
Environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources and
stewardship of the
environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior. In its recognition of
ecology, health, and
human rights.The environmental movement is an international movement, represented by
grassroots and varies from country to country. Due to its large membership, varying and s
climate movement. At its broadest, the movement includes private citizens, professionals,
nonprofit organizations and individual advocates.

16. Expert Group
◦ Association of experts

17. ◦ Air pollution
◦ Water pollution
◦ Soil pollution
◦ Biodiversity
◦ SDG