Policy tools for environmentally sustainable development: Environmental bonds and participatory modeling.

摘要

Few concepts have attracted as much political, academic and popular attention in recent years as sustainable development. Although there is broad consensus that national governments should work towards sustainable development, there is little agreement on how to operationalize the concept. In order to incorporate principles of sustainable development into policy, operational analysis is needed. This dissertation examines two policy tools designed to assist decision-makers in advancing development that is environmentally sustainable.; The first tool, environmental bonding, is a policy instrument which addresses by-products of development and issues of economic efficiency. Under a regulatory system of bonding, economic agents wishing to utilize society's resources would be required to post a bond in advance, equal to the worst case damages they could inflict on the environment. In order to examine the possible incentives provided by such a system, a computer simulated, firm management game was developed. The game recorded player behavior and performance under both the simulated current regulatory system and the simulated bonding system. An environmental cost efficiency index (ECEI), or profits per unit waste, was used to measure player performance. On average ECEI scores were significantly higher under the simulated bonding system, as compared with the simulated current system, suggesting that a system of environmental bonding may provide the incentive to manage wastes sustainably. In addition, I assessed (1) the current uses of bonds and their applicability to environmental regulation, (2) which types of bonds are appropriate to regulating three broad categories of environmental damage and, (3) the feasibility of using bonds under the current environmental regulatory regime. In all cases, bonds were found to be a promising policy tool for addressing existing or potentially occurring environmental damage and in some cases, a far superior alternative to the current mechanisms in place.; The second tool, participatory modeling, is a process which incorporates scientific information and citizen participation into land use planning and natural resource management. This tool was applied to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. A stakeholder Round Table and panel of scientific experts were involved in an iterative process of model development. The modeling process developed potential future scenarios utilizing several ecological, economic and social indicators to examine various management alternatives. By participating in the process of model development and utilization, with the assistance of scientific experts, stakeholders were able to make more informed recommendations for future management of the Park. These recommendations were incorporated into the Banff National Park Management Plan.