Summary: World Resources 2002-2004

Read the summary and the most important questions on World Resources 2002-2004

• 7 International environmental governance

• What are the three elements that make up the current system of international environmental governance?

  - Collection of intergovernmental organisations (UNEP, UNDP, World Bank, WTO, etc.)
  - Framework of international environmental law (treaties)
  - Financing mechanisms

• What is the role of summits in the current system of international environmental governance?

  To supplement the three core elements of international environmental governance by providing highly visible forums to advance the global environmental agenda.

• What is the main challenge caused by the complexity of the international environmental governance system (since it is made up out of and influenced by such a diversity of entities and bodies)?

  Setting coherent an achievable policies and coördinating actions

• 7.1.1 Some strengths and achievements

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• What is the strength of soft law and voluntary guidelines?

  Through soft law consensus and actions are generated more quickly than binding agreements that have to be negotiated.

• 7.1.2 Weaknesses and challenges

• What are the weaknesses and challenges associated with the difficulty in coordinating the actors that make up the present system of international environmental governance?

  The sectoral approach that is used to tackle environmental issues, and the lacking ability of UNEP to function as a good coordinator results in:
  -gaps in international policy
  -fragmentation of effort
  -competing or incoherent decision-making structures

• Which sets of weaknesses are described in the WRI paper on the international environmental governance?

  -Set one: a set of problems that relate to the difficulty of coordinating the complex set of actors that make up the environmental governance system and making them act in a synchronized manner.
  -Set two: Weak support for existing institutions and oversight mechanisms.
  -Set three: decisions that govern production, trade, and investment often pay
  inadequate attention to protecting the environment and human needs. This is even a problem in organizations committed to SD such as the World Bank.

• 7.2.3 Limitations of MEA's

• Which weaknesses of MEAs do the authors describe?

  -Slow negotiation and ratification (because binding agreements)
  -Compromising towards lowest common denominator (Because treaties are consensus based)
  -Lack of monitoring for compliance or performance (treaties don't insist that parties monitor, or lack of clear measurable indicators)
  -Lack of provisions for enforcement (Also result of lack monitoring, lack accountability system in treaties, lack hard consequences when parties don't comply)
  -Lack of technical and financial resources (Developing countries)

• 7.2.4 Problems of scale and unequal influence

• Which problems of scale and influence in MEAs does the author describe?

  -Because of the sheer amount of MEAs, smaller nations may struggle to have a meaningful impact on the decision making in a treaty, because all staff time and resources are dominated by reporting requirements, monitoring, trips to COPs and annual dues for financing the treaty secretariat of all the respective treaties. 
  -Treaties have permanent offices or secretariats in big cities, however, this physical separation causes a lack of exchange which increases fragmentation. 
  -Unequal influence of developed and developing countries in negotiation processes.

• Which factors contribute to the unequal influence of developed countries and developing countries in negotiation processes?

  -Industrialized countries are selective in their engagement in global environmental negotiations
  -Industrialized countries are selective in the issues they address in global forums (eg neglecting issues of equity that are important to developing countries but focussing on issues that benefit industrialized countries most.)
  -Developing countries are handicapped in their negotiating power by a variety of constraints. Eg. smaller delegations, less experience and knowledge.

• 7.3 Financing for the global environment: Paying the piper poorly?

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• What is the Global Environment Facility? (GEF)

  An innovative international funding mechanisms set up specifically for environmental purposes. It was established 1991 as a “green fund” pilot program during the run-up to the Rio
  Earth Summit. GEF provides incremental financial support (that amount which is the part that a government wouldn't have financed) to help developing and transition nations implement climate and biodiversity treaties.