Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Institutions
Social
Sustainable
Development
Economy
Environment
Source: own figure.
Fig. 3.1
Institutions for sustainability - the fourth dimension
fourth dimension of sustainability (Spangenberg and Bonniot
1998
; Spangenberg
et al.
2002)
. Likewise, in the SEAMLESS project, the fourth dimension represents an
important challenge to fully integrate economic, social, and environmental sustain-
ability objectives. Institutions for sustainability are defined as the necessary institutional
structure capable of delivering economic, social, and environmental sustainability
objectives that are set when choosing a policy option (Fig.
3.1
). Thus, a policy
option 'integrating' all three dimensions can only be effective if proper institutional
arrangements are in place in the respective countries or regions.
3
Institutional Compatibility
The institutional analysis of policy options follows the concept of institutional
compatibility. The latter refers to the compatibility between policy instruments
and the respective institutional context to assess the effectiveness and cost-
effectiveness of policies. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies depend on
the institutional arrangements (property rights and governance structures
4
) in place.
3
It should be noted that there is
no single
or universal institutional arrangement that is linked to a
specific policy and that enables a specific policy option to become effective regardless where it is
(supposed to be) implemented. Rather, the
concrete
set of institutions
most
conducive for policy
implementation is likely to vary among countries and regions.
4
Governance structures are the organisational solutions for making rules (institutions) effective,
i.e., they are necessary for guaranteeing the rights and duties and their use in co-ordinating transactions
(e.g., Ostrom
1990)
.
