Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
introduction of ideas such as habitat degradation or coastal zone manage-
ment. In that respect a regime should always be ready to adapt properly
and quickly to new needs, new dei nitions and new realities. It should
have such an institutional structure that would allow for right and rapid
amendments, and would eradicate any trace of bureaucracy. It should
inl uence other international or national policies and politics and be open
to be inl uenced by them. Ef ective regimes are the living ones, which can
move through time being older and wiser, not older and weaker. Hence
regime ef ectiveness could not be assessed by static criteria, the only excep-
tion to this being the criterion of the regime's dynamic nature.
This new perspective on ef ectiveness would require a regime to use
a holistic approach based on science, policy and their interaction, have
a pragmatic vision for its ultimate goals and be of a dynamic nature to
evolve through time.
Meeting all the above conditions is hard but perhaps it might prove
successful in the quest for ef ective international environmental regimes.
Bearing in mind that the above dei nition presents a very broad approach,
it will be further developed in forthcoming studies and particularly applied
in a specii c case study, that of the Mediterranean Action Plan.
Conclusion
Environmental problems, instead of a solution per se,
demand an ef ective
management through time. Since this management especially in the case
of global or transboundary environmental problems is very often in the
hands of international environmental regimes, special attention should be
paid to the design and implementation of these regimes, as well as to their
assessment. The new perspective on international environmental regime
ef ectiveness might perhaps prove a helpful tool towards this direction.
Nevertheless, further research is needed in order to specify new ways
that would bridge the gap between science and policy, which would
provide realistic solutions reconciling conl icting interests and that would
give life to human-made institutions.
Note
1.
The author is very grateful to Neil Carter for his valuable comments on earlier drafts
of this study. Special thanks go to Evangelos Raftopoulos for his inspiring ideas during
several discussions on the research. Thanks also go to Jon Lovett and Gabriela Kütting
for their overall support. The Firos Foundation is gratefully acknowledged for funding
the author's doctoral studies.
References
Ausubel, J.H. and D.G. Victor (1992), 'Verii cation of International Environmental
Agreements',
Annual Review of Energy and Environment
,
17
(1), 1-43.
