Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
implementation of high level priorities or even provisions in the law. Furthermore,
other studies have suggested that formal legal rules are more irrelevant than lawyers
would tend to expect during extreme periods, due to their short advance notice
period (Hurlbert
2009
; IISD
2006
). During these periods, more flexible and quickly
accessible institutions are needed that can respond to stakeholder needs over periods
of days, weeks or months.
However, this is not to discard the importance of addressing the challenges in the
legal and policy framework, as these are core drivers of the developments of knowl-
edge and network elements of the governance system. But to suggest that these
longer term challenges should be seen in the context of proactive capacity building,
while the quick wins in knowledge partnerships and conflict resolution mechanisms
can be tackled, now, to develop capacity that can be better mobilised in the next
extreme event. From a reactive perspective, while quick reactive capacity can best
be mobilised at the local and regional levels, there are governance actions that, con-
currently, can be implemented at the national level that can enable this process.
National and federal actors should acknowledge that more extremes are likely to
increase the need for larger financial support and enhanced financing mechanisms
to support regional and local coping efforts, quickly and efficiently.
Craig (
2009
) suggests that lawmakers should think more creatively about means
of restructuring legal safeguards so that public authorities have more flexibility to
deal with climate change impacts. His suggestions include 'general planning
requirements coupled with abbreviated administrative procedures for specific imple-
mentation decisions, periodic rather than continual judicial review for rationality,
the ability to rely on post-decisional evaluations rather than pre-decisional
justifications, and/or increased emergency authorities in order to achieve true capac-
ity for adaptive management in the face of climate change impacts to resources and
ecosystems' (p 55). Ruhl (
2009
) also suggests that in the interests of the law becom-
ing more adaptive, those that shape the law should emphasise a shift from a preser-
vation focus to one of 'transitionalism', in order to better allow for frequent
reconfigurations that take into account trans-policy linkages and trade-offs across
scales.
At the regional level the focus has been set to vertical integration, since the role
of institutions and actors at this level can provide valuable linkages between top
down and bottom up actions, in order to build trust, provide support, both financially
and technically, and develop consensus between local needs and realities and
national priorities. Establishing intermediaries and formalising bridging organisa-
tions, such as NGOs and universities could enhance the role of regional level institu-
tions and actors in trust building across and between higher and lower levels of
governance. Integrating scenario planning and analysis at this level would raise
understanding of climate related uncertainty and provide a potential setting for col-
laborative knowledge networks between regional or national research institutions
that could enable greater capacity and openness to learning at lower levels as well.
The networks developed for longer term partnerships could also improve moni-
toring and information flows during extreme periods. Furthermore, during crisis
periods, higher levels provide critical support functions when local capacity may
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