Author Description

Seven Elements of Environmental GovernanceInstitutions and Laws Who makes and enforces the rules for using natural resources? What are the rules and the penalties for breaking them? Who resolves disputes?2 Participation Rights and Representation How can the public influence or contest the rules over natural resources? Who represents those who use or depend on natural resources when decisions on these resources are made?3 Authority Level At what level or scale--local, regional, national, international--does the authority over resources reside?4 Accountability and Transparency How do those who control and manage natural resources answer for their decisions, and to whom? How open to scrutiny is the decisionmaking process?5 Property Rights and Tenure Who owns a natural resource or has the legal right to control it?6 Markets and Financial Flows How do financial practices, economic policies, and market behavior influence authority over natural resources?7 Science and Risk How are ecological and social science incorporated into decisions on natural resource use to reduce risks to people and ecosystems and identify new opportunities?