Community implementation dynamics: Nutrient management in the New York City and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

Glenn Earl Sterner,Ray Bryant,Peter J A Kleinman,Jack Watson,Theodore R Alter

doi:10.5130/ijrlp.i1.2015.4366

Abstract

The creation of natural resource management and conservation strategies can be affected by engagement with local citizens and competing interests between agencies and stakeholders at the varying levels of governance. This paper examines the role of local engagement and the interaction between governance levels on the outcomes of nutrient management policy, a specific area of natural resource conservation and management. Presented are two case studies of the New York City and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds in the US. These case studies touch upon the themes of local citizen engagement and governance stakeholder interaction in changing nutrient management to improve water quality. An analysis of these cases leads to several key considerations for the creation and implementation of nutrient management and natural resource management more broadly, including the importance of: local citizen engagement, government brokering and cost sharing; and the need of all stakeholders to respect each other in the policy creation and implementation process.

Highlights

Much discussion of the policy development process is on the actual language surrounding the policy statute itself – its wording, implications, intended outcomes, and implementation
We find that the type of engagement with local citizens during the policy creation and implementation process affects the effectiveness of outcomes
We have sought to explore how the interplay between different levels of government and citizen engagement affects natural resource management policy creation and implementation through the exploration of two case studies that examine nutrient management policy in the US. While these may be regarded as two special cases, the New York City (NYC) and Chesapeake Bay watersheds are two of the largest in the nation and exemplify these two important components of policy formation and implementation

Summary

Introduction

Much discussion of the policy development process is on the actual language surrounding the policy statute itself – its wording, implications, intended outcomes, and implementation. Often neglected in this consideration are the perspectives of local citizens who are at the centre of policy implementation. Economic incentives, which rely on behavioural assumptions, are often touted as an effective approach to change the behaviours and practices of local citizens.[1] Economic incentives built into policies may increase the implementation of certain changes, but increasing the adoption rates through changes to local practices requires attention to the motivations of citizens.[2] As illustrated with the following examples, local citizen implementation of changes, in practice, is influenced by complex interacting human, psychological and institutional factors, such as beliefs, values (eg, attachment to the land) and knowledge and risk perception.[3] Effective regulatory design requires anticipation of the risks, unintended consequences, and citizen reaction to policy implementation by engaging communities at the very early stages of the policy-making process

Objectives

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion