Stakeholder participation in the design of environmental policy mixes

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach to the development of environmental policy, relying on the combination of several instruments to achieve different objectives and on the active involvement of the stakeholders in the policy development process. The development of an innovative system of environmental policy instruments for sustainable management of pig farming in a municipality in Portugal is used to illustrate the proposed approach. The system is based on the adoption of a policy mix, combining a command and control approach, established through a regulation for the pig farming sector, with economic instruments (a sustainability fund and a tradable pig raising rights system) and voluntary approaches (an eco-label for meat products from farms with superior sustainability performance). The design of the instruments has followed a participatory and transparent approach, where the stakeholders were actively engaged in the decision making process.