Environmental Policy Integration Research Articles

The environmental and social opportunities of reducing sugar intake

Sugar is the largest agricultural crop by mass and has seen a rapid increase in consumption around the world. There are widespread public health efforts to curb sugar intake through targeted policies given its association with noncommunicable diseases. Although curbing sugar intake aligns with sustainable diets that meet essential environmental and health targets, such a shift may be challenging from a political economy perspective. Utilizing sugar for other purposes such as the production of microbial protein, biofuels, and bioplastics, or using sugar lands to grow other food items, or rewilding could provide health and environmental win–wins that could be more politically palatable. Here, we explore several potential scenarios to illustrate the option space from which national and international stakeholders could choose locally appropriate pathways for alternative utilization of sugar or its lands. While beneficial, such alternative pathways would require the integration of environmental, economic, and health policies to provide a smoother diet transition that reduces stakeholder tensions. Given the trade in sugar as a commodity crop, international approaches that compensate sugar producers for avoided production or incentivize them for redirecting sugars to other uses will be needed. Such approaches could borrow concepts from Just Transition Partnerships that have been applied to energy system transitions in ensuring a transition for major exporters of sugar cash crops across low- and middle-income nations.

The land tenure and environmental policies nexus: policy integration and spatial planning in Benin

ABSTRACT This article examines the dynamics of integration between land tenure and environmental policies in Benin. This country is characterised by growing vulnerability to the effects of climate change and is marked by a long history of extraversion and dependence on international aid. This article contributes to the theoretical debate on the integration and coordination of environmental and climate policies by showing that cross-cutting policy objectives can hardly be achieved by State sectoral institutions alone, which are largely dependent on international development aid. It successively analyses the different agendas for rural and urban land issues, the incomplete institutionalisation of a Ministry of the Environment, and finally the growing development, supported by international aid, of a more targeted approach to spatial planning, which is more inclusive of land and environmental issues, but which remains focused on urban areas. The article concludes with a discussion of the structural difficulties encountered by international donors and the Beninese government in reaching agreement on cross-cutting issues, and the sectoral autonomies that contribute to the dynamics of inertia and limit the integration of these issues into bureaucratic routines.

Exposure to household air pollution and childhood multimorbidity risk in Jimma, Ethiopia

BackgroundChildhood multimorbidity, characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of multiple medical conditions in children, is a global concern. Notably, exposure to household air pollution has been linked to various health issues, particularly affecting vulnerable segments of the population residing in poorly ventilated homes. However, evidence regarding the impact of household air pollution on the risk of multimorbidity in low-income settings remains scarce. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between household air pollution and childhood multimorbidity in Jimma, Ethiopia.MethodsA comparative cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from 280 children under the age of five who lived in households using solid fuel (n = 140) and clean fuel (n = 140). The Demographic Health Survey morbidity questionnaire was used to collect information from mothers about common childhood illnesses. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to explore the relationship between the use of solid fuel for cooking in households and the likelihood of childhood multimorbidity. In addition, Poisson regression estimation was used to determine if exposure to solid fuel could increase the number of morbidities.ResultsThe overall prevalence of childhood multimorbidity was 34.3% [95% CI: 0.29–0.40]. Among these cases, 23.9% were among children from solid fuel user households, whereas about 10.4% were from clean fuel user households. Adjusted for all possible socioeconomic, demographic, water, sanitation, hygiene, and health care covariates, children living in solid fuel user households had more than three times the odds of childhood multimorbidity compared to children living in clean fuel user households (AOR = 3.14, 95% CI [1.42–6.95], p < 0.001). Moreover, household air pollution from solid fuel use was positively associated with an increased number of individual morbidity conditions, with an adjusted β coefficient of 0.46 (IRR = 1.58, 95% CI [1.17–2.13], p = 0.003).ConclusionSolid fuel use was an independent predictor of childhood morbidity risk. Efficient policies and strategies, such as the integration of environmental regulation policies into the healthcare system aimed at the reduction of harmful air pollutants and their adverse health effects on children, need to be implemented.

New intergovernmentalism: European council and environmental policy

ABSTRACT The article tests the theory of the new intergovernmentalism on environmental policy of the EU with the main objective of applying the alternative approach to European integration beyond its traditional policy focus. The research question is whether the quantity and quality of the engagement of the European Council (EUCO) in environmental policy has increased in the post-Maastricht period examining the EUCO Conclusions from 1993 to 2023 through the qualitative theme content analysis combining deductive and inductive coding and the holistic grading method. The findings did not confirm that the EUCO is a pivotal actor in the further integration of environmental policy. It rather seems that the analyzed policy is driven altogether by supranational and intergovernmental actors. It thus indicates a relatively broad consensus among EU bodies for an ambitious environmental policy. The findings, therefore, challenge the core assumptions of the NI theory.

Household food wastes in Morocco: extent of, drivers of and environmental policy integration for sustainable consumption

Household food wastes in Morocco: extent of, drivers of and environmental policy integration for sustainable consumption

Impact of Urban Expansion on Migratory Birds in the Lagos Wetlands: Breeding Habits and Population Dynamics

This research delves into the complex interactions between urban expansion and migratory bird populations in the Lagos wetlands, specifically examining how changes in urban landscapes influence breeding habits and population dynamics. The rapid and extensive urbanization in Lagos has resulted in considerable habitat fragmentation and environmental degradation, leading to significant disruptions in the ecological functions vital for the sustenance of migratory bird species. This study conducts a thorough analysis of existing conservation measures, assessing their effectiveness and identifying gaps in current practices. Building on this analysis, the research proposes a suite of integrated strategies for sustainable urban planning that emphasizes wildlife preservation. These strategies include the development of green infrastructure, the establishment of ecological corridors, enhanced community involvement in conservation efforts, and the integration of robust environmental policies into urban planning frameworks. The study underscores the critical need for a holistic and scalable approach to urban planning, one that effectively balances human development with the preservation of biodiversity. The findings advocate for a multi-faceted response to urban impacts, suggesting that while current conservation efforts provide a foundation, they require significant expansion and reinforcement to safeguard the migratory bird populations and maintain the ecological health of the Lagos wetlands in the face of ongoing urban challenges.

Green Growth Strategy and Environmental Policy Integration in Sustainable Economic Development: A Review of Bibliometric Analysis

This study presents a comprehensive review of literature on green growth strategy and environmental policy integration in sustainable economic development, utilizing bibliometric analysis as a methodological approach. Over four decades of scholarly contributions were examined, revealing a substantial body of literature with significant scholarly impact. Through citation metrics and network visualizations, key thematic clusters emerged, highlighting discussions on sustainable economic development, firm strategies for sustainability, green job markets, and technological innovations for environmental purposes. The analysis underscores the importance of integrating environmental considerations into economic decision-making processes and offers insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to inform evidence-based decision-making and guide future research agendas. The findings contribute to advancing theoretical understanding and empirical insights into the interplay between green growth, environmental policy integration, and sustainable economic development, thereby facilitating progress towards a more equitable and environmentally resilient future.

Implementing climate change adaptation through mainstreaming at the local level—a comparative case study of two municipalities in the Netherlands

Governments face increasing urgency to adapt to climate change. However, there is a persistent gap between needed and implemented adaptation. The implementation of adaptation often takes place at the local level, making municipalities crucial actors, particularly regarding mainstreaming adaptation into various sectors. While mainstreaming has the potential to bring many benefits, it does not necessarily result in the implementation of adaptation. Its contribution to the adaptation process over time and the resulting implementation at the local level remain poorly understood, exacerbating the adaptation implementation gap. To advance the understanding of mainstreaming for implementation, we synthesize the emerging debates on adaptation mainstreaming with the literature on environmental policy integration and offer a framework towards a nuanced conceptualization of mainstreaming. Our results from a case study of two Dutch municipalities show that managerial actions precede the acceleration of implementation in the built environment and point to a learning curve. Furthermore, mainstreaming focuses on the water sector, built environment and green infrastructure, with little attention paid to the intersection of heat stress and drought with other sectors, while differences in the implementation of adaptation in the two cases hint at the influence of the local context. We conclude that there is no blueprint to implement adaptation, and while local preferences determine the sectors where integration and implementation occur, consideration of long-term future climate change is lacking in both cities’ mainstreaming of adaptation implementation. Our framework allowed identifying the potential and pitfalls of mainstreaming adaptation towards implementation at the local level.

Ecosystem approaches in the practice of national enforcement

The article is devoted to current problems of ecology and enforcement. Ukraine is not a member of the EU, which makes it impossible to directly apply EU norms in national enforcement practice. However, having been ratified the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part is a full-fledged part of the national legal order, which outlines a range of key issues, in particular, the standards that appear before national legislation as a challenge to cooperation on environmental protection issues, and adaptation to EU legislation. The agreement envisages the strengthening of environmental protection activities through the improvement of the health care system, the preservation of natural resources, the improvement of economic and environmental protection efficiency, the integration of environmental policy into other areas of state policy, as well as the increase of the level of production thanks to modern technologies, which will have positive consequences for citizens and enterprises in Ukraine and the EU. As well as the issue of harmonization of legislation on environmental protection, including the implementation of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), which provides for the involvement of the public in the decision-making process on environmental issues and guarantees access to justice for person and public organizations when environmental legislation and/or provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights are violate.
 The need to analyze domestic judicial practice on environmental legal relations in various jurisdictions is extremely urgent. The application of international ratified documents, in particular the Aarhus Convention, is precisely the source of law that, firstly, opens wide public access to appeal procedures; secondly, it is the legal basis for resolving disputes about compensation for damage to the environment; thirdly, it makes impossible the limited interpretation of the current national legislation of Ukraine, regarding the right to appeal to the court for the protection of an interest protected by law in the sphere of guaranteeing environmental safety; fourthly, guarantees the right to appeal to the court of an unlimited number of persons (can be exercised by citizens personally or jointly through the association of citizens), and the resolution of disputed environmental-legal relations, i.e. those are public; fifth, guarantees the subject of the law access to the court without discrimination based on his actual location or actual center of activity; sixth, it affects the formation of established legal practice in environmental disputes.

Policy integration for brownfield regeneration: An analytical tool

Fragmentation of policymaking within government structures and hierarchies can often impede the formulation and implementation of sustainable urban policy. This fragmentation is apparent in complex issues such as the remediation and redevelopment of brownfields. This paper addresses integration across multiple policy domains using brownfield regeneration as a vehicle. Building on the logic and principles of Environmental Policy Integration (EPI), we present a structured analytical tool (namely Policy Integration for Brownfields- PIB) to aid in a systematic analysis of brownfield policy across different regimes at different stages of policy development. We demonstrate the utility of PIB with examples from the USA, Europe, UK, Japan, and China to highlight the critical factors essential to ensure brownfield regeneration meets the overarching aim of making cities more sustainable. The findings suggest a need for balance between often conflicting environmental and non-environmental goals in multiple phases of brownfield policymaking and practice, both between levels of government (horizontally) and across sectoral interests (vertically).

Analysis of Japan's Environmental Policy Integration in the Area of Climate Change

Analysis of Japan's Environmental Policy Integration in the Area of Climate Change

Концепция “экологической цивилизации” как основа “зеленой” стратегии Китая

The article is devoted to the Chinese concept of “ecological civilization”, which underlies the modern “green” strategy of the PRC. The prerequisites for its emergence are thoroughly examined: the influence of the international “green” agenda, current environmental problems in China, the background to the formation of an integrated state environmental policy in the PRC. The essence of the “ecological civilization” concept is revealed in terms of the aspiration of the Chinese leadership, on the one hand, to implement its unique approach to the interaction between human society and nature, based on the principles of harmony from traditional Chinese culture, and opposite to the “violent”, hegemonic Western approach; on the other hand – to play a leading role in the current global “green” development within the framework of the “green transition” launched by Western states, while becoming a unifying power for the Third World countries in this direction. In practice, the PRC’s environmental policy, implemented through five-year development plans, has achieved notable success over the past two decades. The combination of caution with pragmatism and pedantry in the political and economic spheres strengthens China’s leadership position in the world. The current political and energy global crisis, which at a deeper level reveals a struggle of ideological and cultural paradigms, the process of establishing a new world order, creates favorable conditions for the realization of the Chinese “ecological civilization” concept, since it contains a harmonizing principle contrary to the “aggressive” approach of man to nature, that has prevailed over the past few centuries and has caused a rough dissonance between the direction of human development and the environment.

Effectiveness of Environmental Policy Integration: Evidence from China's R&D Policy Reform

Effectiveness of Environmental Policy Integration: Evidence from China's R&D Policy Reform

ЗАХОДИ З ПОКРАЩЕННЯ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОГО СТАНУ ДОВКІЛЛЯ У ЗОНІ ВПЛИВУ АВТОМОБІЛЬНИХ ДОРІГ

Introduction. In the context of the modern development of the automotive industry and the road sector as a whole, the level of technogenic load on the environment from the operation of the road complex is increasing. Therefore, measures to minimize the negative impact of the operation of roads are becoming increasingly important. Problem Statement. Unlike the countries of the European Union, Ukraine has not properly developed the provision of environmentally friendly technologies, the introduction of regulatory and legal support for the mandatory integration of environmental policy into other documents containing the principles of state, sectoral regional and local development, the introduction of approaches to environmental, socio-economic development planning, the elimination of the dependence of economic growth on the increased use of natural resources and increased environmental pollution, the formation of a system of environmental protection from the impact of roads - these principles are the basis for the development and implementation of a set of measures to ensure environmental safety in the road sector. Purpose. To determine the level of environmental safety of the entire road complex, to identify changes in the environmental legislation of Ukraine, and to analyze the strategy of the state environmental policy of Ukraine.

Enhancing electric vehicle market diffusion modeling: A German case study on environmental policy integration

In order to reduce national and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many countries worldwide have committed themselves to a more sustainable development of their transport sector. Promoting the use of electrical vehicles (EVs) rather than combustion engine cars is one political strategy to achieve a reduction in GHG emissions. To implement targeted and effective promotion measures governments can refer to market diffusion models for EVs. However, in our study we identify that in existing models the consideration of environmental measures is underrepresented. Hence, this paper addresses this gap in current market diffusion models for EVs by particular focusing on environmental effects as additional influencing factors of the market diffusion. Results are drawn for the German car market with a market diffusion simulation until 2050 applying the market diffusion model ALADIN considering the introduction of distinct CO2 tax trajectories. The results are analyzed based on scenarios, where (i) no CO2 tax, (ii) the current governmental plan for a CO2 tax, and (iii) a considerable high CO2 tax is applied. Additional insights when incrementally increasing the CO2 tax are provided. The scenario analysis shows that the market diffusion is highly dependent on the evolution of external factors. A CO2 tax considerably higher than the current governmental plan by 2030 (such as 150€/t, based on its monetary value by 2020) is required to have a meaningful impact on the market diffusion of EVs. Moreover, applying a considerable high CO2 tax leads to a slower growth of BEV and PHEV from 2040 onwards that is compensated by a growth in FCEV vehicles.

Eco-social policy in the global political economy: Analysing shifting discourses on agricultural subsidies

While critical political economy (CPE) has yet to play a prominent role in eco-social policy research, this paper argues that a deeper engagement with CPE and a better understanding of the global political economy can enhance eco-social policy debates. CPE can help us to see the contradictions in and impediments to integrating environmental and social policies, and particularly why both of these categories continue to be mediated and shaped by economic logics. In order to develop these arguments, we analyse recent international discourses on agricultural subsidies promoted by key policy actors such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. By examining agriculture as a nodal point between diverse scales and domains such as the local, global, environmental, social, and economic spheres, we explore how certain positions are prioritised over others. We argue that the discourse on ‘repurposing subsidies’ in global agricultural policy expresses a ‘new critical orthodoxy’ that recognises the need for transformation but fails to address the structural conditions of the global political economy responsible for environmental and social crises. Instead, the proposed solutions rely on existing institutions and capitalist logics to resolve current crises, even if the latter are underpinned by these logics. Our analysis underlines the need for eco-social policy scholarship to be cognizant of how environmental and social policy integration is always embedded within a particular global political economy that reproduces certain inequalities and is not a neutral policy terrain.

Network analysis of scientific advisory committee integration in climate change policy: A comparison of Germany and Japan

According to the literature on Environmental Policy Integration (EPI), decisionmaking in complex domains of environmental policy—of which climate change is a prime example—tend to fragment and silo into individual dimensions of a problem. Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) have been widely used to promote more integrated decisionmaking. SACs are intended to integrate the varied, and often fragmented, dimensions of policy problems, and this integration is widely believed to enable more effective use of science in climate change policy. This paper empirically evaluates the degree of integration achieved through SACs in two national climate policy contexts: Germany and Japan. Network analysis is used to examine the myriad scientific advisory committees focused on climate change policy in these nations (N = 218), and quantify the degree of vertical integration (integration among different sectors) and horizontal integration (integration among different governmental bodies). Results show greater vertical integration among German SACs than Japanese SACs, and similar levels of horizontal integration between the two nations despite having very different structures. Such efforts to empirically connect the conceptual discussion of integration in EPI with empirical observations of integration in actual climate policy processes is an important step towards understanding the strategies that may be used to promote more integrated decisionmaking in climate change policy.

Environmental Policy and Solid waste management. A case of Lodwar Municipality, Turkana County, Kenya.

Purpose: The formulation of Environment Policy 2018 of Turkana County is based on the requirement by the (Constitution of Kenya; 2010 and the County Governments Act, 2013) which gives powers to the county government to formulate policies and enact laws. It is this provision that Turkana County sort to formulate policy to address the management of waste in Lodwar municipality and its environment. The purpose of this article was to determine the influence of the Environmental Policy on Solid waste management in a case of Lodwar Municipality, Turkana County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; To establish impact of private-public partnership on sustainable waste management in Lodwar Municipality, Turkana County; To assess the impact of political good will on solid waste management in Lodwar Municipality, Turkana County; To determine adoption of emission-reducing technologies on solid management in Lodwar municipality, Turkana county and to assess the level of integration of environmental policy with socio-economic policies to boost solid waste management in Lodwar Municipality, Turkana County, Kenya.
 Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was adopted to target residents of Lodwar town, management and municipal workers, traders, fisherfolks, county National Environment Management Authority officers and public health department officers at the county level. Furthermore, the descriptive research design was employed and utilized structured and semi structure questionnaires. Out of the population of 110 target groups the sample size used for the study was 33 as stated by Mugenda and Mugenda 2008 that when a population is below 10000 the sample size should be 10% or 30% of the target population hence 30% was ideal for the study. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and content thematic respectively.
 Findings: The findings of the study indicated that, there were no monitoring framework in place to determine the effectiveness of the policy, lack of awareness of existence of the policy amongst the municipality employees, lack of political good will and lack of waste regulating system.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: In this regard, the study recommends the need for municipality to establish monitoring system to measure the effectiveness of the environmental policy in addressing the solid waste management issues; there was need of the county government to provide enough resources to support the strategies lied by the policies for environmental sustainability; The community members , municipality and county government staff need to be sensitized on the existence of the environmental policy; a legal framework ought to be developed to provide the regulatory and fiscal instruments needed to achieve Turkana environment policy objectives.

Political Science on Agri-Environmental Policy: From a Perspective of Environmental Policy Integration

Political Science on Agri-Environmental Policy: From a Perspective of Environmental Policy Integration

Clash or concert in European forests? Integration and coherence of forest ecosystem service–related national policies

This paper compares how forest ecosystem service–related policies are integrated in different national European forest governance contexts. Efforts to achieve policy integration at the EU and national levels are often described in terms of limited success. Our analysis of forest, energy/bioeconomy, climate, and conservation policies suggests that notions of progress or failure merit careful assessment. Combining theories of policy integration (PI), environmental policy integration (EPI), and policy coherence, we argue that integration outcomes depend on the combined effects of the degree and nature of PI, EPI, and multilevel coherence in the context of the prevailing forest governance system. The nature of the interdependencies, specifically anticipated synergies, and the scope of FES-related climate objectives, are crucial. Realizing the range of FES-related objectives entails safeguarding objectives not synergistically aligned with economic aims. Failures to safeguard biodiversity and regulating and cultural ecosystem services in the process of integration may have far-reaching consequences.