Science In Environmental Policy Research Articles

Essays on Science and Policy in the Bay-Delta

There is a large and complex literature that addresses the question of optimally employing science in environmental policy. That literature mostly focuses on the challenges of efficient and effective interactions: it is probably fair to say it is long on identifying problems and short on answers. As a complement to the existing literature as well as the BDCP and the DSC's science plan, we invited nine experts each to write a 2,000-word essay to address the statement that science will guide policies concerning water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration in the Bay-Delta.

Science in Environmental Policy: The Politics of Objective Advice - By Anne Campbell Keller

Science in Environmental Policy: The Politics of Objective Advice - By Anne Campbell Keller

Review: The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China, Science in Environmental Policy: The Politics of Objective Advice

Review: The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China, Science in Environmental Policy: The Politics of Objective Advice

The role of interface organizations in science communication and understanding

“Interface” organizations are groups created to foster the use of science in environmental policy, management, and education. Here we compare interface organizations that differ in spatial scale, modes of operation, and intended audience to illustrate their diversity and importance in promoting the application of science to environmental issues. There has been exciting recent growth in the nature and extent of activities by interface organizations and in new methods for science communication and engagement. These developments can help scientists – who face personal and institutional challenges when attempting to convey the results of their research to various audiences – interact with society on specific issues in specific places, and with a wide range of non‐traditional audiences. The ongoing mission for these organizations should be to move beyond simply increasing awareness of environmental problems to the creation of solutions that result in genuine environmental improvements.

The Role of Ecological Science in Environmental Policy Making: from a Pacification toward a Facilitation Strategy

Hanssen, L., E. Rouwette, and M. M. van Katwijk. 2009. The role of ecological science in environmental policy making: from a pacification toward a facilitation strategy. Ecology and Society 14(1): 43. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02884-140143

Building bridges between science and environmental management

Building bridges between science and environmental management

The use of science in environmental policy: a case study of the Regional Forest Agreement process in Western Australia

This paper explores the notion of pluralism as it relates to the involvement of science in processes of environmental policy formulation. In particular, it focuses attention on the dominance of normal science within the Australian debate on commercial forest use, management, and conservation. It presents case study information from the Western Australian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process, a policy initiative designed to end a long-running conflict over public forestland. It then analyzes the use of science within this political process, along with the respective impacts of different voices within science on the RFA outcomes. The case study data highlight the vulnerability of reductionist science within complex political debates and support arguments for a widening of the scientific basis of policy processes to include alternative ways of understanding nature-society relations. The paper contends that such a broadening will make science not only more robust, but also more valuable as a problem-solving tool in future decision-making processes on land use, conservation, and broader sustainability questions. It also considers the obstacles facing pluralism.

The role of science in environmental policy: an examination of the local context

Nature conservation in the UK has relied heavily on science to justify the selection and management of protected areas. Despite apparent movement towards sustainability rhetoric, and a downplaying of scientific expertise, scientific guidelines continue to drive protected area designation. This paper reports on interview-based research in northern Scotland with stakeholders around designated nature conservation sites, and records views on the roles of scientific and local knowledge. This demonstrates the way in which scientific knowledge acts to reduce opportunities for debate, and ways in which local knowledge is used as a form of resistance. It is concluded that the focus on science can exacerbate conflict between conservation organisations and landowners, and that efforts to work with broader definitions of value, which generate popular appeal, must be developed.

Sound science, junk policy: environmental health science and the decision-making process

Introduction What Is Science? Science and Environmental Policy Science and Politics Science and Air Quality Science and Waste Management Science and Food Safety Science and Vectors Science and Drinking Water What If...? Innovative Policy Approaches Index

The role of social science in environmental policy making: experiences and outlook

The effectiveness of scientific advisory committees depends on three factors: their ability to achieve a consensus about the conflicting cognitive claims; their ability to formulate the results such that they are compatible with the expectations and structural requirements of the relevant political body; and whether their decisions have a good chance of legitimising political decisions in society. The currently dominant model of neo-corporatist scientific political counselling in Germany and many other European countries, either in theory or in practice, does not provide a suitable consultation under the conditions of value pluralism, ambivalence and uncertainty. The shortcomings of inadequate effectiveness and practicability of scientific political counselling can at least partly be overcome only when scientific counselling in politics is seen as a constituent element of a comprehensive discursive approach. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.