Publisher's Synopsis
Who should decide where to build a road or locate a dam? When is the public consulted? Can people appeal decisions they find unfair? This text examines how we make environmental decisions and who makes them, which is the process of environmental governance. The report argues that better environmental governance is one of the most direct routes to fairer and more sustainable use of natural resources. Decisions made with greater participation and greater knowledge of natural systems - decisions for the Earth - can help to reverse the loss of forests, the decline of soil fertility, and the pollution of air and water that reflect our past failures.;This report, tenth in the biennial series on the global environment, defines governance in everyday terms, with reference to many case studies. It assesses the state of environmental governance in nations around the world and reports results from the Access Initiative, an attempt to measure systematically governments' performance in providing their citizens access to environmental information, decision-making, and justice.;The work also presents national statistics on environmental, social and economic trends in more than 150 countries. This edition departs from previous ones by making the full World Resources database accessible and searchable online on the companion Web site. The site also provides data tables, country profiles, maps, and feature stories about contemporary conditions.
