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Panarchy and environmental policy
Citation:
GARMESTANI, A. Panarchy and environmental policy. Presented at SETAC North America 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 19 - 23, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Environmental law plays a key role in shaping policy for sustainability. In particular, the types of legal instruments, institutions, and the response of law to the inherent variability in socio-ecological systems is critical. Sustainability likely must occur via the institutions we have in place, combined with alterations in policy and regulation within the context of these institutions. The most effective approach is adaptive, in terms of both management and governance. Policy is not a linear process producing optimal results. Rather, policy is an iterative process that requires constant monitoring and recalibration of the parameters driving policy formulation. This management arrangement is best characterized as a panarchy, which can be facilitated via bridging organizations, and research on sustainability specific to the scale of interest.
