Environmental Principles and Policies

The book Environmental Principles and Policies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction, written by Professor Sharon Beder, examines six key environmental and social principles that have been incorporated into international treaties and national laws. It uses them to evaluate the new wave of economic-based and market-based policy instruments that are currently being introduced in many nations. The six principles are:

• the sustainability principle
• The polluter pays principle
• The precautionary principle
• the equity principle
• human rights principles
• the participation principle [1]

This book differs from other texts on environmental policy-making as a result of its critical and interdisciplinary approach. Rather than merely setting out policies in a descriptive or prescriptive way, it analyses and evaluates policy options from a variety of perspectives. This enables students and general readers not only to gain a thorough grasp of important principles and current policies, but also to be able to apply the principles and critically evaluate them. [2]

Bibliography

Beder, Sharon (2006). Environmental Principles and Policies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction UNSW Press, Sydney, ISBN 0868408573