Evaluation of Environmental Policy Effectiveness
Evaluation of environmental policy effectiveness plays a fundamental role in maintaining a safe and healthy surrounding. The assessment also involves measuring its cost-effectiveness and the extent to which the set goals and objectives are achieved. There must be regulatory approaches such as the ban on toxic substances and awareness creation among the public to enforce behavior changes directed towards environmental safety. The evaluation is usually based on the specific, operational and general objectives or goals. Input such as financial investment, training, and creation of awareness on environmental health should be able to provide purification plants and conservation sites as output. These efforts must influence behavior change resulting in human and environment health (Haigh, 2015).
In case the policies are not working
In case the policies are not working, the exercise recommends various ways in which the procedures can be improved to increase its capacity to make the desired effect. By analyzing their strength, it is easier to identify and provide relevant support to the respective policies. Besides, the evaluation offers significant feedbacks regarding the cycle of the system. In 2001; the European Environment Policy emphasized on the assessment of environmental plans because it is an essential tool for environmental improvement. The unique way to measure the efficiency of a system is by pointing to its demonstrable and measurable results to justify them across societal objectives. This paper seeks to evaluate the strength of various environmental systems based on their cost-effectiveness, fairness, enforceability, and moral considerations (Haigh, 2015).
Effectiveness of Policies
During policy evaluation, people must be educated on the importance of the policies. Convincing the public on the positive impact of the policies must be backed up with evidence demonstrating that they are delivering results (Haigh, 2015).
Environmental policies may be determined in different ways
Environmental policies may be determined in different ways based on their purpose, institution, and functionality. Therefore, one can easily term environmental policy instruments as techniques used by relevant authorities to prevent environmental deterioration and improve environmental health. Lack of evaluation of environmental policies leads to public policy issues arising from discrepancies between the society’s preferred level of environmental quality and the actual level. There are several forms of environmental policies. However, there has never been a single policy that cuts across the many environmental problems in our society today. Evaluation procedures are crucial in analyzing the appropriateness and effectiveness of the ecological system, mainly when addressing a particular ecological issue (Yan, 2014). The criteria must observe the following factors:
• Cost-effectiveness.
• Fairness.
• The Availability of Alternatives.
• Enforceability
• Environmental ethics
• Moral precepts and considerations.
Cost Effectiveness
The efficient environmental policy should direct the community towards achieving low cost as far as biological safety is concerned. A centralized ecological system demands that administrative offices must be responsible for identification and determination of cost-effective measures in environmental improvement. It is the role of the regulatory authorities to understand the relevance of marginal damage functions and minimal abatement costs and move them to an equilibrium. For instance, when it becomes hard to measure the effects of environmental degradation, regulatory agencies among other policymakers must come up with regulations that will achieve the desired target at a low cost and significantly reduce pollution. Mostly, cost-effectiveness is the primary criteria for developing a secure and healthy environment. A policy is regarded as cost-effective when it portrays maximum improvement in the background without exploiting finances among other resources. An efficient strategy must always be cost-efficient. However, the vice versa is not still valid. If insurance programs are no longer cost-efficient, the regulatory board will be forced to set restrictive targets to achieve the desired environmental improvement. The ecological committee also emphasizes that a successful policy must achieve its objectives at a lesser cost with maximum environment improvement (Haigh, 2015).
Equity/Fairness
Equity or rather fairness is another critical aspect of evaluating environmental policy. In fact, equity does not only focus on morality but also effectiveness. Until now, the distributional impacts on environmental systems, fairness, and capital are contradictory. Some policymakers argue that environmental degradation is on the rise and that there is need to focus on the most effective policies to achieve biological safety. On the other hand, some advocates emphasize that systems with retrogressive effects must be abolished. Equity must always be considered when developing a strategy. For instance, regulatory agencies must weigh the different options on how the burden of environmental contamination can be avoided or stopped Crabb " Leroy, 2012).
Enforceability
When formulating environmental policies that are meant to be highly efficient, determination of its applicability is critical in ecological management. Bearing in mind that environmental law enforcement is usually faced with numerous problems and challenges such as resistance, legal instruments must be put in place. The legal tools will allow implementation thus affecting positively on our environment. When the law is not applicable, there will be severe impairment in the effectiveness of the formulated environmental law. Similarly, rules that are not applied tend to undermine the public authorities credibility. In fact, non- applicable laws contribute nothing to the environmental improvement. Strategies aimed at stimulating efforts on how to reform and boost environmental law enforcement must be put in place (Paddock, et al., 2011).
The immense challenges facing compliance and enforcement of the environmental laws have resulted in blockage of the desired sustainable outcome. To achieve maximum enforceability of these laws, a multidisciplinary action is required including compliance promotion, formulation of rules, civil judicial enforcement, imposing civil penalties on environmental lawbreakers and criminal liabilities. The public should be aware that, the laws are aimed at protecting and preventing the environmental damage. Formulated environmental statutes and regulations must be efficiently implemented to promote a healthy environment. With efficient enforcement, there will be sufficient storage and even disposal of hazardous wastes, minimizing risks and improving the surrounding safety (Paddock et al., 2011).
Moral Considerations in Environmental Policies
Ethical concerns also play a critical role in environmental policies. The idea tends to measure the proper relation of humans and the non-human contents of the environment. Mining companies, for example, is required to have a moral obligation to restore the land and surface ecology rather than leaving open mining pits which might be hazardous to people’s safety (Harris, 2011).
It is, however, unethical to destroy members of an overpopulated species because protecting the integrity of the ecosystem is crucial. In environmental policy and environmental preservation, there is no moral superiority in humans to other members of the ecosystem. The people charged with the responsibility to safeguard the natural world must ensure they are committed to discharging their obligation. They must remain obliged and accountable as far as the environmental laws and policies are a concern. Every individual must have a moral duty to obey the environmental systems. Taking environmental protection as a norm or a way of life will significantly enhance ecological safety (Paddock et al., 2011).
Environmental Ethics
Emerging trends such as industrialization, population growth, and advanced technology have caused significant changes to the environment. Most of the undesirable changes have been influenced by the daily activities exerting so much pressure on the natural world. Environmental ethics, therefore, help in the prevention of environmental pollution, ecosystem degradation and depletion of the environment’s natural resources. Ecological ethics calls for individual’s moral responsibility and obligation on these issues to ensure human and ecological safety. Formulation of ecological policies requires considering the future generations regarding environments safety (Harris, 2011). The qualified ecological plan should also have other alternatives to provide a collective effort towards environmental protection.
Conclusion
It is therefore vital to ensure the benefits risks and cost of the environmental policies are distributed in such a way that the environment is safe not only for the present generation but also for the next propagation to come. The systems also need to be enforced to benefit individuals and at the same time be cost effective in its process of implementation and enforcement. The systems must remain relevant to the needs of the public. After evaluation, these policies should determine the extent to which effects, changes have been made in correspondent to the set objectives, and its cost justified. Continuous environmental monitoring is also critical in evaluating systematic ecological changes.
References
Crabb, A., " Leroy, P. (2012). The Handbook of Environmental Policy Evaluation. Routledge.
Haigh, N. (2015). EU Environmental Policy. Routledge.
Harris, P. (2011). Ethics and Global Environmental Policy: Cosmopolitan Conceptions of Climate. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Paddock, L., Qun, D., Kotze, L., Markell, D., Markowitz, K., " Zaelke, D. (2011). Compliance and Enforcement of Environmental Law. Toward More Effective Implementation. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Yan, J. (2014). Comprehensive Evaluation of Effective Biomass Resource Utilization and Environmental Policies. Sringer.
