Hazardous Waste in The Netherlands: Dutch Policies from a Local Perspective

Eijndhoven, J.C.M. van, Hortensius, D., Nauta, C., Nieuwdorp, G.H.E., & Worrell, C.W. (1985). Hazardous Waste in The Netherlands: Dutch Policies from a Local Perspective. IIASA Collaborative Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: CP-85-037

Preview

Text CP-85-037.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper is about risk management and environmental policy. Conventional approaches to risk management (Wynne et al., IIASA Working Papers on Hazardous Waste Management) tend to assume that risk is a technical phenomenon, and that successful risk management involves the elaboration and use of precise technical analytic models and regulatory instruments. The aim of this work is to show that this general approach is unrealistic. Firstly, it is shown that different perceptions and definitions of policy issues shape legislative and regulatory agendas in ways which mean that environmental management and specific definitions of risk problems are only a (varying) part of the broader agendas and concerns of interacting groups. Secondly, it is shown that even after apparently precise regulations have been established, the process of implementation effectively continues the negotiation of the basic agenda of issues as defined by different interests. This is shown to be the case at national and local levels. The family of Dutch case studies presented supports the argument of the IIASA hazardous waste papers, that effective regulatory instruments can only be identified in the context of interaction between the institutional realities of regulatory decision making and appropriate forms of technical knowledge. These vary from one regulatory system to another, making technical harmonization extremely problematic.

Actions (login required)

View Item