The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy, 2nd Edition

Greening government

11.1 Forms of integration

Two notions of integration can be

distinguished:

Theintersectoral approach pursues a

co-ordinated and coherent strategy of

environmental protection across different

sectors and media. For example, a climate

change strategy aimed at reducing carbon

emissions must encompass different sectors

(notably transport, energy and economic

policy) and media (land, water, air).

Theintrasectoral approach focuses on the

integrated management of a single natural

resource. For example, a sustainable water

management strategy has to reconcile

conflicting demands on water for drinking,

irrigation, fishing, leisure uses and waste

disposal.

The two forms of integration often overlap,

sometimes complementing, sometimes

conflicting, but each is an essential ingredient

of sustainable development.

◗ Integration

The concept of ‘environmental policy integration’ (EPI) has moved increas-
ingly centre-stage in recent years (Lenschow 2002 ; Lafferty and Hovden 2003 ;
EEA2005b). Although there is some debate about the exact meaning of the
term, two broad notions of integration can be distinguished (see Box11.1).
Asimilar, if slightly narrower, institution-based definition distinguishes
between horizontal EPI – the extent to which a central authority has devel-
oped a comprehensive cross-sectoral EPI strategy – and vertical EPI – the
extent to which a government sector has adopted and implemented envi-
ronmental objectives as a key feature of its portfolio (Lafferty and Hovden
2003 :12,14). Reforms of the machinery of government, such as the creation
of new organisations and committees, are primarily, but not exclusively,
intended to improve inter-sectoral, or horizontal, integration, while the use
of administrative techniques such as environmental impact assessment can
enhance intrasectoral, or vertical, integration by encouraging policymakers
in each sector to consider the environmental consequences of their actions
routinely and more comprehensively.

◗ Integration through organisational reform

In many countries, initial attempts to improve horizontal integration saw
thecreation of a new ministry of the environment (ME). The first MEs were
formed in the early 1970s in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria
and Britain, although Germany, Finland, Italy and Sweden delayed until the
mid-1980s, while Iceland and Spain waited until 1990 and 1996 respectively.^1
Most OECD countries now have an ME, although not the USA. Typically,
the decision to create an ME was symbolic of the traditional paradigm:
avisible token of a government’s concern with environmental protection,