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Regulatory Framework

The regulatory framework is configured by the set of laws, decrees, resolutions, guidelines, standards, and regulations that establish the conditions, criteria, procedures, and requisites with which all water users should comply. It establishes the sanctions and penalties to be applied by administrative or judiciary authorities when compliance fails.

Management of the eutrophication of water bodies demands the effective application of a broad set of actions to cope with untreated sewage from cities, industrial discharges, and non-point pollution from agricultural activities and urban run-off. End-of-pipe measures to avoid point source pollution from industries and urban settlements require large investments in effluent treatment facilities. Public and private investors require proper institutional, legal, and regulatory guidelines to operate efficiently.

The regulatory framework should stress prevention. Monitoring should contribute by issuing early warnings to optimize preventive actions. Environmental quality and emission standards, land use planning, environmental impact assessments, and permit and licensing procedures are considered key elements of any regulatory framework and, together with economic incentives, make up the tools for inducing sustainable management of water resources.

Although these tools complement each other and need to be incorporated into the policy framework, their formulation, particularly in developing countries, appears to be heterogeneous. Tools, such as permits and licensing procedures or emission standards, have been implemented and their use has become common in many countries. However, the application of the “polluter paysEprinciple in relation to the enforcement of emission standards generated controversy when viewed as the “right to polluteE Others tools, such as environmental impact assessments, have become widely applied in recent decades to an increasing number of development projects, to a large extent due to the pressure exerted by international funding agencies. Unfortunately, ambient quality standards and land-use planning have not followed the same trend in most developing countries.

Command and control, market-based incentives, and voluntary action of the private sector are some of the most common policy options. Since changing behavior involves cultural transformations, it is now accepted that the best solution is a combination of these approaches in the context of an intensive effort of environmental education and awareness aimed at all levels of society as prerequisites for active and effective citizen participation.

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• International Year of Forests
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