Are we on the verge of a global environmental catastrophe, or is a modest revision of environmental policy all that is necessary to ensure our safety and prosperity? Governing the Environment considers both scenarios, and those between the two extremes, in its examination of current trends and challenges in managing environmental issues.

This collection of seven essays, authored by leading Canadian academics, examines different aspects of the relationship between government and environmental issues. The volume focuses on Canadian contributions and innovations in the field, but it is of relevance to audiences around the world.

Parson's introductory essay sets the stage for the complex discussions to follow. He provides background by sketching the Canadian institutional context for environmental protection: by describing the major pollutant burdens and the state of natural resources, and by summarizing the most salient policy issues. His conclusion elaborates on four major themes emerging from the work. These are the achievement of 'adaptive management'; the challenge of building effective government and interjurisdictional capacities for managing the environment; the need for networks to share responsibility more effectively without overlapping tasks; and finally, the real challenge to state authority that these undertakings represent.

This work is written for a multidisciplinary academic audience, encompassing students and teachers of advanced environmental studies and Canadian public policy.

Edward A. Parson is Associate Professor of Public Policy in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and is also Faculty Research Associate at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

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