Environmental Governance in Environmental Governance in the Aftermath of Hurricane the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Katrina Ding Kong, Caitlin Briere, Karla Van Duyn, Megan Toth, and Kevin Marchut NTRES 331 Environmental Governance
Environmental Governance Today – Assemblage of institutions regulating society-nature interactions and shaping environmental outcomes across a range of spatial and temporal scales How does this change in times of disaster? Policy makers forced to re-evaluate • Institutions • Governance Techniques • Spatial and Temporal Scales
Looking Specifically at the Response to Hurricane Katrina Disaster in Louisiana Analysis of Different Governance at Play During and After Applicability of Principal Environmental Governance Approaches Approaches outlined by several Change of role in three authors and respective books. environmental governance • John Dryzek – The Politics of the Earth, institutions “Environmental Discourses” • State (government) • Mazmanian and Kraft – Toward Sustainable Communities, “Transition and Transformations • Market in Environmental Policy” • Pretty and Ward – Social Capital and the • Community Environment, “World Development”
Questions to Address • Which governance techniques and concepts in the readings are applicable to the Katrina disaster? • Which techniques an concepts are not? • How do these governance techniques overlap and coincide with one another? And. . . • How, if at all, have certain techniques fallen short in addressing the unique situation an environmental disaster such as Katrina presents?
Institution of Government (Federal/State) Very important - influencing aid and restoration a great deal General Differences Focus on Relief Management of Drinking Water • $380 million estimated by Louisiana State alone • Efforts to restore (OIG 2006) • Sanitary boiling notices • $62 billion for • Variations in sampling emergency assistance locations from national government
Concepts of Governance Notable in State Response Dryzek Mazmanian and Kraft Administrative Rationalism Epoch I Democratic Pragmatism Epoch III “Administrative Rationalism” and “Epoch I” Characteristics • End of pipe •Creation of Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) • Emphasis on reassurance • Hierarchy of command • Asserts that nation is subordinate to humans • Relies on experts Administrative rationalism and Epoch I ideals cannot sum-up the states relief efforts after hurricane Katrina.
Concepts of Governance Notable in State Response (cont.) Dryzek Mazmanian and Kraft Administrative Rationalism Epoch I Democratic Pragmatism Epoch III Democratic Pragmatism (DP) Epoch III – Sustainable Development • Supporting democratic processes relying • Plans to rebuild sustainably on active public participation and input • Resilient infrastructures • impact assessment with public comment • Economic growth • Louisiana Speaks Effort • Public Services • Reliable levees & healthy wetlands How is DP Not Applicable? • New technology and innovation • Decisions cannot always wait for agreement among all parties/stakeholders Time Constraints • Right now efforts need to focus on relief
Institution of Market Cities in the Katrina area do not have a strong enough economy to even consider market-based solutions Natural Disasters can Dryzek Devastate an Economy Promethian Discourse • Property Damage Economic Rationalism • Loss of Life • Tourism Industry Shut Down Mazmanian and Kraft • Small Businesses Cannot Epoch II Recover
Market After Katrina Overall only 10% of businesses have reopened in New Orleans (EditorsWebLog) Businesses That Are Open From Environmental Conservation Standpoint • Imperial furniture – sales down 90% (NOLA) • Lack of incentives • Private businesses trying • Lack of big business to survive presence for emissions trading • Sale of essential items Market-based governance begins to play a more unique role
Where Does Market-based Governance Fit In? Damage Classification Reconstruction and Rebuilding • Barely Damaged • Urban Land Institute – Planning and Damage Classification • Affected (Reardon 2006) • Devastated • Dryzek’s Promethean View – Technology and Innovation Will Overcome (Dryzek 2005) • Can Promote Health and Innovation For Environmental Sustainability Good and Bad of Market-based Solutions • Some communities left abandoned • Some of those “abandoned” communities are restored to wetlands • Some investors are promoting the cheap reconstruction of low-lying regions • Promotes preventive, innovative thinking – plan for future safety
Institution of Community Mazmanian and Kraft Petty and Ward Epoch I – jump to - Reactive Dependence Epoch III Realization-independence Who’s Involved – NGO’s • Association of Community Organizations for Group Establishment Reform Now! (ACORN) • Focus on Reconstruction of • Common Ground Collective Social Capital • Oxygen Collective • Empowerment of Citizens • Louisiana Environmental Action Coalition (Tidball 2006) • Independence Awareness • Four Directions Relief • Networked Effort • Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund • Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN)
Community-based Recovery Effort Some Examples Thus Far Petty and Ward (2001) • CGC – coordinating influx of volunteers, educational workshops, health clinic, Reactive Dependence eviction defense, women’s resource center, bioremediation services. • Formation of groups in response to problem • LEAN – Assessing breaks in environmental legislation, monitoring water Realization-Independence and soil quality, raising funds and donations, networking. • Recognition of their power, • ACORN – Drafting rebuilding alternatives and Networking with top universities to create a more sustainable and equitable New Orleans. Rallying for displaced victims to come back and cast their votes.
Environmental Governance – Post Katrina Conclusion Recovery – Relief & Rebuild How? Strongest Provides majority of emergency aid State and recovery funding. Essential to rebuilding process. Work off “clean slate” from common starting point forming decentralized, democratic participation, with Community horizontal networking and vertical collaboration. Catalytic for rebuilding social capital, raising funds, and filling in gaps of state-based aid. Market strategies cannot be used to full Market capacity. Economies are too weak and unstable. Lack of “incentives.” Has Weakest potential for rebuilding process.
Differences Between Disaster Relief and Environmental Governance Disaster Relief Environmental Governance Needs instant response More time to plan and take action Environmental problems affect people, economics, and Disasters affect people, economics, and the ecosystems, but not always together ecosystems Good policies and practices can either cost more or Relief will always be costly save more money Reactive solutions Preventative and reactive solutions Consciousness shift is questionable, if any May cause consciousness/awareness shift Problem identification is instant Problem identification takes time Not necessarily a focus on institution building Focus on institution building All levels of intervention (state, market, community) Same Working towards reconstruction of the old, and Working towards repair, but more towards maybe the future sustainable futures Community networks may not always stay Community networks and other institutional measures are more permanent
Work Cited Abrams, Robert H. Cornell University Professor. April 20 th 2006. Email Questionnaire Interview. ACORN. 2005. “Acorn’s work in the Wake of Katrina”. http://acorn.org/fileadmin/KatrinaRelief/ACORN_ORganizing_PDF.pdf (Accessed 4/17/2006) Common Ground Collective. 2006. “Lower Ninth Ward”. http://www.commongroundrelief.org/taxonomy/term/25/9 (Accessed 4/20/2006). Dryzek, John S., The Politics of the Earth , Oxford University Press; New York, NY. 2005. Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). Setting priorities for the LRA environmental task force . Pardue, John H. and Satterlee, Kent: Authors. Available online at: http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/ LRAIssuesStrategicPlanning.pdf Mazmanian and Kraft. Towards Sustainable Communities, The MIT Press; Cambridge, MA. 2001. Office of Inspector General. (2006). EPA’s and Louisiana’s Efforts to Assess and Restore Public Drinking Water Systems after Hurricane Katrina . (Report No. 2006-P-00014). Blair, Carolyn; Pierce, Geoff; Hatfield, Jim; Roach, Tim; Beusse, Rick: Authors. Petty, J. Ward, H. 2001. “Social Capital and the Environment.” World Development 29(2): 209-229. Reardon, Ken. April 18 th 2006. Interview. Tidball, K. April 19 th 2006. Telephone Interview. Wikepedia. (2006). Hurricane Katrina. Wikemedia Foundation, Inc. Available online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
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