Environmental information in policy design and enforcement: Water protection policy in Wallonia, Belgium

✍ Scribed by Gallez, Caroline ;Paras, Sylvie

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 531 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0961-0405
• DOI: 10.1002/eet.3320050302

✦ Synopsis

The formulation and implementation of legal or economic instruments in environmental policy is characterized by an enormous need for information. Although governments are able to collect data relating to the quality of ecological resources or the extent of environmental degradation, a significant amount of data must also be provided by the firms whose activities have an impact on the environment. However, the amount of data that is supplied spontaneously by companies is often limited. In Belgium, as in many other European countries, firms are nonetheless legally obliged to reveal some aspects of their environmental situation when they request licenses or are subject to environmental taxes. The information provided is likely to be valuable in the formulation of environmental policy as long as the data are readily available and reliable. The role of information provision is analysed in relation to the water protection policies of the Walloon Region, Belgium .