Activity 4.2 Environmental Policy Frameworks

Bryan	Davis & Lewicki	Lenschow & Zito
	Identity  It is the social group people think to be part of and the associated beliefs and value
		Problem Perception  Identify the problem
	Characterization   It is the social group we are not part of and the associate beliefs and value that contrast our identity	Primary Actors  People and institution that need to take actions.
Political   Consist in environmental policy developed by political administration	Power  Ways you can gain power over the opponents in the dispute	Policy Objective  Desiderate outcome of a policy
		Institutional Structure  They shape the political opportunities and actions of policy actors
	Conflict Management      How disputant would like to manage the conflict management process	Pattern of Interest Mediation  Consensual problem solving from disputing parts
Legal   Law, regulation and legal procedure that provide foundation for decisions.		Policy instrument  Type and depth of the normative structure
		Nature of policy   Normative principles and procedural approaches
Economic   It is the prosperity of the community and it is characterized by the industrial impact on the free market
Cultural   Value, attitudes and beliefs of the society concerning natural resources and the environment
Demographic   Characteristic of the population
Technological   Level of knowledge about science and other disciplines involved in solve environmental problems	Fact-Finding   The different use of technical knowledge to approach the problem
Ecological   The entire biotic environment, its geology, weather, resources, human and non-human population, etc.
		Social Control  Individual view about how decision regarding the issue should be made
	Risk  Perceived risk or benefit of environmental actions.	Environment-Specific Regulatory Emphasis  Cost-benefit focused

             

My Five Policy Frames
Ethics	How we value the environment and our moral identity
Risk	Perceived risk related to the environmental problem
Technological	Level of knowledge about science and other disciplines involved in solve environmental problems
Economical	Perceived cost and benefits of environmental actions
Legal and Political Actions	The sum of environmental policy and their outcome, the chosen problem-solving method and the following law, regulation and legal procedure

Framing is a necessary process in resolving environmental conflict and. In fact, we often use frame to “define problem situations and the effects of frames are often dramatically evident when we observe a conflict” (Davis & Lewicki, 2003). Since frame help us define the situation, they are essential in the problem-solving process and the consequent environmental policy making. After reading Bryan, 2003, Davis & Lewicki, 2003, and Lenschow & Zito, 1998, I choose my own five environmental frameworks. 

The first one is Ethic. Ethic can be included in the identity frame since, in a sense, answer to the question “Who am I?”. However, ethic is more than the answer to this question. Only through ethics and philosophical reflection - intertwined with scientific, economic and social disciplines - environmental problems can be seen as moral problems concerning each one of us.  

The second frame is Risk. It includes the homonym frame by Davis & Lewicki, but also the Environment-Specific Regulatory Emphasis frame from Lenschow & Zito. People perceive risk based on their ethical point of view but also based on their knoledge and personal situation.“Conflict can occur around the amount of risk expected, how that amount was determined, and the acceptability of that amount” (Davis & Lewicki, 2003), so they can be used as analytical tools. 

The third frame is Technological. The knowledge we have about a certain environmental issue shape the future action we are planning to take for solve it.  “Environmental conflicts are often entangled in scientific debates regarding the condition of the environment and the risks of certain actions on natural resources and human health” (Bryan, 2003). It is important to identify the scientific paradigms behind the debate since they influence our methods of understanding and managing environmental issues. 

The fourth frame is Economical. The economic situation of the region or the people involved in the problem affect their prospective on the situation. Some people are willing to do more sacrifice while other are not and more often their decision is based on the perceived impact that a certain resolution will have on a certain industry or, more in general, on the economy. However nice it would be to not have to worry about the price of a certain regulation or resolution, economy is an essential element of our society that inevitably influences our decisions and that need to be taken into consideration during the process of defining a problem and into the decision making process. 

The last frame includes the Political and the Legal frames by Bryan, the Policy Objective frame, the Pattern of Interest Mediation and the Policy instrument frame by Lenschow & Zito. It is composed by the legal context, the policy and law made by policy actors as well as their preferred way to solve the issue and the outcome they want to obtain. This frame is the broader and inclusive frame of all. However, all the different element included in this frame contribute to the political and legal condition that allow environmental actions so, in my opinion, they can be added together to create a new single frame. 

Work Cited: 

Bryan, T. (2003). Context in environmental conflicts: Where you stand depends on where you sit. Environmental Practice, 5(3), 256-264. 

Davis, C. B., & Lewicki, R. J. (2003). Environmental conflict resolution: Framing and intractability--an introduction. Environmental Practice, 5(3), 200-206. 

Lenschow, A., & Zito, A. R. (1998). Blurring or Shifting of Policy Frames?: Institutionalization of the Economic-Environmental Policy Linkage in the European Community. Governance, 11(4), 415. https://doi.org/10.1111/0952-1895.00080