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Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

Rebecca Nelson
Rebecca Nelson
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne

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Chapter
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Regulating a Thousand Cuts
Global Law and Policy Solutions to Cumulative Environmental Problems
 , pp. vii - xvi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/

Contents

  1. List of Figures

  2. List of Tables

  3. Preface

  4. Acknowledgments

  5. Table of Treaties and Legislation

  6. 1Introducing Cumulative Environmental Impacts as a Central Problem for Law

    1. 1.1Defining and Describing Cumulative Environmental Harms

    2. 1.2Rules and the Cumulative Impact Mindset of This Book

      1. 1.2.1A Broader View of Regulatory Functions and Integration in Environment-Related Law

      2. 1.2.2Learning across Disciplines, Legal Contexts, and Jurisdictions

      3. 1.2.3Regulatory Functions as Ingredients with Sample Menus

      4. 1.2.4A Starting Focus on What We Care About

      5. 1.2.5Optimism

    3. 1.3Scope of Relevant Rules

    4. 1.4How to Use This Book

      1. 1.4.1Structure and Features

      2. 1.4.2Legal Scholars, Regulatory Practitioners, Law Reformers, and Nonlawyers

    5. 1.5Introduction to Major Case Studies

      1. 1.5.1Purpose and Selection

      2. 1.5.2Introducing the Case Studies

        1. 1.5.2.1Groundwater Planning and Environmental Justice in the Central Valley of California

        2. 1.5.2.2Strategic Assessment and Biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef

        3. 1.5.2.3Alpine Grasslands as Biocultural Landscapes in South Tyrol, Italy

    6. 1.6Conclusion

  7. 2Why Cumulative Environmental Problems Are Difficult and Implications for Law: Introducing the CIRCle Framework

    1. 2.1Introduction

    2. 2.2Why Is Dealing with Cumulative Effects So Hard? Insights from Outside Law

      1. 2.2.1Conceptualizing the Matter of Concern Threatened by Cumulative Environmental Harm

        1. 2.2.1.1Conceptualizing Key Dimensions of a Matter of Concern: The Roles of Values, Science, and Transparency

        2. 2.2.1.2Coherence, Changing Values, and the Need for Coordination in Conceptualizing a Matter of Concern

      2. 2.2.2Informing Decisions by Understanding Conditions of Matters of Concern, Threats, and Interventions

        1. 2.2.2.1Information Needed to Perceive Incremental Change, Data Shortages, and the Need for Coordination

        2. 2.2.2.2Costs and Resistance to Data Collection and Sharing

        3. 2.2.2.3Complexity, Dynamism, Modeling, and Uncertainty

      3. 2.2.3Intervening to Protect a Matter of Concern from Cumulative Harm

        1. 2.2.3.1Risk Perception, Futility, and Short-Termism as Barriers to Action

        2. 2.2.3.2Allocating Responsibility for Action, Ethical Ambiguity, and the Role of Coordination

        3. 2.2.3.3Adapting Interventions, Fairness, Path Dependence, and “Single Action Bias”

      4. 2.2.4Coordinating among Governments and with Stakeholders

        1. 2.2.4.1Coordination Is Needed to Respond to Cumulative Environmental Problems

        2. 2.2.4.2Barriers to Coordination

    3. 2.3Synthesis: The Need for Rules and Design Features

    4. 2.4The CIRCle Framework of Regulatory Functions

  8. 3Law and Cumulative Environmental Problems: A Landscape for Analysis

    1. 3.1Introduction

    2. 3.2The Domestic Legal Landscape

      1. 3.2.1The Traditional and Customary Law Canvas of Cumulative Effects Concepts

      2. 3.2.2EIA, SEA, and Western Scientific Cumulative Effects Concepts

      3. 3.2.3Natural Resources, Pollution, Conservation, and Other Environment-Related Laws

      4. 3.2.4Cumulative Environmental Problems in Broader Public Law Settings

    3. 3.3The International Legal Landscape

      1. 3.3.1International Law

      2. 3.3.2Multilateral Development Banks

    4. 3.4A Compass for the Regulatory Landscape

    5. 3.5Conclusion

  9. 4Conceptualization: Laws for Defining What Matters, Who Matters, and What Unacceptable Harm Means

    1. 4.1Conceptualization as a Regulatory Function

      1. 4.1.1What Is Conceptualization?

      2. 4.1.2Conceptualization as an Integrated Regulatory Function in the CIRCle Framework

    2. 4.2Different Approaches to What and Who Matter

      1. 4.2.1From Reductionist to Multidimensional Matters of Concern

      2. 4.2.2From Separation to Links between Human and Environmental Elements

    3. 4.3Crosscutting Design Features

      1. 4.3.1Specifying What and Who Matter

      2. 4.3.2Specifying Boundaries of Matters of Concern

      3. 4.3.3Specifying Cumulative Threshold Conditions of Matters of Concern

        1. 4.3.3.1Cumulative Thresholds versus Intervention and Information

        2. 4.3.3.2Specifying Thresholds

      4. 4.3.4Adapting Conceptualizations

    4. 4.4Conclusion

  10. 5Information: Laws for Producing, Sharing, Aggregating, and Analyzing Information

    1. 5.1Information as a Regulatory Function

      1. 5.1.1What Information Helps Address Cumulative Environmental Problems?

      2. 5.1.2Information as an Integrated Regulatory Function in the CIRCle Framework

    2. 5.2Actors and Information for Addressing Cumulative Environmental Problems

    3. 5.3Crosscutting Design Features

      1. 5.3.1Obtaining Comprehensive, High-Quality Data and Analysis

      2. 5.3.2Allocating and Reducing Costs Associated with Information

      3. 5.3.3Sharing and Accessing Data and Information

    4. 5.4Conclusion

  11. 6Regulatory Intervention: Laws for Influencing Cumulative Harm

    1. 6.1Intervention as a Regulatory Function

    2. 6.2How Can Rules Affect Aggregate Harm? A Typology of Regulatory Strategies

      1. 6.2.1Harm-Reducing, Offsetting, Restoring, and Coping Strategies

      2. 6.2.2Assessing Regulatory Strategies

    3. 6.3How Can Rules Influence Behavior that Has Cumulative Effects? A Typology of Regulatory Approaches

      1. 6.3.1Regulatory Sticks, Carrots, Sermons, and State Rescue

      2. 6.3.2Assessing Regulatory Approaches

    4. 6.4Mixing Regulatory Interventions for Cumulative Environmental Problems

      1. 6.4.1A Matrix of Strategies and Approaches

      2. 6.4.2The Need for a Mix of Regulatory Interventions

    5. 6.5Crosscutting Design Features

      1. 6.5.1Connected Decision-Making

      2. 6.5.2Comprehensiveness: Regulatory Coverage and Enforcement

        1. 6.5.2.1Gaps by Omission

        2. 6.5.2.2Gaps by Exemption and Derogation

        3. 6.5.2.3Implementation and Enforcement Gaps

      3. 6.5.3Administrative Cost and Using Cumulative Impact Concepts to Reduce It

      4. 6.5.4Adaptive Intervention to Respond to Accumulating Impacts

        1. 6.5.4.1Adapting an Administrative Decision

        2. 6.5.4.2Adapting a Regulatory Intervention or Regulatory Mix

    6. 6.6Conclusion

  12. 7Coordination: Laws for Making Links

    1. 7.1Coordination as a Regulatory Function

      1. 7.1.1What Is Coordination?

      2. 7.1.2Coordination as an Integrated Regulatory Function in the CIRCle Framework

    2. 7.2Coordination within, between, and beyond Governments: Key Actors

      1. 7.2.1Constitutional Responsibilities Related to the Environment

      2. 7.2.2Vertical and Horizontal Regulatory Complexity beyond Allocations of Competencies

      3. 7.2.3Nongovernmental and Quasi-governmental

    3. 7.3Coordinating Key Functions to Address Cumulative Environmental Problems

      1. 7.3.1Overarching Reflections: Institutions versus Rules and Power Structures in Coordination Mechanisms

      2. 7.3.2Coordinating in Conceptualizing a Cumulative Environmental Problem

      3. 7.3.3Coordinating in Relation to Information

      4. 7.3.4Coordinating Regulatory Intervention among Governments, Legal Areas, and Cumulative Environmental Problems

      5. 7.3.5Resolving Disputes, Gaps, and Drift in and through Coordination

    4. 7.4Conclusion

  13. 8Not a Drop to Drink: Conceptualizing Environmental Justice in California Groundwater

    1. 8.1Introduction

    2. 8.2Context and Challenges

      1. 8.2.1The Threat to Community Drinking Water of Declining Groundwater Levels

      2. 8.2.2Conceptualization and Its Links to Information, Intervention, and Coordination

    3. 8.3Conceptualization across the Regulatory Landscape

      1. 8.3.1Conceptualizing What Matters: The Groundwater Level Gap

        1. 8.3.1.1Drinking Water Laws: Quality of Utility-Supplied (Piped) Water

        2. 8.3.1.2Water Pollution Laws: Quality of Groundwater in Aquifers

        3. 8.3.1.3Pre-SGMA Water Planning Laws: Quality and Availability of Piped Water

        4. 8.3.1.4Land Use and EIA Laws: Quality and Availability of Groundwater

      2. 8.3.2Conceptualizing Who Matters: Communities of Concern

        1. 8.3.2.1Simple Views of Who Matters

        2. 8.3.2.2A Cumulative View of Who Matters: Environmental Justice Communities

    4. 8.4Reconceptualizing Groundwater Sustainability under SGMA

      1. 8.4.1Emergence of SGMA

      2. 8.4.2Conceptualizing What and Who Matter under SGMA

        1. 8.4.2.1Prioritizing Basins

        2. 8.4.2.2Engaging the Public

        3. 8.4.2.3Considering Groundwater Users

        4. 8.4.2.4Setting Groundwater Level Thresholds

        5. 8.4.2.5Monitoring Groundwater Levels

        6. 8.4.2.6Designing Interventions

        7. 8.4.2.7Coordinating across Levels and State Oversight

    5. 8.5Conclusion

  14. 9Coral, Coal, and Cattle: Cumulative Impacts and the Great Barrier Reef

    1. 9.1Introduction

    2. 9.2Context and Challenges

      1. 9.2.1The Key Threats to the Reef: Climate Change and Water Pollution

      2. 9.2.2Coal and Cattle

      3. 9.2.3Challenges: Information, Intervention, and Intersecting Problems

    3. 9.3Overview of the Regulatory Landscape and the Reef SEA

      1. 9.3.1Setting the Scene: Regulatory Responsibilities and International Influence

      2. 9.3.2Framework for the Reef SEA

      3. 9.3.3Scope of the Reef SEA

    4. 9.4Regulatory Mechanisms for Information and the Reef SEA

      1. 9.4.1A History of Regulating for Information

      2. 9.4.2The Reef SEA: Entrenching, Expanding, and Integrating Information Initiatives

    5. 9.5Regulatory Mechanisms for Intervention and the Reef SEA

      1. 9.5.1Influencing Regulatory Interventions in General

      2. 9.5.2Influencing Interventions Concerning Water Quality

      3. 9.5.3Influencing Interventions Concerning Climate Change

      4. 9.5.4Connecting across Problems and Impacts: Possibilities and Prospects

    6. 9.6Conclusion

  15. 10Biocultural Landscapes: Cumulative Impacts and Alpine Grasslands

    1. 10.1Introduction

    2. 10.2Context and Challenges

      1. 10.2.1Key Threats to Alpine Grasslands: Abandonment and Development

      2. 10.2.2Challenges: Intervention and Coordination

    3. 10.3Foundations for Coordination: The Multilevel Regulatory Landscape

      1. 10.3.1International and Supranational

      2. 10.3.2Italian Multilevel Government, Environment, Landscape, and Culture

    4. 10.4Coordinated Regulatory Intervention to Protect Alpine Grasslands

      1. 10.4.1Regulatory Interventions: Comprehensiveness and Diversity

        1. 10.4.1.1Regulatory Mechanisms to Control Development

        2. 10.4.1.2Regulatory Mechanisms to Promote Extensive Grazing

        3. 10.4.1.3Regulatory Mechanisms to Support Restoring Grasslands

      2. 10.4.2Coordination

        1. 10.4.2.1Multilevel Regulation, Regulatory Diversity, and Subsidiarity

        2. 10.4.2.2Mutually Reinforcing Legal Links

        3. 10.4.2.3Coordinating through Institutions and to Resolve Conflict: The Example of Natura 2000

    5. 10.5Conclusion

  16. 11Design for Regulating a Thousand Cuts: Summary Guidance and Concluding Reflections

    1. 11.1Cumulative Environmental Problems and the Importance of Formal Rules

    2. 11.2Using This Guidance

    3. 11.3The CIRCle Framework for Analyzing Rules

    4. 11.4Applying the CIRCle Framework

      1. Preliminary step: Identify your cumulative environmental problem and related rules and actors

      2. Step 1: Do laws clearly and coherently conceptualize the matter of concern, including elements of it that are important and “goal” conditions or thresholds of acceptable change for those elements?

      3. Step 2: Do laws provide for government or nongovernment entities to produce, share, aggregate, and analyze data and information about the matter of concern and threats to it?

      4. Step 3: Do laws provide for intervening to ensure cumulative impacts do not exceed acceptable levels? Do laws use diverse regulatory modes for intervention? Do they consider other intersecting problems?

      5. Step 4: Do laws provide a framework for relevant government and nongovernment actors to coordinate in general, or in relation to conceptualization, information, or intervention?

      6. Next steps: Moving from analysis to implementing changes

    5. 11.5Guide to the Case Studies

    6. 11.6Concluding Cross-Case Reflections

      1. 11.6.1Taking a Panoramic View When Assessing Rules

      2. 11.6.2Local Influences and Vertical Coordination

      3. 11.6.3Diverse Interventions, Unaddressed Tensions, and Agriculture

      4. 11.6.4Establishing and Integrating Functions and Mechanisms Takes Time

  17. Glossary

  18. Index

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