Environmental regulation and governance

The world is speeding down an unsustainable path (UNEP 2012). Biodiversity loss, water scarcity, pollution and climate change are threatening the life-support functions of our planet (UNEP 2012). These threats persist because of many factors, not least an ongoing crisis of governance (Lange et al. 2013). Since the birth of modern environmental regulation in the 1970s, designing and implementing effective, efficient and legitimate regulation and governance have remained a continuing challenge for governments and society. Initially, governments and their agents managed environmental problems through enforcement of strict rules and standards set out in legislation and treaties (Gunningham 2009). However, with