Latest Documents

25-April-2017

English

The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform

This report provides insights on the political economy of biodiversity related policy reforms. It draws on existing literature and four new case studies covering the French tax on pesticides, agricultural subsidy reform in Switzerland, EU payments to Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau to finance marine protected areas via conservation trust funds, and individually transferable quotas for fisheries in Iceland. Each case study focusses on the drivers of reform, the types of obstacles encountered, key features of the policy reform, and the lessons learned from the reform experience.

6-April-2017

English

Green talks LIVE: Degraded Waters

On Thursday 6 April, Hannah Leckie & Xavier Leflaive of the OECD Environment Directorate discussed emerging solutions in OECD countries, that can guide the design and implementation of policies to control diffuse water pollution. Water pollution is on the rise due to indirect ‘diffuse’ sources of pollution from both agricultural and urban environments. Watch the video.

22-March-2017

English

Diffuse water pollution: an invisible and growing threat - Insights blog

On 22 March each year the world turns its attention to the global water crisis on the occasion of World Water Day. Water policies around the world are in need of urgent reform. Water - an essential natural resource on which all life depends - has become a global garbage can.

22-March-2017

English

Diffuse Pollution, Degraded Waters - Emerging Policy Solutions

After decades of regulation and investment to reduce point source water pollution, OECD countries still face water quality challenges (e.g. eutrophication) from diffuse agricultural and urban sources of pollution, that is disperse pollution from surface runoff, soil filtration and atmospheric deposition. The relative lack of progress reflects the complexities of controlling multiple pollutants from multiple sources, their high spatial and temporal variability, associated transactions costs, and limited political acceptability of regulatory measures. This report outlines the water quality challenges facing OECD countries today, presents a range of policy instruments and innovative case studies of diffuse pollution control, and concludes with an integrated policy framework to tackle diffuse water pollution. An optimal approach will likely entail a mix of policy interventions reflecting the basic OECD principles of water quality management – pollution prevention, treatment at source, the polluter pays and beneficiary pays principles, equity, and policy coherence.

23-February-2017

English, PDF, 1,391kb

Oceans - What's happening 2017-18

The world’s oceans, seas and marine resources provide invaluable benefits to our economies and to human wellbeing. The OECD works to provide countries with policy insights and data on a plethora of key issues relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

20-February-2017

English

Managing multi-purpose water infrastructure: A review of international experience - Environment Working Paper

In this paper, the term multi-purpose water infrastructure (MPWI) encompasses all man-made water systems, including dams, dykes, reservoirs and associated irrigation canals and water supply networks, which may be used for more than one purpose (for economic, social and environmental activities); it also explores the complexity in designing, financing, regulating and managing MPWI projects.

24-January-2017

English

The Potential Benefits of Transboundary Co-operation in Georgia and Azerbaijan: Kura River Basin - Environment Working Paper

This study was one of the first attempts to evaluate and quantify the benefits of transboundary co-operation between Georgia and Azerbaijan. A specific framework for inventorying these benefits, taking into account all the different dimensions of transboundary water management, was built and applied to the major transboundary water bodies.

7-December-2016

English

Biodiversity Offsets - Effective Design and Implementation

This report examines the key design and implementation features that need to be considered to ensure that biodiversity offset programmes are environmentally effective, economically efficient, and distributionally equitable. Biodiversity offsets are being increasingly used in a wide range of sectors as a mechanism to help compensate for the adverse effects caused by development projects in a variety of ecosystems. In this report, insights and lessons learned are drawn from more than 40 case studies from around the world, with an additional 3 in-depth country case studies from the United States, Germany and Mexico.

29-November-2016

English

Green talks: LIVE - Moving towards mainstreaming biodiversity

Global biodiversity is on the decline with a further 10% of terrestrial biodiversity projected to be lost by 2050. OECD expert Katia Karousakis explored the benefits of biodiversity and the need for more effective mainstreaming. Presentation now available.

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