Subnational diplomacy in the Great Lakes region: toward explaining variation between water quality and quantity regimes

Johns, Carolyn; Thorn, Adam

doi:10.1080/11926422.2015.1035296

“…International law does not prohibit non-central governments from maintaining international relations (Arbour & Parent, 2006). As for states' diplomatic relations, paradiplomatic interactions can take place across levels of governance and can involve a wide range of international and subnational institutional arrangements between two or multiple counterparts (Johns & Thorn, 2015). This means that non-central governments can enter into bilateral and multilateral agreements, participate in international summits and forums such as the Conference of the Parties (COP), join international networks and coalitions such as Under2Mou and ZEV Alliance, and maintain representation abroad (Galarraga et al, 2017;van der Heijden, 2018).…”

Section: The Concept Of Paradiplomacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Canadian provinces are also in a better position than the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), since they have jurisdiction over natural resources, transportation and land use planning, among other things (Dusyk & Turcotte, 2021;Johns & Thorn, 2015;Macdonald, 2020b).…”

Section: Constitutional Powers and Environmental Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Paradiplomacy: A Comparative Study of Canadian Provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick)

Chaloux,

Boudreau,

Grégoire-Mailhot

et al. 2023

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Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time. However, its diffuse and complex nature makes it difficult to find global and effective solutions, as these require multi-scale contributions. Although the international climate regime primarily involves states, actors from other levels of government also have active international climate agendas. This is certainly true of several Canadian provinces. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive portrait of the paradiplomatic actions that Canadian provinces have undertaken around climate change. The comparative analysis presented here is based on a conceptual framework that distinguishes three types of paradiplomatic instruments: institutionalization, the use of intra-state routes, and the use of extra-state routes. Our analysis shows that Canadian provinces pursue similar paradiplomatic strategies, but that their intensity and sustainability vary widely according to the availability of economic and human resources, as well as political will.

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“…In addition to the federal governments in each country, states and provinces play an important role in disaster management generally and environmental disaster management more specifically. In terms of environmental governance, the history of the sub-national involvement in water and environmental governance varies for water quantity and quality (Johns and Thorn 2015). Related to water quantity management, a subnational regime was developed between the US states, Ontario and Quebec with the establishment of the Great Lakes Basin Compact in 1968 (Botts and Muldoon, 2005).…”

Section: Sub-national Governance Of the Great Lakes Region Related To Environmental Disaster Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Disaster Management in the Great Lakes: To What Extent are Governments in the Region Prepared?

Alotaibi¹

2022

Preprint

1

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Introduction -- Natural and man-made disasters are threatening countries and causing fatal damages to the economy, the environment and the livelihood and well-being of people across the globe (Zhang and Huang, 2018). Scholars in many disciplines and practitioners in several fields have realized the significance of natural and environmental disasters for decades. The study of environmental disasters is interdisciplinary and requires a broad range of knowledge and research to understand the natural and human dimensions of disasters. Some environmental disasters are known to be directly caused by human actions and behavior, while others are beyond human control and understanding. Reducing associated risks with existing and potential hazards that threaten people and societies is the ultimate goal of disaster management (O'Brien et al., 2006) at local, regional and international scales. <div><br></div><div>Disaster management is based on the belief that human intervention and action can help humans mitigate and adapt to disasters. There is an extensive scholarly and practitioner literature related to disaster management, as virtually all jurisdictions have to grapple with environmental disasters. Yet, capacity for human intervention, ‘management’ and action remain limited in the context of uncertainty related to many types of natural disasters. In addition, there are a wide range of government, non-government and private sector actors involved in environmental disaster management. </div><div><br></div><div>This thesis focuses on government-led regimes related to environmental disaster management in the Great Lakes region. The introduction covers the significance of disasters globally, in Canada and the United States, and in the Great Lakes region. It introduces key concepts and dimensions of environmental disasters; outlines the objectives of this research project; the central research questions; and provides an overview of the structure of the thesis. </div><div><br></div><div>Prior to a focus on environmental disasters in the Great Lakes, the researcher had an interest of exploring environmental disaster management in the Red Sea region in Saudi Arabia. The goal was to investigate transboundary and national government arrangements related to environmental disasters in the Red Sea within the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan. A comparative research approach was considered to study both regions and compare government arrangements. However, due to the lack of publically available government documents and some government restrictions on data related to environmental disasters management in the Red Sea, a focus on environmental disaster management in that region and a comparative analysis was not feasible to conduct. Preliminary research indicated that there was not a lot of research on this topic in the Great Lakes region. Therefore, this thesis focuses on environmental disaster management in the Great Lakes region of North America providing some research foundations for possible comparative research in the future.</div>

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“…The GLC and Compact do not currently have any content or provisions related to environmental disaster management and the compact has received some criticisms for not protecting or addressing environmental issues and ecosystem dimensions of the Great Lakes (Hall, 2006;Palay, 2009). This is because the water quality and quantity governance regimes have evolved differently at the subnational levels and in terms of intergovernmental relations (Johns and Thorn, 2015).…”

Section: Sub-national Governance Of the Great Lakes Region Related To Environmental Disaster Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Disaster Management in the Great Lakes: To What Extent are Governments in the Region Prepared?

Alotaibi¹

2022

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction -- Natural and man-made disasters are threatening countries and causing fatal damages to the economy, the environment and the livelihood and well-being of people across the globe (Zhang and Huang, 2018). Scholars in many disciplines and practitioners in several fields have realized the significance of natural and environmental disasters for decades. The study of environmental disasters is interdisciplinary and requires a broad range of knowledge and research to understand the natural and human dimensions of disasters. Some environmental disasters are known to be directly caused by human actions and behavior, while others are beyond human control and understanding. Reducing associated risks with existing and potential hazards that threaten people and societies is the ultimate goal of disaster management (O'Brien et al., 2006) at local, regional and international scales. <div><br></div><div>Disaster management is based on the belief that human intervention and action can help humans mitigate and adapt to disasters. There is an extensive scholarly and practitioner literature related to disaster management, as virtually all jurisdictions have to grapple with environmental disasters. Yet, capacity for human intervention, ‘management’ and action remain limited in the context of uncertainty related to many types of natural disasters. In addition, there are a wide range of government, non-government and private sector actors involved in environmental disaster management. </div><div><br></div><div>This thesis focuses on government-led regimes related to environmental disaster management in the Great Lakes region. The introduction covers the significance of disasters globally, in Canada and the United States, and in the Great Lakes region. It introduces key concepts and dimensions of environmental disasters; outlines the objectives of this research project; the central research questions; and provides an overview of the structure of the thesis. </div><div><br></div><div>Prior to a focus on environmental disasters in the Great Lakes, the researcher had an interest of exploring environmental disaster management in the Red Sea region in Saudi Arabia. The goal was to investigate transboundary and national government arrangements related to environmental disasters in the Red Sea within the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan. A comparative research approach was considered to study both regions and compare government arrangements. However, due to the lack of publically available government documents and some government restrictions on data related to environmental disasters management in the Red Sea, a focus on environmental disaster management in that region and a comparative analysis was not feasible to conduct. Preliminary research indicated that there was not a lot of research on this topic in the Great Lakes region. Therefore, this thesis focuses on environmental disaster management in the Great Lakes region of North America providing some research foundations for possible comparative research in the future.</div>

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Subnational diplomacy in the Great Lakes region: toward explaining variation between water quality and quantity regimes

Cited by 12 publications

References 26 publications

Climate Paradiplomacy: A Comparative Study of Canadian Provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick)

Climate Paradiplomacy: A Comparative Study of Canadian Provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick)

Environmental Disaster Management in the Great Lakes: To What Extent are Governments in the Region Prepared?

Environmental Disaster Management in the Great Lakes: To What Extent are Governments in the Region Prepared?

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