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Implementing general environmental duties: Challenges and opportunities
Author(s) -
Edwards Joel,
Windholz Eric,
Faulkner Nicholas,
Werbeloff Lara
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8500.12456
Subject(s) - duty , jurisdiction , business , environmental planning , environmental resource management , political science , management science , engineering , economics , law , environmental science
A general environmental duty is being implemented in Victoria as part of an overhaul of the jurisdiction's environmental protection regime. This is part of a growing international trend to replace or supplement prescriptive regulatory regimes with more general, principle‐based standards. However, implementing a general environmental duty poses numerous challenges to regulators responsible for its implementation. This study systematically reviews the growing literature on general duties and their implementation to identify these challenges. Through a thematic synthesis of the published literature, we identify nine challenges relevant to the implementation of a general environmental duty. The article concludes by identifying four opportunities for regulators to address these challenges.