Paulson, Kayla;
(2023)
No man is an island: Environmental indicators as heterogenous policy tools in the multi-level environmental governance of Small Island Developing States.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Indicators are heterogenous scientific and policy tools – boundary objects which can aid practitioners in coping with complexity and capacity limitations in diagnostic and communicative ways. Effective use and influence of indicators in decision making at multiple governance and organizational levels, as with other evidence types, requires an understanding and application of knowledge-to-action processes and explanatory factor analysis, which have to date been under-researched in indicator studies, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Drawing upon concepts and frameworks from knowledge utilization, organizational learning, and public policy literature, this thesis examines the roles of environmental indicators (EIs) in multi-level environmental governance of Small Island Developing States: Seychelles, Jamaica, and Fiji. Directed content analysis is applied to 1,095 sampled formal environmental governance documents (1962-2021), supplemented with 32 interviews with key informants. A total of 845 manifest direct EIs (7,409 total indicators) are identified through document analysis, increasing in the past few decades. In binding national, regional, and international environmental laws and measures instrumental use is seldom evident, but key informants illuminated direct and indirect roles of EIs, including hidden conceptual use and catalytic instrumental use in some cases. At least half of sampled national environmental policies, plans, and strategies for Seychelles, Jamaica, and Fiji contain direct EIs, with dialectical conceptual and political uses highlighted in interviews. Non-use and some misuse of EIs was also evidenced in interviews. Explanatory factor analysis revealed certain indicator factors, user factors, and policy factors were commonly described as acting as facilitators or barriers to EI use in policymaking, depending on the context; facilitated in SIDS by collaborative indicator networks, including non-institutional actors and integrating locally and culturally relevant EIs. A novel Accountability-Feasibility Scale for indicator utilization provides an empirically and theoretically founded, practical guide for practitioners to create holistic approaches toward successful integration of EIs in governance.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | No man is an island: Environmental indicators as heterogenous policy tools in the multi-level environmental governance of Small Island Developing States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | Environmental indicators, environmental governance, document analysis, interview analysis, policy analysis, explanatory factor analysis, mixed-methods, knowledge utilization, indicator use, knowledge-to-action, evidence-informed policymaking |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10183949 |
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