In the recent past, there have been calls for
transparency in governance from different quarters. These calls testify to the
importance of transparency to the overall social welfare. There is virtually no
aspect of contemporary life that is unaffected by the system of governance, but
governance today is almost entirely devoid of transparency. Transparency
mechanisms encourage public officials to act in the interest of the public.
Corruption has real political, economic, and social costs and as researched in
Columbia University and analyzed by Transparency international, perhaps the
more expensive cost is the environmental damage which often suffer either direct
or indirect from bribery, extortion, unfair policies, and other forms of
corruption. Thus, it has been widely acknowledged that increased transparency
and public participation significantly enhance the quality of decisions
impacting the environment. These findings offer an intervention avenue in the
shape of conservation, preservation, and environmental justice—through the tool
of transparency. Resurgent interest in the evaluation of development
implications on the environment is not usually accompanied by the requisite
transparency to address longstanding effectiveness problems. In order to
sharpen the effectiveness, this paper examines the transparency instruments of
environmental governance. Analytical examples are used to explore the nature
and significance of transparency in environmental policy making and
implementation. This paper will heighten the discursive consciousness of the
transparency instrument which in itself will catalyze the journey to
effectiveness.
Cite this paper
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