Countries around the world have recognized the challenges they face in designing a compliance and enforcement indicators system. There has been a recognition that it is easier to measure program and policy impact by assessing the number of inspections or violations, but more difficult to have in place a system that will measure long-term achievements of environmental results. In addition, there has been a demand for accountability and the provision of reliable and understandable information to the public. This has led the need to develop meaningful compliance and enforcement indicators that can meet these demands. Goals
To develop and enhance indicators to better measure and manage compliance and enforcement programs in Brazil, and to develop uniform minimum criteria with a view toward improving performance, public policy decisions, and environmental governance at the national level. The program focuses on: strengthening capacity for performance assessment of environmental compliance and enforcement activities; establishing procedures for developing and using quantitative and qualitative indicators; promoting environmental compliance and enforcement indicators to aid reporting on progress towards sustainable development. Two workshops were held in Brasilia, Brazil: - "Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Indicators: Measuring What Matters," December 7-8, 2003
The overall objective of the workshop was to discuss common definitions, analyze design and implementation issues, and focus on how to build capacity to apply these indicators. There was keen interest on establishing procedures for developing and using both quantitative and qualitative indicators to provide regular feedback to managers, political leaders and others. This initial meeting provided a forum to discuss the key issues surrounding the design and implementation of practical, useful environmental compliance indicators.
- "Principles of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement: Practical Applications," December 10-12, 2003
This course, delivered at the request of partner institutions in Brazil, was an adaptation of a very successful EPA course. It included practical exercises and simulations on:
a) potential violations of enforceable requirements and the different types of enforcement responses to those violations;
b) penalty policies based on the severity or significance of the violation, and various penalty adjustments factors; and
c) negotiation role-playing in a case study concerning a landfill and violations of the laws by the owners.
Partners
Law for a Green Planet Institute, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA), the Association of Brazilian Public Prosecutors, the National Association of Local Governments for the Environment (ANAMA), and the Ministry of Environment. Follow-up
A working meeting of the Brazil team of the pilot project was held in May 2004. It was attended by environmental state authorities as well as the President of CETESB, who has endorsed the pilot project and will be an advisor to the project. Furthermore, a legal document from the Ministry of Environment informing about the creation of the Working Group on Development and Implementation of ECE indicators was made public.
An additional workshop took place in Porto Alegre in October 2004. A paper intended for publication on Brazil's current efforts on the implementation of compliance indicators will be produced and integrated into a broader publication on compliance indicators and the Latin American experience.
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