Introduction

Abstract

This section unravels the structure of this volume. It starts from a broad definition of instruments for environmental management, which entails both effect-directed and source-directed approaches. This volume deals with source-directed instruments, which are subdivided into legal, economic and communicative approaches. The legal section is the most established. It entails the genesis and analysis of the environmental legal systems in the US and the EU, but also describes in different chapters the main instruments. Both the directive (e.g., standards, permits, etc.) and the preventive (e.g., environmental impact assessment, life-cycle analysis) groups of instruments are included. They are complemented by sections on economic and communicative instruments. The aim of this volume is not only to review and systematise the main instruments for environmental management, but also to describe them in the context of their workability, realisability and efficiency which qualify their use.