190 



UNiaNC AND COOftOINATINC PROCKAMS f ) 



STRENGTHENING UNKAGES 



■ T/)e linkages between environmental R&D and policy development 

 should be strengthened, and the federal government should substantially 

 increase its support of multidisciplinary policy studies and assessments de- 

 signed to forge and evaluate these linkages. 



The development of cflFeaivc cnvironmcnul policy requires inter- 

 aaion among the natural sciences, econonnics, political science, and law, 

 among othcn. lb date, legal considerations have dominated policy devel- 

 opment. Lawyers have codified their interpretation of the results of natural 

 science research into various legal prescriptions both in statutes and in reg- 

 ulations. At certain stages, the economic consequences of these prescriptions 

 are examined, but often in a cursory and post hoc way. Social and political 

 considerations arc weighed only at the very end of the process, when laws 

 must be passed or regulations issued and adopted. 



Currently, federal agencies are focusing their environmental R&D 

 efforts on the natural sciences. There has been minimal support for research 

 on the economic, political, social, and legal implications of environmental 

 issues. An even smaller fraction of R&D funds has been directed to studies 

 that examine the interconneaions between these various disciplines and 

 the ways in which they can be enhatKcd. Yet investigating altcrtutives, raising 

 issues, and developing new conceptual approaches to address them are all 

 important ingredients in developing a framework for environmental f>olicy. 

 At present, no single institution has directed funding authority to pursue 

 these avenues of multidisciplinary research, although such studies do pro- 

 ceed in a few places throughout the United States and abroad, primarily 

 with the suppon of private foundations. 



Federal officials and their sta£f have little time to consider complex 

 policy issues and to devise alternative strategies to address them. Translating 

 research results in the lutural sciences into effective environmental policy 

 requires the capability to link the natural sciences with economics, political 

 science, and law. A prerequisite for developing this capability is the assur- 

 ance of stable and adequate funding. We recommend that the federal gov- 

 ernment devote a larger percentage of total environmental R&D dollars to 

 policy research and assessment, including studies of the economic, social, 

 legal, and political aspects of environmental problems; regional, national, 

 and international perspectives should be taken into account. These studies 

 should be undertaken within or through the proposed Institute for Environ- 

 mental Assessment, described above (page 59). as well as through the policy 

 evaluation offices of depanments and agencies, with major funding devoted 

 to support extramural studies in academic and nongovertuncntal institutions. 



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