Are developing countries ready for first world waste policy instruments?

Abstract

The findings of on-going research conducted within South Africa on waste policy instruments shows that while typical command-and-control instruments lack effective monitoring and enforcement, alternative policy instruments such as economic or information based strategies, are either slow to find favour or fail soon after implementation. Developing countries, such as South Africa, face a number of challenges to the successful implementation of alternative, first world, waste policy instruments including institutional challenges (financial and human resources); insufficient political support; an unsupportive legal environment; lack of clarity regarding the role of government and the intention of policy, leading to a lack of ownership and to ineffective policy; and a lack of supporting data. However, these challenges do not imply that there is no place for such instruments in developing countries. Instead, what is needed in the implementation of waste policy instruments in developing countries is a stage-based, tailored approach, which takes cognisance of identified challenges in their design and implementation, thereby recognising the realities of developing country circumstances.