This book is the second collection of systematic case studies describing national environmental policies in 17 countries in terms of capacity building (see Appen dix). The OECD defines environmental capacity building as "a society's ability to identify and solve environmental problems. " While various institutions, including UNEP, FAO, World Bank and OECD, have hitherto used the terms environmental capacity and capacity building almost exclusively with reference to developing countries, we have extended the concepts to industrialized countries, as well. The first collection, edited by Martin Janicke, Helge Joergens (both Free University Berlin) and Helmut Weidner (Social Science Research Center Berlin), was pub lished in 1997 under the title "National Environmental Policies - A Comparative Study of Capacity-Building" (Berlin, etc. : Springer Verlag). It included 13 studies of countries. As in the first volume, chapter I presents the conceptual framework underlying the national case studies. It is a slightly shorter version of the corresponding chap ter in volume I. The design of all case studies in the two volumes is largely con gruent with this conceptual framework. Although the various sections of the stud ies do not always have identical titles and subtitles, the central elements of the capacity-building approach have been applied in all cases.

The Political System's Capacity for Environmental Policy: The Framework for Comparison

Environmental Capacity Building in Australia
Austria: An "Eco-land"?
Brazil
Environmental Protection Capacity in Post-Communist Bulgaria
Canada
National Environmental Policies: Costa Rica
The Czech Republic
Environmental Capacity Building in France
Hungary
Environmental Capacity-Building: India's Democratic Politics and Environmental Management
Italy
Morocco
Environmental Capacity in Mexico: An Assessment
New Zealand
Environmental Policy in Poland
Taiwan
Environmental Capacity Building in Vietnam
Summary: Environmental Capacity Building in a Converging World
Acronyms
Appendix: Country Studies and Authors Included in Volume 1.