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2.3.4 BASE POLICIES ON GOOD
GOVERNANCE
“Good governance is perhaps the
single most important factor in
eradicating poverty and promoting
development”
former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Good governance means that decisions are taken
and implemented in an effective, transparent and
accountable manner by all relevant institutions,
with respect for the rule of law and human rights.
Good governance is needed to incorporate economic
information in decision-making and avoid bias
or misuse of economic values. Bias can take different
forms (e.g. considering the interests of the elite over
those of other social groups; excluding or concealing the
amount and distribution of policy costs and benefits;
failing to take account of local and indigenous property
rights). This is often unintentional given the sheer complexity
of biodiversity and the number of affected
interests (see 2.1). however, there may also be other reasons
related to the way information is used. Wellinformed
interest groups may be better placed to voice
62 nd United Nations General Assembly, Sep 2007
FRAMEWORK AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE POLICY RESPONSE
their concerns in decision-making processes (e.g.
allocation of sectoral subsidies).
Economic information can provide strong support to
good governance. Systematic and balanced information
on costs and benefits makes transparent how different
groups in society are affected by policy options
and helps resist pressure of vested interests. This can
be further supported by a broad approach of stakeholder
participation.
Tools to consider costs and benefits of projects and
policies affecting social and environmental interests
are already in place in many countries (e.g. Environmental
Impact Assessments, Cost-Benefit Analysis,
Strategic Environmental Assessments). feeding
quality data on the value of ecosystem services and
biodiversity into assessment frameworks can help
decision-makers at relevant levels reach more informed
decisions and improve policy design (see
Chapter 4 and TEEB-D2 Report for regional and local
policy makers).
Many regional processes and initiatives support international
collaboration to improve governance
and public decision-making. Some of the most important
agreements are listed in Table 2.5 below.
TEEB foR NATIoNAL AND INTERNATIoNAL PoLICy MAKERS - ChAPTER 2: PAGE 19
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