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MUNICIPAL PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE REVITALIZATION: EXPANDING BLUE AND GREEN FLAG COMPLEMENTING INSTRUMENTS
Abstract
Both the Blue Flag as municipal coastal and Green Flag (also Eco-Schools) as educational pro-environmental behaviour development programmes are recognized as the best practice internationally as voluntary and integrative environmental governance instruments. Both are the main objects of this comparative research-and-development study, based on case study research nationally and of best municipal practices, altogether being oriented towards necessity of municipal environmental governance further encouragement in Latvia - expanding strong and influential, better integrated into other/all sectors as recognized internationally. The first problem to study is that, nevertheless having common environmental governance goals and similar problems in the implementation process for both programmes, they are not often purposely employed and evaluated complementary and integrally. Second problem to study for both programs is that, even having continuously growing numbers of Eco-schools and municipalities involved, also facing regular upgrading of programmes, there seems to be not sufficiently assessed and realized all potential of both programs as to be more diversified and used out of their statutory scope as aiming for municipal pro-environmental governance revitalization. The study focuses on the complementary evaluation of both programmes applying also action-oriented environmental communication framework, being already longly tested/approved for pro-active municipalities in Latvia and also included into National Environmental Policy Plan (2014) - framework is consisting of four complementary communication instruments as environmental information and education, especially, together with participation and pro-environmental behaviour, aiming to give collaborative answers for both study problems mentioned. Research of both programmes implementation nationally/locally, existing former/initial related municipal action policies and practices developed, just suggested by stakeholders or being under discussion particularly on adaptation and transferring methodologies of both programmes towards their general/selective existent/perspective use for various designated territories, sectors and municipal stakeholders are suggesting that both programmes may become the best environmental practice dissemination-multiplication examples for municipalities that already implement the programmes and especially also for others that not.
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References16
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