Make environmental and food resources regulations friendly

Whether to regulate or not to regulate has been a central question of the previous three decades, especially when it comes to solving environmental resources and social interaction problems. We have witnessed the love and hate for regulation in equal measure shown by the level of contempt.

 However, with the rise of globally networked challenges like climate change, population growth and migration, pandemics, and human rights, we are witnessing a stronger wave of regulations.

Regulation, as also a means to enforce other enacted laws, has advantages such as instilling social, ecological, and or financial order. As such, regulation can be rationalized as a means of control over what seems to be increasingly open borders due to the growth of virtual tools and spaces. Regulation is also being sought as a means to rationalise resource distribution and ensure equity, protection, and or facilitate commercialization. Thus, regulation is a progressive step in managing resources, practices, and developmental processes.

During legislative processes, we can also increase enthusiasm and get more people interested and understanding a particular issue and the dynamics in question, allocate responsibility, calculate the pros and cons, and be able to look into the future effects.

It is therefore important that we do not put such a process or product to waste, and avoid regulations that simply gather dust and fail enforcement.

One way to avoid potential issues is to ask and answer questions about the need for regulation, the appropriate level of regulation, and the cost of enforcement. Additional questions include the ability of everyone targeted to partake in the process and the decision after that equitably. As a result, regulations that currently ‘leave others behind’ might turn into a force for good whether it is about the community, the national or international regulatory levels.

In addition to lacking a proper appreciation of the human living conditions in a given context. There is a general appeal that people or institutions should try and match the terms of the regulations, a thinking that has in turn increased the regulatory burden.

It is, therefore, important that when you hear about a proposed law, you get proactive, ask questions, and help shape the proposal better. Take for instance the recent National Environment (Declaration of wetlands) Notice 2023 by the Ministry of Water and Environment that re-affirms wetlands as a gazetted and a public good, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) 2023 which aims to put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of goods considered carbon-intensive and entering the EU, or the proposed regulations on the production and marketing of plant reproductive materials-commonly referred to as seed laws by the EU-parliament. Because, these and many other such regulations affect everyone at some point, touch on critical issues of our livelihoods such as carbon, seed and food, land, and water. Yet, many are left out of the awareness or contribution.

Therefore, I have written this article, to rally your attention to regulations proposed or enacted. Pass on the information to law and policymakers such as parliamentarians, small-scale farmers, and small-scale miners, agropastoralists, small business owners, the academic and research fraternity among others groups. Let them know that their voice might matter, and that limited attention to the regulatory process, issue, and implementation comes with consequences of robbed freedom, limited support both financial and institutional, and limited consideration of the general population’s issues, including themselves. It is important to note, that movers of regulations have objectives, that can be sometimes controversial, selfish, or less informed. Inevitably, current global trends demand some form of regulation at all levels, impacting our lives.

Therefore, the regulations must be friendly for sustainable development, which is possible with your undivided attention and contribution.

Juliet Katusiime Zizinga (PhD) Environmental sustainability researcher and advocateral