A collaborative approach to environmental governance in East Africa

The article reflects upon a collaborative approach to environmental governance undertaken by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania under the auspices of a United Nations Environment Programme-administered project-the Partnership for Development of Environmental Law in Africa. On the basis of practical lessons highlighted through fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2007, an exploration is made of the relationship between the 'new' regional collaborative approach to environmental law and policy-making, and the earlier 'conventional' approaches. Also examined are prospects for both state and non-state actors to successfully collaborate in structuring regional developments. It raises the conceptual question, 'once regulation is supposed to loosen its analytical link to the state, yet only partially does so, what has it become?' One emerging insight concerns the need for normative theories to highlight what non-legal mechanisms are necessary to secure meaningful participation by non-state actors in regional decision-making.