Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement

At the end of this course students will be able to: 1. describe the concepts of monitoring, inspection; 2. explain methods of enforcement in environmental standards; 3. explain the various methods for verifying compliance with standards; 4. discuss the need and tools for effective inspection; and 5. explain the penalties for defaulters.

Introduction to the concepts of Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement. Monitoring: the monitoring of activities or agents that have to meet environmental standards: Provisions for the verification of compliance with standards; The need to determine accurately and rapidly extent of compliance by agents, the need for a coordinated monitoring process to reduce the overall costs of regulation and improve outcomes. Inspection: Importance, methods, processes. The place of inspection in achieving the purpose of environmental standards, and how to undertake effective inspection. Enforcement: strength and credibility behind the policy for greater effectiveness. Strength derives from both the likelihood of inspection and the level of fines. Emphasis in this component should be on: (i) the need for enforcement in environmental standards, and (ii) how best to undertake enforcement, usually “appropriate penalties” arising from inspection in the field.