Applying Good Governance Practices in the Middle East in the Case of Environmental Protection: A Saudi Arabian Case Study.

Granting proper protection to environmental assets is now a globally recognised goal. However, different states, systems and regions have reacted differently in attempting to attain this goal. The theory of environmental governance was developed mainly in the literature addressing western democracies and developed countries and is believed to be able to address complex environmental challenges. This research explores the concept of environmental governance and some of the principles built around it in a quite distinctive context, the Middle Eastern region, taking the KSA as a case study. Although many of the environmental challenges existing in the KSA, are due to its geography and its environmental conditions, a major contribution to such environmental problems can be attributed to issues with environmental governance, especially its legal and regulatory dimensions.

The project was motivated by a number of observed factors, including the rising trend in environmental challenges being encountered in Middle Eastern countries, and the belief that these environmental problems might be addressed by improving governance-related practices. Hence, this thesis seeks to bring the well-developed notion of environmental governance into an uncharted territory, by investigating the current practices, norms and regulations in the KSA’s environmental protection domain. The study also provides for consideration an appropriate theory for better environmental governance in that country and observes how the current literature approaches environmental governance issues. To compensate for the lack of existing studies, the research has adopted a number of methodologies and data collection methods, including empirical face-to-face semi-structured interviews.

Thus, this study examines the applicability of some of the principles built around environmental governance, including the concept of good governance, and whether they can be applied in the KSA. It also asks if, ultimately, the environment can be protected in practice via this conceptual framework.