ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to introduce the main differences between deterrence-based and cooperation-based approaches in terms of motivations for compliance, strategies for enforcement, and methods of enforcement. Even though cooperation-based approaches, such as voluntary agreements (VAs), are gaining traction, the overall enforcement scheme in environmental regulation remains mainly deterrence-based. The chapter argues that regulated entities and regulators operate in a hybrid environment. Drawing from and extending existing social science and legal scholarship on compliance and enforcement, it proposes a framework for conceptualizing the role of VAs in hybrid environment. Applying the framework to several hypothetical scenarios, the chapter examines the implications of VAs in environmental regulation for compliance and regulatory behaviors. Approaches to environmental law enforcement can be broken down into two types: deterrence-based and cooperation-based. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of understanding issues of social context, scale, and resilience when considering environmental policy instruments.
