ABSTRACT
Professional expertise plays a decisive role in determining how government agencies interpret and act on national environmental policies. Through their perception of environmental reality and influence on the definition of threats and problems, professional expertise will have - and is expected to have - authoritative impacts on the agencies' understanding of national policies and their strategies for problem solution and action. However, experts' perceptions and attitudes-what might be labelled their professional thought style or paradigm-will be influenced by the agencies' primary functions, professional dominance and institutional characteristics that have developed over time. Environmental knowledge and expertise unfold within varying organisational cultures that are likely to have important impacts on policy implementation. This study seeks to trace worldviews and thought styles of environmental experts in the core agencies and administrations under the Norwegian Ministry of Environment and some specific sector administrations. The empirical material is drawn from a nation-wide questionnaire 1•
Environmental Policies and Expert Knowledge
In Norway, implementation of environmental goals and policies is based on the sector principle. This principle implies that each government sector, agency or institution should include and integrate national environment policies in their day-to-day activities - their planning, regulatory and advisory functions. National policies and strategies are specified, solutions sought and actions taken not only in the environmental protection segment of government per se. On the contrary, national policies, as well as obligations following from international agreements, are to be implemented by all sectors, also those with administrative responsibility for sectors that are producers of significant environmental problems, like energy reduction, agriculture, fisheries and transport.
