ABSTRACT
The last decades of the twentieth century have witnessed a growing awareness of not only the severity but also the diversity of environmental problems. Global environmental concerns such as ozone depletion, climate change, and biodiversity loss have stimulated international environmental actions. Regional and local problems — such as acid rain, depletion of renewable resources, and drought — have also been the subject of public debate and governmental action. An increasing number of environmental problems compete for places on political agendas, for the attention of regulatory agencies and international governmental bodies, and for the limited resources available for environmental management.
