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Integrated Field Lysimetry and Porewater Sampling for Evaluation of Chemical Mobility in Soils and Established Vegetation
Published on: July 4, 2014
From Launch to Legacy: Charting the Path of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and
Viola Pavoncello1, Simone Marzeddu2, Lucilla Baldassarri3
1Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (IIA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Montelibretti, Via Salaria (km 29.300), 00010 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
The establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP) marks the first creation of a dedicated intergovernmental science-policy body addressing the sound management of chemicals and waste and the prevention of pollution. Emerging within a governance landscape shaped by a variety of longstanding international frameworks, the Panel seeks to strengthen the interface between scientific knowledge and decision-making in a domain characterized by diverse institutional actors, uneven capacities, and economic implications. This perspective analyzes the institutional conditions that will determine whether the ISP-CWP can translate its formal mandate into effective governance. We examine how its mandate, governance architecture, and core functions─including horizon scanning, solution-oriented assessments, knowledge inclusivity, and integrated capacity-building─may shape the Panel's credibility, legitimacy, and policy relevance in practice. While the Panel's design reflects lessons learned from earlier science-policy bodies, it also embeds structural tensions: between scientific independence and political oversight, timeliness and methodological rigor, inclusivity and operational feasibility. The ISP-CWP's long-term influence will depend less on its formal mandate than on how effectively it manages these trade-offs in practice. As such, the Panel represents a live experiment for the evolution of science-policy interfaces in politically sensitive and economically complex environmental domains.
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