Environmental governance is a specific form of the broader 'governance' and refers to processes and institutions through which societies make decisions that affect the environment  (Jeffrey, 2005). Environmental governance is primarily about how to reach environmental goals, such as conservation and sustainable development and how decisions are made. It can be measured by the effectiveness of strategies and initiatives implemented to achieve environmental goals. Participation of stakeholders including minority groups access to information, adequate funding, transparency and accountability are crucial aspects of achieving good environmental governance. 

Todaro (2003), define sustainable development as a pattern of development that permits future generations to live at least as well as the current generation. Sustainable development is therefore, a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, direction orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future needs and aspirations. 

Good environmental governance should reflect our best understanding of the structure functions, processes and variability that typify natural systems. Without this understanding, inappropriate decisions can be made with catastrophic environmental consequences even with the best possible intentions. Effective environmental governance ensures the participation of all actors - governments , Non Governmental Organizations, private sector, civil society and community groups-in collaborative efforts towards environmental sustainable development. This kind of environmental governance constitutes an alternative to the conventional top-down government policy-making and regulation that have prevailed in some regions because it involves citizens and civil society organizations in identifying, creating and monitoring environmental and sustainable development policies and processes. The rationale is aleast twofold : citizens and communities should have a voice in articulating the environmental problems and policies that affect them and a role in managing natural resources. For example political leaders shoukd ask the people what they want before bringing any development and upon given that opportunity, people are free to express themselves and bring out their problems, hence development will be accomplished  (ollawa, 1979). 

Environmental governance adheres to values such as transparency, accountability, public participation in decision making and freedom of association. These values that are indispensable in implementing and enforcing substantive environmental laws as they ensure citizens are aware and involved in the aforementioned decision making processes and have the ability to effectively advocate for environmental protection. In other words, stakeholders who are affected by environment and sustainable development policies and impacts should be able to participate in devising and monitoring them (bray, 1999). 

According to Martinez (1995), Sustainable development involves three aspects which are;  the economic, environmental and the social aspect. Economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and services on a continuing basis, to maintain manageable levels of government and external debt and to avoid extreme sectoral imbalances which damage agricultural or industrial production. On the other hand, an environmentally sustainable system must maintain a stable resource  base, avoiding over-exploitation of renewable resource systems or environmental sink functions and depleting of natural resources onlt to the extent that investment is made in adequate substitutes. 

Environmental governance also promotes a social element of sustainability. The aspiration towards establishing a society based on social justice which is clearly envisioned in the Zambian Constitution in which the aim of the constitution is to "heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights" Keeping in mind that "environmental problems are also social problems, both in their causes and their effects",  and thar the effects of environmental degradation are felt most acutely by people who are also already subject to socio-economic disadvantage, environmental governance is responsive to equity and justice concerns ,especially amidst the deep-seated socio-economic divides that persist in Zambia. 

Sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services is directly linked to poverty alleviation. An example is how forests and woodlands support local livelihoods through provisioning of building material ,fuel, medicine and protein. Furthermore, avoiding deforestation is also a global public good,  for instance related to carbon sequestration and maintaining of the generation economic activities or demographic changes (Pearce, 1993). Decision makers are faced with the dilemma of  balancing socio-cultural, economic and ecological values and these trade-offs need to be further analysed and understood. Environmental governance plays an important role in managing the conflict between private gains abd public gains. For example, councils are given constitutional development fund that they can use to bring about social and economic development like road construction, building schools or different infrastructure but government  balances the imbalances  by charging the councils with misappropriate use of funds like in the case of Austin Liatos former minister of labor and social security Zambia who was convicted and sentenced to 24months imprisonment with hard Labour for misappropriated use of money which he had burriedon his farm. This clearly shows how environmental governance works hand in hand with government in setting up policies which bring about discipline anddevelopment and the future generations are not compromised  (Lusaka times, 2015). 

Good environmental governance in general promotes transparency which is openness of government according to the lay down rules and regulations. For example, on television and radio programs they host open debates which enable people to know what's happening in parliament. Effective environmental governance systems hold government accountable for making principledecisions, grounded in science and law, to ensure confidence in the impartiality and public purpose of their actions. Effective environmental governance also holds polluters accountable for compliance with environmental requirements and for remediating any environmental damage caused by them. Where government itself is a polluter, it should lead by example and at a minimum commit to the same standard of conduct it exoects from the private sector. This way, environmental governance ensures thadecisions that are made do not compromise the future generation and aksthat there isproper management of resources by everyone(Flint, 2001). 

Environmental governance usually has missions dedicated to environmental protection, sustainable le development , poverty alleviation, animal welfare among other issues. Their type of involvement and operations varies by organization but cab cover lpcal, national, regional and/or international levels. For example, The Forestry Department has  been encouraging communities to protect and plant trees through it's annual National Tree Planting Program implemented countrywide between15th December and 15th January of every subsequent years. The forestation program has lead to the establishment of community forest and fruit tree plantations and rehabilitation of degraded lands which will make the environment sustainable for the  present and future use. (Food and agriculture organization, 1995). 

Good environmental governance is contingent upon civil society actors cooperating witgovernments and monitoring government decision making . With sufficient capacity development and space to act, NGOs can step in to help deliver services and support government policy and management functions. These include taking independent action as well as working collaboratively with government agencies at different levels on policy formation and implementation, conducting research, monitoring environmental quality  and directly managing natural resources. For example , on 1st December, 2014 government effected the ban which aimed at avoiding fishing during the breeding period to ensure the replenishing of the fast depleting natural resources  (United Nation Development Programme, 2015). 

In conclusion environmental governance does not operate in a vacum but is linked to and complementary with other aspects of good governance and thereforpromotes sustainable  develpment by ensuring independence and prevent corruption within the various elements of the environmental governance system. Corrupt and unprincipled decision making frustrates program implementation, masks environmental results and erodes public confidence in the environmental rule of law. Because the cost of compliance with environmental requirements can be significant to individual actors, it is vital to reduce the potential for graft and bribery of environmental officials through anti-corruption measures. 

                References

FAO, (1995). Forest products prices 1973-1992. Forestry Paper 125. Rome

Flint R. W, Houser W. R (2001). Living a sustainable lifestyle for our children's children. i universe, Campbell CA, 288. 

Jeffrey (2005). "environmental governance : a comparative analysis of public participation and access to justice " in journal of South Pacific law, volume 9 2005-issue 2. 

Martinez, A. J (1995). The environment as a luxury good or too poor to be green? London : ecological economics. 

Ollawa, P, E, (1979). Participatory democracy in Zambia : the political economy of national development. London : Arthur, H. Stock well ltd. 

Todaro, M. P (2003). Economic for a developing world .London : Longman 

United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP), (2015). Strategic note on governance for human development Nairobi : UNEP.