ABSTRACT
The word policy can have different meanings and values to different people, depending on when it is used by a given person. For example, public policy may mean a decision, made by a publicly elected or designated body, to meet or satisfy public interest (Torjman, 2005). Kingdon (1984) considers it a set of processes that includes an agenda, the election of several alternatives in that agenda, an authoritative decision on the alternatives present, and the implementation of this chosen alternative. This is similar to the policy process sketched out in Chapter 1 in this volume. In this chapter we look at public policies for natural resources, those which guide and develop natural resources management, and how these policy decisions influence peoples’ lives, livelihoods and the biophysical environ - ment they live in, including biodiversity. Here, policy is therefore a public decision that is made to guide natural resources management in order to provide public goods and services, balancing at the same time various societal needs.
