Licenses, Concessions and Quotas:

This is a market based instrument that has been in place for many years in a number of East Asian countries, for example, fish quotas, forestry concessions. Use of this instrument, depending on the corporate motives of the issuer, has contributed to both environmental degradation and improvement. Frequently, rent seeking behaviour is associated with quotas and concessions.

Assessment activity should be related to determining the extent to which the allocation process, including size and location of concessions, is consistent (at a minimum in terms of direction of impact) with priority environmental objectives. Assessment activity can include the relationship between sustainability and the license, concession, or quota in question.

Reference: Synthesis study on Modalities for Environmental Assessment for Integrating Environmental Considerations into Economic Policy Making Processes: East and Southeast Asia, ESCAP, 1998, unpublished.