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Over the last five years an international policy debate has emerged concerning the appropriate mechanisms for the governance and regulation of advances in nanotechnology. The terms of this debate parallel the classic dilemma in the regulation of emerging technologies–how to regulate in a way that enhances the innovative potential of the field and yet is sensitive to emerging risks to the environment or human health. Such debates about nanotechnology are at the core of policy innovations which together constitute what we term here the “emerging governance landscape of nanotechnology”. In this emerging policy debate initial concern has been raised about the possible eco-toxicity of nanomaterials, together with the broader socio-economic and ethical dimensions of a broad range of possible nanotechnologies. More recently regulatory attention has begun to consider the sufficiency of current regulatory …