Showing papers on "Environmental law published in 1994"

Environmental Diplomacy: Negotiating More Effective Global Agreements

Abstract: Solutions to environmental problems require international cooperation, but global environmental treaty-making efforts, including the 1992 U.N.-sponsored Earth Summit in Brazil, have not accomplished much. International cooperation has been hampered by the conflicts between the developed nations of the North and the developing nations of the South; by the fact that science cannot accurately predict when or how environmental threats will materialize; and by the problem that the United Nations treaty-making system was never meant to handle threats to the environment. Lawrence Susskind looks at the weaknesses of the existing system of environmental treaty-making and the increasing role of non-governmental interests in environmental diplomacy. Environmental Diplomacy argues for "nearly self-enforcing" agreements that ensure compliance without threatening sovereignty and maintains that new institutional arrangements are within reach. Susskind builds on the work of the Program on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School and the International Environmental Negotiation Network to offer guidelines for more effective global agreements that provide for sustainable development.

Making development sustainable : from concepts to action

Abstract: Since the establishment of the Environment Department in 1987, the Bank has made a concentrated effort to incorporate environmental concerns into its lending and advisory activities In January of 1993 the Vice Presidency for Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) was created to take forward the incorporation of sustainability issues into all aspect's of Bank work This report is a compilation of eight essays which attempt to capture current thought on a number of key conceptual, methodoligical, and practical issues The collective authors cover a range of concerns including: poverty and the environment; gender and ecosystem management; the sociologist's, ecologist's and economist's approaches to sustainable development; the integration of environmental concerns into development policymaking; the World Bank's agenda for the environment; and an epilogue regarding the expansion of capital stock

State of the Environment in Southern Africa

Abstract: Biological resources Southern Africa has rich biological resources in a variety of ecosystems that include moist tropical forests in Angola and Zambia, savannas, coastal and mangrove forests, deserts and semi-deserts, and in South Africa the extraordinary diversity of plants of the Cape Floral Region (AMCEN and UNEP 2002). The subregion boasts an average of 57 mammalian species and 136 breeding bird species per 10 000 km (AMCEN and UNEP 2002). These biological resources are important as they: • Ensure long-term food security; • Provide access to genetic resources for crop and animalbreeding purposes; • Make available many species of plants and animals for medicinal purposes and traditional healing; and • Are potentially useful for commercial production.

Notes From The Front Line

Abstract: In the last five years, local thinking about environmental protection started to take shape. It is indisputable that cities are not neutral or homogenous geographies in terms of distributing benefits and burdens by class and race. This fact is applicable to local environmental politics. Environmental justice and fair share advocates – and in some instances the courts – are finding that cities like New York are extremely heterogeneous in terms of environmental conditions and the impact of implementing environmental laws. This Essay describes the Environmental Benefits Program, which the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has undertaken in order to address some of the inequities caused by local sources of pollution in New York City. This program may serve as a model for other communities in the effort to address environmental

Handbook of Regulation and Administrative Law

Abstract: The Evolution of the Administrative State and Transformations of Administrative Law * The New Separation and Delegation of Powers Doctrines * Trends in Regulatory Administration * Economic Regulatory Policies: Regulation and Deregulation in Historical Context * The State of State Regulation * What Every Administrator Should Know About Environmental Law * Regulatory Takings * Deregulation and Reregulation: Policy, Politics, and Economics * Some Crucial Issues in Administrative Law * Adjudication * Management of Federal Agency Adjudication * Explaining Agency Decision-Making: The Federal Trade Commission and Antitrust Policy in the Reagan Era * The Elements of Agency Rule-Making * Regulatory Enforcement * Managing Regulatory Enforcement in the United States * Federal Information Policy and Administrative Law * Regulatory Bias and Conflict of Interest Regulation * Frontiers * Discretion Administrative Democracy * Bureaucracy and the Public: Observations and Reflections from Field Research.

Environmental law and ecological responsibility : the concept and practice of ecological self-organization

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Ecological Self-Organization ECOLOGICAL LIABILITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELF-ORGANIZATION: The Invisible Cupola From Causal to Collective Attribution in Ecological Liability Hot Spots in the Bubble: Ecological Liability in Markets for Pollution Rights How Law Hides Risks from Society ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTIONS OF ECOLOGICAL SELF-ORGANIZATION: Ecological Contracts Agreements Between Polluters and Local Communities The Limits to a Positive Management Approach Ecological Performance Review Self-Regulation in Environmental Law TOWARDS A THEORY OF ECOLOGICAL SELF-ORGANIZATION: Coping with Uncertainty: Ecological Risks and the Proceduralization of Environmental Law A Game Without Rules? - The Ecological Self-Organization of Firms Ecological Responsibility Without Subject CONCLUSION: Self-Regulation and the Theory of Institutions

Economic Analysis of Environmental Policy and Regulation

Abstract: Purpose, Technical Level, and Scope. Environmental Policy Analysis in Practice. Design of Appropriate Models for Policy Analysis. Reconciling Conceptual Tools and Available Data. Modeling and Interpreting Social Welfare Changes. The Analytical Significance of Baselines. The Importance of Anticipatory Responses. Incidence of Regulatory Costs. Intertemporal Issues. Recent Trends in Environmental Policy: Some Cautionary Notes. Environmental Policy in Theory and Practice. Index.

The "Greening" of International Law: Emerging Principles and Rules

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to identify some recent developments in international environmental law which have implications for U.S. domestic policy. It outlines some of the more controversial (from a U.S. perspective) international legal issues which have arisen in recent years, including in particular the global instruments adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, as well as the regional developments reflecting the efforts of the EC Member States in their attempt to "green" the EEC Treaty. I welcome this opportunity to consider the implications for the United States of the globalization of environmental law and policy. It is important to recall at the outset that the United States has, historically, played a dominant role in the development of international environmental law. Many of the principles endorsed by the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development were first expressed in U.S. domestic legislation, especially the emerging rules of international law concerning environmental impact assessment, the right of citizens to have access to environmental information and rights of redress before judicial and administrative bodies, and provisions on liability for environmental damage.1 Many of these emerging international commitments can be traced directly to domestic U.S. law, which has in this and other ways contributed significantly to international law reform. More recently, however, there has emerged a widely held view that the historic leadership role played by the United States in this field in the 1970s

Nature Conservation Law

Abstract: History, background and legal mechanisms Authorities responsible for nature conservation Protection of wild animals Exploitation and destruction of wildlife Conservation of habitat Plants European and International aspects Appendix A - Schedules to Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Appendix B - open seasons Appendix C - licences

Precautionary legal duties and principles of modern international environmental law : the precautionary principle : international environmental law between exploitation and protection

Abstract: The contribution of international organizations and bodies to the development of modern international environmental law - traditional international environmental law (developments until 1972), developments towards modern international environmental law (after the Stockholm declaration), results analysis of the agreements for the protection of the environment - agreements for the protection of water, agreements for the protection of soils, of species and generally of nature, agreements for the protection of the air and atmosphere conclusions.

Environmental Change and International Law.

Abstract: scholar to identify this loophole, and he provides practical suggestions for closing it. Developments in Space Law concludes with a discussion of the teaching of space law and an analysis of the legal status of the aerospace plane. Gorove describes the space law curriculum he developed at the University of Mississippi Law School sufficiently that other law professors can readily use it to develop their own space law curricula. He urges the teaching of space law at other schools, so that tomorrow's lawyers will be prepared for what is likely to be a flood of outer-space activity in the twentyfirst century. What this reviewer found most fascinating about Developments in Space Law was its recurring themes: the delimitation of outer space, the rights of all humanity to share in the fruits of space activity, and the importance of carefully defining legal rights and obligations in advance of outer-space disputes. These themes operate like a subtle counterpoint to the topical discussions described previously. From the legal framework for satellite communications, to the legal regime for space stations, Gorove always manages not only to lay out the law, but also to introduce broader themes, such as, What is outer space? What rights does humanity have in space? and, Have we really solved space problems, or have we just created a framework for further disputes?

City versus Countryside: Environmental Equity in Context

Abstract: This Article takes an approach to the problem of environmental equity that is different from the remedies advocated by the leaders of the environmental equity movement. The plea that the benefits of environmental protection be extended to all groups in society is, of course, a legitimate one, but the movement is too narrowly focused and its aims are too modest. I dissent from the two central premises held by environmental equity advocates. First, the movement assumes that judicially recognized and enforced rights will lead to improved public health. Second, the movement asserts that disadvantaged communities should adopt a “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) strategy. In contrast, I argue that the current focus of the environmental equity movement, important as it is, is too narrow because the legal strategy of the civil rights movement is largely inapplicable to environmental issues. Environmental protection is not a rights-based movement. Thus, the judiciary’s role in promoting environmental quality is limited compared to its role in promoting racial justice through the recognition and enforcement of constitutionally-based civil rights. In addition, I argue that the NIMBY strategy is equally shortsighted. Environmental equity takes current environmental protection strategies as a given at a time when the science and ethics of environmental protection are undergoing a profound re-evaluation.

International environmental law as a special field

Abstract: The purpose of this Article is to review international environmental law as, in a certain sense, a special field of international law. In doing this, it is not the intention to argue, or even imply, that international environmental law constitutes in some way a special branch or regime separate from the mainstream of traditional or classical international law. Rather, what we will be doing is to look, firstly, at certain ways in which special features of the environment as a subject matter of international law have resulted in particular solutions, applications or rules within the general principles of international law which, if not necessarily unique to, are at least particularly characteristic of, environmental law. Secondly, we shall see, however, that the attempt to provide a necessary legal framework to meet the problems of the environment, both alone and in relation to other perceived problems of the modern world, are stretching and possibly straining the limits of classical international law. The result is that international environmental law is at present also characterised by the rise of novel theories, many of which are not universally accepted, but which may, neverthless be very influential in the whole field, political, legal and scientific, of environmental protection.

Environmental Law and Enforcement

Abstract: Introduction Environmental Law Defined Sources of Environmental Law Environmental Agencies Regulatory Environmental Law and the Common Law Environmental Impact Statements Air Pollution Control Water Pollution Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials Underground Storage Tanks Drinking Water Worker Safety Right to Know About Chemicals Wetlands and Floodplains Coastal Zone Management Dredging and Filling Historic Sites and Structures Wildlife/Wilderness Land Use Control Private Restrictions Public Trust Common Law Enforcement of Environmental Laws Enforcement Mechanisms State, Local, and Private Enforcement The Sentencing Guidelines Corporate Liability Hazardous Waste Liability Consultant Liability for Mistakes with Hazardous Waste Insurance Coverage on Hazardous Waste Liability of Emergency Managers Expert Testimony in Environmental Proceedings Outline of the Initial Meeting Outline of the Expert Report Outline of Direct Examination Tips for Cross-Examination The Police Power and Taking Doctrine The Future of Environmental Law Glossary of Terms Glossary of Acronyms Checklist for Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act Checklist for Chemical Right to Know Strategy Checklist of Basic Documents for Recordkeeping Checklist for Agency Inspections Checklist for Responding to Violation Notices and Enforcement Orders Checklist for Dealing with Government Agencies Index

Environmental Burdens and Democratic Justice

Abstract: To date, however, there has been relatively little academic discussion about how EPA and other federal agencies can achieve environmental justice. In addition, most legal academic literature has focused either on simply identifying the legal issues associated with race and environmental law or on developing a litigation strategy for remedying “environmental racism.” None of the legal academic literature has focused on the benefits of using an administrative framework to define or develop sustainable solutions to the distributional inequities of environmental laws. The purpose of this Article is to explain the benefits of pursuing an administrative model for change. Unlike other legal academic pieces, this Article does not focus exclusively on the presence of distributional inequities or on private litigants’ judicial remedies for distributional inequities. Rather, it accepts that distributional inequities are present and it offers a broader, holistic, front-end approach to the administration of environmental laws with the goal of creating a framework which federal agencies can use to both achieve and maintain environmental justice. This Article is divided into three parts. First, it briefly discusses the history of the environmental justice movement and of historical political responses to distributional issues associated with the environment and human health. The second part of the Article describes the problems with relying exclusively on litigation as a mechanism for achieving environmental justice. Finally, this Article presents the theoretical basis for pursuing administrative solutions to the inequitable distribution of environmental hazards.

Environmental liability and privatization in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract: edited by Gretta Goldenman Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, Brussels, Belgium; Member of California Bar Series: INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY Many state-owned enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are saddled with severe environmental problems due to the failure of the centrally planned economies to control industrial pollution. Today, privatization programs -- a key component in building modern market economies in CEE countries -- are transferring enterprises into private hands, on an unprecedented scale. Uncertainty about responsibility for the environmental problems has emerged as a significant constraint to privatization or independent management, particularly with regard to contamination left over from past industrial activities, and unacceptable levels of pollution from ongoing operations. This book describes the laws of CEE countries applicable to the transfer of contaminated property; how individual enterprises are privatized in CEE; the methods used by investors to contain the legal risks of acquiring property with environmental problems, including contractual safeguards; and the policy options for addressing the environment-related concerns of investors interested in CEE properties undergoing privatization. The book analyses the laws of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic concerning privatization, property transfer, and environmental liability; legal issues arising in the transfer of contaminated properties from an investor's point of view; and Central European policy and legislative initiatives to address environmental problems during privatization. It is argued that directing economies and administrative resources towards the control of ongoing pollution can accomplish more at this time than a focus on cleanup of past pollution. While excessive hazards to health clearly need to be addressed, the best strategy for past pollution may be not to clean up now but to take only those urgent steps necessary to prevent (further) harm to human health. This would keep the focus on prevention of further damage. Inappropriate integration of environmental concerns in privatization and economic transformation could cause unacceptable delays. The issue is how to avoid being distracted by ad hoc demands in individual privatization deals, so that privatization can be kept on track and environmental priorities set on the basis of each country's most urgent needs. Graham & Trotman/Martinus Nijhoff September 1994 346 pp. Hardbound Dfl.170.00 BrP.55.00

Evaluation of environmental functions as a tool in planning, management and decision-making

Abstract: Although there is a growing awareness about the many benefits of natural ecosystems, concrete information on their full economic value is still scarce. This thesis provides a comprehensive method whereby all functions and values of natural and semi-natural ecosystems can be assessed and evaluated in a systematic manner. A checklist of 37 environmental functions is given with examples of the functions and socio-economics value of three major types of ecosystems: tropical moist forests (based on a case study of the Darien National Park, a pre-montane rainforest on the border between Panama and Colombia), wetlands (based on a case study of the Dutch Wadden Sea) and an oceanic, volcanic island ecosystem: the Galapagos National Park (Ecuador). In order to achieve the conservation and sustainable utilization of nature and natural resources, better information on the (economic) importance of natural areas alone, however, is not enough. Unless ecological information is structurally integrated in economic planning and decision-making, solving environmental problems will prove difficult, if not impossible. In the last section of this thesis, the use of the function-concept as a tool in planning, management and decision-making is therefore discussed in detail, including the application in project-evaluation, in environmental (or ecological) economics, in environmental law, and in environmental education.

Economic and Environmental Repair in the Shadow of Superfund: Local Government Leadership in Building Strategic Partnerships

Abstract: Increasingly rigorous U.S. environmental policy is forcing the convergence of economic and environmental concerns with the intent of internalizing the costs of environmental protection and repair Unfortunately, the costs associated with the generic application of national environmental policy often exceed benefits reaped in environmental repair This article examines the intent and dysfunction of Superfund—Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)—as implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and details a local government model to correct this dysfunction. City government in Wichita, Kansas, accepted a leadership role in the development of a partnership model that enhances the cost effectiveness of Superfund, expedites environmental cleanup, and protects the local economy.

European environmental law

Abstract: This text aims to provide legal practitioners and other professionals with a succinct reference on current European environmental law practices. The legal aspects of natural, human and man-made environments are laid out in separate sections. A further section examines selected EC legislation.

A guidebook to environmental law

Abstract: This text provides a straightforward overview of environmental law, dealing with fundamental principles. The field of environmental law is wide-ranging and ...