Showing papers on "Environmental law published in 1995"

The economic approach to environmental and natural resources

Abstract: Part I: Theory and Tools of Environmental and Resource Economics. Introduction. Economic Efficiency and Markets: How the Invisible Hand Works. Government Intervention in Market Failure. Valuing the Environment. The Macroeconomics of the Environment. Part II: Exhaustible Resources, Pollution, and the Environment. Global Environmental Change: Ozone Depletion and Global Warming. Acid Deposition. Energy and the Environment. Material Policy: Minerals, Materials, and Solid Waste. Part III: Renewable Resources and the Environment. Fisheries. Temperate Forests. Tropical Forests. Biodiversity and Habitat. Water Resources. Part IV: Further Topics. Toxins in the Ecosystem. Agriculture and the Environment. The Environment and Economic Growth in Third World Countries. Prospects for the Future.

The Environmental Policy of the European Communities

Abstract: This survey covers pollution control, in particular measures taken at Community level to deal with water pollution, air pollution, chemicals and waste. It also discusses legislation developed in wider contexts, such as environmental impact assessment, nature conservation, and the integration of environmental policy into other community policies, such as agriculture and development co-operation. The first title in Kluwer Law International's International Environmental Law and Policy series, the book must be viewed as a work of reference, to be used by industries and organizations involved with pollution control, as well as by those interested in environmental policy more generally. This edition of the work, although it includes much that appeared in the first edition, has been totally rewritten, expanded and updated to include the key events and decisions that have intervened since the end of the 1980s, including the adoption of the Fifth Environmental Action Programme in 1993 and the impact of the Maastricht Treaty on the EU's environmental policy. The growing role of the European Community in international affairs is examined: for example, the participation of the Community in the Montreal Convention on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is fully described, as is the Commission Communication to the Council on measures to be taken by the Community to deal with the greenhouse effect and the action taken by the Community both before and after the Rio Earth Summit.

The Environmental Protection Agency: Asking the Wrong Questions. From Nixon to Clinton

Abstract: Marc K Landy, Marc J Roberts, Stephen R Thomas Oxford University Press, pp 341 ISBN 0 19 508673 2 In the United States conservation initiatives for protecting species and open spaces were superseded in the 1960s by environmentalism, a fusion of scientific rationalism and political activism that has relied on legislation and legal challenge in the courts to promote environmental protection. The environmental movement's first focus was industrial pollution, and its founding document was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, an examination of the threats to the environment and human health posed by unregulated industry. In the 1970s the US Congress responded with surprising speed to concern over deterioration of the environment and produced far reaching environmental legislation. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 requires the federal government to disclose the environmental consequences of its activities as “environmental …

Eco-justice : linking human rights and the environment

Abstract: This Worldwatch report affirms that the grassroots movement to improve the environment and human rights should be operable at the regional and international levels. Grassroots groups have demonstrated the success of empowering people and of the protection of civil liberties in environmental preservation. The authors stance is that "potential polluters and profligate consumers" would not be able to treat vulnerable populations as expendable and would be forced to seek other alternatives to polluting activities and overconsumption under certain conditions. All vulnerable members of society must have access to environmental information exercise their rights of free speech and have a role in determining their access to resources. Prevention is considered less costly by reducing production of hazardous wastes than by increasing the number of dump sites. The preventive lesson learned from human rights activists is that confrontation is necessary between the "dumpers and the dumped on" in order to secure the health and well-being of future generations. Although countries may never agree on a definition of environmental justice there is global agreement on protecting the basic human rights that make achieving environmental justice possible. Justice is viewed as unattainable without citizen participation in key decisions. The environmental movement has been successful in development of scientific solutions to environmental degradation. Joining forces with human rights activists gives impetus to the movement to get environmental reforms implemented. Irresponsibility concerning protection of the environment is expected to stop when the elites themselves become aware that all humankind is affected by global warming and the survival of all mankind is at stake. This short volume addresses the following topics: how Greenpeace and Amnesty International are learning from each other; the human rights focus on individuals; environmental issues that cross national borders; a human rights framework for sustainable development; and environmental justice.

Sustainable development and good governance

Abstract: Sustainable development as a matter of good governance: an introductory view K. Ginther, P.J.I.M. de Waart. Part I: Evolution of Concepts. 1. Evolving principles of sustainable development and good governance K. Hossain. 2. Sustainable development: some critical thoughts in the light of the Rio Conference P. Malanczuk. 3. The road to sustainable development: evolution of the concept of development in the U.N. Y. Matsui. 4. Reflections on the term "sustainable development" and its institutional implications M.C.W. Pinto. 5. The dynamics of sovereignty in a changing world N. Schrijver. 6. How to manage sustainable development? W. Lang. 7. Governance and sustainable development in Africa H.W.O. Okoth-Ogendo. 8. Implementation of international sustainability imperatives at a national level B. Boer. Part II: Participatory Development. 9. Good governance through popular participation in sustainable development A.S. Tolentino. 10. Sustainable development and good governance: development and evolution of constitutional orders K. Ginther. 11. Constitutional orders and sustainable development: the Southern African experience and prospects P. Slinn. 12. Procedural aspects of international law in the field of sustainable development: citizens' rights P. Sands, J. Werksman. 13. The right of participation in development projects C.R. Taylor. 14. Popular participation: a precondition for sustainable development planning. The experiences in Uganda R.A. Wabunoha. Part III: Development Co-operation and Human Rights. 15. The right to self-determination from a sustainable development perspective P.J.I.M. de Waart. 16. European Community development co-operation, human rights, democracy and good governance: at odds or at ease with each other? K.C.J.M. Arts. 17. Implications of the principle of sustainable development, human rights and good governance for the GATT/WTO W. Benedek. 18. Conditionality, human rights and good governance: a dialogue of unequal partners P. Nherere. 19. Good governance and development co-operation: towards a global approach E/M/G. Denters. Part IV: Sensible Economic and Social Policies. 20. Common but differentiated State responsibility in international environmental law: from Stockholm (1972) to Rio (1992) S.R. Chowdhury. 21. Good governance, accountability, and official development co-operation: analyzing OECD-demands at the example of the IBRD K. Raffer. 22. Setting off distributory shortcomings K.M. Meessen. 23. Sustainable development and good governance: the transition to a steady-state economy P. Peters. 24. The GATT 1994: environmental sustainability of trade or environmental protection sustainable by trade? F. Weiss. 25. Combating corruption: a measure for shaping decision making in order to achieve sustainable development E. Ibanda-Nahamya. (Part contents).

A Reflexive Model of Environmental Regulation

Abstract: Although contemporary methods of environmental regulation have registered some significant accomplishments, the current system of environmental law is not working well enough. First the good news: Since the first Earth Day in 1970, smog has decreased in the United States by thirty percent. The number of lakes and rivers safe for fishing and swimming has increased by one-third. Recycling has begun to reduce levels of municipal waste. Ocean dumping has been curtailed. Forests have begun to expand. One success story is the virtual elimination of airborne lead in the United States. Another is the rapid phase-out of ozone-layer depleting chemicals worldwide. Nevertheless, prominent commentators of diverse political persuasions agree in an assessment that conventional models of environmental law have “failed.” Many environmental problems remain unsolved: species extinction, global desertification and deforestation, possible global climate change, and continuing severe air and water pollution in urban areas and poor countries. What is more, successful environmental protection has come only at enormous economic cost. By the year 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the United States will spend approximately two percent of its gross national product on environmental pollution control. Academic economists have pointed out the nonsensical inefficiency of many environmental regulations, but usually to no avail.

Hybrid Microelectronics Handbook

Abstract: NEPA air and water pollution programmes air and water planning programmes hazardous waste management and cleanup toxics and pesticides resource planning and perservation programmes enforcement and citizen suits state programmes constitutional and federalism issues trends in environmental law.

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: Two Steps Forward and One Back, or Vice Versa

Abstract: This Article evaluates the significance of the Earth Summit to the continuing maturation of the law of sustainable development through scrutiny of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, one of the principal instruments adopted at UNCED. This Article attempts to establish the significance of the Rio meeting for the progressive evolution of international environmental law, most particularly through a comparison of the Rio Declaration with its predecessor, the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment, which resulted from an earlier United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held twenty years before Rio. Through this analysis, both the 1992 Rio and 1972 Stockholm meetings can be placed in a larger context that reveals the dynamics of the ongoing development of principles of sustainability in international law.

An Economic Analysis of Trade Measures to Protect the Global Environment

Abstract: This paper addresses the role of trade restrictions in support of policies to protect the global environment and proposes a more liberal treatment of these environmental trade measures (ETMs) than that adopted by dispute- settlement panels of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT Secretariat has recommended that countries like the United States rely on "carrots" rather than "sticks" to induce the participation of other countries in multilateral agreements. This paper defends the use of "sticks" on the ground that they encourage more restrained exploitation of the environment pending a multilateral agreement. First, "sticks" would discourage countries from harming the environment. Second, "carrots" create perverse incentives. Countries may seek to convince others that they derive large benefits from exploitation by engaging in a great deal of exploitation, so that other countries will offer large "carrots" to induce their restraint. This paper also addresses how GATT should limit the use of trade restrictions to prevent the protectionist abuse of trade measures.

Green Plans: Greenprint for Sustainability

Abstract: 'As we strive to implement sustainable development, we must share experience of how green plans can work, as Huey D. Johnson has done here. Green Plans is a necessary book that many of us need to read' - Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway. 'A balanced, well-written argument for a mutually beneficial plan for enabling sustainable [industrial] development while protecting environmental quality' - "Choice". 'Persuasive and urgent' - RECIEL: Review of European Community and International Environmental Law.'Green plans' are the most effective strategies yet developed for moving from industrial environmental deterioration to postindustrial sustainability. Huey D. Johnson provides the first detailed and understandable examination of the theory, implementation, and performance of green plans in the Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand. Plans being considered in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, and the European Community are also discussed. Green plans will serve future generations as models of creative collaboration between government and business. Huey D. Johnson is founder and president of the Resource Renewal Institute in San Francisco. David R. Brower, the first executive director of the Sierra Club and cofounder of Friends of the Earth, is the author of numerous books including "For Earth's Sake".

Private law and the environment: nuisance in context*

Abstract: Private nuisance is, on the face of it, an old-fashioned tort, whose agrarian, antidevelopmental roots may make its contemporary relevance seem limited. On the other hand, both nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher hold obvious attractions for litigants whose interests have suffered as a result of environmental change. The potential apotheosis of nuisance into a ‘Toxic Tort’ presents tort lawyers and environmental lawyers with a number of pressing questions concerning the nature and scope of private law in this context. This article will seek to assess in outline the positive potential of tort law in this respect, but it will also be argued that there may nevertheless be real conflicts between the law of tort and central elements of environmental law. The nature of those potential conflicts can only be understood if we clarify the form (or forms) of liability effected by relevant torts, and here the tort of nuisance poses particular problems. Once clarified, however, I would suggest that these conflicts can contribute to debates, not just about tort law, but also about the basic aspirations of environmental law and policy.

Trading with the Environment: Ecology, economics, institutions and policy

Abstract: List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Why Trade and the Environment? International Cooperation Overview of the Book Chapter I Nature's Life Support Systems as the Foundation for International Trade Life Support Ecosystems - a Prerequisite for Welfare Growth and the Environment Economy and Ecosystems An Ecological-Economic Synthesis Trade from a Natural Resource and Environmental Perspective Chapter 2 Economic Perspectives on Trade and the Environment Theories of Trade Trade and the Environment Localization of Environmentally Damaging Activities Political Factors Possible Solutions to International Environmental Issues Chapter 3 Trade Regulations - the Institutional Framework and Current Policy GATT/WTO: Today's Playing Field for World Trade GATT Exceptions for Environmental Protection GATT Panels on Environmental Issues GATT and International Environmental Agreements ED Trade Regulations and the Environment A new General System of Preferences Environmental Protection and Free Trade Areas Ground Rules for Ecologically Sustainable Trade Chapter 4 The New Playing Field - Towards Sustainable Development Ground Rules for Sustainable Development Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix 1 International Environmental Agreements with Trade Provisions Appendix 2 Excerpts from the Rio Declaration Appendix 3 Excerpts from the GATT Appendix 4 Excerpts from the Treaty of Rome Appendix 5 Trade and Environment in the GATT Index

Environmental Economics: Individual Incentives and Public Choices

Abstract: The Environment and Economics - Economic Growth and the Environment - The Elements of Environmental Problems - The Environment We Want: Optimality or Sustainability? - Valuing the Environment - The Options for Environmental Management - The Uncertain Road to Environmental Policy - Air Pollution and Acid Rain - The Economics of the Countryside - The Rainforest Frontier - Climate Change - Environmental Economics in Perspective

The Precautionary Principle in UK Environmental Law and Policy

Abstract: In the last decade the precautionary principle has entered into the lexicon of modern environmentalism with remarkable speed and stealth. Nowadays, it appears regularly in national legislation, in international statements of policy and in the texts of international conventions and protocols. More recently, it has been adopted as a guiding principle of environmental policy in both the EU and the UK, and it makes an appearance in the 1992 Rio Declaration (a statement of principles and general obligations to guide the international community towards actions that promote more environmentally sustainable forms of development). So frequently is the term invoked that Cameron and Abouchar (1991: 27) go as far as to posit that, if the present rate of proliferation is sustained into the future, precaution may well become ‘“the” fundamental principle of environmental protection policy and law at the international, regional, and local scales’ (emphasis in original). Even the more cautious of the principle’s advocates suggest that ‘the concept has at least approached the status of a rule of customary international law’ (Hey, 1992: 307).

Environmental and planning law in Ireland

Abstract: Approaches to environmental management. Remedies for environmental protection and control. Agencies with environmental responsibilities. Environmental impact assessment.

International and European Trade and Environmental Law after the Uruguay Round

Abstract: Introduction. I: International Trade Law and Environmental Law in the Worldwide Framework of GATT and the WTO. II: European Trade Law and European Environmental Law in the Regional Context of EC Integration. Outlook: What Can We Learn from Comparing International and European Trades and Environmental Law? Annexes.

Foreign Direct Investment and Environment in Central and Eastern Europe: A Survey

Abstract: The issue of environmental problems and their effects on foreign investment has attracted growing attention in Central and Eastern Europe. The World Bank and the OECD Centre for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition have undertaken a study to assess the importance of environmental issues to Western firms considering direct investment in the region's manufacturing, mining and construction sectors. The results should be of interest to policy-makers in Central and Eastern Europe, donors, and potential investors. This report reveals that there is a strong concern about environmental issues, and liability questions in particular, among firms considering investing in this region.. It also identifies the industries most concerned about these issues. Finally, it shows which environmental issues are of greatest importance in investment decisions. While environmental issues are seldom the most important consideration for those making investment decisions, uncertainty over liability for hazardous wastes and future emissions is almost certainly discouraging investment in some industries. This points up the need for government actions that address environmental issues in foreign direct investment and in privatization.

Enforcement and the Success of International Environmental Law

Abstract: Professor O'Connell discusses the tradtional methods used for international law "enforcement, " and she argues that international law is generally obeyed Its enforcement is based primarily on compliance, not enforcement Accordingly, the author argues against using international enforcement mechanisms to enforce international environmental law Instead, she posits that domestic courts should be used for international environmental law enforcement; however, certain obstacles, such as sovereign immunity, the doctrine of standing, and the principle of forum non conveniens, must be overcome Professor O'Connell argues that it may be possible to overcome many of these court-made obstacles to enforcing international law through domestic courts She notes that, to this end, progress has been made in the area of human rights, especially with respect to war crimes The author concludes by asserting that, because domestic courts have control over persons and assets, the need for "borrowing" the forum of domestic courts will increase as environmental rules become more directed at those individuals

International Environmental Law and the "Bottom-Up" Approach: A Review of the Desertification Convention

Abstract: The media was once filled with images of encroaching deserts and starving populations. Attention has since shifted to other issues, but the problems remain. Desertification is acute not only in familiar desert regions such as the Sahara, but in regions such as the Sahelian and other drylands which comprise nearly thirty-five percent of the earth's total land area. Mr. Danish analyzes the Desertification Convention of 1995, discussing both the Convention's efforts to address the environmental degradation and the Convention's impact on international notions of the state, crafting large-scale responses, and generating centralized regulation. This Convention employs a "bottom-up " approach; it focuses on local developmental issues and the marginalized peoples living in the threatened areas. It provides increased international recognition for non-governmental organizations and local land users by obligating states to channel authority and resources to them. The article presents an overview of the Convention and analysis based on international environemental legal norms. The author illustrates that, despite donor fatigue and reticence on the part of developed nations, the "bottom-up " approach in conjunction with creative financing methods will provide a more effective means for dealing with a growing environmental crisis.

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: Two Steps Forward and One Back, or Vice Versa

Abstract: This Article evaluates the significance of the Earth Summit to the continuing maturation of the law of sustainable development through scrutiny of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, one of the principal instruments adopted at UNCED. This Article attempts to establish the significance of the Rio meeting for the progressive evolution of international environmental law, most particularly through a comparison of the Rio Declaration with its predecessor, the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment, which resulted from an earlier United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held twenty years before Rio. Through this analysis, both the 1992 Rio and 1972 Stockholm meetings can be placed in a larger context that reveals the dynamics of the ongoing development of principles of sustainability in international law.