Environmental Law Commons^™

The Rock: The Role Water Plays In Our Lives, Ronald Griffin

Faculty Books and Book Contributions

We witness increasing interconnectedness of issues, internationalization of flows of goods and movement of labor, intergovernmental cooperation, new attitudes to personal rights and meaning of family, including human rights, as well as changes of values, moral principles and ethical conceptions.We live in a pervious world. Traditional boundaries have become permeable. One of the great challenges of our time is the response of the law to current developments. The authors of the collection of essays offered in this book seek to analyze some of these challenges.The essays are revised versions based on presentations at the International Conferences on Law organized by …

Recent Developments In Climate Justice, Randall S. Abate, Rachel Jean-Baptiste, Maria Antonia Tigre, Patricia Ferreira, Wil Burns

Journal Publications

Climate justice can be defined generally as addressing the disproportionate burden of climate change impacts on poor and marginalized communities. It seeks to promote more equitable allocation of these burdens at the local, national, and global levels through proactive regulatory initiatives and reactive judicial remedies that draw on international human rights and domestic environmental justice theories. Yet, efforts to define climate justice as a field of inquiry remain elusive and underinclusive; a recent book, Climate Justice: Case Studies in Global and Regional Governance Challenges (ELI Press 2016), seeks to fill that void by providing an overview of the landscape of …

Ocean Iron Fertilization And Indigenous Peoples' Right To Food: Leveraging International And Domestic Law Protections To Enhance Access To Salmon In The Pacific Northwest, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Ocean iron fertilization (OIF) is a new and controversial climate change mitigation strategy that seeks to increase the carbon-absorbing capacity of ocean waters by depositing significant quantities of iron dust into the marine environment to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton blooms. The photosynthetic processes of these blooms absorb carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it to the ocean floor. OIF has been criticized on several grounds. including the foreseeable and unforeseeable adverse consequences it may cause to the marine environment, as well as the daunting challenge of reconciling several potentially overlapping sources of international and domestic environmental law, which may …

Banning Metal Mining In Guatemala, Randall S. Abate, Raquel Aldana

Journal Publications

Metal mining is unsustainable for Guatemala and its harms insurmountable for its people. Guatemalans who oppose metal mining have been fighting for decades domestically and internationally against the environmental degradation and other human rights abuses from metal mining activities in the country with little to show for their efforts. The State is too weak and corrupt to offer much hope for reform. Guatemala requires extensive governance reforms to become the type of strong democracy capable of reaping the potential benefits of metal mining in its territory. This is a long-term project. Most Guatemalans opposed to metal mining already know this, …

International Legal Protection For Climate Refugees: Where Lies The Haven For The Maldivian People?, Simran Dolla

Student Works

Climate change and sea level rise are not just mere words for the Maldivian people; they are a grim reality that is consuming their nation. Sea level rise presents one of the gravest dangers for the Maldives because of its already low-lying characteristics. As the levels continue to rise, the nation is sinking into extinction. Some 300,000 people of the Maldives are on the brink of losing their homes and becoming climate change refugees. The existing international laws are not only ill-equipped to provide protections or the much-needed relief, they also make no mention of climate change refugees. Therefore, as …

Eyes On Bangladesh's Disappearing Coasts: Proposed Constitutional Protections For Coastal Communities Particularly Vulnerable To Climate Change, Sabrina Persaud

Student Works

Climate change, a phenomenon caused by global warming, has impacted just about every part of the earth. As polar ice caps continue to melt, people across the world are experiencing record-breaking heat waves and warmer winters. These erratic weather patterns are just one of the many impacts of climate change. Changes in temperature have altered ecosystems and habitats for terrestrial and marine wildlife, and caused human health to deteriorate. Larger, more industrialized countries are the major contributors to climate change; however, smaller countries, such as Bangladesh, suffer the consequences. This article analyses the negative effects that climate change has had …

Advancing Climate Justice In International Law: An Evaluation Of The United Nations Human Rights-Based Approach, Damilola S. Olawuyi

Florida A & M University Law Review

The term “climate justice” has been traditionally deployed by scholars to emphasize the need for international law to provide legal solutions for direct and disproportionate impacts of climate change on human life and survival, particularly in vulnerable communities. However, with emerging patterns of human rights violations, massive land grabs, forced displacements, marginalization, exclusions, and governmental repressions resulting from climate change response measures and projects (particularly clean development mechanism (CDM), and REDD+ projects), climate justice has increasingly gained a more expansive connotation. Human rights violations and climate injustices resulting from climate change projects have resulted in calls for an international approach …

Green Energy In Indian Country As A Double-Edged Sword For Native Americans: Drawing On The Inter-American And Colombian Legal Systems To Redefine The Right To Consultation, Diana Coronel David

Student Works

Energy is a key component in the redress of climate change evils and the United States has one of the highest per capita energy consumption in the world. The federal government’s goal is to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and double its wind and solar electricity generation by 2025. The development of renewable energy projects is to a great extent tied to Indian Country. This is highly important for Indian tribes as an empowering mechanism. Such projects could represent new sources of income for tribes whose traditional subsistence-based lifestyles have been impacted by climate change. Renewable energy projects in …

Advancing Climate Justice In International Law: Evaluating The United Nations Human Rights Based Approach, Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi

Environmental and Animal Law

The Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University College of Law's Center for International Law & Justice and the Environment, Development & Justice Program presented the First Annual Climate and Energy Justice Lecture featuring Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi. Dr. Olawuyi teaches and conducts research in the area of public international law, specializing in natural resources, energy and environment, oil and gas law and international human rights law.

Climate Change Impacts On Ocean And Coastal Law: U.S. And International Perspectives, Randall S. Abate

Faculty Books and Book Contributions

Ocean and coastal law has grown rapidly in the past three decades as a specialty area within natural resources law and environmental law. The protection of oceans has received increased attention in the past decade because of sea-level rise, ocean acidification, the global overfishing crisis, widespread depletion of marine biodiversity such as marine mammals and coral reefs, and marine pollution. Paralleling the growth of ocean and coastal law, climate change regulation has emerged as a focus of international environmental diplomacy, and has gained increased attention in the wake of disturbing and abrupt climate change related impacts throughout the world that …

Free Trade Agreements And The Lacey Act: A Carrot And Stick Approach To Prevent And Deter Trade In Iuu Fisheries, Ginna Arevalo

Florida A & M University Law Review

The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of seafood, importing virtually every fish sold in the U.S. market. Trade statistics do not break down the percentage of imported wild harvested fish, but a recent study estimated that twenty to thirty-two percent are caught illegally. Trade in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fisheries undermines efforts to conserve fish stocks, generates global annual losses of up to twenty-three billion dollars, and weakens economic opportunity for U.S. fishermen. Part I of this paper explains the role of different actors in the trade of duty-free IUU fish and how IUU catches may enter the …

Improving Substantive And Procedural Protections For Indigenous Rights In Redd+ Projects: Possible Lessons From Brazil, Kristen Taylor

Student Works

Nations around the world are beginning to acknowledge that climate change is an imminent threat to our planet and are responding with mitigation efforts. REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation plus) may be a way to minimize the deforestation that has lead to the increased greenhouse gas emissions causing a change in our global climate. Although REDD+ is one the leading proposals to address climate change, it lends itself to potentially harmful effects on indigenous people, if the regulating nation does not possess adequate policy for protections of their indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face the challenge of safeguarding access …

Comment On Maxine Burkett's "Rehabilitation: A Proposal For A Climate Compensation Mechanism For Small Island States", Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Remedies For Foreign Citizens Subjected To Outsourced Pollution: A Case Study Of American Big Oil In The Ecuadorian Amazon, Ava Azad

Florida A & M University Law Review

The term “globalization” generally carries a positive connotation, invoking images of progress and international unity. “Technology” similarly enjoys a reputation of enabling human advancement and improving sustenance, shelter, education, and overall quality of life. Both promote the development of the other and their success has become intertwined. Development of the oil industry is one newsworthy example of the coming together of technology and globalization as nations rush to discover, extract, and refine oil wherever possible and sell the fuel to their own citizens or export it to other nations. Oil is also an example of dangers generally not associated with …

Comeback Of Community-Based Forest Management: The Need To Revamp Strategies To Promote Decentralized Environmental Governance In India And Brazil, Naysa Ahuja

Florida A & M University Law Review

The governance of forests and their resources has always been a contentious issue. It has created a divide between developing and developed countries, as well as within them. With the increasing recognition of forests as valuable commodities in the global market, the management of forests in developing countries is becoming a matter of constant concern for ecologists, economists, and politicians.

Part I of this article provides an overview of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) approach in the international context. Part II and III examine environmental governance in the forest sector of two rapidly emerging economies of the world, India and …

Going Overboard: The Criminalization Of Seafarers In Violation Of Their Human Rights, Regional And Domestic Law's Conflict With Unclos And Marpol, And The Need For Reform, Megan K. Reid

Student Works

Following an oil spill, swift and aggressive measures are often taken to ensure that the public demand for justice is fulfilled. Unfortunately, seafarers are often placed in the post-incident spotlight, regardless of whether the incident involved operational error. During the 2002 Prestige accident, an oil spill formed off the coast of Spain in the middle of a raging storm. Spanish authorities denied the ship access to a calm harbor, which would have allowed the captain and crew to mitigate the environmental harm.

Part I of this article will review the Prestige oil spill, where criminal liability was imposed on the …

Unquenched Thirst: The Need For A Constitutionally Recognized Right To Water In Ghana, Tia Crosby

Student Works

The practice of privatizing water is often discussed as the leading method for improving access to adequate water in developing countries. Notably, this method has a cost that frequently impedes access to water in the developing world, while exploiting the profitability of a natural resource that is vital to human life. In Ghana, the failure of water privatization initiatives and the growing scarcity of adequate water have caused a public health crisis that necessitates a quick and efficient solution. As demonstrated in South Africa, the codification of the right to water in its constitution has improved access to adequate water, …

A Redd Solution To A Green Problem: Using Redd Plus To Address Deforestation In Ghana Through Benefit Sharing And Community Self-Empowerment, William Daniel Nartey

Student Works

The process of converting forests into non-forests deforestation claims 17 million hectares of the world’s tropical forests each year. Ghana is no stranger to the problem of deforestation. The developing country’s rainforest has been decreasing rapidly and significantly over time.

Part II of this paper addresses the primary driving factors of deforestation in Ghana, including human activities such as legal and illegal logging and unsustainable agricultural practices, as well as non-human factors such as poverty and population growth, which are inevitably linked. Part III identifies the constitutional land tenure rights and laws of the timber industry, assessing how these have …

Move, Or Wait For The Flood And Die: Protection Of Environmentally Displaced Populations Through A New Relocation Law, Jessica Scott

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

¡Peligro! Si Usted No Entiende La Etiqueta, Busque A Alguien Para Que Se La Explique A Usted En Detalle: The Need For International And Domestic Implementation Of Bilingual Pesticide Labeling To Enhance Protection Of Migrant Farmworkers In Florida, Vanessa Calcano Thomas

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Proposal For Addressing Violations Of Indigenous Peoples' Environmental And Human-Rights In The Inter-American Human Rights System, Natalia Gove

Student Works

International concerns in the areas of human rights, health, and environment have expanded considerably in the past several decades. International environmental law primarily focuses on environmental damage, rather than its impact on human beings. The focus of environmental treaties is primarily on constraining environmentally deleterious behavior, rather than preventing injuries to people. Part I of this paper will discuss the significance of environmental protection for indigenous peoples. Part II will analyze the linkage between environmental and human rights, as well as the lack of a direct enforcement mechanism for redressing violations of environmental rights. It will also describe the existing …

Thirsty For A Solution: Using The Rural Electrification Administration Model To Resolve The Failure Of Privatization Of Water Utilities In Bolivia, Michael Nichola

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Commonality Among Unique Indigenous Communities: An Introduction To Climate Change And Its Impacts On Indigenous Peoples, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

This special Issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal explores how climate change affects the rights of indigenous peoples. Climate change is a global environmental problem caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Indigenous peoples generally contribute very limited quantities of greenhouse gases to the global atmosphere. Although the causes of climate change are global, the adverse impacts of this problem are disproportionately burdening indigenous peoples.

In recognition of the growing global problem of climate change, legal strategies to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation have been undertaken. This Issue recognizes that indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to climate change, both …

Environmental Rights In International Law: Explicitly Recognized Or Creatively Interpreted, Svitlana Kravchenko

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice With Chinese Characteristics: Recent Developments In Using Environmental Public Interest Litigation To Strengthen Access To Environmental Justice, Jingjing Liu

Florida A & M University Law Review

China's unprecedented economic growth and rapid urbanization in the past three decades has exerted a heavy toll on the country's environment. Set against the backdrop of China's daunting environmental challenges, this article will first discuss how the environmental justice issue manifests itself on Chinese soil and how its evolvement differs from the American experience. This discussion will be followed by an analysis on how environmental public interest litigation, inspired by citizen suits in the U.S., has been fermenting in China and advocated by environmentalists as a new approach to broaden and strengthen access to environmental justice. The article will then …

Biopiracy In The Brazilian Amazon: Learning From International And Comparative Law Successes And Shortcomings To Help Promote Biodiversity Conservation In Brazil, Vanessa Danley

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should We Adopt A Specific Regulation To Protect People That Are Displaced By Hydroelectric Projects?: Reflections Based On Brazilian Law And The "Belo Monte" Case, Bibiana Graeff

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adios To Paradise: The Yacyreta Dam And The Destruction Of Environmental And Human Rights, Itzchak E. Kornfeld

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Second Annual Environmental Law And Justice Symposium Issue, Randall S. Abate

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Environmental Law And Justice Symposium Issue, Randall S. Abate, Robert H. Abrams, Robert Graggs

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.