Environmental Law Commons^™

Projected Impact Of Global Warming On West Africa: Case For Regional And Transnational Adaptive Measures, Nwabueze Dozie Ezeife

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper explores the concept of Global Warming, the science behind it and signs of it in the region of West Africa. Then it attempts a look at how the countries of West Africa plan for life in a dramatically warmed world. It will conclude by making a case for Regional and Transnational Adaptation measures to cope with an increasingly warming and vulnerable world.

The paper is based on a review of research projects, abstracts of international conferences, regional and international literature on climate change and policies, draft strategies, policies and action plans developed by countries of the region, as …

Extended Producer Responsibility (Epr): An Alternative Solution To Regulate The International Electronic Waste Trade, Tiptira Rammaniya

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the problems associated with the transboundary movement of electronic waste (e-waste), a term that refers to end-of-life or discarded electrical and electronic equipment. These problems occur mostly in developing countries where proper facilities and technology for environmentally sound management of e-waste are not sufficiently available. The Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal is the only existing international treaty governing the electronic waste trade. However, the Basel Convention, which employs the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure as a control system, exempts electronic assemblies destined for direct reuse, repair, refurbishment, …

Nature Conservation And Trade Distortion: Green Box And Blue Box Farming Subsidies In Europe, Jim Dixon

Golden Gate University Law Review

Many rural communities in Europe are distinctively dependent on farming. Also, the very close association between Europe's environmental assets - soil, water, forests, biodiversity - and farming make a strong case for integrating environmental objectives in farm policy. However, the European model too often assumes that Europe's farming is static and that market protection (in the form of export subsidies, tariffs and subsidies) will automatically deliver the additional functions of the European model. This article will seek to critique this assumption. It is argued that the European Model is justifiable as a descriptor of part of the EU countryside but …

Sovereignty Over Natural Resources Under Examination: The Inter-American System For Human Rights And Natural Resource Allocation, Lila Barrera-Hernández

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The present paper is based on the contention that, by virtue of the impact of resource exploitation on individuals, international human rights' tribunals and bodies, particularly the organs of the Inter-American System, are increasingly in the position of "allocator" of natural resources, giving new meaning to the concept of permanent sovereignty.

Foreign Direct Investments And Sustainable Development In The Least-Developed Countries, Zakia Afrin

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article examines the existing flaws of foreign investment regulations regarding environmental protection in the developing countries. Recommendations to ensure sustainable development in the poor countries will also be presented. For the purposes of explanation, the discussion will be divided in four parts. First, foreign investment will be defined with specific attention to its emergence in the developing countries with brief mention of the actors in foreign investment as well as their influence on the host country's environment. The second part will present an existing conflict between Bangladesh and Occidental Corporation that portrays a typical condition that a developing country …

Genetically Modified Plants: A Need For International Regulation, Henrique Freire De Oliveira Souza

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Amongst all the possible issues related to biotechnology, the issue concerning genetically modified food (GMF) has special importance: while the "creators" of this kind of food are starting to exploit it commercially, resistance to genetically modified food has risen under the leadership of the European countries.

This paper will be confined only to genetically modified plants (GMP) , and their impacts on both the environment and the economy. In this paper, an overview will be provided of the issues involved in the context of GMP, including aspects of consumer and environmental protection, international trade, and intellectual property. Then, and using …

Transboundary Water Pollution And State Responsibility: The Sandoz Spill, Astrid Boos-Hersberger

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Environmental Law System Of The Federal Republic Of Germany, Monika T. Neumann

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper presents a general overview of German environmental law, its principles, and its implementation. It briefly touches on the cultural and historical contexts in which this field of law evolved, as well as on its underlying policy. Being located in the center of Europe, Germany is tied into several systems of international relationships - regional, European, and global - that have to be examined with regard to their impact on German environmental law. Within the scope of this paper, the complex system of the legal obligations produced by these international relationships and German environmental law itself, consisting as it …

Africa And The Environment, Christian N. Okeke

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The point of departure for this paper is the conviction that the major questions and problems, so often dismissed as "problems of the Third World" of which Africa occupies a central place, must be the starting point for the building of a system of international law, and indeed, are the bases upon which the discipline can come to terms with itself in the context of present-day realities. Thus, this attempt to examine environmental law from the point of view of decolonization and development will be deliberately restricted to the African area. This necessitates the placing of Africa very close to …

An International Legal Framework For Forest Management And Sustainable Development, Emmanuel B. Kasimbazi

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper examines soft international law principles that regulate forest management. It proceeds from the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment as a major source of international environmental law and surveys major international customary law norms that have followed. The article ends with the Rio Declaration as the latest source of soft international environmental law. The discussion of the paper hinges on the strength and limitations of soft international law principles in regulating sustainable development of forests.

Current Trends In International Civil Liability For Environmental Damage, Peter Wetterstein

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

With the rapid technological and industrial development in the world and the increasing intercourse between countries and people - especially in the fields of technology and trade - the risks of environmental catastrophes with international, (i.e. transboundary) consequences increase all the time. This is, unfortunately, the price that our consumer society has to pay for its demands for a higher standard of living. There exists a conflict between technological progress and the environment.

Protection Of The Environment In Times Of Armed Conflict: Reflections On The Existing And Future Treaty Law, Andronico O. Adede

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This survey indicates that no treaty has been concluded to deal with environmental issues comprehensively. No treaty states basic principles which States would be called upon to observe with respect to the various environmental problems. However, some efforts in this direction are now underway as noted in the concluding section of this paper. The conclusion discusses the current drafts of such general principles as rights and obligations of States in the field of the environment, including specific reference to the question of the environment and armed conflict.

Rio Grande Designs: Texans' Nafta Water Claim Against Mexico, Paul S. Kibel, Jonathan R. Schultz

Publications

Our article begins with an analysis of the historical context and key provisions in the 1944 Rivers Treaty between Mexico and the United States. Next, we explain the expropriation claims process established by NAFTA's Chapter 11 and describe the environmental controversy that has arisen over its implementation. We follow with an account of the Texans' NAFTA water claim against Mexico, including an analysis of this claim's relation to the Tulare Lake decision and parallel dispute resolution proceedings at the International and Boundary Waters Commission.

At the end of this review, our finding is that the Texans' NAFTA water claim against …

The Paper Tiger Awakens: North American Environmental Law After The Cozumel Reef Case, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

This Article examines the citizen submission process created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation ("NAAEC"), which, along with the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA "), was adopted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1993. The Article details the historical evolution of North American environmental law and diplomacy in the hundred years prior to the adoption of NAAEC. It proceeds to analyze the environmental provisions of NAAEC and the citizen submissions that have been filed since NAAEC went into effect, and undertakes an in-depth case study of the citizen submission relating to coral reefs in Cozumel, …

National Incentives To Protect Natural Resources: Preserving Their Place In International Trade, Paul S. Kibel

Publications

This Dialogue attempts to place the conflict between the principles of negative externalities and comparative advantage in a less theoretical context. To that end, the author examines the relationship between national incentives to protect natural resources and international trade rules that seek to restrict the use of natural resource subsidies. The author further evaluates the extent to which the international trade rules account for the problem of negative externalities, and the extent to which the rules recognize the potentially effective role that national incentive programs can play in correcting market failures. From this evaluation, the author concludes that the legitimacy …

Responsibility And Liability For Environmental Damage Under International Law, Sompong Sucharitkul

Publications

Replies to a questionnaire.

Africa And The Environment, Christian N. Okeke

Publications

No abstract provided.

Canada's International Forest Protection Obligations: A Case Of Promises Forgotten In British Columbia And Alberta, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

Part I of this Article sets forth Canada's,numerous international forest protection obligations. Part II reveals the pattern of forest destruction and provincial government corruption in British Columbia and Alberta. Part III examines why the Canadian federal government has thus far been reluctant to interfere with provincial forest management. The constitutional arguments supporting this "hands-off" policy are assessed and rejected. Therefore, this Article concludes that the Canadian federal government must ultimately be held accountable for provincial violations of international law.

Asean And The Environment, Sompong Sucharitkul

Publications

This is part of a series of studies devoted to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a dynamic regional organization for social, cultural and economic cooperation. This year marks the coming of age of the process of codification and progressive development of international law in the fields of environmental protection since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm on June 5-16, 1972.