Climate change due to global warming will have an impact on marine and coastal ecosystems, including causing loss of biodiversity and threatening the sustainability of marine and coastal resources. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made Indonesia, which is a tropical archipelagic state as one of the hotspots that is very at risk of being affected by global warming. This risk is especially experienced by cities on the coast. Therefore the importance of adaptation, especially in dealing with the impacts of climate change that has already occurred. The adaptation process cannot be delayed any longer because the earth’s temperature will certainly increase beyond the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius in 2030 compared to the pre-Industrial Revolution temperature of 1850. Currently, the global temperature increase has reached 1.1 degrees Celsius. Therefore, Indonesia must immediately make adaptation efforts by utilizing the Blue Carbon Ecosystem which is based on research that blue carbon can absorb and store 100 times more carbon and is more permanent than forests on land. This stored carbon can be stored for thousands of years. Because of this great potential, coastal ecosystems can play many roles as adaptation solutions and mitigation of climate change impacts. Therefore researchers conduct research with the aim of the research is to create Strategies and Adaptation Efforts for Utilizing Blue Carbon Ecosystems: Disaster Resilience, Climate Crisis, and Sustainable Development, with the main target of implementing Resource Based Theory in developing strategies for utilization of Marine Resources, especially Utilization of Carbon Ecosystems Blue in Indonesian marine environment. This research is expected to provide theoretical and empirical evidence related to the development of blue ecosystem utilization strategies, climate crisis, and sustainable development.
{"title":"Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Climate Resilience in Indonesia: A Study of Adaptation Strategy","authors":"Ria Tri Vinata, M. T. Kumala, P. Setyowati","doi":"10.3233/epl-230049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-230049","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change due to global warming will have an impact on marine and coastal ecosystems, including causing loss of biodiversity and threatening the sustainability of marine and coastal resources. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made Indonesia, which is a tropical archipelagic state as one of the hotspots that is very at risk of being affected by global warming. This risk is especially experienced by cities on the coast. Therefore the importance of adaptation, especially in dealing with the impacts of climate change that has already occurred. The adaptation process cannot be delayed any longer because the earth’s temperature will certainly increase beyond the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius in 2030 compared to the pre-Industrial Revolution temperature of 1850. Currently, the global temperature increase has reached 1.1 degrees Celsius. Therefore, Indonesia must immediately make adaptation efforts by utilizing the Blue Carbon Ecosystem which is based on research that blue carbon can absorb and store 100 times more carbon and is more permanent than forests on land. This stored carbon can be stored for thousands of years. Because of this great potential, coastal ecosystems can play many roles as adaptation solutions and mitigation of climate change impacts. Therefore researchers conduct research with the aim of the research is to create Strategies and Adaptation Efforts for Utilizing Blue Carbon Ecosystems: Disaster Resilience, Climate Crisis, and Sustainable Development, with the main target of implementing Resource Based Theory in developing strategies for utilization of Marine Resources, especially Utilization of Carbon Ecosystems Blue in Indonesian marine environment. This research is expected to provide theoretical and empirical evidence related to the development of blue ecosystem utilization strategies, climate crisis, and sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140734258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. Olujobi, Oshobugie Suleiman Irumekhai, A. Aina-Pelemo
This study delves into the pivotal roles played by sustainable development and national integration in advancing legal compliance, environmental protection, and sustainability within Nigeria. Employing a doctrinal and conceptual legal research approach, it meticulously examines pertinent literature, international exemplars, and conducts an exhaustive analysis of primary and secondary legal sources, including the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Climate Change Act of 2021, and relevant international instruments. An effort has been made to examine extant sustainable development practices, presenting an encompassing snapshot of the nation’s legal, environmental, and sustainability apprehensions, while also addressing the attendant challenges. Moreover, it undertakes a comprehensive evaluation of Nigeria’s prevailing legal framework concerning environmental protection, delving into its potential for long-term sustainability. The findings resoundingly underscore the potency of sustainable development as a strategic avenue for achieving legal compliance, environmental protection, and enduring sustainability. Importantly, the study unveils that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) find manifestation within Chapter II of the Constitution, albeit in a non-justiciable form, thereby impeding the stride toward their attainment. Nevertheless, it accentuates the necessity for an approach that meticulously factors in Nigeria’s distinctive context and specific requisites, thereby fostering effectiveness through national integration, policy execution, effective communication, and collaborative synergy across stakeholders within both the public and private domains. Essential to the realization of SDGs’ objectives is a synergistic collaboration amongst the government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. This study illuminates the latent potential of sustainable development and national integration as efficacious strategies for propelling legal compliance, environmental protection, and sustainability. It proffers a recommendation for the assimilation of innovative paradigms that have proven successful in mitigating environmental degradation elsewhere. Ultimately, the study ardently advocates for comprehensive overhauls to systematically address Nigeria’s complex entanglements encompassing legality, environment, and sustainability. Furthermore, the study ardently champions the elimination of the provision stipulated in section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution as a crucial step towards realizing the SDGs’ objectives within Nigeria.
{"title":"Sustainable Development and National Integration: A Catalyst for Enhancing Environmental Law Compliance in Nigeria","authors":"O. Olujobi, Oshobugie Suleiman Irumekhai, A. Aina-Pelemo","doi":"10.3233/epl-230050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-230050","url":null,"abstract":"This study delves into the pivotal roles played by sustainable development and national integration in advancing legal compliance, environmental protection, and sustainability within Nigeria. Employing a doctrinal and conceptual legal research approach, it meticulously examines pertinent literature, international exemplars, and conducts an exhaustive analysis of primary and secondary legal sources, including the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Climate Change Act of 2021, and relevant international instruments. An effort has been made to examine extant sustainable development practices, presenting an encompassing snapshot of the nation’s legal, environmental, and sustainability apprehensions, while also addressing the attendant challenges. Moreover, it undertakes a comprehensive evaluation of Nigeria’s prevailing legal framework concerning environmental protection, delving into its potential for long-term sustainability. The findings resoundingly underscore the potency of sustainable development as a strategic avenue for achieving legal compliance, environmental protection, and enduring sustainability. Importantly, the study unveils that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) find manifestation within Chapter II of the Constitution, albeit in a non-justiciable form, thereby impeding the stride toward their attainment. Nevertheless, it accentuates the necessity for an approach that meticulously factors in Nigeria’s distinctive context and specific requisites, thereby fostering effectiveness through national integration, policy execution, effective communication, and collaborative synergy across stakeholders within both the public and private domains. Essential to the realization of SDGs’ objectives is a synergistic collaboration amongst the government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. This study illuminates the latent potential of sustainable development and national integration as efficacious strategies for propelling legal compliance, environmental protection, and sustainability. It proffers a recommendation for the assimilation of innovative paradigms that have proven successful in mitigating environmental degradation elsewhere. Ultimately, the study ardently advocates for comprehensive overhauls to systematically address Nigeria’s complex entanglements encompassing legality, environment, and sustainability. Furthermore, the study ardently champions the elimination of the provision stipulated in section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution as a crucial step towards realizing the SDGs’ objectives within Nigeria.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140754932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International Environmental Law (IEL): Perspectives of Women Scholars","authors":"Bharat H. Desai","doi":"10.3233/epl-239019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239019","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140428957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since the 1950s, billions of tons of primary plastic waste have been generated around the globe to date. Instead of the current linear make-use-dispose plastic economy, a circular plastics economy is said to be able to reduce plastic pollution in the environment. Recently, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to forge a globally binding treaty addressing plastic pollution by addressing the full life cycle of plastics and by taking such a circular approach. A circular approach for plastics has already been adopted by the EU. Therefore, this contribution sets out some lessons that the UN Treaty can learn from the implementation of the EU’s circular approach for plastics. These relate to the restriction on placing on the market of certain plastic products, the introduction of ecodesign requirements and the establishment of EPR schemes. The EU legal framework on plastics shows that it is important to take into account the inherent interlinkage between not only plastic life cycle stages, but also between the different provisions and obligations, in order to maximize the contribution to and unlock synergies in tackling plastic pollution.
{"title":"Global Plastic Pollution and the Transition Towards a Circular Economy: Lessons from the EU’s Legal Framework on Plastics","authors":"Marlon Boeve, I. M. de Waal","doi":"10.3233/epl-239016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239016","url":null,"abstract":" Since the 1950s, billions of tons of primary plastic waste have been generated around the globe to date. Instead of the current linear make-use-dispose plastic economy, a circular plastics economy is said to be able to reduce plastic pollution in the environment. Recently, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to forge a globally binding treaty addressing plastic pollution by addressing the full life cycle of plastics and by taking such a circular approach. A circular approach for plastics has already been adopted by the EU. Therefore, this contribution sets out some lessons that the UN Treaty can learn from the implementation of the EU’s circular approach for plastics. These relate to the restriction on placing on the market of certain plastic products, the introduction of ecodesign requirements and the establishment of EPR schemes. The EU legal framework on plastics shows that it is important to take into account the inherent interlinkage between not only plastic life cycle stages, but also between the different provisions and obligations, in order to maximize the contribution to and unlock synergies in tackling plastic pollution.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140431867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The idea of “sustainable development” was first recognized in 1972 at the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. The Conference did not make reference to the concept explicitly but recognized that the concepts of “sustainability” and “development” that were previously addressed separately could be addressed together to create more benefits. The Conference recognised the importance of environmental management for the purposes of sustainable development. In the years that followed the 1972 conference, terms such as “environment and development,” “development without destruction,” “eco-development,” and “environmentally sound development” became common in publications and the works of the United Nations. This article examines the international legal framework on sustainable development and evaluates the extent to which these laws ensure environmentally sustainable development. The article argues that although the legal framework on environmentally sustainable development is quite extensive and steps are being made to engender them, there is still need to move beyond formal equality and substantive equality to transformative equality. The paper draws on feminist perspectives and calls for engendering the legal framework so as to make environmental sustainability a reality.
{"title":"Engendering the Legal Framework for Environmentally Sustainable Development: Some Reflections","authors":"Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Nkatha Kabira","doi":"10.3233/epl-239017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239017","url":null,"abstract":" The idea of “sustainable development” was first recognized in 1972 at the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. The Conference did not make reference to the concept explicitly but recognized that the concepts of “sustainability” and “development” that were previously addressed separately could be addressed together to create more benefits. The Conference recognised the importance of environmental management for the purposes of sustainable development. In the years that followed the 1972 conference, terms such as “environment and development,” “development without destruction,” “eco-development,” and “environmentally sound development” became common in publications and the works of the United Nations. This article examines the international legal framework on sustainable development and evaluates the extent to which these laws ensure environmentally sustainable development. The article argues that although the legal framework on environmentally sustainable development is quite extensive and steps are being made to engender them, there is still need to move beyond formal equality and substantive equality to transformative equality. The paper draws on feminist perspectives and calls for engendering the legal framework so as to make environmental sustainability a reality.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140429738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Feminist foreign policy (FFP) ensures the representation and participation of women both nationally and internationally. Initially, it aimed to focus on some special areas relating to women, peace and security especially sexual violence in conflict and women representation in peace process. Now, the ambit has been broadened and issues relating to climate change and so on are also included. The research has already proved that women suffer double victimization as a consequence of climate change. Climate change exacerbates sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), so, they face all types of consequences of climate change (CC) and natural disasters like human beings but they face SGBV in particular because of their gender. The FFP states respect for international law and efforts to address gender inequalities and violence. Unfortunately, the existing international law e.g. the CEDAW or human rights treaties etc. generally or law on climate change e.g. the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement etc. specifically do not address the issue. Also, the interlinkage between climate change and SGBV has not been discussed with priority. The FFP consistently pursued UNFCCC and the COP negotiations in the context of climate peace initiative etc and involved the women especially local and indigenous in the decision-making process. Thus, the FFP can be one of the strongest global voices to end SGBV by ensuring women’s participation; addressing the legal gap; and advocating to adopt gender-responsive law and policy both nationally and internationally. They can be a leader at the international level and a change-maker at the national level. This study has sought to explain how climate change exacerbated SGBV has emerged as a subject of FFP and how it can address the challenge of SGBV exacerbated by CC, the relevant legal issues therein and the road ahead.
{"title":"Climate Change Exacerbated Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Role of the Feminist Foreign Policy","authors":"Moumita Mandal","doi":"10.3233/epl-239018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239018","url":null,"abstract":"Feminist foreign policy (FFP) ensures the representation and participation of women both nationally and internationally. Initially, it aimed to focus on some special areas relating to women, peace and security especially sexual violence in conflict and women representation in peace process. Now, the ambit has been broadened and issues relating to climate change and so on are also included. The research has already proved that women suffer double victimization as a consequence of climate change. Climate change exacerbates sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), so, they face all types of consequences of climate change (CC) and natural disasters like human beings but they face SGBV in particular because of their gender. The FFP states respect for international law and efforts to address gender inequalities and violence. Unfortunately, the existing international law e.g. the CEDAW or human rights treaties etc. generally or law on climate change e.g. the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement etc. specifically do not address the issue. Also, the interlinkage between climate change and SGBV has not been discussed with priority. The FFP consistently pursued UNFCCC and the COP negotiations in the context of climate peace initiative etc and involved the women especially local and indigenous in the decision-making process. Thus, the FFP can be one of the strongest global voices to end SGBV by ensuring women’s participation; addressing the legal gap; and advocating to adopt gender-responsive law and policy both nationally and internationally. They can be a leader at the international level and a change-maker at the national level. This study has sought to explain how climate change exacerbated SGBV has emerged as a subject of FFP and how it can address the challenge of SGBV exacerbated by CC, the relevant legal issues therein and the road ahead.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140449467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
International environmental law-making (IEL) now increasingly highlights the importance of ensuring that women are enabled to play a key role in environmental management and decision-making at all scales, including in relation to the marine environment. This article examines narratives of women in international environmental law, with a focus on the marine environment and human rights intersections. This study reveals that there is a tendency to treat women both as victims in need of saving from ecological devastation, and as saviours whose empowerment will save the world. Recent developments at the intersection of human rights and the environment point clearly to the necessity of embracing an intersectional approach. Beyond this, it is necessary to reflect on what is meant by ‘women’ in international law to answer the question of whether greater inclusion of women in legal processes will make a difference to solving global and local ecological challenges. Ultimately, the article argues that meaningful action will not happen until affluent and powerful men and women learn how to embody the idea of woman themselves, rather than placing the burden to save the world on those whose vulnerability is worsened if not created by affluent overconsumption.
{"title":"Women and the Marine Environment in International Law","authors":"Sara L. Seck","doi":"10.3233/epl-239013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239013","url":null,"abstract":"International environmental law-making (IEL) now increasingly highlights the importance of ensuring that women are enabled to play a key role in environmental management and decision-making at all scales, including in relation to the marine environment. This article examines narratives of women in international environmental law, with a focus on the marine environment and human rights intersections. This study reveals that there is a tendency to treat women both as victims in need of saving from ecological devastation, and as saviours whose empowerment will save the world. Recent developments at the intersection of human rights and the environment point clearly to the necessity of embracing an intersectional approach. Beyond this, it is necessary to reflect on what is meant by ‘women’ in international law to answer the question of whether greater inclusion of women in legal processes will make a difference to solving global and local ecological challenges. Ultimately, the article argues that meaningful action will not happen until affluent and powerful men and women learn how to embody the idea of woman themselves, rather than placing the burden to save the world on those whose vulnerability is worsened if not created by affluent overconsumption.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140480742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
On 4 March 2023, the Member States of the United Nations agreed in New York on the text of a new treaty on biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ or ABNJ) –in international maritime areas. It took marathon process spread over more than ten years of informal discussions, four years of formal negotiations and the final session of almost 36 hours. Rena Lee, the President of the intergovernmental conference, announced to the applause of the delegates that the ship had finally “reached the shore”. This new BBNJ Agreement, now signed by more than 80 countries, is a historic step for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is also in consonance with the objectives of the global Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022. This article aims to provide a preliminary analysis of the environmental (preamble, principles and approaches, area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments) and economic (marine genetic resources, capacity building and transfer of marine technologies) content of the 2023 BBNJ Agreement, which are both the result of important compromises. It also seeks to underline the numerous remaining uncertainties and potential difficulties it raises, especially in terms of implementation and articulation with existing instruments and frameworks.
{"title":"The Advent of the 2023 “BBNJ” Agreement: A Preliminary Legal Analysis","authors":"Pascale Ricard","doi":"10.3233/epl-239014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239014","url":null,"abstract":"On 4 March 2023, the Member States of the United Nations agreed in New York on the text of a new treaty on biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ or ABNJ) –in international maritime areas. It took marathon process spread over more than ten years of informal discussions, four years of formal negotiations and the final session of almost 36 hours. Rena Lee, the President of the intergovernmental conference, announced to the applause of the delegates that the ship had finally “reached the shore”. This new BBNJ Agreement, now signed by more than 80 countries, is a historic step for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is also in consonance with the objectives of the global Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022. This article aims to provide a preliminary analysis of the environmental (preamble, principles and approaches, area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments) and economic (marine genetic resources, capacity building and transfer of marine technologies) content of the 2023 BBNJ Agreement, which are both the result of important compromises. It also seeks to underline the numerous remaining uncertainties and potential difficulties it raises, especially in terms of implementation and articulation with existing instruments and frameworks.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139528197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The interpretative clarifications under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on children’s human right to a healthy environment help illuminate areas for transformative change through the evolutive interpretation and implementation of international environmental law. This article explores how the 2023 UN General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change, sheds new light on: a holistic approach to environmental protection; the minimum content of State obligations, including with regard to inter-generational equity; a more ambitious interpretation of precaution; and the inclusiveness of international environmental law fora.
{"title":"International Environmental Law: A Case for Transformative Change through the Lens of Children’s Human Rights","authors":"Elisa Morgera","doi":"10.3233/epl-239015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239015","url":null,"abstract":"The interpretative clarifications under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on children’s human right to a healthy environment help illuminate areas for transformative change through the evolutive interpretation and implementation of international environmental law. This article explores how the 2023 UN General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change, sheds new light on: a holistic approach to environmental protection; the minimum content of State obligations, including with regard to inter-generational equity; a more ambitious interpretation of precaution; and the inclusiveness of international environmental law fora.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139623707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
People form part of the biosphere - the biosphere being the whole intertwined network of life on Earth. While there is convergence on the need for societal change for just sustainability and a healthy biosphere, the pathways to achieve these transformations remain relatively unclear. Through legal interpretation, conceptual and thematic analysis of academic and grey literature, we seek to answer the following two questions: (a) how does the concept of Biosphere Defender enable a deeper and distinct understanding of who environmental defenders are and their role in just sustainability transformations? and (b) how does international human rights law contribute to specify the content of biosphere defenders’ rights? To address these questions, we first critically review the scope and limitations of the notion of Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRD) in human rights narratives in international law and policy. We examine how understandings of EHRD portray those defending their land and environment and what limitations this concept has in terms of possibilities for reflecting on transformations towards just sustainability. Second, we propose an alternative and/or complementary understanding of EHRD by using the concept of Biosphere Defenders. We also develop the Defend-Biosphere Framework to analyse the role of these actors as agents of change in pathways towards just sustainability. Third, to empirically illustrate the role of Biosphere Defenders, and the use of the Defend-Biosphere Framework we present two case studies from Latin America analyzing initiatives catalyzed by rural people who are defending their lands and territories while generating new ways to relate to socio-ecological systems and engage with the State and the economy. In both case studies, we find that relational values of solidarity, responsibility, and care (between human and other living beings) are central in understanding Biosphere Defenders’ initiatives creating pathways towards just sustainability. The findings of this article are of particular relevance to the implementation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the context of the Escazu Agreement on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters and the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework in particular Target 22 (access to information, participation, access to justice and environmental defenders) and Target 23 (gender equality).
{"title":"Just Pathways to Sustainability: From Environmental Human Rights Defenders to Biosphere Defenders","authors":"C. Ituarte-Lima, Maria Andrea Nardi, Liisa Varumo","doi":"10.3233/epl-239009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-239009","url":null,"abstract":"People form part of the biosphere - the biosphere being the whole intertwined network of life on Earth. While there is convergence on the need for societal change for just sustainability and a healthy biosphere, the pathways to achieve these transformations remain relatively unclear. Through legal interpretation, conceptual and thematic analysis of academic and grey literature, we seek to answer the following two questions: (a) how does the concept of Biosphere Defender enable a deeper and distinct understanding of who environmental defenders are and their role in just sustainability transformations? and (b) how does international human rights law contribute to specify the content of biosphere defenders’ rights? To address these questions, we first critically review the scope and limitations of the notion of Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRD) in human rights narratives in international law and policy. We examine how understandings of EHRD portray those defending their land and environment and what limitations this concept has in terms of possibilities for reflecting on transformations towards just sustainability. Second, we propose an alternative and/or complementary understanding of EHRD by using the concept of Biosphere Defenders. We also develop the Defend-Biosphere Framework to analyse the role of these actors as agents of change in pathways towards just sustainability. Third, to empirically illustrate the role of Biosphere Defenders, and the use of the Defend-Biosphere Framework we present two case studies from Latin America analyzing initiatives catalyzed by rural people who are defending their lands and territories while generating new ways to relate to socio-ecological systems and engage with the State and the economy. In both case studies, we find that relational values of solidarity, responsibility, and care (between human and other living beings) are central in understanding Biosphere Defenders’ initiatives creating pathways towards just sustainability. The findings of this article are of particular relevance to the implementation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the context of the Escazu Agreement on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters and the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework in particular Target 22 (access to information, participation, access to justice and environmental defenders) and Target 23 (gender equality).","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138953423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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