Environmental Policy and Law - Volume 51, issue 1-2

Article Type: Other

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 81-81, 2021

Authors: Sundström, Anna

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Olof Palme, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, underlined the importance of a firm global response to the growing environmental crisis in his 06 June 1972 address to the first UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) held in Stockholm. He prophetically observed: “it is absolutely necessary that concerted, international action is undertaken . . . solutions will require far-reaching changes in attitudes and social structures”. Almost 50 years later, it is painfully clear that the necessary changes have not taken place and that time is now even more limited to make the necessary, far-reaching changes. How can the conclusions …from the Stockholm Conference and ideas envisioned by Olof Palme can guide us into a better common greener future? Show more

Keywords: Stockholm conference, stockholm + 50, olof palme’s vision, changes in attitudes and social structures, global environment

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219009

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 83-90, 2021

Authors: Fauchald, Ole Kristian

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article seeks to focus on ‘peacebuilding’ as a construct of peace among groups that have previously been in conflict. This calls for moving beyond peacemaking and conflict resolution to consider the longer-term efforts at establishing sustainable peace. Notwithstanding the longstanding efforts of UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, there has been very limited development of international normative and institutional structures targeting the process of post-conflict sustainable peacebuilding. The article considers how far the current international environmental governance (IEG) regimes are responsive to the specific challenges to post-conflict situations. It seeks to briefly consider four key characteristics of IEG regimes: …(i) Ad- hoc and subject specific; (ii) Incremental and facilitative; (iii) Degree of reciprocity; and (iv) Science-based. Show more

Keywords: Peacebuilding, post-conflict situations, international environmental governance

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219010

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 91-95, 2021

Authors: Desai, Bharat H.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in the global domain underscores that there are places, territories, and areas known as ‘global commons’ that require special and careful nurturing. The TC under the UN Charter sought to continue the spirit and essence of the ‘sacred trust’ with a ‘new mandate,’ even as it now lies dormant since 1994. From a scholarly perspective, such a move eminently makes sense since it could bring to life an entity within the UN. It will essentially serve as a guardian of the global …‘common concerns’ and ‘common heritage of mankind’ as well as the global environment. It would serve as a trustee for the present and future generations of humankind. A revived TC with a new mandate (for the environment and the global commons) could strengthen the UN and vindicate one of the core purposes for which the ‘United Nations’ came together (in 1945) with a solemn resolve “to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained” Show more

Keywords: United Nations, Trusteeship Council, sacred trust, global environment, new mandate, common concerns, global commons

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219011

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 97-109, 2021

Authors: Mahmoudi, Said

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The issue, international organization for the protection of the environment perhaps more than those in any other area of international law, is characterized by the contestation of the policies and aspirations of developing and industrialized countries. The discussions which preceded the 1972 Stockholm Conference concerned partly the type of international institutional arrangement required for addressing the environmental problems. As regards the institutional reforms with respect to international environmental governance (IEG), the main question is whether to focus on the existing global institution, i.e. UNEP, or to create a new functional international organization. After almost five decades of existence, turning UNEP …into a ‘specialized agency’ within the UN system is a reasonable move. It would meet the long-felt need to elevate its status and equip it with the necessary competence and financial stability for the demanding task it should have as an efficient global environmental organization. Show more

Keywords: UNEP, specialized agency, environment, functional international organization, international environmental governance

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219012

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 111-120, 2021

Authors: Desai, Bharat H.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialized international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by the sovereign states to maintain viability of the ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalized cooperation and emergence of some of the ‘Common Concerns of Humankind’ and …the ‘Duty to Cooperate’. It has sought to make sense of emergence of ICTs as the ‘New Environmental Sentinels’. Do we need a specialized International Environmental Court (IEC) as an ‘ideal’? What does it portend for our common future? Show more

Keywords: International courts & tribunals, peaceful settlement of international disputes, common concerns of humankind, duty to cooperate, new environmental sentinels, international environmental court

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219013

Citation: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 121-134, 2021