The Concept of Environmental Law
Food production is another area covered by environmental legislation. The regulations affect everything from how seeds are harvested and prepared to the types of fertilizers and pesticides used to feed plants until maturity. They will also review food processing, packaging and storage facilities to ensure that all ingredients are fit for human consumption and that the risk of contamination or damage to food is lower. International environmental lawyers often receive specialist training in the form of an LL.M. degree after a first law degree – often in another country where they earned their first law degree. Notable programs include the LL.M. in Environmental Law at the University of Oregon and the Stetson University College of Law Environmental Moot Court. Environmental law is a collective term that encompasses those aspects of the law that protect the environment. [1] A related but distinct set of regulatory systems, which today are strongly influenced by environmental principles, focuses on the management of certain natural resources such as forests, minerals or fisheries. Other areas, such as environmental impact assessment, do not fall into the two categories, but are nevertheless important elements of environmental law. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working with Middle Eastern countries to improve “environmental policy, pollution and water safety, clean fuels and vehicles, public participation, and pollution prevention.” [28] With the adoption of the 2008 Constitution, Ecuador became the first country in the world to codify the rights of nature.
The Constitution, particularly Articles 10 and 71-74, recognizes the inalienable rights of ecosystems to exist and thrive, gives people the power to petition on behalf of ecosystems, and requires the government to address violations of those rights. The legal approach is a break with traditional systems of environmental regulation that treat nature as property and legalize and control environmental degradation rather than prevent it. [46] Areas such as air quality, water quality, waste management, pollutant remediation, chemical safety and resource sustainability are covered by this law. Therefore, environmental laws play a major role in protecting people, animals, habitats and resources. How can we ensure the sustainability of our world so that future generations can enjoy the same level of prosperity and health as the rest of us have enjoyed for generations? The answer is to enact environmental laws that seek to preserve and protect the status quo where they are beneficial, and address damage to long-term sustainability. This applies to food and water security for all. Many of the refugee problems of this decade are seen as the result of environmental disasters. Despite the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, many point out that erratic weather and climate patterns have fueled political instability (as well as other unrelated issues that have been discussed repeatedly). The Brazilian government created the Ministry of Environment in 1992 to develop better strategies to protect the environment, use natural resources sustainably, and implement public environmental policies. The Ministry of Environment has authority over policies related to the environment, water resources, conservation and environmental programs affecting the Amazon. [37] The Clean Air Act: The oldest and best-known of all environmental laws here in the United States is the Clean Air Act. It was launched in 1970 and contains provisions to regulate air emissions within our borders from all potential sources of air pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for enforcement. They are also responsible for creating, reviewing and updating the NAAQS – the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), a set of emission standards. The practice of environmental law requires a certain degree of diplomacy. You may need to talk to a local municipal government about the benefits or dangers of an ordinance. You can be an international diplomat discussing the same issues with a foreign government. If you represent a business, you need to be able to work effectively with government officials if your business is accused of wrongdoing. For environmental lawyers, the ability to work with people is a crucial legal skill. The main environmental concerns in the ocean region are “illegal releases of air and water pollutants, illegal logging and trade, illegal shipments of hazardous wastes, including e-waste and ships destined for destruction, and insufficient institutional structure/lack of enforcement capacity”.
[29] The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)[30] is an international organization between Australia, Cook Islands, FMS, Fiji, France, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United States and Vanuatu. SPREP was created to support the improvement and protection of the environment and ensure sustainable development for future generations. [31] [32] Sustainable development: This legal concept is described as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” and is linked to the principle of intergenerational justice and equality. Interdependence, integration, legal requirements for environmental impacts are important pillars of the idea. It entered into force in 1972, although it is only recently known. In 1983, the United Nations stated that the right to development should apply equally to present and future generations. International environmental law changed dramatically with the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. (See the report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.) This conference gave rise to new reflections on how to reduce damage and better protect the environment through legislation.
The Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN) is an agreement between 16 Asian countries dedicated to improving cooperation with environmental laws in Asia. These countries include Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Maldives, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and the Lao People`s Democratic Republic. [27] For actions that could “take” a listed species, the Minister of the Interior may issue permits to permit the “incidental taking” of species for otherwise lawful acts. However, unlike many other environmental legislation, the ESA does not provide a specific exemption for agricultural operations. Landowners or developers who obtain “accidental permits” must develop a habitat conservation plan. Other ways landowners can be involved in the species restoration process include Safe Harbor agreements and/or conservation agreements, both of which are voluntary contractual measures that provide guaranteed habitat for these species. As ESA does not fully anticipate government regulation, local government agencies may impose additional restrictions on these listed species. Environmental laws affecting agriculture have evolved rapidly over the past sixty years, covering a wide range of issues – from pesticide use to erosion control, water quality, quantity and use, to particulate contamination of the air we breathe. Due to the wide range of environmental laws and regulations, many of the topics covered in this reading room are also covered elsewhere on this page. Further information on individual statuses can be found under the links to the additional reading rooms below. National Environmental Policy Act: NEPA went into effect in 1969 (one year before the EPA was formed) and required federal agencies to consider potential environmental impacts before taking federal actions that could impact the environment.
This applies to public works such as bridge construction, public roads, urban development, pipelines on public lands and many other projects. According to the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), the main environmental problems in Africa are “drought and floods, air pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, freshwater availability, land and vegetation degradation and widespread poverty”. [25] The United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focuses on “growing urban and industrial pollution, water quality, electronic waste, and indoor stove air.” [26] They hope to provide sufficient assistance to pollution concerns before its effects contaminate the African environment as well as the global environment. In this way, they want to “protect human health, especially vulnerable populations such as children and the poor.” [26] To achieve these goals in Africa, EPA programs focus on building public capacity to apply and enforce environmental laws. Other programs are working to develop stronger laws, regulations and environmental standards. [26] There have been many important cases in the field of international environmental law, including the various nuclear testing cases, for example between New Zealand and France before the International Court of Justice. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983), also known as the Tasmania Dam case, was a very important case in Australian environmental law. [33] Environmental remediation laws regulate the removal of pollution or pollutants from environmental media such as soil, sediment, surface water or groundwater.
