International law for the environment

International Law for the Environment is a comprehensive exposition of contemporary international environmental law and the governance institutions that implement it.

Part I sets out the drivers of threats to the planet's air, water and social support systems, the philosophical, economic, and scientific foundations of the legal responses to these threats, and the customary and treaty-based legal regimes that have emerged. These regimes are placed in the context of general international law. Part II introduces the students to the major treaty-based regimes such as those addressing transboundary air and water pollution, the control of pollutants which deplete the ozone layer, global climate change, the protection of oceans and polar regions, the disposal of hazardous wastes outside the country of origin, the protection and allocation of fresh waters and the restoration of degraded aquatic ecosystems, and the conservation of biological diversity.

Also addressed is the linkage between agricultural production and the environment.

Part III examines the integration of environmental considerations into international regimes such as human rights and environmental justice, international trade law and the financing of sustainable development.

Environmental governance is discussed in Part IV, together with material on international environmental institutions and the international legal system.

Throughout the book the incorporation of international environmental law principles and treaty obligations into national judicial decisions and legislation is stressed.