This article has been written by Ms. Shubhi Singh a third year of NMIMS School of Law, Navi Mumbai.

ABSTRACT

A collection of guidelines controlling the interactions between adherents and practitioners of international law is known as international environmental law. International law, which includes both governmental and non-governmental regulations aimed at protecting the environment, is a developing area whose pivotal moment came during the 1972 Stockholm Conference. Since then, there have been numerous developments in this field, which lawyers have categorized into three stages: the 1972 conference, the Rio Conference in 1992, and the Rio + 20 Conference. These conferences primarily addressed issues like developing preventive measures, extending the guarantees of governments’ environmental commitments, modifying government will, and limiting the principle of national sovereignty. However, the procedure has encountered challenges and restrictions such as a lack of funding, environmental problems, and national choices and leadership. To speed up this process, powerful and effective international organizations that are capable of furthering environmental goals should be formed. Environmental disasters and issues have prompted reformers and politicians to consider taking action throughout the past few decades. and useful actions in this context, such as initiatives to arrange and mold international environmental law.

KEYWORDS– as international environmental law, Stockholm Conference, Rio Conference, national sovereignty, Environmental disasters.

INTRODUCTION

Humans have always had to put in greater effort to control and exploit their environment. With the industrial revolution, Humans now have a far greater chance to understand and use natural resources, which has led to major environmental issues due to improper resource exploitation. Decades of unresolved human actions have resulted in issues including the depletion of the ozone layer, climate change, water pollution, endangered species of rare plant and animal, drought, and storms (Kurokolasariya, 2011).

In recent decades, the environmental catastrophe that arose from these difficulties served as the impetus for international environmental legislation.

One of the most significant, varied, and intricate areas of international law today is international environmental law, which has been fueled by environmental law. The global environmental Cross-disciplinary law has bridged the gap between science and law, bringing together environmentalists and lawyers, and organizing environmental protection via the creation and implementation of required regulations. This new field of study has been able to produce non-binding guidelines that are not well-established in traditional international law, as well as demonstrate how these guidelines might be transformed into legally recognized laws. However, this discipline establishes the means for ongoing, legally binding international collaboration between states to transform transboundary environmental deterioration into a global convergence opportunity that jeopardizes global peace and security. A healthy environment, humanity’s shared legacy, the rights of future generations, development rights, and the idea of sustainable development are a few instances of environmental human rights. For well over 500 years, the management of natural resources has been the focus of international law. This began with bilateral and regional regulatory agreements between states and dispute resolution procedures concerning the shared use of watercourses, wildlife, and fisheries in transboundary areas, and the distribution and exploitation of “fugitive” marine resources in areas outside of national jurisdiction.

HISTORY

Since ancient times, it has been crucial to utilize water, air, plants, and animals sustainably. These are only a few of the resources that are necessary for human survival. Unwritten social rules have helped sustainable communities, like the Inuit/Inupiat people of Canada and the native human occupants of hot and cold deserts and rainforests in North and South America, Africa, and Asia (such as Brazil, Papua New Guinea, or the Sahara), to survive (in some extreme cases up to the present day). A subset of international public law known as international environmental law has developed since the 1972 United Nations Conference on Human and Environment in Stockholm. There are three distinct phases in the history of international environmental law development:

From the Stockholm Conference to the Rio Conference: The 1972 Stockholm Conference’s final statement, which contained an introduction, 26 principles, and an action plan, presented significant issues in environmental legislation and protection. The 109 proposals in the environmental policy include the establishment of the Environment Fund and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), both of which were crucial in the formation of international environmental law.

 From the Stockholm Conference to the Rio + 12 Conference: The 1992 Rio Declaration was analyzed and scrutinized from two perspectives: the first highlights the distinctions between developed and developing nations, while the other aims to guide the advancement of international environmental law. The 1992 Rio Declaration represented the opinions of developing nations, including the rights to health and the capacity to adapt physically and mentally to the environment, the sovereignty of states in the fair and controlled exploitation of natural resources, the right to development that meets the needs of both the present and future generations, the eradication of poverty and deprivation, the recognition of the needs and conditions of developing nations, the increased responsibility of developed nations in protecting the environment, the exchange of information, and The 1992 Rio Declaration’s tenets—such as shifting patterns of production and consumption, population growth that is compatible with the environment and sustainable development, people’s right to access environmental information and judicial and administrative courts, applications for compensation of environmental damage, support for a free market system free from capricious laws that exploit others, and emphasis on the vital role that women’s cooperation in the environment plays in sustainable development—echo the opinions of developing nations.

The evolution and changes in international environmental law have been greatly influenced by the Rio Conference on Environmental Law. It underlined how crucial environmental preservation is to globalization, industrialization, and economic expansion, and how governments must take sustainable development into account.

The realization, comprehension, reform, and emergence of conflicts in many nations were the subjects of the second phase of the Rio Conference, which took place in 1997. Examining the outcomes of the Rio meeting, assessing the agreements’ implementation, and determining the required steps to stop more environmental damage and promote sustainable development were the goals of this meeting. A new kind of engagement between commercial concerns, governments, and civil society was established during the 2012 Rio + 20 Conference, which also evaluated the accomplishments of the Rio Conference over the previous twenty years. The Comprehensive Charter for Sustainable Development, which drew on the conference’s talks, and a green economy were among the topics covered on the agenda. On January 10, 2012, the document “The Future We Want” was created using the conclusions reached during the Rio + 20 Conference and the final statement.

CONVENTIONS AND TREATIES

Nearly all 193 UN members have signed international conventions, protocols, and accords as a result of the world’s environmental issues. These meetings cover a wide range of subjects, including wildlife conservation, preventing the trade and transportation of garbage, protecting the ozone layer, and mitigating the effects of climate change and global warming. To regulate the trade in endangered species, 21 governments joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 1973. Negotiated in 1985, the Montreal Protocol was made available for signing by 46 countries in 1987. No less than 197 states approved it.

In 1989, the Basel Convention was created to address the growing hazardous and intense traffic in wastes for disposal. in underdeveloped nations. It became enforceable in 1992 after being made available for signing in 1989. As of right now, 179 states have ratified the agreement.

Since sperm whale oil reached its height in the 1840s, whaling was regulated by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which was founded in 1946. An international body called the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is tasked with coming up with workable answers to urgent environmental and developmental issues. Every year since 1948, the IUCN has been creating red lists of animals that are at risk of going extinct. An intergovernmental fishing organization called the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) is in charge of protecting tunas and species that resemble tunas in the Atlantic Ocean and its neighboring waters. Fishing data is the foundation for the ICCAT’s operations. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity were offered for signature by national governments during this Conference in 1992. The Stockholm Declaration and the Agenda 21 action program, which continue to direct states and non-state actors in environmental preservation efforts, were also reaffirmed in the Rio Declaration. In Rio de Janeiro, sustainable development remained the main idea despite mounting evidence that human actions driven by the desire for economic expansion posed serious environmental risks.

The 1997 adoption of the Kyoto Protocol aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Adopted in 1997, it became operative in 2005 with 83 signature nations and 191 of the 193 UN member states that may ratify it. But to distance themselves from the rest of the world, the US and Canada have left the treaty. 37 industrialized countries decided to cut their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in comparison to their yearly emissions in a base year (typically 1990) during the discussions.

OBSTACLES AND LIMITATIONS TO THE EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 

The creation and evolution of international environmental law is hampered by states’ unwillingness to transfer power or limit it to the advantage of global environmental groups. Global governance systems are often focused and do not belong to be transferred to power centers or international decision-making processes. However, national sovereignty and development are the fundamental grounds for conflict and disagreement among the nations that are the key players of international law regarding environmental protection. international law’s opponents.

There may be a political, economic, military, or other conflict of interest. Furthermore, the competing interests of industrialized and developing nations in terms of implementation and enforcement, Numerous sources of international environmental law highlight the contradiction between these two groupings of nations, notwithstanding the idea of governments having unique and shared duties.

The 1996 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the validity of the threat and use of nuclear weapons is a blatant illustration of the pressure that the nuclear-weapon nations have exerted on this international body. Although the principle of sovereignty, which redefines a state’s sovereignty, is one of the key tenets outlined in the United States of America’s 1972 Declaration on the Environment, the new definition of sovereignty in international environmental law is based on the idea of “rational use” from the land, the shadow of absolute sovereignty continues to linger in international environmental law (Murphy, 2013).

The additional element restricting the diversity of environmental challenges is another element impeding the advancement of international environmental law.

– B. Extend the dimensions of environmental issues. The variety of environmental challenges is another element impeding the growth and evolution of international environmental law. The term “environment” refers to all elements of human existence, such as air, soil, water, and celestial bodies. The scope of environmental problems is likewise quite broad. It takes time to create environmental norms and guidelines, therefore developing international law in this context has presented both developed and developing nations with significant scientific and technological obstacles. However, these difficulties are made worse by the inadequate advancement of environmental research and human science. In actuality, not every component of the environment has been fully addressed by human understanding and research (Sands 1994).

– C. Expensive environmental preservation and little funding. This is particularly true for the world’s major emerging nations. These nations lack the financial means to adequately safeguard the environment, particularly given the ineffective administration found in the majority of these nations. Consequently, obstacles to the further growth of international environmental law will arise from the non-enforcement of its norms and regulations. Naturally, several solutions have been put out to address these issues and restrictions. However, there are still many ways to finish these suggestions. Internationalizing environmental protection based on two legal foundations is one of these solutions. It is based on the rules and regulations of International Environmental Law that members of the international community are required to abide by. These are based on “international conventions” that prohibit damaging other people’s property, require fair and reasonable land use, encourage mutual assistance, and prevent environmental problems. On the other hand, it is based on the “internationalization” of environmental protection on the “institutionalization” of contemporary international environmental law principles. The development of international organizations and structures for the efficient administration of international law is known as institutionalization. and effective environmental protection. In this regard, the United Nations Environment Program was created primarily as a program to urge states to safeguard the environment; it doesn’t seem to have any capacity for global environmental management.

CONCLUSION

International environmental law has developed in response to environmental disasters and issues in recent decades. This change was sparked by the 1972 United Nations Conference in Stockholm and has advanced significantly over time. Three eras comprise this transition: the first took place between the Stockholm Conference and the Rio Conference; the second took place between the Rio Conference in 1992 and the Rio + 20 Conference in 2012; and the third phase of the Rio+ 20 Conference took place in 2012. As seen by environmental lawyers, preventative measures, the extension and execution of safeguards, government promises, and the erosion of national sovereignty are only a few of the topics that have been covered by this evolving body of international environmental law. Nevertheless, there are barriers and limitations, including state sovereignty, a variety of environmental concerns, and the high expense of environmental preservation combined with a lack of funding, particularly in developing nations.

The establishment of international bodies, the use of regional agreements to settle international disputes, the creation of unit management bodies for the adoption of common and enforceable measures, the use of nongovernmental organizations’ advisory and executive views for environmental documents, and the improvement of the proficiency of international organizations engaged in scientific partnerships are some of the recommendations made to hasten the development and effectiveness of international environmental law. Global initiatives have failed to inspire action for the planet’s health despite these attempts. Sustaining worldwide activities that address shared policies and create International Environmental Law (IEL) is vital. World conferences are frequently used as venues for massive demonstrations and awareness-raising efforts led by international civil society, which is more conscious and committed to protecting the environment. The power of civil society, particularly the youth who have woken and joined the defense of the environment, is a major source of optimism for change in the modern world. IEL offers a point of reference for calling for a radical shift in the development paradigm that continues to direct global events and inflict substantial harm.

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