This chapter examines the international legal regime on land degradation. It first provides a bri... more This chapter examines the international legal regime on land degradation. It first provides a brief overview of land degradation as a complex environmental issue around the world before discussing the causes and effects of land degradation. It then analyses a variety of legal responses to land degradation, from global initiatives such as the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the IUCN Covenant on Environment and Development; regional initiatives such as the World Soil Charter 2014 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015; and national laws and policies. The chapter also explores some of the main elements that need to be taken into consideration when designing legislation to address land degradation, including land tenure, access to land, farming systems and land use, the role of protected areas, and physical planning.
This chapter addresses the development and implementation of international and regional instrumen... more This chapter addresses the development and implementation of international and regional instruments and policies concerning the environment and natural resources across the sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific, in the context of the continuing debate on the need to promote ecological sustainability globally. Many of these instruments and policies began to shape national environmental law responses in the region from the 1970s. Two recent and highly significant instruments are the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals, both agreed in 2015. The chapter then examines the functions of the more important regional environmentally oriented institutions, together with their associated legal frameworks and soft law instruments, for each of the Asia-Pacific’s sub-regions. It also focuses on the increasing international, regional, and national trend of recognizing the links between environmental law and human rights, and specifically the promotion of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
The focus of this chapter is on the development and implementation of the international and regio... more The focus of this chapter is on the development and implementation of the international and regional instruments (multi-lateral environmental agreements, or MEAs) and policies concerning the environment and natural resources across the sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific, in the context of the continuing debate on ecological sustainability. Many of these instruments and policies have shaped national environmental law responses in the region from the 1970s. The two most recent are the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated SDG Targets, both agreed in 2015. The six subregions addressed in this chapter are Central Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Mekong Basin (which overlaps with Southeast Asia) and the Pacific (primarily the developing island countries). Australia and New Zealand are briefly canvassed where appropriate, as part of the Pacific sub-region. The chapter examines the functions of the more important r...
Environmental protection and the protection of human rights represent two fundamental policy obje... more Environmental protection and the protection of human rights represent two fundamental policy objectives for the international legal system. These objectives are serviced by the international environmental regime, mostly comprising multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), with the international human rights regime comprising numerous human rights treaties. Having developed in parallel, these two regimes exist, at least in theory, to serve independent objectives. However, several developments point to evidence of their convergence. This convergence is attributable, inter alia, to the profound interdependence that exists between human well-being and the well-being of the environment. Protection of the environment can be seen as a fundamental precondition to the effective protection of human rights, while human rights provide much needed human well-being underpinnings for MEAs. This analysis thus examines human rights in MEAs, on the one hand, and environmental protection in human ...
This chapter provides a broad overview of the various ways that national, regional and internatio... more This chapter provides a broad overview of the various ways that national, regional and international actors contribute to the formulation of international law in the realm of natural resources. It argues that while traditionally the most important actors are States, as sovereign entities in international law in recent decades, there has been a leavening of power structures globally, regionally and nationally. From the dominance of States in the making of international law there is a trend to an expanding range of actors. This trend has been reflected in increasing globalization of concerns over human rights, environmental protection and the exploitation of natural resources. A wider range and number of global inter-governmental bodies are therefore now involved, including secretariats and conferences of the parties of relevant conventions relating to natural resources; hybrid inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and non-government organizations; and global private-s...
This chapter examines the international legal regime on land degradation. It first provides a bri... more This chapter examines the international legal regime on land degradation. It first provides a brief overview of land degradation as a complex environmental issue around the world before discussing the causes and effects of land degradation. It then analyses a variety of legal responses to land degradation, from global initiatives such as the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the IUCN Covenant on Environment and Development; regional initiatives such as the World Soil Charter 2014 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015; and national laws and policies. The chapter also explores some of the main elements that need to be taken into consideration when designing legislation to address land degradation, including land tenure, access to land, farming systems and land use, the role of protected areas, and physical planning.
This chapter addresses the development and implementation of international and regional instrumen... more This chapter addresses the development and implementation of international and regional instruments and policies concerning the environment and natural resources across the sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific, in the context of the continuing debate on the need to promote ecological sustainability globally. Many of these instruments and policies began to shape national environmental law responses in the region from the 1970s. Two recent and highly significant instruments are the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals, both agreed in 2015. The chapter then examines the functions of the more important regional environmentally oriented institutions, together with their associated legal frameworks and soft law instruments, for each of the Asia-Pacific’s sub-regions. It also focuses on the increasing international, regional, and national trend of recognizing the links between environmental law and human rights, and specifically the promotion of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
The focus of this chapter is on the development and implementation of the international and regio... more The focus of this chapter is on the development and implementation of the international and regional instruments (multi-lateral environmental agreements, or MEAs) and policies concerning the environment and natural resources across the sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific, in the context of the continuing debate on ecological sustainability. Many of these instruments and policies have shaped national environmental law responses in the region from the 1970s. The two most recent are the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated SDG Targets, both agreed in 2015. The six subregions addressed in this chapter are Central Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Mekong Basin (which overlaps with Southeast Asia) and the Pacific (primarily the developing island countries). Australia and New Zealand are briefly canvassed where appropriate, as part of the Pacific sub-region. The chapter examines the functions of the more important r...
Environmental protection and the protection of human rights represent two fundamental policy obje... more Environmental protection and the protection of human rights represent two fundamental policy objectives for the international legal system. These objectives are serviced by the international environmental regime, mostly comprising multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), with the international human rights regime comprising numerous human rights treaties. Having developed in parallel, these two regimes exist, at least in theory, to serve independent objectives. However, several developments point to evidence of their convergence. This convergence is attributable, inter alia, to the profound interdependence that exists between human well-being and the well-being of the environment. Protection of the environment can be seen as a fundamental precondition to the effective protection of human rights, while human rights provide much needed human well-being underpinnings for MEAs. This analysis thus examines human rights in MEAs, on the one hand, and environmental protection in human ...
This chapter provides a broad overview of the various ways that national, regional and internatio... more This chapter provides a broad overview of the various ways that national, regional and international actors contribute to the formulation of international law in the realm of natural resources. It argues that while traditionally the most important actors are States, as sovereign entities in international law in recent decades, there has been a leavening of power structures globally, regionally and nationally. From the dominance of States in the making of international law there is a trend to an expanding range of actors. This trend has been reflected in increasing globalization of concerns over human rights, environmental protection and the exploitation of natural resources. A wider range and number of global inter-governmental bodies are therefore now involved, including secretariats and conferences of the parties of relevant conventions relating to natural resources; hybrid inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and non-government organizations; and global private-s...
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