Ben Boer

The Mekong : a socio-legal approach to river basin development

1. Introduction 2. River Basins as Socio-legal Arenas 3. Making the Mekong River Basin: Donors, Developers and Experts 4. Governing a River Basin: The Work of the Mekong River Commission 5. Assessing a River Basin: The Politics of the Technical 6. Disclosing a River Basin: Transparency and its Discontents 7. Contesting a River Basin: Civil Societys Legal Strategies 8. Conclusion Appendix 1: Selected National Legislation and Regulations Appendix 2: Selected International Treaties

International Soil Protection Law: History, Concepts and Latest Developments

This chapter sets out a short history of the development of soil protection law, focusing on the international legal aspects. It introduces the notion that soil, as a non-renewable natural resource, performs a range of functions, in terms of biodiversity conservation, food security and health. It argues that soil degradation needs to be treated on the same level as the loss of biodiversity and the adverse effects of climate change. It also urges that soil should be regarded as a common concern of humankind, and that over-arching international, regional and national regulation is required. It explores recent developments relevant to soil, including those found in the Outcome Document of the Rio de Janeiro 2012 Conference on Environment and Development ‘The Future We Want’, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets that were approved by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.

Federal Public Inquiries And Environmental Assessment

This article examines the role of public inquiries in environmental assessment. It provides an overview of federal inquiry practice, but emphasises inquiries under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (Cth) (EPIP Act), including the recent Commission of Inquiry into the Shoalwater Bay Area. The article examines a number of weaknesses in the current inquiry system, analyses why there have been so few inquiries under the EPIP Act, and proposes ways to enhance their potential.

Introduction: Environmental Law and Sustainability after Rio

The fields of environmental and sustainability law, despite strong historical roots and antecedents, are by no means fully elaborated and mature fields of scholarship and professional practice. It is possible, nonetheless, to identify landmarks or milestones in their development and to reflect upon the significance of what has been put in place. The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, commonly referred to as the Earth Summit, and the adoption of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development clearly represent one such landmark. It is appropriate, particularly in the field of environmental law, both to commemorate past achievements as well as to take a realistic view of their shortcomings. In recognising achievements, we are able to celebrate and express appreciation for the very significant accomplishments of an earlier generation of researchers, advocates, negotiators and practitioners. The success of their efforts to safeguard the environment gives us hope, an outlook that is not always in good supply. On the other hand, the process of assessment necessarily invites reflection on the shortcomings and limitations of our current situation and encourages a salutary reminder that much remains to be done to secure the foundations of environmental protection and sustainability on a global, national and local basis. The fifteenth anniversary in 2007 of the Rio conference provided a sufficient temporal perspective to attempt the undertaking of an assessment of progress in environmental law in the realm of sustainability. The Brazilian organisers of the Fifth Annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law thus invited participants from the Academy’s member institutions as well as the broader global university community to convene in Rio de Janeiro and in the heritage town of Parati for presentations and debates under the general theme ‘Rio + 15: A Legal Critique of Ecologically Sustainable Development’. This book contains selected papers from that