Bharat H. Desai

Threats to the world eco-system: A role for the social scientists

This paper seeks to identify some of the major threats to our fragile eco-system through human actions. We have sought to highlight that since these threats to our composite ecological heritage are global in nature, our responses shall have to be at the global level. We have tried to analyse a role the social scientists can exercise in response to these threats. We have merely shown possible responses within their professional disciplines. Can they play an activists role? The paper does not prescribe any push-button role while emphasizing role of social scientists in environmental education. Every discipline among the social sciences will need to carve out its own role keeping in view local conditions. The current stocktaking of the situation under the UNCED process may require the international community to review existing institutional structures in the field or create new ones.

The Quest for a United Nations Specialised Agency for the Environment

Abstract Recent years have seen intense intergovernmental deliberations on issues concerning governance in the field of environment. Their aim has been to address the role of the institutions that provide platforms for international environmental cooperation. There are two main lines of enquiry: the role of regime-specific institutions that cater to sectoral regulatory frameworks (popularly known as multilateral environmental agreements, or MEAs); and the role of institutions that are established to follow up on global environmental conferences or a specific environmental task. Most of these institutions reflect intergovernmental consensual process. However, there are concerns about their proliferation and there is a growing cacophony of calls to ‘bring coherence to the fragmented landscape of MEAs, intergovernmental bodies, UN system entities and other international organizations’ (Sha Zukang (2011) ‘Legal and policy dimensions of sustainable development: expected contribution of Rio + 20’, Environmental Policy and Law, 41(6), pp. 244–246, at p. 245). In fact the need to bring order to environmental governance has assumed great importance and urgency if environmental cooperation is to be achieved. This paper explores, in particular, the role of the United Nations Environment Programme and its potential for conversion to a specialised agency of the UN.

Striving for Land-Soil Sustainability: Some Legal Reflections

Humankind is facing one of the biggest tests for striking a proper balance between developmental needs and environmental imperatives. However, ironically, much of the development in the world today is not sustainable. Many of our economic, monetary and trade policies in sectors such as energy, agriculture, forestry and human settlements tend to induce and reinforce non-sustainable development patterns and practices. Apart from irreversible squandering of our biological capital, we are confronting a growing problem of environmental refugees-people who are forced to abandon their traditional habitat as the land cannot sustain them. In fact, the human quest to conquer nature through science and technology has brought us on to the present brink.

International Environmental Institutions: An Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the international environmental institutions (IEIs), in their varied origins, forms and mandates. The proliferation in the number of states, more than three and half times the United Nations (UN) members in 1945 has put its own pressure in terms of addressing problems of the burgeoning humanity. The IEIs which come into being as legal creatures do generally have well defined mandates. The need for an institutional form arises especially in order to supervise implementation of the relevant conventions, provide a forum for law-making and to ensure adaptability of the convention to changing needs. An examination of the role performed by varied international institutional forms in the field of environment protection and natural resources conservation can include broad categories of functional international organizations, specialized environmental institutions, regime-specific institutions as well as role of the multilateral development banks.Keywords: functional international organizations; International Environmental Institutions (IEIs); international institutional forms; legal creatures; multilateral development banks; regime-specific institutions; specialized environmental institutions; United Nations (UN) members

Revitalizing International Environmental Institutions

This chapter focuses on some of the challenges faced by international environmental institutions (IEI) in the creation and working of multilateral environmental regimes. It also focuses on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the premier institution established by the United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE). The chapter analyzes the mandate and mixed contribution of this environment programme of the UN. The on-going effort to revitalize UNEP is sought to be addressed, with special reference to the 1998 UN Task Force Report. In fact the pre-United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) period witnessed recognition of UNEPs role as a leading global environmental agency. In the backdrop of the growing feeling about marginalization of UNEP, the nineteenth session of the GC came out with a renewed mandate in the Nairobi Declaration, aiming at the role and mandate of the UNEP in the changing context.Keywords: International Environmental Institutions (IEIs); Nairobi declaration; UN task force report; UNCED; United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Multilateral Environmental Agreements

It appears that law making on environmental issues is greatly facilitated through treaties due to scientific uncertainties and a sense of urgency involved in the matter. As a result multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have emerged as a unique technique that encompasses flexibility, pragmatism, in-built law making mechanism as well as step-by-step consensual approach to norm-setting. As such environmental treaty-making in recent decades has emerged as a fine tool that comprises a great diversity and innovative approaches at regulation. Most of them underscore multidimensional nature of environmental problems that need special sensitivity and sui generis approach to address them. MEAs have emerged as one of the best examples of institutionalized intergovernmental cooperation to address specific environmental issues. It is generally contended that the advent of MEAs have ushered in an era of ad hoc law making and institutional structures.Keywords: ad hoc law making structure; environmental treaty; multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); specific environmental issues; sui generis art