Environmental Management: Principles and practice

International law and environmental management
International law governs relations between states, and has no direct effect on domestic
law or individuals. It is often difficult to force a sovereign state to sign, and then
honour, a treaty or similar agreement. International law must thus depend a great
deal on voluntary agreements by governments and international bodies (the Brussels
and Lugano Conventions on Environmental Law cover this issue of ensuring
compliance) (Székely, 1990a; 1990b). When negotiation fails a possibility is to refer
the case to the International Court of Justice (The Hague) (not a very friendly process),
or set up an International Joint Commission. International law has tended to be laissez-
faire and ad hoc (Birnie and Boyle, 1992).
From the mid-nineteenth century until the 1950s co-operation, exchange of
information, agreement and international guidelines or rules were often initiated by
international public unions, e.g. the International Postal Union, or the International
Telegraphic Union. Nowadays, the UN and its 15 specialist agencies (the FAO, WHO,
UNESCO, UNEP, etc.) often initiate the development of international environmental
law. For example, the UNEP has published guidelines on principles of conduct over
shared natural resources (1978) and, more recently, on exchange of information on
chemicals in international trade. NGOs like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and
the World-Wide Fund for Nature also lobby for environmental legislation.
Various observers note the UN-supported system of environmental treaty
making is valuable, although it needs strengthening—e.g. the UN General Assembly
can only recommend, not insist that law be made. Developing countries have
complained that international law is too US- or Eurocentric and there is a wish in
some countries to see more application of Islamic Law. Since the 1972 UN Conference
on the Human Environment (Stockholm), most of the UN-prompted multilateral
treaties have been developed by a two-step process: a relatively vague framework
convention which acknowledges a problem is presented (most countries are happy
to sign such a non-binding agreement); that step prompts action, especially data
collection, discussion and propaganda, which reduces opposition and raises interest
so that a protocol can be introduced and agreed to (Susskind, 1992:67).
International law faces a number of challenges. One of the greatest is the
management of ‘global commons’: oceans and their resources; world weather and
climate; atmosphere; stratospheric ozone; space, etc. (Cleveland, 1990). Many
resources, and also pests, migrate or move, so that effective management of ocean
fisheries, migratory fish in rivers, whaling, disease or locust control, etc., needs to be
through multilateral agreement.

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BUSINESS AND LAW
49
In the late 1970s a class action by an NGO forced the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) to insist on pre-development environmental
assessments before granting funds. In effect the precautionary principle embodied
in NEPA was extended to the Third World with respect to aid. Within a few years
most aid agencies had adopted environmental guidelines and rules (Wirth, 1986).
The end of the Cold War may mean more opportunities and resources for international
environmental law to develop (Walker, 1989).