Lecture 1 - Governing, Measuring, and Assessing Nature Flashcards
(33 cards)
Governing Nature Eras (Traditional, Modern and Post-Modern)
Traditional: Shared transboundary resources, common goods, integenerational resource sharing (e.g. Meslim Treaty in 25th BC and British-Portuguese Treaty on North Atlantic Fishing Rights because common goods so traditional era envt’l law)
Modern (1972-1992): Nature seen as natural resources, State sovereignty over them; No environmental focus post-war 1945 - new world Geopolitical Order, no environmental focus; Four Capitals; Sustainable Development (weak v. strong); Anthropocentrism)
Post-Modern Era (1992-Today): Started w Rio Conference 1992; Treaty proliferation and fragmentation, implementation gap, accountability compliance & enforcement
Traditional Governing Era
Shared transboundary resources, common goods, integenerational resource sharing (e.g. Meslim Treaty in 25th BC and British-Portuguese Treaty on North Atlantic Fishing Rights because common goods so traditional era envt’l law)
Modern Governing Era (1972-1992):
Nature seen as natural resources, State sovereignty over them; No environmental focus post-war 1945 - new world Geopolitical Order, no environmental focus; Four Capitals; Sustainable Development (weak v. strong); Anthropocentrism)
Post-Modern Era (1992-Today):
Started w Rio Conference 1992; Treaty proliferation and fragmentation, implementation gap, accountability compliance & enforcement
Montevideo Convention
1934: defines a state
The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:
(a) a permanent population
(b) a defined territory
© government
(d) capacity to enter into relations with other states
Soverignty over Natural Resources Concept
Once you are defined a state, you have sovereignty over natural resources. Established in 1962.
Makes it dificult to account for transboundary issues.
Four Capitals
1970, rooted in economics
Social Capital
Human Capital
Fixed Capital
Envt’l Capital
Assumes that capital stock is heterogenous and composed of 4 types. When value of capital stock does not decline over time = sustainable development (Ruta and Hamilton, 2007)
- Issue that nature = asset only and doesn’t place intrinsic value on it
UN 1972 Stockholm Conference
Start of ‘The Modern Era’; First time with nature at center of a conference
Reps from 113 nations and 400 NGOs.
- Declaration that every human has the right to enjoy a clean and healthy environment.
- Challenge of independence and development of 3rd world
- Principle 21: States have sovereign right to exploit their own resources and responsibility to ensure activities within jurisdiction do not damage other states.
- Hard to control though; legal void; starts CBDR discussion
UN Brundtland Report (1987)
Defines sustainable development as development that meets needs of present without compromising ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Humans at the center (anthropogenic approach) to law development
Strong v. Weak Sustainability
Weak: Permitting depletion of natural capital provided future gens are given alternative capital; Anthropocentric defintion and puts all capital as equal pillars
Strong: Requires conservation of natural capital for future generations; Difference is natural capital = key focus & doesn’t permit depletion of natural resources; Puts environment as big circle around society & economy
Anthropocentrism
This places humans at the center of concern and considers nature valuable primarily for its utility to human beings. In this view, the environment and other living organisms are often seen as resources to be used for human benefit.
Ecocentrism (Rights of Nature)
Putting nature as the highest constitution, It’s a perspective that views the natural world as having inherent value, independent of human interests.
Types of International Agreements
1970s and 1980s: Single-sector/issue treaties
Late 1980s and 1990s: Framework convetions and issues (e.g. CC 1992)
2000-2020: Additional innovative legal agreements to frameworks conventions and new single-issue treaties (e.g. Paris 2015).
Law Domains
There are a proliferation of laws and agreements across the following domains:
- Economics/Trade
- Environmental
- Rights
^ There are too many, very little enforcement, and hard to deal with fragmentation
Regimes
What they can do:
1. Set collective goals (e.g. 2deg Cin Paris)
2. Developing principles and norms to guide actions (like CBDR)
3. Establishing rules to modify party (gov’t behavior)
4. Providing support for implementation (finance)
5. Enabling data-sharing and transparency in performance
6. Building engagement among stakeholders and public
Reality is they are fragmented, especially by domains and data and how the information is used, etc. ; need a better more comprehensive system in place
Top-Down/Bottom-Up Governance
Governance from a high level of central authority or a shared level of bottom power
Polycentric Governance
Multi-level governance involving information sharing, coordination of activities, problem solving and internal conflict resolution (the four key features per Galez et al., 2012)
Limitations are the transparency, high transaction costs, inconsistencies and freeloading, etc.
Planetary Boundaries
2009 Framework to characterize global environmental sustainability. Gives us thresholds to work within. A framework for environmnetal law. The boundaries set limits for human activity to stay within a safe distance from thresholds that could trigger harmful or disasterous shifts in Earth’s systems. In 2023, 9 boundaries were assessed and 6 crossed.
PB: Climate Change & Laws
PB: Land-System Change & laws
PB: Freshwater Change & laws
PB: Biosphere Integrity & laws
PB: Biogeochemical Flows & laws
PB: Stratospheric Ozone Depletion & laws
