International Environmental Law And The Conservation Of Coral Reefs

The book critically analyses the environmental treaty regimes which are designed to conserve coral reef ecosystems. The book looks at the subject from a number of coral reef perspectives such as coverage of these ecosystems, internal promotion of conservation, national implementation, and discusses the wider implications for international environmental law.

A global overview of the potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise on coral reefs, and of the implications of such impacts for ecological sustainable use of coral reefs. Includes information on the status and trends of reef conservation and use around the world, and suggestions for management of reefs in a changing world.

This important Research Handbook provides a guide to navigating the tangled array of laws and policies available to counter the ominous threats of ocean acidification. It investigates the limitations and opportunities for addressing ocean acidification under national, regional and global governance frameworks, including multilateral environmental agreements, law of the sea and human rights instruments.

This textbook provides a compelling and structured introduction to international environmental law in the Text, Cases and Materials genre.

"The decline of coral ... if it continues ... will mark the end of one of the great beauties of creation and the end of a great hope that of discovering life forms hitherto unknown on the Earth ... Let us not forget that we are responsible to posterity for the preservation of the beauties of the sea as well as for those on land. We must learn how to make use of the biological and mineral resources of the oceans ... But we must also learn how to preserve the integrity and the equilibrium of that world which is so inextricably bound to our own." - Jacques Yves Cousteau, Excerpt from Life and Death in a Coral Sea, 1971 This book reports on the World Bank's 5th Annual Conference on Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, which focused on some of the most urgent threats facing coral reefs today, including the growing use of cyanide fishing along some of the richest reefs of the world, unsustainable trade in reef products, and constraints to effective establishment and management of marine protected areas. The proceedings stressed the need for strengthening the policy environment while adopting economic incentives and improved resource valuation techniques, informing management decisions through targeted research and monitoring, and rallying public support through environmental education and the media.

Ocean and coastal law has grown rapidly in the past three decades as a specialty area within natural resources law and environmental law. This book unites the two worlds of climate change regulation and ocean and coastal management. It raises important questions about whether and how ocean and coastal law will respond to the regulatory challenges that climate change presents to resources in the oceans and coasts of the United States and the world.