Manual On Compliance With And Enforcement Of Multilateral Environmental Agreements

This Manual expands upon Guidelines on Compliance with and Enforcement of MultilateralEnvironmental Agreements (MEAs). Many States participated in the developmentand negotiation of the Guidelines, which were adopted by the UNEP GoverningCouncil in 2002. While this Manual is not a negotiated document, it also is the result ofa collaborative process involving a wide range of numerous individuals around the world.These people assisted in drafting case studies and other contributions, reviewing the text,and suggesting substantive and formatting changes.

In this publication, a number of recognized practitioners and scholars undertake to explore the realities and the conceptual underpinnings of environmental compliance mechanisms.

This report seeks to perform a comparative analysis of compliance mechanisms under selected multilateral environment agreements (MEAs). It seeks to contribute to UNEP's work on implementation mechanisms for international instruments. The report identifies strategic opportunities for interlinkages and synergies in compliance mechanisms among MEAs.

The adoption of administrative procedures in global governance has the potential to foster proper consideration of marginalized actors’ interests, yet risks entrenching the dominance of the well-resourced and powerful. Accordingly, this book proposes a new framework for evaluating the extent to which administrative procedures in the compliance systems of multilateral environmental agreements constrain power and promote regard for the interests of affected states, which are frequently developing and transition countries. This framework is applied to the compliance systems under the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol and CITES, which address critical global environmental issues of ozone-layer depletion, climate change and trade in endangered species, respectively. The analysis shows that, under certain conditions, administrative procedures limit the influence of states’ asymmetric power on compliance deliberations. Furthermore, systematic adoption of these procedures increases the opportunities for affected states’ interests to be voiced and considered in compliance decision-making processes.

The Manual provides for a step-by-step introduction and expert advice for representatives of NGOs and other stakeholders on how they can effectively engage in developing and implementing Multilateral Environment Agreements.

A tool to help negotiators of Multilateral Environmental Agreements to prepare strategies and to participate more effectively in the negotiations and focus on environmental issues, their creation of binding international law, and their inclusion.

Measures for regulating the behaviour of nation states in relation to the global environment have increasingly taken the form of international treaties and conventions. Many have argued that this has proved to be an ineffective way of halting unsustainable development, for the provisions of these agreements are either too weak or are flouted regularly by the parties concerned. This volume seeks to address the crucial question of how compliance with these agreements could be encouraged effectively without damaging the fragile political consensus that is emerging on environmental issues. With extensive use of case studies, Improving Compliance will make stimulating reading for all students and researchers working in this area, as well as for anyone concerned about the effectiveness of international environmental measures.

This volume presents a comprehensive coverage of the challenges in ensuring effective compliance and enforcement in environmental law from the international to the local level. It will make a significant contribution to the growing body of literature in this area and be of interest to practitioners, scholars and administrators alike. The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law is proud to join with Edward Elgar in the publication of this seminal work as the first in a new series based on the annual Colloquia of the Academy. Compliance and enforcement are critical elements of assuring that international environmental treaties and domestic environmental laws actually produce desired environmental outcomes. This timely work provides a comprehensive worldwide perspective on how to assure compliance with and enforcement of environmental laws more effectively. Bringing together both leading academics and environmental professionals from 15 countries, the book addresses a range of key issues including the enforcement of multilateral agreements, compliance strategies and tools, the role of courts and citizens, protection of natural resources, and compliance issues related to economic instruments. Publisher's note.