Dissertations / Theses on the topic '180111 Environmental and Natural Resources Law'

The purpose of this thesis is to propose a model of integrated resources management which uses techniques of negotiation and agreements to involve all interested parties in the decision making process. The thesis is developed in two parts. Part I defines the model and principles which are applied in Part II to a case study of forestry planning in community watersheds. For some years now there have been calls for natural resources management on an ecological basis. To achieve this, the law must define legal rights and procedures which ensure that all affected human interests are taken into account in management decision-making. The decision-making is characterized as a bargaining process aimed at balancing the competing interests of all affected parties. Bargaining connotes a use of negotiation and agreement. However, the established legal uses of these techniques are restricted to situations involving few parties. Complex integrated resources management has been conducted primarily through expert discretionary administration. But bureaucratic administration of complex issues is now understood as an inherently political process fraught with scientific and values uncertainties and lacking legitimacy because it is not effectively accountable to the parties whose interests are affected. The recent experience with environmental alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") suggests techniques for all affected parties to be taken into account by representative negotiation and agreement. A review of examples of environmental ADR provides some principles about the use of negotiation and agreements to supplement the regulatory processes of integrated resources management. Those principles relate to the assertion of legal rights, the need to remedy dissatisfaction with judicial procedures and the adversary system as means to challenge regulatory decisions, the negotiation process itself, and the regulatory approval and implementation of negotiated agreements. The case study commences with an analysis of the legal context. It reveals an uncertain regime of legal rights and authority. The Ministries involved have great discretionary authority; the forest licensee's legal relations are principally of a contractual nature with the Crown; and the water licensees' rights are ill-defined. This uncertain legal regime does not facilitate bargaining between the affected resource licensees. The integrated resources management framework established under administrative authority does have the potential to facilitate bargaining. Whilst the new framework is innovative and establishes new institutions, rights and duties, it is difficult to determine authoritatively the elements of that framework because they are found only in a set of policy documents and are still subject to the uncertainty of administrative discretion. Negotiation and agreements may occur in a number of different contexts in the integrated resources management framework, especially in the context of the Technical Review Committee which is the main arena for negotiation between the interested parties. There is a commentary on the negotiation process, much of the material for which was gathered in interviews with representatives of the parties involved. Various reforms of the framework should be considered to facilitate bargaining and confine administrative discretion. Principal among these are the right of all parties to appeal to an administrative tribunal when the regulatory decision is made without the consensus of the negotiating committee, and clarification of the method of adjudicating compliance with regulatory conditions. In summary, the whole framework established by the policy documents should be revised and given a legislated base. In doing this, certain legal questions need to be considered. Ultimately, the utility of the model proposed depends upon the capacity of the law to define the various natural resource interests of all people in the community.
Law, Peter A. Allard School of
Graduate

The theory of intergenerational equity is closely linked to the notion of sustainable development. It is indeed considered to be one of its aspect. Intergenerational equity can be divided in two facets: the intergenerational component links the present generation to future generations, while the intragenerational aspect imposes, within the same generation, a duty for industrialized countries to help developing countries. The legal status of intergenerational equity appears to be limited because of its qualification as a concept. Therefore, this concept of intergenerational equity belongs to the realm of soft law. Nevertheless, legal implications can be drawn out from this theory. Different means of implementation can be envisioned, some belonging to the domain of soft law, other employing more classical tools, such as institutional mechanisms.

Natural resource development has tremendous potential to create inclusive economic growth in countries well-endowed with oil, mineral, and agricultural resources. At the same time, natural resource development can cause negative environmental externalities, and, in several cases, extractives companies can engage in labor abuse. The intersection of the government’s and the corporation’s interest can lie in Corporate Social Responsibility Projects.This thesis will analyze an alternative model of CSR: community development agreements (CDAs). CDAs are voluntary, or sometimes government mandated, agreements between the project developer and the project affected community that define company commitments to issues such as environmental impact mitigation, benefit sharing, and local employment, for example. The objective of this thesis is to review the theoretical underpinnings of CDA process, analyze the application of CDAs in several case studies, and develop a framework of best practices for CDAs based on those analyses.

The movement to protect wilderness resources can conflict with local intentions for land use and development, particularly in economically marginal areas. In rural Italy, on the island of Sardinia, the plan to create a Gennargentu National Park has incited active opposition on the part of the communities affected. In the town of Baunei, responses to environmental legislation are motivated by the desire to maintain communal control over common lands. Political action, both formal and informal, is organised by local understandings about the impact of certain laws and institutions on the town economy, principally by the restriction of residents' usi civici (traditional rights of usufruct). This thesis considers the role and meaning of the usi civici in Baunei, and the implications of this for environmental politics in Sardinia.

The principal research question addressed in this thesis is how the effectiveness of an environmental legal system can best be evaluated. A legal system is effective if it is achieving or likely to achieve its objectives. For an environmental legal system this means achieving sustainable development. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the pressure-state-response ("PSR") method of State of the Environment ("SoE") Reporting provides the best available framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system. A subsidiary research question addressed in this thesis is whether the environmental legal system protecting the Great Barrier Reef ("GBR") in north-eastern Australia is likely to achieve sustainable development of it. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is likely to achieve sustainable development of the GBR. The principal method used to address these research questions and test the hypotheses is a case study of the effectiveness of the laws protecting the GBR. Particular emphasis is given in the case study to climate change both because it is now recognised as the major threat to the GBR and is a topic of significant international and national interest. This thesis is intended to contribute, in particular, to the current public and policy debate on responding effectively to climate change by using the GBR as a yardstick against which to measure "dangerous climate change" and, conversely, acceptable climate change. There are five major findings of the research. First, most of the legal writing regarding environmental legal systems is descriptive, explanatory and interpretative rather than evaluative. Second, most legal writers who attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of part or the whole of an environmental legal system implicitly use the PSR method and refer to pressures, conditions, and responses but do not acknowledge this conceptual framework. Third, the best available conceptual and analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system is the PSR method. It is the simplest, most systematic, comprehensive and meaningful framework with the greatest predictive power for evaluating the effectiveness of the total social and legal response to human-induced environmental degradation currently available. Fourth, current practice in SoE reporting, at least in relation to the GBR, is largely descriptive and rarely evaluates the effectiveness of the response. The fifth major finding of this research is that, while there are many effective parts of the response to pressures on the GBR, the current environmental legal system is not likely to be effective in preventing climate change from causing very serious damage to the GBR. Based on what we know at this point in time, particularly the technology that is currently available and current greenhouse gas emissions, the impacts of climate change appear likely to swamp the many good aspects of the legal system protecting the GBR. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in 2005 were approximately 379 parts per million ("ppm") and rising by 2 ppm per year. Including the effect of other greenhouse gases such as methane, the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases was around 455 ppm carbon dioxide equivalents ("CO2-eq") in 2005, although the cooling effect of aerosols and landuse changes reduced the net effect to around 375 ppm CO2-eq. Limiting the total increase in mean global temperature to approximately 1°C requires stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols around 350 ppm CO2-eq. Increasing the net effect of greenhouse gases and aerosols to 450-550 ppm CO2-eq is expected to result in a 2-3°C rise in mean surface temperatures. There are currently no international or national legal constraints to hold greenhouse gas concentrations beneath these levels and they appear likely to be exceeded. These increases in mean global temperatures are expected to severely degrade the GBR by 2030-2040. Even the targets being set by the new Australian Government of reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 appear insufficient to protect the GBR. If a 60% reduction in emissions can be achieved globally by 2050 a rise in mean global temperature of around 2.4°C is expected. This indicates the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is not likely to be effective in relation to climate change and, therefore, is failing to reach its objective of sustainable development. Three major recommendations arise from the research. First, legal writers attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of the whole or part of an environmental legal system should use and acknowledge the PSR method. Second, SoE reports should include a stand-alone chapter evaluating the effectiveness of the response. Third, the environmental legal system protecting the GBR should take strong and comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the objective of sustainable development is to be achieved. Such measures should include setting policy targets for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations around 350 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperature to 1°C. Policy targets of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols at 450-550 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperatures to 2-3°C are likely to be too high to avoid severe impacts of coral bleaching to the GBR.

The principal research question addressed in this thesis is how the effectiveness of an environmental legal system can best be evaluated. A legal system is effective if it is achieving or likely to achieve its objectives. For an environmental legal system this means achieving sustainable development. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the pressure-state-response ("PSR") method of State of the Environment ("SoE") Reporting provides the best available framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system. A subsidiary research question addressed in this thesis is whether the environmental legal system protecting the Great Barrier Reef ("GBR") in north-eastern Australia is likely to achieve sustainable development of it. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is likely to achieve sustainable development of the GBR. The principal method used to address these research questions and test the hypotheses is a case study of the effectiveness of the laws protecting the GBR. Particular emphasis is given in the case study to climate change both because it is now recognised as the major threat to the GBR and is a topic of significant international and national interest. This thesis is intended to contribute, in particular, to the current public and policy debate on responding effectively to climate change by using the GBR as a yardstick against which to measure "dangerous climate change" and, conversely, acceptable climate change. There are five major findings of the research. First, most of the legal writing regarding environmental legal systems is descriptive, explanatory and interpretative rather than evaluative. Second, most legal writers who attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of part or the whole of an environmental legal system implicitly use the PSR method and refer to pressures, conditions, and responses but do not acknowledge this conceptual framework. Third, the best available conceptual and analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system is the PSR method. It is the simplest, most systematic, comprehensive and meaningful framework with the greatest predictive power for evaluating the effectiveness of the total social and legal response to human-induced environmental degradation currently available. Fourth, current practice in SoE reporting, at least in relation to the GBR, is largely descriptive and rarely evaluates the effectiveness of the response. The fifth major finding of this research is that, while there are many effective parts of the response to pressures on the GBR, the current environmental legal system is not likely to be effective in preventing climate change from causing very serious damage to the GBR. Based on what we know at this point in time, particularly the technology that is currently available and current greenhouse gas emissions, the impacts of climate change appear likely to swamp the many good aspects of the legal system protecting the GBR. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in 2005 were approximately 379 parts per million ("ppm") and rising by 2 ppm per year. Including the effect of other greenhouse gases such as methane, the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases was around 455 ppm carbon dioxide equivalents ("CO2-eq") in 2005, although the cooling effect of aerosols and landuse changes reduced the net effect to around 375 ppm CO2-eq. Limiting the total increase in mean global temperature to approximately 1°C requires stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols around 350 ppm CO2-eq. Increasing the net effect of greenhouse gases and aerosols to 450-550 ppm CO2-eq is expected to result in a 2-3°C rise in mean surface temperatures. There are currently no international or national legal constraints to hold greenhouse gas concentrations beneath these levels and they appear likely to be exceeded. These increases in mean global temperatures are expected to severely degrade the GBR by 2030-2040. Even the targets being set by the new Australian Government of reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 appear insufficient to protect the GBR. If a 60% reduction in emissions can be achieved globally by 2050 a rise in mean global temperature of around 2.4°C is expected. This indicates the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is not likely to be effective in relation to climate change and, therefore, is failing to reach its objective of sustainable development. Three major recommendations arise from the research. First, legal writers attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of the whole or part of an environmental legal system should use and acknowledge the PSR method. Second, SoE reports should include a stand-alone chapter evaluating the effectiveness of the response. Third, the environmental legal system protecting the GBR should take strong and comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the objective of sustainable development is to be achieved. Such measures should include setting policy targets for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations around 350 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperature to 1°C. Policy targets of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols at 450-550 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperatures to 2-3°C are likely to be too high to avoid severe impacts of coral bleaching to the GBR.

The issue of sediment removal from the San Gabriel Mountains has been a complex issue that has created problems with beach replenishment, habitat destruction and the need to spend millions of dollars at regular intervals to avoid safety hazards. Most recently 11 acres of riparian habitat, including 179 oaks and 70 sycamores, were removed for sediment placement. Other sites including Hahamongna Watershed Park and La Tuna Canyon also face a similar fate. This thesis questions: How did we get to this point of destroying habitat to dump sediment which is viewed as waste product? What are the barriers for creating long term solutions and progressive change? What are some other options? And how should we move forward? The issues with sediment management have stemmed from regulatory compliance issues, adversarial relationships within agencies and among NGO's and the public, and the lack of a comprehensive long-term plan to prevent further habitat loss and other sediment removal issues. A recommendation includes looking at a community forestry model to include a wide cross-section of the community, NGO's and government agencies to come up with a long term comprehensive and progressive solution.

The thesis will investigate how the existing international environmental law relates to forest protection and what are the issues that have hampered the making of an important instrument for forest protection since forests’ functions are vital and important. Since there is no international binding instrument for forest protection, have countries done enough to protect forests. What forest protection efforts have been put in place in Spain, South Africa and Australia? Are these efforts sufficient and adequate to ignore the need of a forest instrument? What are some of the lessons from these countries and their legal regimes?
La tesis investigará cómo el derecho ambiental internacional existente se relaciona con la protección de los bosques y cuáles son las cuestiones que han obstaculizado la creación de un instrumento importante para la protección de los bosques, ya que las funciones de los bosques son vitales e importantes. Dado que no existe un instrumento internacional vinculante para la protección de los bosques, ¿los países han hecho lo suficiente para proteger los bosques? ¿Qué iniciativas de protección forestal se han llevado a cabo en España, Sudáfrica y Australia? ¿Son estos esfuerzos suficientes y adecuados para ignorar la necesidad de un instrumento forestal? ¿Cuáles son algunas de las lecciones de estos países y sus regímenes legales?
Programa de Doctorat Interuniversitari en Dret, Economia i Empresa

This thesis describes the sections in the Resource Management Act 1991 of particular relevance for nga Iwi Maori and assesses how well these facilitate involvement for Maori in the management of New Zealand�s resources. The method of assessment used is one of comparison between the schemes and philosophies of 1991 Act, and the active involvement of Maori in decision-making for their resources which is requires by Article ii of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). Part i describes the Maori world view of the environment and outlines the Treaty of Waitangi and its relevance to resource management law. Part ii describes the purpose and principles contained in sections 5, 6(e), 7(a), and 8 of the 1991 Act. Chapter Three provides an overview of the relationship between the purpose and principles. Chapter Four discusses the purpose in section 5 and proclaims that the inclusion of sustainability as a purpose in resource management legislation is advantageous in terms of the indirect furtherance of Maori conservation aspirations for the enviroment. It also describes how the cultural wellbeing of Maori has been interpreted to be an express part of the purpose of the Act. Chapter Five provides an analysis of section 6(e) which makes the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their taonga a matter of national importance under the Act. Chapter Six describes section 7(a) and kaitiakitanga which must be given particular regard under the Act. Chapter Seven discusses section 8 and the content and meaning of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Part ii concludes that while the facilitation of Maori involvement in the management and protection of natural and physical resources is improved under this Act, these sections are an insufficient safeguard for Maori interests. Part iii assesses the other sections in the Act which have a bearing on Maori involvement in resource management processes. Chapter Eight explores the planning system. Chapter Nine describes the resource consent processes in the 1991 Act. Chapter Ten comments on various procedural provisions which introduce tikanga Maori into the Act, and Chapter Eleven is devoted to exploring the sections in the Act which in the writer�s opinion provide the most potential for recognition of rangatiratanga in a limited form. This Part proclaims that the emphasis in the Act is very much on consultation with nga Iwi Maori as an effective means for their involement in resource management. It is submitted that this is not the active participation in decision-making that Maori seek and which is guaranteed under Article ii of the Treaty of Waitangi. Chapter Twelve acknowledges that involvement of nga Iwi Maori in processes under the 1991 Act will rely to some extent on the content of policy statements and plans produced by the local authorities. An analysis of the Proposed Otago Regional Policy Statement is undertaken to explore how the concerns of Kai Tahu have been incorporated into the statement. Chapter Thirteen ends by concluding that while the 1991 Act does provide for increased Maori involvement in resource management processes in New Zealand it does not facilitate the decision-making role guaranteed by Article ii of the Treaty of Waitangi.

California has one highly-coveted possession: the Bay-Delta, which is the second largest estuary in the United States. Today, tensions are higher than ever as Southern California continues to grow and demand water from the Delta, agriculture suffers from drought and less-than-promised water allocations, and aquatic life diminishes due to environmentally damaging processes like pumping and exporting of water elsewhere. This paper will examine the historic policies that have shaped how the Delta has been managed, their successes and failures, and current plans in discussion for continuing improvement of the Delta. The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act (HR 1837) are the specific current plans presented and analyzed for potential effectiveness. Despite some of the promising suggestions in HR 1837 and the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, the Delta will remain a problem in the 21st century until stakeholders from all perspectives compromise enough to enact a single, clear-cut solution.

O presente trabalho versa sobre a gestão dos recursos hídricos sob a ótica dos princípios ambientais. O acesso à água é um direito humano fundamental. A implementação desse direito encontra-se dificultada em razão do contexto fático global de crise da água. As causas e conseqüências da escassez quali-quantitativa da água estão relacionadas diretamente ao homem, da mesma forma que seu necessário enfrentamento depende de mudanças de percepção e comportamento do próprio ser humano. Preconiza-se o rompimento do paradigma antropocentrista, que deve ser transmutado para uma visão ecocêntrica. A efetivação do direito fundamental de que se trata depende de inúmeras providências, destacando-se a publicização integral da propriedade da água pela Constituição de 1988. A finalidade dessa relevante alteração no regime de dominialidade hídrica foi dar ao Estado o meio para o adequado gerenciamento da água como forma de estabilizar ou reduzir a crise e promover justiça social. Compete ao Estado social a satisfação do bem-estar coletivo, o que é mais factível se tiver sob seu domínio o recurso atualmente escasso e de relevância pública. Os recursos hídricos ingressam no patrimônio estatal na categoria dos bens de uso comum do povo. Apesar disso, sua gestão se dá de forma descentralizada e participativa. Na tarefa de administrar as águas, o jurista utiliza-se dos princípios estruturantes do Direito Ambiental, notabilizando-se os princípios materiais do desenvolvimento sustentável, prevenção, precaução, poluidor-pagador e usuário-pagador. Todos eles estão previstos pela Constituição Federal. O desenvolvimento sustentável é um sobreprincípio, sendo mais do que um princípio. O critério de ponderação que é utilizado para solver o conflito entre princípios, no caso do ecodesenvolvimento aplica-se apenas entre seus elementos internos, não entre o desenvolvimento sustentável e outros princípios. Este princípio-reitor é muito útil na apreciação do modelo de produção de energia hidrelétrica, que causa degradações ambientais significativas, e sempre tem repercussão, também, nos planos econômico e social. Os princípios da prevenção e da precaução servem à proteção dos mananciais superficiais e subterrâneos. A precaução, porém, auxilia de forma mais apropriada na defesa das águas subterrâneas, uma vez que o estado da técnica não permite mensurar qual o impacto ambiental do consumo excessivo de água de poços, que consiste em uma realidade contemporânea crescente. Os princípios do poluidor-pagador e do usuário-pagador fundamentam teoricamente o instrumento da cobrança pela utilização dos recursos hídricos, que o legislador resolveu adotar como forma de incentivar a racionalização do uso da água. A pesquisa é do tipo bibliográfica. O método-base adotado é o analítico. Diversas formas de análise foram empregadas, registrando-se a estruturalista, a histórica e a descritiva. Como a adoção de um método-base não afasta a aplicação dos demais, pois cada trabalho científico acaba sendo construído de modo singular, utilizaram-se também, ao longo da dissertação, os métodos dialético, hermenêutico e sistêmico.
Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-15T16:32:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Eduardo C Viegas.pdf: 909624 bytes, checksum: 5542d0380064804357b53f30abdf1bfb (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-15T16:32:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Eduardo C Viegas.pdf: 909624 bytes, checksum: 5542d0380064804357b53f30abdf1bfb (MD5)
The present work concerns the natural water resource management under the evironmental principles. Access to water is a basic human right. The implementation of this right is made all the more difficult on account of the global water crisis. The causes and consequences of these quality and quantity shortages of fresh water are directly related to man, likewise, in adequately facing this problem, a change in perception and behavior must be undertaken by humankind. A move away from the pattern of anthropocentrism to a more ecocentric view is needed. Carrying out these basic laws depends on innumerable steps, clarified in the integral publication of water properties in the constitution of 1988. The objective of this relevant alteration in water property was to give the state the means for the adequate management of water as a form of stabilizing or reducing the crisis and promoting social justice. It is the responsibility of the state to see to collective well being, which is made easier when the resource, which is presently scarce, is held under it s domain of public relevance. Natural water resources are held under the category of common use resources within the patrimony of the state. Despite this, it is managed in a decentralized and collaborative fashion. In the task of managing these water resources, the jurist uses the structured principles of Environmental Law, observing the main principles of sustainable development, prevention, precaution, paying pollutant and paying user. All of which have been foreseen by the Federal constitution. Sustainable development is more than a principle. The basis of consideration used to solve the conflict between the principles, in the case of eco-development is only applied within its internal elements, not within sustainable development and other principles. This fundamental principle is very useful in the appreciation of the model of production of hydroelectric energy, which causes significant environmental degradation and always has repercussions within economic and social plans. Precaution, however, acts as a more appropriate method of protecting subterranean waters, whereby the technical state no longer permits the measuring of the environmental impact of excessive consumption of well water, which includes a growing contemporary reality. The principles of the paying pollutant and the paying user theoretically substantiate the instrument of collective use of natural water resources, which the legislator resolved to adopt in order to stimulate rationing in the use of water. The research is in a bibliographical format. The method-base is analytical. Various forms of analysis were used, including structuralistic, historic and descriptive types. As the adoption of a certain method-base does not dismiss the need of others, so each scientific project is formed in a singular fashion, including, within the dissertation, dialectic, hermeneutic and systemic methods.

The evolution of environmental law in Mexico has developed efficient mechanisms for environmental protection. Mexico’s legal system stems from the civil law tradition and therefore is a system of positivelaw. Thus, the Mexican legal system is based in written laws, regulations and other legalprovisions, created by the legislature (Federal Congress) and applicable in the Mexicanterritory, without losing sight of Mexican Official Standards (NOM’s) and Mexican Standards (NMX).The present article will make and overview on the transformation of environmental law since 1987’s constitutional reforms, to the present day.
El tiempo y la experiencia en la aplicación de la Legislación Ambiental Mexicana ha sido detonante para el desarrollo de mecanismos cada vez más eficientes para la protección al medio ambiente.El Sistema Legal Mexicano es un sistema de derecho positivo. Así, el Derecho mexicano se encuentra basado en leyes escritas, reglamentos y otras disposiciones legales, creadas por el Congreso de la Unión y el Ejecutivo Federal; todas, aplicables en el territorio mexicano; sin perder de vista el rol de las Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM’s) y las Normas Mexicanas (NMX).El presente artículo hará un recorrido en la transformación de la legislación ambiental desde las reformas constitucionales de 1987, hasta el día de hoy.

This research explored the nature of conflict that arose in Xolobeni, a small area in the Mbizana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and the environmental politics emanating from the arguments that supported development rather than environmental protection. The proposed mining project was known as the Xolobeni mining development project within the Amadiba Tribal Authority, an area dominated by Pondos or (Mpondos). The Xolobeni area is located between the Mzamba and Mtentu Rivers, covering some 2 867 hectares, and extends for 20km along the coast of the Mbizana Local Municipality, in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality. In 2005, the Minister of the National Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), now known as the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, announced that an Australian company, Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM) will establish a mining development project in Xolobeni to mine red sand dunes which are contained within five blocks, each named after the river at its southern boundary. These blocks were Mtentu, Sikombe, Kwanyana, Mnyameni and Mphalane. According to the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act 28 of 2002), the Department of Minerals and Energy is the sole custodian of the mining licence and therefore the only Department that issues mining licences. The research investigated the nature of conflict that erupted in Xolobeni after this announcement, resulting in the formation of two groups namely, the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) which represented the communities who were against the mining project in the area and the Xolobeni Local Community (Xolco) which was a Black Economic Empowerment company that represented the communities that supported the mining project and was to receive 26 percent of the proceeds from the mining company. The purpose of the Amadiba Crisis Committee was to channel complaints and grievances of local residents emanating from the mining development project and other development to all relevant authorities so that the Constitutional rights of residents can be respected. The research also investigated the role of each stakeholder in the proposed mining project, namely, local communities in the area, environmentalists, councillors, the National Department of Minerals and Energy, the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEA), the traditional authority and the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Economic Development and Environmental Affairs. Central to this research was the level of consultation during the proposed mining project. Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were used to collect data in Xolobeni. Interviews were conducted with the two opposing groups and other various stakeholders including the chieftaincy, environmentalists, councillors and officials in the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEA). The researcher used questionnaires in order to get the views of the targeted participants. Eighty questionnaires were distributed among the targeted participants but only forty five were returned. Some of the participants were reluctant to participate in this study because the mining project had not taken place. Secondary data from the Departments of Environment of Affairs nationally and provincially revealed that the Department of Minerals and Energy through its Minister, Bulelwa Sonjica, awarded the mining licence despite recommendations of both Departments not to do so. The Minister of the new Department of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, withdrew the licence and gave three months to Transworld Energy and Minerals to address the outstanding issues raised in the environmental impact assessment (EIA). The data collected revealed that the proposed mining project affected all communities in the Amadiba Tribal Administrative area. The research also illustrated how the Xolobeni community organised themselves and protested against development that intended to force them to relocate from their ancestral land without proper consultation. Issues of sustainable development and environmental protection also formed part of the discussions in this research. While the mining project had stalled, it emerged that the majority of respondents in the area did not want the mining project to proceed.

The effects of system pressure on the performance stability of flow-through capacitive deionization (CDI) cells was investigated. Initial data showed that the highly porous carbon electrodes possessed air/oxygen in the micropores, and the increased system pressure boosts the gases solubility in saline solution and carries them out of the cell in the effluent. Upon applying a potential difference to the electrodes, capacitive-based ion adsorption occurs in competition with faradaic reactions that consume oxygen. Through the addition of backpressure, the rate of degradation decreases, allowing the cell to maintain its salt adsorption capacity (SAC) longer. The removal of oxygen from the pore space of the electrodes makes it no longer immediately accessible to faradaic reactions, thus hindering the rate of reactions and giving the competing ion adsorption an advantage that is progressively seen throughout the life of the cell. A quick calculation shows that the energy penalty to power the pump is fairly insignificant, especially in comparison to the cost of replacing the electrodes in the cell. Thus, operating at elevated pressures is shown to be cost effective for continuous operation through the reduced electrode replenishment costs.

La dégradation de l’environnement au Niger, prend une ampleur de plus en pluspréoccupante. L’enjeu pour les politiques publiques est de changer la relation entre l’homme et sonmilieu afin de renverser la tendance. A cet effet, dans un contexte interne caractérisé par l’instaurationde la démocratie et de l’Etat de droit et un contexte international caractérisé par la mondialisation dudroit de l’environnement suite à la conférence de Rio notamment, le droit s’est naturellement imposécomme l’outil essentiel de ces transformations. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’identifier et analyser lesactions de transformation de la relation entre l’homme et son milieu de vie dans l’objectif de lapérennité des ressources naturelles et la viabilité du cadre de vie en tant qu’enjeux de la protection del’environnement dans un Etat en situation fragilité. Le Niger s’est engagé dans un processus deproduction normative, avec l’ambition de produire un droit alliant standards internationaux et normeset pratiques locales que ça soit dans les procédés de prise de décision ou de méthodes de protection del’environnement. Avec un approche quasi-empirique, l’analyse des enjeux contemporains de laprotection de l’environnement au Niger, nous permettra de révéler la nature de la relation de l’hommeavec son milieu telle qu’établie par le droit dans un contexte démocratique et de mondialisation dudroit de l’environnement, mais aussi de révéler comment la situation de fragilité générale de l’Etat etde la société commande la mise en oeuvre de ce droit
The environmental degradation in Niger, takes a scale of increasing concern. Thechallenge for public policy is to change the relationship between man and his environment inorder to reverse the trend. To this end, in an internal context characterized by theestablishment of democracy and the rule of law and an international context characterized bythe globalization of environmental law following the Rio Conference (1992) in particular, therule of law has naturally emerged as the key tool for these transformations. The objective ofthis thesis is to identify and analyze the actions of transformation in the relationship betweenman and his environment with the goal of sustainability of natural resources and sustainableliving environment as issues the environmental situation in a state fragility. Niger hasembarked on a normative production process, with the aim of producing a law combininginternational standards and local norms and practices that it is in the processes of decisionmaking and environmental protection methods. With an interdisciplinary approach, analysisof contemporary issues of environmental protection in Niger, allow us to reveal the nature ofman's relationship with his environment as established by law in a democratic context andglobalization of environmental law, but also reveal how the situation in general fragility of thestate and society control the implementation of this rule of law

El Derecho Ambiental en el Perú comprende una serie de prerrogativas de protección y prevención del medio ambiente en el marco de un desarrollo sostenible que permita el crecimiento económico y social del país, pero todo ello a manos del Estado como único gestor de los recursos naturales que yacen en su territorio. El presente trabajo de investigación comprende el estudio de las disposiciones constitucionales y legales que sustentan el derecho ambiental peruano, como la actuación de los entidades y funcionarios públicos competentes a lo largo del tiempo, en orden de identificar por qué no se han alcanzado los resultados esperados en materia ambiental y socioeconómica al 2020. Asimismo, se desarrolla la propuesta de la ecología de mercado, como aquella perspectiva que pretende solucionar los problemas identificados previamente, en virtud a la asignación del derecho de propiedad privada sobre los recursos naturales, de modo tal que asegura una protección efectiva del medio ambiente y de su riqueza, toda vez que, los agentes económicos negociaran entre estos sin restricciones para obtener la mejor combinación win-win en el marco del desarrollo de sus actividades económicas. Por consiguiente, el Estado se limitará a intervenir únicamente como ente promotor del cumplimiento de prácticas ecoeficientes, antes, durante y después de la explotación de recursos naturales.
Environmental law in Peru comprises a series of environmental protection and prevention prerogatives about sustainable development that enables the country's economic and social growth but all this at the hands of the State as the sole manager of the natural resources that lie in its territory This research work includes the study of the constitutional and legal provisions that underpin Peruvian environmental law, such as the actions of competent public bodies and officials over time, in order to identify why they are not achieving the expected environmental and socio-economic results by 2020. Furthermore, the proposal for free-market environmentalism is developed such as the perspective that aims to solve the problems previously identified, under the allocation of private property rights over natural resources, thus ensuring effective environmental protection and its wealth, inasmuch as economic operators will negotiate between them without restrictions to obtain the best win-win combination in the framework of development of its economic activities. Therefore, the State will simply intervene solely as a promoter of compliance with eco-efficient practices, before, during and after the exploitation of natural resources.
Trabajo de investigación

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:29:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Roberto Marques.pdf: 1493238 bytes, checksum: 68155ed6a1788a73a554d9c3b32e9cdb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-07
The environmental matter is a topic present in any line of discussion. It is a result of the laws of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, once we can not ignore that next generations quality of life is submitted to them, so, protecting the environment is really valuable. The current environmental degradation has many of its effects deferred to a time we can not precise. This process arises from the inevitability, at the moment, of satisfying the needs of the present generations and allowing them to harvest the benefits of their right to development. In order to do so, it must be considered that the environmental resources are limited and there are no conditions to assure for how long they will serve men. In such context, the role of Law is important, in charge of balancing the environmental preservation and the economic growth, without ignoring the necessary benefit that shall result from it to human being. This scenery constitutes what is called sustainable development. With such a purpose, the operators of Law, when interpreting juridical laws, must consider, first, the laws of nature, adjusting the legislation to them. Then, considering the constitutional orders observing the acknowledged social rights and the individual s dignity principle one has to interpret the rules so that the result favors the collectivity and, as much as possible to do such adjustment, promote the sustainable development. Considering that sustainability only can be ascertained a long time after the action, looking back to the past, the caution in the administration of the environmental resources available (Legislative, Executive and Judiciary Powers activities, each one performing its role), must guide all public and private politics, applying the principles of prevention, precaution and polluter pays
A questão ambiental é tema de qualquer pauta de discussão. É uma decorrência das leis da Biologia, da Química e da Física, pois não se pode ignorar que a qualidade de vida das futuras gerações está submetida a elas e, assim, o cuidado com relação ao meio ambiente é muito valioso. A degradação ambiental provocada atualmente tem muitos de seus efeitos diferidos para época que não sabemos precisar. Esse processo decorre da inevitabilidade, no momento, de satisfazer as necessidades das atuais gerações e permitir que colham os proveitos do direito ao desenvolvimento. Para tanto, deve ser considerado que os recursos ambientais são limitados, e não se tem condições de assegurar até quando servirão ao homem. Nesse contexto, é importante a função do Direito, encarregado de equilibrar a preservação ambiental e o crescimento econômico, sem se descuidar do necessário benefício que deve advir para o ser humano, constituindo, esse cenário, o que se chama de desenvolvimento sustentável. Com essa finalidade, os operadores do Direito, na interpretação das leis jurídicas, devem considerar, primeiramente, as leis da natureza, a elas ajustando a legislação. Depois, atentos aos mandamentos constitucionais com observância dos direitos sociais reconhecidos e do princípio da dignidade da pessoa , cumpre interpretar as normas de forma que o resultado favoreça a coletividade e, no quanto for possível fazer esse ajuste, promova o desenvolvimento sustentável. Levando-se em conta que a sustentabilidade somente pode ser apurada muito tempo depois da ação, voltando-se para o passado, a cautela na administração (atividades dos Poderes Legislativo, Executivo e Judiciário, cada um dentro de suas funções) dos recursos ambientais disponíveis deve orientar todas as políticas públicas e privadas, notadamente com aplicação dos princípios da prevenção, da precaução e do poluidor-pagador

A necessidade de se estabelecer maiores garantias jurídicas na efetivação de uma busca de preservação do meio ambiente, tem nos levado a discutir suas diferentes abordagens pelas Ciências Jurídicas, uma vez que atuará o Poder Judiciário, como um mediador deste conflito. O direito a um meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado e sadio e o o desenvolvimento econômico cada vez mais se tornam pertinentes, ante a ausência de uma correta exploração dos recursos naturais. O sistema jurídico necessita possuir instrumentos jurídicos hábeis, como o Estudo de Impacto Ambiental e o Relatório de Impacto Ambiental, meios estes capazes a compatibilizar o desenvolvimento econômico e as atividades econômicas geradoras de riquezas, sob pena de uma perda da qualidade de vida existente no planeta. O sistema legal para a concessão do licenciamento ambiental na mineração assim, deverá atuar como um compatibilizador da permissão para a extração de minérios e a possibilidade de recuperação da área explorada, com o seu conseqüente plano de recuperação, que deverá avaliar a impactação necessária a sustentabilidade da atividade.
Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-14T16:06:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Ana Lucia B Cardoso.pdf: 558454 bytes, checksum: 7cef7933a04888b09efa7ac911783230 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-14T16:06:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Ana Lucia B Cardoso.pdf: 558454 bytes, checksum: 7cef7933a04888b09efa7ac911783230 (MD5)
The need of establishing wider legal guarantees in the interest of environment preservation has raised the discussion of its different approaches in Legal Sciences, since the Judiciary Power would act as the mediator of this conflict. The entitlement of an ecologically and healthy balanced environment and the entitlement of the economic development have become more relevant because of the absence of a correct natural resources exploration. The juridical system must have clever juridical methods capable of making the economic development compatible with the economic activities that generate wealth, in risk of, otherwise, harming the quality of life existent in the planet. The juridical system of the environment licensing in mining must therefore act as a conciliator in the mining extraction allowance and the possibility of recovery of the explored area, including its regeneration plan that should evaluate the necessary effort to make this activity sustainable.

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

This paper outlines the current state of environmental legislation and administration in Botswana, identifying the various problems with that system. Those problems include fragmented and overlapping administration and out-dated legislation that is not in keeping with modem, holistic approaches to environmental management, ineffective and unreliable enforcement, compounded by rampant non-compliance. The paper then considers some the developments that are being made to improve this situation, including: the conversion of the environmental agency into a department and the introduction of an over-reaching environmental Act, preparation of a wetlands conservation strategy, the introduction of environmental impact assessment legislation. The paper concludes by querying the effectiveness of those developments when unsustainable attitudes continue to predominate in the country
Law
LL.M.

Societies in Transkei, particularly those along the coast, are confronted to varying degrees by the problem and prospects of having to be removed from the areas which they have occupied for decades, sometimes from time immemorial, to make space for government schemes intended for the conservation of the environment and its resources, as determined by various conservation legislation (Chapters 3 and 4). These people have to be settled in new areas which lack the natural resources which they enjoyed in their old areas and on which they depended for their survival and their traditional style of life. What exacerbates the situation is that these removals are not accompanied by development programmes to compensate the people for their loss. Furthermore, the establishment of these conservation areas does not offer any incentives for them to appreciated and see the benefit of conservation (Chapters 5 and 6). Furthermore, although some of the conservation legislation anticipates that there should be consultations with, and participation by, the local people before the conservation programmes are implemented in order for them to present their opinions, it does not seem that the government officials charged with the control and administration of the legislation comply with this requirement. The result is that these conservation programmes are met with resistance from the local people, resulting in the government failing to attain the objectives of the legislation. This study will briefly deal with the history and development of conservation legislation in Transkei from the Colonial era (Chapter 2), and examine the provisions of the applicable conservation legislation during the self-government of Transkei including its independence up to its reincorporation into South Africa during April 1994.
Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1995.

The study was aimed at assessing perceptions of local communities on the use of coastal natural resources in Coffee Bay and the “Hole in-the Wall” area. The environmental impact caused by non–compliance with environmental legislation was also assessed. Data was obtained through interviews conducted with members of 50 households chosen randomly and questionnaires that were distributed to government departments in charge of the resources. The study found that due to high illiteracy and unemployment in the area, people were compelled to use the available coastal natural resources to satisfy their basic needs. About 70% of them were aware of the legislation but felt they could not comply with it since they had not been consulted. The study’s recommendations are that the community should be consulted on legislation, more environmental awareness campaigns should be conducted and government plans should be aligned in terms of service delivery
Environmental Sciences
M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Proponents and advocates of transfrontier conservation in southern Africa have postulated rural communities living adjacent to conservation areas as one of the main determinants of the success of such initiatives and thus they should be potential beneficiaries along with the state and the private sector. This assertion is reflected in the various memoranda of understanding (MOU), treaties, policies and agreements establishing transfrontier conservation initiatives. For community participation to be effective, the laws, policies and institutions establishing transfrontier conservation in southern Africa must lead to the empowerment of these rural communities who commonly subsist on local natural resources and perceive them as opportunities to earn a living. I derive a principle and set of criteria and indicators that are used to analyse the legal, policy and institutional framework and its implications for community participation and empowerment in transfrontier conservation in southern Africa. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park provides a case study. I argue that while provisions for community participation are made in the laws, policies and institutions under which transfrontier conservation is being initiated and implemented in the region, they are not sufficiently prescriptive about empowering communities to secure commitment from conservation agencies to enable communities to effectively participate in transfrontier conservation. It is suggested that as presently defined, the laws, policies and institutions may lead to community disempowerment from transfrontier conservation, as they allow too much scope for interpretations that weaken options for censure where agencies are not demonstrating commitment to community participation and empowerment in conservation.
Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This study examines the need for nature conservation legislation and the enforcement thereof in the Gauteng province. The study commences with an in depth examination of the historical background to nature conservation and nature conservation legislation in order to explain why the present condition exists. Some of the guidelines of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) are considered in this regard as well as fines and penalties that are inadequate as deterrents for contraventions of nature conservation legislation. The necessity of the appointment of provincial departments of environmental affairs and the importance of environmental education as a means to an end are touched on. There is attention given to the economic importance of tourism for the realisation of economic prosperity to the regiol') and how that depends of adequate nature conservation legislation enforcement. The roles that different departments of the state and the private sector and organised pressure groups can play are also identified. An investigation has been conducted into the inner workings of the Gauteng Nature Conservation Directorate with a statistical analysis, sampling and arguments. Local and international case studies have been used as examples for analysis as well as statistics of previous trends. The study ends with conclusions which have been reached followed by recommendations which may be implemented.
Public Administration
Thesis (M. Pub. Admin.)--University of South Africa, 2001.
M. Pub. Admin.

The research focused on the assessment of the effectiveness of the methods used in the implementation of environmental legislation in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe. Successful implementation of environmental legislation and any other legislation is determined by various factors. Some of the factors include environmental education, environmental awareness programmes, consistency in implementing environmental legislation, coordination of all stakeholders, willingness of communities to co-operate and the political will by political office bearers. This research revealed that the methods used to implement environmental legislation in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe are ineffective. Poverty is the main reason for activities leading to environmental degradation. Communities in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe are ignorant of environmental legislation which govern their activities. Environmental education and environmental awareness programmes are rarely carried out. The political office bearers in the Mutasa district lack the political will to ensure that environmental legislation are enforced.
Public Administration
MPA (Public Administration)

This study makes the assumption that community participation in the governance of mineral resources is a requirement of sustainable development and that through a fundamental rights-based approach, it can be made effective. The concern is that an affected community should not only be involved in the decision-making process, but its view must also influence the outcome in respect of whether or not a mineral project should take place and how it should address development issues at local level. It is assumed that this legal approach will improve mineral governance by bringing more transparency and accountability. In many African resource-rich countries, community participation has until now been practiced with more of a soft approach, with the consequence that it has been unable to eradicate the opacity existing in the management of revenues generated by mineral exploitation and also deal efficiently with the recurrence of fundamental rights violations in the mineral sector. Obviously, the success of the fundamental rights based-approach is not absolutely guaranteed because there are preconditions that must be fulfilled. The synergy between community participation and some relevant concepts like democracy, decentarlisation, accountability, (good) governance and sustainable development must be well balanced for the participation process to bring positive outcomes. Also, because the fundamental rights based-approach is conceived here within the framework of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, its normative and institutional components, despite the potential to make participation effective and successful, require that some critical challenges be addressed in practice. The study ends with the conclusion that the fundamental rights based-approach is appropriate to make community participation effective in the mineral-led development process taking place at local level, provided that its implementation is kept reasonable.
Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law
D.Law

With discussion of Indigenous laws on the rise in Canada, this thesis explores the question of law’s power: jurisdiction. In this project, I ask whether Indigenous jurisdiction is active in conflicts between Indigenous and state actors over the environment, in the context of the Heiltsuk Nation on the central coast of British Columbia. This project looks to critical legal theory for an understanding of jurisdiction. It identifies three aspects of jurisdiction that are discussed in critical legal theory and related fields: that it is technical, it is authoritative, and it is spatial. Adopting these qualities as provisional indicators of jurisdiction, it applies thefzm to three case studies of Heiltsuk (or “Haíɫzaqv”) conflicts with the state, which engage colonial law in different ways. The three case studies concern (1) herring harvest and management, which was litigated in R v Gladstone; (2) land use and forestry, which is the subject of the Great Bear Rainforest agreements; and (3) trophy hunting for bears, which is the subject of a grassroots campaign based on Indigenous law. Adopting a qualitative approach adapted from institutional ethnography, this project applies a critical jurisdictional lens to each case study, using documentary review and interviews to explore the technical, authoritative, and spatial aspects of each conflict. Ultimately, I find that expressions of Heiltsuk jurisdiction – as understood from a colonial, critical perspective – are already at play in each conflict, although this is not immediately visible from the point of view of colonial law. In the conclusion, I explore the different manifestations and strategies of Heiltsuk jurisdictional expressions, and the ways that colonial jurisdiction interacts with them.
Graduate
2021-12-19