INECE Acts on Mandate from 7th Conference to Improve Environmental Governance

During INECE's 7th International Conference, participants from more than 60 developing and developed countries affirmed the role of environmental compliance and enforcement in supporting the rule of law, strengthening good governance, and securing progress towards sustainable development, as emboddied in the Marrakech Statement: Making Law Work for People, the Environment, and Sustainable Development.

The Marrakech Statement presents recommendations for activities generated by conference participants that will lead to “renewed efforts to raise awareness of the law, to strengthen compliance assistance programs, and to enhance incentives for compliance” and ultimately play a role in improving “the rule of law, strengthening good governance, and securing progress towards sustainable development.”

Since the conclusion of the conference, the INECE Secretariat and Network participants have been responding to the broad range of follow-up activities that emerged from the Conference. Some of these projects are profiled below.

The Marrakech Statement and Call to Action, along with the full Conference Proceedings, Conference day summaries, and biographies of Conference panelists and workshop facilitators, is available at http://inece.org/conference/7/.

INECE Publishes Groundbreaking Compliance Book

The INECE Secretariat, in cooperation with the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, published Making Law Work: Environmental Compliance & Sustainable Development, an expansive compilation of the best of the literature that relates to environmental compliance and enforcement.

Edited by Durwood Zaelke , Donald Kaniaru, and Eva Kružíková, and published by Cameron May Ltd. in London, this two-volume work bridges the worlds of academics and practitioners through an expertly edited selection of the best literature from the disciplines of law, politics, international relations, economics, and the social sciences. Making Law Work, which includes new and previously published articles, outlines the contours of a new field of study and delineates a framework for diagnosing what currently ails international and domestic environmental governance and for improving governance accordingly.

Making Law Work opens with the broadest perspectives on the issue of compliance – discussions of the critical connections to good governance, the rule of law, and sustainable development, and theories of why States and firms do or do not comply with domestic and international laws. The book also gets down to details, exploring practices for inspections, compliance assistance, and emissions trading compliance, as well as specific strategies for non-governmental organizations, government regulators, and others.

Making Law Work also introduces three empowering newer developments in environmental governance and sustainable development: (1) the increasing use of indicators as part of a movement to a more data-driven systems approach, with feedback loops and adaptation; (2) the rise of transgovernmental networks as a new vision of global environmental governance, with the component institutions of States (regulators, judges, enforcement officials) interacting directly with their peers around the world; and (3) the “Porter hypothesis” demonstrating that States can design, implement, and strictly enforce the right kinds of laws and save money, potentially even making a profit for the regulated firms because of technological innovation.

Pieter van Geel, Secretary of the Environment in the Netherlands , stated that the book will be “enormously helpful to practitioners and scholars alike as they work to improve compliance with environmental law at all levels.” The Hon. Hilario G. Davide, Jr., Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines , lauded Making Law Work, describing it as “a valuable resource for judges, prosecutors, investigators, and all who care about the Earth and want to improve the profession of compliance and enforcement.”

And Dr. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, declared that the book “offers empowering ideas for action.”

Ordering information is available on the INECE website at http://inece.org/makinglawwork.html or on the publisher’s website at http://lexmercatoria.org. The book is also available on http://amazon.com.

Parliamentarians Convene in Paris

Parliamentarians from around the world gathered in Paris at the Inaugural Conference of the Global Capacity Building Initiative for Parliamentarians on Sustainable Development in April 2005 to discuss how legislative bodies can participate in global efforts to address sustainable development issues.

The initiative is a joint project of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), in collaboration with a range of other partners. Held in the Palais de Luxembourg over two days, 22-23 April 2005, and co-sponsored by the French Senate and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophony, the conference featured plenary and small group sessions designed to help parliamentarians develop and implement legislation geared toward meeting sustainable development goals.

The first day’s plenary session focused on identifying and responding to key challenges in implementing the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals, which was chaired by Tom Spencer, former Member of the European Parliament and Executive Director of the European Centre for Public Affairs, University of Surrey.

INECE Secretariat Director and IGSD President Durwood Zaelke introduced participants to INECE and its mission and outlined how the networking opportunities and expertise INECE can provide can aid parliamentarians in their efforts. Specifically, Mr. Zaelke mentioned INECE projects such as environmental compliance and enforcement indicators and its latest publication, Making Law Work: Environmental Compliance & Sustainable Development.

The climate group discussed ideas such as including environmental issues in educational curricula, ensuring implementation of laws, strengthening international environmental governance, and creating economic incentives to make people adopt environment-friendly policies. Parliamentarians can improve their function by insisting and following-up on the adoption of a clear national strategy and strengthening their relations with civil society and the United Nations.

The second and final day included remarks from Marcel Boisard, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNITAR, and from Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Member of the German Parliament, and Chairman of the Environment Committee. The conference underpinned the need to strengthen the capacity of parliamentarians to design and oversee the implementation of effective national regulations to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development.

Further information on the Conference is available at http://ipu.org/splz-e/unitar05.htm.

INECE to Promote Importance of Compliance at Emissions Trading Workshop

INECE will host a workshop entitled Confidence Through Compliance in Emissions Trading Markets, on 17-18 November 2005 in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Environment Agency (England and Wales); the Netherlands’ Ministry of Spatial Planning, Housing, and the Environment; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the European Commission; and Resources for the Future.

The workshop is designed to emphasize the importance of compliance rates in achieving the goals of emissions trading systems and instilling investor confidence. Workshop speakers will include top officials from the United States, the European Union, and developing country governments, as well as representatives from key non-governmental organizations and industry groups. The workshop is by invitation only; more information is available at http://inece.org/emissions/.