Publications and Studies

INECE Publications

Indicators of Effective Enforcement

A resource library of capacity building and technical support documents developed by the INECE partnership is now available on the Internet Web site and in hard copy on request by government officials, individuals from international and non-governmental organizations involved in environmental compliance and enforcement activities. Two new documents completed in preparation for the Fifth International Conference include: 1) International Inspector Training Compendium, Course and Program Comparison;  and 2) Citizen Enforcement: Tools for Effective Participation.  Past reports supplemented by these documents include: 3) Financing Environmental Permit, Compliance and Enforcement Programs; 4) Source Self-Monitoring, Reporting, and Recordkeeping Requirements: an International Comparison; 5) Multimedia Inspection Protocols; 6) Communications Strategies for Environmental Enforcement Programs; and 7) a pre-publication draft of Transboundary Trade in Potentially Hazardous (Waste, Pesticides and Ozone depleting) Substances.  All these reports complement the Principles of Environmental Enforcement and UNEP’s Publication on Industry Environmental Compliance.

back to main page

This recently published text by David Hunter, James Salzman and Durwood Zaelke is a reference book for academics, practitioners, and policymakers on the evolving response to global environmental problems.  It first discusses the problems, players and principles that shape emerging policies and legal regimes.  It then reviews the science, economics and politics of specific environmental problems and legal responses. Finally, it analyzes the relationship between international environmental law and other legal regimes including Trade and Investment, Human Rights, National Security and Corporate Codes of Conduct.  A Treaty Supplement and a teacher’s manual are also available.    Additional materials and updates are published at www.wcl.american.edu/pub/IEL. Order from www.Amazon.com, or Foundation Press at
Steve.Errick@westgroup.com, or 1-800-917-7377.

back to main page

The Law and Policy Program of the Commission for Environ-mental Cooperation (CEC) published the Proceedings of a North American Dialogue on Indicators of Effective Environ-mental Enforcement. The CEC-sponsored dialogue explored the development of indicators used to evaluate the performance of Canada, Mexico and the United States in their implementation of environmental policies and programs. The Proceedings examines their policies, programs and strategies as related to indicators of effective environmental enforcement; the actual and potential use of public response indicators for evaluating effectiveness of policies, programs and strategies; and the development and use of effective enforcement indicators in Europe. Also included in the Proceedings are presentations, discussion summaries and a participant list.  The report is now available on the CEC website at http://www.cec.org.

back to main page

Jonathan Kreuger’s book, published in 1999 by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, highlights the current challenges facing the parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Krueger documents the evolution of the Basel Convention, including the Parties’ decision to limit the trade of hazardous waste flowing from industrialized nations to developing countries; efforts to more clearly define the type of wastes regulated; and initiatives to monitor the implementation of and compliance with the duties imposed by the Convention.  The author explores how well the purposes of the Convention have been met as an attempt to regulate and minimize the increasing number of transboundary movements of hazardous waste through trade measures and the economic implications of several controversial provisions regarding waste characterization and movement. Krueger reports that the ability to monitor  compliance and take enforcement measures against those in non-compliance, are presently quite limited, making illegal traffic of hazardous wastes more likely. The parties, however, are endeavoring to improve this situation. A Consultative Subgroup created by the COP-4 is exploring how to better monitor compliance. In order to increase compliance with the Convention, the Basel Secretariat created a cooperative initiative with INTERPOL to: exchange information on cases involving illegal traffic; train police and customs officers; and establish regional implementation centers. The Convention’s Ad Hoc Working Group of Legal and Technical Experts is developing a protocol on liability and compensation for damage arising from transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. The COP has instructed the Working Group to make all efforts to finalize the draft articles of the protocol in order to present it for consideration and adoption at COP-5 (Dec. 1999). Krueger believes a liability regime and tracking systems such as the US and Mexico HAZTRAKS system are critical and advocates a standard of strict liability for illegal traffickers.

back to main page