Download UNIT 14 - IUCN Academy of Environmental Law

CASE STUDIES ON
NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
AND PROCESSES:
BIODIVERSITY AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
CONVENTIONS
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
Topics to Discuss (1)




What are the objectives of the CBD?
What are the objectives of the UNFCCC?
How relevant are these objectives to your country?
To what extent are the provisions and mechanisms in these
MEAs mandatory or voluntary?
– Consider also the Recommendations and Decisions produced by
subsidiary bodies, the Secretariat, and COP

Which institutional mechanisms in the MEAs facilitate its
application in your country? Which are ineffective? Why?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
2
Topics to Discuss (2)

Analyze the national implementing legislation for each
MEA
– Is it comprehensive? Are there any apparent gaps? If so, why
do these gaps exist?
– Are the objectives (stated and implicit) in the MEA and the
respective implementing legislation the same? If there are
differences, what are they? Why are they different? What is
the potential effect of differing objectives?
– Is the legislation effective?
– What would need to be changed?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
3
Topics to Discuss (3)

Review the national institutional arrangements responsible
for implementing and enforcing each MEA
– How are the arrangements similar? How are they different?
Why?
– How effective are the various institutions in implementation?
– How effective are the various institutions in enforcement?
– Have the institutions developed the necessary implementing
regulations and standards?
– Is there adequate funding and staffing?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
4
Topics to Discuss (4)

Discuss the level of knowledge of each MEA in these
sectors and institutions:
–
–
–
–
–
The regulated community
The legal community
The regulators
The public
Other actors, including economic, policy, scientific, and media
institutions
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
5
Topics to Discuss (5) and (6)

Examine the role of the public in implementing and enforcing the
MEAs
–
–
–
–

What are the respective methods and institutions?
How effective are these methods and institutions for participation?
Who has participated?
What were the results?
What are the primary constraints and barriers to effective national
implementation and enforcement of the MEAs?
–
–
–
–
Institutional limitations?
Legal gaps?
Political factors?
Capacity of personnel and institutions?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
6
Convention on Biological
Diversity
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
7
Biological Diversity-Related MEAs

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
1971 (Ramsar)

World Heritage Convention 1972

Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species 1973 (CITES)

Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals
1979 (CMS)
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
8
CBD Case Study (2)



What are the main objectives of the CBD?
What are the main objectives of the national
implementing legislation?
All Parties to the CBD committed to achieve the 2010
Biodiversity Targets
– How did your country address these targets?
– How well did your country perform in the achievement of
these targets?
– What future plans does your country have to achieve the new
targets set in the 2010 COP?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
9
CBD Case Study (2)

Article 6 of the CBD states that each Contracting Party shall, in
accordance with its particular conditions and capabilities:
– Develop national strategies, plans or programmes for the
conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity or adapt for
this purpose existing strategies, plans or programmes which shall
reflect, inter alia, the measures set out in this Convention relevant to
the Contracting Party concerned.
– Integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or crosssectoral plans, programmes and policies.

If your country has a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan (NBSAP), how does it address article 6?
– If your country has a NBSAP, what are its primary strengths and
weaknesses?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
10
CBD Case Study (3)

COP-3 (Decision III/9)
– Encouraged Parties to include in their national plans, strategies, or
legislation, measures for in situ and ex situ conservation, sectoral
integration of biodiversity considerations, and the equitable sharing
of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
– Encouraged Parties to set measurable targets to achieve
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use objectives.

COP-7
– New and revised NBSAPs should be formulated to provide a
coherent evaluation of the implementation of goals for the
Strategic Plan, 2010 Target, national and regional objectives, and
complementary plans.
– NBSAPs should emphasize the use of indicators to facilitate
assessments of progress.
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
11
CBD Case Study (4)

Have CBD obligations been translated into national
legislation? If so, are they reflected substantively in the
legislation?
– Consider any new laws on natural resources, EIA, biological
diversity, natural protected areas, biosafety, and other
relevant laws
– Continue this analysis for the following two questions.


What policy and institutional process was adopted?
Have internal or sub-regional norms been developed to
build upon CBD objectives and requirements?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
12
CBD Case Study (5)
Does your country have legislation on and institutions responsible
for access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, including

–
Procedures on access




–
Protection of traditional knowledge

–
An institutional framework to process access applications
Concrete experiences regarding access applications
Mechanisms to address illegal/irregular access
Sanctions, legal regulations, mechanisms to prevent the appropriation
and patenting of products based on genetic resources whose access has
not complied with regulations
Do specific norms exist for the promotion, registration and protection of
traditional knowledge?
Distribution of benefits

Are there regulations addressing monetary and non-monetary
distribution of benefits, etc. ?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
13
CBD Case Study (6)

Does your country have legislation on and institutions
responsible for in situ and ex situ conservation?
ARTICLE 8 In-situ Conservation
Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:
a)
Establish a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to
be taken to conserve biological diversity;
b)
Develop, where necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and
management of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be
taken to conserve biological diversity;
c)
Regulate or manage biological resources important for the conservation of
biological diversity whether within or outside protected areas, with a view to
ensuring their conservation and sustainable use;
d)
Promote the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and the maintenance of
viable populations of species in natural surroundings;
e)
Promote environmentally sound and sustainable development in areas adjacent
to protected areas with a view to furthering protection of these areas;
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
14
CBD Case Study (7)
ARTICLE 8 In-situ Conservation (continued)
f)
g)
Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of
threatened species, inter alia, through the development and implementation of
plans or other management strategies;
Establish or maintain means to regulate, manage or control the risks associated
with the use and release of living modified organisms resulting from
biotechnology which are likely to have adverse environmental impacts that could
affect the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into
account the risks to human health;
ARTICLE 9 Ex-situ Conservation
Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, and predominantly
for the purpose of complementing in-situ measures:
(a)
Adopt measures for the ex-situ conservation of components of biological diversity,
preferably in the country of origin of such components;
(b) Establish and maintain facilities for ex-situ conservation of and research on plants,
animals and micro-organisms, preferably in the country of origin of genetic
resources;
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
15
Climate Change Convention
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
16
Climate Change-Related MEAs



UN Framework Convention on Climate Change –
UNFCCC (1992)
Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC (1997)
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer (1987)
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
17
CC Case Study (1)


Climate change, is “a change of climate which is attributed directly or
indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable periods of time.” (UNFCCC art. 1.2)
Adverse effects of climate change, as defined in Article 1.1 of the
UNFCCC, means:
– “Changes in the physical environment or biota resulting from climate
change which have significant deleterious effects on the composition,
resilience or productivity of natural and managed ecosystems or on
the operation of socio-economic systems or on human health and
welfare.
– The associated effects of climate change include rising surface
temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme climatic events.”
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
18
CC Case Study (2)

Evaluate specific ecological, social, and economic impacts of
climate change

Do the baseline data exist to do this?
–
Whether and how national policies and legislation
incorporate Climate Change Convention obligations
–
What are the potential (or real) impacts of adaptation on
national laws and policies

Environment and natural resource laws

Also: laws and policies governing transportation, land use
and building codes, agriculture, etc.
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
19
CC Case Study (3)

Synergies among UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and
Montreal Protocol
–
Some ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) have high
greenhouse gas (GHG) potentials
–
Some ODS alternatives also have high GHG
potentials
–
Thus, their implementation and enforcement requires
a synergetic approach, including in national policies,
laws, programs, and strategies
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
20
CC Case Study (4)


Linkages between climate change and biodiversity
– Effects of climate change on biodiversity (e.g., extinction and
adaptation)
– Effects of biodiversity management on climate change (e.g.,
avoided deforestation/Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and
Degradation - REDD)
– Effects of measures taken to address climate change on biodiversity
(e.g., biofuels)
– Discuss how national legislation, policies, and initiatives address
these synergies. Or how they could address these synergie
Evaluate whether and how national institutions and laws feed into or
support:
– The Clean Development Mechanism
– Carbon Emission Bonds
– The Joint Implementation Mechanism
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
21
Conclusion


There is a close relationship between the
effectiveness of MEAs and the effectiveness of the
national legislation and institutions implementing and
enforcing that MEA
What are the key factors in your country that affect the
implementation and enforcement of MEAs?
–
–
–
Which factors are the most important?
Do these factors vary, depending on the MEA?
To what extent might these factors characterize effective
implementation and enforcement in other countries?
This course was developed in cooperation with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
22