Recognising Biodiversity Conservation as a “Common Concern of Mankind”: A Legal Appraisal

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-180
Author(s):  
Sharaban Tahura Zaman
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
International Community ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
The Common

By analysing the legal provisions of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol, this article focuses on the legal implications of recognising biodiversity conservation as a “common concern of mankind”. In this context, the “common concern” concept clearly involves precise environmental protection, through actions (and addressing resources) that transcend the territorial sovereignty of individual States; establish common responsibilities towards the international community; and develop international regulations and institutions to secure these objectives. When applied in this context, this concept poses a significant legal implication for national sovereignty and the international community. It restricts sovereignty by requiring States to meet a national-level version of the standard of due diligence, including by adopting laws, and developing strategic plans, as well as entering into partnership with local, indigenous communities, the private sector and international communities for their implementation. It also establishes among the States a “common but differentiated responsibility” towards the entire international community – a duty to cooperate and collaborate for the conservation of biodiversity. These legal implications have been subject to legal debates and challenges, especially when they require the setting of standards of due diligence applicable to all States and most particularly with regard to commitments they have made regarding technical and financial cooperation. It is clearly quite difficult to enforce such legal obligations precisely, particularly under the CBD’s regulatory regime. To uphold the “common concern” approach, all nations will need to participate and to accept both their respective differentiated responsibilities and the restrictions that this approach imposes on national sovereignty. The international regulatory regime also needs to develop a new compliance technique and enforcement mechanism. Such global responses and efforts are indispensable for sustaining life on earth.

Relating regional crises and political cohesion from an ASEAN and EU-ASEAN perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-105
Author(s):  
Naila Maier-Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
International Community ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
The Common ◽  
Regional Grouping

In December 2015, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrated the official establishment of the ASEAN Community. Having emerged in 1967 as a regional grouping of developing countries with minimal shared interests—beyond the common concern of economic growth and national resilience, ASEAN now has established regional structures which have been vital in enhancing development and dialogue on a broad range of issues across the Southeast Asian region. Over the years, the institutional development at the regional level has been accompanied by various efforts to promote regional unity and identity. The more recent years have also displayed that the international community has been supporting these efforts for ASEAN unity and identity by showing greater recognition of ASEAN as an international actor in its own right, for example, through the establishment of numerous country delegations to ASEAN.

Cultural Heritage as ‘Common Concern’: Role of International Organizations and States

2021 ◽  
pp. 293-318
Author(s):  
Ana Filipa Vrdoljak
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Community ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
United Nations Educational ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
The Core ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
The Common

This chapter explores the evolution of cultural property as the ‘common concern’ of the international community by focusing on its protection during armed conflict and belligerent occupation. By focusing on the role of international organizations over the last century, it examines the development of the rationales for this protection and related obligations concerning safeguarding and prosecution of violations. It charts the drive to realize a specialist instrument on the protection of cultural property during armed conflict and the enforcement of these obligations through the various phases of the evolving membership and priorities of the Intellectual Cooperation Organisation (ICO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is shown that despite the changing fortunes of these specialist international culture organizations themselves, the core commitment by the international community to the articulation of the protection of cultural property during armed conflict as a common concern of humanity and the obligation to prosecute violators of these norms has strengthened over decades.

scholarly journals The common energy market of the European Union – utopia or reality?

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
The Common

Abstract The European Commission has the initiative to foster the sector of renewable energy and to build an Energy Union, with a common energy market at the level of the European Union, but is this only an utopic vision or is this possible to achieve? The topic of clean energy is very new and of great interest for the European Union, which is shown by the fact that the European Commission recently adopted on the 30th November 2016 the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, which contains proposals for the modernization of the energy market at the level of the European Union. But which are the challenges such a project is confronted with? According to the literature, such challenges are related to the process of liberalization of electricity markets. Conflicts between national interest and international actors of the energy market might occur. Due to the oligopolistic structure of the energy market, there are several barriers to the market entry. In order to answer to the research questions, case studies regarding the liberalization of the energy market will be analyzed in a comparative manner, offering an international overview. Furthermore, the legal provisions on which the common energy policy of the European Union relies, will be analyzed, as well as their economic and social impact. The package “Clean Energy for All Europeans” comprises a proposal of the revised Renewable energy Directive, energy efficiency measures and issues related to the Energy Union Governance. It contains as well proposals for the electricity market design, which will be analyzed and the present paper outlines the contribution of this proposal in building a common energy market of the European Union. What role does competition play in implementing the common energy market of the European Union? Which role do competition authorities have in this context? These are interesting aspects to be analyzed in the present paper.

scholarly journals Traditional forest-related knowledge and agrobiodiversity preservation: the case of the chagras in the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa (Colombia)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Alejandra Hernandez Marentes ◽  
Martina Venturi ◽  
Silvia Scaramuzzi ◽  
Marco Focacci ◽  
Antonio Santoro
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Wild Fruits ◽  
Deep Relationship

AbstractChagras are complex agroforestry systems developed by indigenous populations of the Amazon region based on shifting agriculture, as part of a system that includes harvesting of wild fruits and plants, hunting and fishing. During the centuries, thanks to their traditional knowledge, indigenous populations have developed a deep relationship with the surrounding environment, as, living in remote places, they must be self-sufficient. The result is the chagra, a system whose cycle is based on seven basic steps to establish a successful and sustainable system, starting from place selection and ending with the abandonment of the plot after harvesting of the products. After the abandonment, the forest starts to grow again to allow the agroecosystem to recover and to take advantage of the residual vegetal material to avoid erosion. The paper takes into consideration the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa in Colombia as an example of how traditional knowledge can support a rich biodiversity conservation. Moreover, differently from other parts of the world where there is a growing contrast between indigenous communities and protected areas, in the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa local communities have been recognized as the owners of the land. Results highlighted the crucial role of the indigenous communities for biodiversity conservation. The preservation and adaptation of traditional knowledge and practices, a decentralized autonomous governance system demonstrates that local communities not only can be part of ecosystems with unique biodiversity, but that they can represent the main actors for an active conservation of biodiversity. Agroforestry systems based on traditional forest-related knowledge can therefore be an effective alternative to biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation based on strict nature protection where humans are perceived as a negative factor.

scholarly journals Indo-Pacific Maritime Cooperation: ASEAN Mechanisms on Security Towards Global Maritime Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Angel Damayanti
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
West Pacific Ocean ◽  
Ocean Governance ◽  
International Stability ◽  
The Common

The importance of the sea in the current era of globalization has called all countries for managing their interests at sea as well as their common concern collectively, cooperatively and inclusively. By looking at the notions of the sea as a medium of connectivity and sea as a resource coupled with its vulnerability particularly in Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation towards global ocean governance accordingly are vital to the international stability, a successful of sea-based trading system and sustainability use of the oceans. Therefore this article discusses the rationale of Indo-Pacific Maritime Cooperation, which made possible by the common concern of countries that locate between the Indian and West Pacific ocean maritime, the vulnerabilities of the region and the existence of various ASEAN’s mechanisms on Maritime Security Cooperation as well as regional regime and international law. Nevertheless, ASEAN needs to note some issues relating to its consolidation as well as the internal challenges in the realization of global maritime governance.

Rethinking Market Regulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Drobak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Popular Belief ◽  
The Past ◽  
United States Today ◽  
The Common ◽  
The U.S

Rethinking Market Regulation: Helping Labor by Overcoming Economic Myths tackles the plight of workers who lose their jobs from mergers and outsourcing by examining two economic “principles,” or narratives that have shaped the perception of the economic system in the United States today: (1) the notion that the U.S. economy is competitive, making government market regulation unnecessary, and (2) the claim that corporations exist for the benefit of their shareholders but not for other stakeholders. Contrary to popular belief, this book demonstrates that many markets are not competitive but rather are oligopolistic. This conclusion undercuts the common refrain that government market regulation is unnecessary because competition already provides sufficient constraints on business. Part of the lack of competition has resulted from the large mergers over the past few years, many of which have resulted in massive layoffs. The second narrative has justified the outsourcing of millions of jobs of U.S. workers this century, made possible by globalization. The book argues that this narrative is not an economic principle but rather a normative position. In effect, both narratives are myths, although they are accepted as truisms by many people. The book ties together a concern for the problems of using economic principles as a justification for the lack of government intervention with the harm that has been caused to workers. The book’s recommendations for a new regulatory regime are a prescription for helping labor by limiting job losses from mergers and outsourcing.

The Cyberspace and the Common Heritage of Mankind

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Antonio Segura Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Governance ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
Common Heritage Of Mankind ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
The Common ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

This chapter analyses whether and on which legal basis the Internet can be considered as part of the common heritage of mankind and, from this perspective, what legal implications would ensue therefrom in relation to the governance of the Internet. Even if cyberspace is not a perfect commons, Internet governance through the contours of the common heritage of mankind concept is an innovative proposal that may be successfully added to the discussion, since the features of this notion seem to create a better legal framework for Internet governance than the present multi-stakeholder approach. This proposal provides one of the best legal frameworks available in international law to achieve the common management of global critical resources for the benefit of all.

Concluding Remarks on Corporate Entity Involvement in Deep Seabed Mining

2021 ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
The Common ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Marine Environmental

The conclusion addresses the findings reached throughout this study on the role of private corporate actors in the deep seabed mining regime under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the impact of this upon realisation of the common heritage of mankind. It notes that the ISA is facing significant challenges in devising a workable payment mechanism that will deliver tangible benefits to humanity, while also ensuring sufficient marine environmental protections. The regime’s achievement of the common heritage will be dependent on the regulatory regime of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) fulfilling its potential, and implementing a comprehensive Mining Code to govern the life cycle of deep seabed mining operations. The study concludes by finding that, on balance, the regime is developing in a manner that may render it capable of realising its common heritage goals of securing communitarian benefits to humanity, alongside market-focused objectives. It also concludes that corporate participation may assist in achievement of the common heritage, to the extent that it may provide the commercial means for deep seabed mining to commence.

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