The protection of human health and the environment are two major goals of international environmental law. However, there has been little coherent scrutiny of their scope or implementation at international and domestic levels in developing countries and Africa in particular. This thesis shows that international environmental law regimes with a health protection objective have not maximized opportunities to reinforce the promotion and protection of public health in Africa. Through inter alia a study of sustainable management of shared freshwaters, trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal and international climate law, the thesis shows that a range of legal frameworks comprised of substantive, institutional and procedural law mandates States to advance the health objective in international environmental law. However, the thesis demonstrates the limits of these regimes and suggests options to enhance their potential in promoting and protecting public health. An enhanced framework of adaptive governance is proposed to improve environmental health governance. The thesis illustrates how the discourse on health in international environmental law can strengthen international environmental health governance to improve environmental and public health outcomes. It contains seven publications that analyse the strengths and weaknesses and options for reform of the international environmental law regime for health. The implications of these findings for theory, practice and public policy are discussed.

O objetivo do presente trabalho consistiu na análise das ferramentas utilizadas pelo Direito para a proteção do meio ambiente. Para a sua consecução, estudou-se doutrina, legislação, jurisprudência e dados fáticos disponíveis em veículos de mídia digital ou impressa e sítios eletrônicos oficiais. Foram, também, conduzidas entrevistas com autoridades públicas do Estado de São Paulo e visitas a proprietários de imóveis rurais. As constatações revelaram a pluralidade de ângulos sob os quais a temática da proteção do meio ambiente pode ser encarada. As principais contribuições desta pesquisa consistiram na demonstração da insuficiência do sistema de sanções negativas para a proteção do meio ambiente, sendo indispensável a criação de incentivos positivos às práticas favoráveis ao meio ambiente. Os principais temas desta dissertação foram tratados em capítulos próprios e puderam ser assim elencados: (i) o Direito Positivo e as normas jurídicas comentários quanto à positivação do Direito e a importância das normas ; (ii) a evolução do Direito Ambiental no Brasil e a sua finalidade tendências do Direito Ambiental no Brasil e a busca da proteção ambiental ; (iii) o regime de sanções negativas maneira como as sanções negativas são aplicadas e seus resultados ; (iv) o regime de incentivos maneira como os incentivos positivos são aplicados atualmente e propostas de utilização em outros casos ; (v) experiência brasileira na concessão de incentivos ambientais as previsões normativas já existentes e os resultados alcançados no Brasil ; e (vi) o Direito Internacional Ambiental e a experiência dos países na concessão de incentivos comentários sobre tratados internacionais e normas internas de outros países que utilizam incentivos positivos para a proteção do meio ambiente. Foi apresentado um conjunto de reflexões críticas com base no material analisado e no diálogo com autoridades públicas, acadêmicos e cidadãos brasileiros na vivência profissional do pesquisador. / The scope of this work was to study the tools provided by the Law for the protection of the environment. For this purpose, this work analyzed the following material: doctrine, legislation, jurisprudence and factual data available on digital or printed media channels, as well as official websites. Interviews with public authorities of the State of São Paulo and visits to rural properties were also carried out. The findings disclosed various points of view regarding environmental protection. The main contributions of this research consisted in demonstrating the failure of the system based on negative sanctions for the protection of the environment, reason why positive incentives for environmentally friendly practices must be created. This dissertation discoursed on the following main themes: (i) the Positive Law and the legal rules comments on the positivation of the Law and the importance of statutes ; (ii) the evolution of the Environmental Law in Brazil and its goal tendencies of the Environmental Law in Brazil and the pursuit of environmental protection ; (iii) the sanctions regime how penalties are applied and what are their results ; (iv) the incentives regime how positive incentives are currently applied and proposals for enforcement ; (v) the Brazilian experience in the enactment of environmental incentives the legal rules currently applicable and the results observed in Brazil ; and (vi) the International Environmental Law and the experience of countries in the giving of incentives comments on international treaties and domestic rules of countries that enacted positive incentives for the protection of the environment. The study formulated critical findings based on the material analyzed and on discussions held with public authorities, students and citizens during the professional experience of the researcher.

<p>The aim of this thesis is to analyse the legal notion of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in order to provide, on a scientific basis, increased understanding and knowledge of the different components of this legal notion and each component’s importance for the whole. The objective is to specify what EIA is at present and what it is intended to be. This thesis analyses the legal tool, shows what the rules are in a few selected countries and goes on to discuss how it could be developed in order best to fulfil its function of promoting sustainable development. The question asked throughout this thesis is how the EIA rules should be designed in terms of their content and construction in order to function as a legal tool to promote sustainable development.</p>

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the legal notion of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in order to provide, on a scientific basis, increased understanding and knowledge of the different components of this legal notion and each component’s importance for the whole. The objective is to specify what EIA is at present and what it is intended to be. This thesis analyses the legal tool, shows what the rules are in a few selected countries and goes on to discuss how it could be developed in order best to fulfil its function of promoting sustainable development. The question asked throughout this thesis is how the EIA rules should be designed in terms of their content and construction in order to function as a legal tool to promote sustainable development.

The legal operationalisation of ecological sustainability concerns all levels of legal control. The ensuring of full biodiversity is an indispensible component of ecological sustainability. At the same time, biodiversity losses continue to be a serious problem in many regions of the world. The international community has responded to this dilemma by strengthening international biodiversity law as well as agreeing upon a particular biodiversity target. The aim is to reduce biodiversity losses at all levels by the year 2010. From a legal point of view this seems unproblematic. When, however, the international legal order is viewed as an overarching control system, composed of several multi-levelled and interacting international and national legal systems (controlling programs), questions on whether the order can actually work for biodi-versity seem inevitable. By applying and developing further environmental law methodology (ELM) the study argues that some fundamental principles of the international legal order are either diminishing or counteracting the possible realisation of ecological sustainabil-ity and the 2010 biodiversity target of halting and reversing the biodiversity loss. This, as will be argued, is due to rule of law and to how the default actually functions in the international legal system. In line with the above, the prime objective of the study is to develop and elaborate a theory framework on which the theory of the significance of the default is based; second, to evaluate and discuss some fundamen-tal principles of the international legal order and international biodiversity law in the light of the theory, and finally to evaluate and discuss the possible realisation of ecological sustainability and the 2010 target. The study’s method is to a certain extent pluralistic, but it is basically an adapted version of ELM.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-92).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 64-68).

Thesis (LL. M.)--Dalhousie University, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-260).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-92) Also available in print.

O atual modelo de sociedade está assentado em acumulação crescente de capital, através da relação de consumo e mediante a exploração de recursos naturais, com a correspondente produção de externalidades negativas no meio ambiente. Esse processo evidencia a desigualdade social existente, em que alguns têm amplo acesso aos bens de consumo, sendo que as externalidades negativas são compartilhadas entre todos. Assim, existem os que se veem privados de condições mínimas para a subsistência, arcando com as consequências do sistema. Nesse contexto, a exploração marinha apresenta grande relevância no que tange aos enfoques econômico e ambiental. A poluição, decorrente da sociedade de consumo, as atividades exploratórias de risco e a exploração predatória dos recursos marinhos são elementos que atingem a todos, com efeitos transfronteiriços. Essas externalidades recaem, com maior vigor, sobre as populações menos favorecidas, necessitadas dos recursos dos mares para a subsistência. Considerando a lenta biocapacidade regenerativa da biodiversidade marinha, os efeitos da poluição apresentam um caráter transgeracional. Diante disso se estabelece o impasse entre interesses econômicos versus proteção ambiental. Como forma de disciplinar as questões relativas aos mares, foi estabelecida a Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar, em 1982, delimitando as áreas sob a jurisdição estatal, entre outras disposições. Residualmente, foi designada a Área, compreendendo o leito marinho de alto mar, constante na Parte XI da referida Convenção, sendo que a correspondente coluna de água permanece sem disciplina específica. Em 2004, a ONU estabeleceu a criação de um grupo de trabalho, objetivando a elaboração de um instrumento jurídico destinado à conservação e uso sustentável dos recursos marinhos em alto mar, meio comumente designado pela sigla ABNJ, derivada da expressão areas beyond national jurisdiction. A proposta é relativa ao estabelecimento de um instrumento juridicamente vinculante. Com base na análise dos debates, ocorridos nos grupos de pesquisa e de negociação estabelecidos pela ONU, não foi possível vislumbrar a predisposição das principais potências em ceder nos pontos que afetam os interesses econômicos, tais como a restrição quanto à exploração, transferência de tecnologia e compensação pecuniária pela exploração dos recursos. Assim, o problema de pesquisa é o questionamento da efetividade do direito ambiental internacional quanto à proteção da biodiversidade marinha em ABNJ. Para desvelar a questão proposta, foi utilizada a técnica de documentação indireta e como métodos foram empregados à análise do discurso, no que se refere às discussões estabelecidas nos grupos de trabalho criados pela ONU, bem como foi empregado o método hipotético-dedutivo, para análise geral da pesquisa. Como resultado, foi verificado que o estabelecimento de uma soft law teria maiores possibilidades de êxito em atingir o escopo da proteção marinha. Por ser menos restritiva, possibilitaria uma maior atração de Estados-parte e, com isso, vinculando-os, ainda que em normas programáticas. Em essência, a assunção ao tratado é uma forma de reconhecimento do risco. Tendo como base a teoria do discurso e tendo em vista a realidade multicultural, a pressão centrífuga sobre a política de cada Estado torna-se um elemento importante para o cumprimento efetivo dos tratados. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-07-11T14:19:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Wolmer Rogério da Cunha Nunes.pdf: 2166920 bytes, checksum: 8d1a27e9e38ac8e37b5ae06d16cf74c8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-11T14:19:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Wolmer Rogério da Cunha Nunes.pdf: 2166920 bytes, checksum: 8d1a27e9e38ac8e37b5ae06d16cf74c8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-29 / The current model of society is based on increasing accumulation of capital, through the relation of consumption, through the exploitation of natural resources, with the corresponding production of negative externalities in the environment. This process evidences the existing social inequality, in which some people have broad access to consumer goods, and the negative externalities are shared among everyone. Thus, there are those who are deprived of minimum conditions for subsistence, bearing the consequences of the system. In this context, the marine exploration has highly relevance in reference of to economic and environmental focus. Pollution from the consumer society, exploitative risky activities and the predatory exploitation of marine resources are elements that affect everyone, with transboundary effects. These externalities are most heavily reliant on the less favored populations, who need the maritime resources for subsistence. Considering the slow regenerative biocapacity of marine biodiversity, the effects of pollution are transgenerational. Given this, the impasse between economic interests versus environmental protection is established. As a way of disciplining matters relating to the seas, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was established, delimiting areas under state jurisdiction, among other provisions. Residually was designated Area, comprising the seabed offshore, contained in Part XI of the Convention, and the corresponding water column remains without specific rule. In 2004, the UN established the creation of a working group aiming at the elaboration of a legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources in the high seas, commonly known by the abbreviation ABNJ, derived from the expression areas beyond national jurisdiction. The proposal concerns the establishment of a legally binding instrument. Based on the analysis of the discussions in the research and negotiation groups established by the UN, it was not possible to envisage the predisposition of the main powers to give in to points where they affect economic interests, such as the restriction on exploitation, technology transfer and pecuniary compensation of the exploited resources. Thus, the research problem is the questioning of the effectiveness of international environmental law regarding the protection of marine biodiversity in ABNJ. To unveil the proposed question, the indirect documentation technique was used and as methods the discourse analysis was used in relation to the discussions established in the working groups created by the UN, as well as the hypothetical-deductive method for general analysis of the research. As a result, it was found that the establishment of a soft law would be more likely to succeed in reaching the scope of marine protection. Because it is less restrictive, it would make it possible to attract more States Parties and, therefore, to bind them, even in program norms. In essence, treaty assumption is a form of risk recognition. Based on discourse theory and in view of the multicultural reality, the centrifugal pressure on the politics of each state becomes a crucial element for the effective fulfillment of the treaties.