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What Do We Know About the Environmental Status of European Seas?
The European Union (EU) established the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to achieve good environmental status (GES) in European seas through an ecosystem‐based approach to management. EU Member States implementing the MSFD must assess the environmental status of their marine waters, as well as the human pressures and impacts affecting them. The MSFD follows a 6‐year cycle, with assessments made based on 11 descriptors linked to specific pressure, state and impact‐related criteria. Member States assessments should determine the extent to which GES is achieved. However, for coherent management of EU seas, comparable assessments across Member States and EU‐wide overview of the status and MSFD progress are essential. This study developed pressure, state, and impact indices, by integrating available MSFD data reported by EU Member States. For the first time, MSFD data across all descriptors have been integrated to produce a European regional assessment. Findings indicate that most European regions are far from demonstrating GES, suffering from intense pressures and impacts. Significant knowledge gaps were identified, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean. The findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced ecological monitoring and setting environmental targets to improve the dire state of European seas, advocating for stronger regional cooperation and standardized methodologies.
Journal Article
We are we : Indigenizing the truth and reconciliation process : climate crisis resolution through Indigenous law
\"This is a book of hope. As we sit on the brink of extinction due to our creation of the climate crisis, We Are We serves as an instruction manual on how all of us can reconcile with our Mother Earth and save the future for our children. Wanmbli Chante Winan provides insights into Indigenous cultures, their Essential Laws, and Traditional Ways of Knowing woven through the spiritual framework of the Medicine Wheel. This book can be used as a platform from which to create Truth and Reconciliation with the First Peoples of this continent now called 'Canada.' We Are We: Indigenizing the Truth and Reconciliation Process - Climate crisis resolution through Indigenous Law is a must read for everyone who wants a starting place in learning practical solutions to complex environmental problems and social justice issues. We Are We is a gift, promise, and hope for future generations\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Setting the course: aligning European Union marine pollution policy ambitions with environmental realities
Pollution in coastal and marine waters is a global challenge that transcends national boundaries, affecting interconnected seas, the ocean and broader ecosystems. Addressing marine pollution requires policies that encompass not only the marine domain but the entire ecosystem, including human societies. Therefore, a comprehensive and integrated governance approach, linking land-based sources to marine environments, is essential for effective pollution management and mitigation. This study assesses the current environmental status of persistent, long-lasting and emerging pollutants (PCBs, excess nutrients, microplastics, PFAS, and underwater noise) and cumulative effects of pollution, and compares these with the set European Union (EU) environmental goals and ambitions. A systematic review of EU policy documents reveals that several targets are unclear, arbitrary, and often unattainable, limiting the effectiveness of current strategies. This paper presents five actionable recommendations to strengthen marine environmental policy, emphasizing the need for better alignment between EU ambitions and environmental realities. To enhance EU pollution policies, it is crucial to reinforce regulatory frameworks, ensure the effective enforcement of existing legislation, foster collaboration across sectors, and empower citizens and NGOs. Additionally, integrating health and pollution policies, ensuring public access to pollution data and knowledge, and establishing international leadership in pollution efforts are key for making informed decisions and achieving ambitious pollution reduction targets.
Journal Article
Threatened Island Nations
Rising seas are endangering the habitability and very existence of several small island nations, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans. This is the first book to focus on the myriad legal issues posed by this tragic situation: if a nation is under water, is it still a state? Does it still have a seat at the United Nations? What becomes of its exclusive economic zone, the basis for its fishing rights? What obligations do other nations have to take in the displaced populations, and what are these peoples' rights and legal status once they arrive? Should there be a new international agreement on climate-displaced populations? Do these nations and their citizens have any legal recourse for compensation? Are there any courts that will hear their claims, and based on what theories? Leading legal scholars from around the world address these novel questions and propose answers.
eBook
Climate change, disasters, and the refugee convention
\"This book is concerned with refugee status determination in the context of 'natural' disasters and climate change. Considering evidence that the legal predicament of people who seek recognition of refugee status in this connection has been inconsistently addressed by judicial bodies in leading refugee law jurisdictions, and identifying epistemological as well as doctrinal impediments to a clear and principled application of international refugee law in this connection, the book develops a methodlogy that is theoretically informed by decades of scholarship in disaster risk reduction and doctrinally guided by a human rights-based approach. When disasters are understood as purely reflecting the indiscriminate forces of nature, it is difficult to imagine how a person may establish a well-founded fear of being persecuted, as required by Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention. However, when disasters are understood as the consequence of natural hazards interacting with exposed and vulnerable social conditions, the kinds of circumstances in which a person may establish eligibility for recognition of refugee status become much clearer. However, applying the dominant human rights-based approach in the context of disasters and climate change reveals deeply rooted assumptions about the meaning of core elements of the refugee definition, and a recalibrated human rights-based interpretation of general application as developed\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
COVID‐19 pandemic and socio‐environmental inequality: A narrative review
Background and Aims The COVID‐19 pandemic has provided preliminary evidence of the existence of health, social, and environmental inequalities. This inequality encompasses inadequate access to safe water, clean air, and wastewater management, as well as limited socioeconomic and educational opportunities. These issues have not received sufficient attention during the pandemic. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive summary and analysis of the existing literature on a specific topic, ultimately leading to a conclusion based on the evidence presented. Methods The search methodology for this study involved conducting comprehensive searches of scientific databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, LILACS, and Google Scholar, from 2019 to 2023. The study focused on a specific theme and its relevant aspects related to global environmental health and society. Keywords such as COVID‐19, inequities, and environmental health were used for searching. Additionally, the Boolean operator “AND” was used to combine these descriptors. Results Unequal exposure to air pollution has been reported in Africa, as well as in large parts of Asia and Latin America, according to the data that has been obtained. The pandemic has also resulted in a surge in healthcare waste generation, exacerbating the environmental impact of solid waste. Furthermore, there is evidence indicating significant disparities in the severe lack of access to sanitation services between developing nations and low‐income regions. The issues related to water availability, accessibility, and quality are subject to debate. It has been reported that SARS‐CoV‐2 is present not only in untreated/raw water, but also in water bodies that act as reservoirs. Moreover, insufficient education, poverty, and low household income have been identified as the most significant risk factors for COVID‐19 infection and mortality. Conclusion It is evident that addressing socio‐environmental inequality and striving to narrow the gap by prioritizing vulnerable populations are imperative.
Journal Article
The greening of Antarctica : assembling an international environment
\"Antarctica is a deeply contested place. It is not an unchanging wilderness or quiet and passive continent at the bottom of the earth. Today, a community of scientists, institutions, industries, activists, private citizens and nation-states are deeply connected to the region. These actors pursue a variety of projects and hold an array of visions for the region: scientists want a pristine laboratory, nation-states want peace and order, fishermen want to exploit fisheries, environmentalists want total protection and conservation, tourists want a wild landscape, and miners dream of a future when they can dig and drill. Amidst a fray of ideas, one vision of the region has come to dominate: Antarctica is a fragile and pristine environment demanding international protection and management. The Greening of Antarctica offers the first sustained historical analysis of how a community of states and scientists envisioned and created an international system of management in the 1960s and 1970s. These were the first two decades of an international regime beginning with the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and culminating in 1980 with the signature of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, when the fundamental elements of this international system were in place. Using a wide range of archival sources from four national archives and other institutional repositories, many newly opened, this book fills a significant gap in our understanding of Antarctic history and uncovers the foundations of contemporary Antarctica\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Facilitating the Resettlement and Rights of Climate Refugees
One of the most significant impacts of climate change is migration. Yet, to date, climate-induced migrants are falling within what has been defined by some as a ‘protection gap’. This book addresses this issue, first by identifying precisely where the gap exists, by reviewing the relevant legal tools that are available for those who are currently, and who will in the future be displaced because of climate change. The authors then address the relevant actors; the identity of those deserving protection (displaced individuals), as well as other bearers of rights (migration-hosting states) and obligations (polluting states). The authors also address head-on the contentious topic of definitions, concluding with the provocative assertion that the term ‘climate refugees’ is indeed correct and should be relied upon.
The second part of the book looks to the future by advocating specific legal and institutional pathways. Notably, the authors support the use of international environmental law as the most adequate and suitable regime for the regulation of climate refugees. With respect to the role of institutions, the authors propose a model of ‘cross-governance’, through which a more inclusive and multi-faceted protection regime could be achieved.
Addressing the regulation of climate refugees through a unique collaboration between a refugee lawyer and an environmental lawyer, this book will be of great interest to scholars and professionals in fields including international law, environmental studies, refugee studies and international relations.
eBook