Concept of international environmental law

International environmental law is a set of principles and norms of international law governing the relations of its subjects in the field of protection environment and rational use of its resources . IN Russian literature more common name "international law environment". Term "environmental law"seems preferable only due to its international use. S. V. Vinogradov, O. S. Kolbasov, A. S. Timoshenko, V. A. Chichvarin are known for research in this area.

Nowadays, international environmental protection is moving to the forefront. The consequences of insufficient attention to the problem can be catastrophic. This is not just about the well-being of humanity, but about its survival. What is especially alarming is that the degradation natural environment may turn out to be irreversible. Pollution of the world's oceans harms human health and fish stocks. Interregional projects for the construction of dams, dams, canals, and drainage of swamps lead to the degradation of the world's farmland, drought and soil erosion in many countries of the world. Hence malnutrition, hunger, disease. Air pollution is increasingly damaging the health of people on our planet. Massive destruction of forests negatively affects the planet's climate and reduces biodiversity and the gene pool. A serious threat to health is the depletion of the ozone layer, which protects against harmful radiation from the Sun. Leads to catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate " Greenhouse effect", i.e. global warming as a result of growing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Irrational use of mineral and living resources leads to their depletion, which again raises the problem of human survival. Finally, accidents at enterprises associated with emissions radioactive and toxic substances into the atmosphere, not to mention the testing of nuclear weapons, cause enormous damage to human health and nature. Suffice it to recall the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and at the American chemical plant in India. Armed conflicts cause great damage to the environment, as evidenced by the experience of the wars in Vietnam, Kampuchea, Yugoslavia, Persian Gulf, in particular, the war in Iraq.

The position of states with regard to international environmental protection varies. In developing countries, environmental problems can undermine the success of the development process, and the means to change the situation are lacking. In the most developed countries, the existing consumption system leads to such a depletion of resources not only in their own, but also in other countries, which poses a threat to future development throughout the world. This indicates that international environmental protection concerns all aspects of social development and is vital for all countries, regardless of their level of development. Therefore, such protection should become an element of the international policy of any state. Since national parts of the environment form a single global system, its protection should become one of the main goals of international cooperation and an integral element of the concept international security. In a 1991 resolution, the UN General Assembly pointed out the importance of peace for nature conservation and noted the inverse relationship - nature conservation contributes to strengthening peace by ensuring the proper use of natural resources.

All of the above stimulates the dynamic development of international environmental law. A noteworthy feature of this development is the large role of the public and the media. Many international acts in the field of international environmental protection are adopted by governments. Mass movements in defense of nature, various “green” parties are becoming increasingly influential.

The position of governments is explained by differences in interests. International environmental protection is very expensive. It negatively affects the competitiveness of goods. Activities on their territory do not prevent transboundary pollution. For example, Russian factories on the Kola Peninsula are causing damage to the Norwegian environment. In 1996, Russia entered into an agreement for Norway to finance the installation of filters at a metallurgical plant on the Kola Peninsula. In general, an international problem can only be solved on a global scale, and this requires enormous funds.

International environmental law began to take shape as customary law, first of all, this concerns its norms and principles. This is how the basic principle of international environmental law was established - the principle of not causing harm to the nature of another state by actions carried out on its own territory . The most general principle -- the principle of environmental protection . Formation in progress the principle of responsibility for causing harm to the nature of another state . I would especially like to note cardinal principle , which was formulated in the Declaration of the UN Conference on surrounding a person Wednesday 1972 as follows: “Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and proper living conditions, to an environment of such quality that makes it possible to live with dignity and prosperity.”

International environmental law is closely related not only to human rights, but also to other branches of international law. It should be emphasized that environmental protection is principle also of maritime and space law . The International Labor Organization pays significant attention to the protection of workers from polluted environments; for example, in 1977 it adopted the Convention for the Protection of Workers against Occupational Hazards from Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration.

IN general process In the formation of customary norms of international environmental law, an important role belongs to the resolutions of international organizations and conferences, which pave the way for positive law. As an example, I will point to such acts of the UN General Assembly as the 1980 resolution. “On the historical responsibility of states for preserving the nature of the Earth for present and future generations” and the World Charter for Nature of 1982.

An important source of international environmental law are treaties. Behind last years A whole complex of universal conventions in this area has been adopted, which give an idea of ​​the subject of this branch of international law. First of all, this Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Impact on the Natural Environment of 1977, as well as the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer of 1985, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals of 1979, the Convention on International Trade in Species wild fauna and endangered flora, 1973, UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and natural heritage 1972

The leading role in the development of international environmental law belongs to international organizations. The UN occupies a special place. Fundamental resolutions of the General Assembly have already been noted earlier. The Economic and Social Council is constantly involved in environmental issues; an important role belongs to other organizations of the UN system, as well as its regional commissions. In their field they develop standards and principles for environmental protection United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNESCO, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Exists special program UN Environment (UNEP ), which practically constitutes an international organization, although legally it is a subsidiary body created by a resolution of the General Assembly. UNEP plays a primary role in promoting the development of international environmental law. Within its framework, the foundations of this right are being developed and the preparation of conventions is being initiated.

Play a significant role regional organizations. Environmental protection is one of the main tasks OSCE. Within its framework, a number of conventional acts and a number of decisions in this area have been adopted.

Cooperation within the CIS is expected to play a significant role in protecting the environment. This task is set by the CIS Charter and confirmed by many other acts. The 1996 agreement between Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia obliges to increase "cooperation in the field of environmental protection, including the development and adoption of common environmental safety standards" . The parties “take joint measures to prevent and eliminate the consequences of accidents, natural disasters, nuclear and environmental disasters” (Article 9). The above provisions give an idea of ​​how the principle of environmental protection is understood in the relations between the CIS countries.

In implementation of the principle in 1992, the CIS countries concluded Agreement on cooperation in the field of ecology and environmental protection. Based on the Agreement, the Interstate Environmental Council was established, and under it the Interstate Environmental Fund. The task of the Council is to coordinate cooperation between states in the field of nature conservation and to prepare relevant regulations. The fund is intended to finance interstate programs, assistance in eliminating environmental emergencies, as well as project and research work in the field of environmental protection.

Protection of various types of environment

Marine Wednesday one of the first to become an object of protection. The corresponding provisions are contained in the general conventions on the law of the sea. Particular attention is paid to combating oil pollution. The first environmental universal convention is devoted to this problem - London Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Oil, 1954 It prohibited the discharge of oil and oil-water mixture from ships: After a number of accidents with tankers, new conventions were adopted. Brussels Convention on Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969 ., provided coastal states with very broad powers, up to the right to destroy the ship and cargo in the event of a threat of serious pollution of the coast and coastal waters. The Convention paved the way for the fight against marine pollution and other substances in similar cases (Protocol 1973).

Naturally, the question of compensation for damage caused by oil pollution arose. It refers to Brussels Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969 It established absolute, i.e., independent of fault, liability of shipowners, but at the same time limited its scope, albeit to a rather high ceiling. The fight against the consequences of oil pollution requires joint action by states. The organization of such actions is dedicated to Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Control and Cooperation, 1990

All operational discharges from ships are prohibited in Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 Dedicated to the disposal of environmentally harmful substances at sea Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Materials, 1972

Agreements have also been concluded at the regional level. So, Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, 1992 concerns issues of land-based sources of pollution, disposal, and cooperation in the fight against pollution by oil and other harmful substances in emergency conditions.

The Baltic Sea also occupies a special position. It was classified as a "special areas" Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships, 1973 Such areas are subject to increased pollution prevention requirements. In 1974, the Baltic countries concluded Helsinki Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area . Its peculiarity is the prohibition of sea pollution from land. On the basis of the Convention, the Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea was created. However, it soon became clear that the provisions of the Convention were insufficient, and in 1992 a new Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea was adopted, which established more stringent requirements. I would especially like to note that its effect extends to a certain part of inland waters; the limits of such distribution are determined by each state.

Waters of rivers and lakes have such significant differences that the development of a general convention was impossible. Even prepared by the Council of Europe in 1974. regional convention did not collect the required number of ratifications. Separate provisions on the prevention of river pollution are contained in agreements on other issues. The mentioned Baltic Sea Convention also affects the rivers flowing into it. But in most cases, protection issues are resolved by agreements between coastal states, although so far unsatisfactorily. As a positive example, we can refer to the norms and organizational forms of protection of the Rhine waters. In 1963 it was signed Berne Convention for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution. To implement it, a Commission was established, which prepared in 1976. Convention for the Protection of the Rhine against Chemical Pollution and another - about protection against chlorides.

Due to the growing consumption of fresh water and the limited availability of its resources, the issue of protecting freshwater basins is acquiring exceptional importance. As a result, new aspects of international environmental law are emerging. Responding to the demands of life, the UN International Law Commission prepared and submitted to the General Assembly draft articles on the right of non-navigational use of international watercourses.

A watercourse is understood as a system of not only surface water, but also underground water, forming a single whole and usually flowing to one outlet. International watercourses are watercourses, parts of which are located in different states. The regime of such watercourses is determined by agreement of the states with whose territory they are connected. Each such state has the right to participate in the agreement.

States have an obligation to use watercourses in such a way as to provide them with the necessary protection. They are obliged to participate in the protection of watercourses on an equitable basis and to cooperate to achieve this goal.

Air environment , as already noted, is the common heritage of humanity. Despite this, its protection is not reflected in international environmental law in any way. The issue is being resolved at the bilateral and regional levels. Perhaps the only significant step in this area is the one prepared within the OSCE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, 1979, subsequently supplemented by a number of protocols. Particular attention is paid to reducing sulfur emissions into the atmosphere, which generate acid rain, which is transported over long distances and harms all living things on the planet.

An important direction in protecting nature is cooperation in counteracting the increase in the greenhouse effect, i.e. global warming as a result of saturation of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, the main source of which is motor transport. The consequences of this effect could be catastrophic in the coming decades. On the one hand, new vast deserts will appear, and on the other, rising sea levels will lead to the flooding of large spaces developed by man. In 1992 it was adopted UN Framework Convention about climate change. It defined general provisions and main areas of cooperation. The general responsibility of states has been established, but differences in economic potential must be taken into account. Particular attention should be paid to the interests of developing countries, which are most vulnerable to negative climate change, and on the other hand, have the least ability to counteract it.

Ozone layer protects the Earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Under the influence of human activity, it has been significantly depleted; "ozone holes". In 1985 it was adopted Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. It talks about monitoring his condition and cooperating to protect him. In 1987 appeared Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Restrictions have been established on the production of substances that negatively affect this layer.

Radioactivity As a result of the peaceful and military use of nuclear energy, it has become a serious danger to life on Earth. An important step in reducing it was Moscow Treaty Banning Tests of Nuclear Weapons in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, 1963 The IAEA sets safety standards for the use of nuclear energy in the national economy, including the safety of workers associated with it. Was prepared Convention on Physical Protection nuclear materials 1980 The Convention contains provisions allowing any state to prosecute foreigners for relevant crimes, regardless of the place where they were committed.

Operates in Europe European Atomic Energy Agency . The main standards in this area are established by the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EUROATOM).

Protection of fauna and flora

UN Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment 1972 endorsed the principle that the Earth's natural resources, including air, water, surface, flora and fauna, should be protected for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning and management, where necessary.

The overall strategy was developed by a non-governmental organization - the International Union for Conservation, Nature and Natural Resources - and published in 1982 as a Program of Action "World Conservation Strategy". In the process of preparing the document, numerous consultations were held with governments and international organizations. The purpose of the strategy is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development through the conservation of living resources by proposing to governments effective methods regulation of these resources. The strategy is aimed at supporting important environmental processes and self-preservation of systems, such as soil restoration and protection, recycling nutrients, water purification, conservation of biological diversity. Many vital processes depend on all this. The goal is to ensure the sustainable use of certain species of animals and vegetation, as well as ecosystems.

Achieving these goals should be as quickly as possible. The Earth's ability to provide for its population is constantly decreasing. Many millions of tons of soil are lost every year as a result of deforestation and improper use. At least 3 thousand square meters per year. km of agricultural land go out of use only in industrialized countries as a result of the construction of buildings and roads.

As one of the important means of achieving its goals, the strategy points to a radical improvement of legislation on natural resources. It is necessary to create more effective and broad-based national environmental law, along with increased development of international environmental law. The survival of the entire diversity of nature, including humans, can be ensured only under the condition that the policies of states will be built with an understanding of the fact that all elements of nature are interconnected, interdependent, that the environment is a single global system.

World Charter for Nature , was approved and solemnly proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1982. According to the Charter, living resources should not be used in excess of their restoration capabilities; Soil productivity should be maintained and increased; resources, including water, should be recycled and reused whenever possible; Non-renewable resources should be used with maximum restrictions.

Among the conventions dedicated to flora and fauna, I would like to mention first of all Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972 , designed to ensure cooperation in the protection of natural complexes of particular importance, habitats of endangered species of animals and plants. Protect flora dedicated Agreement on tropical forests 1983 The general significance is Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1973 ., which determined the basis for control over such trade.

The bulk of the conventions are aimed at protecting various representatives of the animal world - whales, seals, polar bears. I would especially like to note Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 , the name of which gives an idea of ​​its content. It is also important Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 1979

Everything that has been said above gives an idea of ​​the enormous importance of environmental protection and the urgency of decisive measures based on broad cooperation between states. This determines the role of international environmental law, which still lags behind the needs of life.

International conservation of natural resources. Practice of Western countries.

What is more valuable - a small fish or a big dam?

In the rapids of the Little Tennessee River there lives a small, inconspicuous fish - snail darter Discovered for the first time in 1973, this representative of the perch family is found only here.

The same year the snail darter was discovered, the US Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. Number endangered species so small that in the near future they may be completely wiped off the face of the earth. The law, in particular, states that the actions of the federal government should not threaten the existence of species listed in the Red Book and species that are about to get there; These government agencies must also not allow the destruction or alteration of the habitats of species whose numbers have reached critical levels.

In 1966, seven years before people first learned about the existence of the snail darter, the US Congress authorized the construction of a dam on the river. Tellico, which was to be carried out under the leadership of the Administration for the River Basin. Tennessee, as well as reservoirs on the Little Tennessee River. Until the discovery of Darter, the construction of the dam was half completed. By 1975, when the darter was registered as an endangered species and included in the Red Book, the construction of the dam was already three-quarters completed.

But darters do not breed in stagnant water of reservoirs; they need running water to reproduce. Thus, completion of the dam, which cost an estimated $116 million, threatened to destroy the spawning grounds of the discovered new species, which would immediately lead to the death of the entire darter population and violate the Endangered Species Act. A number of environmental groups brought a case to stop construction, which eventually ended up in Supreme Court. In 1978, when the dam was 90% complete, the Supreme Court ruled that the construction project did violate environmental law and should therefore be either canceled or modified. But was saving the small population of small fish (these darters are 7.5 cm long) really a concern for members of Congress when they passed this law? As Holden (1977) noted, “There is no doubt that many members of Congress voted for this legislation out of genuine concern for the cute creatures with dark eyes or the winged creatures soaring high in the sky, but they ended up facing a Pandora's box of countless crawling creatures, whose existence they never even suspected.”

The debate surrounding the little fish has forced the Tennessee River Basin Authority to reconsider plans to build a dam on the River. The Little Tennessee, which is one of the region's few remaining clean rivers cold water teeming with fish. These discussions also prompted the US Congress to amend the Endangered Species Act, under which even the smallest fish would feel protected from the threat of a grandiose construction project. (NYT Pictures).

What is the value of any kind? Why should we strive to save them from the threat of extinction? Do we have the right to decide which species are worth saving and which are not? According to scientists, there are currently from 5 to 10 million species living on Earth, but to date, ecologists have discovered and described only from 1 to 1.5 million species. Meanwhile, the discovery of new species is increasingly becoming a fast-paced race against endangered species. In prehistoric times, about one species went extinct every thousand years. Today we are losing one species every year. Over the next 20 years, about a million species could disappear, most of which live in tropical rainforests.

Wildlife is an inexhaustible source of resources

Even such highly developed countries as the USA cannot do without the gifts of wild nature (fuel, fish, nuts, berries, wood used as fuel, etc.). Annual production of wildlife-based animal and plant products in the United States is estimated at $2.8 billion. The use of wood for heating homes increased by 50% in the seventies. In Vermont, for example, more than half of homes are now heated primarily with wood.

In developing countries, the importance of natural resources such as food and fuel is even greater. Ten percent of the total animal protein consumed worldwide comes from fish. In many developing countries, wood is used exclusively for heating and cooking.

Ecosystem “human services”

In addition to the benefits that nature provides us in the form of food and fuel and which are easy to quantify, wild animals and plants provide us with a number of services that, figuratively speaking, can be classified as ecosystem “household services.” Plants produce oxygen that people and animals breathe. Further, plants and microorganisms purify water and air from pollutants, participate in the cycle of nutrients, and soften the climate. While some of these “services” can be provided using technological processes (removing phosphates from wastewater can be done at treatment plants, although this is more expensive), others are practically irreproducible.

Practical significance of wild animals and plants for medicine, Agriculture and industry.

Extinct species are forever lost opportunities. Wild animals and plants serve as a source medicines, food and serial materials used in industry. 25% widespread in the USA today medicines contain plant extracts that cannot be obtained synthetically. These drugs include tranquilizers such as reserpine, various antibiotics, painkillers, as well as drugs used in the treatment of heart diseases and to reduce blood pressure. Vincristine, obtained from tropical periwinkle, has been successfully used in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease, a disease that kills 5-7 thousand Americans every year. Meanwhile, currently only 5 thousand plant species have been studied for the production of medicinal drugs. According to scientists, another 5 thousand may be discovered medicinal plants among the 500 thousand species growing on our planet.

Agronomists discovered useful qualities in many organisms. For example, biological control methods play an important role in agriculture, including the use of certain types of organisms to protect crops from the harmful effects of others. In particular, some species of wasps successfully protect sugar cane plantations from the moth. Diatraea saccharalis. In addition, in modern agriculture the practice of crossing different plant species in order to obtain hybrids characterized by high productivity is widely used. Genetic engineering today is only at the beginning of its development, but it is already clear that in the future it will be possible to transfer desired genes that control traits beneficial to humans from one plant to another. As an example, we can name such properties as resistance to various diseases, drought, insect pests, as well as medicinal properties and high protein content. Reducing the number of different different types on earth means a reduction in the genetic pool of living nature. Every time we allow a species of animal or plant to become extinct, we risk losing or useful organism, or useful gene.

Many plants secrete chemical substances, which are natural insecticides (killing insects) or herbicides (killing weeds). Others serve as a source of waxes, lubricating oils, resins, aromatic oils and dyes. This list can be continued indefinitely. Meanwhile, this is only what has already been discovered in useful plants and animals. Many substances useful for agriculture, medicine and industry are still waiting to be discovered.

Biological species as elements of biocenoses

The extinction of a species or group of species can have far-reaching consequences for the community in which the species lives. Complex food webs are common in temperate and tropical zones, but because only relatively few of these webs have been fully studied, we are unable to predict all the consequences that will occur if any animal or plant species goes extinct. Many rare species of insects, snails, and birds either feed only on a certain type of plant or use only certain types of plants to build their homes. Therefore, the disappearance of a given plant species essentially means the death of the animal dependent on it. In another case, a predator that normally regulates the number of a pest may disappear. Then there will be a sharp explosion in the number of the pest, as happened, for example, in those areas where DDT was widely used." Spraying with DDT led to the destruction of all ladybugs feeding on spider mites, as a result of which spider mites resistant to DDT began to multiply intensively - sya, causing enormous damage to agriculture.

Humans' desire to exterminate wolves is partly explained by the fact that the role of this predator in food webs has not yet been fully elucidated. Wolves destroy other animals, such as deer, on which they feed, killing, as a rule, the weakest, sick and old individuals. Thus, they contribute to the health of the reindeer herd and maintain its numbers at a level that corresponds to the available supplies of food resources. People, when hunting deer, not only reduce the number of animals that the wolf feeds on, but at the same time always choose the most complete individuals, thereby worsening the quality of the herd.

Concern about extinct plant species has grown much more slowly than concern about endangered animal species, although both are so closely interrelated that they can only be conserved together. There are many examples when the number of some animals reached a critical level, since the plants that served them as food or shelter practically disappeared. According to estimates by Peter Raven, an employee of the Missouri Botanical Garden, for every plant species that has disappeared, there are from 10 to 30 species of insects, higher animals, and other plants that are in danger of extinction. Thus, the red-headed woodpecker is in danger of extinction due to the fact that it nests on the dried trunks of swamp and Australian pines. However, in many areas there are practically no old trees left; they are being replaced by young seedlings that are grown to produce cellulose. The ripening of swamp pine, in turn, depends on the presence of grass cover from triostrenica Aristida stricta, The sea otter, or sea otter, was almost completely exterminated in the 18th and 19th centuries. because of the valuable fur. Currently, thanks in part to the adoption of special laws, such as the law on the protection of marine mammals, the sea otter population is recovering. And now they are trying to take revenge, if not from humans, then at least from species that are very valuable and useful for us, namely abalone, Pacific lobster and crab. Several individuals discovered near Monterey (California) in 1938 gave rise to a huge herd, now numbering up to 2000 animals. This herd spread over 240 km along the coast. Unfortunately, this same stretch of coastline is home to numerous edible shellfish, such as abalone, which fetch $8 to $10 a pound at market. Fishermen who supply these shellfish for sale are calling for restrictions on sea otter numbers to prevent further destruction of the lucrative fishing industry. However, ecological studies have shown that capans are vital members of the coastal community. By feeding on species of marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, capans protect seagrass beds, especially brown algae, from excessive grazing. Brown algae form the basis of food webs that include species such as harbor seal and bald eagle. (Dr. Daniel Costa, Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz)

Species value

The need to preserve the entire diversity of species existing on Earth stems not only from practical, but also from general philosophical considerations. We lose any extinct species irretrievably. By not doing everything in our power to prevent these losses, we are making a choice not only for ourselves, but also for our descendants. This means that future generations of people will not see the animals and plants that we see; the nature surrounding them will not be as rich and varied as the one that surrounds us. Meanwhile, this is not just a question of aesthetic pleasure; It should be borne in mind that human evolution took place in the conditions of the enormous diversity of nature that surrounded him, and it is possible that this diversity is an indispensable condition for maintaining his mental health.

So far we have considered species from the point of view of their usefulness to humans. On this occasion, Henry Beston (1928) wrote: “Being far from pristine nature, living a complex unnatural life, a civilized person sees everything in a distorted light, he sees a log in a speck, and approaches other living beings from the perspective of his own.” limited knowledge. We look at them condescendingly, demonstrating our pity for these “underdeveloped” creatures, who are destined to stand much lower than the level on which man stands. But such an attitude is the fruit of the deepest delusion. Animals should not be approached by human standards. Living in a more ancient and perfect world than ours, these creatures have such developed feelings that we have long lost or never possessed, the voices that they hear are inaccessible to our ears. We are not their elder brothers, and they are not despicable creatures; it’s just a completely different world, the existence of which coincided in time with ours, they are just as captives of this beautiful and cruel life.”

Endangered Species and Human Health

There was once opposition to the idea of ​​using animals in scientific research, mainly because it was perceived as an example of cruelty to animals that were inflicted with pain. Scientists had to make a lot of effort “to convince the public that experimental animals never experience pain.

Nowadays, however, new ethical problems have arisen. One of them is whether the experimental animals are kept in conditions appropriate to their social and behavioral characteristics? For example, animals such as chimpanzees, which normally live in groups, cannot be kept in an isolated cage, because this would be cruelty to the animal.

Further delving into the problem confronts us with another question: is it even legal to use animals in experiments, the numbers of which continue to decrease, even if we assume that humanity will greatly benefit from this. N. Wade (1978) writes in this regard: “...Continued production of the [hepatitis] vaccine may well lead to a fatal conflict between human interests and the existence of chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are the only animals in the world, with the exception of humans, on which the effect of the vaccine can be tested... If a ban is imposed on its use - chimpanzees in experiments are already classified as an endangered species - testing the harmlessness of the vaccine and its production will become impossible. Meanwhile, even in developed countries, where cases of hepatitis are relatively rare, people continue to pay a fatal toll to this disease. In 1976, there were 15,000 cases of hepatitis in the United States. However, according to the Center for Control over infectious diseases, the actual figure reaches 150 thousand, of which 1,500 cases were fatal... ...Officials are trying to convince everyone that chimpanzees are captured only by humane means. “The capture method typically involves several people locating a group of chimpanzees, surrounding them, and then chasing them. Since young individuals usually get tired faster, they are simply picked up with their hands.” This is the version of the capture of chimpanzees outlined by a representative of the Merck company to the federal office for issuing licenses for the capture of wild animals...”

“...It is absolutely impossible unless you have a large network,” writes Jane Goodall. “This is fantastic... In natural conditions, no man can cope with wild chimpanzees; they are not at all inclined to huddle together... I can just to say that someone really wants to hide what inhumane methods are actually used when catching chimpanzees, and they are like this: first they shoot the mother. and then they take the cub away. This is the standard method used in Africa." . F. B. Orlans (1978) adds:

“... It is necessary to find a way to resolve this conflict so that it does not turn out to be disastrous for the chimpanzees. In the past, the development of an alternative method of vaccine production (particularly for polio) has helped save the lives of many animals. Today, ethical standards that require a ban on inhumane methods of exterminating chimpanzees (according to Wade, “to catch a chimpanzee, you kill the mother first”) and the conservation of this endangered species of animals are ignored.”

Do you think that purely human needs should take precedence over the need to preserve endangered animal species? The first thing that immediately comes to mind when it comes to factors threatening the existence of a species is hunting. Indeed, hunting made its fatal contribution to the extinction of a number of animal species, especially vertebrates. However, some well-regulated wildlife populations are not necessarily harmed by hunting; in fact, it may even be useful, especially in cases where the population threatens to significantly exceed the optimal level for a given habitat. But uncontrolled hunting still contributes to the extinction of the species. Bison hunting on the American prairies brought this species to the forefront by the beginning of the 19th century. to the brink of extinction. Hunting in this case has simply become a sport; its goal often boiled down to catching a bison's head, which was placed in the hunter's house as a trophy. In Africa, hunting of many species of large animals is limited or completely prohibited in order to preserve these species not only in zoos, but also in nature.

Habitat destruction

However, hunting is not the main danger that threatens animals. Most species are threatened by the loss of natural habitats: the areas in which they live, breed, and find food and shelter. As the population grows, people need more and more housing, roads, and shopping centers; that's why the man cuts out forested areas, drains swamps, estuaries and bays, develops new mineral deposits, bringing barren rocks to the surface of the earth. All this leads to a reduction in land and food resources available to various species of animals and plants. In other words, man expands his habitat at the cost of reducing the habitats of other creatures.

In some cases, habitat destruction wild species occurs as a result of special measures, such as burning or flooding of areas, carried out in order to attract even more animals that are objects of hunting. As a result, the numbers of animals such as elk, pronghorn antelope, white-tailed deer and black-tailed deer increase significantly. At the same time, these habitats become unsuitable for many other non-commercial species.

Many endangered plant species provide a living link between modern times and the ancient eras when these species flourished on our planet. Now some of them have been preserved in specific niches along river banks, in swamps and hollows, as well as in wastelands. Others are on inaccessible mountain slopes, in valleys between ridges, or in areas where glaciers never reach. Such plants are very rare, since they are adapted to exist only in the specific environment that they currently occupy. They can survive only if their habitats are protected.

Death of tropical forests

Almost all types of habitats are being destroyed, but the problem is most acute in tropical rainforests. Every year, forests are cut down or otherwise subjected to an area equal to approximately the entire territory of Great Britain. If the current rate of destruction of these forests continues, in 20-30 years there will be practically nothing left of them. Meanwhile, according to experts, two thirds of the 5-10 million species of living organisms inhabiting our planet are found in the tropics, especially in tropical forests.

The most common cause cited for the death of most tropical forests is excessive population growth. This last circumstance in developing countries leads to an increase in the procurement of firewood for heating homes and an expansion of areas for shifting agriculture practiced by local residents. The essence of this method is that the farmer cuts down a plot of forest and grows crops in its place for several years. Then, when the soil is depleted, the farmer moves to a new place and again cuts down some of the trees. Some experts, however, believe that the accusation is aimed at the wrong address, since, in their opinion, the destruction of only 10-20% of forests is associated with the slash-and-burn method of cultivation (Fig. 5.6 and 5.7). Much of the tropical forests are being destroyed due to large-scale development of livestock farming and the construction of military roads in Brazil, as well as as a result of the growing demand for tropical wood exported from Brazil, Africa and Southeast Asia (see section " Global Perspectives" after this part).

Pesticides and air pollution

A large number of habitats, which in many respects remained undisturbed, have become poisoned by acid rain, pesticides, and air pollutants. Pine trees growing on the mountain slopes around Los Angeles suffer from the harmful effects of smog that forms over the city. The widespread use of pesticides in agricultural regions threatens the survival of many species. For example, birds of prey such as falcons and hawks are severely affected by DDT. About 20-30 years ago, these birds began to lay eggs with very thin shells, so thin that they cracked even before the chicks were supposed to hatch. Scientists have suggested that this phenomenon is due to the effects of DDT (Grier, 1982). DDT is currently banned in the United States primarily due to its harmful effects on certain bird species.

As part of a program to combat the spread of plague in the American West, attempts were made to exterminate coyotes, foxes and wolves using poisoned bait. However, this had a detrimental effect on some populations of endangered species, and in particular on the populations of the bald eagle, which was also eager to feast on the bait.

Collection of rare plants

Some plant species, namely cacti, orchids and carnivorous plants, are especially popular among collectors; These plants were collected so intensively that there are almost none left in nature. Traders from Texas and Mexico dig up large quantities of cacti and send them to markets to sell to collectors and residents of the southeastern regions, who use the plants for ornamental horticulture. Half of the cacti produced are sent even further, to Europe and the Far East.

Animals and plants must certainly change as environmental conditions change. Species that fail to adapt to new conditions die out, and new ones take their place. There are no longer dinosaurs or flying reptiles on Earth, but today it is inhabited by organisms that did not exist in those ancient times. Man, meanwhile, changes everything around him with such lightning speed that animals and plants do not have enough time for evolution, which would allow them to take the place of lost species. The harsh truth of life is that a good half of all mammals that became extinct on Earth occurred in the last 50 years.

Environmental protection

There are many ways to ensure the protection of wildlife resources. One of them is the adoption of laws that ensure the protection of the species as a whole or increase the viability of individual individuals. In the USA, for example, a law has been passed on the conservation of endangered species. Representatives of different species can also be collected in zoos and botanical gardens; seed banks can be created. This allows us to hope that we will have at our disposal the entire diversity of living organisms on the planet. For many species, however, this latter approach may be impractical. The fact is that some species require special conditions or certain population sizes for reproduction, and this is not always feasible in captivity. The third approach is the alienation of individual areas of nature and the creation of nature reserves on them, which include entire ecosystems. In this case, it is possible to preserve not only those species that are clearly in danger of extinction, but also all the species associated with them in a complex food web (see section “Discussion 5.2”).

Conservation of rare endangered species

The first laws relating to the protection of wildlife were laws on taxes on the ownership of fishing and hunting equipment, as well as laws requiring special permission to engage in hunting and fishing. The funds received from these taxes were used to purchase land to create reserves for endangered species of animals and plants. Millions of dollars were eventually raised for these causes (a fact that should be noted by those who oppose hunting). A proposal was put forward to tax gardening tools to create a similar fund for plant protection.

In 1966, the US Congress passed the Endangered Species of Mammals and Birds Conservation Act, which aims not only to protect wildlife, but also to outline the framework of the problem of the disappearance of undisturbed nature. The law provided for the compilation of lists of endangered species, indicating the number of remaining individuals, as well as their areas of distribution. In 1973, this law was significantly strengthened as a result of the adoption of a series of amendments to it. The law noted that its effect was limited only to the territory of the United States, so it could not protect species living in other parts of the globe. Another category of species was also identified: candidate species for registration in the Red Book. These species are not yet disappearing, but a trend towards their disappearance has already emerged. And the sooner this trend is noticed, the greater the chances of saving them. Another important amendment to the law was that a list of endangered plant species was added to the list of endangered animal species. In addition, according to the adopted amendments, federal authorities were prohibited from implementing any projects that would pose a threat to the existence of a particular species and its habitat. Despite the fact that this clause of the amendment to the law did not cause any special comments, during its consideration in Congress it was precisely this that became the basis of the conflict that arose during the construction of the dam on the river. Tellico. As written, the law did not allow for the benefits of projects to be weighed against the possible consequences of species extinction.

Methods for regulating wildlife resources

There are a number of special methods for protecting endangered species and ways to increase the abundance and diversity of species of special interest, such as game species. In some cases, animals are simply moved from their natural habitats to similar ones. natural conditions regions where they have not previously been found. This is generally done with common game species, such as Canada geese. Introduced to many regions of the country, the wild turkey now occupies an area significantly larger than what it occupied during colonial times.

If an analysis of the situation shows that a given species cannot survive without outside help even under favorable conditions, then the animals’ eggs are collected and hatched in incubators; Sometimes breeding programs are carried out in zoos. Animals raised in this way can be successfully returned to the wild in their natural habitat, although this is not possible in all cases. U sea ​​turtles which, following their instinct when hatched from the egg, immediately run to the water, and later return to the place of their birth to lay their eggs, apparently cannot develop the ability to correctly determine the direction to the place where they should lay their eggs, when they are born in captivity. They swim to dangerous depths, after which they cannot return to a section of the beach convenient for laying eggs. But at the same time, today about half of all whooping cranes existing in nature were bred and raised in captivity.

In some cases, efforts to preserve and propagate rare animals are so successful that it becomes possible to allow limited hunting of them. A hundred years ago, American bison herds were so large that you could spend hours watching just one herd pass by. Fifty years ago there were only a few hundred of them left. However, in recent years, the number of bison has increased so much that it has become possible to once again allow limited hunting for them.

Nature reserves and sanctuaries

system of reserves in the USA. At the beginning of the 20th century. in the United States, by decision of Congress, areas of undisturbed nature, or reserves, began to be alienated in order to promote the conservation of rare species. Plants are especially well preserved in nature reserves, which are created in areas where protected species grow. A few specimens of plants in a botanical garden are not at all enough to ensure the preservation and propagation of a species. The first plot of land intended to create a sanctuary for rare and endangered plant species was purchased in 1980. This was the Antioch Dunes in California, the original habitat of the now rare wallflower and evening primrose. Many species of animals also find refuge in the reserves. For example, in the Red Rocks Lake Nature Reserve (Montana), the trumpeter swan is found in abundance. WHAT SIZES SHOULD THE RESERVES BE? According to MANY experts in the field of nature conservation, nature reserves should be vast in area and measured in thousands of square kilometers. Smaller reserves may not be sufficient for the survival of some species, often those whose numbers have reached the most critical levels. For example, large predators such as wolves or large cats require huge spaces in order for them to feed themselves and their offspring. In addition, large-area reserves better protect protected species of animals and plants from the adverse effects of boundary factors, such as humans, and environmental pollutants.

Special studies carried out on the islands make it possible to judge what size parks and reserves should be. It would seem that the number of different species of animals and plants found on it depends on the size of the island. However, the results of studies of fauna on the Pacific islands conducted by ecologists Wilson (1984) and McArthur showed that doubling the island's area is not accompanied by the expected doubling of the number of species living on it. In order for the number of different species to double, an area ten times larger than the given one is required. We mention this work because parks and reserves increasingly seem to us to be veritable islands of wilderness in a sea of ​​human-disturbed environments.

According to the law of island biogeography, if 90% of natural habitats are disturbed, and only 10% of the entire territory is allocated for parks and reserves, then we will be able to preserve no more than half of the original number of species living here. It follows that if we preserve only that part of the Amazon rainforest that is currently occupied by parks and reserves, then two-thirds of the half a million species of animals and plants found in these forests will disappear forever from the face of the Earth.

It should be taken into account, however, that it is not yet completely clear whether the island theory is completely applicable to parks. Although research currently being conducted in tropical forests by ecologists such as Thomas Lovejoy, an employee of the International Wildlife Foundation, suggests that such a comparison is legitimate. Lovejoy gives the example of a 10-hectare nature reserve in which all the peccaries, a widespread, pig-like animal, have become extinct. As a result of an unexpected chain reaction, ten species of frogs that needed the wet depressions in the ground that the peccaries made also disappeared after the peccaries.

Another issue that conservationists need to address is the question of what size reserves should be to preserve and maintain genetic diversity within specific species. The fact is that as the population size of each species declines, the circle of marriage partners is steadily narrowing. And as a result, genetic similarity between descendants increases, i.e. the degree of inbreeding increases. This process is unfavorable from an evolutionary point of view. A population consisting of closely related individuals containing similar sets of genes is more vulnerable to the effects of a modified environment. Since the range, or limits of variability, of traits within such a population is greatly narrowed, the likelihood that individual individuals will be able to demonstrate greater resistance to adverse effects or diseases compared to the bulk of organisms is practically reduced to zero. In addition, there is a very high probability that climate change, outbreaks of infection, or competition from a new species could lead to the death of the entire population.

And yet, research conducted as part of the wildlife breeding program has shown that the mortality rate of cubs of rare species, such as cheetahs, which are characterized by little genetic variability, is always higher, both in natural conditions and in zoos. This is obviously explained by the large number of birth defects caused by inbreeding (mating of closely related individuals). The limited size of the reserve, within which only small populations of species (especially large mammals) can live, inevitably leads to such genetic homogeneity of populations.

Taking all these factors into account, the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) began to develop a program to create “biosphere” or “ecological” reserves, which would constitute a network of protected reference areas of the main ecosystems of the globe. Each reserve must be large enough in area to ensure the existence of all types of living organisms living within its boundaries, protect them from the adverse effects of external factors, and maintain the required level of genetic diversity. Only in this case, the conditions of existence in the reserves will allow animals not only to successfully grow and reproduce, but also to evolve; In addition, nature reserves will serve as a kind of standard of nature, in comparison with which it is possible to determine the extent of human impact on the environment.

In addition to laws requiring the creation of nature reserves, stricter laws are needed to limit the use of pesticides near protected areas where game animals or rare species of animals and plants live and breed.

Global economic aspects of conservation of endangered species of animals and plants

One of distinctive features modern stage The development of international environmental law is to further expand the range of international relations regulated by this branch of international law. The immediate result of this process was the addition of two traditional subject areas of regulation (relations regarding environmental protection and rational use of natural resources) with two new ones - relations to ensure environmental safety and ensure compliance with environmental human rights.

It is this circumstance that is the reason for such a universally recognized phenomenon as the “greening” of international relations, and the point here is not that environmentally-oriented legal norms are included in the sources of other branches of international law, thereby allegedly expanding their subject scope. The fact, for example, that the principles and norms establishing freedom of flight in public international airspace are enshrined in conventions on the law of the sea does not mean that this range of relations is removed from the subject of international air law and transferred to international maritime law. This state of affairs is explained rather by established traditions and expediency interests, which ultimately predetermined the negative attitude of the overwhelming majority of participants at the III UN Conference on the Law of the Sea to the idea of ​​concluding a separate special convention on this range of issues.

In the domestic legal literature one can find a different approach to defining the subject of regulation of international environmental law, which originates from the works of prof. DI. Feldman, who believed that in international law it is necessary to distinguish not sectors, but sub-sectors, since any set of rules existing in it is characterized by a single and common method of regulation. Sharing this point of view, Prof. S.V. Molodtsov, for example, with reference to the principle of freedom of the high seas and some other provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, came to the conclusion that the provisions established by international maritime law can be applied in international air law. Later, this position was shared by Doctor of Law E.S. Molodtsova, who pointed out the purely academic interest pursued by supporters of dividing international law into branches.

Finally, Doctor of Law N.A. Sokolova in her works raises the issue of environmental “burdens” of norms that are part of other branches of international law. In her opinion, “this, for example, is reflected in the strengthening of environmental protection during armed conflicts. The environment is considered as a special civilian object that is protected by international humanitarian law.. A similar situation can be observed in other branches of international law , when its subjects create international legal norms for the protection of the marine environment, outer space, and to combat air pollution."

As N.A. believes Sokolov, the incorporation of environmental protection standards within a particular industry gives these standards a comprehensive nature, allowing them to be considered, on the one hand, as a necessary structural element of the natural environment regime (marine, space, air, Antarctic, etc.), which is subject to economic use, scientific and technical development. In this case, acceptance legal norms for the protection of relevant natural objects is a process of reflecting environmental requirements in relevant industries. On the other hand, such norms are a necessary systemic element of international environmental law. “The consideration of environmental interests within various branches of international law may have serious theoretical consequences, since it complicates the nature of the international treaties that codify a particular branch,” she concludes.

The emergence of two new subject areas in international environmental law occurred at the end of the 20th century.

The idea of ​​international environmental security was first proposed by the President of the USSR in September 1987 in connection with the promotion of the concept of a Comprehensive System of International Security (CSIS). In this system of environmental security, a subordinate role was assigned to economic security. However, a year later, issues of ensuring environmental safety were identified as an independent subject area, which currently includes an extensive array of regulations in the form of resolutions of the UN General Assembly, multilateral and bilateral treaties and agreements. An example is the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Estonia on cooperation in the field of environmental protection dated January 11, 1996, which directly refers to ensuring environmental safety as an area of ​​bilateral cooperation.

Currently, the concept of environmental safety is interconnected with the problems of the strategy of socio-economic development with the assignment of responsibilities to achieve and maintain environmental safety on all states.

In practice, it can be difficult to apply one yardstick to the implementation of such an approach by different countries and especially to the response of a community of states, groups of states or individual countries to situations that may be qualified as a threat to environmental security and occur within the territory of a particular foreign state.

Ensuring environmental safety is a complex activity that includes a set of measures, where environmental protection is only one of them. Conventionally, it can be called an environmental measure, which should not lead to denying the existence of other types of measures - political, legal, etc. The idea of ​​​​the possibility of ensuring the environmental safety of the population (or all of humanity as a whole) only through environmental protection activities should not be embedded in environmental consciousness. Security in general is a state of security provided by organizational, legal, economic, scientific, technological and other means.

Environmental safety can be local, regional, regional, national and global. This division allows, first of all, to determine the range of measures applicable to ensure environmental safety of one level or another. Environmental safety itself has an international, global character. Problems of environmental safety affect everyone, regardless of wealth and poverty, because no nation can feel calm in the event of environmental disasters occurring outside its territory. No nation is capable of independently building an isolated and independent line of environmental protection.

The primary structural element of environmental safety at any level, up to universal, is regional environmental safety. This, however, does not mean that universal environmental safety is impossible if there is at least one case of non-compliance with regional environmental safety. Undoubtedly, there is a certain quantitative and qualitative threshold (level of acceptable risk) in this area, below which local environmental threats and even disasters can occur that do not threaten the environmental safety of not only humanity as a whole, but also the corresponding region and state. However, the threat to universal environmental security affects the environmental security of any ecological region without exception.

Promoting the concept of district (and regional) environmental security does not mean a denial of state sovereignty. The question should be posed differently: an integral part of the national security system (which includes environmental security) must necessarily include, among other things, elements of regional (as well as regional and global) environmental security. In today's ecologically interconnected world, there is no other way to approach this problem.

If in international environmental law the identification of relations regarding ensuring international environmental safety can be considered a fait accompli, then at the level of national legislation of individual states, recognition of the category “environmental safety” is much more difficult. Some authors consider it as an integral part of environmental protection, others equate them, others include in the content of environmental safety not only environmental protection, but also rational use, reproduction and improvement of environmental quality; Finally, the opinion is expressed that ensuring environmental safety is an activity carried out along with the protection of the natural environment.

The concept of “environmental safety” has relatively recently entered into scientific, political and regulatory circulation. At the same time, in developing countries, politicians and the public are slowly getting used to it. Therefore, the extremely broad definition of the concept of “ecological safety”, developed from the standpoint of the ecosystem approach, which is based on the imperative of the survival of human civilization, placing environmental issues and the concept of environmental safety at the level of such global problems, such as preventing thermonuclear war and ensuring political and military security. For many developing countries, considerations related to pressing environmental problems and transboundary damage in the format of bilateral relations are more understandable.

National environmental legislation is no exception in this regard. Russian Federation. Here, the controversy surrounding the advisability of highlighting the category of “environmental safety” in the doctrine of environmental law began with the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993, which in Art. 72 classified ensuring environmental safety as a subject of joint responsibility of the Russian Federation and its constituent entities, along with environmental protection and natural resource management. The discussion on this issue became especially intense after unsuccessful attempt adopt in 1995 the Law “On Environmental Safety”, which was vetoed by the President of Russia due to the vagueness of the concepts used in it, allowing for different interpretations.

Currently, the phrase “environmental safety” is present in two of the 23 principles of environmental protection enshrined in Federal Law No. 7-FZ of January 10, 2002 “On Environmental Protection” (Article 3). This phrase appears repeatedly in other articles of this Law, in more than 90 other federal laws, in more than 40 decrees of the President of the Russian Federation and in more than 170 decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation, in more than 500 departmental regulatory legal acts. In total - in more than 1600 acts.

Believing that the term “environmental safety” was invented during the years of perestroika to demonstrate initiatives, the absence of stagnation, the manifestation of indifference on the part of the state to the field of environmental protection, and without finding any fundamental differences between “environmental protection” and “ensuring environmental safety,” Professor M .M. Brinchuk, in particular, comes to the conclusion that “singling out in the Constitution of the Russian Federation “ensuring environmental safety” as an independent direction, along with natural resource management and environmental protection, was a mistake by the authors of Article 72.” In his opinion, the modern concept of legal environmental protection is based on the idea of ​​​​the need to ensure prevention and compensation for harm to the environment, health and property of citizens, the national economy, which can be caused by environmental pollution, damage, destruction, damage, irrational use of natural resources, destruction natural ecological systems and other environmental violations, and the implementation of this concept is aimed at protecting the environmental interests of man, society, the state and the environment, i.e. specifically to ensure environmental safety.

Such an approach would have its reason, and therefore the right to exist, if we were talking about the “usual” deterioration of environmental quality in violation of established standards. But one cannot deny the logic in this approach, which focuses protective standards in this area on a certain limit, a threshold of acceptable pollution. And then the subject of protection (albeit conditionally) becomes “ecological safety”. Conventionality here is acceptable to the same extent as we are talking, for example, about international security or state security, although the object of protection, in the strict sense of the word, here too could be reduced to the state of protecting the vital interests of the individual, society, etc.

The inclusion of relations regarding the enforcement of environmental human rights in the subject area of ​​international environmental law has not caused any disagreement among domestic legal scholars. S.A. Bogolyubov, M.M. Brinchuk and many others unanimously supported this innovation in their scientific articles and textbooks. Moreover, M.M. Brinchuk, for example, went even further, proposing to separate environmental rights from political, civil, social, economic and cultural rights into a separate category. A special status is given to the generally recognized principles and norms of international law that relate to human rights and freedoms, and I.I. Lukashuk, explaining this by the fact that they: a) have a direct effect; b) determine the meaning, content and application of laws, the activities of the legislative and executive powers, local self-government, and are ensured by justice. For this reason, in his opinion, this special group of generally recognized principles and norms of international law has at least no less power than the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

For the first time, one of the types of environmental rights - the right of access to environmental information - was contractually established in the 1991 UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.

In 1994, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights and the Environment developed a draft Declaration of Principles “Human Rights and the Environment”, which already named four types of environmental human rights: access to environmental information, a favorable environment, access to environmental protection. justice and public participation in decision-making on environmental issues. On the basis of this project, today it is proposed to adopt the International Covenant on Environmental Human Rights, by analogy with the already existing two international covenants of 1966.

Currently, these rights are most fully codified in the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, adopted on 25 June 1998 in Aarhus (Denmark) (entered into force on 2001, the Russian Federation does not participate).

The self-sufficiency of environmental human rights and, as a consequence, the inclusion in the subject of international environmental law of relations regarding ensuring their observance are confirmed today by both the doctrine and practice of international law. At the same time, the autonomous, fundamental nature of such rights is especially emphasized. Let us add to this that environmental rights are currently receiving increasingly adequate protection within the European, American and African regional systems of human rights protection.

International environmental law has a specific range of social relations, i.e. independent subject of regulation, is one of the six mandatory conditions that must be met by any set of international legal principles and norms that claims to be an independent branch of international law.

The other five features of an independent branch of international law are:

• specific rules governing these relations;
• sufficiently large social significance of the circle of social relations;
• a fairly extensive volume of regulatory legal material;
• public interest in identifying a new branch of law;
• special principles of law governing the construction of a new branch of law.

Considering international environmental law from these positions, it can be stated that it meets all of the listed characteristics.

Without going into detail about the characteristics of the first and last of these features (§ 2 and 3 of this chapter are devoted to them), we note that the specificity of the nature and essence of the principles, norms and institutions of international environmental law is that they are applied in the process of regulating various interstate relations environmental in nature, their effect extends to all legal relations of this kind.

The importance of international environmental relations for individual states and for the entire international community it is axiomatic and does not require special evidence. The expansion of environmental ties between all states, the increasing environmental interdependence between them, the course towards restructuring international environmental relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit - all these are the most important factors of modern social development, prerequisites for the development of friendly cooperation between different countries, the consolidation of peace, the creation of a system of international environmental security . It is the global nature of the earth’s ecology that determines the special urgency of the problem of environmental conservation and protection.

In relation to man, nature performs a number of functions related to satisfying his needs: environmental, economic, aesthetic, recreational, scientific, cultural.

Among them, the ecological and economic functions of nature are of paramount importance, providing favorable conditions for human life and progressive development.

It is no coincidence that the main attention of the world community over the past four decades has been focused on finding ways to “reconcile” environmental and economic interests states

Numerous international treaties, resolutions and declarations adopted during this time on issues of international environmental safety, environmental protection and rational use of natural resources clearly indicate the great importance that global community gives today to international environmental legal relations.

The volume of normative legal material in the field of regulation of international environmental relations is extensive. There are currently more than 1,500 multilateral and over 3,000 bilateral international treaties and agreements.

Today, essentially all the largest and most important natural objects have concluded relevant international multilateral agreements, regulating both the mutual rights and obligations of participants in connection with their use, as well as issues of their protection and prevention of pollution from almost all known sources.

Finally, numerous bilateral treaties primarily concern the prevention of transboundary pollution transfers and the resolution of border environmental problems.

A distinctive feature of such agreements concluded over the last decade is the inclusion of provisions aimed at ensuring environmental safety and sustainable development of the parties involved.

The interest of both individual states and the international community as a whole in the existence of an independent branch - international environmental law - is obvious. It is expressed in the already noted huge normative legal material of an international nature.

This is also evidenced by the numerous international conferences convened almost annually on issues of protection, protection and use of the environment, among which a special place is occupied by the UN Stockholm Conference on Problems of the Human Environment in 1972,

The UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. To this list can be added the UN climate change conferences convened annually since 2009.

Being part of international law, international environmental law has the same subject matter as international law as a whole. What international environmental law sometimes says about the rights and interests of individuals, peoples, generations, etc. is far from equivalent to their legal personality. "Traditional" subjects of international law protect these interests.

The subjects of international environmental law are: 1) states; 2) nations and peoples fighting for their state independence; 3) international intergovernmental organizations.

The main subjects of international environmental law are states. Nations and peoples act as subjects of international environmental law during the formation of their statehood. International intergovernmental organizations are derivative subjects of international law. Their international environmental legal personality is determined by international agreements of states on the establishment and functioning of each of these organizations. The legal personality of an international intergovernmental organization is limited, since it can only be exercised on specific issues specified in the agreement of states establishing this organization.

The correct definition of the circle of subjects of international environmental law is important because sometimes one can come across the statement that international environmental law regulates the relationship of humanity with its natural environment. The latter is clearly illustrated, for example, by the following words of the UN Secretary-General, which precede the text of the draft International Pact on Environment and Development (as amended in 1995): “

The UN Charter regulates relations between states. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has application to the relationship between the state and the individual. The time has come to create a document regulating the relationship between humanity and nature."

As we see, we are talking here not about relations between states regarding the protection and use of natural resources, but about the creation of some kind of non-legal socio-natural “legal relationship”.

With all the understanding of the reasons that give rise to these statements, one cannot cross the line of what is theoretically permissible. Nature as such, in principle, is not able to act as a subject of legal relations.

States, possessing such a special quality as sovereignty, have universal international legal personality in the field of environmental protection.

As for the legal personality of nations and peoples fighting for their statehood, it does not have any special features in relation to international environmental relations. Their legal representatives, on equal terms with states, are invited to international conferences on environmental problems, sign the final documents adopted at such conferences and are responsible for their implementation.

The specificity of the international legal personality of international intergovernmental organizations in the field of environmental protection is not as obvious as, for example, it is the case in international space law, where existing international “space” treaties for recognition of international intergovernmental organizations as subjects of international space law require that they make a statement about that they assume the rights and obligations set forth in the relevant agreements, and that the majority of member states of these organizations are parties to this agreement and the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, 1967.

There are no such requirements for international organizations to recognize their international legal personality in international environmental law, which is not least due to the absence of specialized international intergovernmental environmental organizations at the universal level.

According to experts, there are currently about 60 international institutions and agencies in the world that deal with environmental issues, but they act separately and uncoordinated. To one degree or another, most people today are involved in international environmental cooperation at the global level. specialized institutions UN: International Maritime Organization (IMO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), World Bank Group,

World organization health (WHO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Trade Organization (WTO), etc. In the UN structure, one can note such auxiliary organizational units as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),

Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD), five regional socio-economic commissions, etc.

One can note the growing role of the secretariats of various international environmental agreements in the matter of international environmental governance.

The current situation, on the one hand, is explained by the fact that environmental issues are inherently integrated into almost all spheres of human activity (transport, agriculture, construction, etc.) and therefore most international organizations, following the objective reality of international relations, include environmental problems in your field of activity. On the other hand, the lack of a unified international management mechanism in the environmental sphere gives rise to many problems and duplication of some management functions.

Let us recall that the question of creating a unified institutional basis for international environmental cooperation was first raised in the late 60s - early 70s of the 20th century.

Discussion of issues related to the status and functions of the proposed international body (or organization) began immediately after the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution 2398 (XXIII) of December 3, 1968, which contained the decision to convene the Stockholm Conference on Environmental Problems in 1972. human environment. Various views have been expressed regarding the nature and legal status of such a body or organization. At the same time, no one then advocated the creation of another specialized UN agency that would deal exclusively with the field of environmental protection and environmental management. For some, this was due to a general negative attitude towards the activities of UN specialized agencies in general, and they expressed great doubts about the ability of an international organization of this kind to effectively solve environmental problems at the global level. Others believed that the existing UN specialized agencies, such as WMO, WHO, IMO, FAO, ILO and others, pay sufficient attention to environmental problems within their constitutional competence and that the creation of a new international organization with the status of a specialized agency would put it on par with existing ones and will not be able to provide it with a leading role in establishing the necessary level and degree of coordination of state efforts in the environmental field. Still others generally believed that there were no objective prerequisites for the creation of a universal international organization, since judgments about environmental dangers were exaggerated, and existing difficulties could be easily overcome with the help of regional organizational structures.

The idea of ​​establishing a new commission on environmental issues within the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) enjoyed great support among scientists and governments. At the same time, the main emphasis was placed on the broad powers that ECOSOC has under the UN Charter, which also cover the sphere of ecology. Opponents of such a solution to the issue pointed out that seven commissions already function within the framework of ECOSOC and that the creation of another one would diminish the importance of interaction between states in the environmental sphere. In their opinion, ECOSOC is generally unable to carry out policy-making activities in this or that area and is considered, in particular, by developing countries as a body that protects the interests of industrialized countries. In addition, the creation of ECOSOC staff through the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, they believed, would harm the idea of ​​​​creating an independent staff to help solve environmental problems.

As a possible alternative, a proposal has been put forward to create a special committee of the UN General Assembly or special unit within the UN Secretariat.

Finally, projects were introduced to create a special international organization with a limited number of members outside the UN system, which would have control and enforcement functions.

As a result, preference was still given to the UN as an organization endowed by its member states with almost universal international legal personality. In its composition, on the basis of Art. 22 of the Charter established the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with the status of a subsidiary body of the General Assembly.

The promptness with which the UN responded to the recommendation of the Stockholm Conference (UNEP was established on December 15, 1972 by UN General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII)) indicates the keen interest of almost all UN members in developing an effective institutional mechanism in this area. However, such a half-hearted solution indicated the unwillingness of states to go further and create not just an effective international, but a supranational mechanism in this area. Meanwhile, in the field of environmental protection, the need for such supranational mechanisms is felt more and more acutely.

The so-called catalytic role, invented specifically for UNEP, which was presented by its developers as a new type of management function that arose as a result of adapting the organizational structure of the UN system to global issues, could not save the situation. The fact that there is no management here, but the most ordinary coordination takes place, is evidenced by the following definition of this function: “in conditions when a large number of different UN agencies can and should potentially participate in activities on a particular global problem, the central coordinating authority of the system should strive not so much to take upon itself the implementation of the general work program, but to act as an initiator of projects, the operational implementation of which should be transferred to the relevant units of the UN common system."

In this regard, it is not surprising that literally immediately after the establishment of UNEP, proposals began to be put forward to improve and improve the activities of the world community in the field of environmental protection, including both projects aimed at redistributing powers and functions between already existing international organizations and institutions, as well as ideas for creating new bodies and organizations.

Among the first group of proposals related to strengthening the role of UNEP, those put forward by the UN International Commission on Environment and Development headed by G.Kh. deserve special attention. Brundtland (Brundtland Commission) the idea of ​​expanding its powers and financial support (1987), the UK project to transform UNEP into a specialized UN agency (1983) and the USSR initiative to transform UNEP into the Environmental Security Council (1989). This group also includes the UK’s proposal to transfer environmental problems to the competence of a special body of the system of main organs of the UN by expanding the powers of the UN Security Council in accordance with Art. 34 of the UN Charter and through the creation of a special sessional committee of the UN General Assembly (1983), as well as a project to transform the UN Trusteeship Council into the Environmental Security Council.

The second group includes the Brundtland Commission's proposal to establish a UN Commission on Environmental Sustainable Development, headed by the UN Secretary-General, the USSR project to create an Environmental Emergency Assistance Center, and the idea put forward by the participants in the 1989 Hague Conference to establish a new main UN environmental body.

In any case, the position of UNEP as the central body of the UN system for organizing and promoting international environmental cooperation needs to be strengthened. UNEP must be transformed into a full-fledged international organization, operating and based on an international treaty, with a full-fledged secretariat, funding and a system of sessional and permanent bodies, placed in strict hierarchical dependence among themselves. It should be endowed with the right to make decisions binding on states with direct action, by analogy with the practice of the UN Security Council, when on issues of maintaining international peace and security it acts in accordance with Chapter. VI and VII of the UN Charter.

Introducing such changes to the functionality of UNEP will inevitably affect its legal status and ability to really influence the process of preserving and protecting the environment, which in modern conditions is extremely important, given that global environmental problems exceed existing opportunities both the Program itself and well-established UN specialized agencies.

In this situation, the proposal put forward on September 23, 2009 at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly by the President of France to establish an International Environmental Organization in 2012 at the summit on sustainable development "Rio+20" (a regional association of Latin American countries plus ") looks quite realistic. G20"), a forum proposed by Brazil.

At the regional level, on the contrary, there are numerous international intergovernmental organizations whose constituent documents contain sections devoted to environmental protection. These are, for example, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth Independent States(CIS), North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), etc. The extension of the competence of regional organizations to the field of ecology, as well as the creation of special regional institutional structures, is due primarily to the severity of environmental problems experienced by states in one or another region of the globe.

Principles of international environmental law

Due to its universality and imperativeness, the basis for the regulation of international environmental relations is the generally recognized principles of modern international law.

All sectoral (special) principles of international environmental law must comply with them. They serve as a measure of the legality of all norms of international law, including norms of international environmental law.

Today, such generally accepted principles include: sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty; refraining from using force or the threat of force; inviolability of borders; territorial integrity of states; peaceful resolution of international disputes; non-interference in matters essentially within the internal competence of the state; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; equality and the right of peoples to control their own destinies; cooperation between states; conscientious fulfillment of obligations under international law.

Compliance with the fundamental generally accepted principles of international law is fundamental for effective international legal regulation of environmental protection. The role and importance of these principles increase even more in connection with the problem of the transfer of pollution beyond the territory of one state over long distances.

Using the example of the principle of international cooperation, we will illustrate how the generally recognized principles of general international law are transformed in relation to the specifics of international environmental relations.

The principle of international cooperation is currently one of the fundamental principles in international legal regulation of environmental protection. Almost all international legal acts currently in force and being developed in this area are based on it. In particular, it is enshrined in the Southern Nature Conservation Convention Pacific Ocean 1976, Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 1979, Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources 1980, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer 1985.

In the Declaration of the United Nations Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, this principle is revealed as follows (Principle 24): “International problems related to the protection and improvement of the environment should be resolved in a spirit of cooperation of all countries, large and small, on the basis of equality Cooperation, based on multilateral and bilateral agreements or other appropriate basis, is essential for the effective control, prevention, reduction and elimination of negative environmental impacts associated with activities carried out in all areas, and this cooperation should be organized in such a way that so that the sovereign interests of all states are given due consideration."

On the most conscientious reading and interpretation of this Principle, it is impossible to derive from it precisely the duty to cooperate, and not just a declarative wish. This clearly follows from such elements of the Principle as: “should be decided in a spirit of cooperation..”, “extremely important for..”, “this cooperation should be organized in such a way that the sovereign interests of all states are duly taken into account.”

Principle 7 of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development Declaration on Environment and Development states: “States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to preserve, protect and restore the purity and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. Recognizing that different States have different have contributed to the deterioration of the planet's environment, they bear common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries recognize the responsibilities that lie with them in the context of international efforts to achieve sustainable development, taking into account the burdens that their societies place on the planet's environment and the technologies and financial resources that they possess."

The need for international environmental cooperation today is dictated by a number of objective factors, which are conventionally divided into two types: natural-ecological and socio-economic.

Natural environmental factors include:

Unity of the Earth's biosphere. Everything in the biosphere is interconnected. The truth of this statement now no longer needs proof; it is accepted as an axiom by world science. Any change, even the most insignificant at first glance, in the state of one natural resource inevitably has a direct or indirect impact in time and space on the position of others.

The high degree of ecological interdependence of states both within individual regions and between them, the interdependence of natural environmental resources leads to the rapid development of many national environmental problems into international ones. Nature as a phenomenon that exists independently of humans, and state and administrative boundaries in general as a result historical development societies are incompatible concepts lying on different planes. Nature does not know and does not recognize state and administrative boundaries;

The presence of universal natural objects and resources, the effective protection and protection of which, as well as rational use, is impossible within the framework and efforts of one single state (the World Ocean with its biological and mineral resources, atmospheric air, the ozone layer of the atmosphere, near-Earth space , Antarctica with its flora and fauna).

It obliges states, when conducting military operations, to take care “to protect the natural environment from extensive, long-term and serious damage” (Article 55 of the Protocol); prohibits the use of methods or means of warfare that are intended to cause or can be expected to cause such damage to the natural environment, as well as the deliberate manipulation of "natural processes - the dynamics, composition or structure of the Earth, including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, or outer space" (Article 2 of the Convention) for the purpose of causing damage to the armed forces of the enemy, the civilian population of the opposing state, its cities, industry, agriculture, transport and communication networks or natural resources.

Certain elements of the principle under consideration are disclosed in Protocol III “On the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Incendiary Weapons” to the Convention on the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Cause Excessive Injury or to Have an Indiscriminate Effect, 1980, as well as in a number of disarmament conventions , documents "law of the Hague" and some other international treaties.

The basis of the principle of ensuring environmental safety is the theory of environmental risk - determining the level of acceptable risk with its indispensable consideration when establishing the cost of products and services. Acceptable risk is understood as a level of risk that is justified from the point of view of economic and social factors, i.e. acceptable risk is a risk that society as a whole is willing to tolerate in order to obtain certain benefits as a result of its activities.

Environmental safety is a priority component national security and global security of the world community implementing the transition to sustainable development, as well as a priority criterion for social development.

Currently, this principle is in the process of formation and represents more of a goal to which the world community should strive than an actually operating principle.

The principle of international legal responsibility of states for damage caused to the environment. In accordance with this principle, states are obliged to compensate for environmental damage caused both as a result of their violation of their international obligations and as a result of activities not prohibited by international law.

IN English language international liability for unlawful activities (negative liability) and for actions not prohibited by international law (positive liability) are called in different words: responsibility and liability respectively. In Russian, both institutions are called by one word - “responsibility”.

Currently, the UN International Law Commission (UNILC) has completed work on codifying the rules of objective responsibility of states: in 2001, the Draft Articles on the Prevention of Transboundary Harm from Hazardous Activities were adopted, and in 2006, the Draft Principles concerning the distribution of losses in in case of transboundary harm caused by hazardous activities. Based on these two documents, it is planned to adopt either a convention or an act of “soft” law.

The established practice of states in this matter is reflected in UN General Assembly Resolutions 62/68 of December 6, 2007 “Consideration of the issue of preventing transboundary harm from hazardous activities and distribution of losses in the event of such harm” and 61/36 of December 4, 2006 "Distribution of damages in the event of transboundary harm caused by hazardous activities."

In science, it is customary to identify criteria whose presence allows us to speak about transboundary environmental damage: the anthropogenic nature of the activity that caused the damage; direct connection between anthropogenic activities and harmful consequences; transboundary nature of the impact; the damage must be significant or substantial (minor damage does not give rise to international liability).

As a norm of universal application, the principle of international liability for environmental damage was first formulated in the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 (Principle 22).

The 1992 Rio Declaration reaffirmed the principle of state responsibility for transboundary environmental damage (Principles 13 and 14).

Many international agreements containing various obligations of states in the field of protection and conservation of the environment also imply liability for their violation: liability for damage from the transboundary movement of genetically modified organisms (GMOs); liability for marine oil pollution; liability for damage caused by transboundary transport of hazardous waste and its disposal; liability for damage caused during the transportation of dangerous goods; liability for nuclear damage.

Responsibility for causing transboundary environmental damage in international law can also be borne by individuals within the framework of the institution of individual international responsibility.

Thus, in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998, war crimes also include “intentionally committing an attack when it is known that such an attack will cause ... extensive, long-term and serious damage to the natural environment, which would be clearly disproportionate to the specific and immediate expected general military superiority" (Article 8b, iv of the Rome Statute).

The given list of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law within the meaning of Art. 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice represents the consolidated opinion of the most qualified specialists in public law. This, however, does not remove from the agenda the discussion of various doctrinal approaches to compiling lists of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law.

Yes, Prof. K.A. Bekyashev identifies 15 principles of international environmental law: “the environment is the common concern of mankind”, “the natural environment beyond state borders is the common heritage of mankind”, “freedom of research and use of the environment and its components”, “rational use of the environment”, “ promoting international cooperation in the study and use of the environment", "the interdependence of environmental protection, peace, development, human rights and fundamental freedoms", "precautionary approach to the environment", "right to development", "prevention of harm", "prevention environmental pollution", "state responsibility", "he who pollutes pays, or the polluter pays", "universal but differentiated responsibility", "access to environmental information", "waiver of immunity from the jurisdiction of international or foreign judicial organs." At the same time, this author accompanies the selection of almost all of these principles with references to international treaties and state practice.

ON THE. Sokolova, proposing her own version of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law, proceeds from the fact that the norm contained in a special principle should determine its content, have significant, fundamental importance for regulating relations in the field of environmental protection, and find constant application in practice states, including when resolving disputes, is contained not only in the preamble, but also in the main text of the treaty, and is considered by the doctrine as a full-fledged international legal norm

• the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, according to which the content and procedure for fulfilling international environmental obligations is determined, taking into account differences in the capabilities of states and their “contribution” to the problem of environmental change. According to N.A. Sokolova, this principle becomes the basis for declaring demands for the participation of all states in solving international environmental problems;
• the principle of the precautionary approach, the normative content of which, according to N.A. Sokolova, includes the following elements:
  • the need to take into account potential threats that could lead to environmental damage;
  • a direct link between the threat and the possibility of serious and irreversible damage;
  • scientific uncertainty that cannot justify postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
• The polluter pays principle, which was originally formulated as an economic principle in the 1970s. As N.A. believes Sokolov, its initial basis should be considered from the point of view of “internalization of costs” (from the English internal - internal) taking into account the actual economic costs of pollution control, cleanup and protective measures by including them in the costs of the activity itself;
• the principle of no harm to the environment beyond national jurisdiction, which covers the following elements:
  • the obligation to carry out activities in such a way that they do not cause damage to the environment beyond national jurisdiction;
  • the obligation to assess activities that may cause harm beyond national jurisdiction in order to determine its extent and nature;
• principle of international environmental cooperation.

From among foreign researchers in various years, their versions of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law were proposed by: F. Sands, A. Kiss, V. Lang, D. Hunter, J. Salzman and D. Zalke.

For example, F. Sands considers intergenerational equality, sustainable use, equal use and integration.

A. Kiss pays special attention to the principle of non-harm beyond national jurisdiction, the principle of international cooperation, the precautionary approach and the “polluter pays” principle. In his writings, he also points out the obligation of all states to preserve the environment, the obligation to assess the impact on the environment, the obligation to monitor the state of the environment, to ensure public access to information about the state of the environment and participation in decision-making.

V. Lang proposes to distinguish three groups of principles according to the degree of their normative consolidation:

• existing principles (for example, the principle of liability for environmental damage);
• emerging principles (right to a healthy environment, warning other states in case of possible environmental impact);
• potential principles (the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities).

Finally, D. Hunter, J. Salzman and D. Zalke combine the principles of international environmental law into several groups:

• principles defining general approaches to the environment;
• principles relating to transboundary environmental cooperation issues;
• principles promoting the development of national environmental legislation;
• principles of international environmental management.

The given range of opinions of domestic and foreign experts regarding the catalog of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law clearly demonstrates the tendency towards convergence of existing scientific approaches, which can be seen, in particular, in the repeatability of some of them. Some of the authors, such as prof. K.A. Bekyashev, rightly discovering, apparently, common features in the legal regime of outer space and the environment, borrow the formulations of some special principles of international environmental law, according to which the identification of special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law, as well as the exact formulation of their legal contents are an extremely complex theoretical problem, which is still far from being successfully resolved.

Sources of international environmental law

One of the remarkable phenomena of the modern doctrine of international environmental law is the development in it of the grounds and methods for classifying international environmental norms as a necessary step towards streamlining the system and structure of this branch of international law. Along with the use of traditional classifications into norms, ordinary, generally accepted principles, contractual norms of a multilateral and bilateral nature, mandatory and advisory decisions of international organizations, decisions of international judicial bodies, in recent years, in international environmental law there has been an in-depth theoretical study of individual aspects of the systematization of normative material, due to specific features practices of legal regulation of international environmental relations.

In particular, much attention is paid to:

• the grounds and conditions for the delimitation of global and regional international environmental legal norms;
• determining the relationship between the framework and detailing norms of the protocols and other supporting agreements;
• assessing the importance of advisory norms, the so-called soft law norms, created especially when determining principles, strategies and, in general, long-term planning in the legal regulation of interstate environmental relations;
• understanding the essence and role of international environmental standards in the mechanism of legal regulation of environmental relations.

In relation to international environmental law, the study of sources, among other things, makes it possible to understand the patterns of formation of this branch of international law and the trends in its further development.

In the complex process of international rule-making, one should distinguish between the main processes, which include those methods of norm formation, as a result of which an international legal norm appears, and auxiliary processes, which are certain stages in the process of formation of an international legal norm, but which do not complete this process.

In this regard, attention is drawn to the fact that in the domestic legal literature there is almost everywhere an equal sign between the concepts of a rule of law and a contract.

It is argued that a contract is a rule of law, that a contract is a form (one of the legal forms) in which a rule of law is expressed.

Indeed, from a formal legal point of view, a rule of law is a certain legal form that contains the rule of behavior of subjects, which they recognize as legally binding for themselves. However, the structure of a norm of international law includes as its elements not only form, but also content. The content of the norm is an abstract legal relationship - abstract because it extends its effect to all subjects and to all events within the framework of a given legal relationship. A specific agreement is part of an objectively existing norm; in relation to this “part”, specific subjects agreed to consider the rule of conduct contained in it as a mandatory norm of behavior for themselves.

To regulate legal relations on a specific issue, subjects do not need to embody in form the entire content of the norm. That is why a particular norm has a plural form.

Finally, the third approach, the so-called Vienna type, originating from the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer of 1985, involves the development and adoption of framework agreements under the auspices of international organizations. Examples of this type of agreement are the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, which, although not called a framework, actually is one, and the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

All three approaches have their own attractive features in the eyes of various groups of states. For example, the first approach is most appropriate at the subregional level, allowing the efforts of a limited number of states experiencing similar or identical environmental difficulties to be concentrated. The second approach requires the adoption of legally binding rules and norms of state behavior, but should not be considered as some kind of limitation of state sovereignty. In this procedure, states, exercising their sovereign rights in practice, delegate part of their sovereign competence to a supranational body, as they often do when joining international intergovernmental organizations. At the same time, this allows states to even expand the scope of their sovereignty through similar actions on the part of other countries that are members of such bodies and organizations. Finally, the third approach best suits the interests of those states that wish to retain the maximum possible amount of sovereignty. In this case, the so-called international interest is represented by one or another international organization serving as a forum for conducting relevant negotiations. Through their relatively broad language and terms, framework agreements provide the necessary basis for interaction and cooperation between the largest possible number of states with different political and economic systems.

And as the first step in the cooperation of efforts, they allow us to immediately begin research and monitoring, which are of exceptional importance, since it is clear scientific data on certain environmental phenomena and consequences that make it possible to move to the level of states adopting specific, more detailed obligations. The achieved results of scientific and technical cooperation make it possible to identify the most relevant areas for interaction and develop in detail the mechanism for their implementation in applications and protocols that become an integral part of the framework agreement.

A special feature of this third approach is also that it is aimed primarily at “managing” endangered natural resources, and not on the development of general principles of international law. In other words, it is more pragmatic in nature and requires states not to declare their commitment to the general principles of international environmental protection, but to take specific measures aimed at restoring and maintaining a particular natural resource.

The rapid and dynamic development of international environmental law today is largely ensured by the “growth” of “soft” law norms. These norms, in quantitative terms, have long been not inferior to the so-called solid norms in international environmental law. Therefore, to characterize international environmental law as a branch of modern international law, determining their place and role in the system of its sources is of great importance.

Norms of “soft” law, by establishing rules of behavior, can become the starting point for transforming such rules into contractual or customary international legal norms. As noted in this regard, for example, N.A. Sokolov, speaking about the transformation of “soft” law norms into contractual or customary law, such advisory norms for environmental protection can be assessed from the position of de lege ferenda.

Moreover, some norms of “soft” law, which are not legally binding, are nevertheless given binding force by states, which is of a political and moral nature.

The use of such documents is noteworthy as an indication of a change or establishment of guidelines that may ultimately become legally binding norms. Such principles are important, their influence is significant, but in themselves they do not constitute legal norms.

The norms of “soft” international environmental law are an objective reality, a fact whose existence must be taken into account.

We find indirect confirmation of this fact in the materials of the anniversary UN Congress on Public International Law in 1995, the participants of which pointed out that treaties are not adequate instruments of international law-making, the process of their preparation is complex, and participation is minimal. Because of this, it was proposed to increase the role of resolutions of multilateral forums.

It was proposed to supplement the classical sources of international law with a “peculiar quasi-legislative process”, culminating in the adoption of declarations of principles, codes of conduct, guidelines, model norms, etc.

The emergence of “soft” law norms in the regulation of international environmental relations was more natural than accidental. Despite the apparent “apoliticality” of the sphere of environmental protection, with references to which some foreign researchers tried to explain the emerging trend in the early 70s of the 20th century. "breakthrough" in the development of international environmental law, in reality, states were quite reluctant to reveal their numerous "ecological secrets", especially in the military sphere, which primarily explains, in particular, the half-hearted decision of the participants of the Stockholm Conference on Problems of the Human Environment in 1972 d. to establish the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with the status of a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly and the subsequent abolition of the Coordination Council within the UNEP structure in 1977.

Being free to choose the means of regulating international environmental relations and resolving environmental difficulties that have arisen, the participants in these relations deliberately settled on the norms of “soft” international environmental law.

In the 70s of the XX century. there was a need to create regulatory framework new system cooperation in the field of environmental protection. The use of international legal instruments for these purposes would require decades, so “soft” law was applied in the form of resolutions of international conferences, which turned out to be able to more quickly adapt to changing national and political realities and made it possible to determine the possible content of “hard” international environmental law, as well as as well as the limits of permissibility of subjective freedom of action.

As a result, the so-called Declaration of Principles and Action Plan for the Human Environment (Action Plan) were adopted at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972. This experience was subsequently adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002).

This practice, which has shown its vitality, has convincingly proven the ability of “soft” international environmental law to solve problems that “hard” law cannot do.

It is no coincidence that UN General Assembly Resolution 49/113 of December 19, 1994 “Promoting the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” directly states that the Rio Declaration contains the fundamental principles for achieving sustainable development based on a new and fair global partnership, and that all governments are encouraged to promote the widespread dissemination at all levels of the Rio Declaration.

The norms of “soft” international environmental law can solve other specific problems, for example, regulate international relationships with the participation of subjects of national law.

Economic, cultural, scientific and technical ties are carried out mainly by private individuals and organizations that cannot be obliged by the state to carry out relevant activities.

As an example, we can refer to the rules of “soft” law contained in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, adopted at the XXVIII session of the FAO Conference in October 1995.

The Code is not an international treaty; accordingly, there is no contractually established list of member states for which the norms of the Code would be binding. The Code does not express consent for its norms to be binding in any of the ways provided for in Art. Art. 11 - 15

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. On the contrary, in Art. 1 of the Code specifically designates the voluntary nature of states’ implementation of its provisions. And although the Code includes norms that most states are obliged to implement, this obligation arises from the international legal nature of these norms themselves, and not from the Code as such. We are talking, first of all, about the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of ​​1982 and the Agreement to Promote Compliance by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas with International Measures for the Conservation and Management of Biological Resources of 1993. In addition, the Code is not subject to registration with the UN Secretariat.

Another example of “soft” law rules governing a rather specific area of ​​relations involving subjects of domestic law is Agenda 21 of the Olympic Movement, adopted at the June session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Seoul in 1999 in response to the call of the UN Environment Conference and development in Rio de Janeiro 1992 to all universal, regional and subregional international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to develop their own relevant documents, similar to Agenda 21. This Agenda was subsequently endorsed by the Olympic Movement as a whole at the Third World Conference on Sport and Environment, held in Rio de Janeiro in October 1999.

Agenda 21 has received widespread support and endorsement from UNEP as the basis for a policy of close cooperation between members of the Olympic Movement and UNEP. As the Executive Director of UNEP noted, “Agenda 21 of the Olympic Movement should serve as a useful reference tool for the sporting community at all levels to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development... This document... contains important provisions regarding the active involvement of the sporting community in the protection and conservation of the environment "The importance of the support of leading sports organizations and the sports industry in achieving these goals should not be underestimated. Not only do they have a stake in maintaining the quality of the environment, but they can also influence the minds and actions of many others in their own countries."

Agenda 21 of the Olympic Movement, according to the Chairman of the IOC Commission for Sport and the Environment, “offers the governing bodies of the sports movement options for how sustainable development can be included in their political strategy and describes actions that enable each individual to actively participate in the promotion of sustainable development, in particular, but not only in relation to sports activities." Agenda 21 should be viewed as a working document that everyone should use to suit their own circumstances.

Like Agenda 21, Agenda 21 contains four main sections, which, however, should not be perceived as a blind copy of one of the documents adopted at the Conference on Environment and Development. The developers of this document sought to highlight from the list of issues contained in Agenda 21 those areas and problems in which the Olympic movement as a whole and its institutional mechanisms in particular are capable, due to the global nature of the Olympic movement, of providing the greatest assistance to the achievement and implementation of environmentally safe development.

Agenda 21, sometimes referred to as the Olympic Movement's Environmental Action Agenda, addresses three key issues: improving socio-economic conditions; conservation and management of natural resources for sustainable development; strengthening the role of major groups.

Being a theoretical and practical guide for all members of the Olympic movement, for athletes in general - the IOC, international federations, national Olympic committees, national organizing committees for the Olympic Games, athletes, clubs, coaches, as well as functionaries and sports-related enterprises - Agenda 21 must be implemented in a spirit of respect for the economic, geographical, climatic, cultural, religious characteristics that characterize the diversity of the Olympic movements.

The document aims to encourage members of the Olympic Movement to play an active role in sustainable development; establishes the basic concepts and coordinates the overall efforts necessary to achieve these goals; suggests to policymakers areas where sustainable development can be integrated into their policies; indicates how individuals can act to ensure that their sporting activities and lives in general are sustainable.

Finally, “soft” law is also known to national regulatory systems. As an example, we can cite the Environmental Doctrine of the Russian Federation, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 31, 2002 N 1225-r.

The environmental doctrine of the Russian Federation determines the goals, directions, objectives and principles of implementing a unified state policy in the field of ecology in the Russian Federation for the long term.

It is based on the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, international treaties of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources, and also takes into account the recommendations of the Rio Conference and subsequent international forums on environmental issues and sustainable development.

It is the latter circumstance that explains the fact that the text of the Environmental Doctrine of the Russian Federation included legal principles and norms enshrined in the laws of the Russian Federation, international treaties of the Russian Federation and universal acts of “soft” international environmental law. We are talking primarily about such provisions of the Doctrine as “openness of environmental information”, “ensuring a favorable state of the environment as a necessary condition for improving the quality of life and health of the population”, “participation of civil society, self-government bodies and business circles in the preparation, discussion, adoption and implementation of decisions in the field of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources", etc.

Since the act in question contains mandatory norms that are not legal, we are dealing with the norms of “soft” environmental law.

Thus, “soft” law is a special normative phenomenon in both the national and international normative systems. Without being as strictly limited by formal frameworks as “hard” law, “soft” law is capable of regulating the most complex and delicate relationships. The regulation of international environmental relations gives rise to many norms, which are often inconsistent with each other. It is difficult for “hard” international environmental law to overcome discrepancies, but for “soft” international environmental law, with its flexibility, it is much easier.

Life has shown that the regulation of international environmental relations is possible only with the involvement of all types of regulatory instruments, among which “non-legal” ones play an extremely important role, especially when the chances of creating “firm” norms that can count on universal acceptance are slim. The concept of “soft” environmental law represents a unique response, on the one hand, to the difficulties of forming international environmental law and, on the other, to a significant increase in recent years in the number and legal significance of recommendations related to international environmental law.

As noted in the report of the Institute of International Law, soft law norms in the strict sense of the word are not the source of law, but their influence on the formation of international environmental norms is such that they should be taken into account when studying the sources, at least as an important contributing factor. development of law.

Environmental standards are unilateral acts of international intergovernmental organizations, adopted by them in the exercise of their rule-making and regulatory functions. They can be considered as a preparatory stage in the creation of a rule of law, as a kind of semi-finished product of a legal norm.

As a general rule, the competence to adopt standards in international organizations lies with their executive bodies. This is the case, for example, in the IAEA and a number of specialized UN agencies, such as ICAO, FAO, WHO, WMO, etc., where environmental standards are adopted in the context of their core, core activities. In IMO, in accordance with Art. 15 of the 1948 Convention on the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization, the Assembly of the organization is vested with exclusive competence to make recommendations on the prevention of marine pollution.

Let us illustrate the procedure for adopting standards using the example of ICAO.

The text of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 does not contain a definition of the concept " international standard". This definition was first formulated in the resolution of the first session of the ICAO Assembly in 1947 and was reproduced without significant changes in the resolutions of subsequent sessions of the Assembly.

An ICAO standard is defined as “specific requirements for physical characteristics, configuration, material, performance, personnel or procedures, the uniform application of which is recognized as necessary for the safety or regularity of international air navigation and which contracting States are required to follow in accordance with the Convention.”

From the provisions of Art. 38 of the Chicago Convention it follows that neither a standard nor a recommended practice is a norm establishing any rule that is mandatory for execution by an ICAO member state. States are required to submit information to the ICAO Council within a specified time frame regarding the discrepancy between their national practices and the standard set by ICAO.

If states fully agree with such a standard, this means that the national practice of this state does not contradict a specific standard (the exception is cases when states expect to take the necessary measures before the date of application of the standard so that national practice “catch up” to its level ). Moreover, any state at any time can declare that, due to a change in national practice (or without giving any reason at all), it ceases to comply with a particular standard, recommended practice, or any annex to the Chicago Convention as a whole.

Currently, the development of standards regulating the environmental aspects of the use of aviation equipment within the ICAO is carried out in two directions: protecting the environment from the effects of aircraft noise and from emissions from aircraft engines.

Annex 16 was adopted in 1971, which addressed various aspects of the aircraft noise problem.

In accordance with the Resolution on Civil Aviation and the Human Environment adopted by the ICAO Assembly in 1971, specific actions were taken regarding aircraft engine emissions and detailed proposals were prepared for ICAO Standards to regulate the emissions of certain types of aircraft engines.

These Standards, adopted in 1981, set emission limits for smoke and certain gaseous pollutants and prohibited the discharge of unused fuel. The scope of Annex 16 was expanded to include provisions on aircraft engine emissions and became known as “Environmental Protection”. Volume I of the revised Annex 16 includes provisions for aircraft noise, and Volume II contains provisions for aircraft engine emissions.

The ICAO Council approved a new noise standard (Chapter 4), much more stringent than the standard contained in Chapter. 3. On January 1, 2006, the new standard began to apply to all newly certified aircraft and aircraft subject to Sec. 3 if their re-certification is requested under Sec. 4.

This new standard was adopted concurrently with the ICAO Assembly's endorsement of the Aviation Environmental Management Committee's "Balanced Approach to Noise Management" framework, which includes four elements: noise reduction at source, land use planning, operational controls and operational limitations.

Annex 16, Volume II contains standards prohibiting the intentional release of fuel into the atmosphere by all aircraft with gas turbine engines manufactured after February 18, 1982.

It also contains standards limiting smoke emissions from turbojet and turbofan engines designed for subsonic flight and manufactured after January 1, 1983. Similar restrictions apply to engines designed for supersonic flight and manufactured after February 18, 1982. .

Annex 16 also includes standards limiting the emissions of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from large turbojet and turbofan engines designed for subsonic flight and manufactured after 1 January 1986.

ICAO is now committed to ensuring that the safe and orderly development of civil aviation is as compatible as possible with the maintenance of the quality of the human environment. This approach is fully consistent with the Consolidated Statement of Continuing Policies and Practices of ICAO in the Field of Environmental Protection, as set out in ICAO Resolution A33-7. This document is constantly updated and refined to reflect the practice of international environmental cooperation since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development.

This, in particular, concerns the recognition of the precautionary principle as one of the principles of ICAO policy and the recognition of the fact that the exchange of emissions allowances has the potential to be economically effective means solving the problem of carbon dioxide emissions.

IN Lately Among environmental standards in international environmental law, due diligence standards began to be distinguished. This standard depends on a number of factors, such as the size of the activity, climatic conditions, place of activity, materials used in the course of activity, etc. Therefore, in each specific case an individual approach to determining the due diligence standard and a careful examination of all factors influencing this standard are required.

This provision is enshrined in Principle 11 of the 1992 Declaration on Environment and Development (Rio Declaration): “States shall adopt effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, objectives and regulatory priorities should reflect the environmental and development conditions in which they apply "The standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and impose unreasonable and social costs in other countries, particularly developing countries."

Principle 23 of the Stockholm Declaration emphasizes that national standards “respect criteria that may be agreed upon by the international community.”

Yours further development the concept of environmental standards was included in Art. 43 drafts of the International Pact on Environment and Development (as amended on September 22, 2010). This article consists of two paragraphs, the location of which clearly indicates that national environmental standards must be based on international standards, and their development must take into account non-binding recommendations and other similar acts.

Similar to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 197), the Barcelona Convention on the Protection Mediterranean Sea from pollution 1976 (Article 4(2)), Convention for the Protection of the North-East Atlantic 1992 (Article 2 (1 and 2)) paragraph 1 of Art. 43 of the Project obliges the parties to cooperate in the development of international rules and standards. It is noted that there is a need for harmonization and coordination in resolving issues of common interest, in particular to protect the global commons, which will avoid conflicts and distortion of competition, and will also lead to the reduction and elimination of trade barriers.

When developing flexible measures for the implementation of agreed international environmental standards, special attention should be paid to the interests of developing countries, which is consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The purpose of international environmental standards is to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, a higher level of environmental protection. Taking into account environmental, social and economic features States have the right to establish national environmental standards that are more stringent than international ones, provided that they do not constitute hidden trade barriers.

National environmental standards, which are discussed in paragraph 2 of Art. 43, must be both preventive and corrective in nature. They should be aimed at eliminating the causes of environmental degradation and ensuring an adequate level of environmental protection.

Codification of international environmental law

In the text of the UN Charter, in diplomatic correspondence, in official statements of the governments of UN member states and at international conferences, in decisions and documents of UN bodies, the concept of “codification” is always accompanied by the expression “progressive development of international law”. In any resolution of the UN General Assembly devoted to issues of its work in the field of international law, both terms - “codification” and “progressive development of international law” - are constantly and inextricably used to characterize this activity.

In the science of international law there is no firmly established definition of codification.

The only official document that defines the concept of codification of international law is the Statute of the UN International Law Commission (ILC). In Art. 15 of the Statute, codification is understood as “a more precise formulation and systematization of the rules of international law in those areas in which there are certain provisions established by extensive state practice, precedents and doctrine.” At the same time, the Statute does not provide an exhaustive definition, but only explains that the term “codification of international law” is used for reasons of convenience.

First of all, during codification, the presence of certain rules of international communication is recorded, which are legally binding for the state as principles and norms of international law. Then these norms are set out and enshrined in the process of codification in some written act, which is usually a draft multilateral agreement of a general nature - a treaty, a convention, etc. This project is submitted for approval by the states, and after completing a certain procedure of signing and ratification by the states, it becomes a valid international legal act containing in a systematized form the principles and norms of a certain branch or institution of current international law.

As for the concept of “progressive development”, the same Art. 15 of the UN ILC Statute reveals its content as follows: preparation of conventions on those issues that are not yet regulated by international law or on which the law is not yet sufficiently developed in the practice of individual states.

The UN ILC Statute (Articles 16 - 24) provides for various procedures for the codification and progressive development of international law. However, in practice, many of these provisions turned out to be unviable, and therefore the UN ILC in its activities does not adhere to the methodological distinction between codification and progressive development, considering them to be integral, interrelated and interpenetrating elements of a single codification process.

Codification and progressive development of international law are designated as a single process of development and streamlining of international legal acts. The concepts of "codification" and "progressive development" are not mutually exclusive. It is difficult to distinguish between these two processes, since in practice the formulation and systematization of international law may lead to the need to develop some new rules. In the course of codification, the need inevitably arises to fill gaps in existing international law or to clarify and update the content of a number of norms in the light of developments in international relations. The relative nature of the signs of “codification” and “progressive development” outlined in the UN ILC Statute makes it necessary to take into account the elements of innovation in the declared codification.

The process of codification and progressive development of international law, among other things, serves to strengthen the international legal order. In order for international law to fulfill the tasks set before it by the age of globalization, it must go a long way in its development, in which codification and progressive development are called upon to play a central role.

All of the above can be fully applied to international environmental law. This, in particular, allows general view define the codification of international environmental law as the systematization and improvement of the principles and norms of international environmental law, carried out by establishing and precisely formulating the content of existing norms, revising outdated ones and developing new norms, taking into account the needs of the development of international relations and consolidating these norms in a single internally consistent manner in international law a legal act that is designed to regulate international environmental relations as fully as possible.

Today, in international environmental law, codification processes take place most quickly and dynamically in two directions:

• firstly, principles and norms that are fundamental to the industry and crucial for ensuring international environmental safety, international environmental cooperation and rational resource use are codified and developed;
• secondly, conventions are concluded on issues in the global regulation of which all humanity is interested.

Moreover, in both directions, codification activities are carried out both in official and unofficial forms (the latter in legal literature is sometimes called “doctrinal” codification). Moreover, unofficial codification in international environmental law, like in perhaps no other branch of modern international law, continues to play one of the leading roles.

As the reports on the work of the UN ILC rightly note, “while recognizing that the body of written international law can only consist directly of laws enacted by governments, due credit should also be given to the research carried out by various societies, institutions and individual authors, and the ideas put forward by them , which also had a significant impact on the development of international law."

The official codification of international environmental law is carried out by the UN, represented by its subsidiary bodies such as the UN ILC and UNEP, and a number of specialized UN agencies within their specialized competence. It is also carried out within the framework of regularly convened international conferences on problems of environmental protection, rational use of natural resources and ensuring environmental safety.

Unofficial codification is currently carried out by individual scientists or their teams, national institutions, public organizations or international non-governmental organizations. Among the latter, the leading role belongs to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Recent advances in the formal codification of international environmental law include UN General Assembly Resolution 62/68 of December 6, 2007, “Consideration of the prevention of transboundary harm from hazardous activities and the distribution of damages in the event of such harm,” 61/36 of December 4, 2006, “Distribution of damages in the event of transboundary harm caused by hazardous activities,” and 63/124 of December 11, 2008, “The Law of Transboundary Aquifers.”

Thus, speaking about the last of the named Resolutions of the UN General Assembly, it should be noted that it was the result of the work of the UN ILC on the topic “Shared Natural Resources”, which was included in the program of work of the UN ILC in 2002. At the initiative of the appointed special rapporteur on this topic T. Yamada initially decided to consider the problem of transboundary groundwater (aquifers).

In 2008, the ILC adopted the draft articles “The Law of Transboundary Aquifers” in the final second reading and submitted them for consideration to the UN General Assembly, which in turn adopted them as an annex to Resolution 63/124. In the process of developing the latest version of the draft articles, the Commission made extensive use of recommendations from experts from UNESCO, FAO, UNECE and International Association hydrologists.

The draft articles have a wider scope of application compared to the Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses of 1997. Although the draft art. 2 contains a new definition of the concept of “use of transboundary aquifers or aquifer systems”, which includes not only the extraction of water, heat and minerals, but also the storage and disposal of any substances, the document nevertheless emphasized the use of aquifers as source of water resources.

The text of General Assembly Resolution 63/124, which annexed these draft articles, made three key points regarding the future of the draft: firstly, the draft articles are “noted” and “are brought to the attention of Governments without prejudice to their future adoption or on other relevant decisions" (clause 4); secondly, the General Assembly “invites the States concerned to enter into appropriate agreements at the bilateral or regional levels for the effective management of their transboundary aquifers, taking into account the provisions of these draft articles” (para. 5); and thirdly, the General Assembly “decides to include this question in its next agenda with a view to considering in particular the form in which the draft articles could be taken” (para. 6).

The adopted draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers make it possible to maintain a balance between the principle of state sovereignty over natural resources, the need for their reasonable and equitable exploitation and protection, and the obligation not to cause significant damage.

In the field of informal codification of international environmental law, a great achievement was the development within the IUCN of the draft International Pact on Environment and Development, which was approved at the UN anniversary congress on public international law (New York, 13 - 17 March 1995).

Initially, the draft Pact consisted of 72 articles, which formulated the basic principles, responsibilities of states in relation to the global ecological system, elements of the natural environment and natural processes, types of human activities affecting the natural environment, and measures to regulate anthropogenic impacts.

It was based on international treaties and customs in the field of international environmental law, as well as the provisions of the Stockholm Declaration of 1972, the Rio Declaration of 1992 and the World Charter for Nature of 1982.

The draft Pact of 1995, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 38.1(d) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, embodies "the doctrine of the most qualified experts in the public law of the various nations."

Subsequently, three new editions of the draft Pact were adopted, and it currently exists in the 4th edition, adopted on September 22, 2010, which was presented at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in the same year.

In its current form, the draft Covenant consists of 79 articles, grouped into 11 parts.

The draft Pact, like the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and the 1992 Declaration on Environment and Development, contains provisions called principles. At the same time, the draft Pact classifies the following as fundamental principles:

1. respect for all forms of life" (art. 2);
2. the common concern of mankind" (v. 3);
3. interdependent values” (Article 4);
4. equality of rights between generations" (Article 5);
5. prevention" (Article 6);
6. precaution" (Article 7);
7. choosing the least environmentally harmful model of behavior" (Article 8);
8. accounting disabilities natural systems to withstand environmental pressures and stress" (Article 9);
9. the right to development" (Article 10);
10. eradication of poverty" (Article 11);
11. common but differentiated responsibilities" (Article 12).

Already from the name of the listed principles it follows that they are not formulated as rules of law.

These are principles-ideas. Therefore, the commentary to the draft Covenant states that it is “a declaratory expression of legal norms and the basis for all the obligations contained in the draft Covenant.” They embody the requirements arising from biosphere thinking, which rejects the anthropocentric model of interaction between man and the environment.

If the Stockholm Declaration and the Rio Declaration do not distinguish between principles-norms and principles-ideas, nor does the relationship between them be established, then in the draft Pact the principles-ideas are separated from the principles-norms and are designated as “fundamental principles”. On these “fundamental principles” the principles-norms provided in subsequent parts and formulated as “general obligations” are built.

The adoption of a single universal codifying international legal act in relation to international environmental law is intended to solve a twofold problem: firstly, to answer the question about the number and content of special sectoral principles of international environmental law, and secondly, to complete the process of formalizing international environmental law into an independent branch of modern international law.

As is known, a group of legal norms and principles can claim to form an independent branch of law in the case when states agree on the formulation of a broad universal international legal act containing the basic principles of international law in a given area of ​​international relations. Moreover, before the appearance of such an act, we can talk about the formation of the corresponding branch of international law, and after its entry into force - about the emergence of a new branch.

As a result of the codification of international environmental law within the framework of a universal international legal act, the norms of a given branch of international law are combined on a qualitatively better regulatory basis in accordance with the level of legal consciousness for a given period, and such norms themselves are more precisely formulated. Achieving such greater orderliness, clarity and better quality of rules of proper conduct in itself has a positive impact on the entire process of implementation of international environmental law, on the effectiveness of international environmental law in general.

Thus, given the great contribution of the UN ILC and IUCN to the codification and progressive development of international environmental law, the following seems rational.

The UN Commission on the basis of the draft International Pact on Environment and Development can develop an Ecological Constitution of the Earth, which in the future, according to established practice, can be adopted either by the UN General Assembly or at an international ad hoc conference.

In particular, the President of Ukraine spoke about the need to develop and adopt a World Ecological Constitution at the September 2009 summit on climate change. It is no coincidence that in December of the same year an international scientific-practical conference"Global climate change: threats to humanity and prevention mechanisms."

According to the expert community, environmental human rights, and first of all the right to a safe (favorable) environment, should be enshrined in the Ecological Constitution of the Earth. The environmental policy of states and the world community as a whole should be aimed at ensuring these rights.

In this regard, the UN ILC and other interested parties will need to do a considerable amount of work to bring Art. 14 of the draft International Pact on Environment and Development (as amended on September 22, 2010) in accordance with the conceptual and terminological apparatus, which currently enjoys the support of most countries in the world. This applies primarily to what is enshrined in Art. 14 the right of everyone “to an environment adequate to his health, prosperity and dignity.” This formulation is in many ways similar to Principle 1 of the Stockholm Declaration, which back in 1972 was a not entirely successful compromise.

In its remaining parts, Art. 14 of the draft Covenant already today contains a list of widely recognized environmental human rights: the right to access environmental information, the right to public participation in decision-making on environmental issues, the right to access environmental justice, the right to participation of indigenous peoples in making environmentally significant decisions.

Since ensuring compliance with environmental human rights is entrusted to special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law, which are implemented primarily in the process of international environmental cooperation between states and relevant international organizations, the Environmental Constitution of the Earth should stimulate such cooperation and become a factor in increasing its effectiveness. Consequently, it is advisable to consolidate in it the forms and methods of international environmental cooperation in relation to its specific types.

In order to avoid declarativeness, the Environmental Constitution of the Earth must provide for a reliable organizational mechanism to ensure its implementation in the form of a specialized international organization endowed with broad competence to ensure a safe (favorable) environment, to coordinate international environmental cooperation, as well as to monitor the implementation of the Constitution.

Thus, the proposed concept of the Ecological Constitution of the Earth can solve a number of common problems that are important today for the world community and each of its members:

• to form a system of environmental human rights and consolidate his right to a safe environment;
• determine the directions of global environmental policy, as well as environmental cooperation between states and international organizations;
• eliminate gaps in the international legal regulation of environmental relations and make the branch of international environmental law more systematic;
• create additional international organizational, legal and judicial guarantees for ensuring environmental law and order in the world;
• promote the coordinated development of national systems of environmental legislation.

The problems of preserving rare and endangered species of fauna and flora became obvious to specialists only with late XIX century. Soon these problems became obvious to the wider world community. As a result of the discussions, for example, in 1902, one of the first international biological agreements was signed in Paris, including the conservation of rare species - the International Convention for the Conservation of Rare Birds.

Thus, environmental law, as an independent sphere of legal regulation of social relations, to a large extent began to take shape, first of all, not as a system of national legislation, but as international environmental law.

Considering the problem of the existence of international environmental law, one can turn to the research of M.I. Lazarev, who formulated the following conditions for recognizing a set of legal norms as a special branch of law:

1) a specific range of social relations;

2) specific rules governing these relations;

3) a fairly large social significance of the range of social relations;

4) a fairly extensive volume of regulatory and legal material;

5) public interest in identifying a new branch of law;

6) special principles of law governing the construction of a new branch of law.

Considering international environmental law from these positions, it can be stated that it meets all of the listed characteristics.

The fact that international environmental relations, including relations regarding environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, ensuring environmental safety and respect for environmental human rights, have certain specifics, is not in doubt among any scientist today. Moreover, the parties in such relations are traditional subjects of international law.

Many norms governing international relations also have specificity. In addition to the traditional forms of consolidating international legal norms - international treaties and international legal customs - the so-called norms of “soft” international environmental law, namely framework conventions and standards adopted by international organizations, are in demand here. Soft law norms in international environmental law are formalized in resolutions, agendas, codes, declarations, guidelines, etc.

Expanding environmental ties between all states, increasing environmental interdependence between them, a course towards restructuring international environmental relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit - all these are the most important factors of modern social development, prerequisites for creating a system of international environmental security. Numerous international treaties, resolutions and declarations adopted over the last century on issues of international environmental safety, environmental protection and rational use of natural resources clearly indicate the great importance that the world community attaches today to environmental legal relations.

The volume of regulatory and legal material in the field of regulation of international environmental legal relations is extensive - more than five thousand international treaties and agreements in this area are currently in force, a third of which are multilateral.

Today, for all the largest and most important natural objects, relevant bilateral and multilateral international treaties and agreements have been concluded, regulating both the mutual rights and obligations of participants in connection with their use, as well as issues of their protection and prevention of pollution from almost all known sources. The most developed area in this regard is the area of ​​marine environmental protection.

The interest of both individual states and the international community as a whole in the existence of an independent branch - international environmental law - is obvious and is expressed both in the huge regulatory and legal material of an international nature, and in numerous international conferences convened almost annually on issues of protection, protection and use of the environment. environment, among which a special place is occupied by the Stockholm Conference on the Problems of the Human Environment in 1972, the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg (World Earth Summit).

A final answer to the question about the number and content of special sectoral principles of international environmental law can only be the adoption of a special codified international legal act of a universal nature in this area of ​​social relations.

As the most important milestones in its emergence in modern form we can mention the first international document - the Agreement on the Protection of Fur Seals (1897) and the first international conference on environmental protection, which was held in Bern in 1913.

Currently, international treaties in the field of environmental law regulate environmental protection issues related to the use of not only domestic natural objects, but also natural objects that are outside national jurisdiction and the sphere of state sovereignty. International natural objects include the World Ocean beyond territorial waters, continental shelves and economic zones, Antarctica, the Earth's atmosphere, and outer space. The legal regime of such international natural objects is regulated mainly by international treaties.

Of great importance is the international legal protection of wildlife (Convention on Biological Diversity - Rio de Janeiro, June 5, 1992; Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears - Oslo, November 15, 1973, etc.), the protection of border and transboundary waters objects (Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes - Helsinki, March 17, 1992), conservation of the marine environment (Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution - Bucharest, April 21, 1992, Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area - Helsinki, March 22, 1974), protection of the oceans (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships - London, November 2, 1973, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - Montego Bay, December 10, 1982), protection the Earth's atmosphere, climate and the Earth's ozone layer (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - New York, May 9, 1992, Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer - Vienna, March 22, 1985, etc.).

As for the conservation of the environment internationally, it can be noted that long before the 1917 revolution. public policy Russia on its national outskirts contained pronounced environmental, legal and natural resource aspects.

The largest and most universal entity in the formation of international environmental policy in the post-Soviet space is the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Issues of cooperation in the environmental sphere within the Commonwealth of Independent States were identified in the initial period of its formation. In February 1992 in Moscow, the first item on the agenda of the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government was the issue of consideration and adoption by heads of government of the Agreement on cooperation in the field of ecology and environmental protection. Article 1 of the Agreement states that “the high contracting Parties shall develop and implement a coordinated policy in the field of ecology and environmental protection (protection and use of lands, soils, subsoil, forests, waters, atmospheric air, flora and fauna, natural resources of the continental shelf , economic zone and high seas beyond national jurisdiction) taking into account previously concluded by the USSR international agreements" There is an appendix to this Agreement with a List of fifty-six international agreements concluded by the USSR on ecology and environmental protection.

As part of this Agreement, government leaders also agreed to create an Interstate Environmental Council.

On December 5, 2012, in the city of Ashgabat, the Decision of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS was signed to declare 2013 the Year of Ecological Culture and Environmental Protection in the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is especially noteworthy that this year was dedicated not just to environmental safety as a phenomenon of objective reality, but primarily to environmental culture as a subjective factor in the sustainable development of society in harmony and balance with the environment.

One of the legal concepts of environmental culture is revealed in the Model Environmental Code for member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, adopted by Resolution No. 27-8 of November 16, 2006 at the XXVII plenary meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS Member States.

Article 1 of this code proposes to understand ecological culture as “domestic and world experience of harmonious interaction between man and nature.” This laconic and far from indisputable definition is enshrined at the Commonwealth level in an act that is, rather, advisory in nature and is intended only to serve as a basis for the development of its national environmental legislation by member states.

The CIS Model Code, which pays significant attention to the issues of environmental culture, contains completely applicable norms in this regard that deserve reception in all countries of the Commonwealth, including Russia.

One of the main shortcomings of the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” should be considered, for example, that, using the concept of “ecological culture”, recognizing it as one of the most fundamental for the purposes of the said law, the legislator, however, does not disclose this concept, does not provide any legal definition of this concept, leaving a gap for ambiguous interpretations and discrepancies.

According to D.O. Burkin, a significant drawback of Russian legislation on environmental culture is that we still do not have a special law on environmental education, while some other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States have long ago adopted such laws. An example is the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic dated December 10, 2002 No. 401-ІІГ “On environmental education and enlightenment of the population.”

Meanwhile, the 12th chapter of the CIS Model Code “Fundamentals of the formation of environmental culture” is devoted to the serious development of the problem of increasing the level of environmental culture.

In general, this model code regulates legal relations in the environmental sphere: in the field of environmental management, environmental protection and ensuring guarantees of environmental safety.

The Code defines the competence of the bodies state power state, public authorities of subjects of administrative-territorial division of the state, rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities, the procedure for state legal regulation in the environmental sphere, as well as responsibility for violation of environmental legislation.

The ideas and the concept itself laid down when creating this document look extremely important. We believe that it is precisely along this path - through the creation of comprehensive international legal environmental acts that international environmental law should develop in the future.

Environmental protection is one of the global problems of the survival of human civilization. Therefore, the natural environment is an important object of international legal regulation.

Under environmental law understand the set of principles and norms governing the activities of states to prevent and eliminate damage of various types and from various sources damage to the national environmental systems of individual states and environmental systems located outside of national jurisdiction.

Main objects International legal protection of the natural environment includes land, subsoil, the World Ocean, celestial bodies, airspace, outer space, flora and fauna of the Earth, as well as the fight against the main sources of environmental pollution.

The main sources of environmental pollution are industrial and chemical waste, nuclear weapon and constituent materials, oil and gas, vehicles, human activities (legal and unlawful).

There are the following groups of objects international legal protection of the natural environment: I. The entire planetary environment (ecosystem) of the Earth:

The World Ocean and its natural resources;

Atmospheric air;

Near-Earth space;

Individual representatives of the animal and plant world;

Unique natural complexes;

Part of freshwater resources, the genetic fund of the Earth (chernozem).

P. National natural resources^ under the jurisdiction of the state. In determining their legal status, the main role is played by the norms of internal law. At the same time, the number of international treaties relating to their protection is increasing for individual objects.

III. International natural resources that are outside the scope of national jurisdiction or that, in the process of their development (natural cycle), end up on the territory of other states.

The legal regime for the protection and use of these resources is determined by the norms of international law.

Resources are divided into two groups:

1. Universal, which are in the common use of all states (for example, the high seas, outer space, Antarctica, the seabed beyond national jurisdiction);

2. Multinational(shared) that belong to or are used by two or more countries (for example, water resources of multinational rivers, populations of migratory animals, border natural complexes).

Sources of international environmental law are divided into two groups:

- international treaties And

- international customs. Types of international treaties:

A) universal:

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Materials, 1972;

Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973;

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, 1973;

Convention on the Prohibition of Military and Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modifications, 1977;

Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, 1979;

1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; 6) regional:

- Convention for the Conservation of Fauna and Flora of Europe, 1979;

Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, 1976.

And others.

Basic principles of international environmental law:

- international environmental cooperation between states and other subjects of international law;

Non-harm to the environment;

Assessment of transboundary environmental consequences of the planned activity;

The natural environment beyond the state border is the common property of all humanity;

International liability for environmental damage;

Freedom to explore and use the natural environment and its components;

Rational use of the natural environment;

And others.

In the context of the ongoing scientific and technological revolution and the increasing real threat of man-made emergencies, the importance of international cooperation in this area is increasing. A major role in such cooperation is played by the conclusion of international agreements of a specialized nature. For example, international conventions on environmental safety include:

a) Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Impact on the Natural Environment of 1977, which obliges:

Do not resort to military or any other enemy
careful use of means of influencing the environment
destroying the natural environment through deliberate
changes in the dynamics of the state, structure of the Earth, including
tea its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere or
space; i

Do not assist, encourage or induce subjects of international law to carry out military or other hostile use of means of influencing the natural environment;

Use means of influencing the natural environment for peaceful purposes;

Take any legal measures to prohibit and prevent any activity contrary to the implementation of environmental safety measures;

b) The 1979 Convention on Transboundary Air Pollution, which obliges:

Protect people and the natural environment from air pollution, limit, reduce and prevent air pollution from sources located on state territory;

Through information exchange, consultation and monitoring (continuous surveillance), develop a strategy to combat air pollutant emissions;

Develop best systems regulation of air quality, measures to combat air pollution.

International cooperation in the field of environmental protection can be global, regional, subregional and interstate.

In 1972, the UN Environmental Protection Program (UNEP) was developed within the framework of the UN, with headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya). This program is a special international mechanism for coordinating cooperation between states in the field of environmental protection. UNEP is composed of a Governing Council, a Secretariat and an Environment Fund.

UNEP is headed by a Director and a Governing Council consisting of representatives of 58 countries. The main functions of the Council are:

Promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment and providing, as appropriate, policy advice for this purpose;

Provide general management and coordination of environmental programs carried out by UN organizations;

Preparation of environmental reviews and identification of ways of international cooperation;

Carrying out constant monitoring (monitoring) of the impact of national and international policies on the state of the environment and environmental measures for developing countries;

Preparation of an overview of the activities provided for by the Environment Fund, etc.

UNEP operates in session. The session meets annually, and the executive director and secretariat participate in its preparation.

The executive director heads the office, which includes: the environmental assessment department; Department of Management in the Field of Environmental Protection; department but problems are omitted

tinkling; environmental education sector; | sector reports on the state of the natural environment! environment.

Under the leadership of the secretariat there are: program bureau; Department of External Relations and Policy Planning; liaison offices in New York and Geneva; information service, regional offices.

In matters relating to the activities of the Natural Environment Fund, the Bureau of Issues plays an important role! Environment Fund and Administration. It includes an administrative department and an assistant executive director.

To the most important areas of environmental protection | UNEP activities include:

Protection of individual natural objects (protection of the marine environment, protection of soils and fresh waters);

Fight with various types harmful effects I (combat desertification, pollution);

Rational use of natural resources;

Creation of a global reference service for monitoring the state of the environment (monitoring);

Study of environmental features of development j settlements;

Development of an international legal framework for environmental activities, etc.

With the support and active participation of UNEP, the 1976 Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, the 1978 Kuwait Regional Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment against Pollution, the 1979 Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and many others were developed and adopted.

International forums organized under the auspices of the UN and dedicated to the problems of environmental protection are very relevant and effective. One of such representative international forums was the Conference on Environmental Protection

on the Environment and Development, which took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The most important result of the conference was the adoption of the Declaration.

The principles enshrined in the Rio Declaration:

Compliance with human rights in the field of environmental protection;

Cooperation between states in the field of environmental protection;

Sustainable development of human society;

Peace and peaceful resolution of environmental disputes.

The same document again established the principles of cooperation between states in the field of environmental protection:

(a) protection of the natural environment is an integral part of the process of peaceful development;

(b) adoption by states of effective laws in the field of environmental protection, establishing the responsibility of subjects for environmental pollution;

(c) preventing the transfer of pollutants to other states that cause damage to the environment and humans;

(d) mutual information about activities that may have negative transboundary consequences for the natural environment;

(e) global partnership of states to preserve the Earth's ecosystem;

(f) assessment of the expected environmental consequences of prospective activities;

(g) respect for international law and ensuring the protection of the natural environment during armed conflicts.

In addition to universal international organizations, many regional organizations of general and special competence deal with problems of environmental protection.

Thus, the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union (EU) enshrines the environmental goals of this body! nization - to promote international level measures (| relating to regional and global environmental problems. The annexes to the Maastricht Treaty are three declarations on environmental topics: directives on harmful emissions on the impact of EU measures on environmental protection; on animal protection.

Within the EU, the European Environment Agency and the European Environmental Information and Observation Network were created in May 1990. The main task of this Agency is to provide the EU and Member States with objective information in order to develop and implement effective and efficient environmental policies. The Agency compiles quarterly reports on the quality, intensity and nature of the impact on the environment, develops uniform assessment criteria, and data on the state of the environment. The priority objects of observation in the Agency's activities are: air, its quality and emissions into the atmosphere; water, its quality and agents polluting water resources; soil, its condition, flora, fauna, biocurrents and their condition; land use and natural resources; recycling and reuse of waste, waste-free technologies; noise pollution; chemicals harmful to the environment, etc.

Other regional organizations (OSCE, CoE, CIS) are paying more and more attention to environmental security issues. Thus, within the framework of the OSCE, a Meeting on environmental protection was held in Sofia in 1989. The recommendations of the Meeting, which were later adopted by the Paris Summit (1990), emphasized the importance of cooperation between states in scientific, technological, administrative, legal and educational aspects environmental protection.

Regional organizations with special competence include the Commission for the Countries of the South Pacific, which was created in 1947. Its main task is to promote the improvement of economic, social and cultural conditions, as well as environmental protection, through mutual consultations between the governments of the region.

An example of international subregional cooperation between states in the field of environmental activities is the Black Sea Protection Program, developed within the framework of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization established in June 1992.

International non-governmental organizations play a major role in protecting the natural environment (World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, International Institute for Environment and Development, International Council on Environmental Law, International Environmental Court, etc.). Their activities are intensifying and becoming increasingly effective in the international arena, providing public support and; control of the international community in matters of environmental safety. International practice in recent years provides examples of positive interaction between states and international intergovernmental organizations with these public structures in the environmental sphere.

Literature:

1. Kolbasov O.S. International legal protection of the environment. - M., 1982.

2. International law course. In 7 volumes. T. 5. - M., 1992.

3. Speranskaya L.V., Tretyakova K.V. International environmental law. - M., 1995.

4. Timoshenko A.S. Formation and development of international environmental law. - M., 1986.

5. Chichvarin V.A. Environmental protection and international relations. - M., 1970.

The atmosphere, the waters of the World Ocean, freshwater resources and subsoil are subject to international protection. International environmental law – a set of legal norms regulating the environmental actions of states.

Environmental protection with all its natural and social components is primarily a task of domestic law in individual countries. Currently, all countries have developed national legislation on nature and environmental protection. Thus, in Russia there are land and water codes, legislation on subsoil, on health care, on nature conservation and rational use of natural resources, on the protection of the Caspian, Black and Azov seas, the Volga and Ural river basins, on the conservation of the riches of Lake Baikal.

However, despite the developed system of national environmental legislation, there is a need for international cooperation in this area in order to preserve the environment. Consequently, there is a need for mutually dependent development of two areas of regulatory regulation of environmental protection – state legal and international legal.

Under international legal environmental protection should be understood as joint measures of states to prevent pollution of the atmosphere, waters of the World Ocean and its subsoil, international rivers, outer space and other parts of the biosphere of an international nature, as well as for the protection and rational use of flora and fauna. Accordingly, states are obliged to prevent, within their state borders, such actions that have bad influence on external environment outside the territory of a given state, pollute the air, water and soil of territories not under the sovereignty of any state, or cause harm to the environment within another state. These principles should guide states engaged in bilateral and multilateral cooperation in environmental protection.

International legal principles of environmental cooperation were first formulated in the Declaration of the Stockholm UN Conference on Environmental Problems (1972). This document reveals the essence of global environmental problems, and also provides formulations of the principles of environmental protection. The World Charter for Nature (1982) supplemented and clarified the principles of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources. At the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro (1992), a declaration was adopted that declared the goal of establishing equitable partnerships by creating new levels of cooperation between states, key sectors of society and individual citizens.

The principles of environmental protection establish the priority of human rights to maintain a favorable environment and sustainable development. People have the right to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. For a society to achieve a state of sustainable development, environmental protection must be an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. In addition, the Stockholm Declaration declares that the Earth's natural resources, including air, water, land, flora and fauna, and especially areas of natural ecosystems, should be conserved for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning and management as appropriate.

A separate group of principles confirms sovereign right of states to use natural resources. The Stockholm Conference declaration states that states have the sovereign right to use their own resources in accordance with their national policies in approaching environmental problems. States are responsible for ensuring that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause environmental damage in other States or areas beyond national jurisdiction. States adopt effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, regulatory objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and development contexts in which they apply. However, the standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and impose unreasonable economic and social costs in other countries, in particular developing countries. Therefore, in this case, international norms regarding intrastate legal relations apply. Each State has the right to apply them through its competent authorities and in cooperation with other States. To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for citizens, states must limit and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.

Another group of principles defines responsibilities of citizens in the field of environmental protection. Every person is called to act in accordance with the provisions of the World Charter for Nature; Each person, acting individually, must strive to ensure the achievement of the objectives and implementation of the provisions of the Charter (clause 24). In the Rio Declaration these provisions are formulated as follows:

¦ the creative forces of the world’s youth should be mobilized in order to form a global partnership in order to achieve the effect of sustainable development and ensure a safe future for the planet;

Indigenous people and their communities, as well as other local communities, have a vital role to play in environmental management and improvement through their knowledge and traditional practices. States must recognize and support the identity, culture and interests of indigenous peoples, and ensure their effective participation in achieving sustainable development;

¦ the environment and natural resources of peoples living under conditions of oppression, domination and occupation must be protected.

The special responsibility of man for the conservation and reasonable management of wildlife and its environment, which are under serious threat due to a number of unfavorable factors, is enshrined in the principles of responsibility for environmental protection. They are formulated in the World Charter for Nature:

¦ the genetic basis of life on Earth should not be endangered;

¦ the population of every form of life, wild or domesticated, must be maintained at least at a level sufficient for its survival; the necessary habitat for this should be preserved;

¦ conservation principles apply to all parts earth's surface– land or sea, atmosphere; special protection should be provided to unique areas and typical representatives of all types of ecosystems and habitats of rare or endangered species;

Ecosystems and organisms used by humans, as well as land, sea and atmospheric resources, must be managed in such a way that their optimal and continuous productivity can be ensured and maintained, without compromising the integrity of those ecosystems or species with which they coexist.

The use of natural resources is regulated principles of natural resource use:

¦ biological resources are used only within the limits of their natural ability to recover;

¦ soil productivity is maintained or improved through measures to preserve its long-term fertility;

¦ reusable resources, including water, are reused or recycled;

¦ single-use non-renewable resources are exploited in moderation, taking into account their reserves, rational possibilities for their processing for consumption and the compatibility of their operation with natural systems.

All discharge of pollutants into natural systems should be avoided. This is regulated standards for the prevention of environmental pollution and other harmful effects on nature. If such exposure is unavoidable, contaminants should be treated at the point where they are produced using the best means available to manufacturers. In addition, special precautions must be taken to prevent the discharge of radioactive and toxic waste. Activities that can have a harmful impact on nature must be controlled; At the same time, appropriate technology should be used that will reduce the scale of adverse consequences for nature. In particular:

¦ it is necessary to refrain from activities that can cause irreparable damage to nature;

¦ it is necessary to refrain from activities that pose an increased danger to nature. Persons carrying out such activities must prove that the expected benefits from them are significantly greater than the damage that may be caused to nature, and in cases where the possible harmful effects of such activities are not clearly established, they should not be undertaken;

¦ activities that can cause damage to nature must be preceded by an early assessment of its possible consequences; if a decision is made to carry out such an activity, it should be carried out on a planned basis and in such a way as to reduce its harmful effects to a minimum;

¦ activities in the field of agriculture, cattle breeding, forestry and fishing should be carried out taking into account the characteristics and natural resources of these areas;

¦ areas that have fallen into decay as a result of human activity are subject to restoration in accordance with their natural potential and the requirements of the well-being of the population living in these areas.

A global partnership has been established to preserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. It is based on an understanding of the shared responsibility that states bear due to their different roles in the deterioration of the global environment. Developed countries recognize the responsibilities they bear in the context of international efforts to achieve sustainable development, given the technology and financial resources they possess. To effectively address environmental degradation, states must cooperate to create a favorable and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries.

States should develop national laws regarding liability and compensation for victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States are cooperating to further develop international law regarding liability and compensation for the negative consequences of environmental damage caused by activities under their jurisdiction or control in areas outside their jurisdiction. States must cooperate effectively to contain or prevent the transfer into the territories of other States of any activities or substances that cause serious environmental damage or are considered harmful to human health.

In order to protect the environment, states widely apply the precautionary principle to the best of their ability. Where there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage, the lack of full scientific certainty cannot be a reason to delay taking cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.

Environmental impact assessment as a national instrument is carried out in relation to proposed activities that may have a significant negative impact on the environment and is subject to approval by a decision of the competent national authority. The State shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergency situations that may result in unexpected adverse environmental consequences in those States.

The international community is doing everything possible to provide assistance to the affected countries. States shall provide other States with advance and timely notification and related information about activities that may have significant adverse transboundary effects, and shall consult with those States at an early stage and in the spirit of good will. States must cooperate to strengthen national capacity-building activities for sustainable development. They operate by sharing scientific and technological knowledge and enhancing the development, adaptation, dissemination and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative ones.

A separate group is formed by norms ensuring the right to environmental information. According to the Rio Declaration, everyone has the right to have access to government information related to the environment (including information on hazardous materials and activities) and to participate in decision-making processes. States have an obligation to develop and encourage public participation through the widespread provision of information, enabling the use of judicial and administrative procedures, including judicial remedies.

Environmental protection is also carried out in cases of armed conflicts. War inevitably has a destructive impact on nature. States must therefore respect international law that protects the environment during armed conflicts. Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and inseparable. States must resolve their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in accordance with the UN Charter.

Agenda 21, adopted by the UN (2000), outlines a strategy for the development of the world community, providing for the implementation of the main tasks - preserving the environment and creating a healthy economy for all peoples of the world. This involves environmental protection and rational use of natural resources, conservation of biological diversity, and environmentally friendly use of high technologies.

The implementation of these measures will ensure positive dynamics of changes in the most important interrelated indicators, reflecting the stable functioning and balanced interaction of the social, economic and environmental spheres.

One of the areas of international environmental law is international protection marine environment, which is understood as a set of legal norms aimed at preventing pollution and preserving the resources of the World Ocean. The principle of protecting the World Ocean and its resources is enshrined in such international agreements as the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Oil (1954), the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Materials (1972), the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (1973; with the 1978 Protocol), UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). In accordance with these acts, states are obliged to:

¦ suppress all types of pollution of the marine environment by any substances, including oil, poisons, wastewater, garbage dumped into the sea of ​​​​loans;

¦ to prevent the deliberate dumping of all hazardous substances and materials in the waters of the World Ocean;

¦ protect living resources of the sea.

States have entered into special agreements, for example the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946), the Convention on Fisheries and the Conservation of Living Resources in the Baltic Sea (1973), etc. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) obliges the coastal state to adopt laws to prevent and reduce pollution relating to innocent passage through territorial waters, transit passage through straits, the economic zone and activities in the International Seabed Area.

Agreements such as the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (1974), the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (1976), etc. have been concluded on a regional basis.

International legal protection of the Earth's atmosphere regulated by the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979), obliging states to develop the best environmental strategy and exchange information on pollutant flows and technological processes being implemented. After the discovery of “ozone holes” over the Antarctic and then over the Arctic, states signed the Vienna Convention (1985) and the Intergovernmental Agreement for the Protection of the Earth’s Ozone Layer (Montreal, 1987), which provide for restrictions on the production of freons, nitrogen fertilizers and other harmful substances.

A large number of international agreements contain rules on the protection of flora and fauna: the International Convention for the Conservation of Birds (1950), the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1978), the Convention on the Conservation of the South Pacific (1976), the Convention on International Trade in Wildlife endangered fauna and flora (1973), Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980).

The participation of international organizations in environmental protection is due to the need to monitor compliance with international agreements, coordinate global and regional systems for the exchange of scientific information and environmental monitoring. International organizations as permanent structures with consolidated intellectual, technical and financial resources and political independence in relation to the participating states, they represent an effective tool for environmental protection.

The key role in this area belongs to the UN, which is the world forum for organizing international activities in the field of environment. The activities of the UN have a worldwide scale, combining political, socio-economic, scientific and technical areas. It allows you to mobilize international governmental and non-governmental organizations and national resources to solve global environmental problems. One of the first UN actions in the field of ecology was taken in 1949, when a conference on nature conservation was held in Lake Success (USA). Subsequently, environmental problems occupied an important place on the agenda of many UN specialized agencies. The World Health Organization addresses the impact of pollutants on human health. The World Meteorological Organization is focusing its efforts on solving air pollution problems. The Food and Agriculture Organization examined the impact of environmental degradation on food production and addressed problems of overexploitation of fisheries resources. UNESCO has accepted responsibility for the development of scientific knowledge about the environment.

The UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972) can be considered a turning point in UN environmental activities, which laid the foundations for a balanced and integrated approach to solving a wide range of environmental problems. The conference also had an impact on domestic policy many states whose national priorities previously did not include environmental issues. After this conference, many interstate and national environmental programs were developed, and effective legal mechanisms were created for their implementation.

Within the framework of the Stockholm Conference, an Action Plan regarding the human environment was adopted. As part of this plan, the UN General Assembly established in 1972. UN Environment Program(UNEP). This program coordinates the activities of bodies and agencies of the UN system to integrate environmental elements into their activities and create new specialized organizations dealing with environmental issues. The overall management of the program is carried out by the Board of Governors, a body that is formed from representatives of 58 states elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years based on the principle of equitable geographical representation. Since 1987, the Council has met every two years. UNEP also includes a Secretariat located in Nairobi (Kenya) and a voluntary Environment Fund, created to fully or partially finance selected environmental projects within the UN system.

UNEP operates using so-called program methods, which are implemented in three stages. The first stage involves collecting information about environmental problems and the efforts being made to resolve them. At the second stage, goals and strategies are determined and individual activities are planned. At the third stage, events are selected and receive support from the Environmental Fund. The collection and dissemination of information is carried out by UNEP within the framework of the Global Observing System program. This program maintains the International Register of Potentially Toxic Substances; a service has been created to facilitate the international exchange of the most up-to-date environmental information (INFOTERRA). This information is necessary for making environmentally sound decisions by countries around the world. In particular, more than 50 countries received assistance from UNEP in developing environmental legislation, which resulted in the preparation of reports for governments, as well as recommendations and bills.

Currently, UNEP is developing as a global environmental organization, which in the future can perform the functions of establishing and monitoring the use of the economic capacity of the biosphere, including the redistribution of UN financial resources.

Bodies and institutions of the UN system have made significant contributions to the development of international environmental law. Under their auspices, the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (1973) was adopted. Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979), Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985), Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), guidelines, concerning the management of shared natural resources (1978), control of sea pollution from land-based sources (1985), conservation of hazardous waste (1987), etc.

Under the influence of the universal UN system, environmental issues came under the competence of such organizations as the Council of Europe, OSCE, European Union, CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, etc.