Introduction

The Handbook of International Environmental Law aims to provide comprehensive coverage of this growing and evolving fi eld from a range of perspectives. The global environment is indivisible and the degradation of any part of it affects – in the course of time – the global environment itself. The realities of climate change are a rude reminder of the above fact. Over the last four decades a worldwide concern for protection of the environment has become an increasingly important agenda item for the international community and the governments of every nation. During this time there have been signifi cant developments in international environmental law, extending from global conferences to aspirational documents and binding instruments. In 1972 at the time of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm there were only a handful on international laws focusing on environmental protection. Today there are over 1,000 environmental law instruments covering areas such as water, marine, climate, biodiversity, habitats, heritage, pollution and waste, each of which is addressed in this book. In addition, it engages with the broader governance issues such as environmental principles and institutions, public participation and access to information and justice, funding and fi nance as well as the dominating paradigm of sustainable development. Thus the book covers general principles of international environmental law as well as including empirical chapters and case studies. This inclusion of both theory and practice is intended to improve both the accessibility and the utility of the volume.