Costa, José Augusto Fontoura; Teles da Silva, Solange; Sola, Fernanda --- "The Amazonian Treaty and Harmonisation of Environmental Legislation" [2011] ELECD 660; in Benidickson, Jamie; Boer, Ben; Benjamin, Herman Antonio; Morrow, Karen (eds), "Environmental Law and Sustainability after Rio" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Environmental Law and Sustainability after Rio

Editor(s): Benidickson, Jamie; Boer, Ben; Benjamin, Herman Antonio; Morrow, Karen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857932242

Section: Chapter 21

Section Title: The Amazonian Treaty and Harmonisation of Environmental Legislation

Author(s): Costa, José Augusto Fontoura; Teles da Silva, Solange; Sola, Fernanda

Number of pages: 18

Extract:

21. The Amazonian Treaty and
harmonisation of environmental
legislation
José Augusto Fontoura Costa, Solange Teles
da Silva and Fernanda Sola

1. INTRODUCTION

Generally, environmental problems can be separated into two distinct classes:
local and global. There is no clear line that separates these, but it is important
to understand the dynamics of each. Global issues, such as global warming,
depletion of highly migratory fish stocks and the ozone layer, need an all-
embracing international system which binds each and every country. Local
issues can be limited to the territory of a single country, or can include
several countries of a region. Regional international regimes can be created
to deal with local issues. It is important to stress that even regional regimes
that deal with similar issue areas ­ drainage basins, for instance ­ can show
several differences within them regarding both normative and institutional
aspects.
Rather than being ends in themselves, harmonisation and unification of law
are traditional tools for the formulation and achievement of common goals in
international relations. In the environmental arena the legal and political tools
are especially significant in achieving the goals set by political actors. Thus the
theoretical study of construction and implementation of international
environmental regimes is useful only if it is able to inform the political actors
on their potentialities and limits.
This chapter aims to identify the possible instruments relevant to a broader
and more international treatment of environmental problems related to the
Amazon Region, including the state parties of the 1978 Amazonian
Cooperation ...