There has been a concurrent growth in interest in the institutions that deal with global environmental issues. A vast number of international organizations address these matters; this volume provides an overview of the major global institutions attempting to protect the natural environment. It first considers the United Nations Environment Programme and the other entities within the United Nations that play important roles in global environmental governance. It then examines institutions clustered by issue area, introducing institutions that focus on protecting endangered species and biodiversity, those that govern the ocean environment, those focusing on the atmosphere, and a recent set of institutions that regulate the transboundary movement of hazardous substances. It concludes with current debates on financing international environmental action, gaining widespread participation by states, and the question of whether the institutional structure of global environmental governance can, and should, be fundamentally reformed. The volume as a whole focuses on: the underlying causes of global environmental problems the creation of global environmental institutions the effectiveness of action undertaken by these institutions. Written by an acknowledged expert in the field, Global Environmental Institutions is essential reading for students of environmental politics and international organizations.

Can environmental institutions be effective at bringing about a healthier environment? How? Institutions for the Earth takes a close look at the factors influencing organized responses to seven international environmental problems - oil pollution from tankers, acid rain in Europe, stratospheric ozone depletion, pollution of the North Sea and Baltic, mismanagement of fisheries, overpopulation, and misuses of farm chemicals to determine the roles that environmental institutions have played in attempting to solve them. Through rigorous, systematic comparison, it reveals common patterns that can lead to improvements in the collective management of these problems and suggests ways in which international institutions can further the case of environmental protection.The contributors identify three major functions performed by effective international environmental institutions: building national capacity, improving the contractual environment, and elevating governmental concern. The international organizations analyzed within this framework include the United Nations Environment Program, the Intergovernmental Maritime Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, numerous fisheries commissions, the Commission for Europe, the Oslo and Paris Commissions, the Helsinki Commission, and the United Nations Fund for Population Assistance.

All serious environmental threats are now international in scope and more than one thousand international environmental agreements already exist. Yet the prospects for international cooperation leading to the management of impacts on the planet remain grim. The Global Environment meets the need for an authoritative assessment of the state of international environmental institutions, laws and policies at the end of the 20th century. The book examines disagreements over the meaning of sustainable development, problems inherent in implementing environmental policies and the conflict over the exclusion of developing countries from the Kyoto Protocol. It discusses the profound trade-offs that may be required, the role of international financial interests in promoting incompatible forms of development and analyses international environmental institutions, law and policy and sustainable development.

Provides a comparative study of the role of international organizations in environmental governance and features case studies on the World Bank; OECD; the UN Environment Programme and secretariats to environmental treaties; and hybrid organizations.

This overview of recent research on how institutions matter in tackling environmental problems reports the findings and policy implications of a decade-long international research project.

The past, present, and possible future of the agency designed to act as "the world's environmental conscience." The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was founded in 1972 as a nimble, fast, and flexible entity at the core of the UN system--a subsidiary body rather than a specialized agency. It was intended to be the world's environmental conscience, an anchor institution that established norms and researched policy, leaving it to other organizations to carry out its recommendations. In this book, Maria Ivanova offers a detailed account of UNEP's origin and history. Ivanova counters the common criticism that UNEP was deficient by design, arguing that UNEP has in fact delivered on much (though not all) of its mandate.

In recent years, the debate on the establishment of a new international agency on environmental protection - a 'World Environment Organization' - has gained substantial momentum. Several countries, including France and Germany, as well as a number of leading experts and senior international civil servants have openly supported the creation of such a new international organization. However, a number of critics have also taken the floor and brought forward important objections. This book presents a balanced selection of articles of the leading participants in this debate, including both major supporters and opponents of creating a World Environment Organization. The volume is especially relevant to students and scholars of international relations, environmental policy and international law, as well as to practitioners of diplomacy, international negotiations, and environmental policy making.