The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) had the potential to transform the trade and environment debate when the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States made citizen participation in environmental law development and enforcement a central component of...

With habitat loss, hunting and other threats bringing many great apes — gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos — close to extinction, scientists and conservationists have begun investigating the case for stronger international legal strategies to protect the great apes. A new...

Two recent international environmental disputes have illustrated the significant uncertainty that exists concerning the provisions on reservations found in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention). The first dispute occurred in 1998 when Cuba sought to enter a reservation...

The Commission of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western Pacific Ocean, or the WCPFC, manages fish stocks of significant financial and ecological value across a vast area of the Pacific Ocean. WCPFC members, however, have disagreed...

The Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognize the need for developed countries to reduce emissions but that these measures — known as response measures — could negatively impact developing economies and impede sustainable development efforts. Developing...

The European eel is considered “Critically Endangered.” Its population has been declining due to overutilization, barriers to migration such as dams, pollution, and climate change. The international community has responded by including the European eel in Appendix II of the Convention on...

The Commission of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) manages fish stocks of significant financial and ecological value across an area of the Pacific Ocean comprising 20% of Earth. WCPFC members, however, have...