Global Governance of Oil and Gas Resources in the International Legal Perspective. Joanna Osiejewicz
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the other elements of nature. The treaty aims to maintain basic ecological processes and life support systems, preserve genetic diversity, and ensure the sustainable use of resources. It also seeks to establish a cooperation framework between ASEAN states-parties to serve as a reference point for national environmental legislation.
The European Union obtained competence to act in the field of environmental policy in order to achieve the objectives set out in art. 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).245 These objectives include, among others: preservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment; prudent and rational use of natural resources; promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems, in particular combating climate change. The concept of “acting” includes not only the adoption of legal acts under art. 288 TFEU, of which the most importance is attributed to the directive, but also political instruments, such as resolutions and conclusions of the Council, and the setting of political objectives. Because art. 192 para. 1 and 2 TFEU does not specify the criteria for selecting the form of these activities, the institutions of the European Union generally have the freedom to choose the instruments. The actors are the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.246
As part of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), a number of conventions concerning regional seas were adopted. While they primarily aim to protect the marine environment from pollution, most also include standards and principles for cooperation in the management of natural resources in the maritime and coastal areas of the regions concerned, taking into account the need to strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection. One example is the Noumea Convention (1985) for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region.247 It recognizes the economic, social and cultural value of the region’s natural resources and the need to protect this natural heritage for future generations.
The Energy Charter Treaty also includes a reference to sustainable development and calls on the states to minimize in a cost-effective way the harmful effects on the environment, both inside and outside their territory, resulting from activities in the energy sector.248
Important provisions are also included in a number of multilateral treaties in the field of nature conservation and natural resources. One of them is the Ramsar Convention (1971) on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat.249 The aim of the convention is to protect and ensure sustainable use of all wetlands by taking action at the national and local level, as well as through international cooperation.
Under the 1972 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage,250 each State Party is required to identify, protect, preserve and maintain cultural and natural heritage on its territory for future generations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),251 founded in 1948 and being the first global organization focused on environmental problems, was entrusted with the task of monitoring and reporting on the state of natural lands.
The main objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity are the protection of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its elements and the fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Sustainable use is in this context defined as the use of elements of biodiversity in a way and to a degree that does not lead to a long-term decline in biodiversity, thus maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations. The Convention on Biological Diversity contains important new principles of international environmental law, such as the “precautionary principle” and “intergenerational justice”. Recognizing the sovereignty of states over natural resources, the Convention requires that the parties facilitate access to genetic resources for their use by other entities in an environmentally friendly manner. It establishes, among others, the requirement for national monitoring of biodiversity and the development of national conservation strategies, including the provision of resources for specific species and habitats.252
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change aims to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human intervention into the global climate system. This level is to be achieved within a timeframe sufficient for the natural adaptation of ecosystems to climate change, in order to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable way.253
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification,254 which is the continuation of Agenda 21 adopted in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, aims to reduce the degradation of arid lands all over the world, including semi-arid meadows and deserts, and establishes a framework for national, subregional and regional programmes and formulates general obligations, obligations of states-parties affected by drought, and responsibilities of developed states to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. Preventing desertification must be a priority in the national policy of drought-affected states-parties. They are also obligated to educate citizens and citizen groups in this matter.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea255 contains innovative principles and regulations concerning the protection of the environment and the preservation of the marine environment through the rational use and protection of living and non-living marine resources. The Convention formulates obligations with regard to the protection and preservation of the marine environment in those areas that are subject to national jurisdiction as a result of the establishment of a 200-mile exclusive economic zone and also on the continental shelf. This dual approach is reflected in the provision that the states have a sovereign right to exploit their natural resources in accordance with their environmental policy and in accordance with their duty to protect and preserve the marine environment.256 Part XII of the Convention formulates a number of specific obligations in the field of environmental protection. In particular, they concern the prevention, reduction and control of environmental pollution, including pollution originating from areas under national jurisdiction.257 In addition, it establishes states’ international legal responsibility for fulfilling international obligations regarding the protection and preservation of the marine environment.258 The convention also mentions the specific responsibilities of coastal states with regard to the protection and use of living resources in their exclusive economic zone.259
It is also worth pointing out the International Tropical Timber Agreement (2006)260 as an example of an attempt to include international environmental law in the multilateral treaty on specific types of stocks. In the preamble to the contract, the parties recognize the importance and necessity of adequate and effective protection of tropical forests with a view to ensuring their optimal use, while maintaining ecological balance in the regions.261 Furthermore, they indicate that, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of