Environmental Law

18/03/2015

Strengthening wilderness protection in Antarctica

Tourists in Antarctica.

Human activities, especially those of tourism and other non-governmental character, have been increased substantially in Antarctica over the two last decades, both in numbers as well in diversity. Alone in the season of 2013/14, 37,405 tourists visited Antarctica, while in 2003/04 numbers accounted for 27,537 visitors, and in 1993/94 for 6,704 visitors only (IAATO statistics, 2015). In respect of diversity, classical tourism cruise ship became supplemented by such activities as kayaking, scuba diving, helicopter flights and landings, climbing, extended walks and marathons over the years (IAATO statistics, 2009/10). This expansion results in reduction, disappearance, fragmentation or isolation of habitats and natural landscapes, and thus clearly affects Antarctic wilderness adversely. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty of 1991, which entered into force in 1998, directs Parties to the Protocol to plan and conduct activities so as to limit adverse impacts and to avoid, inter alia, “degradation or substantial risk to, areas of […] wilderness significance” confirming that the protection of wilderness values, among others, must be a “fundamental consideration in the planning and conduct of all activities in the Antarctic Treaty area”. Additionally in 2009, General Principles for tourism in Antarctica were adopted, stating, among others, that “Tourism should not be allowed to contribute to the long-term degradation of the Antarctic environment and its dependent and associated ecosystems, or the intrinsic natural wilderness values of Antarctica”.

Despite these clear legal provisions, the protection of wilderness values in Antarctica has received, however, very little attention at the more concrete policy making in practice. Up to now, Antarctic Treaty Parties are very reluctant to prohibit an activity or to put it under certain restrictions because of the likelihood of negative impacts on Antarctic wilderness. This is mostly because of the difficulty to apply the concept of wilderness protection in regulating human activities in Antarctica. While some Consultative Parties consider the concept as too “subjective” and difficult to quantify, others think of it as a quite powerful argument for prohibiting or strictly regulating permanent facilities for tourism. Moreover, a lack of clear definition, what is understood as “wilderness” and the absence of concrete guidelines for implementation pose additional hurdles.

Against this background, a present research project at the University of Tilburg (Tilburg Law School, Department of European and International Public Law) investigates to what extent the “wilderness concept” can constitute a basis for regulating tourism and other non-governmental activities in Antarctica. In this framework, wilderness is rather defined by its physical characteristics – wideness (in terms of geographical size), an absence of major human infrastructure and settlement, and a relatively biological intactness – instead of relying on the term “wilderness” per se. To study the subject, particular wilderness regulations and management practices in other wilderness areas in the world will be examined, including examples from Lapland, the Northern Region of Finland, from Spitsbergen, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, as well as from Canada and Alaska, the US. By studying these examples, possible lessons learnt for regulating diversity of tourism activities in Antarctica will be identified in order to improve the factual protection of Antarctic wilderness.

20/02/2015

Climate Induced Displacement or Anticipatory migration? Time to decide!

For a long while, environmental degradation, climate change and its impacts were primarily on the scientific—not public—agenda. The topic was surrounded by much scepticism and policy-makers had little interest to act upon it. Of course, the situation changed dramatically, with climate change now acknowledged as one of the central global challenges.[i] The impacts of climate change go far beyond damaging flora and fauna. Already in 1990, the IPCC predicted that one of the greatest impacts of climate change will be on human migration.[ii] People will be induced to move as a result of such factors as increasing intensity of extreme weather events, sea-level rise, droughts and accelerated environmental degradation. Although it is complicated to estimate the precise amount of those likely to be displaced as a result of global warming, according to the UN this number will range between 50 million and 350 million by 2050[iii]

From the legal perspective, people relocating or being displaced due to climate change fall in something of a limbo, not fitting under existing international legal frameworks. While several approaches to conceptualize this group of people have been suggested, no solution so far has been found. Despite the differences, existing approaches (for example, expanding the 1951 Refugee Convention to include people displaced by climate change, creating a separate convention, or drafting an optional protocol to the UNFCCC) tend to treat climate induced migration as a protection issue, where people affected by climate change need to be protected through this or that mechanism based on this or that grounds. This approach, as McAdam explains, is based on “the assumption … that movement is forced and should be treated as a refugee-like nature, with binding protection obligations for States … with respect to those displaced.”[iv]

At the same time, achieving any success through this protectionist approach appears hardly realistic. States are reluctant to accept responsibilities towards people affected by climate change, to develop new treaties, or to expand existing ones.[v] Furthermore, still very little is known about this type of movement, empirical data is limited, and proving that climate change is a “push factor” for migration is not possible.[vi]

The hopeless protectionist approach means, in reality, a “wait-and-see approach”. While negotiations and political debates remain stuck, the situation of people living in the areas affected by climate change will continuously worsen. At some point this will leave these people with no other choice than to look for a better and more secure livelihood elsewhere. Since they largely lack any legal grounds for relocation, they will use any opportunities, including dangerous and illegal.

Developed countries, particularly the USA, Australia and the EU’s member states, as top destination countries for migrants, have a choice to stick to the wait-and-see approach or to start taking anticipatory measures to mitigate the upcoming migration crisis. The examples of the Lampedusa and Christmas Islands, and the facts that there are already 16.7 million refugees and 51.2 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide who have no durable solution in sight, are just some of the arguments against waiting until people affected by climate change will join the fate of “boat people”.[vii] Another argument is that, as McAdam has warned – “a wait-and-see approach” with respect to movement … could ultimately stimulate a dynamic interpretation of human rights law so as to provide a remedy for people whose homes have become uninhabitable. This, in turn, may create a precedent for accepting people from other affected States (with much larger populations, such as Bangladesh).”[viii]

Tuvalu (Creative Commons license. Photo: Tomoaki INABA at Flickr)

These concerns are in fact no longer just theoretical, since the first case has already been ruled, with a Tuvaluan family getting a residence in New Zealand on humanitarian grounds. The “decision of the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal does not grant the applicants refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention.The bases for humanitarian status were the applicants’ strong family ties and community connections in New Zealand, and not the climate change claim[ix]. Therefore, the applicants are not the world’s first climate change refugees, contrary to the numerous headlines of the media.[x] The decision of the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has no impact at international level. As Corendea, a legal expert at the United Nations University, said in that regard, “It is not significant for the international arena, as this is an isolated rule … and the decision of the court may not set a precedent, but an example at best.”[xi] However, this doesn’t mean that the case is internationally irrelevant. “Tribunals and courts in other countries looking at similar issues could find the reasoning persuasive.”[xii] Furthermore, as François Gemene argues while the legal implications of this case are yet small, the political ramifications may be vast.

At first glance, one of the remedies against the escalation of the migration crisis can—paradoxically—be anticipatory migration. In fact, there is sufficient evidence that promoting migration—i.e. allowing temporary, seasonal labour migration of people leaving areas affected by climate change, giving them opportunities to improve their economic situation and to mitigate the risk that they will be induced to relocate—can be an attractive way to diminish the crisis. Besides the fact that allowing for legal immigration will mitigate irregular migration, it can generate a triple-win and be beneficial for migrants, sending countries, and destination countries.

The potential benefits of migration and its positive influence on development are in general well-acknowledged. As Kofi Annan, ex-Secretary-General of the UN emphasized, “The potential for migrants to help transform their native countries has captured the imaginations of national and local authorities, international institutions and the private sector.” Migration is acknowledged as the most effective mechanism to rapidly increase the incomes of poor people. [xiii]

For people affected by climate change, the most important benefit is that labour migration contributes to the adaptive capacity and resilience of places affected by climate change and helps to develop responses against climate change.[xiv] As Adger explains, the capacity of a system to respond to climate change to moderate or avoid its negative consequences is a function of a number of properties, including: financial resources (to pay for adaptation); governance (to steer the adaptation process and how legitimate that process is); information (to anticipate climate risks, devise appropriate adaptations, and learn from their implementation); social resources (to network and form bonds among people and groups so that social responses to climate change are cohesive, equitable, and robust); infrastructure; and technology (to provide tools and crafts that help adapt)[xv]. Migration can therefore make significant positive contributions to many of these determinants of adaptive capacity. For example, remittances increase financial resources, and migrants can increase a community’s access to information and expand social networks. [xvi] In this sense, migration can offer a “brain gain” rather than merely a “brain drain” (ADB, 2012).[xvii] Job opportunities abroad can also help motivate the young to acquire the appropriate skills.[xviii] Furthermore, even short term migration reduces stresses on the environment, and helps mitigate overfishing and water pollution.

However, it is not only the sending countries and migrants which benefit. Differences in the supply of and demand for labour across countries present opportunities for mutual benefits from mobility.[xix] The current world population is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050. This growth will be mainly in developing countries, with more than half in Africa.[xx] Therefore, the growth will mainly take place in the countries which may not be able to offer sufficient resources, infrastructure, and institutes their to populations. At the same time, the working age population in the high-income countries will be declining due to low fertility and aging of the population.[xxi] This will necessitate greater flows of workers from low-income to high-income countries, as the latter seek to maintain the size of their workforces. For destination countries, well-managed migration can help bridge labour market gaps, provide labour to fuel structural economic transformation, drive innovation through migrants’ dynamism, and contribute to social security systems.[xxii]

Therefore, creating migration schemes and expanding existing ones can help the development and adaptation in the countries affected by climate change countries, fill the labour shortages in the developed countries, and diminish the risk of illegal immigration of people living in the regions affected by climate change.

Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged that promoting migration on the regional level is not a panacea for a global migration crisis. The challenging nature of climate-induced displacement and migration requires complex solution. The negotiations on the international level must continue, and the international community must start acting. However, giving an anticipatory chance to some victims of climate change to migrate can positively contribute to the global solution.

15/06/2011

Frack it!

A genuine revolution is underway in the energy sector, now that new methods are being used to extract ever larger amounts of natural gas. The gas, known as ‘coal seam gas’ or ‘shale gas’, is extracted from underground rocks by injecting them with large quantities of water and sand under high pressure. This causes the rocks to fracture, releasing the gas contained inside them. The process is called ‘fracking’. After it has been extracted, the gas can be used just like conventional natural gas. Large reserves of gas are available for extraction in this way, especially in Australia, Canada and the US, where more shale gas is now being extracted than conventional gas. There is probably a large amount of this type of gas in the Slochteren gas field in the Netherlands, too. The energy sector is embracing these new methods of production enthusiastically because gas is a much cleaner source of energy than coal, and it could therefore be used as a temporary replacement for coal until more sustainable forms of energy become available on a large scale. Burning natural gas produces much fewer pollutants than burning coal.

However, there is also growing criticism of this use of ‘clean’ fossil fuels. Natural gas is methane, a greenhouse gas that remains a hundred times more powerful than CO2 for twenty years after it is extracted. The problem is that a small percentage of this hyperactive greenhouse gas will always escape into the atmosphere during extraction, processing and transportation. In fact, American researchers have recently discovered that the negative effect of shale gas on the climate could be up to 20% greater than the effect of burning coal. And other environmental drawbacks are also being encountered. At the end of May, residents living near a shale gas extraction site in Arkansas in the USA made a damages claim for 4.75 billion US dollars against the Australian company BHP Billiton, which is responsible for the production of shale gas there. They claim that the extraction process has led to the pollution of ground and surface water, and even to an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale. Shell, which extracts coal seam gas in Queensland in Australia, recently had to deal with a gas and water explosion. Various governments are now being persuaded to tighten up the environmental regulations on extracting shale gas. Although the first results of this seem to indicate that the emission of methane into the atmosphere can be reduced, it is still unclear whether this can prevent all the damaging effects. So it remains to be seen whether the initial euphoria over these new, clean forms of fossil energy will prove justified.

02/05/2011

Political climate change

6 April, 2011

Protests about environmental policy – when did that last happen? In fact, last weekend in Sydney, there were two demonstrations – in one park they were demonstrating in favor of the climate change levy, while in another there were protests against it. It seems you can’t turn on the television without seeing a program about carbon taxes. Even I’m getting a bit tired of it!

The opponents of environmental measures come across as particularly shrill. Right-wing politicians speak of ‘human-induced political climate change as a result of carbon taxes’. The left, meanwhile, like to make references to Europe, pointing out that measures to tackle climate change have led to more jobs and faster technological progress there. One important difference with Europe is that Australia actually has vast reserves of coal. This has meant that Australians have never had to give much serious consideration to other sources of energy. Australian consumers can’t just tick a box to choose ‘green energy’ from their energy supplier, for example.

Even so, Australia, with all its sun, wind and sea, has unparalleled potential for generating sustainable energy, although there’s still a long way to go before that potential is realized. The government is seeking to encourage people to generate sustainable energy – by reducing the price of solar panels for private individuals for example, but so far, the impact has been limited, partly because there aren’t enough people with the right skills to install the solar panels… “Will workers who lose their jobs in the coal industry be offered retraining?” was one question I heard being put to a Green politician by a more skeptical participant in a television debate. She said they would be.

However, a more relevant question is actually whether a gradual transition from coal to green energy in Australia will mean that all Australia’s coal will stay in the ground. I’m not so sure about that. China has an enormous appetite for coal. Even now, at least one coal-fired power station a week is being opened there – even though these are some of the most modern (and least polluting) in the world. China consumes more coal than the US, Europe and Japan put together. The World Bank announced this week that it would no longer provide finance for coal-fired power plants except in the very poorest nations. That is an important step, although it will not worry countries such as India and China. They are now engaged in a race to buy up Australian coal mines for astronomical sums of money. The mineworkers won’t have to worry about unemployment any time soon, then.