Laws in the twentieth century were based on economic growth and development. This new century calls for the reassessment of all laws from an environmental perspective in consideration of such looming environmental concerns as global warming, degradation of biodiversity and pollution. This book captures some provoking thoughts raised during a symposium on second generation environmental laws held in Japan in 2002. The wide range of articles will promote greater understanding of what has been achieved with the first generation of environmental laws, what is needed for the second generation, and how to bridge the two.

The purpose of this book is to assess the development of international environmental law in the Asia Pacific. Consideration is given to the impact upon the region of global, regional and subregional environmental law. An assessment is also undertaken of how certain states, and groups of states, have responded domestically and within their own subregions to these developments. For the purposes of this book the Asia Pacific is defined as essentially the states which comprise East and Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the island states of the Southwest Pacific. Occasional consideration is also given to the states of South Asia.

"The report is intended to inform the development and implementation of a project to build the environmental law capacity of government and nongovernment organisations in the South Pacific region."--Executive summary.

This publication documents the proceedings of the South Asia Conference on Environmental Justice, held last 24–25 March 2012 at Bhurban, Pakistan. The conference brought together chief justices, senior members of the judiciary, and other legal stakeholders in South Asia, to highlight environmental challenges in the subregion, and devise ways to strengthen the implementation of environmental justice and ensure compliance with environmental laws. The recommendations from the conference led to the adoption of a 14-point Bhurban Declaration establishing "green benches" across Pakistan and calling for subregional collaboration for educated judiciaries, specialized courts, and cooperation to achieve environmental justice.