Environmental Law in an International context
By Luca Principi
May 2015

2.2.1
S UPPORT OF NGO S IN I NTERNATIONAL E NVIRONMENTAL N EGOTIATIONS (IEN S )
2.2.2 S UPPORT OF NGO S ASSISTING I NTERNATIONAL O RGANIZATION
S

The resources of the world are under enormous strain. The population of the planet has reached seven billion people, most of whom desire an higher quality of life. Together linked with a rising demand for food, energy, metals and materials, new and extremely dangerous issues are challenging the future generations: human-induced climate change, rising sea levels, loss of timber, loss of biodiversity, diminution of liveable land and fresh water, pollution of the oceans, persistent organic pollutants, by-products of technology and nanotechnology, overharvesting of forests and oceans, global disposal of chemical and hazardous wastes, trade in endangered plants and animals, minerals harvesting in the polar regions and human rights to a quality environment.
1
Simultaneously, globalisation has radically modified the nature of relations between and within nation-States. Three are the major features brought by the globalization process that have fundamentally changed the formation of International environmental law: instantaneous information exchange, a weakening of the nation-state and strengthening of civil society groups due to the decentralisation process.
2
The common role of NGOs consists mostly on cooperation with States, businesses and other NGOs, as well as on confrontation and negotiation.
3
Furthermore they participate in calling attention to values of International environmental law like sustainable development and risk control activities. Various forms of litigation such as actions in the courts are conducted in opposition to governments or companies.
4
Non – governmental organizations (NGOs) play a crucial role in encouraging sustainable development. They are essential actors in the creation, implementation and control of International law, in particular International environmental law. The heterogeneity of the term “NGO” and its forms of actions brings to the absence of unanimity on the designation of these organizations.
5
If we want to identify the main features of an NGO, a starting point would be the European Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organizations, enforced at Strasbourg on April 1985. Article 1 of the Convention lists several conditions for the recognition of an NGO: that it needs to be non for profit, the existence of a constitutional act approved by the relative domestic law, and a presence in at least two countries. Even if the adequacy of legal classifications depends mostly on the countries involved, generally we can establish sub-classifications of NGOs depending on the nature of its main activity and its goals
6
.
However, the emergence of NGOs specifically dedicated to environmental protection started only in the 80s and 90s
7
, as they came on the scene to cope with the failure of States to address continuing and advancing environmental degradation and environmental crimes. Due partially to the disengagement of the state from the sphere of environmental protection and a trend of
1 “The environment and international society. Issues, concepts and context.”; James R. May and J. Patrick Kelly; p. 1.
2 “Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law”; Shawkat Alam, Md Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan, Tareq M.R.
Chowhury and Erika J. Techera; 2013; p. 123.
3 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 63.
4 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 64.
5 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p.2.
6 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 7.
7 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 9.

decentralisation of the power of the state, NGOs have become a tool for democratic cooperation by groups that would traditionally have kept out from relations and negotiations between States and their delegated representatives at the International level.
8
At the national level the advance of adequate environmental policies has been undermined by the absence of political willingness, by a contrast between political and economic interests and by indisposition to comprehend and estimate both costs and benefits of precautionary or remedial actions. Concurrently, at the International level, even though there is an expanding global legal system in the form of international treaties, the provisions of those treaties are in many cases fragile and not comprehensive, usually lacking significant enforcement mechanisms.
9
Moreover, it must be taken into account the lack of motivation of corporations and governments to operate facing international concerns, differently from the national issues, since they stand up to few legal international obligations and prefer to avoid the responsibility of their inertia.
10
Lastly, for the reason that many environmental concerns are in common to several States, the governments do not make the first step unless they are certain that the neighbouring countries will start an equivalent reaction. Consequently, caused by the absence of the abovementioned political initiative, “private citizens have stepped into the breach by creating non - governmental organizations (NGOs) designed to increase pressure for change or even to take the necessary action themselves”.
11
There are a number of important roles, both indirectly and directly, played by NGOs in the implementation of International environmental law, which are just going to be mentioned in this chapter but that will be looked more in details through real examples further in the text. Firstly, through expert advices and analysis NGOs can make negotiations easier by offering politicians access to competing and ambitious ideas from outside the typical bureaucratic procedures.
12
Of course the NGOs political influence is not limited to this. Since NGOs have much better analytical and technical skills and ability to answer back faster than governments officials, they represent an effective intellectual competition to governments.
13
Their efficiency is characterized by the fact that many NGOs are remarkably well placed to furnish such information due to their level of funding or scientific, technical and policy expertise.
14 Secondly, given the dissemination of information that would not otherwise be known by most of the population, many globally connected NGOs clearly demonstrated the ability of raising public awareness together with an effective mobilization of the public opinion against environmentally harmful acts.
15
As such, since they have often done much of the work that it would be expected from governments, they have contributed to the development of a global civil society in which individuals have progressively come to understand and recognize that most of the environmental crises are not restricted inside the national boundaries, but they affect the
8 “Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law”; Shawkat Alam, Md Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan, Tareq M.R.
Chowhury and Erika J. Techera; 2013; p. 125.
9 “The Role of Environmental NGOs in International Regimes”; John McCormick; p. 1.
10 “The Role of Environmental NGOs in International Regimes”; John McCormick; p. 1.
11 Ibid.
12 “The role of NGOs and Civil Society in Glbal Environmental Governance”; Barbara Gemellin and Abimbola Bamidele .
Izu; p.7.
13 Ibid.
14 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p. 126.
15 The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p. 127.

entire humanity and must be challenged as such.
16 Finally, the “influence” exercised by international NGOs in determining the development and compliance of international environmental law has two main forms: either exercised through a direct cooperation with States participating to
International Environmental Negotiations law or through opposition and litigation against those states, companies or private individuals.
17
NGOs are able to cooperate with States in the formation of international environmental laws in two main ways: in International environmental negotiations and by support given to International
Organizations.
Since the UN system is usually involved in most of the International environmental negotiations, in the last decades NGOs have put considerable efforts to obtain more participatory rights through
UN.
18
Yet, the 1945 UN Charter made only weak provisions for the participation of NGOs in the
UN system. In fact, Article 71 of the UN Charter supports the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) to grant ‘consultative status’ to International NGOs that have certain criteria, which include restricting membership to those groups or organizations that are no profit; that do not promote the use of violence; that cannot be identified with schools, universities or political parties; and are not acting on behalf of a specific communal group, nationality or country.
19
Through this consultative status an NGO has the power to nominate representatives to attend meetings of the commission. They could also issue written proposals to the Commission and could, if they obtain the authorization, address the meetings but have no formal negotiating power.
20 The definition given by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for ‘International NGO’ is:
16 “The role of Environmental NGOs in International Regime”; John McCormick; p.93.
17 “The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 18,31.
18 “Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations: Institutional
Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock; p. 13.
19 “Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations: Institutional
Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock; p. 14;
20 “Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law”; Shawkat Alam, Md Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan, Tareq M.R.
Chowhury and Erika J. Techera; 2013; p. 125.

“[A] non-profit entity whose members are citizens or associations of citizens of one or more countries and whose activities are determined by the collective will of its members in response to the needs of the members or of one or more communities with which the NGO cooperates.”
21
ECOSEC authorization continued to be one of the rare official ways obtain access to UN deliberations. Over the years there have been three significant revisions regarding the NGO status at the UN in 1950, 1968 and 1996, yet the latter on 1996 remains the most considerable one: it brought to UNGA resolution 1996/31, which officially declares the right of NGOs to attend the UN
General Assembly sessions and to support UN activities. However it provides for participatory rights only for attendance and presentations at the sessions, excluding any power of voting.
22
The reality of the facts is that in practice the forms of NGO of participation to International
Environmental Negotiations are essentially ad hoc, strictly related to the nature of the specific object of the discussion and the peculiar combination of States involved.
23 It would be useful and illustrative to have a comparative view on NGOs influence looking specifically at two cases: the negotiations of the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) and the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Change Convention. On one hand, NGOs participating in the
UNCCD process were given considerable access to negotiations. On the other hand, ENGOs had limited access to the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, 24 where representatives were not even allowed to circulate on the floor during plenary sessions and were not admitted at the closed doors meetings.
25
They also found their capacity to access to information highly restricted by a crowd of other special consultative groups and organizations.
26
On the other hand, at the sessions of UN
Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), NGOs had a complete and free access; found themselves defined by a government delegate as “partners in development” with an influent and almost chiefly position in presenting information to the national delegates.
27
They were further allowed to influence the ultimate text language dealing with the social and economic consequences of desertification as well as obtaining the introduction of a legal clause establishing national desertification funds.
28
Finally, looking at the outcomes of both the International Environmental Negotiations, it must be pointed out that NGOs attending the Desertification Convention were more successful in influencing the final text than were the Environmental NGOs attending the Kyoto Protocol
21 United Nations Economic and Social Council, Open-Ended working Group on the Review of Arrangements for
Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations (1994), Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc
E/AC.70/1994/5.
22 “Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations: Institutional
Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock; p. 14;
23 Ibid.
24 “A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate
Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil; p. 94.
25 “A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate
Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil; p. 95.
26 “Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations: Institutional
Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock; p. 15.
27 Ibid.
28 “Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations: Institutional
Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock; p. 15.

Negotiations.
29 Furthermore, at the Desertification Convention Negotiations, the NGOs could obtain the inception of multiple references to Non – Governmental Organizations, civil participation, the relevance of indigenous or traditional knowledge.
30
On the contrary the Kyoto
Protocol outcomes did not embody the Environmental NGOs aims; several delegates objected the political and economical practicability of a 20% diminution goal and never actively took into consideration the ENGOs suggestions. 31 “The Protocol does not even contain compliance and review mechanisms”.
32
To conclude, in the UN Convention on Combating Desertification, as a case study with positive results, three main factors have fostered the success of ENGOs participation:
“the link between the bottom-up approach and NGO participation in the implementation of the
Convention ;their homogeneous composition and interest; and the fact that NGO participation was encouraged by negotiators”.
33 In the Kyoto Protocol negotiations instead, even though the highly technical nature of the issues involved created a demand for specialized knowledge that the NGOs had, their power to influence the results of the negotiations was restricted mainly because most of the government delegates were focused on the economic consequences of controlling Green House
Gases emissions.
34
Other than the influence exercised in International Environmental Negotiations, NGOs play a crucial role with the support to International Organizations implementing International
Conventions, producing and implementing programs as well as in supervising the conventions. It may be either a financial or a technical support. As an example of financial aid it can be mentioned the case of WWF in 1996, which paid the travel fees and costs of the representatives of Zimbabwe,
Indonesia and Tanzania, who asked to participate a meeting of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES).
35
It is also possible that an NGO partially covers the financing of an international convention. In 1989 four NGOs, WWF,
International Fund for Animal Welfare, Wildlife Foundation, and Traffic USA, shared among them the 11,2% of the entire budget of CITIES, $46,000. Between 1992 and 1994 the entire amount of financial donations to CITIES by NGOs related to the protection of animal life was up to $155,700, amid trade organizations donated almost $280,000.
36
Technical assistance can be exercised by supporting the functions of the Secretariat, “as was done until 1984 by CITIES, which contracted
29 “A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate
Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil; p. 96.
30 Ibid.
31 “A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate
Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil; p. 97
32 Ibid.
33 “A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate
Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil; p. 100.
34 Ibid.
35 “Le commerce des especes sauvages: entre droit International et gestion locale”; 255; (2000).
36 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p. 26.

the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to manage the Secretariat.” 37 A technical function such as the management of the Secretariat grant the NGO a advantaged status, since it has access to reports and legal documents. It can also issue technical dossiers on relevant matters and cooperate in the preparatory sketch of opinions and declarations. Finally, technical advice and support can also be provided to States authorities.
38
An interesting example is the cooperation between the Asian NGO Freeland and US authorities in offering training support parallel to government. Freeland, based in Bangkok, operates with governmental authorities in the
U.S. and Asia to supply training programs in counter-trafficking. The two main training courses created by Freeland are named PROTECT (Protected-area Operational and Tactical Environmental
Conservation Training) and DETECT (Detection of Environmental Crime Training). The aim of
PROTECT is to instruct all the personnel of the preserved natural area comprising also forest rangers and managers, when DETECT consist of a skills building program for law enforcement officers, prosecutors and park staff and focuses on offering training on investigation procedures related to a wildlife crime. By means of these courses, Freeland has trained more than 2,000 participants. These original examples of collaboration between formal government authorities and dynamic NGOs showed the need of cooperative working relations among different participants in pursuance of an effective fight against environmental crimes.
39
The relationships between NGOs and states or private companies is not constantly collaborative.
The tool of judicial instance is commonly used in many countries in the world to require compliance with environmental law. Yet, there are complex barriers that often impede the access to the courts and the two main problems has been so far: the acceptance of the legal presence of NGOs in International Bodies for dispute Settlement and their access to environmental information.
40
However, the rules are not uniform among the different countries and jurisdictions. There are countries of the South such as Brazilian provisions, that are more in favour of access to justice, compared to other western jurisdictions. A similar situation can be outlined in regards to international organizations: “most international courts, either permanent or established ad hoc, are not ready to accept NGOs as parties in contentious proceedings.”
41
So far International law has determined little ambit for NGOs civil society groups to battle in Judicial Bodies climate related litigations.
Claimants linked to the civil society could bring climate change – related complaints before some international human rights bodies,
42
but admission to the courts is a complex and elaborated
37 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p.27.
38 Ibid.
39 Smith, L. and K. Klaas. (2015). Networks and NGOs Relevant to Fighting Environmental Crime. Study in the framework of the Efface research project, Berlin: Ecologic Institute. P. 25. Available at: www.efface.eu.
40 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p. 32.
41 “The Role of NGOs in International Environmental Litigation”; Ulrich Beyerlin; p. 358.
42 “EU and US Non – State Actors and Climate Governance; Annalisa Savaresi; p. 6.

procedure with significant barriers that vary by country. In general, the biggest impediments to obtain access to justice, according to a study by the European Council on the Environment, are: “the legal powers of decision – making bodies are not always sufficiently driven to issue an injunction asking that something be deemed offensive to the environment; response times of the judiciary are not reasonable, especially considering the irreversibility of certain damage to the environment; costs can be high; and the costs of expertise exceed the means of the NGO;” 43 Even though the practice of judicial processes and litigations, intentioned to achieve the enforcement of certain environmental laws, it’s customary strategy common to many NGOs in almost every continent, in the Unites States they go in pursuit of an intervention of the judiciary more rigorously. Looking at the case law, it can mentioned a legal action pursued in the 2005. The petition, on behalf of 63
American and Canadian Citizens, was presented against the US before the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) by the ‘Center of International Environmental Law’, an
NGOs located in the United States. The petition dealt with the effect of ‘Global Warming’ on the
Inuit and other communities in the American continent, which was considered a breach of their human rights. Even though finally the petition was rejected, the Commission asked the NGO to issue statements regarding the evidence of the connection between climate change and human rights.
44
It has also been discussed the possibility of bringing the climate change issue before the international court of Justice (ICJ). Albeit ex se this legal path is not available to non – state actors, in 2012 an NGO located in London, named FIELD, promoted discussions regarding the feasibility of request the ICJ for an advisory opinion on climate change damages according to Article 96 of the
United Nation Charter. The issue then did not evolve.
45
With specific regard to NGOs and civil society groups, plural climate-related litigation contexts has been registered in both US and EU, with the distinction that in Europe climate-related litigation has been used mainly to challenge the implementation and enforcement of the current law while in the
US litigation has also been used to lobby for or oppose the making of federal and national climate laws and policies.
46
Furthermore, in the United States it happened also that NGOs sued the State or its agents in opposition to statutes, regulations, and failures to act. One example of this type of legal proceedings is the case ‘Friends of the Earth, Inc.et al.’ v. ‘Spinelli et al.’. In the 2009 two NGOs and four cities together sued the government before the US District Court of California where two NGOs and four cities sued the government, alleging the main role played by financial investments made by federal agencies in causing the intensification of climate change. The case them was settled out of court and celebrated as a victory to propose governmental accountability for both direct and indirect participation to climate change.
47
43 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p.31
44 “The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava; p.31
45 “EU and US Non-State Actors and Climate Governance”; Annalisa Savaresi;
46 “The EU, the US and Global Climate Governance”(2014); Christin Bakker and Francesco Francioni; Ch. 12; p. 211.
47 “The EU, the US and Global Climate Governance”(2014); Christin Bakker and Francesco Francioni; Ch. 12; p. 211.

Differently from the United States, in the EU Member States it is not possible to find this kind of litigations, in which there have only been a few instances of that nature. An example is given by the
NGO ‘Germanwatch’ which in 2006 unsuccessfully tried to sue the German state before Berlin administrative Court alongside several private industries for their contribution to climate change.
Over the years, the European Commission has received many complaints from citizens relating to non-compliance in environmental matters. This is due to two reasons: there is no natural interest group seeking enforcement and the environment cannot speak or protest for itself, while citizens and environmental NGOs in many countries are prevented from taking action by legal and financial impediments.
48 According to the secretary-general of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), access to justice in environmental matters is fundamental in order to handle limited resources better and preserve humanity as well as nature against environmental crimes. The European
Environmental Bureau is of the opinion that national legal systems are not enough because they do not take into consideration the transnational dimension of many environmental concerns. “Most
European countries do have some kind of access to justice, but the widely varying scope of legal standing, the high costs of legal action, slow procedures and other factors reduce this access.” 49
The
UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision–making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) was signed on June 1998 and the
European Union became a Party to the Convention only in May 2005. As of 16 January 2015, there were 47 Parties to the Convention and all of the ratifying states so far are located in Europe and Central
Asia.
50
In fact, with the only exception of Ireland, all Member States are also parties to the this
Convention. The Aarhus Convention is a multilateral environmental agreement through which the opportunities for citizens to access environmental information are increased and transparent and reliable regulation procedure is secured.
51 52
Why is the Aarhus convention and the related directive so important for NGOs ? By giving environmental NGOs extensive access to justice, “the Aarhus Convention constitutes a balanced compromise between the maximalist approach of the ‘actio popularis’ and the minimalist approach that the right of individual action only should be available to parties with a direct interest”.
53
48 “Conference, 2 June 2008, European Commission. The Aarhus Convention: How are its access to justice provisions being implemented?”; European Commission Environment Directorate – General; p.1, 5.
49 Ibid.
50 “Conference, 2 June 2008, European Commission. The Aarhus Convention: How are its access to justice provisions being implemented?”; European Commission Environment Directorate – General; p. 3.
51 "Transparency under scrutiny: Information disclosure in Global Environmental Governance". Aarti,
Gupta (2008); Global Environmental Politics 8 (2): 1 –7.
52 "The Aarhus convention and its implications for the 'Institutions' of the European Community".
Rodenhoff, Vera (2003); Review of European Community and International Environmental Law 11 (3):
343 –357.
53 “Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in the EU Member States. A study of the case law from the ECJ on access to national courts for non-governmental organizations and the costs of environmental proceedings”; Karin
Hjalmarsson; p.17.

This brought to a significant improvement and a potential intensification of the environmental governance network, presenting a dynamic and reliable relationship between civil society and governments that leads a change in the direction of an environmentally responsible society.
54
It must be remembered that the Aarhus Convention was drafted by governments, with the essential support of NGOs, and is also legally binding for all the States who ratified it becoming Parties.
Together with all the member states, also the EU as a whole is a party; consequently it has the task to ensure compliance both within the member States and for its institutions and bodies.
55
Each Party has the duty to promote the principles enshrined “in the convention and to fill out a national report, always embracing a consultative and transparent process.”
56
Furthermore, the Aarhus Convention is a rights-based approach, stating that “the public, both in the present and in future generations, have the right to know and to live in a healthy environment.” 57 Another relevant provision is the
"non-discrimination" principle, according to which all the information has to be furnished without having regards to the nationality or citizenship of the applicants, the international nature of the convention,
58
and the importance given to the promotion of environmental education of the public.
To sum up, general considerations are that the Aarhus Convention strengthen the position of environmental NGOs, and thereby enables the environment to have a voice, with the goal of supporting the decisions taken by the national authorities and improve the efficiency of procedures provided to preclude environmental harms.
The nation-state is no longer the sole type of actor on the global stage and it has not anymore the monopoly on policy-making.
59
The widespread nature of greenhouse gases emission-producing activities and climate change challenges presupposes the cooperation of a multiplicity of non-state actors in climate governance.
60
It is in this context that NGOs have become fundamental actors in proposing and negotiating, as well as implementing and controlling, International environmental standards.
54 "Transparency under scrutiny: Information disclosure in Global Environmental Governance". Aarti,
Gupta (2008); Global Environmental Politics 8 (2): p. 2
55 "The Aarhus convention and its implications for the 'Institutions' of the European Community".
Rodenhoff, Vera (2003); Review of European Community and International Environmental Law 11 (3):
350.
56 "The Aarhus convention and innovations in compliance with multilateral environmental law and
Policy"; Kravchenko, S (2007); Colorado journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 18 (1):
1 –50.
57 “Conference, 2 June 2008, European Commission. The Aarhus Convention: How are its access to justice provisions being implemented?”; European Commission Environment Directorate – General;
58 Wates, S (2005). "The Aarhus convention: a driving force for environmental democracy". Journal for
European Environmental and Planning Law 2 (1): 1 –11.
59 “The role of Non-Governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing international environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tave; p. 1-2;
60 “EU and US Non-State Actors and climate Governance”; Annalisa Savaresi; p. 2.

We have had a comparative look at the political effectiveness of NGOs in international environmental negotiations by observing NGOs influence in two settings of international environmental negotiations : the 1994 Desertification Convention and the1997Kyoto Protocol to the
Framework Convention on Climate Change. This increasing participation, in particular regarding the law making process, it’s often difficult to identify. The cooperation of NGOs in the formation and implementation of the environmental law agenda to preserve nature and encourage sustainable development, in particular programs financially supported by international organizations, is growing. It appears that “the implementation of these programs is more effective and more easily manageable when they are led by NGOs than by governments. Hence, in 1992, 13% of the funds raised to promote development ($8,2 billion), was managed by NGOs, which represents, for example, an amount equivalent to everything that was transferred through the UN system.” 61
With enough International legal acceptance, NGOs and civil society participation can effectively contribute to the protection of the global commons that otherwise would be unfairly distributed between competing nation-States.
62
61 “The Role of Non.Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias Varella; p. 29.
62 “The role of non - governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing international environmental laws”; Vernon l. Tava; 2013; p. 136;

Primary sources
UN CHARTHER
Aarhus Convention
Books and articles
“The environment and international society. Issues, concepts and context.”; James R. May and J.
Patrick Kelly;
“Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law”; Shawkat Alam, Md Jahid Hossain
Bhuiyan, Tareq M.R. Chowhury and Erika J. Techera; 2013;
“The role of Non – Governmental Organizations in International Environmental Law”; Marcelo Dias
Varella;
“The Role of Environmental NGOs in International Regimes”; John McCormick;
“The role of NGOs and Civil Society in Glbal Environmental Governance”; Barbara Gemellin and
Abimbola Bamidele . Izu;
“The role of non-governmental organizations, peoples and courts in implementing International environmental laws”; Vernon I. Tava;
“Engaging Non – Governmental Organizations with International Environmental Negotiations:
Institutional Approaches to Reforming State – NGO Interactions”; Beaudry E. Kock;
United Nations Economic and Social Council, Open-Ended working Group on the Review of
Arrangements for Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations (1994), Report of the
Secretary-General, UN Doc E/AC.70/1994/5.
“A comparative Look at NGO Influence in Interntional Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and
Climate Change”; Elisabeth Corell and Michele M. Betsiil;
Smith, L. and K. Klaas. (2015). Networks and NGOs Relevant to Fighting Environmental Crime. Study in the framework of the Efface research project, Berlin: Ecologic Institute.
“The Role of NGOs in International Environmental Litigation”; Ulrich Beyerlin;
“Conference, 2 June 2008, European Commission. The Aarhus Convention: How are its access to justice provisions being implemented?”; European Commission Environment Directorate – General;
"Transparency under scrutiny: Information disclosure in Global Environmental Governance". Aarti,
Gupta (2008); Global Environmental Politics ;
"The Aarhus convention and its implications for the 'Institutions' of the European Community".
Rodenhoff, Vera (2003); Review of European Community and International Environmental Law ;
“Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in the EU Member States. A study of the case law from the ECJ on access to national courts for non-governmental organizations and the costs of environmental proceedings”; Karin Hjalmarsson;
-
Internet sources
www.efface.eu
;