Volume 5, 2001

Adrian J Bradbrook

In the context of the issue of climate change, this article draws attention to the importance of current world energy production and consumption, which is the major source of anthropogenic atmospheric carbon emissions. Energy issues have largely been ignored in international environmental law to date, and receive only scant attention in Agenda 21, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its associated Kyoto Protocol. The article argues for the development of an international agreement designed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and so reduce energy-based atmospheric carbon emissions. A new Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is proposed, together with a detailed draft text, analysis and justification.

Ulrich Klein

New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 ("RMA") has been praised as one of the world's most progressive pieces of environmental legislation. Along with its guiding purpose, the Act's holistic approach has attracted considerable attention. This paper explores "Integrated Resource Management" ("IRM") in New Zealand, focusing on policy, plan and rule-making under the RMA. It argues that although the Act provides new opportunities for the integration of outcomes and procedures, many legal and practical impediments still exist.

Marianne Mackintosh

The focus of this work throughout is on the Law of the Sea provisions relating to the transboundary shipment of radioactive materials through coastal zones. Due to restrictions on length, a comprehensive analysis of the general duties in international law and customary international law is not included.

The ongoing frequency of shipments and the potential for shipments to pass through the South Pacific region makes this analysis interesting for New Zealand and our South Pacific neighbours.

Kate Mitcalfe

Mediation is an increasingly popular alternative to litigation under the Resource Management Act 1991, which is criticised for being too costly, too slow, under-resourced and anti-development.

The implications of using mediation for environmental dispute resolution must be carefully thought through before we endorse the private management and settlement of significant environmental issues. "Fronting Up" examines the suitability of mediation for the resolution of complex, far-reaching environmental issues.

Simon Nicholson

Access to a reliable supply of clean fresh water is a matter of fundamental importance to every person on the planet. Yet in many regions human activity and natural conditions mean that fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Increased competition over a decreasing per capita water supply has the potential to contribute to levels of inter-State conflict. This paper begins by outlining the general problem of water scarcity and the manner in which increased scarcity might be expected to contribute to situations of conflict between States.

The system of international water law will have a key part to play in determining whether competition for shared water resources leads to violent conflict or increased levels of inter-State co-operation. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses 1997 is examined in order to determine whether the present legal regime can be expected to assist in the prevention and resolution of future 'water wars'. It is concluded that while the Convention is positive in its encouragement of co-operative arrangements between States, seeming clashes between key principles will limit the practical application of the Convention.

Su-Wuen Ong

This paper focuses on one issue regarding expert evidence presented at the Environment Court under the Resource Management Act 1991. Is there a link between the number of experts appearing for opposing parties and the success of the parties? From a sample of 131 Environment Court cases, Classification Tree and Logistic Regression statistical analyses showed that difference in the number of experts was a strong influence on the outcome of the case. Given that experts are important, fairness demands a solution ensuring equal access for all parties to a hearing. One possible solution is the Canadian concept of Intervenor Funding. The other is to change the legal status of local councils at Environment Court hearings to enable them to either take a neutral stance or even to help public interest groups.

Raewyn Peart

The approaches to water resource management in New Zealand and South Africa are compared to highlight institutional strengths and weaknesses in each regime, as well as provoke ideas for future reform. Three areas identified, where New Zealand could learn from the South African model are, first, instituting a framework for stronger centralised direction and co-ordination of regional resource management activities, secondly, developing water allocation tools and, thirdly, adopting sustainable funding models. South Africa could usefully consider, first, improving integration arrangements and, secondly, adopting more effective water conservation tools modelled on New Zealand's water conservation order process.

Janet Stephenson

To date, debates about the appropriate management of resources in which Maori have an interest have been largely confined to those over which they have lost rights of both ownership and management. Consideration of the implications of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Resource Management Act and other contemporary realities is made particularly complex where both ownership and management of a resource is under challenge. Maori land is unique in that, unlike other natural resources, rights of ownership have unquestionably been retained by Maori, so management issues can largely be considered without this additional complexity. This article reviews how planning and resource management legislation and practices have impacted on Maori land, and seeks to sketch out a resource management regime for this Maori-owned resource that would be more closely aligned with the principles of the Treaty.