{"results":[{"id":"ss_1f5dc5a34073b43337ee14e52d5beaeef20a2dcb","title":"International Environmental Law","authors":[{"name":"E. Louka"}],"abstract":"Much of the writing in contemporary international environmental law is passionately and uncritically advocative. Although Dr. Louka's book is plainly animated by a deep concern for the preservation of the environment of the planet and the realization that in the context of a global civilization of science and technology, it can be protected only by effective international efforts, the stance adopted is not uncritical and Dr. Louka never surrenders the scholarly role...Dr. Louka's book will be important for the practitioner in the vineyard of international environmental law no less than for the political leaders who are charged with its development. Dr. Louka has produced a remarkable book that will be of great value to the profession.","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2025,"language":"en","subjects":["Political Science"],"doi":"10.1017/CBO9780511618109.003","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1f5dc5a34073b43337ee14e52d5beaeef20a2dcb","is_open_access":true,"citations":72,"published_at":"","score":71.16},{"id":"ss_cf1e59e5169a3ae7a37a32dd2bf4d50185dbd2b4","title":"The Principles of International Environmental Law","authors":null,"abstract":"In the preceding chapter, we left open the question of the principles and concepts that underlie international environmental law and define its contours. This chapter can therefore be seen as the continuation of Chapter 2, as it further develops the characterisation of international environmental law outlined there. In addition, the analysis of the principles and concepts of international environmental law is an important step in the study of its substantive aspects, which will be discussed in the second part of this book. To understand the importance of the principles and concepts of international environmental law, as well as the difference between these two categories, it is helpful to first introduce some analytical distinctions (3.2). These distinctions will allow us to present the fundamental principles and concepts that conform the structure of international environmental law in the light of the two main values advanced by this body of law, namely prevention (3.3) and balance (3.4). The last section will link these principles and concepts to the environmental regimes examined in the second part of this book (3.5).","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2018,"language":"en","subjects":null,"doi":"10.1017/9781108399821.005","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cf1e59e5169a3ae7a37a32dd2bf4d50185dbd2b4","is_open_access":true,"citations":292,"published_at":"","score":70.75999999999999},{"id":"arxiv_2603.29722","title":"Fragmented Movements, Connected Opponents: Analyzing the Interconnectivity of Firms and Environmental Justice Organizations in Global Socio-Environmental Conflicts","authors":[{"name":"Dario Cottafava"},{"name":"José R. Nicolás-Carlock"},{"name":"Marcel Llavero-Pasquina"}],"abstract":"This study investigates the interconnectivity of firms and Environmental Justice Organizations (EJOs) involved in socio-environmental conflicts worldwide, using data from the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas). By constructing a multilayer network that links firms, conflicts, and EJOs, the research applies social network analysis to evaluate the simultaneous involvement of these actors across multiple disputes. Both projected networks of firms and EJOs have been analysed by aggregating nodes by categories and countries to reveal structural differences. Findings reveal a stark contrast between the interconnectedness of firms and EJOs. Multinational corporations form a cohesive global network, enabling them to coordinate strategies and exert influence across regions. Conversely, EJOs are fragmented, often operating in isolated clusters with limited interconnection but forming a robust, decentralized and self-organized global network. Firms network present a strong dependence on pertaining conflict category while EJOs network does not depend on conflict category. This structural difference suggests a risk of systemic and structural coordination for firms towards exploitative expansion while EJOs dynamics seems to be led by a white blood cells defense-like mechanism. While fragmentation may represents a critical challenge for social movements, decentralization and self-organization show a more diffuse global networks supported by a limited number of central hub able to build stronger global alliances to effectively counter the power dynamics of transnational corporations. By providing robust evidence of these networks, this research contributes to discuss how structural differences in global coordination for companies and EJOs directly derives as emergent properties depending on the purpose of the network itself, sectorial expansion for firms while ecosystem preservation for EJOs.","source":"arXiv","year":2026,"language":"en","subjects":["physics.soc-ph"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.29722","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.29722","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2026-03-31T13:22:15Z","score":70},{"id":"arxiv_2602.24091","title":"The impacts of artificial intelligence on environmental sustainability and human well-being","authors":[{"name":"Noemi Luna Carmeno"},{"name":"Tiago Domingos"},{"name":"Daniel W. O'Neill"}],"abstract":"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the world, but its impacts on the environment and human well-being remain uncertain. We conducted a systematic literature review of 1,291 studies selected from 6,655 records, identifying the main impacts of AI and how they are assessed. The evidence reveals an uneven landscape: 72% of environmental studies focus narrowly on energy use and CO2 emissions, while only 11% consider systemic effects. Well-being research is largely conceptual and overlooks subjective dimensions. Strikingly, 83% of environmental studies portray AI's impacts as positive, while well-being analyses show a near-even split overall (44% positive; 46% negative). However, this split masks differences across well-being dimensions. While the impacts of AI on income and health are expected to be positive, its impacts on inequality, social cohesion, and employment are expected to be negative. Based on our findings, we suggest several areas for future research. Environmental assessments should incorporate water, material, and biodiversity impacts, and apply a full life-cycle perspective, while well-being research should prioritise empirical analyses. Evaluating AI's overall impact requires accounting for computing-related, application-level, and systemic impacts, while integrating both environmental and social dimensions. Bridging these gaps is essential to understand the full scope of AI's impacts and to steer its development towards environmental sustainability and human flourishing.","source":"arXiv","year":2026,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CY"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24091","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.24091","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2026-02-27T15:28:29Z","score":70},{"id":"arxiv_2603.28669","title":"Superintelligence and Law","authors":[{"name":"Noam Kolt"}],"abstract":"The prospect of artificial superintelligence -- AI agents that can generally outperform humans in cognitive tasks and economically valuable activities -- will transform the legal order as we know it. Operating autonomously or under only limited human oversight, AI agents will assume a growing range of roles in the legal system. First, in making consequential decisions and taking real-world actions, AI agents will become de facto subjects of law. Second, to cooperate and compete with other actors (human or non-human), AI agents will harness conventional legal instruments and institutions such as contracts and courts, becoming consumers of law. Third, to the extent AI agents perform the functions of writing, interpreting, and administering law, they will become producers and enforcers of law. These developments, whenever they ultimately occur, will call into question fundamental assumptions in legal theory and doctrine, especially to the extent they ground the legitimacy of legal institutions in their human origins. Attempts to align AI agents with extant human law will also face new challenges as AI agents will not only be a primary target of law, but a core user of law and contributor to law. To contend with the advent of superintelligence, lawmakers -- new and old -- will need to be clear-eyed, recognizing both the opportunity to shape legal institutions as society braces for superintelligence and the reality that, in the longer run, this may be a joint human-AI endeavor.","source":"arXiv","year":2026,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CY"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.28669","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.28669","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2026-03-30T16:51:51Z","score":70},{"id":"arxiv_2601.06237","title":"Data-Dependent Goal Modeling for ML-Enabled Law Enforcement Systems","authors":[{"name":"Dalal Alrajeh"},{"name":"Vesna Nowack"},{"name":"Patrick Benjamin"},{"name":"Katie Thomas"},{"name":"William Hobson"},{"name":"Carolina Gutierrez Muñoz"},{"name":"Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis"},{"name":"Juliane A. Kloess"},{"name":"Jessica Woodhams"},{"name":"Daniel Butler"},{"name":"Mark Law"},{"name":"Ralph Morton"},{"name":"Benjamin Costello"},{"name":"Amy Burrell"},{"name":"Tim Grant"},{"name":"Prachiben Shah"},{"name":"Frances Laureano de Leon"},{"name":"Mark Lee"}],"abstract":"Investigating serious crimes is inherently complex and resource-constrained. Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) grapple with overwhelming volumes of offender and incident data, making effective suspect identification difficult. Although machine learning (ML)-enabled systems have been explored to support LEAs, several have failed in practice. This highlights the need to align system behavior with stakeholder goals early in development, motivating the use of Goal-Oriented Requirements Engineering (GORE).   This paper reports our experience applying the GORE framework KAOS to designing an ML-enabled system for identifying suspects in online child sexual abuse. We describe how KAOS supported early requirements elaboration, including goal refinement, object modeling, agent assignment, and operationalization. A key finding is the central role of data elicitation: data requirements constrain refinement choices and candidate agents while influencing how goals are linked, operationalized, and satisfied. Conversely, goal elaboration and agent assignment shape data quality expectations and collection needs.   Our experience highlights the iterative, bidirectional dependencies between goals, data, and ML performance. We contribute a reference model for integrating GORE with data-driven system development, and identify gaps in KAOS, particularly the need for explicit support for data elicitation and quality management. These insights inform future extensions of KAOS and, more broadly, the application of formal GORE methods to ML-enabled systems for high-stakes societal contexts.","source":"arXiv","year":2026,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CY"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.06237","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.06237","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2026-01-09T15:22:02Z","score":70},{"id":"arxiv_2602.07021","title":"AI for Sustainable Data Protection and Fair Algorithmic Management in Environmental Regulation","authors":[{"name":"Sahibpreet Singh"},{"name":"Saksham Sharma"}],"abstract":"Integration of AI into environmental regulation represents a significant advancement in data management. It offers promising results in both data protection plus algorithmic fairness. This research addresses the critical need for sustainable data protection in the era of ever evolving cyber threats. Traditional encryption methods face limitations in handling the dynamic nature of environmental data. This necessitates the exploration of advanced cryptographic techniques. The objective of this study is to evaluate how AI can enhance these techniques to ensure robust data protection while facilitating fair algorithmic management. The methodology involves a comprehensive review of current advancements in AI-enhanced homomorphic encryption (HE) and multi-party computation (MPC). It is coupled with an analysis of how these techniques can be applied to environmental data regulation. Key findings indicate that AI-driven dynamic key management, adaptive encryption schemes, and optimized computational efficiency in HE, alongside AI-enhanced protocol optimization and fault mitigation in MPC, significantly improve the security of environmental data processing. These findings highlight a crucial research gap in the intersection of AI, cyber laws, and environmental regulation, particularly in terms of addressing algorithmic bias, transparency, and accountability. The implications of this research underscore the need for stricter cyber laws. Also, the development of comprehensive regulations to safeguard sensitive environmental data. Future efforts should focus on refining AI systems to balance security with privacy and ensuring that regulatory frameworks can adapt to technological advancements. This study provides a foundation for future research aimed at achieving secure sustainable environmental data management through AI innovations.","source":"arXiv","year":2026,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CY","cs.AI","cs.CR","cs.LG"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.07021","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.07021","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2026-02-02T05:43:48Z","score":70},{"id":"arxiv_2509.09508","title":"Incorporating AI incident reporting into telecommunications law and policy: Insights from India","authors":[{"name":"Avinash Agarwal"},{"name":"Manisha J. Nene"}],"abstract":"The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into telecommunications infrastructure introduces novel risks, such as algorithmic bias and unpredictable system behavior, that fall outside the scope of traditional cybersecurity and data protection frameworks. This paper introduces a precise definition and a detailed typology of telecommunications AI incidents, establishing them as a distinct category of risk that extends beyond conventional cybersecurity and data protection breaches. It argues for their recognition as a distinct regulatory concern. Using India as a case study for jurisdictions that lack a horizontal AI law, the paper analyzes the country's key digital regulations. The analysis reveals that India's existing legal instruments, including the Telecommunications Act, 2023, the CERT-In Rules, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, focus on cybersecurity and data breaches, creating a significant regulatory gap for AI-specific operational incidents, such as performance degradation and algorithmic bias. The paper also examines structural barriers to disclosure and the limitations of existing AI incident repositories. Based on these findings, the paper proposes targeted policy recommendations centered on integrating AI incident reporting into India's existing telecom governance. Key proposals include mandating reporting for high-risk AI failures, designating an existing government body as a nodal agency to manage incident data, and developing standardized reporting frameworks. These recommendations aim to enhance regulatory clarity and strengthen long-term resilience, offering a pragmatic and replicable blueprint for other nations seeking to govern AI risks within their existing sectoral frameworks.","source":"arXiv","year":2025,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CY","cs.AI","cs.HC"],"doi":"10.1016/j.clsr.2026.106263","url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.09508","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.09508","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2025-09-11T14:50:41Z","score":69},{"id":"doaj_10.22091/ijicl.2022.7675.1007","title":"Approaches to the Protection of Wildlife in the Ramsar, CITES and Bonn Conventions: A Comparative and Analytical Study","authors":[{"name":"Ali Mashhadi"}],"abstract":"Wild animals need special attention because of their significance from the environmental,ecological, genetic, scientific, recreational, cultural, educational, social and economic points ofview. There are numerous international instruments and documents in the field of internationalwildlife law (IWL). Among them, there are three well-known instruments namely the Ramsar,Bonn, and CITES Conventions. In the present piece, these Conventions are studied comparativelyin order to find out their approaches toward the protection of wildlife. In doing so, the author,first and foremost, provides a brief overview of these Conventions. Thereafter, their approachestoward wildlife protection would be analyzed. The methodological approach of this researchincludes analysis of wildlife protection through descriptive and normative explanation of theRamsar, Bonn, and CITES Conventions. According to the findings of this study, reasonable andwise use of wetlands (the approach of the Ramsar Convention), special attention to migratorybirds (the approach of the Bonn Convention), and the regulation of international wildlifetrade (the approach of CITES) are three main and prevalent approaches in these instruments.Furthermore, it appears that CITES has played a more important and effective role in IWL andprotection of wildlife. It is due to the fact that this Convention has more operative tools and itsState Parties have undertaken more extensive and practical obligations.","source":"DOAJ","year":2025,"language":"","subjects":["Criminal law and procedure"],"doi":"10.22091/ijicl.2022.7675.1007","url":"https://ijicl.qom.ac.ir/article_3776_fd1a915118a0c080184b3e5fb878545f.pdf","pdf_url":"https://ijicl.qom.ac.ir/article_3776_fd1a915118a0c080184b3e5fb878545f.pdf","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":69},{"id":"doaj_10.35326/volkgeist.v10i1.7822","title":"Implementation of Legal Protection for the Coral Reef Ecosystem of the Sawu Sea National Park in Kupang Regency, NTT Province","authors":[{"name":"Irzani Andi Abdulrahman"},{"name":"Satria Akbar Bachtiar"}],"abstract":"\nThis study aims to evaluate the implementation of legal protection for coral reef ecosystems in Sawu Sea National Park, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The research employs an empirical legal approach using a descriptive qualitative method with a case study design, focusing on how conservation laws and policies are implemented and function in practice. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with area management authorities, law enforcement officials, local government representatives, civil society organizations, and coastal communities, complemented by field observations and analysis of relevant legal and policy documents.\n\n\nThe findings indicate that although regulatory frameworks and conservation policies are formally in place, their implementation remains ineffective. Limited supervision capacity, reflected in the insufficient number of officers, inadequate patrol facilities, and suboptimal use of marine monitoring technology, constitutes a major obstacle. Complex geographical conditions and weak inter-agency coordination further undermine law enforcement, resulting in sanctions that fail to produce a deterrent effect. Community participation in conservation efforts is also relatively low due to high dependence on marine resources, limited awareness of the impacts of overexploitation, unequal distribution of tourism benefits, and inadequate environmental education and legal outreach. Additionally, external factors such as climate change, including coral bleaching and extreme weather events, exacerbate reef degradation.\n\n\nThis study recommends strengthening surveillance infrastructure and monitoring technology, enhancing the capacity and coordination of law enforcement institutions, promoting participatory and community-based conservation approaches, and integrating climate change adaptation strategies into coral reef protection policies to ensure ecological sustainability and more equitable socio-economic benefits for coastal communities.\n","source":"DOAJ","year":2025,"language":"","subjects":["Law"],"doi":"10.35326/volkgeist.v10i1.7822","url":"https://jurnal-umbuton.ac.id/index.php/Volkgeist/article/view/7822","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":69},{"id":"doaj_10.1057/s41599-025-05376-9","title":"A legal study based on geographic methods: spatial and temporal differences and influencing factors in the construction level of China’s law-based government","authors":[{"name":"Mingwei Su"},{"name":"Yunbo Zheng"}],"abstract":"Abstract The purpose of this paper is to understand the spatial and temporal evolution of the level of rule of law government construction in China and the mechanism of influence, in an attempt to expand the research direction of legal geography, and to provide empirical cases for how developing countries can promote the rule of law construction under unbalanced geographic, economic and institutional conditions. The study investigates the spatiotemporal variations and influencing factors of law-based government construction levels in each of China’s 31 provincial administrative regions from 2015 to 2022, employing the Moran index and geographic detectors. The results show: (1) The construction level of law-based government in each provincial administrative region has exhibited a clear upward trend, shifting from predominantly “low” and “medium-low” levels to predominantly “medium-high” and “high” levels. (2) The construction level of law-based government and its development type exhibit clear spatial aggregation in each region. The spatial distribution of the four categorized types shows continuity and obvious characteristics of agglomeration. (3) The construction of a law-based government is influenced by economic, social, environmental, and political factors. The basic economic system, level of economic development, and resources per capita available to the administration have the greatest impact. The interaction between these factors significantly enhances their influence on the level of law-based government construction. The improvement of the level of rule of law government construction not only depends on the economic foundation and institutional resources, but is also affected by multiple factors such as urbanization development, demographic structure, public service provision, and institutional innovation path.","source":"DOAJ","year":2025,"language":"","subjects":["History of scholarship and learning. The humanities","Social Sciences"],"doi":"10.1057/s41599-025-05376-9","url":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05376-9","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":69},{"id":"doaj_10.3390/mca30060117","title":"Type-2 Backstepping T-S Fuzzy Control Based on Niche Situation","authors":[{"name":"Yang Cai"},{"name":"Yunli Hao"},{"name":"Yongfang Qi"}],"abstract":"The niche situation can reflect the advantages and disadvantages of biological individuals in the ecosystem environment as well as the overall operational status of the ecosystem. However, higher-order niche systems generally exhibit complex nonlinearities and parameter uncertainties, making it difficult for traditional Type-1 fuzzy control to accurately handle their inherent fuzziness and environmental disturbances in complex environments. To address this, this paper introduces the backstepping control method based on Type-2 T-S fuzzy control, incorporating the niche situation function as the consequent of the T-S backstepping fuzzy control. The stability analysis of the system is completed by constructing a Lyapunov function, and the adaptive law for the parameters of the niche situation function is derived. This design reflects the tendency of biological individuals to always develop in a direction beneficial to themselves, highlighting the bio-inspired intelligent characteristics of the proposed method. The results of case simulations show that the Type-2 backstepping T-S fuzzy control has significantly superior comprehensive performance in dealing with the complexity and uncertainty of high-order niche situation systems compared with the traditional Type-1 control and Type-2 T-S adaptive fuzzy control. These results not only verify the adaptive and self-development capabilities of biological individuals, as well as their efficiency in environmental utilization, but also endow this control method with a solid practical foundation.","source":"DOAJ","year":2025,"language":"","subjects":["Applied mathematics. Quantitative methods","Mathematics","Electronic computers. Computer science"],"doi":"10.3390/mca30060117","url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/30/6/117","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":69},{"id":"ss_6acc0eee604e0a8ba5ad937e9c229ec397faa36b","title":"Actions speak louder than words: environmental law enforcement and audit fees","authors":[{"name":"Xiting Wu"},{"name":"Le Luo"},{"name":"Jiaxing You"}],"abstract":"","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2024,"language":"en","subjects":null,"doi":"10.1007/s11142-024-09823-x","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6acc0eee604e0a8ba5ad937e9c229ec397faa36b","is_open_access":true,"citations":24,"published_at":"","score":68.72},{"id":"arxiv_2412.15261","title":"Blockchain in Environmental Sustainability Measures: a Survey","authors":[{"name":"Maria-Victoria Vladucu"},{"name":"Hailun Wu"},{"name":"Jorge Medina"},{"name":"Khondaker M. Salehin"},{"name":"Ziqian Dong"},{"name":"Roberto Rojas-Cessa"}],"abstract":"Real and effective regulation of contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants requires unbiased and truthful monitoring. Blockchain has emerged not only as an approach that provides verifiable economical interactions but also as a mechanism to keep the measurement, monitoring, incentivation of environmental conservationist practices and enforcement of policy. Here, we present a survey of areas in what blockchain has been considered as a response to concerns on keeping an accurate recording of environmental practices to monitor levels of pollution and management of environmental practices. We classify the applications of blockchain into different segments of concerns, such as greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, water, plastics, food waste, and circular economy, and show the objectives for the addressed concerns. We also classify the different blockchains and the explored and designed properties as identified for the proposed solutions. At the end, we provide a discussion about the niches and challenges that remain for future research.","source":"arXiv","year":2024,"language":"en","subjects":["cs.CR","cs.CY"],"doi":"10.3390/blockchains2030016","url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.15261","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.15261","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2024-12-16T19:28:45Z","score":68},{"id":"arxiv_2407.13577","title":"What is glacier sliding","authors":[{"name":"Robert Law"},{"name":"David Chandler"},{"name":"Phillip Voigt"},{"name":"Ivan Utkin"},{"name":"Andreas Born"}],"abstract":"Glacier and ice-sheet motion is fundamental to glaciology. However, we still lack a consensus for the optimal way to relate basal velocity to basal traction for large-scale glacier and ice-sheet models (the 'sliding relationship'). Typically, a single tunable coefficient loosely connected to one or a limited number of physical processes is varied spatially to reconcile model output with observations. Yet, process-agnostic studies indicate that the suitability of a given sliding relationship depends on the setting. Here, we suggest that this arises from myriad overlapping setting- and scale-dependent sliding sub-processes, including complicated near-basal stress states not captured by large-scale models, reviewed here as comprising a basal 'sliding layer'. A corresponding 'bulk layer' then accounts for ice deformation only minimally influenced by bed properties. We provide a framework for incorporating arbitrarily many sub-processes within a given region -- separated into normal ('form drag') and tangential ('slip') resistance at the ice-bed interface, stressing that the maximum scale of cavitation is an important contributor to the division between the two. Under reasonable assumptions, our framework implies that sliding relationships should fall within a sum of regularised-Coulomb and power-law components, with a rough-smooth distinction proving more consequential in dictating sliding behaviour than a traditional hard-soft transition.","source":"arXiv","year":2024,"language":"en","subjects":["physics.geo-ph"],"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.13577","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2407.13577","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"2024-07-18T15:15:56Z","score":68},{"id":"doaj_10.38140/trp.v85i.8528","title":"The extent to which South Africa’s legal and policy frameworks empower traditional leadership to contribute to achieving SDG 11","authors":[{"name":"Fredua Agyemang "}],"abstract":"Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) focuses on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Although the goal primarily addresses urban development, its principles also extend to rural areas, but the extent to which South Africa’s legal and policy frameworks empower traditional authorities to contribute to the development of their communities, particularly towards achieving SDG11, remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates how South Africa’s national legislative frameworks on traditional leadership have been applied to support the advancement of SDG 11. It examines the legal provisions within the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and relevant legislation to determine whether these frameworks provide a strong legal basis for promoting SDG 11 through the empowerment of traditional leadership. This study employs a desktop research methodology involving a comprehensive review of relevant laws, policies, and case law. Secondary data were gathered from case studies, journal articles, books, case laws, and credible internet sources. The findings suggest that the traditional authority system is deeply embedded within the South African Constitution, as well as legislative and policy frameworks, and has been effectively leveraged to advance SDG 11. Key insights emphasise the constitutional and legal recognition of traditional authorities and highlight the enforcement of traditional leadership roles and functions through various legal cases, and SDG 11-aligned programmes in South Africa. The areas where the role and functions of traditional leadership intersect with SDG 11 and rural development include security and safety, community participation, land management and sustainable settlements, cultural heritage and community identity, disaster management, and environmental stewardship. The empowerment of traditional leadership in South Africa has significant implications for achieving SDG 11 and rural development. These implications include enhanced local governance and service delivery, increased accountability and transparency, balanced rural-urban linkages, promotion of environmental stewardship, and the fostering of inclusive development. It also strengthens rural resilience, preserves cultural heritage, promotes sustainable resource management, and improves community engagement. However, challenges related to power dynamics, equity, and the need for policy integration and cohesion must be addressed to ensure that traditional leadership empowerment contributes effectively to sustainable development in South Africa.","source":"DOAJ","year":2024,"language":"","subjects":["Cities. Urban geography","Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology"],"doi":"10.38140/trp.v85i.8528","url":"https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/trp/article/view/8528","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":68},{"id":"doaj_10.1186/s12302-024-00877-x","title":"Are long-term biomonitoring efforts overlooking crayfish in European rivers?","authors":[{"name":"Phillip J. Haubrock"},{"name":"Ismael Soto"},{"name":"Irmak Kurtul"},{"name":"Antonín Kouba"}],"abstract":"Abstract Background Long-term biomonitoring of macroinvertebrates is a popular and valuable approach for assessing the status of freshwater ecosystems, identifying the impact of stressors, and evaluating ecosystem health. Although macroinvertebrate-based biomonitoring can be effective in detecting changes in distribution patterns and community trends over time, crayfish often remain undetected or unreported by biomonitoring efforts despite their importance in maintaining the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Results By analyzing a comprehensive database of long-term macroinvertebrate time series, we found that most sampling methods and assessment schemes can detect both native and non-native crayfish in running waters if sites are continuously sampled. However, native crayfish were detected to a lesser extent and by fewer methods. Kick-net sampling and assessment techniques prevailed as the most efficient methods for capturing crayfish. However, the substantial number of time series lacking crayfish data calls into question whether these methods are sufficiently comprehensive to encapsulate crayfish populations accurately. The use of other targeted methods such as baited traps or hand catching may provide a more reliable estimate of their presence. Conclusions Given the detrimental impacts of non-native crayfish and the decline in native crayfish populations, we strongly recommend that stakeholders and managers incorporate a combination of these approaches into their monitoring efforts. The use of different taxonomic levels (family vs. genus vs. species level) in estimating biological indices and biomonitoring tools can cause delays in identifying new non-native specie’s occurrences, hindering effective water quality assessment and ecosystem management by governments and stakeholders. Therefore, whenever possible, we call for standardized taxonomic levels for biomonitoring studies and management strategies to accurately address these issues and make recommendations going forward.","source":"DOAJ","year":2024,"language":"","subjects":["Environmental sciences","Environmental law"],"doi":"10.1186/s12302-024-00877-x","url":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-024-00877-x","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":68},{"id":"ss_bb839dd394dcb48cebd0c7f6d11ae2360311139a","title":"Environmental law","authors":[{"name":"Anita Purewal"}],"abstract":"","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2024,"language":"en","subjects":null,"doi":"10.1080/03069400.2024.2402180","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bb839dd394dcb48cebd0c7f6d11ae2360311139a","is_open_access":true,"published_at":"","score":68},{"id":"ss_4dd285d275ceaca11640fd6fa3bcf2c93be8c7fa","title":"National ‘fair shares’ in reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the principled framework of international environmental law","authors":[{"name":"L. Rajamani"},{"name":"Louise Jeffery"},{"name":"N. Höhne"},{"name":"F. Hans"},{"name":"Alyssa Glass"},{"name":"Gaurav Ganti"},{"name":"A. Geiges"}],"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article tests fairness justifications offered in 168 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the 2015 Paris Agreement against the touchstone of principles of international environmental law. It finds that while many NDCs refer to elements and indicators that are backed by principles of international law in determining fair shares (sustainable development, special circumstances, common but differentiated responsibilities and equity), some NDCs justify their contributions on the basis of indicators not backed by such principles (indicators including small share of global emissions (for states that are not LDCs and SIDSs), least cost pathways, and emissions per GDP). These insights are used to select a sub-set of approaches to the quantification of national fair share emissions targets among approaches previously surveyed in the literature. This leads to the exclusion of approaches based on cost and grandfathering. Next, the principles of harm prevention and precaution, and the normative pillars of the climate change regime, including its objective, ‘progression’, and ‘highest possible ambition,’ and the norms relating to human rights, are engaged to argue for further narrowing the range of national fair shares such that the sum of individual contributions is collectively compatible with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal. This leads to the finding that developed states have a Paris temperature goal compatible emission level in 2030 that is net-negative. Of the G20 states, only India and Indonesia can temporarily increase their emissions relative to 2010, only India relative to today. Around half the G20 states have increased emissions over the 2010s, and those decreasing emissions have done so too slowly. Key policy insights States’ fairness justifications for their contributions to the Paris Agreement should be scrutinized for compatibility with widely-accepted principles of international environmental law as well as the normative pillars of the climate change regime. Fair share ranges consistent with international environmental law principles offer a benchmark for existing and new nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, for peer-to-peer comparisons, and to feed into the global stocktakes. Such fair share ranges can inform climate litigation in which the adequacy of national contributions, and thus a state’s fair share, is at issue.","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2021,"language":"en","subjects":null,"doi":"10.1080/14693062.2021.1970504","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/4dd285d275ceaca11640fd6fa3bcf2c93be8c7fa","pdf_url":"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14693062.2021.1970504?needAccess=true","is_open_access":true,"citations":82,"published_at":"","score":67.46000000000001},{"id":"ss_a84d267602fde5aa35654aa23aad5400584c3f61","title":"Environmental law, environmental policy stringency, and development of environmental technologies in China","authors":[{"name":"Jun Fang"}],"abstract":"","source":"Semantic Scholar","year":2023,"language":"en","subjects":["Medicine"],"doi":"10.1007/s11356-023-29023-5","url":"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a84d267602fde5aa35654aa23aad5400584c3f61","is_open_access":true,"citations":12,"published_at":"","score":67.36}],"total":10796676,"page":1,"page_size":20,"sources":["CrossRef","arXiv","DOAJ","Semantic Scholar"],"query":"Environmental law"}