Tropical Conservation and Liability for Environmental Harm

November 2015
Citation:
45
ELR 11032
Issue
11
Author
Carol Adaire Jones, John Pendergrass, John Broderick, and Jacob Phelps

Tropical countries face a host of challenges to their natural environment and resources. Environmental law liability provisions offer one set of potential protections. This Article surveys such provisions in a variety of tropical country contexts. Of the seven countries studied, spanning a range of legal systems and economic development and environmental governance performance, all but one have the authority to bring liability claims for harms to the environment. However, a variety of impediments to effective implementation have resulted in a limited number of cases being resolved, and frequently with low damage awards relative to the injuries. The authors offer a range of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the drafting and implementation of liability provisions to promote environmental protection.

Carol Jones is a Visiting Scholar and John Pendergrass is Acting Vice President for Research & Policy at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). John Broderick was a Law Fellow at ELI from 2014-2015 and is currently a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resource Division. Jacob Phelps is an environmental scientist at the Lancaster Environment Center, Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

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