Author name: Harvard Law Development

By Luke Grunbaum, Editor-in-Chief, UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy.

This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Click here to see the original post and leave a comment.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) establishes the basic principles and goals for future international agreements on climate change. However, incorporating the ambitious policies and provisions of the UNFCCC into a binding global agreement has proven incredibly challenging. Previous attempts to create a comprehensive international climate agreement (most notably the Kyoto Protocol) have been largely unsuccessful, and many believe that the top-down approach of prior eras must either be updated or completely abandoned. This article will briefly explain some of the inadequacies of prior top-down regimes, examine the shift towards a more bottom-up approach in UNFCCC negotiations, and elaborate on some of the strengths and weaknesses of this new approach.

By Liz Rasheed, Submissions Editor, New York University Environmental Law Journal. 

This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Click here to see the original post and leave a comment.

Illicit wildlife trafficking refers to “any environment-related crime that involves the illegal trade, smuggling, poaching, capture or collection of endangered species, protected wildlife (including animals and plants that are subject to harvest quotas and regulated by permits), derivatives or products thereof.” Many species are targeted by specific international markets, while some are targeted by a multiplicity of markets. For example, tigers are sold live as exotic pets, yet skinned for rugs, while their bones are sold for “medicinal” uses in Asia. Many reptiles and amphibians are commonly targeted for the exotic pet trade, as are primates and tropical birds. Still others are being driven to extinction due to their perception as “fine cuisine” in certain markets. Most notably, illicit animal-derived goods, such as ivory carvings, animal-skin rugs, and taxidermy mountings are seen as status symbols in many parts of the world, and the existence of a market for “canned hunting” of endangered animals on private game reserves makes it increasingly easy for illicit trafficking syndicates to launder illegally poached hides under the façade of legal hunts.

The growth of e-commerce in the global marketplace has made facilitation of illegal transactions increasingly efficient for would-be consumers while protecting their anonymity, and has thus made effective prosecution increasingly difficult. The International Fund for Animal Welfare found in a recent study that the number of online advertisements for CITES Appendix I-listed species in China alone had increased by 279 percent in the past six years, jumping from 544 advertisements identified in 2008 to 2,106 in 2014. Furthermore, the widespread use of social media seems to have facilitated new means of contact between buyers and sellers.

By Kristen Mae Rodgers, Note Editor, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Click here to see the original post.

Vermont is leading the nation in the local, sustainable food movement and the new food economy. In fact, Vermont is the frontrunner in farm stands, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, and farmers’ markets per capita across the entire United States. According to the USDA, Vermont is one of few states to see a boom in new farms. In 2014, Vermont bucked national trends showing growth in large-scale agricultural operations, and instead favored growth in small-scale agricultural operations. These small-scale farms make up the real strength in the local food movement for the state and highlight Vermont’s community-based approach to agriculture.