Administration of Environmental Law in Arab States

Abstract

The institutional structures for the administration and supervision of environmental law and policy are crucial to the attainment of the statutory objectives set out in environmental legislation and industry guidelines. This chapter examines the governance frameworks in place for overseeing, implementing, and enforcing environmental law and policy in Arab states. There are three dominant models of environmental regulation and supervision in the Arab region: ministerial-based regulation (i.e., placing regulatory supervision and decision-making under the purview of a government ministry, such as the Ministry of Environment); the agencification approach (i.e., establishing one or more agencies or administrative units within the government); and the hybrid approach (under which some Arab states have both a supervising environment ministry and a number of committees, departments, and agencies established across different levels of government with environmental protection functions and mandates). This chapter examines the key strengths and challenges to these and other environmental supervision arrangements across the Arab region. It also appraises the key roles of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Program; United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia; League of Arab States; Gulf Cooperation Council; Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment; Center for Environment and Development in the Arab Region and Europe; Arab Forum on Environment and Development; and Arab Network for Environment and Development, among others in shaping the development and application of environmental law in the Arab region.