Instruments For Environmental Protection Research Articles

A Review on Unlocking Toxicity: How Zebrafish embryos Help Ensure Safe Chemicals

Aquatic ecotoxicity testing has benefited greatly from zebrafish embryo toxicity testing (ZFET) because of its high throughput, low cost, sensitivity to a variety of toxicants, and ethical issues. This study highlights the benefits of ZFET over conventional fish toxicity testing, such as its capacity to detect teratogenic defects and possible long-term impacts. The limitations of ZFET are also addressed, notably its emphasis on acute dosages and difficulties with interspecies extrapolation. In addition to the generation of in vitro alternatives utilizing zebrafish cell lines, recent developments in ZFET technology are also highlighted, including the use of transgenic zebrafish lines and high-throughput screening techniques. The paper's conclusion includes a discussion of potential prospects for ZFET research. These include improving interspecies extrapolation methods, optimizing chronic toxicity assessment procedures, and integrating ZFET with other ecotoxicity testing strategies. ZFET is a great instrument for environmental protection and a crucial component in avoiding chemical contamination of aquatic ecosystems, so long as it is acknowledged for what it is and is open to future improvement

Challenges and Opportunities in the Practice of Environmental Education in the Amazon Context: a Legal-Constitutional Approach

This work aims to analyze the challenges and opportunities encountered in the practice of environmental education in the Amazonian context, adopting a legal-constitutional approach. The methodology used consists of a literature review and critical analysis of studies, laws, and legal documents related to environmental education and environmental protection in the Amazon region. The originality and relevance of this study lie in filling a theoretical gap by investigating how the legal-constitutional approach can contribute to the effectiveness of environmental education in the Amazon. Furthermore, the addressed theme holds great academic and social significance, considering the importance of the Amazon region for global biodiversity and the fundamental role of environmental education in awareness and environmental preservation. The main results indicate the need for greater integration between legal-constitutional aspects and the practice of environmental education in the Amazon region. The legal approach contributes to strengthening legal instruments for environmental protection and promoting greater awareness and engagement of society in preserving the Amazon. The theoretical and methodological contributions of this study are related to understanding the importance of the legal-constitutional framework as a fundamental support for the effectiveness of environmental education. Additionally, the social and environmental implications are significant, as effective environmental education can promote public awareness and encourage sustainable practices, thereby contributing to the preservation of the environment and sustainable development of the Amazon region.

Odpowiedzialność odszkodowawcza w związku z wprowadzeniem strefy czystego transportu

Liability for damages in connection with the introduction of the Clean Transport Zone The subject of the article is to assess the admissibility of compensation for any damage arising from the introduction of a Clean Transport Zone (SCT). This new legal instrument for environmental protection granted to municipalities aims to protect air and human health. The article indicates how to introduce regulations determining the zone area. The introduction of the zone is a lawful activity, so any liability relates to the legal activities of public authorities, analyzing the possible grounds for this responsibility in principle. Based on the observations made, it was indicated whether the commune or State Treasury would be liable for civil law for any damage suffered by entities in connection with the introduction of the clean transport zone.

JOB CREATION LAW: HEALTHY INVESTMENT CLIMATE OR INJURED CLIMATE COMMITMENT?

To overcome the problem of overlapping regulations and complexities of investment in Indonesia, on 5th October 2020, the Jokowi government passed Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation (“Job Creation Law”), which is still a controversy to this day. This law has drawn broad criticism, particularly regarding the formal law-making and its problematic substances. Critics argue the legal drafting process is not in accordance with the characteristic of good law making aspired by the 1945 Constitution and Law Number 12 Year 2011 concerning the Establishment of Legislation (“Establishment of Legislation Law”). Noting that the academic text of this law does not address the importance of protecting forests and the environment, but only focuses on increasing economic development and investment. The public is faced with a dilemma of trust whether there is a trade between economic growth and environmental sustainability that is hidden by the government. The pro-deforestation articles in this law generate fundamental changes in the framework of protecting Indonesia's environment which it is feared could open the door to massive deforestation and have a global impact on violating Indonesia's climate commitment under Paris Agreement. Through this writing, the author questions the consistency of the Indonesian government in carrying out its climate commitments to prevent future deforestation. The authors will identify weakening instruments for environmental protection and forest management under the Job Creation Law as well as their impact to environmental protection efforts and Indonesia's future climate commitments. At the end of this study, the author found that due to weakening of forest and environmental protection instruments, Indonesia risks failing to meet its climate commitments targeted in the first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce deforestation to below 3.25 million hectares by 2030 or a maximum of 325,000 hectares / year during 2020 to 2030 either on their own or with international assistance.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPATIAL PLANNING POLICIES IN REGIONS IN REALIZING GOAL NUMBER 11 OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Spatial planning is a juridical instrument for environmental protection and management which is then used as one of the main focuses of the United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals. However, Indonesia, which is currently focused on development and accelerating the investment, results in frequent actions that neglect the use of space and the environment. This formulation of the research is the problem regarding the implementation of spatial planning policies in the regions in order to realize goal number 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of regional spatial planning policies in order to realize goal number 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The paradigm used is critical legal studies with qualitative research and using socio legal research approach. The results of the study found that problems regarding the implementation of goal number 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals in Majalengka Regency still meet some obstacles because Indonesia, which is currently focused on the development period and accelerating investment, made Regional Regulation Number 11 of 2011 concerning Spatial Plans for Majalengka Regency 2011-2031 no longer implementable as a policy product that has been implemented by the Regional Government of Majalengka Regency.

Principi ekološkog prava u funkciji prevencije rizika po životnu sredinu

In recent decades, special attention has been devoted to the protection and improvement of the environment, and efforts are being made to adopt and implement appropriate laws, regulations, measures, etc. Due to the fact that the right to a healthy environment is one of the basic human rights, the subject of research in the paper is an analysis of the concept, principles and instruments of environmental protection, with the aim of pointing out the basic principles and postulates, as well as bringing the level of competitiveness into relation countries with regulations in this area. The research showed that the principles in the field of environmental protection and their systematization represent the basis and that further improvement is necessary. It is necessary to become aware of the responsibility of individuals and society as a whole and work to overcome the interests of individuals.

Environmental Protection in the Job Creation Law

On October 5, 2020, the Indonesian government passed the Omnimbus Law which contained various kinds of legislation. Including the environment which is also regulated in the Omnimbus Law. On the one hand, this regulation provides hope for Indonesia's economic growth. However, on the other hand, this regulation has the potential to damage the environment and is not in line with the Indonesian Government's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which in it weakens instruments for environmental protection and management. Weakening of environmental instruments has the potential to increase greenhouse gas emissions through high-carbon activities and investment in fossil energy. Therefore, this paper will critically analyze how the weakening of environmental instruments in the Omnimbus Law and the Revision of the Minerba Law hampers the fulfillment of Indonesia's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the era of restoring national economic stability.
 Keywords: Environmental Protection Instruments, National Economic Recovery, Omnimbus Law, Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

A Political Agenda in Conflict with Environmental Protection: A Critical Policy Essay from Brazil

Current Brazilian policies on environmental protection have become a worldwide concern since President Bolsonaro’s election in 2018. Not only have his speeches been aggressive and critical of environmental protections, but many of his actual decisions have shown a very dangerous negligence of populations and interests affected by environmental harms. As a consequence, different environmental crises have plagued the country without any adequate response by public agencies or emergency plans to diminished harms. This essay uses a regulatory approach to demonstrate how the recent large withdrawal of environmental protection instruments in Brazil have supported a harmful and unlawful political agenda. First, we reconstruct the historical narrative of Brazilian environmental policy between the years 2018 and 2021, demonstrating through journalistic reports and social organizations’ alerts, how the speeches, actions and omissions of the Brazilian government may have contributed to the present environmental situation. Using an environmental justice perspective, we demonstrate a lack of legitimate influence on political decisions related to environmental protection. Subsequently, we discuss the existing legal instruments to respond to the political abuses in the Brazilian legal system, in order to demonstrate their insufficiency to deal with this scenario. Finally, we evaluate international criminal law as a possible answer to the ongoing environmental abuses in Brazil.

Tax aspect of supporting the implementation of the best available technologies

The article is dedicated to the study of the tax aspect of supporting the implementation of best available technologies (BAT) in Russia. The authors compare domestic and foreign experience of using environmental protection tools to support sustainable development and implementation of innovative technologies. The article provides arguments in favor of using fiscal instruments to support BAT and sustainable development goals and draws some conclusions based on the results of the recent application of fiscal instruments for environmental protection and sustainable development. The “multiple win” hypothesis is used to justify the application of fiscal instruments for environmental protection, in particular the need for a broader approach to the analysis of multifactor impact of corrective taxes on various socioeconomic indicators. It is assumed that a modern fiscal scheme for supporting BAT should serve broad purposes, relying not only on the methods to reduce the burden on enterprises implementing innovations. The authors propose several changes to the existing scheme of supporting BAT and fiscal payments. These changes are in line with the “multiple win” idea and should qualitatively contribute to the acceleration of the introduction of environmentally oriented innovations.

Krivičnopravni instrumenti adekvatnosti zaštite životne sredine - norma i praksa Republike Srpske

The questions that constitute the subject matter of this article are analyzed through three groups of questions and concluding remarks in which the basic findings reached in the professional-critical analysis of these questions are presented in the form of a summary. The first group of questions deals with general remarks about the environment and its adequate protection, specifically from two aspects (international law aspects and normative-practical aspects in Republika Srpska). The basic conclusion of the analysis of this group of questions is the necessity of ensuring (normative and practical) preconditions for the most adequate protection of the environment possible, and the instruments of criminal law (criminal legislature and its application) are among the crucial ones. The second group of questions is dedicated to the assumptions about the desired degree of adequacy of environmental protection (their notion and types). The basic conclusion of the analysis of this group of questions is that there are numerous assumptions about the desired degree of ensuring the adequacy of state reaction to ecological and other types of crime, whereby those that have the characteristics of criminal law deserve a special status. Bearing in mind precisely this significance of the norms of criminal law as instruments of environmental protection, the third group of questions is dedicated to the analysis (normative and practical) of the preconditions which determine the degree of adequacy of the instruments of criminal law for the protection of the environment. Viewed in isolation, these are the norm of criminal law; the adequacy of the application of the norms of criminal law; the efficiency of the procedure for discovering and demonstrating that ecological crimes were committed (the efficiency of the criminal procedure); efficient forfeiture of assets obtained through criminal activities belonging to this group of crimes. The basic conclusion of the analysis of this class of questions is that despite their diversity, these assumptions must be viewed through their shared properties. Only in cases when they are met simultaneously, both from the normative and from the practical aspect, is it possible to say that they are a function of the desired degree of adequacy of environmental protection, which is not yet the case with Republika Srpska, especially when it comes to their practical aspects.

Association between forest resources and water availability: temporal analysis of the Serra Azul stream sub-basin.

Vegetation is expected to influence processes in the water cycle through its structural effects on key ecosystem functions in watersheds. However tropical forests are being submitted to anthropogenic pressures that result in great disturbances in the functioning of ecosystem services. Thus, the present study uses a landscape scale analysis for exploring the associations between land use changes and water availability in the Serra Azul stream watershed. The land use transitions from years 2013 to 2018 were investigated and a set of robust landscape metrics were analyzed across the study region, including water bodies Permanent Preservation Areas. A correlation analysis between the water volume of the Serra Azul reservoir and the landscape metrics was also performed to verify the association between forest resources and water availability. The results show that the region has been submitted to several impacts associated with the loss of forest areas resulting from landscape transformations throughout the region. Forest fragmentation associated to loss of connectivity severely limit water resources availability besides reducing the basin environmental resilience. The role of different management instruments for water resources protection was also discussed, emphasizing the need for participation of stakeholder in the creation process of these environmental protection instruments.

Subsidy as An Economic Instrument for Environmental Protection: A Case of Global Fertilizer Use

Fertilizer subsidies may constitute a key economic tool with which to provide food for the growing population. Therefore, this work aimed to (i) assess the effectiveness of subsidized chemical (NPK) fertilizer use in food production by comparing the crop output between developed and developing regions and (ii) examine the benefits of organic fertilizer and the need for its use in developing regions such as Africa. Secondary data from 2000 to 2019 on global subsidized fertilizer use, crop production, income, and other agro-environmental parameters, such as climate and soil, were collected from the international databases of the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and World Income Inequalities Database (WID), as well as countries’ national statistics. Data were analyzed using qualitative, quantitative, and geospatial software and techniques, such as SPSS, averages, multivariate analysis, and spatial analytical Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. The results reveal that the total global fertilizer use continuously increased from 79 million tonnes in 2000 to 125 million tonnes in 2019. Subsidized fertilizer use and crop production increased with countries’ economic status. For example, countries or regions with more economic resources tended to have higher fertilizer subsidies. More than 95% of North American and European countries recorded the highest total chemical fertilizer use, ranging from 855,160 to 18,224,035 kg ha−1. In terms of organic fertilizer production, the percentage contribution in Africa relative to global production was only 2%, which was about 932,538 million tonnes below the production yield in North America. More organic fertilizer and less inorganic fertilizer should be encouraged instead of the total eradication of chemical fertilizers. This is especially applicable to developing countries, where food production is low due to poor soil and high food demand owing to a harsh environment and rapid population growth.

Spatial dependence and determinants of conservation easement adoptions in the United States

A conservation easement is a market-based instrument for environmental protection. It has achieved rapid growth in the United States over the past few decades. As of 2015, 1.75% of the country's total land was placed under the restriction of conservation easements. In this study, spatial dependence in adopting conservation easements in the United States and the underlying determinants are examined through a spatial econometric model. The spatial panel data covers 50 individual states and six five-year intervals from 1990 to 2015. The findings reveal that spatial correlation in adopting conservation easements across individual states has become stronger over the study period, and the indirect spillover effect for most covariates is as high as one-third of the total effect. In addition, conservation easements have been utilized to protect threatened or strained natural resources. Populations with higher income or better education generally have helped the development of conservation easements. Government programs and policies favoring conservation easements also have positive impacts on easement adoption. These results can aid policymakers, landowners, and easement holders to efficiently allocate resources in acquiring conservation easements and managing currently eased land.

Application of Agricultural Wastes as a Low-cost Adsorbent for Removal of Heavy Metals and Dyes from Wastewater: A Review Study

Water chemical pollution originates from a wide range of toxic derivatives, especially heavy metals and dyes. Its destructive effects on humans and the ecosystem have been considered as a serious environmental disaster. Therefore, there is a need to develop technologies to remove toxic pollutants from the environment. Adsorption is one of the most common methods of removing contaminants from wastewater among all the proposed methods. Adsorption is an optional method for industrial sewage treatment and a useful instrument for environmental protection. In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted to achieve low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly adsorbents. Among the low-cost adsorbents, the application of agricultural waste, as bio-adsorbent, is the most widely used for removing heavy metals and dyes. The advantages of using these compounds are low cost, good efficiency, minimal energy, simple maintenance and high adsorption capacity. This study deals with the risks, effects, and resources of manufacturers of heavy metal and dyes in addition to examination of agricultural wastes as low-cost adsorbents. Moreover, equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic behaviors of the process of adsorption of heavy metal ions and dyes, using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms, and Pseudo first and second-order kinetic models, and thermodynamic parameters were studied.

The polluter should... pay?

The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) is among the core international instruments for environmental protection. It appears to be excessively economy-focused at initial sight. To evaluate the moral validity of this, I visited four different justification possibilities: 1. Economically preferable equals environmentally preferable; 2. Economic development is a satisfactory aim; 3. Environmental problems arise from economic goals; 4. The economy represents the power needed for solutions. After evaluating each of these, I confirmed that the focus of the PPP on the economy does not allow for sufficient protection of Nature, as also expressed in the literature.

Critical analysis of legislation on degraded areas in Brazil / Análise crítica da legislação sobre áreas degradadas no Brasil

This study survey and analyze the evolution of the main normative instruments for environmental protection in Brazil. The research showed that the environmental protection models in Brazil developed as ecological awareness and control over environmental issues became relevant points. In this sense, environmental degradation, especially of soils, is a concern that has always been under discussion in Brazil. As can be seen, over the years, the Brazilian legislation has sought mechanisms to improve the formulation of more efficient normative instruments.

Pravo zaštite životne sredine u srbiji - između etike dobrih namera i etike odgovornosti

The paper focuses on formal and practical problems in the field of environmental protection, which occur as a consequence of omissions of the legislative and executive authorities in Serbia. The text analyzes the positive legislation and compliance of domestic legal regulations with international declarations and conventions ratified by our country (from the Stockholm Declaration and the Council of Europe Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Dangerous Activities to the Environment to the Rio Declaration), as well as with European Directives (EU Directive on Industrial Emissions) and Regulations (Regulation No. 525/2013 on monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and reporting on other information relevant to climate change). The candidacy for equal membership in the European family of nations obliges the Serbian Parliament and the Government to make additional efforts in the direction of harmonizing our law with the European one. The paper takes a de lege ferenda approach, so the author explains the need to amend a number of laws, such as the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment, the Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods and the Law on Budget system, as well as the enactment of the Law on Climate Change and the Serbian Civil Code as soon as possible (in which dilemmas that hinder the subjects of law in using the environmental lawsuit as an instrument of environmental protection should be resolved). An unacceptable deviation from one of the fundamental principles established by the Rio Declaration was pointed out, which brings with it a number of structural problems and the inability of both the Green Fund institutions and a number of organizations that focus on ecology. The consequences of the discrepancy between the intentions proclaimed by the Constitution of Serbia and the National Strategy of Serbia for the accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the European Union from 2005 on the one hand and the absence of adequate legislative and executive activities in environmental protection, on the other hand, are obvious in the reports of the European Commission and the European Environment Office, as well as in the health risk and increased mortality of a large number of citizens of Serbia and other European countries, due to harmful emissions that cause pollution of air, water and soil in our country. In addition to the proposals for changes in the formal framework in the field of environmental protection, the paper points out the need to use those mechanisms of civil protection, such as environmental lawsuits (established by the Law on Obligations 1978), which is, by its nature, actio popularis and in that sense accessible to the widest range of subjects. The defense of the standards established by the Kyoto Protocol and the Basel Convention would, through the extensive use of this procedural instrument, be placed not only in the hands of representatives of the legislature and the executive, but also, the judiciary (conditionally, of course, because courts can decide only initiate a civil action, but not on its own initiative).

Economic regulation and market instruments for environmental protection, including fees for negative impacts

Based on the results of the analysis of the European and Russian experience of state regulation of environmental protection, in the article the author examines the possibilities of using economic instruments in the field of environmental policy. It is substantiated that some market instruments are able to bring the state income, which can either be directed to environmental protection expenditures, or used to compensate taxes on labor and capital. Environmental budget items are underfunded, despite the positive dynamics of environmental protection costs associated with the implementation of the national project “Ecology”. The author emphasizes the need for market regulation mechanisms, since they allow taking into account the interests of all participants in state policy: consumers, the state and producers. One of the topical areas of environmental policy is the establishment of a system for the sale of quotas for emissions of greenhouse gases, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and stimulate the development of “green” technologies in the financial and industrial spheres.

Перспективи розвитку екологічного оподаткування в Україні

The development of technologies entails the deterioration of both the global environmental situation and at the regional level. The solution of environmental issues is directly related to the use of natural resources, as well as the utilization of the economic system, including through the transformation of waste into raw materials for energy production, various materials, reduction of toxic emissions into the air, water, biodiversity, etc. The main economic instruments of environmental protection and improvement of the ecological situation, which are used in world practice for these purposes, are analyzed. Among them are special taxes, pledge-refundable schemes and expanded business responsibility. The analysis of economic instruments of state regulation of nature management and sources of funding for environmental measures in Ukraine suggests that it needs to be revised and systematized with a scientifically sound definition of the parameters of mandatory payments in favour of the state and the proportions of natural distribution resource payments between the parts of the budget system to prevent the scattering of financial resources and their targeted use to finance environmental protection programs and improve the environmental situation in Ukraine. The expediency of strengthening the integration of such payments into the structure of existing taxes on goods (excise tax on gasoline), while maintaining environmental incentives, in particular, coordination with the taxation of corporate profits, for example, in the form of a reduction factor in the case of their include cost. In this case, the environmental component of taxation should correspond to the scale of environmental damage and is the basis of the mechanism for calculating tax payments or other economic incentives. This can be ensured by deepening the differentiation of tax rates depending on the damage to the environment, as well as the conditions of use of natural resources, the availability of certification of nature management enterprises according to ISO 14000 standard.

La aplicación de la doctrina del Public Trust en Estados Unidos: de la protección de los bienes comunes a la conservación del medio ambiente

En la protección de los bienes comunes en Estados Unidos desde el siglo xix hasta la actualidad, la doctrinal del public trust ha jugado un papel determinante. Esta doctrina, heredera de la tradición jurídica romana, basa su estructura conceptual en una relación fideicomisaria entre agente y principal y fue inicialmente invocada para la salvaguarda de los bienes comunes de su cercamiento y privatización. Con el paso de los años, se ha transformado en un instrumento jurídico clave para la protección ambiental. En este artículo doy cuenta de su evolución y aplicación actual.