An international forest sustainability treaty is essential to encourage states to work for restoration and minimize the loss of existing forests. However, such a treaty is unlikely despite the many efforts of different actors, including UN organizations. Due to these barriers, this article analyzes the interconnection and integration among some International Environmental Law instruments including, but not limited to: The Rio-Conventions along with their associated protocols and soft laws. It employed combinations of evaluative and comparative approaches to identify forest issues clearly in definitions, objectives, and existence of target specific goals, integration of laws and practices, and improvements made on forest quality and quantity. As a result, the instruments have minimum legal bases for state parties’ cooperation to enhance forest gain and minimize forest loss. However, they face paradox of convergence and divergence, added to their incompleteness and fragmentation.
KeywordsInternational Environmental LawDeforestationDegradationForest RestorationRio-ConventionsEthiopian Green Legacy
Abera, E. (2021). Ethiopia: Multiple Forest Fires Result of Arsonists: Says Forest Conservation and Preservation Director. Addis Standard. https://allafrica.com/stories/202103310955.html
Agenda 2030 (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A/RES/70/1.
Akhtar-Schuster, M. et al. (2017). Unpacking the Concept of Land Degradation Neutrality and Addressing Its Operation through the Rio Conventions. Journal of Environmental Management, 195, 4-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.09.044
Allen, J. et al. (2020). Drought Could Cause Tens of Millions of Ethiopians into a Food Crisis. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2020/08/drought-could-cause-tens-of-millions-of-ethiopians-into-food-crisis
Altvater, S. et al. (2015). Ecologic Institute, Legal Instruments to Implement Land Degradation Neutral World in International Law (pp. 1-124). Texte 19/2015. http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/legal-instruments-to-implement-the-objective-land
Asfaw, A., & Etefa, L. (2017). The Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to the Rural Livelihood: The Case of Yayo District, Illu-Ababora Zone, Oromia Regional State, Western Ethiopia. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Research, 12, 157-169.
Asrat, A. (2020). Ethiopia Clearing Forest to Begin GERD Filling. Ethioliving.
Ayana, A. N. et al. (2018). How Environmental NGOs Have Influenced Decision Making in a Semi-Authoritarian State: The Case of Forest Policy in Ethiopia. World Development, 109, 313-322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.05.010
Boer and Hannam (2021). Land Degradation Neutrality and SDG 15. In N. Kakar, & N. Robinson (Eds.), Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 1-13). (In press)
Boer, B. (2016). Actors and International Law-Making on Natural Resources. In E. Morgera, & K. Kulovesi (Eds.), Research Handbook on Natural Resources and International Law (pp. 1-23). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2817699 https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783478330.00038
Boer, B., & Gruber, S. (2012). Heritage Discourses. In K. Rubenstein, & B. Jessup (Eds.), Environmental Discourses in International and Public Law (pp. 375-398). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2720117 https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139094610.024
Braatz, S. (2003). International Forest Governance: International Forest Policy, Legal and Institutional Framework (pp. 1-12). http://www.fao.org/3/XII/1053-C5.htm
Brunnee, J., & Dwasi, J. (2006). Mountain, Forest, and Polar Ecosystems. In L. Kurukulasuriya, & N. A. Robinson (Eds.), The UNEP Training Manual on International Environmental Law (pp. 269-294). Gland: IUCN. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-training-manual-international-environmental-law
CBD (1992). 1760 UNTS 79.
Chazdon, R. L. et al. (2016). When Is a Forest a Forest? Forest Concepts and Definitions in the Era of Forest and Landscape Restoration. Ambio, 45, 538-550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0772-y
Climatekos gGmbH (2020). The Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way ahead to 2030: Advanced Version (pp. 1-63). https://catalogue.unccd.int/1551_GGW_Report_ENG_Final_040920.pdf
EBC (2021). Ethiopia: A New Campaign to Plant Six Billion Trees in Summer 2021. http://t.me/EBCNEWSNOW
Eikermann, A. (2015). Forests in International Law: Is There Really a Need for an International Forest Convention (pp. 1-196)? Berlin: Springer.
ENA (2021). Ethiopia: Nation Gains Over 149M Birr from Carbon Trading. https://allafrica.com/stories/202104120770.html
Ethiopian Monitor (2021). Forests to Be Cleared for GERD’s Second Filling.
Ethiopian Sugar Corporation (2021). Sugar Development Projects. https://etsugar.com/projects
Ferreira, P. G. (2016). Common but Differentiated Responsibilities in the National Courts: Lessons from Urgenda v. the Netherlands. Transnational Environmental Law, 5, 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102516000248
Fobar, R. (2019). What Is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species? National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/convention-on-international-trade-in-endangered-species
Forest Law of China (2019). 3rd Amendment, 15th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress on December 28, 2019.
Gashaw, G. (2021). Ethiopia Preparing for Third Round Massive Afforestation Campaign. The Ethiopian Herald. https://allafrica.com/stories/202104210513.html
Glover, E. (2020). Pre-Colonial, Colonial and Post-Colonial Forest Legislation, Forest Policies and Practices: Forest Law, Forest Policy and Enforcement Mechanisms for Protection of Forest Resources in Sudan (pp. 1-450). Doctoral Dissertation (Monograph), Helsingin yliopisto. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-6793-4
Heflich, A. (2020). An EU Legal Framework to Halt and Reverse EU-Driven Global Deforestation: European Added Value Assessment. PE 654.174. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/654174/EPRS_STU(2020)654174_EN.pdf
Hoecke, M. (2013). Methodology of Legal Research: Which Method of Law for What Kind of DISCIPLINE? Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Hosonuma, N. et al. (2012). An Assessment of Deforestation and Forest Degradation Drivers in Developing Countries. Environmental Research Letters, 7, Article ID: 044009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044009
IUCN (2021). Issues Brief: Deforestation and Forest Degradation. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/deforestation-forest_degradation_issues_brief_2021.pdf
Lee, J. et al. (2018). Economic Viability of the National-Scale Forestation Program: The Case of Success in the Republic of Korea. Ecosystem Services, 29, 40-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.11.001
Leitner, J. M. (2011). The Expansive Canopy of Korean Green Growth: Key Aspects for Forest Conservation Projects in Southeast Asia. Journal of Korean Law, 10, 171-212.
Maguire, R. (2013). Global Forest Governance: Legal Concepts and Policy Trends (pp. 1-374). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857936073
MEFCC (2017). National Forest Sector Development Program, Ethiopia Volume I: Situation Analysis. Addis Ababa.
Ministry of Agriculture (2007). Forest Development, Conservation and Utilization Policy and Strategy. Addis Ababa.
Morgera, E. (2015). Global Environmental Law and Comparative Legal Methods. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 24, 254-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12138
NPC & CSA (2017). Compendium of Environment Statistics. Addis Ababa.
NYDF, A. P. (2020). Balancing Forests and Development: Addressing Infrastructure and Extractive Industries, Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods. Climate Focus (Coordinator and Editor). https://www.forestdeclaration.org/
Peeters, M. (2020). Cycle Green Deal: A Way Forward for EU Environmental Legislation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZacGDZP_Q1k
Peeters, M., & Eliantonio, M. (2020). On Regulatory Power, Compliance, and the Role of the Court of Justice in EU Environmental Law. In Introduction to the Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law: The Challenge of Understanding EU Environmental Law (pp. 475-499). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788970679.00043
Proclamation No. 1065/2018 Forest Development, Conservation and Utilization Proclamation, Negarit Gazette, 24th Year, No. 21, Addis Ababa, 23rd January 2018.
Proclamation No. 192/1980, Forest and Wildlife Conservation and Development Proclamation, Negarit Gazette, Addis Ababa.
Ramsar (2021). Country Profiles. https://www.ramsar.org/sites-countries
Ramsar Convention (1971). Ramsar, Iran, 2.2.1971.
REDD+ Ethiopia (2021). Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Ethiopia.
Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development (1992). U.N. Doc A/CONF.151/26.
Ruiz, J. J. (2020). Global Pact Negotiations: Building a Normative Framework for Ecological Sustainability in the Anthropocene. Environmental Policy and Law, 50, 35-46. https://doi.org/10.3233/EPL-200198 https://scihubtw.tw/10.3233/EPL-200198
Schroeder, H. (2010). The History of International Climate Change Politics: Three Decades of Progress, Process, and Procrastination. The Politics of Climate Change, 26, 30-38.
Sommer, J. (2020). Global Governance in Forestry: A Cross-National Analysis. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 27, 481-495. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2020.1714787
Sotirov, M. et al. (2020). International Forest Governance and Policy: Institutional Architecture and Pathways of Influence in Global Sustainability. Sustainability, 12, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177010
Stevens, C. et al. (2014). Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change: How Strengthening Community Forest Rights Mitigates Climate Change (pp. 1-64). Washington DC: World Resources Institute.
The New York Declaration on Forests (2014). UN Climate Summit 2014.
The New York Declaration on Forests (2019). Goal 3 Assessment: Technical Annex to the Five-Year Assessment Report. https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFGoal3.pdf
UN (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld/publication
UNCCD (2019a). The Global Land Outlook: East Africa Thematic Report (pp. 1-80). https://catalogue.unccd.int/1219_GLO_East_Africa_Report.pdf
UNCCD (2019b). The Global Land Outlook, Northeast Asia Thematic Report (pp. 1-88). Bonn. https://catalogue.unccd.int/1218_GLO_Northeast_Asia_Report.pdf
UNCCD (2019c). Forests and Trees: At the Hearts of Land Degradation Neutrality (pp. 1-35). https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/documents/2019-08/Forest%20brochure%20-%20web.pdf
UNCCD (2021). About the Convention. https://www.unccd.int/convention/about-convention
UNEP (2015). Report of the Meeting of Eminent Legal Experts on the Midterm Review of the Fourth Program for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law (Montevideo Programme IV) UN Doc UNEP/Env.Law/MTV4/MR/1/3, para 33.
UNESCO (2010). Yayu Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia. https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/africa/yayu
UNGA (1992). Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests. UN Doc A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. 3).
United Nation’s Climate Change (2021). Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry. LULUCF. UNFCCC.
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) (1994). A/AC.241/27.
Urbancic, N. (2020). How Granting Indigenous Peoples’ Land Titles Contributes to Forest Conservation in Latin America. Birkbeck Law Review, 7, 26-57. http://www.bbklr.org/7-1-2.html
Wassihun, S. (2020). The Green Legacy Initiative. The Ethiopian Herald. https://www.press.et/english/?p=22877#
WHC (Adopted 17 November 1972, Entered into Force 17 December 1975) 1037 UNTS 151.
WWF (2021). Desertification and Forest Degradation. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation
Yilak, D., & Debelo, G. D. (2019). Impacts of Human Resettlement on Forests of Ethiopia: The Case of Chamen-Didhessa Forest in Chewaka District, Ethiopia. Journal of Horticulture and Forestry, 11, 70-77. https://doi.org/10.5897/JHF2019.0576