Tools for green diplomats

FOR CENTURIES, human behaviour has been governed by regulations. And, in step with technology advances, environmental problems have come to need more and more stringent regulations. But most of these problems are multinational in character and fall within the domain of international law and multilateral management. International Environmental Negotiation, edited by Gunnar Sjostedt, is a commendable effort to assist practitioners in this field.

The well-being of the planet and its inhabitants in an increasingly interdependent world requires the formulation and enforcement of fresh international regulations, and those entrusted with this task have to ensure equity without retarding scientific and technological progress.

The book examines a series of case studies within a general conceptual framework, to provide guidelines for negotiators dealing with international environmental questions. The case studies show that asymmetry of power and information between developed and developing countries can easily lead to an impasse if the former use their favourable position excessively to their advantage, and thereby provoke the latter to block any agreement. Another basic axiom of the book is that it is dangerous for negotiators to treat a negotiating tool as a point of principle for it robs them of their position of flexibility.

The case studies emphasise the constructive role an international organisation like the UN Environment Programme can play in such negotiations, besides highlighting the significant contribution of nongovernmental organisations. They also reveal that media can be used as a pressurising tool, because of which it is sought to be controlled and manipulated.

Though diplomacy tends to result in mutually acceptable solutions, the book stresses the need to accept compromise solutions as environmentalists cannot always find the optimum scientific solution. The studies make a good case for starting from smaller and simpler agreements wherever possible and then building up on them, rather than trying to negotiate comprehensive global agreements. The Law of the Sea Convention is given as an example, though most provisions of that convention are now accepted as international practice.

The book contains useful material for those involved in multilateral negotiations even on subjects other than environment. It is well-planned and, despite the technical nature of its contents, the language is easy to read and follow. The concerns of the Third World are not ignored even though all the authors hail from developed countries.