International Natural Resources Law, Investment and Sustainability provides a clear and concise insight into the relationship between the institutions that govern foreign investment, sustainable development and the rules and regulations that administer natural resources. In this book, several leading experts explore different perspectives in how investment and natural resources come together to achieve sustainable development in developing countries with examples from water, oil and gas, renewable energy, mineral, agriculture, and carbon trading. Despite varying perspectives, it is clear that several themes are central in considering the linkages between natural resources, investment and sustainability. Specifically, transparency, good governance and citizen empowerment are vital conditions which encourage positive social, economic and environmental outcomes for developing countries. In addition, this book provides new insights into key concepts which underpin international law, including sovereign rights and state responsibility principles. It is clear from this book that in the attempt to reconcile these concepts and principles from separate legal regimes, complex policy questions emerge whereby it is difficult to attain mutually beneficial or succinct outcomes. This book explores how countries prioritise their policy objectives to achieve their notion of sustainable natural resource use, which is strongly influenced by power imbalances that inform North-South cooperation, as well as South-South cooperation in the international investment regime.

This book will be of great interest to students, academics and researchers of international environmental law, international human rights law, international investment law and international economic law. This book may also be of relevance to environmentalists, policy-makers, NGOs, and investors working in the natural resources field.

About the Author

Shawkat Alam is a Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Environmental Law at Macquarie University, Australia.

Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Law, Northern University, Bangladesh.

Jona Razzaque is a Professor of Environmental Law at Bristol Law School, University of the West of England Bristol, UK

Reviews

"In recent years, a surge in natural resource investments has prompted both hopes and fears for efforts to promote sustainable development, and created new challenges for international lawyers. Yet few academic publications have explored the role of international law in addressing the interface between transnational investment processes and the management of natural resources. This rich collection of essays is therefore both relevant and timely. It covers impressively vast ground, combining thoughtful analyses of the foundational issues with a discussion of recent developments in specific sectors or themes. A recommended reading for anybody interested in the international legal dimensions of resource-based investments." -Lorenzo Cotula, International Institute for Environment and Development, UK

"The collection of papers published in this volume entitled International Natural Resources Law, Investment and Sustainability is timely as it comes soon after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on Sustainable Development (SDGs) in September 2015 and the first report of the International Law Association's Committee on Sustainable Natural Resources Management for Development in 2016. The analyses of different legal aspects of the complex concept of sustainable development will be valuable, in particular, for those devising national strategies for implementation of the SDGs. The challenge of change which societies face in different stages of development has needed a framework which would identify and elucidate the different facets of sustainable development. Juristic writings such as those contained in this volume contribute to a better understanding of the different dimensions of the complex concept, which is necessary if appropriate polices and strategies are to be devised to realize sustainable development." -Dr Kamal Hossain, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Bangladesh

"The analysis that follows in this book, edited by respected academics Shawkat Alam, Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan, and Jona Razzaque, thus tackles one of the most daunting fields of global governance for environmental law practitioners and scholars. Their work offers a much-needed contribution to prevailing legal and policy discourse. Sustainable use and conservation of natural resources is a global imperative in order to avoid climate change and other catastrophic planetary threats. This important volume brings together an array of international scholars to assess the implications of global investment law for the regulation of natural resources, and the impact of a suite of changing dynamics from carbon trading to corporate social responsibility. Readers will find the pages that follow both a valuable critique and rich palette of ideas for better governance of the resources economy." -Professor Benjamin J. Richardson, University of Tasmania, Australia

Book Information
ISBN 9780367871796
Author Shawkat Alam
Format Paperback
Page Count 466
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g