This article will focus on how the development of the European Human Rights Convention (ECHR) by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) prompted Dutch environmental movements and citizens to rely on the ECHR to reduce industrial air pollution. It will further examine the decisive role of human rights in legal proceedings concerning industrial air pollution between environmental movements and affected individuals and the State and/or business entities. The impact of the developing case law by the ECtHR on Dutch cases such as the Air Quality cases, the Urgenda case and the Shell cases will be considered. This article will consider the effects of changing public opinion and scientific developments to understand the changing role of the ECHR in the Netherlands.

This study aimed to assess the state of integrating environmental legal provisions into sustainable development strategies and identify common and distinctive features in the policies applied in Ukraine and the EU. The focus was on analysing the environmental legal frameworks that influence the implementation of the concept of sustainable development in both regions. To this end, a comparative analysis of the EU and Ukraine's environmental legal standards was conducted, and a series of strategic documents were reviewed. The study employed the methods of documentary analysis, comparative study, and evaluation of implemented policies. It was found that the approaches to sustainable development in the EU and Ukraine have shared features, especially in the integration of environmental standards into national regulations. However, the level of implementation of these standards in the EU is much greater than in Ukraine, which is conditioned by the existence of developed monitoring and control systems. Statistics show a gradual improvement in environmental performance in Ukraine due to the implementation of European standards. The findings of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the integration of environmental standards and legal norms into sustainable development policy, which positively affects the environment in both regions. However, marked differences in policy implementation suggest the need to strengthen cooperation between the EU and Ukraine to achieve common sustainable development goals. Further progress can be achieved through the exchange of practices and the expansion of joint projects.

This paper examines the environmental challenges and legal implications associated with settling ponds in aggregate extraction operations, especially in the context of climate change. It highlights the role of settling ponds in managing runoff and sediment, while addressing the potential factors that can undermine their effectiveness, such as inadequate design, high flow rates, and insufficient maintenance. The paper delves into the specific impacts of extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and altered precipitation patterns on the functionality of settling ponds. Additionally, the paper explores the potential repercussions for property owners, including property value depreciation, stigma damage, legal and cleanup costs, for impacted communities. It underscores the importance of robust infrastructure planning and proactive measures to mitigate these risks. Recommendations include enhancing settling pond requirements, regular monitoring and reporting, financial assurances, revocation of permits for non-compliance, and fostering meaningful community engagement and transparency. The conclusion emphasizes the need for larger and more resilient settling ponds to accommodate changing climate conditions, ensuring environmental protection and the health, safety, and welfare of local communities. By implementing stringent regulations and effective management practices and oversight, regulators and municipalities in Ontario can better address the challenges posed by climate change and contribute to a sustainable future.

The recognition of nature’s rights and the legal personhood of ecosystems is earning propulsion as an eco-centric legal framework, depicting an archetype shift in environmental law. This research explores the inception and advancement of this concept across different jurisdictions, centering Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, and Ecuador. They took essential footfalls to grant legal individuality to rivers, forests, and other ecosystems, aspiring to protect them from deterioration and ensure viability. Ecuador headed the validation of nature’s rights by preserving the concept in their 2008 Constitution, granting ecosystems the right to exist, replenish, and evolve. The Vilcabamba River case, which was a landmark, demonstrates the application of such rights in environmental conflicts. This research appraises the legal, cultural, and environmental connotation of these eco-centric accesses, comparing them across jurisdictions. It probes the persuasiveness of legal personhood in addressing ecological challenges and the disparity in implementation that frustrates its broader adoption. In addition, it tests how this legal modernization converges with Indigenous rights, sustainable development, and environmental justice, recommending pathways for the creation of a legal framework across-the-board that perceives the deep-seated value of nature. By analyzing the accomplishments and circumspection of these pioneering countries, this study contributes to the ongoing dialogue on establishing an internationally recognized eco-centric legal system for the protection of ecosystems.

Electronic waste (e-waste) management has emerged as a critical environmental and public health challenge in Nigeria, driven by increasing digitalisation, high importation of used electronics and inadequate disposal practices. Despite existing regulatory efforts, the country continues to struggle with informal recycling, unsafe dismantling methods and limited enforcement of e-waste policies. This article explores the deficiencies in Nigeria’s current e-waste management framework and proposes a regulatory blueprint for a more sustainable approach. Drawing on global best practices, the study advocates for a comprehensive regulatory regime that includes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), stricter import controls, improved formal recycling infrastructure, and strengthened enforcement mechanisms. It also highlights the importance of public awareness campaigns, private-sector collaboration, and policy incentives to encourage responsible e-waste disposal. By transitioning to a structured and legally enforceable e-waste management system, Nigeria can mitigate environmental risks, safeguard public health, and unlock economic opportunities through resource recovery and job creation. Through doctrinal and critical analysis, this paper underscores the urgent need for a multi-stakeholder approach that aligns regulatory frameworks with sustainability principles, ensuring Nigeria’s readiness to tackle the growing e-waste crisis effectively.

Gas flaring remains a persistent environmental and human rights challenge in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, exacerbated by inadequate enforcement of extant laws. This article employs a doctrinal and comparative methodology to critically examine the legal frameworks governing gas flaring in Nigeria, including the 1999 Constitution, the Petroleum Industry Act, the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act. It highlights the adverse effects of gas flaring, such as environmental degradation, health risks, and economic losses, and juxtaposes Nigeria’s approach with Norway’s successful gas flaring abatement regime. The findings reveal that while Nigeria has adequate laws, their enforcement remains weak due to infrastructural deficits and a lack of political will. The article recommends stricter enforcement of existing laws, investment in gas utilization infrastructure, and adoption of international best practices, such as Norway’s regulatory oversight and technological advancements, to eliminate gas flaring and promote sustainable development in the Niger Delta.

This study examines the role of eco-centric zoning laws and wildlife preservation in mitigating zoonotic spillover, a critical factor in preventing future pandemics. Existing literature establishes a strong correlation between habitat disruption, deforestation, urbanization, and the increasing frequency of zoonotic disease transmission, with cases such as COVID-19, Ebola, and Nipah virus outbreaks underscoring the urgency of intervention. While international and national legal frameworks, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, and various environmental laws, aim to regulate habitat conservation, gaps persist in their implementation, particularly regarding eco-centric zoning policies. This research addresses these gaps by investigating how legal and policy frameworks can effectively integrate eco-centric zoning and wildlife preservation to reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the study conducts a comprehensive review of legal precedents, environmental policies, and scientific literature to assess current regulatory measures and propose strategic enhancements. The findings reveal that eco-centric zoning mitigates habitat fragmentation, strengthens biosafety regulations in wildlife facilities, and enhances global surveillance of zoonotic pathogens. Legal tools such as citizen suits, conservation easements, the regulatory takings doctrine, intergovernmental MOUs, and adaptive management emerge as crucial mechanisms for enforcing eco-centric zoning policies. Case studies, such as Bangladesh’s infrastructure-induced elephant fatalities, demonstrate the legal and enforcement challenges surrounding conservation policies. The study argues for the adoption of stricter zoning regulations, increased public participation, the integration of technological solutions for habitat monitoring, and enhanced legal accountability for environmental degradation. By emphasizing the One Health framework, which underscores the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, the research provides actionable policy recommendations to align conservation efforts with public health strategies. The study’s findings contribute to the advancement of sustainable land-use policies, improved legal mechanisms for biodiversity protection, and a holistic approach to pandemic prevention. In advocating for stronger regulatory frameworks and cross-border legal cooperation, this research underscores the need for a proactive, interdisciplinary response to emerging zoonotic threats.

Internal displacement due to environmental disasters has become a major humanitarian challenge in Africa, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly. Despite efforts like the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and adherence to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the continent continues to face rising environmental challenges, raising questions about whether these displacements result from a failure to heed environmental warnings and whether development should be approached from a home-grown perspective. African Agenda 2063 and the SDGs now include forced displacement as key targets and indicators, emphasizing a comprehensive approach that extends beyond humanitarian aid to focus on development. This paper explores whether an intentional Afrocentric development plan, alongside the operationalization of the SDGs and Agenda 2063, can effectively mitigate environmentally induced internal displacement in Africa.

In the context of Russia’s full-scale armed aggression and the widespread contamination of Ukraine’s territory with landmines and other explosive remnants of war, the legal regulation of contractual relations in the field of humanitarian demining is of critical importance for ensuring the effective and transparent implementation of demining activities and the sustainable restoration of the country’s natural resource potential. The aim of this study is to identify the specific features of contractual regulation in humanitarian demining as a key component of post-conflict ecological recovery, to reveal existing legal gaps, and to develop practical recommendations for improving the regulatory framework for mine action within the broader environmental security context. The research adopts a desk-based methodology, focusing on the analysis of current Ukrainian legislation, international treaties, environmental and legal policy frameworks, and reports by national authorities (e.g., the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine) and international institutions such as the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. Particular attention is paid to the practice of public procurement in the field of humanitarian demining (via the Prozorro system), which allows for the identification of common contract models, clarification of their legal regulation, and diagnosis of key obstacles to implementation. Through a comparative approach, the study also reviews international documents, including the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), the UN PERAC Guidelines on environmental assessments in post-conflict settings, and the provisions of the Ottawa Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The interdisciplinary framework of the study enables an integrated understanding of demining contracts not only as legal instruments but also as tools for the sustainable management and restoration of damaged ecosystems. The findings of the research can be integrated into Ukraine’s national policy on post-war recovery and contribute to enhancing the legal and institutional foundations of environmental safety.

The transboundary movement of electronic waste (hereinafter referred to as ‘e-waste’) has emerged as a significant global environmental and regulatory challenge. This paper critically examines international legal frameworks governing e-waste movement, focusing primarily on movements from developed to developing nations. It briefly highlights India as an illustrative example of the broader impacts faced by developing countries. The study analyzes key international regulations, particularly the Basel Convention, along with relevant regional agreements such as the Bamako and Waigani Conventions. The paper highlights how industrialized nations often evade strict domestic regulations by exporting waste under the guise of recycling or repair, shifting environmental burdens disproportionately onto economically weaker nations. Additionally, it addresses limitations in existing international mechanisms in curbing illegal e-waste trafficking and the associated enforcement challenges. By discussing loopholes in current legal frameworks—such as the "repairable loopholes"—the study emphasizes the need for stronger enforcement, enhanced international cooperation, and stringent compliance mechanisms to mitigate environmental injustice.

Climate change presents significant challenges for legal systems, as effective regulation of adaptation measures is necessary. The lack of a unified approach to the legal framework for adaptation mechanisms complicates the implementation of state policy in this area. This study aims to analyze the legal mechanisms for adapting to climate change and their compliance with international standards. The methodology encompasses a systematic analysis of national and international legislation, a comparative examination of the legal approaches employed by different countries, and legal modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. Doctrinal analysis and legal hermeneutics methods were employed. The results of the study indicate the fragmentation of normative-legal support for climate change adaptation. It has been established that the implementation of effective adaptation measures requires harmonization of national legislation with international obligations and the expansion of the powers of local authorities. It is recommended to develop a comprehensive law on climate change adaptation that takes into account European approaches and ensures a clear mechanism for the implementation of adaptation measures.