An introduction to ethical consideration in international environmental law

The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader an overview of where some of the ethical debates in international environmental law are currently found. This chapter builds upon my earlier work in this area, which is contained in “International Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics”

Science, values and people: The three factors that will define that next generation of international conservation agreements

This brief paper is concerned with three emerging issues that will, individually and collectively, define the way in which international conservation law moves forward in the coming decades. This paper is not focused upon the large-scale policy gaps in this area, such as those relating to conservation on the high seas, compliance deficits or emerging environmental threats such as nutrient pollution. Rather, it seeks to draw out three issues which run through all conservation agreements. The three issues are those related to the use of science to frame regimes; the use of philosophy to examine the values of what is trying to be achieved; and the use of politics to ensure that local communities are linked to conservation efforts. Consideration of each of these three areas is relatively recent, with none of them being at the forefront of conservation considerations of international importance in the past. In the future, this is likely to change

From the Galalpagos to Tongariro: Recognizing and saving the most important places in the world

Protected areas are one of the less glamorous areas of international environmental law. They are commonly overshadowed by what are perceived as much more dramatic topics, which capture the public attention to a much greater degree.1 This is a highly ironic situation for three reasons. First, because protected areas are the foremost methods by which species and ecosystems are effectively preserved. Second, because protected areas are tangible, and are not merely theoretical constructs. Third, the obligation to create protected areas is one of the most long-standing goals in numerous environmental treaties. For a long time this goal was not tied to any specific outcomes, and the numbers of protected areas grew slowly. However, in the new century, due to an increased recognition of the above considerations, the international community has not only reiterated the goal to create more protected areas, they also set targets of what they want to achieve. The international interest is this area can be seen with a number of examples, such as marine protected areas and transboundary protected areas. Collectively, such support has lead to the creation, in total, of over 102,000 protected areas spread over the Earth

Human dimensions of global environmental change: A review of frameworks and research gaps.

This review of current knowledge in, and development of, priorities for research into the human dimensions of global environmental change has been conducted to assist the Foundation for Research Science and Technology to formulate their research needs agenda. An overview of the emergence of the human dimension of the global environmental change research field is used as a prelude to a review of the international literature on frameworks for conducting human dimensions research. The terminology used in the human dimension field is diverse. An attempt is therefore made to consolidate the myriad of definitions for key concepts, in order to form a basis for human dimensions research in New Zealand and build a platform for the remainder of this report. Three disciplinary areas of academic inquiry were explored in the context of human dimensions of global environmental change research: economics, law and biological sciences. These disciplinary perspectives are reviewed through the international literature and in a New Zealand context. A conceptual framework for research into the human dimensions of global environmental change is provided based on the knowledge-base developed from the both international and New Zealand research. Core concepts, such as found in multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research are reviewed in historical context to form the basis for a specific research framework for New Zealand. Some general needs for research are derived from the New Zealand framework. The remainder of this report details the methods used for drawing out expert opinion on the priorities for research on the human dimensions of global environmental change in the context of information, knowledge and method. Thirty-eight interviews and two hui were conducted and 254 research needs defined by questions were obtained. A modified Delphi technique was applied to the questions and prioritised lists of responses are provided. The final list Provides European/Pakeha and Māori perspectives. Divergence and convergence between the European/Pakeha and Māori responses is provided, as well as justification for the prioritisation stance that is taken. This research had four outputs: A conceptual framework for considering the human dimensions of global environmental changes and research contributions; A description of the gaps in knowledge that impede effective response to global change and provisional research needs: one for New Zealand generally, and one on Māori in particular; A network of end-users and research providers that are cognisant of, and contributors to, the human dimensions research assessment; A set of priority research needs pertaining to the human dimensions of global environmental change, in a form suitable for use by FRST

Animals ethics and international law

The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader an overview of where some of the ethical debates around animals and international law are found. In part, the chapter builds upon my earlier work in this area. At the time of writing this text, I approached the issue of ethics and international environmental law, as most doctoral students do, in a very theoretical manner. Accordingly, when I came to the topic of ‘animal rights’ I spent considerable time examining the work of the great thinkers in this area, such as Peter Singer and Tom Regan

Instability in SU(2) gauge field theory

Classical solutions to SU(2) gauge theory with a static charge source or with wave-like behavior are examined. In both cases gauge rotations cause instability. A quantum mechanical model with a local gauge symmetry is constructed. The quantum numbers of the model are constrained by the local symmetry. The S-matrix elements of SU(2) gauge theory are analysed in terms of angular orientation in gauge space. Most S-matrix elements are found to vanish in a way that indicates that most states are unstable. This result is due to the ambiguity in the time evolution of the states inherent in the local symmetry and it indicates that the gauge must be fixed in the path integral for a well defined dynamical evolution. When the gauge is fixed the result reduces to the conservation of quantised isospin

Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic thermotectonic evolution of the north-eastern margin of the Tianshan (Kazakhstan, NW China), and investigations of apatite detrital provenance methods

Intracontinental deformation and orogenesis is an understudied but important aspect of the Earth system. The Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a natural laboratory for the study of intracontinental mountain-building, with the major Tianshan and Altai mountain belts as the overwhelming focus of previous thermochronological studies in the area. However, these studies tend to investigate primarily the most recent phase of deformation that occurred in response to the Cenozoic collision of India with Eurasia. This thesis presents studies of areas in Central Asia that did not experience large amounts of reworking during the Cenozoic, and correspondingly preserve less disturbed thermochronological information about the thermotectonic history of the region prior to the late Cenozoic. The thermal history of late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic deformation in the Eurasian continental interior is well preserved in the West Junggar and Tarbagatai Mountains, which bridge the gap between the Tianshan and Altai. The West Junggar Mountains record an episode of rapid cooling in the Early– Middle Permian, followed by an extended period of tectonic quiescence. The Tarbagatai Mountains, to the west of the West Junggar, record a more complex history. Middle–Late Permian rapid cooling is preserved in some regions of the study area, but is largely overprinted by a Late Triassic cooling event. Permian rapid cooling in both these areas is related to the deformation of Central Asia following the amalgamation of Kazakhstan with the Siberian active margin to the north and the collision of the Tarim block to the south. The development of large strike-slip structures during this widespread Permian deformation had an important effect on the subsequent history of these regions. The spatial extent of Late Triassic exhumation in the Tarbagatai Mountains was controlled by the reactivation of these structures. Limited Jurassic–Cretaceous reactivation was similarly accommodated by the reactivation of late Paleozoic strikeslip structures. The orientation of these structures may be an important control on their later reactivation. Early Cretaceous cooling along the NW–SE striking Chingiz-Tarbagtai Fault is recorded in apatite fission track and (U-Th-Sm)/He data. In constrast, the anomalous NE–SW strike of faults in the West Junggar compared to other major structures in the Kazkhstan Orocline may explain why this area is tectonically stable relative to its surroundings. The easternmost Tianshan experienced significant reworking during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The thermal history of this area is more similar to the other ranges of the Tianshan than to the West Junggar or Tarbagatai Mountains. Triassic rapid cooling signals are limited to areas outside the major range-bounding faults, common Jurassic–Cretaceous ages reflect extended residence in the partial annealing zone before rapid cooling in the Late Cretaceous, and no Cenozoic fission track ages were obtained. The use of single grain apatite U–Pb and trace element analysis to understand the provenance of sediment was also investigated in this thesis, developing capabilities for more representative detrital geochronology studies in the future.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 201