Inece - International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement

INECE works to promote the message that effective environmental compliance and enforcement, at the national level, are critical to achieving international environmental objectives, including commitments made under multilateral environmental agreements. Environmental compliance and enforcement play a fundamental role in building the foundation for the rule of law, good governance, and sustainable development.

Robust national environmental compliance and enforcement systems for environmental and energy laws are critical parts of an effective overall governance strategy to meet green economy, poverty eradication, and sustainable development objectives. Multidisciplinary approaches to capacity building for parliamentarians, inspectors, prosecutors, and judges are keys to this process.

Well designed environmental laws and regulations, which include implementation and enforcement systems, advance a green economy by improving the health and safety of the workforce and communities, conserving natural resources and ecosystem services, promoting sustainability in the business community, expanding markets for environmental goods and services, creating sustainable jobs, driving technology innovation, and leveling the playing field for investment by reducing costs.

This message, which is communicated in section 8.21 of Agenda 21, will be an essential component of discussions in the lead up to the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).  The outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference should emphasize institutional mechanisms at the international and domestic levels for implementation, accountability, compliance, and enforcement, supported by a science-based approach.

INECE Activities at Rio+20

14-16 June – The Rio+20 Global Environmental Law Conference

17 and 20 June — World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability 
UNEP’s World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability will take place on 17th and 20th June in Rio de Janeiro. Based on the successful Global Judges Symposium on Sustainable Development and the Role of Law that UNEP convened on the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, this high-level event will bring together Attorneys-General, Chief Prosecutors, Auditors-General (Cour des Comptes), Chief Justices and Senior Judges from around the world to contribute to the outcome of Rio+20 by presenting its respective findings to the Conference. The overall aim of the World Congress is to foster a common vision and agreed principles among those key stakeholders of how to transform discussions into action and use law, justice and governance to promote sustainable development by informing the Rio+20 process, specifically through its outcome document. This document will be used to provide some of the key guiding principles for the role of environmental law in achieving environmental sustainability through the outcomes of Rio +20 and beyond. INECE is a sponsoring partner of this event. See the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability for details.

The Access Initiative in partnership with the European Environmental Bureau, Article 19, UNEP, Stakeholder Forum, UNECE, The European Environmental Agency, UNITAR, The World Future Council, The Inspection Panel, INECE, Fundaco Getulio Vargas, The World Resources Institute and the Regional Environmental Center is organizing Rio+20’s biggest governance event. The event will seek to highlight governance commitments from around the world; develop an agenda of good governance reforms for the coming decade;  and advance ideas on how to build legal frameworks at the national, regional and international levels to implement Principle 10. For more information, the link to register, and the full schedule of workshops, see http://www.accessinitiative.org/choosefuture.