1. What is International Environmental Law? Describe.

International Environmental Law (IEL) is concerned with the attempt to control pollution and
the depletion of natural resources within a framework of sustainable development. It is a
branch of public international law - a body of law created by states for states to govern
problems that arise between states. IEL covers topics such as population, biodiversity,
climate change, ozone depletion, toxic and hazardous substances, air, land, sea, and
transboundary water pollution, conservation of marine resources, desertification, and nuclear
damage.

There are two major declarations on international environmental law, these are:

- The Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (the
1972 Stockholm Declaration).

- The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was a short document

produced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), known as the Rio Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration consists of 27
principles intended to guide future sustainable development around the world

2. Describe the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is all about preventing and
monitoring transboundary haze pollution as a result of land and/or forest fires which should
be mitigated, through concerted national efforts and intensified regional and international
co-operation.

The Agreement requires the Parties to the Agreement to:

(i) cooperate in developing and implementing measures to prevent, monitor, and mitigate
transboundary haze pollution by controlling sources of land and/or forest fires, development
of monitoring, assessment and early warning systems, exchange of information and
technology, and the provision of mutual assistance;

(ii) respond promptly to a request for relevant information sought by a State or States that are
or may be affected by such transboundary haze pollution, to minimize the consequence of the
transboundary haze pollution; and

(iii) take legal, administrative, and/ or other measures to implement their obligations under
the Agreement.
 3. What is environmental management? Describe

Environmental Management can be defined as “the management of the interaction and impact
of human activities on the natural environment”. Environmental management is a systematic
approach to finding practical ways for saving water, energy, and materials, and reducing
negative environmental impacts. Environmental management further aims to ensure that
ecosystem services and biodiversity are protected and maintained for equitable use by future
human generations, and also, maintain ecosystem integrity as an end in itself by taking into
consideration ethical, economic, and scientific (ecological) variables. Environmental
management tries to identify the factors that have a stake in the conflicts that may arise
between meeting the needs but protecting the environment.

4. How environmental management system benefits business? Explain.

By implementing an environmental management system, organizations can continually

improve their environmental performance by adjusting processes and procedures. But these
environmental management systems can also help address non-regulated issues including
energy conservation as well as promote stronger operational control.

An environmental management system should be part of a company’s overall management

system and will include organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities,
practices, processes, procedures, and resources. All of these aspects assist in the development
and implementation of a company’s Environmental Policy. The environmental management
system also helps to achieve and maintain the environmental impact of an organization.