ANDREW FILIS, Queen Mary, University of London
Email: lc09509@qmul.ac.uk
RAFAEL LEAL-ARCAS, Queen Mary University of London - School of Law, World Trade Institute, University of Bern
Email: r.leal-arcas@qmul.ac.uk

The discovery of gas and oil reserves in the East Mediterranean Basin (EMB) has put the spotlight on regional tensions between certain coastal States and on their unresolved disputes in relation to the delimitation of their respective maritime areas. The advent of the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has sought to discipline such disputes along the lines of clear legal rules. That said, not all coastal States are parties to it. In the EMB region, three coastal States – namely Israel, Syria, and Turkey – are such parties. Whilst certain customary law provisions may be held to be reflected by UNCLOS provisions, this is not without controversy. Therefore, identifying the applicable customary norms to disputes involving any of these three States becomes a more complex matter further compounded by the fact that, prior to the advent of UNCLOS, State practice had been inconsistent across coastal States. This paper outlines the principal inter-State legal aspects of the delimitation of disputes in the region in relation to the maritime areas that these engage – namely the territorial sea, the continental shelf, and the exclusive economic zone.

JESSICA OWLEY, SUNY Buffalo Law School
Email: jol@buffalo.edu

The past 40 years have seen an increase in the involvement of private actors in environmental law. One of the best-known (and arguably best-loved) methods for public involvement is the citizen suit. This popular method of public enforcement of environmental permits (among other things) has been joined by the use of conservation easements. Conservation easements are increasingly used to meet permit mitigation requirements. When private nonprofits hold the exacted conservation easements, they assume the role of permit enforcers. It is their job to ensure that conservation easement terms are complied with, giving them oversight and control over one of the pivotal components of environmental permitting regimes. Land-trust-held exacted conservation easements privatize enforcement of environmental law, much as citizen suits do. However, exacted conservation easements differ from citizen suits in that they foreclose public enforcement instead of complement it. Use of exacted conservation easements would improve if we apply lessons about public involvement and information from our citizen suit tradition.

MARTIN WALTER, IEP Paris, Northwestern University
Email: valt@hotmail.com

In stark contrast to other international waters such as shared rivers or lakes, transboundary groundwaters are rarely co-managed. The indifference towards shared groundwaters is often explained by the lack both of knowledge about these resources and of common scientific assessments. The politicization of groundwaters relies on localized knowledge, which is often unavailable, and it is furthermore influenced by a multiplicity of localized issues that preclude the straightforward implementation of generic guidelines and principles. Drawing from historical documents and interviews with management experts, scientists and socio-economic stakeholders, this chapter examines the political process that led to the successful co-management of the Génévois Aquifer. It highlights the roles played by science and scientific cooperation in the emergence of the initiative. This analytical approach purposefully sidesteps the prototypical discussion about geopolitical differences or the incompatibility of institutional settings to focus on often forgotten, but critical, constitutive dimensions of decision-making scenarios: original scientific assessments and local joint problem-framing that effectively reshape interests and challenge the legitimacy of established institutional frameworks.

AMY L. STEIN, Tulane University Law School
Email: astein@tulane.edu

Despite the many societal benefits associated with renewable energy, it is used to generate only about five percent of our nation’s electricity needs. The bulk of governmental efforts to rectify this situation have disproportionately impacted private actors. This Article argues that the federal government should expand its efforts to more fully capture the gains that can be achieved by targeting both private and public actors, particularly federal agencies. Federal agencies have enormous purchasing power that can be channeled toward using electricity and fuels derived from renewable energy. Federal agencies are some of the largest consumers of electricity. Federal agencies manage millions of acres of lands with ample renewable energy potential. Federal agencies stand to serve as models for the rest of the country through their support of renewable energy. Perhaps most importantly, the government is able to direct agencies to promote renewable energy with a power that it cannot exert on states or private actors. This Article evaluates a number of recent efforts to direct federal agencies to consume, produce, or facilitate the development of renewable energy, and highlights significant considerations associated with enlisting federal agencies to advance the nation’s ambitious renewable energy goals.