'Environmental Damage': Challenges and opportunities in International Environmental Law

Abstract

The consensus of the concept of “environmental damage” by the international community is crucial to address the issues concerning liability and responsibility of states in international environmental law. Moreover, compensation of environmental damage is very difficult to achieve in international environmental law. "Compensation" is reparation applying for loss or damage as a result of acts or omissions that are subjects of international law and the effect of natural disasters on the people, property and the environment. The complexity of human-caused environmental damage, the limit of prevention and compensation of damage in the national, regional and global context are the main limit of the development of international law. For all these reasons, the consensus of “environmental damage” in international environmental law is being considered as a key to define international responsibility of state. The initial aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of the concept of “environmental damage” in international environmental law, and secondly, to determine the challenges of this concept in international environmental law.

Keywords: Environmental damage International environmental law Environmental pollution International responsibility and compensation.