Nation-States and the Global Environment

<p>Hardly a day passes without journalists policymakers academics or scientists calling attention to the worldwide scale of the environmental crisis confronting humankind. While climate change has generated the greatest alarm in recent years other global problems-desertification toxic pollution species extinctions drought and deforestation to name just a few-loom close behind. The scope of the most pressing environmental problems far exceeds the capacity of individual nation-states much less smaller political entities. To compound these problems economic globalization the growth of non-governmental activist groups and the accelerating flow of information have fundamentally transformed the geopolitical landscape. Despite the new urgency of these challenges however they are not without historical precedent. As this book shows nation-states have long sought agreements to manage migratory wildlife just as they have negotiated conventions governing the exploitation of rivers and other bodies of water. Similarly nation-states have long attempted to control resources beyond their borders to impose their standards of proper environmental exploitation on others and to draw on expertise developed elsewhere to cope with environmental problems at home. This collection examines this little-understood history providing case studies and context to inform ongoing debates.</p>