ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the emerging principle of international law for the protection of the environment. It describes the historic development of an emerging area of international law, including the institutional arrangements, and the traditional legal order within which environmental challenges failed to be addressed. The chapter describes the international legal order, including the fundamental concepts of sovereignty and territory, identifies the main international actors, and describes the principal sources of international environmental law. It then summarizes the four stages in the development of the field. The international legal order thus seeks to regulate the activities of an international community that comprises states, international organizations, and a growing number of nongovernmental actors. The sovereignty and equality of states means that each has prima facie exclusive jurisdiction over its territory and the natural resources found there; each also has a duty not to intervene in the area of exclusive jurisdiction of other states.
