International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE)
INECE is a partnership among environmental compliance and enforcement practitioners – inspectors, prosecutors, parliamentarians, judges, and others – from more than 150 States. Founded in 1989 by the Dutch and U.S. environmental agencies, INECE is a global leader in raising awareness of compliance and enforcement; developing networks for environmental cooperation; and strengthening capacity to implement and enforce environmental requirements. INECE is governed by a 30-member Executive Planning Committee; the INECE Secretariat provides technical, analytical, publications, communications, and administrative support for the network.
Key INECE activities include holding international conferences, topical workshops, and capacity building events that bring together practitioners to share experiences and identify solutions; providing extensive resources and country-level enforcement initiatives via its website; supporting the development of regional networks for enforcement cooperation, including in the Maghreb region; and hosting expert working groups on topics including “Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Indicators,” “Compliance Aspects of Emissions Trading Systems,” “Improving Water Governance,” and “Judiciary.” INECE compiled and edited ‘Making Law Work: Environmental Compliance & Sustainable Development’, a two-volume set of literature on topics related to compliance with and enforcement of laws to protect the environment and promote sustainable development.
For more information, see http://www.inece.org
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW)
Some networks, such as E-LAW, focus on exchanging information within a specifically defined constituency. Since its start in 1989, E-LAW has grown into a network of public interest environmental lawyers and scientists in more than 60 States. Since many of the E-LAW members are involved in litigation against government authorities, membership is open only to public interest (NGO) advocates. The network draws its strength from its ability to exchange legal and technical information rapidly, from the strong inter-personal relationships among its members, and from shared goals of its members.
For more information, see http://www.elaw.org (which includes the history of E-LAW at http://www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?ID=2661)
IUCN Commission on Environmental Law
The IUCN Commission on Environmental Law (CEL) is the world’s largest network of environmental law and policy experts. Created in the early 1960s, CEL has over 975 members from more than 130 States. CEL operates as an integral part of the IUCN Environmental Law Programme, which includes the IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC), Bonn, a professional international office with 15 legal and information specialists. CEL has created a series of Specialist Groups, including the Compliance and Enforcement Specialist Group, which includes many of the world’s leading experts on such issues. The terms of reference for the Group can be found at http://www.iucn.org/themes/law/cel03A.html
For more information on CEL, see http://www.iucn.org/themes/law (which includes a link to IUCN’s on-line International Directory of Institutions Active in Environmental Law).
Other Global Networks
World Customs Organization (WCO) http://www.wcoomd.org/
Interpol http://www.interpol.int/