Introduction to the Research Handbook on Law, Environment and the Global South Philippe Cullet and Sujith Koonan Environmental law has grown over the past five decades around conservation measures, often linked to development concerns. 1 At the international level, the Stockholm Declaration – often seen as the foundational instrument of international environmental law – had already linked environmental protection with economic development. 2 This link was progressively strengthened up to the point where, in 1987, the notion of sustainable development officially sanctified the bond. 3 Since then, there has been no turning back and sustainable development progressively became the anchor around which environmental measures have been structured. 4 However, what was supposed to be a more or less equal relationship between environmental protection, social develop- ment and economic development became unhinged in 2012 with the introduction of the concept of green economy, which reflects policymakers’ desire to give more importance to economic growth. 5 Indeed, one of the major trends over the past couple of decades has been the progressive economisation of environmental regulation. 6 The linking of environment and development tends to make us forget that (economic) development has been and remains part of the problem that needs to be addressed. Policymakers have had for decades the benefit of reports like Limits to Growth highlighting the grave dangers associated with the existing development model. 7 Yet, environmental law has been conceived mostly within a conceptual framework that makes conservation often subsidiary to economic development concerns. In other words, environmental conservation is largely centred around measures that will not hamper economic growth. This sidelines the fact that growth itself may be inimical to social development and the realisation of human rights. 1 Note that while concerns for the environment can be found in different earlier legal instruments, the term ‘environment’ was not in common use. 2 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 16 June 1972, UN Doc. A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, principle 2. 3 World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future (OUP 1987). 4 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 14 June 1992, UN Doc. A/CONF.151/ 26/Rev. 1 (Vol. I), Annex II (1992), principle 4. See also Sustainable Development Goals, in UNGA Res. 70/1, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Doc. No A/RES/70/1 (21 October 2015). 5 United Nations Environment Programme, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication – A Synthesis for Policy Makers (UNEP 2011) and UNGA Res. 66/288, The Future We Want, UN Doc. A/RES/66/288 (11 September 2012). 6 see Lohmann in this book. 7 Donella H Meadows and others, The Limits to Growth (Universe Books 1972). xvi Philippe Cullet and Sujith Koonan - 9781784717469 Downloaded from Elgar Online at 07/24/2020 09:41:44AM via free access