Research Guides: A Basic Guide to International Environmental Legal Research: Environmental Organizations, Institutes, and Statistics

Environmental Organizations, Institutes, and Statistics

There are many international organizations, including intergovernmental organizations (IGO’s) and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), which are helpful for identifying both primary and secondary sources for research. Because of the many sub-topics in international environmental law, some of these international environmental organizations are focused on a specialty topic in environmental law and only address limited sources for that topic. The following are helpful websites of organizations or institutes for expanding research to both secondary sources of law and statistics:

Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL) APCEL was established by the NUS Law Faculty in collaboration with the World Conservation Union-Commission on Environmental Law (IUCN-CEL) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).This center focuses on regional organizational activities in Asia for environmental law and correlating documentation.
Basel Convention Contains meeting documents, national reporting, and publications on global waste.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) This is the website of the CBD. It includes the convention, its protocols, decisions,Country Profiles, National Focal Points, National Strategies (NBSAPs), National Reports,thematic databases, and much more.
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Exhaustive portal for research and available databases for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The site includes links to programmes, official documents, and other statistical publications.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Contains publications and information resources by the commission, as well as links to documentation for sub-topics of international environmental law.
Environmental Law Institute (ELI) Information about the institute projects, press releases, books, reports, regulatory guidance documents, Environmental Law Reporter and the Journal of Energy and Environmental Law.
Environmental Web Directory A directory of environmental organizations and agencies, including foreign nations.
European Environment Agency (EEA) The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union that provides legal and scientific information by theme or country and databases by research network.
European Environmental Information and Observation Network (EIONET) A network of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its member and cooperating countries in which approximately 1000 experts and more than 350 national institutions participate; supports the collection and organisation of data and the development and dissemination of information; and provides research reports, data, and country information for European environmental law.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Their site provides statistical databases, country information, a virtual library, and publications for this specialty topic.
Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) FIELD is a group of public international lawyers committed to helping vulnerable countries, communities and campaigners negotiate for fairer international environmental laws. The site contains reports of FIELD projects, papers, annual reports, and books and other publications.
Environmental Data Resources from the UN Environment Programme Provides data sets used by the UNEP and its Global Environmental Outlook report and other environmental assessments. Data may be displayed as maps, graphs, data tables, or other downloadable formats.
Greenpeace International Prominent non-governmental organization for international environmental law and protection of world resources with links to national sites.
ICSTI - UNEP Infoterra Regional Information Centre A research network of national environmental information centres and agencies for environmental information, which users can access through national focal points and interactive maps.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) The International Atomic Energy Agency is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. This site contains an online archive of IAEA publications, documents, conventions, and reports.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Environment and International Humanitarian Law This site contains key documents, reports, and publications for international humanitarian and environmental law.
International Cooperation US EPA This subset of the EPA's website contains information on global agreements and initiatives related to environmental concerns.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) UN specialized agency for oversight of legal documentation, publications, and information resources for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
International Seabed Authority (ISA) The International Seabed Authority is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.This site contains an ISA data repository, official documents, and press releases.
International Union for Conservation (IUCN) IUCN's membership is composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.The site contains Information on numerous IUCN Programmes by sub-topic, publications, and policy documents. Other IUCN documents include position papers, resolutions, and recommendations.
International Water Law Project Created by a Texas A&M law professor, the mission of the International Water Law Project (IWLP) is to serve as the premier resource on the Internet for international water law and policy issues. Its purpose is to educate and provide relevant resources to the public and to facilitate cooperation over the world’s fresh water resources. his site provides access to international water law documents, case law, tables and maps of watercourses, and an extensive bibliography of sources.
Organization of American States (OAS): Department of Sustainable Development This subsite of the OAS website provides a description of international law for sustainable development and links to projects and initiatives by subject.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environment Directorate The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an NGO that works on establishing international norms and finding evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. Their website contains statistics, publications & documents, and information by country for topics in international environmental law.
Resources for the Future (RFF) Resources for the Future is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. RFF strives to be a nonpartisan source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy. Their website contains discussion papers, reports, briefs, books, and reference materials from RFF.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) iLibrary OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) featuring its books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD's analysis and data. OECD iLibrary also contains content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).
Pacific Institutes' The World’s Water: Information on the World's Freshwater Resources Provides information about water conservation books, water data, a water conflict bibliography, and other resources for international water law.
Resources for the Future (RFF) Resources for the Future is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. RFF strives to be a nonpartisan source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy. Their website contains discussion papers, reports, briefs, books, and reference materials from RFF.
GRID–Arendal GRID-Arendal was established in 1989 to support environmentally sustainable development by working with UN Environment and other partners. Their site features nternational news, maps and graphics library, reports, and overview of sub-topics and sources for international environmental law.
UN Commission on Sustainable Development The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit.
United Nations Environment Knowledge Repository Contains UNEP Annual Reports, atlases, periodicals, and GEO environmental yearbooks.
United Nations Environment Programme: Ozone Secretariat Contains Ozone treaties and ratification status, meeting documents, TEAP reports for assessment, data reporting, and other handbooks for research.
United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre Highlights projects of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and includes the latest news, publications, policy, and agreements.
UNESCO Water Portal Resources for international water law and links to news, events, and recent publications. The Portal provides information from the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the UN-wide World Water Development Report, the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands, and over 20 affiliated research centres on water around the world.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Contains documentation for the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, Bali Road Map, Cancun Agreements, Durban Outcomes, Doha Climate Gateway, Warsaw Outcomes, the Paris Agreement, the UNFCCC's documents and decisions, national Reports and communications, greenhouse gas emissions data, and press releases.
United Nations Environment Statistics This is a portal for statistics and international programmes for international environmental data and emerging issues for sub-topics.
World Resources Institute Provides a searchable databases of information by research topics, as well as maps, country profiles, features, and data tables. Research topics include Coastal and Marine Ecosystems; Water Resources and Freshwater Ecosystems; Climate and Atmosphere; Population, Health and Human Well-being; Economics, Business and the Environment; Energy and Resources; Biodiversity and Protected Areas; Agriculture and Food; Forests, Grasslands, and Drylands; and Environmental Governance and Institutions.
World Water Council The World Water Council is an organization whose mission is to mobilize action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decision-making level, by engaging people in debate and challenging conventional thinking. The Council focuses on the political dimensions of water security, adaptation and sustainability. Their website provides resources for international water law, including programs, world water forums, newsletters, reports, and other publications.
World Wildlife Fund WWF is an NGO focusing on wildlife conservation and endangered species.Their site provides recent news, facts, and publications by research topics, such as climate change, forests, freshwater, marine, species, and sustainability.