Bio-legislation

Innovative Legislation Guidelines References   Events

environmental legislation

Environmental pollution is a global problem and a matter of vital importance for all. Concern over environmental questions is an international task, particularly for highly developed, industrialised countries. To be effective in policy-planning and, most of all, in preventing further environmental disasters, we must acknowledge our individual and social responsibilities towards the environment and all forms of life on our planet.

Environmental protection involves confronting conflicting interests. The integration of environmental dimensions in all major policy areas is a key factor in overcoming this problem. Environmental protection targets can only be achieved by involving those policy areas causing environmental deterioration. Only by replacing the command-and-control approach with shared responsibility between the various actors, (governments, industry and the public) can commitment to agreed measures be achieved. International environmental legislation and “bio-legislation” are a crucial element in the implementation of such policy.

The integration of the environment into all aspects of international legislation and policy is a priority. Normative regulations must take full account of environmental liability, both locally and globally. Concerns for environmental justice and bio-legislation should guide decision-making on all levels. After well-documented environmental disasters, such legislation is not a mere aspiration but indeed a necessity.

Bios Rights – International Court of the Environment

The protection of “bios rights,” a concept of pivotal importance to the defence of the rights of future generations, is a priority for B.I.O. since 1985. Many enlightened leaders have contributed articles on bio-legislation to the volumes of proceedings from our international conferences, and several issues of BioNews feature information and editorials on various aspects of environmental legislation. B.I.O. is also involved in an international initiative concerning the establishment of an “International Court of the Environment,” along with eminent legislators, judges, academics, members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and other personalities. A major B.I.O. international conference on the importance of the creations of an International Court of the Environment was held in Athens, in January 2001. A comprehensive volume on “Bio-Legislation” is published in Bio-Syllabus for European Environmental Education, an 880-page textbook available in print and electronically (CD-Rom). Based on this pioneering material is B.I.O.’s e-learning course on “Environmental Legislation,” which will soon be available online as part of our e-learning programme in environmental education. Moreover, a training manual on “European and International Environmental Law and Legislation” was prepared by B.I.O. the within the framework of the European Union’s Phare, TEMPUS, and Leonardo da Vinci Training Programmes. This educational material was used in vocational training activities in Europe and in EU accession countries.

References

E-LEARNING

  • An e-learning course on Legislation has been developed and is currently being offered online through our website.

TEXTBOOKS

PROCEEDINGS

Bio News

  • Bio News 1
    – page 9
    European Environmental Policy, Legislative and Economic Framework
  • Bio News 2 
    – page 9
    European Environmental Policy, Legislative and Economic Framework, Part II
  • Bio News 3 
    – page 9
    European Environmental Policy, Legislative and Economic Framework, Part III
  • Bio News 4
    – page 8, Biocentric Policy from the Southern Hemisphere
    – pages 9-10, Acting Against Climatic Change, Current situation on CO and greenhouse gases – Global Perspectives, EU Strategies – Future Plans – North/South Co-operation
  • Bio News 5
    – Page 11, Global Charter – Making sustainability a legal requirement
  • Bio News 12 
    – pages 8-9
    Parliamentary Conference on Environmental and Industrial Safety Legislation in Budapest
  • Bio News 14
    – pages 10-11, European Union and the Environment, F. Karrayannopoulos
  • Bio News 18 
    Updates on EU Environmental Policy
  • Bio News 20 
    – pages 3, 9
    New International Court for the Environment
  • Bio News 22 
    – Page 1
    Coping With Environmental Emergencies and Disasters
    – page 3
    New Environmental Business Regulations
    – page 5
    Environmental Legislation and Quality of Life – Values for the Future
    – page 16
    Environmental Catastrophe of Szamos and Tisza Rivers
  • Bio News 24 
    – page 5
    International Court of the Environment
    Earth Charter Launched at Hague
    – pages 6-7
    Bio-Legislation – Environmental Law
    – page 9
    Bio-Legislation
  • Bio News 26
    – pages 1, 8-10
    Resolving the Environmental Crisis – The Need for International Court of the Environment
    – page 5
    Olympic Games and the Environment
    – page 16
    Bio-Legislation
  • Bio News 28 
    – page 3
    International Court of the Environment Foundation – Environmental Day in Rome
    – page 8
    Towards and International Court of the Environment?
    Tjaco van den Hout
    Permanent Court of Arbitration Adopts Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment
    – page 12
    Environmental Legislation – European Perspectives
    George Kremlis
  • Bio News 30
    – Page 5, International Court of the Environment
    – Page 9, Bioethics – Respect for bios in every human endeavour
  • Bio News 32
    – Page 1, Creating a society of joy and hope – the BIO vision
  • Bio News 36
    – Page 9, Building Bio-Environmental Ethics

Events

2012

  • Biopolicy and Biodiplomacy for International Water Cooperation. 2013 United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation. Athens Money Show, 2012. ProgrammePress Release
  • Participation in a conference of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) on “Greece and NATO: Present and Future Prospects,” Athens

2011

  • Extensive e-learning programmes in biopolicy and sustainable development for Greek students. 1st semester: Biopolicy – Tourism – Development, Green Salary and Climate Change Comments:: Biopolicy – Tourism – DevelopmentGreen SalaryClimate Change (Greek) & 2nd semester: Sustainable Agriculture, Biopolis – Sustainable Urban Development and Forest Protection, with more than 4000 subscriptions from students.
  • Participation in a lecture on “Europe in Crisis” organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens, Greece
  • Participation in a conference on the role of the media in the time of national crises organized by the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens, Greece

2010

  • as a main speaker on “Biopolicy: International Court of the Environment: A Prerequisite for Building a Green Society” at a conference sponsored by the International Court of the Environment Foundation, Rome, Italy Programme, Speech
  • as a main speaker on “Biopolicy: Economic and Environmental Crises – the Opportunity to Build a Green Society” at the BioNeers Global Conference, in Driebergen, Netherlands

2009

  • Symposium on “Climate Change and Impact on Agriculture – Planning the Common Agricultural Policy in view of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference”, funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Farm Forward project, Hellenic American Union, Athens. Press ReleaseProgramme
  • Keynote speaker on “Biopolicy – Building a Green Society, Economic and Environmental Challenges” at the 12th Eurasian Economic Summit organised by the Marmara Foundation with the presence of numerous heads of states, religious leaders and businessmen, Istanbul, Turkey

2007

  • “Biopolicy – In Search of Enlightened Leadership for Sustainable Development,” international conference held within the framework of the Athens Money Show. Proceedings

2001

2000

  • Participation in the Working Group for the establishment of an International Court for the Environment, Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague BioNews no. 24, Oct. 2000, Resolution
  • Participation in the Working Group of the International Court for the Environment Foundation, New York, USA, BioNews no. 24, Oct. 2000, p. 5
  • Ten-day B.I.O. lecture series on environmental management and legislation for university teachers and government employees from Eastern Europe, in the framework of the EU Tempus Programme. Academia Istropolitana Nova, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Biopolitics seminars on environmental legislation and environmental management at Academia Istropolitana Nova, in Bratislava, Slovakia within the framework of the European Union TEMPUS programme

1999

  • The President participates as founding member in the environmental law conference on the ”Role of an International Court on the Environment in Achieving Global Environmental Justice”. The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA Bionews no. 18 April 1999, p.4, Bionews no.20 October 1999,p.3

1997

  • ”Bio-policy and bio-legislation: needed strategies for the millennium,” keynote address at the Parliamentarian Conference on Environmental and Industrial Safety Legislation, Budapest, Hungary. Programme

1992

  • Bio-Legislation was discussed extensively at the Fifth B.I.O. International Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, in the presence of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, the Turkish Minister of Interior, Minister of Tourism, Minister of Environment, Governor of Istanbul, Mayor of Istanbul, Head of the Information Department of the President of Russia, President of Ankara University BioNews no. 6, April 1996, p.10 PhotosProgramme

1991

  • Proposal for introducing Biopolitics into the Russian legislation

1988