The Environmental Law and Economics Institute (IDEA for its acronyms in Spanish) was founded in 1996. It was formalized as a Non-Profit Association under Article 118 of the Paraguayan Civil Code.
The organization’s mission is to “Create and drive policies which promote integral sustainable development”.through the promotion and development of Law and Economics, with an emphasis in third generation human rights, by means of research, extension, consulting and teaching.
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Steering Committee |
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The Environmental Law and Economics Institute has been combining, since its foundation, basic legal research related to sustainable development to cover the scientific and technical needs of the sector, while leading technology exchange and supporting development through innovation proposals.
Additionally, IDEA develops an analytical and discussion approach on current national and regional events in order to generate policy and social proposals of good governance—within our area of expertise-- that can be applied in practice.
Environmental Law: Within the context of globalization and with the consolidation of free trade at a global scale, the pressures and impacts of different economic activities on the environment and its natural resources increase. Thus, developing countries are particularly vulnerable. While carrying out productive activities, or while extracting natural resources, the enforcement of established environmental norms which seek to ensure the sustainability of these activities and to protect the environment are often ignored. Environmental conflicts arise with increasing frequency within all sorts of human activities, especially economic activities. In some cases it is the State itself, or individuals, who incur in different environmental responsibilities through their activities. Hence the importance of strengthening capacities within Environmental Law.
Environmental Economics: This terminology is used to refer, in broad terms, to the economics branch, which extends its own analytical instruments to the natural environment for relative considerations.
Environmental economics aspires to define principles and analytical instruments orienting them towards the efficient and sustainable management of natural resources.
On another hand, the economic growth of developing countries is based on, to a great extent, the exploitation of their natural resources. The traditional national accounting system does not take in consideration the depreciation of natural capital as a result of economic activity.
The creation of economic and environmental policy, at a national and international scale, and oriented towards sustainable development, requires a broad set of indicators. This is our area of work, within the Environmental Economics Program. A very important component of the Environmental Economic Program is the analysis of the existing relationship within Trade and Environment.
Democracy and Participation: This program began in 2001 with the belief that encouraging public participation and monitoring government actions is the only way to ensure the impact of our activities. In this regard, we can quote the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), which was signed by more than one hundred Heads of State and Government, and its Principle 10, and which states that “Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level.”
Some of the activities carried out within our programs include:
● The permanent counseling of the Commissions of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Lower Chamber of Congress, including the drafting of laws relating to the environment and access to information.
● The organization of Public Hearings.
● The counseling of private companies such as Transbarge Navegacion (known today as Rio Tinto), ABN Amro Bank and Cargill.
● o The creation of publications, including a comprehensive Environmental Law Digest (compilation, analysis and recommendations for the improvement of the environmental legal framework).
● The training of judges, prosecutors, and local government representatives in the enforcement of environmental legislation.
● The introduction and promotion of innovative tools for the conservation of private land.
● The establishment of the first Transboundary Conservation Area in the Southern Cone, jointly with the Bolivian organization PROMETA: The Peace Park Cañada El Carmen / El Corbalán.
● The design of a Valuation Methodology for Environmental Resources.
● The socio-economic analysis (published) of communities living within critical ecosystems and design of Sustainable Micro-projects for these communities.
● The analysis of applicability, and promotion of the first national experience of a Nature Debt Swap.
● The creation of a Forest Trust Fund Project.
● The completion of sustainability evaluations of trade agreements (ALCA, and EU/MERCOSUR).
● The completion of sustainability evaluations of agricultural products in Paraguay.
● The development of the Program “Citizen Access to the Congress”, which consisted of the organization of forums for citizens to relate with their representatives.
● The creation of an Impunity and Corruption Observatory in the Paraguayan environmental sector.
