Building Capacity on Protected Areas Law & Governance Module 7 International Law and Protected Areas Exercise 2 Domestic Compliance with International Law

Background  Purpose  To enhance understanding of selected international agreements.  To promote awareness of the relationship between international law and domestic protected areas law.  To develop critical legal analytical skills for evaluating the translation of international law into domestic legislation.  To encourage understanding of implementation arrangements in creating an effective protected areas regime.  Structure  Introduction to Exercise (20 minutes)  Small Group Work (60 minutes)  Small Group Presentations (40 minutes)

The Case Study Water and Wetlands Domestic challenges to compliance apply the law to the facts

The Task for Each Group  Identify international obligations respecting the protection of wetlands, watercourses, and habitat relevant to your priority issue(s)  Determine whether proposed developments or activities will put the country out of compliance with the identified obligations  Identify specific objections and concerns or interpretative challenges, including issues associated with:  the scope and definition of wetlands;  the importance, contribution or value of wetlands;  reasonable use of watercourses  and so on …

Last Few Things  Importance of understanding legal terminology  Significance of contested interpretation  Procedures for resolving disputes  Nature of compliance obligations  Significance of non-compliance  Domestic and international compliance mechanisms