This chapter of the ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law is a structured guide to researching international environmental law, with hypertext links to the sources mentioned. The author is Anne Burnett of the University of Georgia [USA] Law School Library. Content is revised and updated from time to time (currently to 11 March 2010).

A research guide prepared by Heidi Frostestad Kuehl, Research and Instructional Services Librarian at Pritzker Legal Research Center, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago. The guide, published on the GlobaLex site in May 2006, has a general introduction to the subject with a list of key abbreviations, and covers treaties, national legislation, library catalogues, subscription databases, periodicals, environmental organisations, and other types of web site relating to international environmental law.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) is a nonprofit organisation which works to use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. Its web site includes a wide variety of documents relating to international environmental law.

This is an official site produced by the Secretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It provides the text of the convention, information about meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP-MOP) to the convention and other convention bodies, and COP decisions and other recommendations made under the CBD. There are extensive links to other sites and organisations concerned with biodiversity.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England. Its web site has a wide range of information and documents including guidance, forms, consultations, reports, statistics, legislation and circulars. Site content relating to broad topics may be accessed via the subject headings at the top of each page, but given the size and complexity of the site, the detailed site map (an alphabetical list of narrow topics) and the search facility are particularly useful in locating individual documents. The links provided to other environment-related sites are also extensive.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in October 2008 to take responsibility for the government's energy policy and climate change mitigation policy. Its web site includes news, statistics, consultations and other publications. A Legislation section provides information on both legislation and White Papers, with links to texts of these and other relevant background documents.

ECOLEX is an environmental law information service operated jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the United Nations Environment Programme. Its searchable database covers treaties, national and provincial legislation, court decisions, and other related literature. There are links to full text of some treaties.

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) is a UK charity providing information and advice relating to environmental law. Its web site includes recent news articles and the latest issue of its quarterly newsletter ELFline, as well as information about its publications.

ENTRI is a searchable database of multilateral environmental treaties and related information produced by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. Information includes treaty status, and full text is provided of many treaties.

The web site of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment provides links to legislation (on the EUR-Lex section of the Europa web site), policy documents, and recent news and press releases relating to European Union environmental policy.

The T.M.C. Asser Instituut based in The Hague hosts this site devoted to European environmental law and policy. Content includes links to relevant treaties, to full-text legislation of the EU and individual member states, and to case law of the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice.

FIELD is the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development. The site's “Library” section includes access to a selection of FIELD's publications, a list of articles, many of which can be downloaded, and a link to publications on the web site of the International Institute for Environment and Development, the organisation of which FIELD is an independent subsidiary.

The First-tier Tribunal (Environment) hears appeals from civil sanctions made available for certain specified offences for use by the regulators Environment Agency and Natural England. It was created on 6 April 2010 and forms part of the First-tier Tribunal's General Regulatory Chamber. The web site includes forms and guidance, rules, and a link to the enabling legislation, the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Decisions will be added in due course.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships. Although the texts of conventions for which the IMO is responsible are not included on the site, there is a complete list of the conventions, summaries, details of status and ratifications, and extensive historical and other background information.

This project was set up by the International Environmental Law Committee of ABILA (the American Branch of the International Law Association) to contribute to wildlife conservation by helping to strengthen international wildlife treaty regimes, regional accords and related national legislation. Documents within the "Resources" section include, either on-site or via links, the text of international treaties, national and regional legislation, conference resolutions and tribunal decisions. There is also a research bibliography listing about 4000 articles and other materials.

NetRegs provides information for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK about how to comply with environmental legislation. The site is produced by the three UK environmental regulators in partnership - the Environment Agency (of England and Wales), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Guidelines are accessible both by type of business and by environmental topic. The “Environmental Legislation” section has information about current and proposed legislation.

The Planning Inspectorate's responsibilities include the processing of planning and enforcement appeals, holding inquiries into local development plans, listed building consent appeals, advertisement appeals, and reporting on planning applications. Its web site provides information, guidance, and downloadable documents and forms. The Inspectorate took on additional responsibilities in respect of common land and greens from 1 October 2007, and there are decisions and links to legislation, besides forms and guidance, in the site's Common Land section.

The responsibilities of the Planning Inspectorate for Wales include the processing of planning and enforcement appeals, holding inquiries into local development plans, listed building consent appeals, advertisement appeals, and reporting on planning applications. Its web site provides information, guidance, and downloadable documents and forms.

This research guide, published on the GlobaLex web site, is by Arundhati Ashok Satkalmi, Reference and Documents Research Librarian at the Rittenberg Law Library of St. John's University School of Law, New York. The current version was published January/February 2010, and includes a link to the original version published December 2005.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is an agency of the Scottish Government responsible for the protection of the environment in Scotland. Its site includes a wide variety of publications, including consultation documents, annual reports 1996 onwards, a range of best practice guides and other guidance, and information about SEPA's regulatory work and initiatives.

Articles on environmental and planning law, 2002 onwards, by members of a set of chambers with expertise in this area. Elsewhere on the site there are digests of environmental and planning cases in which members of chambers have been involved.

Substantial notes on UK coastal zone law, together with UK and European legislation, selected cases 1971 onwards and an extensive collection of links, are provided on this site, which is maintained by Professor John Gibson of the Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, University of Cape Town.

UKELA is the UK Environmental Law Association. The “Publications and other resources” section includes the association's newsletter e-law March 2001 onwards, consultation responses and a variety of other documents. "Press centre" has press releases 2003 onwards.

This web page provides links to all the programmes and secretariats of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) located in Geneva. These include the web sites of the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Rotterdam Convention on Trade in Hazardous Chemicals, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. UNEP is the UN body based in Nairobi, Kenya, which coordinates UN environmental activities, and most of the links from this page to other material (eg news, publications) are to sections of the main UNEP web site.