International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
Encyclopedia
The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) is a global network of environmental compliance and enforcement practitioners dedicated to raising awareness of compliance and enforcement across the regulatory cycle; developing networks for enforcement cooperation; and strengthening capacity to implement and enforce environmental requirements.
Founded in 1989 by The Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA), INECE links the environmental compliance and enforcement efforts of more than 4,000 practitioners - inspectors, prosecutors, regulators, parliamentarians, judges, international organizations,and non-governmental organization
s - from 120 countries.
The Executive Planning Committee (EPC), as the governing body of INECE, defines INECE's cooperative efforts and makes decisions to realize the INECE mission. It is co-chaired by representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Netherlands Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development (VROM), and the Brazil Supreme Court (STJ). The INECE Secretariat provides technical, administrative, and communications support for Executive Planning Committee functions and helps to implement the INECE work program. Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, is the current Director of the INECE Secretariat.
INECE participants include inspectors, prosecutors, regulators, parliamentarians, judges, other governmental officials, and members of international and non-governmental organizations. INECE is an informal network, and any environmental compliance and enforcement practitioners may join the network by registering through the INECE Web site. INECE participants support the mission and objectives of the network, and may carry out these activities on an individual, organizational, bilateral, and/or multilateral basis as appropriate.
Founded in 1989 by The Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(US EPA), INECE links the environmental compliance and enforcement efforts of more than 4,000 practitioners - inspectors, prosecutors, regulators, parliamentarians, judges, international organizations,and non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s - from 120 countries.
Organizational structure
INECE's organizational structure consists of its Executive Planning Committee, its implementing Secretariat, and its participants.The Executive Planning Committee (EPC), as the governing body of INECE, defines INECE's cooperative efforts and makes decisions to realize the INECE mission. It is co-chaired by representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Netherlands Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development (VROM), and the Brazil Supreme Court (STJ). The INECE Secretariat provides technical, administrative, and communications support for Executive Planning Committee functions and helps to implement the INECE work program. Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, is the current Director of the INECE Secretariat.
INECE participants include inspectors, prosecutors, regulators, parliamentarians, judges, other governmental officials, and members of international and non-governmental organizations. INECE is an informal network, and any environmental compliance and enforcement practitioners may join the network by registering through the INECE Web site. INECE participants support the mission and objectives of the network, and may carry out these activities on an individual, organizational, bilateral, and/or multilateral basis as appropriate.
International Conference
INECE conferences bring together enforcement officials from both developed and developing countries all over the world to share experiences and make plans to take environmental compliance and enforcement efforts to the next level. INECE has hosted eight international conferences since 1990:- 8th International Conference, Cape Town, South Africa - April 2008;
- 7th International Conference, Marrakesh, Morocco - April 2005;
- 6th International Conference, San Jose, Costa Rica - April 2002;
- 5th International Conference, Monterey, California, USA - November, 1998;
- 4th International Conference, Chiang Mai, Thailand - April, 1996;
- 3rd International Conference, Oaxaca, Mexico - April, 1994;
- 2nd International Conference, Budapest, Hungary - September, 1992;
- 1st International Enforcement Workshop, Utrecht, The Netherlands - May, 1990;
INECE Expert Working Groups
INECE expert working groups provide opportunities for participants to collaborate to respond to environmental compliance and enforcement challenges and to share knowledge gained with the broader network through workshops, conferences, publications, and email discussion groups. Major expert working groups and topical networks include:- the Seaport Environmental Security Network
- the International Network for Environmental Compliance Training Professionals
- the INECE Expert Working Group on Compliance Aspects of Emissions Trading
- the INECE Expert Working Group on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Indicators
Capacity Building Programs for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
INECE training resources developed to help individuals responsible for environmental protection in different countries, regions, and localities design and implement compliance strategies and enforcement programs include:- The Principles of Environmental Enforcement
- Conducting Environmental Inspections Training Manual
- Performance Measurement Guidance for Compliance and Enforcement Practitioners (2nd edition)
See also
- Environmental lawEnvironmental lawEnvironmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
- Global governanceGlobal governanceGlobal governance or world governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region when there is no power of enforcing compliance. The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization...
- List of environmental lawsuits
- List of international environmental agreements
- Sustainable developmentSustainable developmentSustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
- Timeline of environmental eventsTimeline of environmental eventsThe timeline lists geological, astronomical, and climatological events in relation to events in human history which they influenced. For the history of humanity's perspective on these events, see timeline of the history of environmentalism...
- TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network
Further reading
- Durwood Zaelke, Donald Kaniaru, and Eva Kružíkov (Eds.), Making Law Work: Environmental Compliance & Sustainable Development (Volumes I and II). Cameron May, 2005.