Abstract

This essay sketches three interrelated trends in the evolution of international environmental law and suggests that we will enter the twenty-first century with the building blocks for more effective international environmental protection regimes in place. These are: (a) the response of international environmental law to the tension between state sovereignty and ecological interdependence; (b) the evolution toward norms that better meet environmental requirements; and (c) the movement, even by developing countries, towards broader participation in international environmental protection regimes.