As biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation accelerate, restoration has become a central strategy to reverse ecological damage and ensure long-term sustainability. However, the legal frameworks governing restoration remain fragmented and weakly enforced. Strengthening coordination between international and national laws is critical to achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
This session explores how international environmental law can support restoration by better integrating with national legal systems. It examines both normative and institutional dimensions of restoration across national and international legal frameworks, with a focus on coordination.
We invite contributions that explore ecosystem restoration across diverse environments, focusing on:
1. The legal basis for restoration under multilateral environmental agreements (e.g. CBD, Ramsar Convention, UNCCD, UNCLOS) and their operational mechanisms;
2. The formulation, assessment, and reporting and monitoring of restoration plans under treaty regimes, and how these obligations are integrated into national laws;
3. Jurisdictional and sovereignty challenges in restoration implementation, including coordination between States and among central and subnational authorities;
4. The roles of international organizations, treaty bodies, dispute settlement mechanisms, NGOs, and private actors in developing and enforcing restoration-related norms at international and national levels;
5. Innovative legal approaches at national and international levels to scale up restoration, including rights-based frameworks, due diligence duties, and ecosystem-based obligations.