Research & publications 2023

An Cliquet
Publication
01-05-23
The Rise of Ecological Restoration Law: Evolution Becomes Revolution

International Environmental Law-making and Diplomacy Review 2021, Tuula Honkonen (editor), University of Eastern Finland – UNEP Course Series 20, 2023, 1-32.

An Cliquet examines the international law on restoration. Her analysis shows that an evolution can be discerned in the existing international law in this respect, from a rather implicit attention for restoration to a gradually more extensive and explicit attention for restoration. Nevertheless, gaps still exist in the current international regime on restoration: there is lack of clarity on how and where to restore; a too narrow focus on restoration of protected areas; and a lack of concrete and binding qualitative and quantitative targets for restoration in and outside protected areas. She then discusses three recent initiatives that could potentially ameliorate the current situation with regard to the international law on restoration: the UN Decade on ecosystem restoration; developments within the global biodiversity framework; and the proposal for an EU nature restoration law. She concludes that the discussed initiatives could be promising to accelerate the commitments and implementation of restoration at global level. Furthermore, a new legal principle of restoration could, over time, help to upscale restoration activities.

An Cliquet
Publication
01-05-23
Universities as frontrunners in the effort towards green and biodiverse cities?

Kris Verheyen, Lander Baeten, An Cliquet, Jan De Doncker, Jan Mertens, Leen Van Gijsel, Pieter Van Vooren, Annemieke Verbeken, Riet Van de Velde, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 81 (2023) 127872

How can policy ambitions regarding the preservation and expansion of urban green space be turned into concrete realisations in cities? We argue that universities could play a key role here. Universities often not only have large campuses with green spaces in core urban areas, they are also centers of knowledge and education that can point to the urgency of global sustainability challenges and can leverage their expertise to contribute to solutions. To illustrate this position, we present the lessons learned from the development and implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan at Ghent University, Belgium. Four years after the adoption of the plan, the target of a net increase in biodiversity by 2030 is still far off. But we are learning that living lab-like initiatives that combine research, education and campus operation are potentially effective arenas to turn the extensive knowledge present in academic institutions into action.

An Cliquet Hendrik Schoukens Matilde Meertens
Publication
01-05-23
EU Nature Restoration Law: myths and misconceptions debunked by the SERE Legal Working Group

EU Nature Restoration Law: myths and misconceptions debunked by the SERE Legal Working Group, May 2023

There are a lot of misconceptions on the EU nature restoration law proposal. Several of these misconceptions have been debunked by the Legal Working Group on restoration. For a legal analysis, see SERE Legal Working group,  The EU Nature Restoration Law: Providing legal certainty in tackling the biodiversity and climate crisis, May 2023, available at https://serchapter2018.wpenginepowered.com/europe/files/2023/05/EU-Natur...
For a broader legal assessment of the law, see SERE Legal Working Group,  Legal assessment of the Proposal for an EU Nature Restoration Law, April 2023, available at: https://chapter.ser.org/europe/files-2023-04-sere-legal-working-group-as...

Tom Ruys Felipe Rodríguez Silvestre
Publication
22-09-23
Economic Statecraft: A Closer Look Inside the European Union’s Expanding Toolbox

(2023) 51 3 Ga. J. Int'l & Compar. L.

The FSR and the FDI screening mechanism are just two examples of a much broader set of new tools intended to strengthen the EU’s hand in the evolving geo-economic confrontation. The purpose of this Article, however, is not to exhaustively map all relevant EU instruments. Rather, it focusses specifically on three tools that raise pressing questions from an international law perspective, critically examining how they fit within the international legal framework, and what they reveal about the EU’s place therein. These tools are the revised Trade Enforcement Regulation, the revised EU Blocking Statute, and the new “Anti-Coercion Instrument” (ACI).

An Cliquet
Publication
01-04-23
Legal assessment of the Proposal for an EU Nature Restoration Law

SERE Legal Working Group, Legal assessment of the Proposal for an EU Nature Restoration Law, April 2023.

An Cliquet
Publication
01-05-23
The EU Nature Restoration Law: Providing legal certainty in tackling the biodiversity and climate crisis

SERE Legal Working Group, The EU Nature Restoration Law: Providing legal certainty in tackling the biodiversity and climate crisis, May 2023.

An Cliquet
Publication
01-07-23
Legal assessment explaining why COPA*COGECA's objections against the Nature Restoration Act proposal are misleading

SERE Legal Working Group, Legal assessment explaining why COPA*COGECA's objections against the Nature Restoration Act proposal are misleading, July 2023.