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Editor --- "Books received" [2009] NZJlEnvLaw 10; (2009) 13 NZJEL 341

Last Updated: 31 January 2023

341

Books received

Many environmental books have been published in 2009 dealing with general or specific topics. The texts noted below, in alphabetical order of first author, represent a limited selection. Ed.

Carolyn Abbot, Enforcing Pollution Control Regulation — Strengthening Sanctions and Improving Deterrence, Hart: Oxford, 2009, 268 pages.

Carolyn Abbot is a lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester. The monograph provides an economic analysis of law enforcement, in relation to deterrence effectiveness and the severity of sanctions. It focuses on formal pollution control law and enforcement, and assesses pollution control laws and sanctions in Australia, Canada, and England and Wales. The work provides a detailed academic and pragmatic analysis of the available tools, and provides for models and direction to achieve best maximum effectiveness.

Richard Barnes, Property Rights and Natural Resources, Hart: Oxford, 2009, 436 pages.

This book, awarded a best book prize by the Society of Legal Scholars, UK, provides a definitive analysis of natural resources regulation and the relation­ ship to the private functions of property and public functions of property rights. The nine chapters include the reconciliation of private and public functions of property, concepts of sovereign rights over ocean space and resources, property rights and the management of fisheries. Comparative analysis is made with property rights­based regulatory systems in Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, and the United States. Richard Barnes is a senior lecturer in Law at the University of Hull.

Rosemary Lyster and others, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales, 2nd ed., The Federation Press, 2009, 726 pages.

This new edition of a standard text includes contributions by Rosemary Lyster,

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Zada Lipman, Nicola Franklin, Graeme Wiffen, and Linda Pearson. The 16 chapters commence with an overview of environmental law in Australia, then deal with managing environmental conflict, land use planning, development control, environmental assessment and Commonwealth assessment. Other chapters deal with energy and climate law, water management, integrated national resource management, conserving biodiversity, protected areas, heritage, pollution, waste and contaminated land, chemicals and dangerous goods, and lastly, corporate social responsibility. Overall, this is an authoritative statement of the environmental law applicable in New South Wales and is a standard reference book for the subject.

Colin Reid, Nature Conservation Law, 3rd ed., Thomson Reuters, 2009, 435 pages.

This text recognises, firstly, that an increasing volume of law is dedicated to nature conservation but that other areas of law affect the survival of species and habitats. Secondly, it deals with conservation law primarily in the UK and not policy or practice. The eight chapters comprehend an introduction, the responsible authorities, the protection of wild animals, exploitation and destruction of wildlife, conservation of habitats, plants, European and international aspects, and miscellaneous regulatory matters. Three schedules identify protected birds, animals, plants, hunting seasons, and licence details. The book constitutes a definitive statement of the relevant legislation.

Benjamin Richardson, Shin Imai and Kent McNeil, Indigenous Peoples and the Law — Comparative and Critical Perspectives, Hart: Oxford, 2009, 432 pages.

Part of the Osgoode Readers series, this title offers an interdisciplinary and cosmopolitan treatment of the essential elements of the subject. It focuses on the common law jurisdictions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The 15 chapters include contributions from 10 other authors. The result is a comprehensive discourse on the legal situation of indigenous peoples in the countries noted and elsewhere. The second part of the book canvasses contemporary issues and claims of indigenous peoples, including land rights, mobility rights, community self­governance, environmental governance, alternative dispute resolution, legal status of women, and the place of indigenous legal traditions and legal theory. The text comprises a wealth of detail and timely information on the subject.

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Aine Ryall, Effective Judicial Protection and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive in Ireland, Hart: Oxford, 2009, 286 pages.

Aine Ryall is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law at University College Cork. Her work is concerned with enforcement of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive in Ireland and, by extension, in the European Union more widely. The examination involves the role played by the public in environmental decision­making, amendments to the Directive prompted by the Aarhus Convention, and the core elements of effective judicial protection developed by the European Court of Justice. Her work also examines the extent to which Irish planning and administrative law meets the requirements of the principle of effective judicial protection and access to justice. The work is highly informative of the legal situation in Ireland and the relationship of the European Directive.

Peter Sankoff and Steven White, Animal Law in Australasia — A New Dialogue, The Federation Press, 2009, 418 pages.

This publication is not a legal textbook in the traditional sense, but a discourse under 17 chapters contributed by 15 authors on the present situation concerning mainly protection of animals from human mistreatment. The topics include farm animals, companion animals, live exports, scientific experimentation, recreational hunting, animal cruelty, European and international legislation, and animal advocacy. A scholarly examination of the legal relationship between humans and animals is assessed at the policy, factual, legal, and theoretical levels. Conclusions are reached as to the adequacy of protection for animals and need for changes. The book would be of wide interest to not only students, but also policy­makers and administrators.

Mark Stallworthy, Understanding Environmental Law, Sweet and Maxwell: London, 2008, 223 pages.

Mark Stallworthy is Professor of Environmental Law and co­Director at the Centre for Environmental and Energy Law and Policy, Swansea University. The text — part of the Understanding Law series, being a collection of introductory texts designed with the new law student in mind — provides a straightforward, lucid overview of environmental law, and goes beyond traditional black­letter exposition to offer the wider contextual understanding of the subject. Significant key case law and statutory developments are covered. The eight chapters cover the concept of environmental law, societal responses, representing the environment, methods of legal regulation and challenges, law and environmental risk, law and a sustainable future. The conclusion deals

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with climate change in particular, and the need for a low­carbon economy. This is likely to become a widely used reference for all persons interested in environmental law.

Leslie A Stein, Principles of Planning Law, Oxford University Press, 2008, 344 pages.

The author is a former chair of the Western Australian Town Planning Appeal Tribunal. The text comprises eight chapters, dealing with the underpinnings of planning law, planning system regimes, policy and planning law, development control, relevant considerations, amenity and the public interest, conditions, and appeals and judicial review. Overall, it represents a definitive theoretical and practical analysis of planning law, principally within the Australian context. The foreword by Professor Patrick McAuslan, of the University of London, acknowledges the quality of writing as a triumph of scholarship and commitment to the subject.

Christina Voigt, Sustainable Development as a Principle of International Law, Martinus Nijhoff, 2009, 428 pages.

Derived from a PhD thesis submitted by the author, Dr Christina Voigt, to the University of Oslo, the text is an outstanding discourse on the subject of sustainable development as an evolving principle of international law. It analyses extensively the theoretical and legal status of sustainable development, and its acceptance into the arena of international law. This is a timely publication having regard to the focus on the Kyoto Protocol and management for the future of climate change.

John Uff, Construction Law — Law and Practice Relating to the Construction Industry, 10th ed., Sweet and Maxwell, 2009, 582 pages.

This concise and respected text, first published in 1974, represents the implementation side of environmental and planning regulation. It focuses primarily on the construction contracts which may provide for development, and covers dispute resolution under the contracts, but also considers matters of civil liability, land use planning and environmental law, and obligations relating to health and safety in construction. A wealth of detail is included for administrators, developers, property owners, and legal practitioners.