There has been an exponential growth in international environmental treaty-making over the past fifty years, to the point of 'treaty congestion' - with a total of more than 1,300 multilateral (global and regional) agreements on the topic and close to 3,000 bilateral ones currently in force. This research review addresses this phenomenon from a variety of disciplinary perspectives: international law, political science, and 'ecological economics'. The objective is comparative analysis, with a view to identifying common features and common problems of transnational environmental regimes, in light of their historical evolution, their application and effectiveness in practice, and possible lessons learned in their institutional 'interplay' with each other.

The first in an exciting new series on international environmental law, this incisive collection of 18 seminal essays traces the evolution of the subject from its early beginnings, through the formative years of the Stockholm and Rio de Janeiro UN Conferences to the contemporary 'post-modern' era. The articles selected provide an overview of the legal discourse that shaped the emergence of this discipline. They also illustrate how international environmental law - in a multitude of treaties, jurisprudence of courts and tribunals, and a growing body of recognized customary principles - has not only come to govern the management of our planet's common natural resources, but has had a profound impact on the general theory and practice of international law. The History and Origin of International Environmental Law will be of lasting interest to scholars and students in the history of international relations and political science, and offers valuable lessons for future governance of the global environment. 18 articles, dating from 1915 to 2011 Contributors include: P.W. Birnie, S. McCaffrey, M.J. Glennon , R.L. Meyer, K. Raustiala, J.L. Sax, L.B. Sohn, C.D. Stone, J.B. Wiener