[...]... Luft- und Weltraumrecht Chapter One Introduction 1.1 General Background This book examines the current international legal regimes in space law and environmental law in order to ascertain their applicability and efficacy in addressing environmental threats in the use of outer space Outer space is the space upwards from the airspace (atmosphere) surrounding the Earth As the composition of atmosphere does... working at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lapland, the Department of Law of the University of Joensuu, and the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland The longest time I have spent at the Arctic Centre, where I have had the opportunity to be engaged in research and teaching in areas of international law also beyond the. .. particularly space- related international legal instruments for the needs of the space sector As the help available from international treaties remains quite limited, the examination turns to the principles of international environmental law for any relief they might be capable of providing Part Five is the core contribution of the book It concentrates on the prospects for developing new instruments for environmental. .. to introduce more environmentalist elements into the space sector,48 such an approach is still not very common today.49 This is particularly true where space law is concerned In addition to the lack of adequate environmental concern within space law, general international environmental law has paid relatively little attention to the space sector.50 The development of a distinctively space- centered environmental. .. applied in global environmental diplomacy today Other mechanisms examined which could facilitate the adoption of increasingly effective international norms include the use of selective incentives and differential obligations Promoting overachievement of treaty obligations is yet another approach to the issues that are taken up Considering the challenges encountered in international norm-making in the space. .. meeting the environmental challenges posed by space activities, urging the international community to extend the principle of sustainable development, above all, to the space sector in order to ensure a proper balance between the pursuit of economic interests and the protection of the environment 1.3 Approach of the Book Obviously, a thorough examination of the entire modern space sector from an environmental. .. management of the space sector There is an obvious need to clarify the ambiguous obligations of the UN space treaties in one way or another The presumption is that the international community could be made more receptive to the adoption of such reforms by mechanisms similar to those used in international norm-making in the environmental sector Accordingly, one starting point is an analysis of the ‘framework... problems related to space activities which can be labelled environmental Part Three proceeds to sketch the fundamental elements of environmental management of space activities by studying the current instruments of the international law of outer space and assessing their suitability for addressing environmental concerns The presentation also examines focal developments within international organizations... the issue at a wider international level but as yet there exists no binding international regulation either for alleviation of the hazards deriving from space debris or other environmental problems related to space activities In the increasingly international, commercialized and privatized space sector global rules are essential, however They would ensure a level (or at least relatively fair) playing... upon industrial development and relies on a substantially anthropocentric worldview Both of these orientations entail little environmentalist thinking Part One also contains a presentation of the expanding spectrum of the various stakeholders in the modern space sector They generate increasing complexity in the management of space activities, not least from a legal point of view Part Two examines the . alt="" The Environmental Element in Space Law Studies in Space Law General Editor Frans G. von der Dunk International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden. of Congress Cataloging -in- Publication Data Viikari, Lotta. The environmental element in space law : assessing the present and charting the future / by Lotta