Pollution, resource depletion, habitat management, and climate change
are all issues that necessarily transcend national boundaries.
Accordingly, they and other environmental concerns have been a
particular focus for international organizations from before the First
World War to the present day. This volume is the first to
comprehensively explore the environmental activities of professional
communities, NGOs, regional bodies, the United Nations, and other
international organizations during the twentieth century. It follows
their efforts to shape debates about environmental degradation, develop
binding intergovernmental commitments, and--following the seminal 1972
Conference on the Human Environment--implement and enforce actual
international policies.