Impunity for Burning the Earth’s Lungs: The Legality of Deforestation Under International Law and the Quest to Preserve the World’s Biodiversity

SARA KAUFHARDT*

In 2019, the Amazon, Sumatra, and Borneo rainforests suffered devastating fires as a result of slash-and-burn land clearing for the production of beef, soy beans, and palm oil. The difficulty of using international environmental law to provide accountability for this devastation demonstrates a conflict between two important goals of international environmental law—preserving permanent sovereignty over natural resources and advancing global environmental protection. This Note examines whether and to what extent international law provides redress for deforestation and biodiversity loss, using Brazil and Indonesia as case studies. First, it examines the development of four applicable legal frameworks: (1) the transboundary harm principle, (2) international criminal law, (3) sustainable development principle, and (4) the human right to a healthy environment. Second, the Note argues that these legal frameworks are instructive but ultimately ill-equipped to address deforestation and protect against biodiversity loss. Finally, the Note underscores the importance of developing a legal regime to hold corporate actors accountable for their role in deforesting the Amazon, Sumatra, and Borneo rainforests.

* J.D. Candidate, Columbia Law School, 2021. I would like to thank Professor Michael Burger for his guidance in this process. I am also deeply indebted to the Production Team on the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law for their superior work editing my Note. Finally, I would like to thank my family, Clark, Mary Kay, and Ben, for their constant support and wisdom, as well as Toni, Logan, and Milan.