Sustainable development for Iraqi oil and gas in the light of Dissertation

Sustainable development for Iraqi oil and gas in the light of international law with particular reference to Kurdistan region - Dissertation Example Chapter two describes the process of the evolution of the concept of sustainable development from the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, where the first United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) has been created, to the today’s more comprehensive and profound understanding of sustainable development as a â€Å"specific call to prioritize improvements in the well-being of the very worst-off now and in the future† (Paul 2008: p.579). Nowadays strong sustainability development of non-renewable resources, which oil and gas resources are relating to, implies that such resources should be recognised as a specific form of natural capital, and should not be exhausted for short-term benefits only (Ayres et al. 1998: p.4). In addition, chapter two gives an overview of the philosophical and theoretical dimensions of the sustainable development. This overview, made on the basis of the existing academic and professional literature, provides useful information r egarding the research in hand and helps to define the ways and concepts of reaching sustainable development in the oil and gas industry through different perspectives. ... l extent, they help to realise a process of shift from a policy of the development of environment without regard to possible negative consequences, to a political culture, which takes into consideration all current and future needs and interests of governments, communities and individuals. Chapter three views these principles in relation to the sustainable development of petroleum resources, in particular. It is emphasised that sustainable use of petroleum resources requires taking into account the criticality of these resources, the availability of technologies that intend to minimise depletion and the likelihood of other resources or technologies that can substitute for petroleum resources (WCED 1987: The Concept of Sustainable Development, Para.12). In other words, the principles of sustainable development are considered in this chapter so that they should be used to prevent â€Å"resource-use activities and projects by actors from within and outside the State† (Bottriell & French 2005: p.5). Chapter four â€Å"Strategic issues of the sustainable development of Iraqi oil and gas† explores the constitutional and legal strategies for the sustainable development of Iraqi oil and gas industry. The general assumption underlying the investigation within this chapter is that the national strategies should address the concept of sustainable development, complying with the international environmental law, on the one hand, and dealing with specific issues related to national and regional environmental legislations, on the other hand (Boer et al. 1998: p.1-3; Bosselmann 2008: p.145-148). Besides, at the national level, it is considered that the concept of sustainable development should be addressed both from the perspective of regulations related to particular environmental