International natural resources law and sustainable investment: Principles and practices

Alam, Shawkat; Jahid, Bhuyian; Razzaque, Jona

Abstract

The authors argue that sustainable development and growth can be achieved by governments, but only through careful management of natural resources. The authors also argue
that foreign investment is, perhaps paradoxically, increasingly perceived as a pre-condition for sustainable development. Such a view is not without its controversy, given that investment laws have tended to favour foreign investors at the expense of local community interests. However, if the positive effects of foreign investment on communities and the environment are optimized, while the negative effects are simultaneously mitigated, Sustainable Development Goals are brought closer. Indeed, as long as the
activities of foreign investors are oriented in the direction of the maximisation of profit instead of the promotion of sustainable development, social and environmental wellbeing in developing countries is compromised. The authors therefore argue that if the focus of investment in natural resources is shifted to include growing recognition of the environmental and social aspects of sustainability together with the typical preoccupation with economic development and growth, international investment law may continue to evolve so as to encompass the objectives of sustainability.

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2017
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 15-44
• Book Title: International Natural Resources Law, Investment and Sustainability
• ISBN: 9781138848702
• Keywords: sustainability, natural resources, investment, sustainable development.
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/901052
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/International-Natural-Resources-Law-Investment-and-Sustainability/Alam-Hossain-Bhuiyan-Razzaque/p/book/9781138848702