Effective implementation will not occur without capacity building and 'good governance'. This initiative provides a framework for environmental law capacity building for sustainable development at all levels, one that serves to forge links between existing institutions and processes, and to facilitate 'good governance' for sustainable development.

The long term objective of this initiative is: 'In every country governments and stakeholders have the capacity to actively participate in the international policy debate, to implement what is agreed through co-ordinated policies, laws and institutions that respect the rule of law and to ensure effective compliance.'

To be effective, such a programme requires global coordination, regional and national delivery and effective collaboration through a partnership of leading international, regional and national organizations.

IUCN's Environmental Law Programme is the world's oldest and largest environmental law network. It has the ability to mobilise and co-ordinate the efforts of the best environmental lawyers and organisations from countries all over the world. This includes a rich network of partners drawn from UN agencies, IGOs, NGOs and academic instiutions, in addition to the 900 volunteers in 130 countries who comprise the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law.

The development of this co-ordinated programme provides a context within which to develop and promote specific projects, including ECOLEX, the web based access to FAO, IUCN, and UNEP environmental law and policy information, the IUCN International Academy on Environmental Law, and targeted publications and training projects.

This partnership programme for capacitiy building integrates the broad suite of partnerships that comprise the IUCN Environmental Law Programme, with a view to achieving maximum leverage and to get resources 'on the ground' as effectively and efficiently as possible. Identified partners (other than the IUCN CEL, ELC and Academy) are involved in specific projects rather than the entire initiative ie FAO, IUCN and UNEP re ECOLEX.

Major Groups:
Argentinean Foundation for Environment and Natural Resources (FARN) (Argentina)
University of Botswana, Faculty of Law (Botswana)
Law for a Green Planet Institute (Brazil)
Lawyers for a Green Planet Institute (Brazil)
Research Institute for Environmental Law of Wuhan University and Environmental and Resources Law Institute, Faculty of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)
University of Costa Rica (Costa Rica)
IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (Germany)
Arab Regional Centre for Environmental Law (ARCEL) at the Faculty of Law, University of Kuwait (Kuwait)
Dr Parvez Hassan Centre for Environmental Law, Punjab University, Lahore (Pakistan)
Faculty of Law, Catholic University of Peru (Peru)
Peruvian Environmental Law Society (SPDA) (Peru)
EURASIA (Russian Federation)
Asia Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL) at the Faculty of Law, University of Singapore (Singapore)
ENF EnviroLaw Solutions (South Africa)
University of the Witwatersrand School of Law, Johannesburg and the University of Natal (South Africa)
EcoPravo Lviv (Ukraine)
FIELD (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

UN System:
FAO (Italy)
UNEP (Kenya)
UNITAR (Switzerland)
UNDP (United States of America)

Other intergovernmental organizations:
The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Environmental Law Programme (Germany)
Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) (Hungary)
South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) (Samoa)
Global Water Partnership (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)