what is ecolex? ecolex is an information service on environmental law, operated jointly by fao, iucn and unep. its purpose is to build capacity worldwide by providing the most comprehensive possible global source of information on environmental law . this unique resource, which combines the environmental law information holdings of fao, iucn and unep, seeks to put this information at the disposal of users world-wide, in an easily accessible service, employing modern technology. the ecolex database includes information on treaties, international soft-law and other non-binding policy and technical guidance documents, national legislation, judicial decisions, and law and policy literature. users have direct access to the abstracts and indexing information about each document, as well as to the full text of most of the information provided. what is now available on the web (www.ecolex.org) owes much to a project funded by the dutch government, which ascertained the feasibility of a joint service, and set the stage for the implementation of the resulting partnership between fao, iucn and unep. this joint service is now being further refined and developed by the three partners to best meet the needs of the user. why ecolex? environmental law has, over the past thirty years, become a recognized legal discipline, and a major tool for the achievement of environment and natural resources management, in the context of sustainable development. within this field, there has been a significant growth in multilateral and bilateral agreements, national legislation, international "soft law" documents, and law and policy literature, as well as related jurisprudence and court decisions. yet, much of this wealth of information is difficult to access, even for those whose profession is to develop and implement national legal mechanisms in the field. there are two causes for this difficulty: first, there is limited knowledge about the existence and location of this information; se