Buenos Aires --The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) unveiled its new Environmental Law On-Line Database (E-LINE) at a panel discussion on March 7, 1997 entitled, "Facilitating Access to Latin American Environmental Laws: Opportunities, Challenges, and Economic Initiatives." The panel discussion was part of the ABA/IABA Conference on Development, the Environment & Dispute Resolution in the America: New Directions for the Privates Sector held in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 5-7, 1997.

E-Line is an internet accessible electronic database of key environmental laws, regulations and secondary legal materials for countries throughout the Inter-American region. The heart of E-Line's design includes environmental law handbooks for each project country that describe key features of that country's environmental norms, with hyper links to the full text of key environmental laws and regulations.

The panel discussion explored the resources that exist and that are being developed on the internet to expedite access to the complex web of environmental legislation in Latin America, highlighting two initiatives – CIEL’s E-Line Network and the Library of Congress’s GLIN Network.

The panel discussion also addressed how the private bar can play a leading role in improving access to Latin American environmental laws to the legal community and the type of infrastructure and funding that is required to support electronic initiatives which increase access to Latin American environmental law.