Photo: WCEL
Upcoming Webinars
Environmental Liability and Biodiversity
Photo: Jax Schwanke
Date: Friday 25 June, 2021
Time: 16:00-18:00 CEST
Biodiversity loss--driven by actions such as illegal wildlife trade, deforestation, climate change, and mining--causes cascading ecological, social, and economic harm. These impacts place growing demands on legal systems not only to tighten regulations and strengthen enforcement, but also to hold responsible parties liable for the harm they cause.
Although the substance, procedures and practices of law vary across countries, many countries provide a legal right to remedy when the environment is harmed—including in Brazil, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, European Union members, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines and United States (Jones et al. 2015). Yet, liability for environmental harm is virtually absent from practice in many high-biodiversity countries, notably across the Global South. And even where environmental liability has been employed, it has rarely been used to address key drivers of biodiversity, including from illegal harvest, use and trade of natural resources (see Phelps et al.; https://www.conservation-litigation.org/).
Strategically leveraged, existing environmental liability laws provide a potentially ground-breaking opportunity to better safeguard biodiversity by remedying harm when it occurs -- holding responsible parties liable for actions such as species rehabilitation, apologies and habitat conservation.
The body of precedent cases, expert guidance, and experience to build lawsuits to remedy biodiversity harm is nascent in most Global South countries. In this session, we will consider the emerging role of environmental liability litigation.
Moderator: Jacob Phelps, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster Environment Centre, UK
Panelists:
- Antonio Herman Benjamin, Justice, National High Court of Brazil – STJ; Chair, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Rule of law to address harm to biodiversity, specifically the call for liability litigation as additional to traditional criminal prosecutions and administrative fines (e.g., in reference to Rio Declaration Principle 13)
- Valerie Fogleman, Professor of Law, Cardiff University, Wales UK, Opportunities and challenges of operationalising environmental liabilities for harm to biodiversity
- David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, Canada, The growing need for biodiversity litigation and its links to human rights
- John Pendergrass, Vice President for Programs and Publications, Environmental Law Institute, USA Overview of environmental liability legal authorities around the globe
- Carol A. Jones, Visiting Scholar in Environmental Economics, Environmental Law Institute, USA, Valuing environmental liability damage claims over 30 years (from Exxon Valdez to new Indonesia illegal wildlife trade case) – moving toward restoration-based damage claims
- Rika Fajrini, Indonesian Centre for Environmental Law & Taufiq Purna Nugraha, Indonesian Institute of Life Sciences, Indonesia, Launching the guideline: Pioneering civil lawsuits for harm to threatened species
- Ofir Drodi, EAGLE Network, Kenya, Integrating civil liability claims into illegal wildlife trade cases
- Sébastien Mabile, Seattle Avocats and Mighty Earth, France, Building biodiversity liability cases, the Calanques National Park example
- Rebecca Nichols, Lecturer, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Research on judges’ views about conservation litigation using mock trails
Past Webinars
WCEL Webinar 11: Recent Developments in Environmental Rule of Law in Africa (Part 1)
Friday 13 November, 2020
Moderator: Dr. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja President, East African Court of Justice
Panelists:
- Justice Sir Dennis Adjei, Ghana Court of Appeal, Unmasking the Perpetrators of Environmental Crimes in Africa
- Justice Nambitha Dambuza, Supreme Court of Appeal: South Africa, Towards realisation of the right to a non-harmful environment - Episodes from African Judiciaries, Justice Nambitha Dambuza
- Hon. Lady Justice Dr. Millicent Odeny, High Court of Kenya, Recent Legislative, Policy and Judicial developments in Environmental Rule of Law in Kenya
- Judge Elisa Samuel, Director, Center for Legal and Judicial Training of Mozambique, Strengthening Institutional Capacity of Judicial Training on Environmental Law in Africa- A case of Mozambique Judicial Training Center
WCEL Webinar 10: Environmental Law in Africa: What is the Role of Civil Society in Environmental Governance?
Thursday 26 November
Moderator: Ayman Cherkaoui, Coordinator and Chargé of Strategic Development at Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection
Opening Remarks: Robert Wabunoha, UN Environment Regional Coordinator
Panelists:
- Honorable Mamadou Diallo, IUCN Regional Councilor, Secretary General of the Association Sénégalaise des Amis de la Nature (ASAN)
- Xolisa Ngwadla, Business Development & Commercialisation Executive at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Omoyemen Lucia Odigie-Emmanuel, President, Centre for Human Rights and Climate Change Research, Law: An Important Tool to Promote Integrated Approaches to the Environment
WCEL Webinar 9: Fishing on the High Seas and Marine Protected Areas
Tuesday 13 October
Opening Remarks: Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Moderator: Cymie Payne, Associate Professor, Rutgers Law School, WCEL Oceans, Coasts, and Coral Reefs Specialist Group Chair
Panelists:
- Dr. Nilufer Oral, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, International Law and IUU Fishing
- Robbert Casier, Assistant Programme Specialist, World Heritage Marine Programme, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, UNESCO Marine World Heritage: Beacons of Hope in a Changing Ocean
- Maria Amparo Alban, Founding Partner, Inter-American Institute on Justice and Sustainability (IIJS), Galapagos at Risk: International Marine Protection, Challenges & Legal Options
- Dr. Evan Ellis, Research Professor of Latin American Studies, U.S. Army War College Strategic, Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Latin Americas Experience with Deepwater Foreign Fishing Fleets
- Kristina M. Gjerde, Senior High Seas Advisor, IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme, MPAs and Roles for the BBNJ agreement
Selected Articles:
Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of IUU Fishing under International Law
Chinese Continue Rampant Fish Poaching in Latin American Waters
China Issues New Sustainability Rules for its Notorious Fishing Fleet
Legal Tools for Strengthening Marine Protected Area Enforcement: A Handbook
WCEL Webinar 8: Recent Developments in European Environmental Law Jurisprudence (Part 2)
Friday, 4 September 2020
Moderator: Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union
Panelists:
- Dr. Charles-Hubert Born, Professor of Law, University of Louvain, CJEU jurisprudence on protection of habitats: Natura 2000
- Dr. Laura Burgers, Lecturer in Private Law, Amsterdam Centre for Transformative private law, University of Amsterdam, Climate Change Litigation in European Private Law
- Dr. Christoph Sobotta, Legal Secretary (Référendaire), Chambers of Advocate General Juliane Kokott Court of Justice of the European Union, Recent CJEU Jurisprudence on Air Quality
- Dr. Hendrik Schoukens, Post-doc Assistant and Lecturer, Ghent University, Recent CJEU Jurisprudence on Strict Species Protection
WCEL Webinar 7: Recent Developments in European Environmental Law Jurisprudence (Part 1)
Friday, 28 August 2020
Opening Remarks: Dr. Bruno Oberle, Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature
Overview of WCEL Webinar Series: Christina Voigt, Professor of Law, University of Oslo, Chair, WCEL Climate Change Specialist Group
Moderator: Lord Robert Carnwath, Former Justice, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Panelists:
- Dr. Luc Lavrysen, Judge, Belgian Constitutional Court, Introduction to European & National Courts
- Dr. Birgit Peters, Assistant Professor of Public Law, International and European Law, University of Rostock, ECHR and the Environment: Limits & Possibilities
- Dr. Jan Darpö, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Law Uppsala Universitet, Aarhus, EU & Access to Justice in Environmental Decision-making
- Judge Marc Clément, Presiding Judge, Administrative Court of Lyon, Impact assessments and public participation: new horizons proposed by the CJEU?
WCEL Webinar 6: Are Multilateral Environmental Agreements effective for ocean conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region?
14 August 2020
Moderators:
Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio Professor, University of Cebu School of Law
Maria-Goreti Muavesi Senior Environmental Legal Officer, IUCN Oceania Regional Office
Panelists:
- Dr. Transform Aqorau, Designated Solomon Islands Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Examining the Law of the Sea, and Post Law of the Sea Developments for the Pacific Islands: Unfinished Business
- Clement Mulalap, Legal Advisor to the Permanent Mission of the Federated States of Micronesia to the United Nations, The Pacific Islands, the UNFCCC, and the Ocean: Addressing Silos in International Environmental Law for Ocean Conservation
- Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Ripples and Waves: How Effective is Marine Conservation in the Asia-Pacific under the CBD?
A recording is not available for this Webinar due to technical difficulties.
WCEL Webinar 5:
Judges as Guardians of Water Resources:
The Brasília Declaration of Judges on Water Justice
Friday, 17 July 2020
Moderator:
Stefano Burchi, Chair, IUCN WCEL Specialist Group on Water & Wetlands
Panelists:
- Brian J. Preston, Chief Judge, Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
- Oscar Angote, Justice, Environment and Land Court at Machakos
- María del Pilar García, Director of the Department of Environmental Law, Universidad Externado de Colombia
- Michael Hantke Domas, Former Justice, Third Environmental Court of Chile
WCEL Webinar 4: Climate Change in the Courts
11 june 2020
Moderator:
Christina Voigt, IUCN WCEL Climate Change Specialist Group Chair, Professor, University of Oslo
Panelists:
- Joana Setzer, Assistant Professor, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, Global Trends in Climate Litigation
- César Rodríguez-Garavito, Visiting Professor of Clinical Law, New York University School of Law, Human Rights and Climate Litigation: A Global Assessment of the “Rights Turn”
- Michael Gerrard, Professor and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School, Climate Change Litigation in the USA: Moving Beyond Statutes
- Tessa Khan, Co-Director, Climate Litigation Network, A project of Urgenda Foundation, Looking ahead: What is Next for Climate Litigation?
WCEL Webinar 3: Las herramientas de derecho ambiental en el abordaje de las pandemias globales en las Américas
Using Environmental Law Tools Address Global Pandemics in the Americas
Thursday, 28 May 2020
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Moderators:
- Claudia de Windt, WCEL Steering Committee Member, Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Intitute
- Nicholas Bryner, WCEL Steering Committee Member, Professor, Louisiana State University (LSU)
Panelists:
- Ana Maria Hernandez, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Cruce entre ecosistemas humanos, salud de las especies y el planeta (At a Crossroads of Human Ecosystems, Species and Planet Health)
- Yovana Murillo, Regional Coordinator Wildlife Traffic, World Conservation Society (WCS), El tráfico de vida silvestre y la pandemia, ideas para repensar nuestra relación con naturaleza (Wildlife trafficking and the pandemic, ideas to rethink our relationship with nature)
- Ricardo Lorenzetti, Minister, Supreme Court of Argentina, Estado de Derecho Ambiental: Enfoques y Respuestas (Environmental Rule of Law, Concepts and Responses)
- Elvis Rodas, Minister of Environment of Honduras and Chair of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), Hacia una reconstrucción verde: Herramientas de políticas para prevenir la próxima pandemia (On Pathway to Green Reconstruction: Policy tools to Avert the Next Pandemic)
Speaker Biographies (en) - Reseñas Biográficas (es)
WCEL Webinar 2: A Fresh Look at Global Wildlife Trade Law: Can CITES Help Prevent Pandemics?
18 May 2020
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Moderator:
Sheila Abed, WCEL Chair Emerita
Panelists:
- John Scanlon, Special Envoy, African Parks, Former Secretary-General, CITES, Is CITES enough or do we need more?
- Ambassador Judi Wakungu, Kenyan Ambassador to France, Former Environment Minister, Kenya, Perspective of a CITES Party
- Prof. Qin Tianbao, Director, Research Institute of Environmental Law (RIEL), Wuhan University, China’s domestic implementation of CITES and its international implications
WCEL Webinar 1: Using Environmental Law Tools to Address Global Pandemics
24 April 2020
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Moderator:
Denise Antolini, WCEL Deputy Chair, Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law
Panelists:
- Nicholas Robinson, WCEL Chair Emeritus, Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Addressing the Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Legal Perspective
- Elizabeth Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, Reducing Biodiversity Loss: At the Crossroads of Human, Ecosystems and Animal Health
- Christian Walzer, Executive Director of Wildlife Health, Wildlife Conservation Society, Spillover: Rethinking our Relationship with Wildlife and Wild Places
