The theme of this year’s IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium – Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Law as Part of the Solution – set the scene for a lively discussion of environmental issues from across the world.
The 17th annual colloquium held in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 9 August 2019 featured presentations on environmental justice, food production and security, the climate-energy nexus, crisis responses, the circular economy, and clean water.
The Colloquium is a key international forum for environmental law researchers and teachers, and the AgLaw Centre has participated over many years. This year, six UNE Law School researchers presented. Paul Martin spoke on evidence-based assessment of environmental governance. Mark Perry presented on IP systems for sustainable agriculture. Insects as food in a climate challenged world was Sharl Marimuthu’s focus. Vivek Nemane presented on improving compliance with biosecurity laws through better understanding of human behaviour and motivation. PhD student Marta deMooy talked about the right to food and the link between nutrition and global food insecurity. Andrew Lawson highlighted proposed changes in the regulation of the Great Barrier Reef and implications for farmers. Mark Perry also presented with Amanda Kennedy and participated in a panel discussion on ‘The Digital Revolution and Teaching Environmental Law’ at the pre-colloquium teaching workshop.
The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) started in 1948 and has grown into the world’s premier environmental conservation network. Its work is organized around 14 programmes, one of which is the Environmental Law Programme (ELP).
ELP is implemented by three organizations – the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), the Environmental Law Centre (ELC), and the Academy of Environmental Law (AEL). The Academy comprises mostly academics – teachers and researchers. This year’s colloquium was organized by the Law School of the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), where Sharl has previously taught. Links for more information:
https://www.iucn.org/theme/environmental-law/about/academy-environmental-law
