The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law
The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law is a world-wide network of close to 100 universities and research institutions teaching and pursuing research in environmental law. Launched in 2003 with the support of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) the Academy was established to support the development of environmental law and policy on a global scale. The Academy is under the direction of a Governing Board whose members come from around the world.
The Academy recognizes that environmental legal education is a vital contributor to the rule of law and to the robust environmental governance essential for sustainable development. The Academy is focused on:
- The development and delivery of programs aimed at building university teaching capacity in environmental law
- The generation of global research programs with major partners to feed into international environmental law and policy agendas
- The convening of major international conferences and exchanges through the efforts of the Secretariat and electronic communications
The Secretariat of the IUCN Academy was established in 2006 and is supported by the University of Ottawa and the Faculty of Law. In addition to working closely with environmental law faculty, the IUCN Academy is well positioned to foster linkages amongst law schools in Canada and globally.
In the five years since the IUCN Academy was launched, the collaborative efforts of law schools, leading environmental law scholars and experts around the world have resulted in six international colloquia, each in a different country, that have addressed some of the most urgent issues related to environmental law. The most recent colloquia took place in Mexico City in November 2008, and focused on Environmental Protection and Poverty Alleviation Planning is underway for the November 2009 Colloquium in Wuhan, China, with a theme of Environmental Governance. An important outcome of each of these global conferences has been the publication and wide dissemination of the papers delivered at these landmark events.
The Academy regularly convenes scholars, students and policy experts to share the most up-to-date research on environmental law. In the fall of 2008, the University of Ottawa hosted the IUCN Academy’s international conference on Climate Law in Developing Countries. Many members of the law faculty and law students attended this three day event and the publication of selected papers from the conference will be published later this year.
The Academy also promotes various activities to enhance the capacities in environmental legal education in universities and related institutions, focusing on developing countries and economies in transition. These activities include the preparation of environmental law curricula and the conduct of “training the trainers” programs.
The website of the Academy can be accessed at www.iucnael.org.
The Secretariat is supported by both the Common Law and Civil Law sections of the Faculty of Law. The Director is Professor Yves le Bouthillier ylebouth@uottawa.ca and the Manager is Carolyn Farquhar Carolyn.Farquhar@uottawa.ca. Our Membership manager is Winnie Carruth iucnael@uottawa.ca. (see photo) The Secretariat is located on the 5th floor of Fauteux in offices 534, 535, and 536.
Left to right: Carolyn Farquhar, Yves Le Bouthillier, Winnie Carruth