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Te Piringa – Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato is hosting the 11th IUCN Academy* of Environmental Law Colloquium in June this year. The NZ Law Foundation is providing support to bring overseas keynote speakers to the event.

This is the first time the IUCN Academy has held their annual colloquium in New Zealand. Trevor Daya-Winterbottom, Chair of the Colloquium Organising Committee, says it is regarded as the premier international environmental law conference. It is important because it enables experts in environmental law to collaborate and network. He anticipates over 120 people will attend from around the world.

He says New Zealand rarely hosts international events on environmental law. The Colloquium will give our legal academics, researchers and policy-makers a chance to connect with leading international specialists and exchange ideas about developments in the field of environmental law.

With New Zealand’s strong focus on primary production, it is important for the future of this industry that we have a coherent body of sound environmental law.

The theme for the Colloquium is ‘He Tapuwae: The Search for Environmental Justice’. He Tapuwae means ‘footprints left on the land’ and symbolises the human journey into new territory as we explore and develop our world. The programme highlights emerging issues relating to environmental law in the developing world. The plenary sessions will cover:

• Justice and the environment
• Indigenous justice and the environment
• Vulnerable communities and climate change
• Access to environmental justice

The Colloquium website has details about the programme and speakers, and about how to register.

The New Zealand Law Foundation is funding up to $20,000 towards the Colloquium.

* The Academy was established by the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) in 2003, and has grown to become a network of over 500 environmental law academics from over 160 universities based in over 50 countries worldwide.