| Capacity Building Initiatives |
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The Academy encourages teaching and university-level capacity building in environmental law worldwide, with special attention to developing countries and economies in transition. The Academy will facilitate exchanges of teaching and research faculty among and between universities to enhance the teaching of environmental law, build up the network of scholars who know and collaborate with each other, and enhance comparative study of environmental law. Teaching interactive “real time” Environmental Law courses over the Internet or via audio-video systems is encouraged. The Academy has identified two broad contexts within which the Academy might promote teaching in environmental law. Different objectives are attributable to each of these contexts: Collaborative teachingCollaborative teaching involves ventures where the participating parties are on a relatively equal footing in terms of the intellectual inputs provided (though one may contribute the larger proportion of the resources required).The joint arrangement between Pace and APCEL in relation to the teaching of Comparative Environmental Law is an example of this form of collaborative teaching. Such arrangements are particularly suited to courses of a comparative nature, such as a basic Comparative Environmental Law course, or in a more specialized context (eg., Comparative EIA Law, or Comparative Environmental Litigation). The Academy’s role in relation to these types of collaborative exercises might be regarded as purely facilitative, in the sense that its objective is to serve as a catalyst or “broker” in relation to the development of such teaching arrangements. Presentation on IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Draft Teaching Plan (Professor Rob Fowler, May 2007) Arranging teaching assistance in response to needThe Academy may also choose to involve itself in the promotion of teaching ventures where the objective is to meet a need for assistance in environmental law teaching that has arisen within a developing country or a country with an economy in transition. In this situation, the Academy may be called upon to perform a more proactive role with respect to the matters of curriculum development, mode of delivery and, possibly, funding. Whilst the concept of “collaborative” teaching may need to be adapted in this context to take into account a lack of expertise in a particular situation, it need not be abandoned altogether. It could be possible, and indeed desirable, to include ‘local’ academics as participants in any courses delivered, with a view to having them take over the teaching task subsequently. Local teachers also could be encouraged to deliver some limited teaching in these courses, as appropriate to their level of knowledge on the subject-matter; or alternatively, to lead student discussion groups within the courses.Areas and ProgramsGrantsCapacity-building projects approved and completed |