History of the Academy

Founded in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network.  Located in Gland, Switzerland, it brings governments, international organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs), local communities and private enterprises together to engage in research and field projects that will develop solutions to the most pressing environmental challenges.

The IUCN understood early on the role that law needed to play in the response to environmental challenges.  In the early 1960s, the IUCN created the Commission of Environmental Law, comprised of individual experts from around the world who volunteer in the various specialist groups established by the Commission.

In 2003, recognizing the importance of promoting teaching and research in environmental law at the university level, the IUCN endorsed the idea of an Academy of Environmental Law at the First Colloquium in Shanghai, China.

The Secretariat of the IUCN Academy was established at the University of Ottawa in 2006, acknowledging the institution’s dedication to environmental law. In just a few years, the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law has been able to attract institutional members from all over the world who are ready to collaborate at the global level.  Its worldwide network is now comprised of more than 110 universities from 35 countries, with half from developing countries, enabling more than 400 environmental law professors and students to interact and to exchange knowledge, experience and resources.

The IUCN Academy operates with a license from the IUCN to use its name and logo. The Academy is governed by a ten-member Board, with three additional ex-officio members. The members of the Board represent ten major regions of the world and together, provide direction for implementing the Academy’s vision and mission. The Board members provide a vital link to academic, government and community organizations in their respective regions, and provide essential input to membership development, the identification of new teaching and research initiatives and fostering fundraising efforts.