ISSUE: 2010 (1)

A Word from the Editors

Welcome to the first issue of the IUCN Academy e-Journal. The brainchild of the Research Committee of the IUCN Academy, we, together with our fellow members of the Editorial Committee, were tasked with establishing the e-Journal with a view to publishing its first issue in mid-2010. Our mandate was to create an e-Journal which: keeps members updated on recent environmental law and policy developments and debates in member jurisdictions; and which provides a forum for information exchange between members. As such, we were not instructed to produce a formal academic journal, but a less formal publication containing a diversity of content.

You therefore will note that the e-Journal is divided into three main parts. The first part contains two short substantive articles, on this issue’s theme, ‘Bio-Energy’. The theme was selected so as to complement two recent Workshops held under the auspices of the IUCN Academy, namely: the Biofuels and Climate Change Law Workshop which took place in Wuhan (China) in November 2009; and the Biofuels: Legal and Policy Dimensions Workshop held in Toronto in June 2010. Both of these substantive articles have been subjected to independent review. The second part contains an array of country reports on recent developments in seventeen countries. The authors of these country reports have interpreted their mandate very differently and we have elected to retain this diversity as it reflects the varied nature of the debates and issues at play across the globe. The third part contains a series of reviews on recent books published by various members of the IUCN Academy.

We would like to express our gratitude to all those who have contributed to this issue. We hope that you find its diverse content interesting and useful to your work and look forward to your future participation whether as a reader, contributor or critic.

Finally, please note that the theme for substantive articles submitted for publication in the second issue of the e-Journal is ‘New Directions in Earth Rights, Environmental Rights and Human Rights’. This theme has been selected in an effort to facilitate awareness and debate about the draft Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (which emanated from the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth held in Bolivia in April 2010) and recent efforts by UNEP to develop a draft UN Declaration on the Environment and Human Rights. Please note further that the closing date for contributions for the second issue of the e-Journal (whether in the form of substantive articles on this theme, country reports, or book reviews) is 30 September 2010.

Alexander Paterson and Karen Morrow
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