Global Environmental Law at a Crossroads
July 1-5, 2012

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
500 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201

The year 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. But when world leaders gather for the “Rio+20” conference in June, they will face a markedly different climate than during their previous gatherings. Despite rising concern for the environment, efforts to advance global environmental governance are facing headwinds in the wake of the global financial crisis and the failure to reach consensus on a post-Kyoto response to climate change. The IUCN’s 10th Annual Colloquium will consider alternative future paths for the development of global environmental law and governance in the aftermath of the UN’s “Rio+20” Conference. Among the highlights of the Colloquium will be:

  • More than 150 presentations from experts from more than 30 countries
  • Opening dinner and keynote address by Professor Edith Brown Weiss at the National Aquarium Baltimore
  • Pre-colloquium workshops on ecosystem services and global environmental law clinics
  • Post-colloquium reception and program at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
  • Optional excursions to Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball game, Independence Day Fireworks Display and Crab Cruise on Baltimore Harbor
  • International winetasting and environmental film festival

For more information, please contact Suzann Langrall, Coordinator, Environmental Law Program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 410-706-4529

Click here for the Program (PDF) – Updated 6/26/12

This conference, Designing Law and Policy for the Transition to Sustainable Energy: The Case of Biofuels, will take place at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada, on June 9 and 10, 2011. This two-day conference tackles the issues of designing law and policy that can both enable and adapt to renewable opportunities, minimize risks and ensure an orderly transition to a susutainable energy future in Canada. Information about the program and speakers and registration are now available.

The Academy’s Eighth Colloquium took place 14 – 16 September 2010 in Ghent, Belgium, hosted by Ghent University’s Centre of Environmental Law and Energy Law. The theme of the meeting was Linkages between Biodiversity and Climate Change. You can access many of the powerpoint presentations (at the noted link) delivered at the Colloquium.

On 13 September, the IUCN Academy co-hosted, with the IUCN Environmental Law Centre and the Commission on Environmental Law, a one-day workshop on Human Rights and Environmental Protection.

The Ninth Colloquium will be held in South Africa July 3 – 7, 2011. The draft programme for the event Water and the Law: Towards Sustainability is now available. The Call for Papers outlines the themes of the conference. More information about the Colloquium arrangements can be accessed at http://www.iucnael-watercolloquium-2011.com/home/default.asp.

2011 marks the inaugural year of our Call for Best Colloquium Paper Prize, open to those delegates with accepted abstracts.

We will also be holding a half-day workshop, “Towards the Legal Recognition and Governance of Ecosystem Services", on Sunday, 3 July, just prior to the Colloquium. This workshop is jointly hosted by the Research Committee of the IUCN Academy, the IUCN Environmental Law Centre and the Commission on Environmental Law.