African Environmental Law Professors and Lecturers Gather in Nairobi

After a three-year hiatus, the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers from African Universities met again in Nairobi from 14-17 December 2016. The theme of the 4th Symposium was the “Environmental Rule of Law and the Extractives Industry in Africa”. Participants presented papers on a diverse array of issues including: juridical basis of environmental rule of law; actors, structures and institutions pertinent to environmental rule of law in Africa; constitutional and legislative initiatives on environmental rule of law for sustainable development; national and regional case law on environmental rule of law for sustainable development; and implications of the extractives industry for environmental rule of law for sustainable development. Sandy Paterson from IMEL was invited to participate in the Symposium where he presented a paper titled: Developing legal literacy and governance expertise to promote effective and equitable protected areas in Africa in the light of the growing extractive industry.  The paper distilled the key role protected areas play in Africa in regulating the expansion and impact of the extractive industry on areas of high conservation value. It then sought to introduce participants to various capacity building resources developed under the IUCN ELC’s Building Capacity on Protected Areas Law and Governance Project and explored opportunities for the use in the African context.