Leading international law scholars have convened in Doha for the first Middle East Environmental Law Scholars’ Conference hosted by the College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).
The conference, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and Qatar National Research Fund, presented an unprecedented opportunity for law experts, practitioners and scholars from Africa, Europe, North America and the Middle East to brainstorm about the most effective means of integrating environmental law teaching into universities in the Arab region.
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, director of the law division at the UN Environment Programme, highlighted the crucial role of including the subject in higher education curricula. “This gathering presents an opportunity to further enhance teaching, learning and research on environmental law in the Middle East region.”
“If human society is to stay in the bounds of its ecological threshold, it is imperative that environmental laws are widely understood, respected and enforced. Environmental laws have grown dramatically over the last few decades as countries have come to understand the vital linkages between environment, economic growth, public health, social cohesion and security,” said Mrema.
Dr Nilufer Oral of Istanbul Bilgi University and a member of the United Nations International Law Commission highlighted how Middle East environmental law scholars can benefit from diverse international resources, networks and programmes to enhance capacity for low carbon energy transition in the region.
According to her ‘existing commitments to promote environmental education need to be further strengthened and implemented for an effective transition to the new low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development model.’
The four workshops at the conference featured presentations by eminent scholars from Canada, France, United Kingdom, United States, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, as well as regional experts from across the Arab region. Other collaborators included representatives of LexisNexis Middle East & North Africa, Qatar Green Building Council as well as Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable
Development, Qatar.
A significant outcome of the conference was the official inauguration of the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers in Middle East and North African Universities as an umbrella association for all full-time academics who conduct research, or teach environment-related law courses at an academic institution in the Mena region.
International law scholars at the conference.
