Kenya Conference ELI helps lead multinational conclave to assist countries in adapting legal frameworks to protect climate, biodiversity

• Pages: 56-56

Page 56 ❧ THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2010, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, Sept./Oct. 2010

ELI Report

biodiversity governance;

hold national dialogues

and workshops in sev-

eral countries to catalyze

legislative and regulatory

action on climate change

and biodiversity; and pub-

lish project materials. e

resulting publications will

include a toolkit of inno-

vative legal and policy ap-

proaches for practitioners

and a “strategic options

paper” to explain to poli-

cymakers the important

role of law and policy in

adapting biodiversity pro-

tection to climate change.

On May 14, ELI staf‌f

and members of the advi-

sory committee hosted a

side-event at the SBSTTA

meeting. With Scott

Schang moderating the

discussion, Mr. Schramm

provided an overview of

the core themes of the

project, and members of

the committee discussed

how their work has already

helped them evaluate and

improve their country’s

laws. Ms. Kunzang, le-

gal of‌f‌icer for Bhutan’s

National Environment

Commission, noted that

she has used a draft of the

toolkit to help craft the

country’s proposed new

water legislation.

ELI’s Vice President for

Climate and Sustainabil-

ity, Scott Schang, and Staf‌f

Attorney Daniel Schramm

are leading a three-year

ELI project funded by the

MacArthur Foundation

to assist countries adapt

their legal frameworks to

protect biodiversity from

climate change.

In May, they participat-

ed in a key meeting of the

Convention on Biological

Diversity in Nairobi, Ke-

nya. ere they met with a

committee of international

advisors, held in con-

junction with the CBD’s

Fourteenth Meeting of

the Subsidiary Body on

Science, Technical, and

Technological Advice,

hosted at the headquarters

of the United Nations En-

vironment Program.

e Advisory Commit-

tee is made up of seven

distinguished environmen-

tal law practitioners from

six countries — Bhutan,

the Dominican Republic,

Madagascar, Peru, Uganda,

and Vietnam. ese coun-

tries have outstanding bio-

diversity resources, but face

severe threats from climate

change. Research into the

laws and institutions of

these countries is helping

ELI and its partners de-

velop practical recommen-

dations for strengthening

biodiversity protection in

response to climate change.

e ELI staf‌f and the

committee set plans for

the next two years of the

project, which aim to:

build a community of

practice around adaptive

Kenya Conference ELI helps lead multinational conclave to assist

countries in adapting legal frameworks to protect climate, biodiversity

ELI partners Lalaina Rokotoson (right) and Kenneth Kakuro (front

row, center) at the Convention on Biological Diversity conference.

In May, ELI Senior

Senior Attorney Sandra

Nichols, Staf‌f Attorney

Jordan Diamond, and

Research Associate Vr-

inda Manglik traveled to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

to host a two-day semi-

nar highlighting various

aspects of Wisconsin’s

acclaimed approach to

redeveloping vacant and

contaminated proper-

ties. Approximately 30

people representing busi-

nesses, non-prof‌its, and

government at the federal,

regional, state, and local

levels participated in the

event, Overcoming Barri-

ers to the Redevelopment

of Petroleum Brownf‌ields

and Other Vacant Prop-

erties: e Wisconsin Ap-

proach.

e objectives of the

workshop included iden-

tifying solutions from

Wisconsin that could be

transferred to other states

and addressing existing

obstacles to redeveloping

brownf‌ields within Wis-

consin. ELI also solicited

ideas on how to integrate

concerns of environ-

mental justice and long-

term sustainability into

brownf‌ields debates and

how to improve coordina-

tion of resources between

federal and state agencies

— particularly with the

proliferation of new fed-

eral initiatives such as the

Partnership for Sustainable

Communities.

Representatives from

the Wisconsin Depart-

ment of Natural Resources

and Department of

Commerce were also on

hand to discuss available

funding opportunities, as

well as the value of timely

property transactions, cer-

tainty about cleanup costs,

empowerment of local

governments, and liability

exemptions in brownf‌ields

cleanup and redevelop-

ment.

e workshop was held

with the assistance of the

U.S. Environmental Pro-

tection Agency.

Milwaukee Conference Seminar highlights latest

trends in brownfields restoration