Elena Blanco, Associate Professor and Acting Head of the Environmental Law Research Unit hosted this year’s event at UWE on 14 March. Now in its fourth year, the Environmental Law Student Conference provides students with an opportunity to present on topics featured in their studies of environmental law, globalisation and natural resources law. Students of Environmental Law from our undergraduate (LLB) and postgraduate courses (LLM and PhD) were joined by students from the Universities of Cardiff and Swansea. The conference also provides the opportunity to network, socialise and share ideas with students from different law schools in the region.
The organising student committee at UWE was integrated by Cleverline Brown (PhD student); Siti Binti Rosli (LLM) and Saluuga Hassan (LLB 3rd year). The students selected the different panels: on Human Rights and the Environment; Climate Change and Trade, Technology and the Future of Environmental Challenges. A variety of students from UWE and Cardiff University participated by giving excellent, provocative and confident presentations and engaging on an open and lively discussion with the audience. Students from Swansea chaired panels and contributed to the discussion.
The day was inspiring and engaging with a wide range of topics featured in the presentations including, pollution caused by business activities, environmental pollution, access to water in Israeli occupied Palestinian territories, the need for supranational governance on Climate Change and, the legal implications of alternatives on environmental discourses. From the practical and topical to the conceptual our students showed a keen interest on environmental and sustainability matters as well as in being ‘part of the solution’ to environmental challenges from a variety of political and conceptual points of view.
This year a prize was offered to the best presentation by the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA), Wales Working Party. The presentations are to be judged by members of UKELA WWP who are legal professionals from Cardiff-based chambers and law firms. The winner will be granted a year’s free membership of this organisation!
The twenty four participants found the event extremely valuable, well organised and run, fun, fluid and well spaced out with a great balance of time to share views and informal discussion and some more formal presentations.
Individuals commented (on the feedback sheets returned to the organisers) on how much they enjoyed the opportunity to present in public beyond the classroom and beyond their own university but among such a friendly and welcoming like-minded group of people.
Thomas Neill, a final year LLB student at Swansea University, said: “I found the conference really enjoyable, there were a high quality and varied set of presentations which lead to some really interesting debates. It was also good to be able to network with students from other law schools and hear their thoughts on the issues facing environmental law and enforcement. I found it refreshing to have a wider discussion on environmental law rather than focusing on the issues relevant to my own course.”
Tobechukwu Kanayo Okonkwo, another final year LLB student who attended, said: “My time at the Environmental Conference was an enlightening experience. It allowed me to meet like-minded people and open my mind to different perspectives concerning the environment.”
Our talented students found the experience extremely valuable and offered them the opportunity to gain invaluable skills and to showcase their fantastic work further