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Richardson Law School

WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW | 1

INSIDE:

UH Law School Heavily Involved in Congress page 2

The 2016 Sustainable Development Goals page 5

Commentary Recovering Cus-tomary Environmental Laws page 6

IUCN at Richardson Academic & Judicial Perspectives page 8

Hawai‘i’s 7 Motions Approved as Resolutions page 10

Video Interview Dr. Nilufer Oral page 12

Video Interview ELP’s David Forman page 13

Video Interview Emily Gaskin and Christina Lizzi page 14

Reflection IUCN Recap, by Mahesh Cleveland page 15

IUCN at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court Tony Oposa Moot Court page 18

Reflection – Moot Court Experi-ence, by Alyssa-Marie Kau page 19

Reflection Learning Daily Envi-ronment Protection, by Alicia Fung page 20

A Key Congress Workshop A Planet Under Siege page 22

Law Students Wrap Up World Congress page 23

Photo Gallery page 27

Reflection ELP and Sustainability, by David Forman ‘93 page 31

Associate Dean Antolini Named WCEL Deputy Chair page 32

TO REACH THE LAW SCHOOL FOR GENERAL INFORMATION:

2515 Dole St., Honolulu, HI. 96822-2350, (808) 956-7966 https://www.law.hawaii.edu/

Written and edited by Beverly Creamer and Olan Leimomi Morgan. With special thanks for photos to Spencer Kimura, the IUCN Congress, and participants.

e-newsFROM THE WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I

• IUCN World Conservation Congress • S P E C I A L I S S U E 20 16

played an important part in the action at the World Conservation Congress held by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Hawai‘i Septem-ber 1-10, 2016. In partnership with community organiza-tions and state agencies, law students developed seven Pacific Island-oriented mo-tions that were adopted by the Congress. In addition, law courses incorporated actions of the Congress, and more than 40 law students attended numerous sessions, including as official voting members.

Opening Ceremonies for the World Conservation Congress. Bottom L: Navigator Nainoa Thompson with ELP’s David Forman, scientist Sylvia Earle, student Christina Lizzi and Associate Justice Mi-chael Wilson.Bottom R: Associate Dean Denise Antolini, with students Claire Colegrove, Christina Lizzi, Emily Gaskin, Timothy Vandeveer, Kaily Wakefield, and Arielle Kramer.

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2 | WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW

LEADERSHIP ROLE

Conservation Congress Held in Hawai‘i

HE WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF

LAW took a leading role for the University of Hawai‘i as the IUCN - the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – held its inter-national Congress in Hawai‘i from September 1-10, 2016 to consider far-ranging global envi-ronmental concerns. After opening day at the Neal Blaisdell Center, the Congress moved to the Hawai‘i Convention Center, breaking re-cords for global participation with more than 10,000 attendees from 192 countries.

UH Law School’s Environmental Law Program (ELP), directed by David Forman, is

a full voting member of the IUCN, and the Law School is also a member of the IUCN-li-censed Academy of Environmental Law. As well, ELP faculty are members of the IUCN’s internal World Commission on Environmental Law. Lyon Arboretum is the only other UH unit with IUCN membership.

The Congress has been called the “Olympics of the Environment” and in the IUCN’s almost 70-year history this is the first time the international gathering has been held in the U.S.

During the past year, the UH Law School and ELP undertook programs and projects to engage UH law students – as well as students from five other American and international law schools – in preparing for the Congress and becoming deeply involved in global environmental issues. Additionally, actions by the Congress were key elements in two law courses that incorporated “real time” attendance at the IUCN Congress. One course, taught by Professor Maxine Burkett, focused on climate change; and the other, taught by Associate Law Dean Denise Antolini, focused on the “motions” work in the IUCN Members Assembly.

“This was an historic moment in time for Hawai‘i and the Pacific,” said Antolini, who collaborated

with ELP Director David Forman ‘93 to develop these and other major programs undertaken by faculty and students. She added that having students as fully en-gaged players in this Conservation Con-gress was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportu-nity.”

Under Antolini’s guidance, a “Motions Class” over three semesters highlighted pressing environmental concerns in Hawai‘i and the Pacific, with students developing seven formal “motions” that brought these concerns to the attention of the Congress members over a six-month period.

The seven motions developed include: calls for global action about marine debris, biofouling (preventing invasive marine organisms in Pacific waters), climate change, community-

UH Law School Heavily Involved in International

Law students from the ‘motions class,’ including Christina Lizzi, Jennifer Eick, Jason Parasco, with Drew Porter, an ELP/ CGAPS Law Fellow at DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources.

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2 | WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW | 3

LEADERSHIP ROLE

UH Law School Heavily Involved in International

based natural resource management, sustainable growth, the importance of environmental courts, and an affirmation of the role of indigenous people and culture in conservation efforts.

“This was an opportunity for us to help set a global agenda for the environment,” noted Evening Part Time student Tim Vandeveer ’18. “We hope we have assisted the community in bringing important environmental matters before the global Congress.”

Vandeveer, who is also the newly elected chair of the state Democratic Party, said the students developed the seven Hawai‘i-Pacific motions by brain-storming the issues they saw as important, then reaching out to local environmental groups and state agencies for their input. “We wanted to make sure we’re not just covering our own turf, but also the whole Pacific region,” said Vandeveer.

Emily Gaskin ‘17, who led the effort to draft the marine debris motion, noted that the significance of this issue was elevated

when the Richardson motion was merged with a similar motion proposed by the Government of Australia. “We were honored to be placed on the same platform with Australia,” said Gaskin, “and have since formed a great working relationship

with them to push this critical oceans issue forward.”

Claire Colegrove ’17, noted that the Congress offered “a unique opportunity to unite the nations of the Pacific region …. to establish a regional Pacific climate action plan. The issue is urgent because we are already seeing signs of climate change.”

Michael Cain, representing Sam Lemmo of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, one of the Law School’s community partners in developing the Hawai‘i motions, echoed Colgrove’s words during a Community Workshop at the Law School in April on the IUCN motions process.

“Pacific islands are on the forefront of climate change,” said Cain. “It’s going to impact us more than other areas. Hawai‘i would like to take the lead in developing a Pacific approach to form a model for the rest of the world.”

Cain said that the world will face more droughts, more storms, and many

This is an opportunity for

us to set a global agenda for the environment.

““

‘Motions class’ students including Jennifer Eick, Jason Parasco, Christina Lizzi, Tim Vandeveer, Emily Gaskin with Associate Law Dean Denise Antolini.

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LEADERSHIP ROLE

other negative changes. “The drive is to develop resilient communities that can confront changes even if they don’t know what they might be,” he said.

As the law students met with their community partners in developing the Hawai‘i and Pacific-focused motions, they also recognized that the Congress offered the opportunity to reflect cultural values through motions that would later come to the floor. “Several motions affirmed the role of indigenous cultures in conservation efforts,” said Evening Part Time law student Jason Parasco ’18.

Over a weekend in August before the Congress convened, Dean Antolini led her Motions class through five hours of discussion and online voting to cast the Environmental Law Program’s formal vote on all of the 86 motions submitted by IUCN members for the electronic vote. They also prepared for the live floor debate on the 13 motions scheduled for full Assembly discussion.

All seven motions developed by students in the Motions Class, in conjunction with Hawai‘i and Pacific agencies and individuals involved in environmental protection, were accepted to be among the 86 total motions submitted globally for an electronic vote, an ongoing process through August 17 by hundreds of IUCN member states and organizations.

In addition to the Motions Class, ELP Director Forman worked over six months before the Congress to bring together student moot court teams from Richardson Law School and five other law schools to debate inter-generational climate justice issues. UH law students were joined by students from partner law schools in the Philippines, Brazil, South Korea, and France, plus Pace University/Haub School of Law in New York State. A ‘moot court’ was argued before a mock panel of the International Court of Justice, where students discussed how to use international law to support positive and binding actions by governments to address climate change.

These legal testimonials were first presented during a session with student speakers at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court

on September 1st. That session was taped, edited, and then presented during the Congress on September 5th. Student arguments and briefs are now being incorporated into work by international lawyers in support of future resolutions that will ask the UN General Assembly to refer the issue presented formally to the International Court of Justice to look at obligating states to address the climate crisis.

“This is a way to showcase our students as voices of future generations, and give them the opportunity to interact with peers around the world as well as IUCN members and other environmental experts,” said Forman.

During the Congress, ELP faculty also led several discussions, called Workshops and Knowledge Cafes, during the IUCN’s Forum, which encompassed the first half of the Congress. Some of these discus-sions centered around inter-generational climate justice (featuring Professor Max-ine Burkett), the motions developed by Hawai‘i students and community experts (led by Dean Antolini), and an additional one that focused on water rights (led by Professor Kapua Sproat). Burkett’s real time course on climate change and the law, explored emerging international le-gal actions around climate change, as well

as actions at local and national levels.In addition, the Law School hosted a

series of talks by environmental experts, called “IUCN at Richardson.” Speakers included: Ben Boer, Deputy Director of the World Commission on Environmental Law and Professor of Law at Sydney; and a group of “Early Career” Environmental Lawyers from around the world. These talks were free and open to the public.

Law School faculty, including Dean Avi Soifer, and Associate Dean Anto-lini also led discussions September 5 on “Judges and Nature” at the Hawai‘i-Pacif-ic Pavilion at the Congress that continued at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court in the after-noon.

As well, at 5 p.m. during each weekday session of the Congress, UH law students offered a five-minute overview through ThinkTech Hawai‘i of events that day. Daily summaries were posted on You-Tube by ThinkTech.

Said Antolini: “Our commitment will continue after the Congress as well. Implementation of all the good and big ideas does not happen overnight; it takes a lot of hard collaborative work, and will involve our faculty and law students in cutting-edge global environmental law and policy issues for many years to come.”

Faculty and students from the Law School join one of the lectures at the Congress.

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COMMENTARY

ON AUGUST 30, the William S. Richardson School of Law hosted Ben Boer, Deputy Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), as a featured speaker.

Professor Boer’s lecture was the first in a series of "IUCN at UH Law" events, aiming to bring the ebullient spirit of the 2016 IUCN Congress to the Law School. The theme of this presentation centered around the 2016 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Environmental Rule of Law.

Professor Boer proposed integrating the SDGs into a legal framework that will enhance environmental protection and achieve environmental enforcement on a global scale. He introduced the World Declaration on Environmental Rule of Law proposed at the first World Environmental Law Congress (sponsored by the WCEL) in Rio de Janeiro at the end of April, 2016. Professor Boer then explained the importance of this declaration as "extending the procedural and substantive principles and protections enshrined in the rule of law, to environmental policy."

Professor Boer then discussed the

recent expansion of Environmental Courts globally, particularly the rapid increase in environmental courts in China. He strongly encouraged young lawyers and professionals to assume the responsibility of leading environmental conservation efforts now and for the future.

ELP students offered the following reactions to Professor Boer's presentation:

Mahesh Cleveland: “The ‘Environmental Rule of Law’ is a fascinating principle, the simplicity of which is possibly one of its greatest challenges. I liked the idea that environmental policy should be advanced by the application of laws rather than at the pleasure of political decision-makers . . . . I am also eager to learn more about the WCEL and its work to nurture a diverse new generation of environmental lawyers.”

Emily Gaskin: “As a Richardson Law student in the Environmental Law Program, it was an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to hear from such a distinguished scholar in environmental law. Professor Boer brings a wealth of knowledge and

IUCN WCEL Deputy Chair Ben Boer, center, with Michelle Lim of Australia’s Griffith Law School, left, and Catherine Iorns of New Zealand’s University of Wellington law faculty, right.

PHO

TOS

BY H

ENRY

CU

RT

IS

And the Environmental Rule of Law

The 2016 Sustainable Development Goals

IUCN PROGRAMS AT THE UH LAW SCHOOL

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COMMENTARY

experience to his work and his global perspective challenges us to think beyond Hawai‘i and the United States to understand the power of environmental law to make a real change on our planet.”

Ben Boer has taught and researched in the area of environmental law since 1979. He was appointed to a Chair in Environmental Law at the University of Sydney in 1992. Between 2006 and 2008, he was the international Co-Director of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law and Visiting Professor, based at the University of Ottawa. He was named as Emeritus Professor in 2008 in the University of Sydney. He was appointed

as a Distinguished Professor at the Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, People's Republic of China in 2011, and now works in Wuhan three months each year. He was one of the founders of the Australian Centre for Environmental Law, co-established with colleagues at the University of Adelaide, the Australian National University, and the University of Sydney. At the University of Sydney it is now called the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law..

His global perspective

challenges us to think beyond

Hawai‘i.

““

COMMENTARY:

LOHA! The World Conservation Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has been instrumental in attaining IUCN’s mission of a just international order that values and conserves nature.

The Indigenous Peoples of Earth have intergenerational traditions of customary law and principles that can guide all societies in this quest. IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law emphasized this at its 1st World Congress on Environmental law in Rio de Janeiro last April (http://welcongress.org/program/).Customary law is essential.

So, it is especially important that the World Conservation Congress opens as the sun rises on the Hawaiian islands on September 1, 2016, with a singular ceremony: The Vaka arrival for the Moana Pasifika Voyage.

Vaka are traditional double-hulled canoes. Hawai‘iloa, Hikianalia, and Mo‘okiha o Pi‘ilani as well as a flotilla of youth canoes and outrigger canoes from across the Pacific Ocean plan to sail into Kahanamoku Beach in

BY NICHOLAS A. ROBINSON

UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

ELISABETH HAUB SCHOOL OF LAW AT PACE UNIVERSITY

HONORARY MEMBER OF IUCN WORLD COMMISSION ON

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Nicholas A. Robinson

Customary Environmental Law

A Dawn for Recovering

(This essay was originally published before the opening day of the IUCN Congress)

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COMMENTARY

The arrival of the vaka will be a stunning reminder of how we can live amidst nature as friends and stewards.

“

Traditional Hawaiian leaders welcomed canoe voyagers as they arrived on Waikiki Beach as part of Opening Day ceremonies for the Congress.

Honolulu, where the Wa‘a family, Pacific Island Leaders, and dignitaries will call for action on Climate Change and a Sustainable Pacific Ocean. The vaka will be greeted by a traditional Hawaiian welcome, to be followed by speeches from the following: Master Navigator Nainoa Thompson, Governor David Ige, His Excellency President Peter Christen of Micronesia, His Excellency President Tommy Remengesau of Palau, and IUCN Director General Inger Andersen.

During this era of acute environmental transformation of the Earth, it is essential that we humans find our way to sustainable practices that serve the next generations better than we have done in the recent past. The Anthropocene is a time for society to remember that all law is not written in statute books. The customary law of indigenous peoples is just as valid as codes and constitutions. There is a pathway to discovering these customary norms: It is time for all States,

and social gatherings, to fulfill the solemn pledge to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf ).

The arrival of the vaka will be a stun-ning reminder of how we can live amidst nature as friends and stewards. The World Conservation Congress will hear the Peoples’ call for action.

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ACADEMIC AND JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVES

TUESDAY EVENING SEPTEMBER 6, the William S. Richardson School of Law hosted four distinguished panelists: Professor LeRoy Paddock, Associate Dean for Environmental Law Studies at George Washington University Law School; Professor Lin Harmon, Scholar at Lewis & Clark Law School and President of the Ethical Future Institute in Oregon; The Honorable Merideth Wright, retired Judge of the Vermont Environmental Court; and Professor Koh Kheng-Lian of Singapore National University.

Emeritus Professor Koh, formerly the Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL), is currently its Honorary Director, as well as Chair of the APCEL Specialist Group on Climate Change Adaptation, and IUCN-CEL Regional Vice-Chair for South and East Asia.

Professor Paddock began by providing background about the IUCN, World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), a global network of more than

On the Environment

Academic and Judicial Perspectives

IUCN AT RICHARDSON LAW SCHOOL

Judge Merideth Wright, center, and Lin

Harmon, left, with Prof. Richard L. Offinger of

Pace Law School.

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ACADEMIC AND JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVES

1,000 environmental lawyers, judges, and academics, and the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (environmental law professors from around the world.) He described some substantive achievements and ongoing initiatives.

Professor Lin Harmon spoke about her role as Head of Delegation for Pace University (now the Elisabeth Haub School of Law) at the 2012 IUCN Con-gress in Jeju. She focused on the mo-tions/resolutions process, from drafting through adoption and implementation.

Judge Merideth Wright presided over the Vermont Environmental Court from its creation in 1990. Now she is a Distinguished Judicial Scholar of ELI and consults internationally on issues related to environmental courts and the

judicial role in environmental enforce-ment and compliance. Judge Wright spoke of the challenges of serving as the only environmental state court judge in the United States at the beginning of her tenure, crediting assistance she received from colleagues around the world whom she met through the IUCN, WCEL, and IUCNAEL.

Professor Koh spoke about ASEAN integration, transnational crime, Indo-nesian haze, as well as the fallacy of at-tempts to compare the EU (Brexit) to ASEAN. She offered a Whole World Ap-proach before fielding a question from Hawai‘i Supreme Court Associate Jus-tice Sabrina McKenna about the South China Sea.

A world-wide network of

colleagues in environmental

law.

““PH

OTO

PR

OV

IDED

BY

LIN

HA

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ON

IUCN guests and students and faculty in the Law School courtyard during an evening event for early career environmental lawyers.

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MOTIONS

And Adopted by World Conservation Congress

N AN EXCITING MOMENT FOR HAWAI‘I, all seven motions pre-pared by UH law students in partnership with community environmental groups and agencies, were approved and ad-opted as resolutions by the World Conservation Congress (WCC) during the second week when over 1,000 members met for formal voting.

“Our planet is at a crossroads,” Hawai‘i Gov. David Ige told attendees in his address to the Congress on opening day, and that concern was echoed by other speakers throughout the gathering.

Actions by the Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) set the early stages of creat-ing international law - by forging a consensus and creating

global precedent for nations to follow for protection of the environment.In ‘en bloc’ voting during the Assembly portion of the WCC, all seven motions were

adopted as resolutions before a global audience.“This was an exhilarating experience for the UH Law School, for our community

partners, and for the whole state,” said Associate Law Dean Denise Antolini whose “Motions Class” at the William S. Richardson School of Law developed the motions over three semesters in partnership with state agencies and environmental organizations. “All of the Hawai‘i-focused motions were ap-proved by hundreds of IUCN members in an innovative online pre-Congress voting session over the summer, and three of the motions were approved 100 percent by all states/countries vot-ing.”

Richardson Law Dean Avi Soifer said, “This effort embodies the collab-orative approach of the Law School’s Environmental Law Program and it illustrates why Richardson is so much admired not only throughout Hawai‘i but around the globe.”

The IUCN announced tentative approval of all seven motions on the eve of the opening of the Congress on September 1, but their passage as reso-

lutions was not official until the Assembly actually voted formally. The Environmen-tal Law Program at the UH Law School, directed by David Forman, is a voting member of the IUCN.

The three motions receiving unanimous pre-Congress votes included:

• Calls for global action and regional approaches to tackle the problem of marine debris (Motion 52)

• Community-based natural resource management (Motion 71)

• Aloha + Challenge Model for sus-tainable development (Motion 72)

The remaining four, also passed by wide margins during pre-Congress vot-ing, were:

• Actions to curb biofouling (prevent-

Hawai‘i’s 7 Motions Approved as Resolutions

Law student Claire Colegrove

voting at the Congress

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MOTIONS

ing new invasive marine organisms in Pacific waters (Motion 51)

• Support of a Pacific region climate resiliency action plan combating climate change (Motion 60)

• Indigenous peoples’ involvement in key IUCN organizations and programs (Motion 83)

• Validation of the importance of environmental courts (Motion 85)

The motions were seven of 86 accepted from all IUCN members for debate during the electronic vote process and proposed for final approval by the Congress.

Attendees from around the globe, including heads of state and other high-level government officials, wrestled with critically important environmental issues involving everything from climate change and resource management to

illegal poaching of endangered species. Law students focusing on environmental issues joined them each day, and were engaged in the formal motion process

a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the new cohort of Richardson lawyers engaging in international conservation for years to come.”

In reflecting on passage of the seven Hawai‘i motions as resolutions, law student Jennifer Eick ’18 said that the action “set a great precedent for our involvement with the IUCN.

“The class worked so hard to learn the process of what being members of the IUCN means,” said Eick. “It’s just up from here; having a larger partnership (with the IUCN) is to come. How lucky were we in Hawai‘i to have had this Congress here.’”

This is an exhilarating

experience for the UH Law

School.

““

Law student Kevin Yolken voting at the Congress.

on Hawai‘i-Pacific motions that they authored, as well as floor debate from September 6-10 on 13 remaining motions slated for full Assembly discussion as part of the Congress.

The international gathering was especially significant to law students, many of whom may address environmental issues through their careers. For the past two decades, the Environmental Law Program at UH Law School has been an important training ground for students interested in environmental concerns locally and globally.

“This affirms the critically important work of our law students as emerging leaders on the global stage,” said Antolini. “Having the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Hawai‘i gave us

Law grad Stephanie Batzer logs her

vote on a motion at the Congress.

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VIDEO INTERVIEW

& International Environmental Law

HERRY BRODER, Honolulu international law expert and frequent Richardson lecturer, discussed the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress and International Environmental Law with Professor Nilufer Oral from Bilgi University in Istanbul on ThinkTechHawaii.

Professor Oral is an expert in marine environmental protection, shipping, and climate change, and she has been actively involved in the work of the IUCN, including protection of the High Seas. She chairs the board of the IUCN Academy on Environmental Law, and is on the Steering Committee of the World Commission on Environmental Law.

Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/MbyVZF9qaj8

Professor Nilufer Oral discusses IUCN Congress

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

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VIDEO INTERVIEW

AVID M. FORMAN ’93, Director of ELP, discusses the William S. Richardson School of Law’s in-volvement in the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress with ThinkTechHawai‘i founder Jay Fidell, including events at the Law School as well as the Intergenerational Climate Justice moot court at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court on September 1, and a subsequent workshop at the Hawai‘i Convention Center on September 5.

Click below for ThinkTechHawai‘i’s link to the video: https://youtu.be/tp453_YEKbU

ELP’s David FormanVIDEO INTERVIEW:

on ThinkTechHawai‘i

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VIDEO INTERVIEW

Review the Motions Process on ThinkTech

MILY GASKIN ‘17 (CENTER) and Christina Lizzi ’17 (right), both Richardson School of Law students and candidates for Environmental Law Certificates, worked on the motions process for the IUCN World Conservation Congress. With ThinkTechHawai‘i moderator Carol Mon Lee they discuss the drafting, commenting and debate preparation process for the Hawai‘i motions, including: • 051 (international biofouling) • 052 (marine debris) • 060 (climate resiliency) • 071 (natural resource management) • 072 (model for sustainable development) • 083 (indigenous cultures' role in global conservation) • 085 (environmental courts and tribunals)To watch the interview, go to: https://youtu.be/p9UGhvpTL7s

Emily Gaskin and Christina Lizzi

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

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REFLECTION

IUCN Recap, Opening Ceremony

REFLECTION:

BY MAHESH CLEVELAND ‘18

S THE LIGHTS CAME DOWN inside the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena on the morning of September 1, the international audience inside quieted, and all eyes went to the floor, where for several minutes there had been colorful, orchestrated movement as scores of mea hula (dancers) arranged themselves for the opening ceremony.

The opening protocol began with a powerful oli komo (welcoming chant) by Office of Hawaiian Affairs executive Kaman‘opono Crabbe, and continued with roughly 20 minutes of mesmerizing hula and mele. Crabbe himself emceed the remainder of the ceremony in kīhei and malo, introducing a succession of VIP speakers, including U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Hawai‘i Governor

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REFLECTION

It signals an era of greater inclusiveness

and collaboration…

““

Law student Mahesh Cleveland voting at the Congress.

David Ige, and many others.As a kanaka (Native Hawaiian)

observing all of this, I could not help but feel great pride in how our culture was so strongly represented in front of such a large, and more importantly, globally diverse audience. Along with that pride arose the hope that the vitality and impact of the ceremony would translate to a heightened awareness of what Native Hawaiian culture has to offer the global conservation movement, rather than being simply a show for our visiting guests.

As the Congress progressed, my hopes were in many ways fulfilled. Indigenous peoples in general, and Native Hawaiians

in particular, were accorded more of a voice than ever before in international conservation policy-making. It was a once-in-a-lifetime honor and treat to participate in this historic event.

The Congress – and the Challenges We Face

When the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) held its quadrennial World Conservation Congress in Honolulu in September of 2016, representatives from nearly every nation on Earth converged on our island home. The physical setting allowed for a particularly contextualized focus on

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REFLECTION

‘Āina globally will help address the tre-mendous environmental challenges we face.”

Other indigenous cultures throughout the world are the living memory of the spiritual philosophies that grew out of those places and peoples. The incorporation of these values into the Hawai‘i Commitments, and the creation of an IUCN membership category specifically for indigenous peoples sends a powerful message. It signals an era of greater inclusiveness and collaboration that has true potential to manifest more successful policies in the global push for sustainability.

The experience affirmed my own deep-rooted convictions about the need to somehow alter the status quo, a little at a time, if we are to leave a livable world to future generations. My growing understanding of the incremental approach sometimes necessary to achieve great things lends resolve to my continued studies, as I become familiarized with how the status quo works, and how it sometimes does not. Given the opportunity, I would gladly participate at another WCC. Having been through it once, and feeling like a fish swimming out into the open sea for the first time, I would approach a second experience much more confidently.

The WCC experience in general, and in particular the events described above, aligned closely with my own inclination toward environmental and indigenous issues. My decision to go to law school has never felt more “right,” and I strongly recommend to any law student who has the opportunity, and who shares a passion for these issues, to attend and, if possible, participate directly in an event like this.

conservation issues relevant to Hawai‘i, such as the management of marine resources, the fate of island communities in the face of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of indigenous peoples in the global pursuit of sustainability.

The first of two sessions focused specifically on the Special Rapporteur herself, and included a comprehensive presentation from Ms. Tauli-Corpuz on many of the challenges faced by indigenous peoples, as well as policy recommendations for both State entities and NGOs. Her characterization of the need for indigenous peoples to count as allies to the conservation movement in the face of “unsustainable exploitation and grabbing of their land and resources” sounded unlike the verbal tiptoeing one can become accustomed to hearing from officials at other levels. Her information-rich and briskly delivered presentation gave me a better sense of the role of a Special Rapporteur. There was a moment when for the first time I could comprehend the degree of influence ascribed the individual assigned to report directly to the United Nations on the developing influence (or lack thereof ) of a UN instrument, in this case the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

In her exposition on the challenges and opportunities faced by indigenous peoples, and in her recommendations on how to address them, Tauli-Corpuz was firm in her insistence that UNDRIP should be effectively implemented by “all necessary measures,” and of the need to adopt policies and legal principles that fully recognize the rights of indigenous peoples. For me, her words and delivery brought the UNDRIP to life.

The second session at which I heard Miss Tauli-Corpuz speak was a revolving panel discussing the “Legal Protection of Nature.” Among the recommendations provided was to apply a rights-based approach to the adjudication of environmental law cases. Here again, she was forthright about the failure of States to effectively implement UNDRIP, and on the vital role of judges in affirming and safeguarding indigenous rights.

Also inspiring was the fact that her immediate audience on the dais included two judges from Brazil and Associate Justice Michael W ilson of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

It is my personal hope that the message that indigenous peoples deserve full recognition of their rights – and h ave unique contributions to make in efforts to preserve nature – resonated with our Hawai‘i Justices as much as it did with me.

On the final day of the Congress, I at-tended the second half of the 8th and final sitting of the Members’ Assembly. After a protracted and comparatively boisterous

session of debate and voting on the fate of domestic Ivory Markets, the Members were presented with the Hawai‘i Com-mitments, the output document of the Congress encapsulating the policies and goals of the IUCN moving forward. Spe-cial mention was made of the “values and wisdom of indigenous peoples” and the “particular significance” of successful in-digenous traditions in “creating a culture of conservation.” In recognition of Na-tive Hawaiians as the host culture and as an example of a traditionally sustainable indigenous culture, the Hawai‘i Commit-ments profess that “embodying Aloha

Indigenous peoples

deserve full recognition

of their rights ….

““

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MOOT COURT

RICHARDSON LAW SCHOOL ELP Director David M. Forman '93 and Associate Dean Denise Antolini, along with Professor Nicholas A. Robinson and Jullee Kim of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in New York, convened the first Tony Oposa Intergenerational Moot Court at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court on the first day of the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Law students from France, Brazil, South Korea, the Philippines, and the U.S. (New York and Hawai‘i) made oral submissions before a panel of mock judges representing the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The question presented for an ICJ Advisory Opinion concerned "the responsibility of States under international law to address the global climate crisis for the benefit of present and future generations."

A video of the Tony Oposa Inter-generational Moot Court presenta-tion is available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i7wgFg_t6Y&feature=youtu.be (start just before the 23 minute mark)

The team's written submissions are available online at: https://portals.iucn.

Tony Oposa Intergener-ational Moot Court

IUCN AT THE HAWAI‘I SUPREME COURT:

org/congress/session/9695Photos of the event taken by Spencer

Kimura '96 can be viewed via the following link: https://goo.gl/photos/wnTY6wucVSpdkA7V6

An edited version of the proceedings was screened at the Hawai‘i Convention Center on Monday, September 5th with a law student panel that elaborated on their experiences, followed by commentary from a panel of international environmental jurists and academics,

and a facilitated Q&A session with IUCN attendees, before closing with a presentation on next steps by Professor Robinson. The proceedings were live streamed to the Hawai‘i-Pacific Pavilion, and recorded by ‘Olelo Public Television.

This programming can be watched online on ‘Ōlelo’s livestream. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bfJpYK6guiI

ICJ4ICJ info page url: http://blog.hawaii.edu/ elp/icj4icj-information/

South Korean law student oralist Hooshin Kim gives his team’s presentation at the Moot Court. Jurists playing the roles of the International Court of Justice include: Mark Recktenwald, Chief Justice of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court; Professor Emilie Gaillard, University of Caen (France): and Professor Irina Krasnova, Russian State University of Justice (Russia).

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REFLECTION

HE TONY OPOSA Inter-Generational Climate Justice for the International Court of Justice (“ICJ4ICJ”) Moot Court workshop was convened on Thursday, September 1 at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. This workshop addresses the responsibility of nation-states to address the global climate crisis for the benefit of present and future generations. The William S. Richardson School of Law hypothetically represented the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental organization representing small island states, the areas most

susceptible to “disappearing” due to the effects of climate change.Climate justice requires cooperation and solidarity among nations. As a representative

of AOSIS, our team of Richardson law students addressed how principles of customary international law, including: the duty to cooperate and notify; the duty to do no harm; the precautionary principle; and the polluter pays principle combine to provide binding obligations on all states. The United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) embody the obligation of states to address climate change. The law of state responsibility provides enforcement mechanisms for these legal instruments by requiring cessation of intentional wrongful acts and violations of the law and reparations, and we argued that it is similarly applicable to climate change issues.

Most times when global leaders speak of “climate change,” we think of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, rising sea levels, climbing ocean temperatures, coral bleaching, and other hard data. However, communities everywhere will be impacted by climate change. The human cost of global warming can be rectified only through climate justice. As a result of anthropogenic GHG emissions, those in small island states and other vulnerable regions face the threat of irreparable and irreversible losses as their coastal waters produce less, their lands recede, and their statehood and lives hang in the balance. In our written memorials and oral presentation, we argued that those most responsible must take the lead and show the greatest ambition

ICJ4ICJ Moot Court Experience

REFLECTION:

BY ALYSSA-MARIE KAU ‘18

Right: Alyssa-Marie Kau presenting arguments at the moot court, with Joseph Moravec seated beside her. Below: Student members of the International Moot Court teams.

in their domestic climate actions and support for vulnerable countries.

The ICJ4ICJ Moot Court instilled the lesson that if we want to change the future of the modern world we must con-front environmental injustices hand-in-hand with the social justice issues that we are facing. We must acknowledge our per-sonal responsibility in an interconnected world and act outside the narrow confines of self-interest – particularly as it becomes clear that our self-interest can destroy the lives of future generations. The ICJ4ICJ moot court experience helped all partici-pants understand that the only solutions to climate change are fair solutions that protect human rights and uphold the rule of law.

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AT A WORKSHOP ENTITLED ‘Closing the Plastic Tap with IUCN,’ I learned that tire dust and microfibers from laundry are the two main sources of microplastic

Learning How to Protect the Environment Every Day

REFLECTION:

BY ALICIA FUNG ‘18

We must figure out the best

way to live our daily lives so

as to minimize the amount of

plastics that enter our waters.

“

“

Law students Alicia Fung, left, and Anna Jang at the Congress.

in our oceans. I thought this was interesting because a lot of media has been focused on personal care products (e.g., microbeads in exfoliant soaps and toothpastes). Although the media’s

focus on the impacts our personal care products have on the environment serves as good exposure to spread awareness of pollution, it is just a small glimpse into the problem. The focus needs to

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shift to the sources that contribute to microplastic pollution in the highest quantities: tire and laundry dust.The session ended with workshop leader Alexis McGivern sharing a “crazy thought”: every single piece of plastic that has ever been made, is still on this planet today. We must figure out the best way to live our daily lives so as to minimize the amount of plastics that enter our waters. A couple of the recommendations that caught my attention were mainstreaming plastic footprint into companies’ annual reports and designing improved wastewater facilities capable of retaining microplastics and microfibers.

The next session I attended was ‘The Legal Protection of Nature - The Growing Role of Judges.’ This session discussed climate change and the loss of biological diversity as the two biggest issues that judges worldwide are currently facing. The session also focused on the significant role the newly-established environmental courts and the Global Judicial Institute for the Environment (GJIE) play in enforcing environmental law.

Antonio Benjamin, Justice of the National High Court of Brazil and Chair of WCEL, mentioned that indigenous people are often the ones who bear the burden of environmental problems. One of the most difficult issues for judges is addressing the needs of indigenous people. Judges are trained to resolve issues pertaining to people who have rights and have the power to exercise those rights. Indigenous people, however, have rights but usually lack the power to go to courts to exercise these rights. We were lucky to have IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng make a guest appearance. Topics ranged from the importance of ecological sustainability as a foundational value to the role of ethics in environmental law, to the role that emerging generations must play in achieving sustainable development. Each panelist spoke with passion and fervor for protecting the environment that was truly admirable. As a law student, I look up to professionals who approach their work with such passion, and I can only hope to be able to do work

that I am as zealous about as they all seemed to be.

The third workshop I attended was ‘Asia at the Crossroads - How Tigers and People Can Prosper in the Asian Century.’ It discussed the depletion of the tiger population in Asia and its correlation to development within the region.

Naoko Ishii, CEO/Chair of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), took the stage and discussed the 97% drop in the tiger population in Asia and

how this population drop also affects other wildlife. She mentioned that the biggest contributing factor is the rise of the middle class, leading to increased consumption and impact on natural resources. She also explained the use of the tiger as an icon and indicator for Asian sustainable development.

As an avid animal-lover, I am always saddened to hear of animal populations dwindling to dangerous levels. I thought the juxtaposition of the tiger and human landscape, and the way we can use the rehabilitation of tiger populations as an indicator of our successes in sustainable

development, presented an interesting perspective on a serious issue. The session reemphasized to me the importance of finding a way to continue a path of economic development that keeps conservation in mind. This concept is especially important in Hawai‘i, where nature lies right in the backyard of a lively city.

Other ThoughtsAs the social media coordinator

at the Congress for ELP, I was highly involved with keeping up our social media presence.

The Congress mobile app, with several features created specifically to support Congress participants, was extremely useful and aided in the IUCN’s goal of having a paperless Congress. My favorite feature of the app was the ability to put together my own program of events that I was interested in attending from the more than 2,000 events offered over 10 days.

Conclusion Attending the Congress was a

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am grateful to have had. It opened my eyes to the breadth of environmental issues that we face today, ranging from wildlife conservation, to climate change, to marine pollution. Although many of the topics were discussed with a serious and sometimes somber tone, I believe it is important to maintain a healthy level of optimism. Just the fact that such international conservation congresses exist shows that the world is aware of the importance of these environmental issues.

Moving forward, I hope to maintain awareness of the impact that my day-to-day actions have on the environment. Coming from an engineering and construction background, I have seen the effect development has on our environment. We need to find and implement more sustainable practices in order to allow economic development without doing it at too great a cost.

Moving forward, I hope

to maintain awareness

of the impact that my day-

to-day actions have on the

environment.

““

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PLANET UNDER SIEGE: THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMEN-

TAL COURTS AND THE GLOBAL JUDICIAL INSTITUTE

FOR THE ENVIRONMENT was a workshop event held as part of the 2016 IUCN Congress on September 4, 2016.

Along with exploring climate change and the loss of biological diversity, the session focused on the significant roles that the newly-established en-vironmental courts and the Global Judicial Insti-tute for the Environment (GJIE) play in enforcing environmental law. (The IUCN created the GJIE to

coincide with the Congress, in collaboration with UNEP, the Organization of American States, the Asian Development Bank, the International Association of Judges, the Brazil-ian Association of Judges and the Supreme Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and other key partners. This initiative brought together judges and other stakeholders from around the world to share experiences and build capacity in environmental law.)

The workshop began with a discussion of how indigenous people are the ones who bear the burden of environmental problems. Unfortunately, indigenous people have little to no access to justice. The GJIE will not be successful if it does not consider the perspective of indigenous people which is the most difficult issue for judges. Judges are trained to deal with people who have rights and have the power to exercise those rights. Indigenous people, however, have rights but lack the power to go to courts to exercise these rights.

Throughout the workshop, an extensive list of impressive speakers touched upon

IUCN Recap – A Planet Under Siege

A KEY CONGRESS WORKSHOP:

a variety of aspects of environmental law. The session was a whirlwind of environmental issues. Topics ranged from the importance of ecological sustainability as a foundational value, to the role of ethics in environmental law, to the role that emerging generations must play in achieving sustainable development.

Speakers included:* Jenny Gruenberger Pérez (IUCN Councilor, Bolivia)* Klaus Bosselmann (Professor, University of Auckland Faculty of Law, New Zealand)* Brendan Mackey (Professor, Griffith University, Australia)* Ángela Andrade (Deputy-Chair, IUCN Commission On Ecosystem Management − CEM, and Environmental Policy Director, Conservation International, Colombia)* Ambassador Masahiko Horie (IUCN Councilor, Japan) * Elizabeth Mrema (Director, UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions)* Amy Fraenkel (WCLE Member and Head of Division, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)* Michelle Lim (Lecturer, Griffith Law School and Chair, WCEL Early Career Group)* Sebastian Mabile (WCEL Member and Chair, Environment And Policy Commission, French IUCN National Committee)* Bradnee Chambers (WCEL Member and Executive Secretary, and Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species)* John Robinson (IUCN Vice President, Wildlife Conservation Society)* Zhang Xinsheng (IUCN President)

IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng speaking at the ‘Planet Under Siege’ workshop.

PHO

TO B

Y N

ICK

BRY

NER

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SUMMARY

With Events, Discussion, and Action

ILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW

students and faculty led discussions, or-ganized debates, and built powerful ar-guments on behalf of island states at the forefront of climate change and sea level rise, enumerating urgent environmental concerns for Hawai‘i and the Pacific dur-ing the World Conservation Congress that brought global attention to Hawai‘i’s doorstep from September 1-10:

• At the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, the law students joined their international peers from five other law schools around the world to argue on behalf of the planet they will inherit.

• At the UH Law School, students spoke of the need to listen to the wisdom of indigenous people, create “earth laws” to focus on the critical preservation of our natural world, and find ways to make the political system provide justice for the environment, including reining in polluting corporations.

• At the Hawai‘i Convention Center, UH Law School students joined over

Law Students Wrap up the World Congress

10,000 delegates from 192 nations for deliberations about issues such as saving endangered species, preserving the integrity of our oceans, maintaining forests and ecosystems, and guarding fragile wildlife habitats.

• UH Law School students and faculty contributed important language to the “Hawai‘i Commitments” – a negotiated text that summarizes key issues, aspirations, and new ideas or actions emerging from the Congress. These included: the essential need to cultivate and strengthen the environmental rule of law; recognition that the “wisdom of indigenous traditions is of particular significance as we begin to re-learn how to live in [communion] with, rather than in dominance over, the natural world”;

IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng

during a Congress session.

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and the “pervasiveness of plastic waste in the ocean, and its effect on marine food chains ….”

“This Congress provided a tremen-dous opportunity to showcase our stu-dents as voices of future generations,” said David Forman, director of the Law School’s Environmental Law Program (ELP). “ELP students interacted with their peers from around the world as well as IUCN members from a variety of dis-ciplines with expertise on environmental issues; as a result, everyone in Hawai‘i should be proud of the lasting contribu-tions made by this next generation of Richardson lawyers.”

Initially overshadowed by the threat of two Pacific hurricanes, the 10-day Congress involved more than 2,000 events and meetings, including many gatherings planned by the Law School over the first five days.

During the Congress, Richardson Law students participated in debates on the floor of the Assembly on such globally important subjects as: the creation of sanctuaries for whales; the use of genome engineering to solve exotic wildlife diseases; the threat to gorillas because of illegal hunting; the loss of biodiversity and global concerns about ocean warming and sea level rise; the danger to both the elephant and rhinoceros because of illegal

ivory trading; and much more.Both Associate UH Law Dean

Denise Antolini and ELP Director David Forman played crucial roles in preparing students to participate in the Congress, while building program agendas around critically important environmental issues. The students took an active role as seven Hawai‘i motions that they proposed passed both houses of the IUCN Assembly in order to become resolutions adopted by the Congress. These motions focusing on Pacific and Hawai‘i issues were developed over three semesters in a class headed by Antolini, in which law students worked with community partners that included

environmental organizations and state agencies. (SEE MORE INFO ON PAGE 10)

During the Congress, the World Com-mission on Environmental Law (WCEL) singled out Antolini with an honor that recognized her dynamic leadership and involvement with environmental issues and named her Deputy Chair of the WCEL. Chaired by the Hon. Antonio H. Benjamin, Justice of the National High Court of Brazil, the WCEL is one of six global commissions.

The Law School brought numerous IUCN delegates and participants to Mānoa for side events open to the general

When an activity threatens

human health, precautionary

measures should be taken.

“

“ More than 10,000 people gathered from around the globe for the IUCN Congress in Hawai‘i.

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public. For example, ELP’s “IUCN at UH Law” series addressed: the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Environmental Rule of Law; the Economic Advantages of Clean Energy; as well as, Academic and Judicial Perspectives on the IUCN.

One of the larger events held at the Law School attracted WCEL members from around the world. “The planet is at a crossroads; we’re facing major environmental crises from pollutants, climate change, loss of biodiversity,” said Michelle Lim of Australia’s Griffith Law School at Griffith University during a program she co-chaired at the UH Law School highlighting Emerging Leaders from law schools around the world.

“We’re at a place where later is too late,” continued Lim. “The challenge for our generation is so great that we can’t wait for generational hand-over. We might be the only generation who can do something about it.”

Richardson Law School’s Tim

Vandeveer ’18 echoed the U.S. Declaration of Independence in saying that “certain environmental rights have become self-evident,” noting that the 2016 Democrat Party platform includes a clause supporting environmental and climate justice. “This is the future we must ensure,” said Vandeveer, who was recently elected chairman of the Hawai‘i Democratic Party. He went on to say that government has become “too cozy” with corporations that continue to pollute. “To stop these things we must take an active role in politics … and fight for environmental justice that we all deserve.”

In one of the programs scheduled by the Law School, American economist Jeffrey David Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, gave a compelling talk on the grievous challenges we all face because of environmental degradation. Sachs holds the title of University Professor, the highest rank Columbia bestows on its faculty, and he was one of many environmental leaders

who spoke of the monumental tasks that lie ahead and the need to take action now.

Delegates from every continent, and from Pacific nations already facing sea level rise that threatens their communities, repeatedly voiced the urgent need to act now. In a “moot court” presentation held at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, law students from Hawai‘i, New York, France, South Korea, Brazil, and the Philippines, submitted on behalf of future generations written “memorials” designed eventually to be incorporated into actual arguments before the International Court of Justice.

For the moot court exercise, Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald played the role of the President of the ICJ, with support from several international environmental law professors acting as judges of the court.

“Why should small island states bear the result of other countries’ wrongdoing?” questioned Léa le Cam, a law student from Sciences Po Rennes at the University of Caen in France. “The concept of climate

Law students join with Hawai‘i Congress

participants in strategic discussion of indigenous

rights motions.

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refugees is not yet enshrined in law. What of future generations, our children, and grandchildren?”

Alyssa Y. H. Kau ’18, from the Richardson Law School, spoke about “the principles of customary international law,” citing “the duty to do no harm … to ensure states are not causing harm in another state’s jurisdiction.

“When an activity threatens human health,” said Kau, “precautionary measures should be taken … There is an obligation for states to take action to mitigate actions that harm others.”

Nikolas Fan, from the Milton Campos Law School in Brazil, noted: “The climate crisis creates a major threat to humankind felt around the world. The environment is the common heritage of humankind, and all states have the responsibility to preserve it.”

From the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in New York, oralist Joseph D. Moravec pointed to the “right to life” embodied in the United Nations Charter. “If so,” he added, “then there is a right to the continuity of life itself.”

Professor Nicholas A. Robinson, founder of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law and past Chair of the World Commission on Environmental Law, was particularly enthusiastic about the law students’ efforts. Robinson noted that exploring the question “what do we owe the future – or how can we be good ancestors,” is a process “of learning what we should be doing for those who come after us.” The moot court experience of “learning by doing,” said Robinson, demonstrates the high quality of legal education around the world, although this type of legal training is not yet universal.

In addition to the Richardson student participants at the IUCN, a number of faculty members had important roles in leading discussions, chairing panels, and focusing debate. Associate Law Dean Antolini, who led the “motions class,” chaired several events, and served as the lynchpin along with ELP Director Forman in making programs accessible to law students and the public.

Prof. Kapua Sproat ‘98 led a workshop on indigenous water rights and a

discussion of successful campaigns led by indigenous groups for the restoration of waterways. Prof. Maxine Burkett created a course on climate change and the law tied to presentations during the IUCN Forum, which explored emerging international legal actions around climate change, as well as actions at the local and national levels.

Hawai‘i Supreme Court Associate Justice Michael C. Wilson, who helped drive creation of Hawai‘i’s year-old

Environmental Court, and a founding member of the WCEL’s Global Judicial Institute for the Environment, told the Early Career Group of the WCEL from around the world that “every one of you can make a difference” in focusing efforts on environmental causes.

“We’re passing on a planet that looks like it’s going to die,” said Wilson, “so anything you can do is important.”

Justice Benjamin of Brazil welcomed members of Supreme Courts around the world to help WCEL build “a global institution for the environment.” He called Associate Justice Wilson, Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna ’82, and Associate Justice Richard W. Pollack of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court “true heroes in these efforts.”

Justice Benjamin also played an important role in a day-long workshop entitled “Judges and Nature,” co-

sponsored by the UH Law School. The all-day workshop that began at the Convention Center and ended at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court courtroom, included a number of panels with high-ranking legal experts from around the world. As part of that presentation, John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Justice Department, gave an electrifying account of the work of his division in the wake of environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez spill off the Alaskan coastline in 1989, and the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the BP case, Cruden said the company is paying at least $5.5 billion in civil penalties; $8.1 billion to restore the environment; $6 billion to pay for economic damage to the Gulf States and their local governments; and $60 million in further reimbursements for additional cleanup costs. His division has also been involved in legal action against Volkswagen for the recent diesel emissions scandal and the recall of 580,000 diesel engine vehicles with illegal emissions controls.

“It isn’t enough to stop (the pollution) and issue penalties,” Cruden told the assemblage at the Supreme Court. “We have to restore the environment and that’s complicated.” Cruden eloquently argued for the need to create a full-time Environmental Prosecutor. And he drew a compelling link between companies’ ethics and the quality of their workplaces.

“We have long thought that if companies mistreat their workers, they mistreat the environment,” he concluded.

What do we owe the future

…. how can we be good ancestors.

““

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PHOTO GALLERY

The IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai‘i

A photo gallery of events and preparation:

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PHOTOS

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PHOTO GALLERY

Associate Law Dean Denise Antolini at the Congress with students Jason Parasco, Claire Colegrove, Arielle Kramer, Kaily Wakefield, and Matthias Keller of Surfrider Foundation, Stuart Coleman, the Surfrider Hawaii Chair, and Rafael Bergstrom from the Surfrider Oahu staff.

The 23 students in Associ-ate Dean Denise Antolini's Environmental Law class all attended the IUCN Congress and Pavilion events for one or more days, writing essays for the class about their inspiring

professional development experiences at the Congress.

The class included: Han-nah Azouz; Leah Ballantyne; Quincy Bedoya; Michael Biechler; Lucy Brown;

Mahesh Cleveland; Lisa Engebretsen; Alicia Fung; Bradley Hatfield; Tara Hicks; Anna Jang; Benjamin Krebs; Christina Lizzi; Justin Luney; Kamakani Macdonald-Chun; Katelyn Martin; Olan Morgan;

Letani Peltier; Todd Tashima; Kevin Tongg; Nahelani Web-ster; Christina Yee and Kevin Yolken.

LAW STUDENTS AT THE IUCN CONGRESS

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DAVID FORMAN

HE 2016 IUCN CONGRESS provided a unique opportunity for the Environmental Law Program to demonstrate its ability to serve as an international leader in the area of environmental sustainability. Following an independent technical review of an unprecedented 1,500 proposals for substantive content, the IUCN Forum Strategic Panel selected a workshop proposal drafted by ELP called the ICJ4ICJ (or Intergenerational Climate Justice before the International Court of Justice) Moot Court Workshop. It was later renamed the Tony

Oposa Intergenerational Moot Court, in honor of its inspirational voice who served last year as the Daniel & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair of Democratic Ideals at UH.

The workshop involved multiple partners, students, and professors from the Philippines, Korea, Brazil, as well as France, in addition to the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and our own students and faculty at the William S. Richardson School of Law in Hawai'i. As opposed to traditional moot court competitions, our unique and collaborative ICJ4ICJ memorial writing process allowed students to receive feedback and input from international environmental law experts toward the production of documents that can be used in potential future proceedings before the International Court of Justice. See http://blog.hawaii.edu/elp/icj4icj-information/.

The question presented concerned the responsibility of States under international law to address the global climate crisis for the benefit of future generations. Students from the six schools made oral submissions before a mock panel of ICJ judges at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald along with international environmental law professors from Norway, Russia, France and the Philippines.

The proceedings were live-streamed and recorded in high definition, then professionally edited and shown during the workshop at the Hawai‘i Convention Center as part of the 2016 IUCN Congress. The oralists and other students from the six law schools shared their insights, followed by a panel including the international professors, along with: Chief Justice Antonio Benjamin, National High Court of Brazil; Justice Ragnhild Noer,

Supreme Court of Norway; Professor Dan Bodansky, Global Institute of Sustainability (University of Arizona); and WSRSL's own climate change expert, Professor Maxine Burkett.

The workshop provided valuable background in support of a parallel motion later adopted by the IUCN Assembly, which calls upon the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) to request an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ on the legal status and content of the principle of sustainable development taking the needs of future generations into particular account. As a result, efforts are now underway to identify a nation-state or states willing to introduce such a resolution in the UNGA, in addition to lobbying for additional

support. Preliminary efforts also are already underway to hold the second Tony Oposa Intergenerational Moot Court during the next annual IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium (May 29-June 2, 2017) at the University of Cebu, in the Philippines.

of Environmental Sustainability

ELP Plays a Lead Role in the Arena

REFLECTION:

BY DAVID FORMAN, DIRECTOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PROGRAM

ASSOCIATE FACULTY SPECIALIST, KA HULI AO CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAW

David Forman

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HONORING DENISE ANTOLINI

Named Deputy Chair of WCEL

ICHARDSON LAW SCHOOL ASSOCIATE Dean De-nise E. Antolini was named as Deputy Chair of the World Commission on Environmental Law during the Congress. Her appointment is for a four-year term as she replaces outgoing Deputy Chair Professor Ben Boer of Sydney, Australia.

The nomination of Dean Antolini was made by Justice Herman Antonio Benjamin of the Na-tional High Court of Brazil, Chair of the WCEL, who was re-elected at the Congress to serve a second four-year term and then submitted his

nominees for Deputy and Steering Committee to the IUCN Council, which approved the list.

Additionally, Associate Dean Antolini, who joined the Richardson faculty in 1996, was appointed during the Congress by the Hawai‘i Host Committee to serve on the Con-gress Motions and Resolutions Working Group. This group is comprised of IUCN mem-bers and staff to monitor the motions process and rules during the Assembly.

In her new role as Deputy Chair, she will be planning and participating in several WCEL and IUCN leadership meetings and conferences in the coming year, including in Switzerland, Brazil, India, New Zealand, and the Philippines, as well as engaged in

Associate Law Dean Denise Antolini

a number of exciting projects such as WCEL’s new Global Judicial Institute for the Environment, workshops and train-ings related to environmental courts, and outreach on the WCEL’s World Declara-tion of Environmental Law. (Dean An-tolini will be volunteering her time for WCEL, and the WCEL will be supporting the expenses for her travel.)

Associate Dean Antolini commented: “Being nominated for Deputy Chair of one of the six IUCN Commissions was an unexpected and extraordinary honor for me and for our Law School. The op-portunity to keep our Environmental Law Program on a world stage and to open up exciting new doors for our students and faculty was one I could not pass up. I look forward to the many challenges ahead and to working with my WCEL and IUCN colleagues. Particularly in a changing po-litical climate, our international networks and partnerships in environmental law are more important than ever.”

Associate Dean Antolini, who has served as the Associate Dean for Aca-demic Affairs at Richardson since 2011, practiced environmental law before com-ing to the Law School, helped direct the Law School’s nationally recognized Envi-ronmental Law Program, and has taught torts, environmental law, environmental litigation, domestic ocean and coastal law, and legal writing.

Since 2006, she has spearheaded the Law School Building Excellence Proj-ect in addition to her duties as Associ-ate Dean and in the Environmental Law Program.

Associate Dean Denise Antolini, right, with Justice Herman Antonio Benjamin of the National High Court of Brazil, and Hawai‘i Supreme Court Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna ’82, at the Congress.

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