Teaching Comparative Environmental Law From a Global Resources Perspective: Are National Environmental Laws Doing Their Job?

Many environmental law courses provide instruction in national environmental laws and their application. Some environmental law courses compare one system of environmental law with another system to see what each system can learn from the other. Most recently, there has been a move towards a more global approach to comparative environmental law, looking at the global development of legal institutions and procedures in the enforcement of environmental statutes and regulations. As the world faces increasingly difficult conditions with advancing climate change and ocean acidification, continuing loss of biological diversity, the growth of megacities, massive public health problems from pollution, and continuing population growth putting stress on all systems, it becomes increasingly important not only to assess whether there are environmental laws on the books and whether those laws are being enforced, but whether they are actually protecting the environment. In many areas, the data suggest they are not. The Global Environmental Outlook reports are the best source of scientific data documenting environmental changes on a global and regional level, but they are generally not used or are underutilized in environmental law courses. This presentation will suggest that more effective use of scientific data and a critical-studies, adaptive-management approach to environmental law instruction will help future environmental lawyers and policymakers not only learn environmental law as it is, but understand it in context and analyze reasons for its failure to protect the environment. The goal is to teach strategic interdisciplinary thinking about environmental laws and enforcement, so that the lawyers and policymakers of the future can work with scientists and other experts not only to enforce existing environmental laws but to find ways to improve the coverage and performance of their environmental laws over time. Professor Harmon will share her experience in structuring and teaching such a course and provide suggestions for pedagogical approaches incorporating GEO reports and other scientific data in both comparative and national environmental law courses