Research Agenda
Natural resources law is a core theme in international sustainable development law. The aim of our research group is to use the diverse expertise of our researchers to develop legal and educational tools that can be used to promote and strengthen awareness of the myriad of issues affecting natural resource protection and development. Our research seeks to provide scholars, policymakers and the public with accurate and comprehensive information relating to international natural resources law. Our priority is the health and welfare of the communities impacted by natural resources issues and we believe strongly that solutions need to come from within rather than outside the community. To this end we try as far as it is possible to consult the people impacted by such issues and to work in collaboration with local experts in order to increase the soundness of our research. Our team is multidisciplinary and we collaborate regularly with researchers and other experts from various fields of study outside the law.
We define natural resources law in a broad sense, to include: Energy production, water quality, biodiversity, forestry industry standards, agricultural methods, human and environmental health, Indigenous Peoples concerns et cetera.
Research Areas
The CISDL Natural Resources research areas often intersect one another and hence there is no clear division. There are also certain cross cutting issues that impact several as human health, intellectual property rights, poverty et cetera. Our team members and their collaborators often work in partnership in several areas simultaneously and in various parts of the world. The CISDL Natural Resources Program is therefore involved in the creation of a Canadian Natural Resources Law and Governance Knowledge Network to better coordinate and implement natural resources research in order to better serve the needs of the developing world. Also, we examine issues concerning energy use, production and distribution. Our team examines international petroleum law, renewable energy initiatives around the world, biofuel development and national energy security policies. We work with various energy producers’ associations, non-governmental organizations interested in this area as well as international governmental organizations to develop a dialogue that may lead to a comprehensive plan for meeting our energy needs today without compromising our ability to do so in the future. Key projects in this area include Legal Status of Wood-based Biofuels and Wind Energy in the Arcticas well as the Hydro Québec Sustainable Development Energy Justice Project.
The CISDL Natural Resources team also conducts research concerning issues related to the sustainable use of water. We look at how water issues have been responded to in international law and provide research that may lead to a more complete treatment of water concerns in the international arena. Furthermore, under this project we also examine the health of our oceans, international legislation dealing with the use of ocean resources as well as international fishing regulations. An important project in this area is the Marine Tenure Workshop. Closely related to the issues of sustainable water use is the sustainability of the world’s forests as they are one our planets most precious natural resources. It is one area that seems to have been overlooked in international public law. Our group examines initiatives such as the United Nations Forest Principles as well as certification programmes such as the Forestry Stewardship Council et cetera. Our aim is to provide research leading to anInternational Instrument for Sustainable Forestry. We work with various organizations and communities around the world to develop legal tools that will lead to a better management of this natural resource. Forests would not exists without soil and as it happens we do not often think of soil as a natural resources but it is of fundamental importance to life on Earth. We look at the issues surrounding soil quality and the steps taken in the international arena to address this pressing issue. We also work with farming communities to study the effects of various farming methods on soil loss, quality, erosion et cetera. Our aim is to develop legal tools that will promote the use of farming methods that encourage sustainable agriculture. To this end we are developing relationships with communities in the developing world such as our project in Malawi, Africa where food security is a critical issue as well as continuing our Implementing the FAO ‘Seed Treaty’ and its Multilateral ABS System project.
The CISDL Natural Resources team has worked with Indigenous communities over a long period of time. We understand that Indigenous Peoples have struggled for centuries to preserve control over their lands and the natural resources found within. Not surprisingly areas of the world that are Indigenous lands also tend to be very rich in biodiversity and hence natural resources. Indigenous Peoples’ relationship with the Earth is essential to understanding the importance of land rights to these communities. International law has always found it difficult understanding Indigenous viewpoints and not simply using non-indigenous reference points to develop policy that concerns Indigenous Peoples. We aim to provide research that can lead to policy decisions being taken that are inclusive of the needs and perspectives of Indigenous and local communities. We also consider the precarious position of Indigenous traditional knowledge under international law and we aim to build educational tools that can be used by Indigenous communities to teach the natural sciences to their youth in a manner that is comprehensive of the local traditional knowledge of the natural world specific to a given Indigenous community. A crucial project in this area of the CISDL Natural Resources Program is the Indigenous Women and Natural Resource Rights.”
Subpages linked to this main page:
Canadian Natural Resources Law and Governance Knowledge Network
Led by the new IUCN Academic of Environmental Law (based at the University of Ottawa), the CISDL and other academic institutes will be collaborating pro bono in the development of a new knowledge network on natural resources governance and law. The network will provide outcomes of legal research and expert views on important topics related to natural resources trends and opportunities in developed and developing countries.
Legal Status of Wood-based Biofuels
Although there had been much controversy over agriculturally-based biofuels, wood-based biofuels are now being examined for their potential to provide necessary energy. The goal of this research is to provide an overview of how this industry is treated under international and regional trade regimes and examine the possibility for an international treaty on biofuels in general. The legal framework for clean-energy alternatives such as wind power in the Canadian Arctic is also being examined. Papers will be published in appropriate law journals throughout 2009-2010
Hydro Quebec Sustainable Development Energy Justice Project
CISDL Senior Legal Research Fellow Prof Richard Janda was appointed Sustainable Development Scholar, with support from Hydro Quebec, as part of a larger research grant given to McGill University. The grant permits the Law Faculty to support graduate students doing legal research in sustainable development and student initiatives. The CISDL has launched, together with McGill Law Faculty, a new Legal Working Paper Series on Theories of Justice and Sustainable Development. In 2008, Hydro Quebec funds were applied in support of a book project on global energy policy led by John Haffner, a McGill Law graduate, that focuses on transitions to a better energy future. Haffner advanced the project as a World Fellow at Yale University, interviewing more than 50 energy experts worldwide. He is now focused on completing the book, with contributions from Michael Dworkin and Kari Twaite of Vermont Law School, working toward publication in 2010.
Legal Aspects of Sustainable Water Management
CISDL Legal Research Fellow Anna Russell co-authored a legal working paper on access to water and integrated water resource management, forming the basis for a very well-subscribed course for delegates to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in 2005, New York, and Panel Event. UN Water has invited the CISDL to develop a ‘Guidance Note’ for countries seeking to draft and implement new laws on water management, and there is potential for a collaborative seminar and special issue on these questions with the Revue quebecoise de droit international. In 2006-2007, the CISDL developed a working paper for CIDA on Canada’s legal obligations in the area of international policy on water. This working paper led to the recommendation to organize a workshop to further investigate several key issues, such as obligations to act in accordance with regional agreements on water when conducting development work in developing countries, and international customary principles related to water, and a proposal is being submitted to CIDA to carry out this work.
Marine Tenure Workshop
In partnership with the Aurora State College of Technology in the Philippines and PAMANA, the Philippine Alliance of Fisherfolk Marine Protected Area (MPA) Managers, CISDL is working to create and disseminate a workshop that will help the local coastal people to advocate for and manage local marine tenure.
An International Instrument for Sustainable Forestry
In partnership with governmental, industry and independent forestry certification organizations, CISDL is developing a report that describes the various certification option available on a local, regional and international level. The potential for the UN Forest Principles to develop into an enforceable treaty and provide and international standard for forest management is also being examined. A proposal will be prepared for submission to publishers in the fall of 2009.
Sustainable Agriculture in Africa
In partnership with the Malawi Small Dairy Farmers Project, CISDL is providing support and counsel on the legal implications of their sustainable agriculture initiative in Africa. CISDL is also investigating ways to replicate this work with similar organizations in other parts of Africa. Research examines the international law regime for the preservation and protection of arable soil, the fundamental ingredient of sustainable agriculture, and the various certification standards available in the international arena concerning sustainable farming, fair trade farming and organic farming.
Implementing the FAO ‘Seed Treaty’ and its Multilateral ABS System
CISDL Legal Research Fellow Christine Frison prepared two new papers on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA), one of them for presentation in the new Oxford Globalization & Sustainable Development Law seminar. These articles will be published in the Revue Belge de Droit International, 2006-II and the International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (2006). A third article, ‘The Interdependence of Countries and Regions of the World on Food Crops’, in collaboration with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), is projected. These articles will later become chapters in an upcoming book on new issues related to access to genetic resources for food and agriculture and the benefit-sharing derived from their utilisation. This work has led to a project proposal for the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture, the Foreign Minisy of the Netherlands, the Rockefeller Foundation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to develop case studies, legal analysis and instruments to assist countries with the implementation of the FAO Seed Treaty (the IT-PGRFA). Partners such as FAO and IPGRI have been contacted, and case study research may be done in Uganda and Kenya. Two seminars on ‘IT-PGRFA and agro-biodiversity issues’ were held in Spring 2007 in SOAS in London and the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium. An upcoming volume will address new issues on access to genetic resources for food and agriculture and the benefit-sharing derived from their utilisation, as part of the new CISDL 'Treaty Regimes in Practice' Series for publication in 2010 or in 2011.
Indigenous Women and Natural Resource Rights
By seeking and establishing new partnerships with Indigenous Women’s Organizations, CISDL seeks to examine the role of women in the management of natural resources on Indigenous lands as well as the distribution of benefits from natural resource management to the women of these communities. A report is also being prepared on the status of natural resource management in Canada’s Arctic under the land claims agreements between the Canadian government and the Inuit people as a follow up to the ArcticNet Climate Coherence Project.