Environmental Law Research Presented at Post Graduate Conference

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Research presented at a postgraduate conference at UKZN contributed to the body of knowledge on legal aspects relating to issues such as climate change, waste disposal and renewable energies, providing crucial input to possible solutions to global environmental problems.

The event was the 2015 Environmental Law Association Post Graduate Students’ Conference hosted by the School of Law under the theme: “Environmental Law: Pushing the Envelope”.

A total of 11 postgraduate students from UKZN, the North West University (NWU), the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Pretoria (UP) presented on aspects of environmental law, management and governance.

Law academic and Environmental Law expert Professor Michael Kidd said the Conference was important as it created an opportunity for the sharing and exchanging of knowledge in the rapidly-developing field of Environmental Law.

‘Not only does the Conference allow postgrad students to meet colleagues from other institutions, it also exposes them to constructive criticism and advice from fellow students and academics, They also benefit from a session where academics share their advice on writing dissertations - so ultimately the idea is to provide students with a great opportunity to augment their research experience,’ said Kidd.

UKZN’s contributors were Mr Didy Kizungu, who presented on the “Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in SADC”; Ms Nelly Mazambani, whose topic was:  “Loss and Damage under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)”, and Ms Zinzile Sibanda, who spoke on “Land Reform and Conservation: Co-Management of Protected Areas”.

From NWU, Ms Gertrude Shoko spoke on “Renewable Energy and Human Rights”; Ms Rachel Lekunze presented on “Regional Economic Communities, Renewable Energy and Climate Change”, and Mr Stephen Nel presented on “Landfill to Gas CDM Projects”.

From UP, Ms Ashleigh Keller presented on “Corporate Compliance and Enforcement: the Blue Platinum Ventures Case”; Mr Tshinanne Mutshatshi spoke on “Scientific Evidence and Decision-Making”, and Ms Khanyisile Zondo, presented on “Environmental Protection vs Economic Development”.

From Wits, Ms Alexa-Rae Sebba’s topic was “Environmental Ubuntu and Non-Human Animal Rights while Ms Kate Edwardes of UCT spoke on “Integrated Water Management”.

Thandiwe Jumo