Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Lawyers’ group honors De la Victoria in NY
FORMER Bantay Dagat Federation president Elpidio “Jojo” de la Victoria was honored during a gathering in New York.
Over 200 participants from government and mul-tilaterial institutions, business sector, nongovernment organizations, including 80 representatives from universities worldwide witnessed the giving of recognition to De la Victoria during a gathering at the Pace University School of Law for the 4th International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium.
Enforcement
The colloquium was presented jointly by Pace University School of Law, Pace University, The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement and IUCN on the theme “Implementing Environmental Legislation: The Critical Role of Enforcement and Compliance.”
Speakers of the colloquium included Filipino environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., who spoke on “Citizen Leadership in Environmental Law Enforcement—A Philippines case study,” Ramon Magsaysay awardee and environmental lawyer fron India MC Mehta and the president of the Riverkeeper Alliance and co-director of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic professor Robert Kennedy Jr.
Prof. Nicholas Robinson, chairman of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, spoke in behalf of the academy in extolling De La Victoria as a courageous defender of the law and lover of the sea.
Education
The Academy of Environmental Law was launched under the auspices of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law.
It is a network of university law faculties established to strengthen environmental legal education worldwide.
Oposa and lawyer Glo-ria Estenzo Ramos were invited to represent the country in the colloquium.
Information about the academy and in-depth study and materials on environmental law enforcement and compliance can be accessed at www.iucn.org.
