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 Arctic as 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 an International 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.