SCELG and the Revision of the IV Montevideo Programme

The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) has been invited by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division to participate in the ongoing revision of the IV Montevideo Programme. This is a programme of work for the international community in the area of environmental law for the period 2010-2020. Following four regional consultations, UNEP convened a global meeting in Geneva on 12-14 September 2018 in which SCELG Co-Director Dr Francesco Sindico attended as an independent expert. The University of Strathclyde was one of the few academic institutions represented at the event, together with the University of Eastern Finland, University of Leuven, University of the West Indies, University of Nairobi and a few others.

The revision process aims not only to evaluate the IV Montevideo Programme, but also to lay the grounds for the V Montevideo Programme (2020-2030). Dr Sindico was asked to deliver a presentation in the context of Pillar II of the IV Montevideo Programme “Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” as a way to kick-start discussion amongst the national focal points representing 95 UN Member States. In his brief remarks, Dr Sindico highlighted some of the success stories in the implementation of the IV Montevideo Programme, but also identified groundwater law and transboundary aquifers as one of the gaps in the current programme. He then provided comments on awareness, capacity building and support as crosscutting issues for the future Montevideo Programme. Dr Sindico also raised the question of whether, and if so how, to align the V Montevideo Programme with the ongoing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He further underscored the need to mainstream a rights-based approach and an ecosystem approach.

Research-led Teaching

Dr Sindico contributes to the University of Strathclyde Law School’s LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance and supervises PhD students in the area of groundwater law and transboundary aquifers.