First Course in Sustainable Natural Resources Development Series Reaches Successful Conclusion

The first course in the 2010 Sustainable Natural Resources Development Series came to a close Friday, with the final day being dedicated to student presentations and a wrap up session led by Luke Danielson and Cecilia Dalupan, two of the three adjunct professors who partnered in teaching the course.

Mr. Danielson, a Gunnison, Colorado, attorney, is known world-wide for his work in this field. Ms. Dalupan, who also has wide experience in this field, is a licensed attorney in Colorado and the Phillipines and associate director of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. The two are principals in the consulting firm Sustainable Development Strategies Group.

The course, "The Emerging International Framework in Sustainable Natural Resources Development," began Jan. 4 and ran throughout the week. The intense, one-week course (sessions began at 8 a.m., broke for lunch, and continued to 5 p.m. each day) included presentations by an impressive group of outside speakers as well as presentations by Mr. Danielson, Ms. Dalupan, and David Szablowski, assistant professor of Law and Society at York University in Toronto.

Students and presenters from a range of countries including Argentina, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, and the U.S. took part in the course. Students enrolled in the course included JD, LLM, and Masters of Resource Law Studies candidates. By all indications, the course was a great success, with students learning about the emerging framework at international level aimed at governing -- at least to some degree -- the natural resources sector. Topics covered included activities by the UN and industry associations to regulate this sector to the growing use of actions filed in the U.S. under the Alien Tort Claims Act seeking damages for torts committed outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Speakers included economists, scientists, lawyers, and businessmen.

By week's end, the students had benefited from hearing and reading about many perspectives from an entire range of practitioners and specialists in this area.

The series will continue with one week courses in June and August and a one-semester course from mid-August through November. The courses, each of which is a three-credit course, are open to DU College of Law students as well as other graduate students and professionals. The remaining 2010 courses are:

• June 2-5: "National Legislation and Policy for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources;" click here to see a video of Mr. Danielson discussing this course.
• August 9-13: "Community Expectations for Sustainable Development in Natural Resources Projects;" click here to see a video of Mr. Danielson discussing this course.
• Fall Semester: "Experiential Capstone: Sustainable Natural Resources Development Practicum," which will be led by Prof. Ann Vessels, director of the College of Law externship program.

More information about the entire series is available by clicking here.

This series of courses, the first of its kind offered by an American law school, will result in a certificate of specialization in "Sustainable Natural Resources Development" for all students who have been admitted to DU's Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program. For more information about the program, please contact Lucy Daberkow by clicking here.