AGENDA: Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations

On July 12 and 13, 2012, experts convened at Colorado Law to demonstrate the extent to which a model law could help address the global problem of indoor air pollution from inefficient cook stoves. The air pollution that results from inefficiently burning biomass as fuel for cooking has serious health and climatic consequences. The workshop produced two sets of Model Laws and commentaries to help nations solve the problem, and the commentaries were published in the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law Review

AGENDA: Changing Regulatory Frameworks for Shale Development and Social License to Operate

Rapid development of unconventional shale resources in recent years has raised a series of regulatory issues both here and abroad. Because of the distributed nature of shale development and the significant increase in wells in key basins, local land-use conflicts have also erupted in certain areas of the country, leading to restrictions and moratoria on drilling by state, county, and municipal governments and raising questions about the industry\u27s continued social license to operate in key jurisdictions. This moderated panel discussion will assess the current regulatory framework governing shale gas development and the changing dynamics among federal, state, and local regulation in Colorado and the United States; highlight important developments and emerging issues in other countries; and analyze best practices

AGENDA: Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social, and Economic Outcomes

Many aspects of western water allocation and management are the product of independent and uncoordinated actions, several occurring a century or more ago. However, in this modern era of water scarcity, it is increasingly acknowledged that more coordinated and deliberate decision-making is necessary for effectively balancing environmental, social, and economic objectives. In recent years, a variety of forums, processes, and tools have emerged to better manage the connections between regions, sectors, and publics linked by shared water systems. In this event, we explore the cutting edge efforts, the latest points of contention, and the opportunities for further progress

AGENDA: Changing Regulatory Frameworks for Shale Development and Social License to Operate

Rapid development of unconventional shale resources in recent years has raised a series of regulatory issues both here and abroad. Because of the distributed nature of shale development and the significant increase in wells in key basins, local land-use conflicts have also erupted in certain areas of the country, leading to restrictions and moratoria on drilling by state, county, and municipal governments and raising questions about the industry\u27s continued social license to operate in key jurisdictions. This moderated panel discussion will assess the current regulatory framework governing shale gas development and the changing dynamics among federal, state, and local regulation in Colorado and the United States; highlight important developments and emerging issues in other countries; and analyze best practices

AGENDA: Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences

Water scarcity is increasingly dominating headlines throughout the world. In the southwestern USA, the looming water shortages on the Colorado River system and the unprecedented drought in California are garnering the greatest attention. Similar stories of scarcity and crisis can be found across the globe, suggesting an opportunity for sharing lessons and innovations. For example, the Colorado River and Australia\u27s Murray-Darling Basin likely can share many lessons, as both systems were over-allocated, feature multiple jurisdictions, face similar climatic risks and drought stresses, and struggle to balance human demands with environmental needs. In this conference we cast our net broadly, exploring several salient topics including: trans-boundary cooperation, water marketing, Indigenous water rights, environmental and social water needs, and drought coping. This public event will be informed by three invitation-only meetings held immediately before the conference: an “Indigenous Water Justice” symposium; a “Social Dimensions of Environmental Water Management” workshop; and a “Drought Crises in Federations” symposium

AGENDA: Indigenous Water Justice Symposium

Indigenous peoples throughout the world face diverse and often formidable challenges of what might be termed “water justice.” On one hand, these challenges involve issues of distributional justice that concern Indigenous communities’ relative abilities to access and use water for self-determined purposes. On the other hand, issues of procedural justice are frequently associated with water allocation and management, encompassing fundamental matters like representation within governance entities and participation in decision-making processes. Yet another realm of water justice in which disputes are commonplace relates to the persistence of, and respect afforded to, Indigenous communities’ cultural traditions and values surrounding water—more specifically, the degree of recognition and solicitude given them in distributional rules, governance entities, decision-making processes, etc. These three dimensions of water justice find support in numerous domestic and international sources, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Hosted by the University of Colorado Law School on Monday, June 6 in Boulder, Colorado, the Indigenous Water Justice (IWJ) Symposium has been convened to address water justice-related challenges facing Australian Aboriginal communities within the Murray-Darling Basin, Canadian First Nations within the Columbia River Basin, and Native American Tribes within the Colorado and Columbia River Basins. The symposium will consist of three basin panels followed by an end-of-day synthesis panel. It will be bookended by a keynote address from Professor Charles Wilkinson during the morning, and a dinner reception hosted by the Native American Rights Fund. The symposium is an invitation-only event envisioned as an incubator for future actions and collaborations. The roughly 45 participants hail from nearly 20 Indigenous communities and organizations and faculties of approximately 15 academic institutions in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States, as well as governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Our core purpose is to foster dialogue and relationships aimed at promoting legal and policy reforms to achieve positive social change

Watershed Planning and Management in Colorado

9 pages. Introduction -- The watershed approach in Colorado -- Moving to the next level : implementation of the BIPs -- Possible next steps -- Conclusion.https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/books_reports_studies/1183/thumbnail.jp