Dr Emmanuel Osuteye, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at University College London, delivered a thought-provoking presentation on conceptualising environmental law and policy research in Africa for the final autumn term seminar in the LLM Envrironmental Law Seminar Series.
Dr Osuteye defined conceptualisation as “how you can think about environmental law and policy research; how you can create your concepts.” He said it was related “more to the entry points of research rather than the actual results” and further explained citing a case study of mineral exploration in Ghana.
Kent LLM student Sharmer Fleming said: ‘The case study revealed the general consensus that weak environmental standards are a fundamental issue affecting developing countries. Although they are attractive economic features to foreign investors who perform the mere minimum of their corporate social responsibility. By referring to Section 17 of the Ghana Minerals and Mining Act 703 (2006), this was put into perspective. However, he emphasised that although every state has the right to development a balance for protecting the environment must be established.
‘Dr Osuteye elucidated that his concluded conceptualisation was that economic development triumphs legal rigour, indigenous rights, public participation and ancestors’ justice. In this case, the law was described as “legal gagging of the public”, since the public is exempted from its development. These concerns created his entry points for research.’
Dr Osuteye went on to explain the application of his conceptualisation to two disaster risk reduction projects: Urban Africa Risk Knowledge (Urban ARK); and the AXA Project. Describing these projects as “metrics for policy action in urban areas” Dr Osuteye said their aim was to fill the gap of public engagement in policy development. In a divergence from the “top down approach” used in Africa, he said these projects take a “bottom up approach” which is important for achieving sustainable development.
As a Kent LLM Environmental Law and Policy alumnus and PhD recipient, Dr Osuteye also talked to current students about how the skills he had acquired had fostered his professional development. Students were advised to take advantage of the opportunities offered and to consider research in areas that are understudied, under-documented, lacking literature or have opportunities for further elaboration.
Sharmer said: ‘Undoubtedly, the outcomes achieved from this seminar can lead to impactful environmental law research in developing countries by the Kent Law School students.’
The student organising team for this seminar comprised: Fabio Battaglia (Chairperson); Mathilde de Labrouhe de Laborderie (Introducer); and Sharmer Fleming (Reporter).
The LLM Environmental Law Seminar Series has been designed specifically for students with an interest in the environmental law modules offered within the School’s one-year Master’s in Law programme, the Kent LLM.
Kent LLM students can graduate with a specialism in either Environmental Law or International Environmental Law by (i) opting to study at least three (out of six) modules from those associated with the specialism of their choice and by (ii) focusing the topic of their dissertation on their chosen specialism.
More information about environmental law research, events and academics at Kent can be found on the Environmental Law mini-site. More information about studying the Kent LLM (and choosing your specialism) can be found on our postgraduate pages.