The Idaho Law Review’s
Natural Resources & Environmental Law 2018 Edition:
“Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in the Pacific”
The Idaho Law Review is pleased to announce that the theme of the Natural Resources & Environmental Law (NREL) 2018 Edition will be “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in the Pacific.” This edition will showcase eight to ten substantive articles that analyze existing and proposed mitigation and adaptation policies and practices in both the Pacific Northwest Region and the Pacific Islands. All articles will be submitted for peer-review.
Sea level rise, extreme weather events, increased flooding, infrastructure damage, increased drought, wildfires, ocean acidification, and shifting fisheries, are forcing governments to address the impacts and consequences of an increasingly warming climate. Under the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention, States are expected to formulate, implement, publish, and regularly update national and regional program to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change. The objective of this law review edition is to explore how the United States is mitigating and adapting to climate pressures in the Pacific Northwest and in those Pacific Island regions where the U.S. has jurisdiction (e.g. Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa).
Some of the questions that we hope will be addressed within this edition and at the conference organized in advance of the edition include:
· How are laws and policies within the Pacific Region addressing sea level rise, erosion, inundation risks, and flooding linked to climate change?
· Is there a need for a initiative to address how vulnerable ecological areas will adapt to sea level rise and ocean acidification? What is the appropriate level for such an initiative--state, national, or regional level?
· What roles could or should local, state, and federal governments play in establishing and developing policies and initiatives that promote climate change mitigation and adaptation in regards to water resource management within the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Islands particularly in relation to drought and wildfire risks?
· To what extent should governments require actions from private firms to implement mitigation and adaptation programs?
· What role should businesses like insurance companies play in developing programs that promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, and stimulate protective infrastructure developments?
· In regards to climate-triggered species migrations, due to our increasingly warming climate, how can the U.S. adapt its policies in the Pacific Northwest or the Pacific Islands including fisheries plans and habitat conservation plans to be responsive to climate change?
Individuals who are invited to publish an article with the Idaho Law Review will also be invited to a public research conference to be held either in Moscow, Idaho or Couer D’Alene, Idaho before the publication in early Spring 2018. We invite you to please submit your short abstracts and CVs to be considered for this edition.