Sara Seck lauded for her environmental law research
October 27, 2015
Sara Seck has been awarded the prestigious Emerging Scholar award by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Academy of Environmental Law.
The award is targeted at those who have held an academic position for ten years or less.
“This is an immensely meaningful award for me,” says Seck, “as environmental concerns are always at the heart of my work, and the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law is clearly the global voice for the environmental community.”
The award recognizes scholars whose publications, commissioned policy reports, studies or other activities advance research in environmental law.
“We congratulate Professor Seck on this award, which highlights the strength of her scholarly contributions in the fast-developing field of international environmental law,” says Associate Dean Valerie Oosterveld.
Seck, an Associate Professor at Western Law, researches and teaches in the area of corporate social responsibility, international environmental, human rights, and sustainable development law, climate change and indigenous law, often with a focus on extractive industries.
In May 2015, she was appointed a Senior Fellow with the International Law Research Program (ILRP) of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). She is a member of the International Law Association’s Study Group on Due Diligence in International Law, and the Study Group on Business and Human Rights.
One of the award reviewers described Seck’s contribution to the environmental law arena as follows:
“(She has) an admirable balance between analysis and advocacy and engagement with third-world approaches to international law. Professor Seck addresses the failure of international environmental law to engage with the harmful environmental impacts of transnational corporate conduct, questioning the view that intra-territorial environmental harm lies outside the purview of the discipline.”
The award recipients were announced earlier this fall at a meeting of the IUCN in Indonesia.
