Inaugural meeting of the Biodiversity & Environmental Liability Scholars (BELS) Network

The first meeting of the BELS Network welcomed legal scholars and social scientists to a virtual discussion to explore new pathways for environmental remedies.

Members of the BELS Network at the virtual meeting held on 18 March 2024

The Biodiversity & Environmental Liability Scholars Network is a new and exciting global interdisciplinary group of scholars that aims to bring together leading and emerging researchers to explore new legal solutions to environmental harm.

Led by Dr Jacob Phelps of Lancaster University and Rika Fajrini, legal researcher at Conservation-Litigation.org and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, the inaugural meeting explored the participants’ various research interests on the topic of remedy-focused environmental liability.

Using an innovative and participatory online format, the meeting touched on a broad range of concepts, from understanding and defining the concept of environmental harm and its remedies to enforcement, the implementation of liability measures and remedies, the role of science in the court, and the links with climate change litigation.

Screenshot from the inaugural BELS meeting

The key purpose of the forum is to promote forms of collaboration, such as developing a collaborative and open case law database, joint projects, co-publishing, guest lectures and, importantly, the sharing of expertise.

Interested in joining the BELS Network?

The network is currently seeking new members and welcomes legal scholars, philosophy and social scientists and natural scientists at all career stages, from senior professors to early and mid-career researchers and PhD students.

The network will have bimonthly meetings where members can share and discuss their current research projects in the field of environmental liability litigation.

The next bimonthly meeting will be held in May.

If you are interested in joining the BELS Network, please contact Rika Fajrini.