Chairman of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel Madhav Gadgil will deliver the keynote address at the International Law Conference, jointly organised by Kerala Law Academy and Centre for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR), on Conservation of Forests, Wildlife and Ecology on the Law Academy campus here on Saturday. Gadgil’s visit assumes significance as the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel evoked sharp criticism from various quarters.
The conference will be held from December 15 to 17. The theme of the first international conference 2012 is ‘The Legal Regime and Measures for Conservation of Bio-Diversity and Protection of Ecological Balance of Western Ghats.’
Supreme Court judge Justice A K Patnaik will inaugurate the conference. State Human Rights Commission chairman Justice J B Koshy will deliver the presidential address.
Gadgil will present a paper on ‘Protecting the Environment of Western Ghats by creating a law-abiding society that values knowledge’ on Saturday.
More than 40 papers will be presented during the three-day conference. The conference expects to discuss the legal implications of the World Heritage site status for various sites in the Western Ghats and the means, methods and ways to strengthen the existing legal framework and regime and suggest new legal measures and framework for protection and conservation of the biological diversity and ecological balance in the Western Ghats in particular and planet earth in general from an international perspective.
The conference will have research papers or working papers that would contain some concrete proposals, suggestions or recommendations relating precisely to the selected theme.
The technical session will begin on Saturday with the topic ‘Landscape and land use issues.’ Frank Fleerackers, dean, Law Faculty and Commissioner of the High Council of Justice, Brussels, will chair the session. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden V Gopinathan, Chairman of Salim Ali Foundation V S Vijayan, Dean and Prof of Law, University of Kerala, K C Sunny, will attend the session, which will be held between 11.15 am to 1.15 pm.