This advanced, practice-focused seminar examines how U.S. law protects international biodiversity through domestic regulation, trade controls, enforcement actions, and global conservation initiatives. Although biodiversity protection is often framed as an international issue, U.S. statutes—particularly the Endangered Species Act—play a critical role in shaping global conservation outcomes by regulating imports, exports, financing, and corporate conduct.
The course emphasizes how biodiversity protection works in practice: how lawyers advise clients on compliance, how agencies enforce conservation laws, how international wildlife trafficking cases are prosecuted, and how trade and environmental regimes intersect. Students will engage with real-world issues such as endangered species trade, habitat destruction linked to supply chains, and cross-border enforcement challenges.
The seminar treats biodiversity law as a strategic, transnational regulatory system, where legal rules, economic incentives, and enforcement realities intersect. Students will develop practical skills in statutory interpretation, compliance planning, litigation strategy, and policy advising.
This course assumes prior study of environmental law, administrative law, or public international law.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Interpret key U.S. biodiversity protection statutes.
2. Analyze the global reach of U.S. environmental regulation.
3. Evaluate compliance risks for corporations and NGOs.
4. Understand enforcement mechanisms for wildlife protection.
5. Assess trade-related biodiversity restrictions.
6. Analyze cross-border wildlife trafficking cases.
7. Evaluate interactions between U.S. law and international agreements.
8. Develop practical compliance and litigation strategies.
9. Understand the role of federal agencies in biodiversity protection.
10. Apply doctrine to real-world conservation challenges.
