Nature, Resources and the Law

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to law and policy regulating the use and protection of selected natural resources in Aotearoa | New Zealand (including water, fisheries, climate, minerals/petroleum/gas, energy, biodiversity, landscapes and forestry). It will examine natural resources law and policy-making in Aotearoa within the broader regional Pacific and global context. The course will engage with some of the theoretical challenges for the regulation of natural resources, such as: the recognition of Maori (and Indigenous) rights to natural resources and their governance; the purposes of environmental regulation, including the influence of the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ and more ‘ecocentric’ approaches; whether natural resources can be ‘owned’ and the role of private property and markets in resource management. The course will place Aotearoa| New Zealand law and policy in its regional and global context, drawing on examples from domestic comparative and international law, and pay attention to interdisciplinary perspectives from beyond law.