Environmental Law and Sustainable Development (Taught)

The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development provides a unique specialisation in a rapidly developing area of law. Environmental law has grown rapidly over the past five decades and is now one of the key areas of both domestic and international law. The increasingly vast scope of environmental law is reflected in the umbrella notion of sustainable development that captures the links between traditional environmental issues and broader development concerns. Environmental law thus covers not only traditional nature conservation and pollution control issues but also broader the use and conservation of natural resources. In addition, we emphasise links between environmental regulation and other related fields of law, such as human rights, trade or intellectual property rights.

The SOAS degree offers a distinct mix of modules that covers the main areas of environmental law in their international and national dimensions. This includes modules covering global and international environmental issues, either in their general context (International, Evironmental and Sustainable Development Law) or focused on specific regimes (Climate Change Law and Policy), modules focusing more specifically on the resource dimension of environmental law (Law and Natural Resources) and inter-disciplinary modules focused on specific resources (Water Law and Development: Conflicts, Governance and Justice).

Beyond the courses you will take during your time at SOAS, you will also be invited to become student members of the Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC). The LEDC is the focal point for environment-related research activities in the School of Law, including a vibrant PhD cohort, an annual seminar series, the publication of the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal), and other activities linked to ongoing research.

Full module units: Climate change law and policy; intellectual property rights and development; international environmental law; law and natural resources. Half module units: Water and development (conflict and governance); water law (justice and governance). Examples of non-law module options: Energy policy in the Asia-Pacific; global energy and climate policy.