George Washington University
EN-11: Continuing Education

On March 13 and 14, 2014, GW Environment and Energy Law held a two-day program on "The Role of Planning in Federal Land Management." A description of the program follows: The program examined the role of planning in federal land management. Each of the principal federal land management agencies is required to engage in planning under its organic statute. The agencies also must conduct planning to comply with requirements under cross-cutting environmental and natural resource management laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. It explored how successfully the federal land management agencies and other agencies whose missions include protecting federal lands and resources have incorporated long-term planning practices into their resource management strategies and whether Congress’s vision of a management regime based on planning has improved protection and use of federal lands and resources. It also identified opportunities for improvement and innovation in current planning practices. On Septemeber 19, 2014 the Law School held a program on "The Role of Adaptive Management in Addressing Uncertainty in Environmental Decision Making." A description of the program follows: The purpose of the workshop was twofold. First, Professors J.B. Ruhl of Vanderbilt Law School and Robin Craig of the University of Utah School of Law have proposed in a recent article changes to the Administrative Procedures Act that would, in their view, facilitate the wider use of adaptive management to address difficult environmental problems. They will present their ideas and seek the responses of the workshop participants. Second, the workshop will provide an opportunity for participating government personnel in to share the latest thinking and developments in adaptive management in a roundtable format. These sessions will provide a unique opportunity for the participants to understand how agencies are using adaptive management tools, the challenges being faced in utilizing adaptive approaches, and to share ideas about how to address these challenges. On October 23, 2014 the Law School held a program on "Submarine Cables in the Sargasso Sea." A description of the program follows: The objective of the workshop is to start an informed dialogue between the Submarine Cable Industry and the newly established Sargasso Sea Commission regarding best environmental practices for the laying and maintenance of cables in high seas areas, such as the Sargasso Sea. The intended outcomes are a published report of the Proceedings and an Agreed Statement of "Best Practices" that might form the basis of an MOU.

(1) Our numerical response is specific to the Law School. (2) The law school each year holds three annual conferences and a major two-day symposium that focus on sustainability issues which are open to a wide audience including alumni and the general public. The symposium provides continuing education credits for lawyers who register for these credits. The law school has sponsored events with the Society of Risk Analysis on environmental governance in the context of synthetic biology, the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, environment and energy issues in public land planning, and sustainable energy, among others. (3) Several continuing education offerings relevant to this credit are offered by the Elliott School of International Affairs. Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia of the Elliott School of International Affairs, offers an annual Global City in World Affairs Program for Administrative Officers of the Hong Kong SAR Civil Service. The eight-week interdisciplinary program includes several topics on sustainable planning, design and resilience to climate change. Participants engage in on-campus seminars as well as meetings with public officials in Washington and New York City about their cities' sustainability plans. In 2007, Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia launched the PISA Climate Initiative, which offered Leadership Institutes on Climate Change held in Hanoi, Washington, DC, Bangkok, and Nay Pyi Taw aimed at building capacity of public officials and civil society advocates to grapple with the interconnected impacts of climate change and bridge inter-ministerial divides. To date over two hundred delegates from six of the ASEAN member countries have taken part in these programs. PISA also sponsors the PISA-ASEAN Roundtable on Climate-wise Development, a series of public seminars that especially target representatives of the ASEAN member embassies in Washington. (4) The undergraduate Sustainability 1001 course allows Foggy Bottom (the city neighborhood where the main campus is located) residents to audit the course if interested. To date, several residents have audited the course.