Speaker: Dr. David VanderZwaag
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. (reception to follow)
Location: The Magnolia Hotel, 1100 Texas Avenue, Downtown Houston (Complimentary Valet Parking Provided)
Please RSVP to our JCStabe@central.uh.edu
*Receive 1 hour of CLE credit!
Dr. VanderZwaag will be speaking on "The Precautionary Principle/Approach and the International Control of Toxic Chemicals: Beacon of Hope, Sea of Confusion, and Dilution."
This three-part presentation will explore the role of the precautionary approach in addressing the risks of toxic chemicals in the environment. First, the precautionary approach as a "beacon of hope" will be highlighted with a review of potentially powerful, protective beams such as a reversal in the legal burden of proof to those proposing chemical introductions to demonstrate some standard of safety. Second, the "sea of confusion" surrounding the precautionary approach will be summarized including the debates over terminology, definition, interpretation and legal status. Third, the "sea of dilution" reality will be reviewed with a focus on "watered-down" versions of precaution in the two main global agreements addressing toxic chemicals, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (1998). The presentation will conclude by raising the question of whether a new comprehensive chemicals convention is needed that takes a "reverse listing" approach whereby only chemicals on a global "safe list" would be allowed to be produced and marketed.
Dr. VanderZwaag holds the Canada Research Chair in Ocean Law and Governance at the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He teaches in the areas of international environmental law and law of the sea and is the past Co-director of Dalhousie's interdisciplinary Marine Affairs Program. Dr. VanderZwaag has authored more than 50 papers in the marine and environmental law field.
