THE ENVIRONMENT
The firm devotes its legal talents to protecting environmentally rich and diverse lands, and to helping those who strive to reduce the adverse impact of human activity on land, air, and water.
- We advised and conducted legal analysis for a pro bono client, the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), in achieving a landmark federal designation to protect a vast area of the central Pacific Ocean. In 2009 three sites — Marianas Marine National Monument, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll — became the largest protected area of ocean in the world, covering 195,280 square miles.
- We advise Oro Verde, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the poor but mineral-rich Choco region of Columbia. Oro Verde promotes sustainable mining, which requires compliance with socially and environmentally responsible practices. It works towards securing fair-trade recognition for gold mined in the area. We have advised on licenses and agreements and in relation to brand protection. Our legal advice helps the miners support themselves and their families in a sustainable and self-sufficient manner.
- After more than 2,300 hours of pro bono work, we reached an important settlement that will enhance and protect the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. The agreement, which protects water flows and thus enhances conservation and recreation in the national park, was reached on behalf of seven conservation groups — the Wilderness Society, High Country Citizens’ Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, Trout Unlimited, West Slope Resource Council, Western Colorado Congress, and long-time pro bono client National Parks Conservation Association — after a nine-month negotiation involving more than 60 parties.
- We provide commercial and complex environmental advice to a social entrepreneur in South Africa whose groundbreaking carbon reduction scheme is designed to allow rural communities to use biogas obtained from animal waste as a fuel, instead of firewood and kerosene. The pioneering scheme is expected to reduce harmful emissions of carbon dioxide by 176,000 tonnes a year and meets the standards laid down under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, enabling its carbon credits to be traded and generating a further income stream for the farmers.
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