"This is an opportunity for academics of many disciplines to come together and explore how to best approach sustainable development issues concerning the Amazon," says Assistant Dean for Mission Development and Director of Proyecto ACCESO Jamie Cooper.

Director of CILAS Christine Hunefeldt echoes Cooper’s concerns.

"During the conference we will hear what is occurring in several locations throughout the sub-continent," says Hunefeldt. "This is a first step to beginning a multinational dialogue and comparing and informing each other's agendas in the present and for the future."

U.S. Ambassador among Distinguished Speakers
California Western will host the first day of the conference, which features as opening address by Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, President of Institute of the Americas. Davidow's address sets the stage for two days of discussion of the issues affecting growth and sustainability in the Amazon. A former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela, Davidov built a 34-year-long career with the State Department by understanding the salient issues of a developing Latin America. He served as Assistant Secretary of State from 1996 to 1998.

In addition to Ambassador Davidow, experts from California Western, the National Cultural Institutes of Peru and Honduras, the Símon Bolivar University in Caracas, UC San Diego, and the University of Kansas will offer their insight on the Amazon and environmental issues affecting the world's largest rain forest.

California Western faculty presenting at the conference are:

• Associate Dean William J. Aceves, who will discuss The Alien Torts Claim Act and other legal regimes for Amazonia;
• Professor Richard Finkmoore, author of Environmental Law and the Values of Nature, who will explore the legal institutions and international responsibilities for Amazonia to consider;
• and Assistant Dean Jamie Cooper, who will discuss the Rule of Law and sustainable development in Amazonia.

The Amazon and Legal Education
California Western prepares students to enter a helping profession that addresses real-world challenges through collaboration and creative problem solving. The issues affecting the environment of the Amazon are exemplary of the challenges law school graduates will face as attorneys.

Part of this approach to problem solving includes partnering with other educational institutions to capitalize on the intellectual capital they bring to the discussion.

California Western and UC San Diego
The partnership between California Western and UC San Diego during next week's international conference serves as an example of the value of educational collaboration and demonstrates how the schools partner to bring academic excellence to the San Diego region.

Other speaker events co-sponsored by the two schools include the annual DeWitt "Dutch" Higgs Memorial Lecture, named for the California Western alumnus who served as San Diego's first UC Regent, the annual international law speaker series, and the UC San Diego Economics Roundtable.

California Western and UC San Diego also grant a dual master's degree in Health Law, the only program of its kind in the country, and jointly administer the Community Law Project, a medical-legal pro bono project serving downtown San Diego.

Amazonia: National Politics & Interests - Environment & Law
The conference is May 6-7, 2010, on the campuses of California Western and UC San Diego. It is free and open to the public.

Those interested in attending should contact Chinthana Konganda at ckonganda@cwsl.edu or (619) 525-1436.