PUCP’s Environmental Law Clinic

Over the past 15 years, students, volunteers, and faculty associated with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru have grown and maintained a great project that protects environmental rights through their Environmental Law Clinic. Since it was founded in 2009, the program has been involved with a variety of local, national, and international environmental issues. The cases they take on range from prohibiting plastic bags to strengthening the protection of environmental lawyers. Based on these areas of focus, the clinic then decides to take a variety of actions to support and advance the legal standing for these topics. These actions can include meeting with experts to better understand their cases and their legal precedent, creating detailed reports, and presenting those reports to influential figures such as lawmakers at all levels of government. Students involved in this program have the opportunity to learn about contemporary environmental issues in their communities and how they are being shaped by policy and law. They then have the chance to use their knowledge and skills to support the causes they care about, bringing measurable change to their community. Currently, this program is led by Andrea Dominguez Norriega, who has been a member of PUCP’s faculty of law for 15 years, and it involves a number of students and volunteers.

On a local level, PUCP’s Environmental Law Clinic has done great work to make sure that their local wildlife areas are protected. This includes Pantanos De Villa, a coastal wildlife refuge south of Lima. This popular birding location is being threatened by pollution stemming from construction near canals upstream. In 2024, the Environmental Law Clinic decided to take action against this pollution. First, they consulted Peru’s Autoridad Nacional del Agua, or National Water Authority, to find ways to legally protect the area from pollution. Next, they made a request to publish existing wetland laws so that regulations were laid clearly to the public. Throughout the process, they found that there was a lack of regulatory framework to reference when building out possible legal action against pollution. To begin building this framework, they also engaged in discussions with relevant experts. They interviewed members of environmental regulatory commissions, other law professors, and environmentally focused journalists to better understand and strategize for the future. These discussions, combined with their other efforts, helped lay the groundwork for effective legal protection for Pantanos de Villa and the species it protects.

In addition to protecting environmental rights today, this program also works to protect the environmental rights of tomorrow. Students involved in this program have the unique opportunity to not only improve their skills as environmental lawyers, but as people. Their communication with local and national authorities gives them a better understanding of how government institutions tackle environmental problems through policy and other measures. Through these measures, they improve their communication and organizational skills, which will serve them well in all aspects of life. Their analysis of current environmental cases gives them a sense of the most pressing environmental issues as they transition from learning to practicing law. The program also demonstrates the importance of thorough research and fieldwork in confidently and competently addressing policy and legal issues. The skills and lessons learned from this program grow a new generation of lawyers who are well equipped to protect the environmental rights of their local, national, and global communities.

As the topic of environmental rights and legal protections becomes more pressing in the coming years, PUCP’s Environmental Law Clinic will continue to find solutions to its cases and identify new ones to take on. To stay up to date on their work and activities, make sure to check out their page linked below.

PUCP’s Website