Welcome back to our third and final series of the 10th Asia Pacific Mediation Forum Conference which will be hosted at the APEC Haus from 19 – 21 August 2024 with the theme “Regional Challenges, Regional Solutions, Global Outcomes: Using Mediation to Resolve Environment and Climate Change Dispute”.

As we count down the days to the conference, lets go through the main session topics and subtopics of the final day of the conference, which will include the following:

• “Valuing Nature: Natural Capital and Empowered communities”

• “Natural Capital and the Rule of Law”, which will be presented by Mr. Henry A. Cornwell, Counsel, ADB Philippines.

• “The Economics of Natural Capital”, to be presented by Dr. Martino Pelli, ADB Senior Economist and Associate Professor of the Department of Economics, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada.

• “Natural Capital in the Hands of Communities,” which will be delivered by Ms. Evelyn Wohuinangu, Principal Lawyer at the Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc., Papua New Guinea.

• “Accessing Green Climate Funds, regulatory frameworks: Challenges and opportunities and the potential use of mediation,” which will be presented by Professor Paul Dargusch of Pacific Action for Climate Transitions, Monash University, Australia.

The session will be co-chaired by Justice Les Gavara-Nanu of the Supreme and National Courts of PNG, and the Court of Appeal, Solomon Islands, alongside Mr. Ruel Yamuna, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment, PNG. The conference will also feature panel discussions on various topics, presented by judges, accredited mediators, human rights specialists, academics, and senior court officials.

• “Environmental Mediation beyond climate change”

• “Use of Hydrogen to Reduce Carbon: Community Responses, Regulatory Challenges, Potential Disputes, and Possible Solutions,” which will be presented by Associate Professor Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Director of the IDRRMI-RMIT Dispute Resolution Centre, RMIT University, Australia.

• “Biodiversity/Marine,” to be delivered by Ms. Grizelda Mayo-Anda Golly Ramos, Executive Director of the Environmental Legal Assistance Centre, Inc., Philippines.

• “Major Projects and EIA and FPIC”, which will be presentedby Mr. Matthew Baird, Director of the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law.

Justice Karen Carmody of the PNG Supreme and National Courts and Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena, President of the Court of Appeal, Nauru will be co-chairs for this session.

Parallel session topics will include:

• “Judicial Education and Training on Environmental Law, Climate Change, and Mediation (for Judges and Magistrates),” to be presented by Chief Justice Brian Preston of the New South Wales Land and Environment Court, and Bambang Mulyono, Head of the Research, Development, Education, and Training Agency for Law and Judiciary, Supreme Court of Indonesia.

• “Kenya’s Legislative Landscape and Approach to Carbon Trading”, which will be delivered by Justice Jacqueline Kamau, Presiding Judge of the High Court of Kenya.

The session will also feature Justice Iova Geita from the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea, and Deputy Chief Magistrate Mr. Clivson Philip from the Magisterial Services, Papua New Guinea, as co-chairs.

Other topics in the final three sessions of the conference will include:

• “Legal Education and Training on Environmental Law, Climate Change, and Mediation (for lawyers)”. Speakers for this session will be Professor Kariuki Muigua from Kariuki and Co-Advocates, Kenya, alongside Justice John McKendrick.

• “Capacity Building for Online Mediators and Lawyers”, which will be presentedby Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena, President of the Court of Appeal, Nauru.

• “Current Challenges and Future Opportunities in Climate Change Litigation and Dispute Resolution”. This topic will be presented by Ms.Kaye Williams, President of the Barbados Bar Association, and Ms. Makayla Williams, Law Student at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The co-chairs for this session will be Justice Teresa Berrigan from the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea, and Ms. Shanta Martin, Barrister, Business and Human Rights Specialist, and Mediator from Victoria, Australia.

For more information on the 10th APMF conference, you can visit the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum website https://wwwasiapacificmediationforum.org and if you are interested in taking part in the conference, you can register online through https://pngcje.gov.pg/apmf/