AECEN Strengthens Philippine Judicial Training Curriculum
on Environmental Law
August 4-6, 2008

The Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) organized an environmental law training on August 4-6, in Manila to pilot a new environmental training curriculum for Philippine judges. Twenty-five judges from selected branches of the 117 designated environmental courts in the Philippines participated in the training. Senior judges, environmental counsel, and lawyers from the Philippines and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) provided assistance during the training to strengthen capacities on adjudication of environmental cases, using an improved curriculum, which incorporates interactive teaching methods developed by the U.S. EPA and United Nations Environment Program. The results of the pilot training will be assessed and the design improved and adopted for future judicial training throughout the country. The program is supported by a USAID grant to PHILJA through the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) Program and the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN).