The 38th Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference:
“Move: Migration on a Changing Planet”
March 5-8, 2020
University of Oregon School of Law
The Public Interest Environmental Law Conference is the premier annual gathering for environmentalists worldwide, and is distinguished as the oldest and largest of its kind. PIELC is organized by Land Air Water, the nation’s oldest student environmental law society, and put on by student volunteers from around University of Oregon.
This year, PIELC will host a conversation about migration on a changing planet. Changes to the environment have always affected the movement of humans and other life on earth. Recently, global awareness has shifted to issues of migration as the impacts of land use and resource extraction accelerate climate change and ecological crises. Conflicts and environmental disruptions force humans to leave their homes and face untold tribulation. Entire ecosystems creep toward the poles, and species climb to higher elevations. Climate, animal, and plant cycles fall out of sync with alarming consequences. Many species dwindle while others quietly wink out of existence. No place on earth is free from these changes.
The PIELC 2020 goal is to bring a focused perspective on how environmental change impacts migrations. We hope participants leave with an understanding of the role of public interest law and policy in developing collaborative approaches to these challenges.