The Centre for Environmental, Resources and Energy Law – Te Putahi o te Ture Taiāo (CEREL) is hosted by Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato. It was established in 2011 along with the Māori and Indigenous Governance Centre – Te Mata Hautū.
CEREL generates collaborative research on the most pressing issues in environmental law and policy, natural resources governance, and energy law – which is outcome focused and designed to guide environment-driven societal transformation.
Working together with the University’s flagship research institutes – the Environmental Research Institute and Te Kotahi Research Institute, CEREL adds depth to the University’s research platforms in environmental and natural resources matters requiring policy analysis and legal research.
Internationally, CEREL is an institutional member of the IUCN – the world’s largest sustainability network, and plays a leading role in the work of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law.
Governance
CEREL is governed by a Management Committee drawn from members of the centre across the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology, and Social Sciences.
The members of the Management Committee are assisted in their work by CEREL’s Patrons and the members of the centres International Advisory Board and National Advisory Committee.
Key activities
CEREL offers highly-skilled capability in providing commissioned research across all aspects of environmental law and policy, including – Agriculture and Law, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Law, International Law, Maritime Law, Natural Resources Governance, Oceans Governance, Polar Law, Renewable Energy, Space Law, Trade and Environment, and Water Law.
Uniquely, CEREL brings a holistic “all law is environmental law” approach to the critical challenges that we face locally and worldwide which views matters from the perspective of – Contracts, Corporate Entities, Crimes, Equity and Succession, Intellectual Property, Land Law, Legal Ethics, New Technologies, Public Law, and Torts – to provide enduring and integrated solutions.
CEREL also hosts public conferences and seminars, delivers taught masters' degree programmes for continuing professional development, and supervises PhD research.