Claudia Ituarte-Lima, Visiting Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests and the Environmental Change Institute

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Irrespective of the type or scale of economy, biodiversity loss and climate change are over-riding concerns for all countries. In this context, the role of tropical rainforests which host important biodiversity and hold large reserves of carbon cannot be overemphasised. Claudia Ituarte-Lima and Suneetha M. Subramanian's paper explores legal dimensions of “equity” in Law 27811 on biological resources and collective knowledge and systematise the lessons learned that can be useful for the negotiations for reducing emissions from deforestation in tropical rainforests, specifically in Indonesia. Their study draws on interviews and participant observations conducted during one year of fieldwork in Peru, relevant literature reviews on Indonesia, as well as on the analysis of applicable national and international legal instruments. The research brings into dialogue debates on mechanisms for access and benefit sharing (ABS) related to the Convention on Biological Diversity in South American countries, and the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Southeast Asian countries. In the process, it will also draw links to case studies and experiences of communities from different tropical regions in addressing the challenge of ensuring development objectives in an equitable and just manner.

Claudia Ituarte-Lima is a Visiting Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests and the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford. She is an international public lawyer with theoretical and applied experience in both multilateral and community environmental issues including extensive fieldwork in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Senegal. Dr. Ituarte-Lima holds a PhD (University College London), MPhil (University of Cambridge), and a Law Degree (Universidad Iberoamericana). Among her distinctions count the Human Rights Award by American University, Washington College of Law. During her postdoctoral work at United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies in Japan she has addressed the linkages between climate change and biodiversity laws and policies including conflict resolution mechanisms. Before that she held the position as legal adviser at the Mexican Ministry of the Environment, and had several short term appointments in NGOs and academia.