Name: Royal C. Gardner

Position: Associate Professor of Law and Director of Graduate and International Programs,
Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida

Education: J.D., Boston College Law School (magna cum laude 1988) A.B., Georgetown University (magna cum laude 1985)

1. How does your present work involve issues of international environmental law?
   
   I work on international environmental issues in three areas: as a teacher, a scholar, and an administrator. I provide students with an overview of the subject in my International Environmental Law course at Stetson. I also taught International Environmental Law at Concordia International University Estonia in the summer of 1999. Additionally, I am the codirector of the International Environmental Moot Court Competition, which Stetson hosts each fall. The Competition provides an opportunity for U.S. and foreign law students to explore issues of international environmental law in the context of a dispute before the International Court of Justice.
   
   I research and write about international environmental topics. Recent pieces include articles in the Harvard Environmental Law Review and the University of Cincinnati Law Review, a book review in the Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law, and the Foreword to the Stetson Law Review's symposium issue on international environmental law.
   
   As Director of Stetson's International Programs, I develop and oversee our summer abroad programs, such as our Scandinavian/Baltic Institute on Emerging Markets and Transitional Democracies in Tallinn, Estonia. The summer programs frequently have a module devoted to international environmental issues.
   
   
2. Which aspects of international environmental law practice do you find the most interesting, and which do you consider the most difficult?
   
   What I find most interesting about the field is the impact of the Internet and its ability to allow us to communicate with people all over the world.
   
   
3. What training and/or previous experience do you consider to have been helpful to your ability to effectively analyze and solve problems in this field?
   
   From 1993-1994, I worked on the Nunn-Lugar program for the Department of Defense, where I participated in negotiating international agreements with Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus to facilitate the dismantling of the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons.
   
   
4. Within the field, what issues or areas do you expect to pose the most significant challenges for policymakers, industry, and NGOs in the year 2000 and beyond?
   
   I expect trade and environment and climate change issues to pose significant challenges.
   
   
5. What words of encouragement or counsel would you offer to students of environmental law or to young environmental law practitioners interested in working in the area of international environmental law?
   
   If you are interested in teaching, remember that most law schools are looking for candidates who have an excellent academic background, potential as an effective classroom teacher, and a demonstrated interest in scholarly writing. As my law school dean at Boston College told me: Speak in public as often as you can to hone your presentation skills. Write every day, even if it's only a paragraph.