GU and Lisbon university begin joint research on coastal law

Panaji: As the world grapples with increasingly erratic climate patterns, an innovative, cross-border academic cooperation is expected to chart a more resilient and legally sound path into the future. An MoU is being forged between Goa University and the faculty of law, University of Lisbon, for legal research on climate resilience in coastal zones.

The initiative was formally launched during an academic discussion held this week in Panaji, organised by the Manohar Parrikar School of Law, governance and public policy at Goa University in collaboration with the Indo-Portuguese Academic Dialogue on Climate Change and Coastal Law and the Camoes – Centro de Língua Portuguesa (CLP), Panaji.

Titled ‘Adapting Coastal Regulations to Climate Change: A Legal Comparative Study between Goa, India, and Portugal’, the discussion featured scholars professor Fernando Loureiro Bastos and professor Carla Amado Gomes of the Lisbon Public Law Research Centre at Universidade de Lisboa and Goa University’s assistant professor Vaibhavi Rane, who received a minor research grant from the Goa State Research Foundation.

The joint mission is to dissect the coastal management laws of Goa and Portugal, identify governance structures promoting climate adaptability, and craft a legal blueprint for enhanced resilience to rising seas and other climate-related threats. “The research project aims to assess the relationship between sea level rise and climate change, in particular at the level of international responsibility, based on the projects prepared by the International Law Commission in this field,” the experts said.

According to the experts, “the year 2025 is particularly significant in the progressive development of international law” regarding the creation of an international legal regime to deal with sea level rise, considering the final report of the International Law Commission on the subject.