NatRes Midterms

Natural Resources and Environmental Law
2nd Semester, AY 2019-2020
Midterms
As discussed in class, your midterms will consist of 2 components: a written

report (20%) and a research paper (80%). Below are the guidelines and guide
questions for each component.
Written report / Handout
This document is the write-up accompanying your class presentation,

summarizing the main points you presented or will present during your oral
report. It does not have to be extremely detailed; please avoid copy-pasting
huge blocks of text from laws, jurisprudence, or articles.
What is important is to distill the information you have on each subject

matter and present key messages, including both facts/data and analyses.
There is no prescribed format or length, but keep it clear, straightforward,
and useful. I will compile these reports and provide them to the class at the
end of the semester, so imagine you are making a reference that you would
also want to have handy in the future.
Include your assigned topic and the names of group members at the top of
the document.
Only 1 written report is required per group, whose members will receive a
common grade. The 3 incentive points for those who attended the Ecobricks
activity will be applied individually to each student’s written report grade.
For groups who have already done their class presentation, deadline of
submission is 21 March 2020. For the rest, the written report/handout is due
on the day of their presentation, at the start of the class. You may share this
with the class so they can also refer to it during your presentation.
Research Paper
As we reach the middle of the semester, the research paper is meant to help
you (and me) assess your level of understanding/appreciation of the
concepts, ideas, and topics covered thus far, as well as to make you think
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critically about the implications and applications of Natural Resource and
Environmental Law in practice.
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the top 3 natural resource and environmental (NRE) issues
facing the Philippines today? Provide a brief description of each.
2. Among the 3, which is the most important issue to tackle? Which

should the government and other stakeholders prioritize, and why?
a. Describe the legal and policy landscape/situation at national
level and, if applicable, at international level, relevant to this
issue.
b. Are existing laws and policies enough to address this issue? Why
or why not?
c. If not, what legal and policy recommendations do you have to
help address this issue?
d. Outside of laws, policies, regulations, and procedures, what
“extra-legal” or “meta-legal” measures could be taken to support
or supplement legal and policy actions?
3. NRE issues are often described as “sticky problems,” characterized by

their complexity. They are multi-layered and interlinked with one
another, as well as with other aspects beyond what is strictly within an
NRE purview (e.g., gender, rights, health, economics, technology,
trade, education, etc.). This “stickiness” can make NRE problems
particularly difficult to solve.
Identify at least 1 example of a sticky problem related to NRE in the

Philippines and illustrate why you consider it so, including overlapping
issues, stakeholders affected, institutions/actors responsible,
jurisdictional concerns, and so on.
Make your responses succinct and prioritize communicating ideas over the
use of flowery words and phrases. A lesson I learned from my high school
English teacher which still serves me to this day is ABC: Accuracy – Brevity –
Clarity. These qualities are important especially when trying to communicate
complex ideas, because you are forced to demonstrate that you actually
know what you are talking about. Your legal writing, and writing in general,
would benefit from leading with clear messages and then expounding on
them rather than the other way around.
Support your answers with references, especially if you are citing data,
articles, or specific laws or policy issuances. Citations do not need to be
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extremely technical as long as I can conveniently verify your sources as
needed.
For ease of reading, please use Helvetica or Arial at 11pt, single or 1.5-
spaced, and 1” margins all around on A4 size paper. As much as possible,
limit your research paper to a maximum of 7 pages and only go over if really
necessary to capture everything you want to say. Include your name at the
top of the document.
Deadline of submission is 21 March 2020 at 5:00 pm.
Email all submissions to [email protected] with subject heading as

follows:
 NatRes G11 – Midterms Written Report;

 NatRes G11 – Midterms Research Paper; or
 NatRes G11 – Midterms Report and Paper

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Natural Resources and Environmental Law

2nd Semester, AY 2019-2020

As discussed in class, your midterms will consist of 2 components: a written

Written report / Handout

This document is the write-up accompanying your class presentation,

What is important is to distill the information you have on each subject

Answer the following questions:

2. Among the 3, which is the most important issue to tackle? Which

3. NRE issues are often described as “sticky problems,” characterized by

Identify at least 1 example of a sticky problem related to NRE in the

Deadline of submission is 21 March 2020 at 5:00 pm.

Email all submissions to [email protected] with subject heading as

 NatRes G11 – Midterms Written Report;

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