Rechnitz Family/Urban Coast Institute (UCI) Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate will take Monmouth University worldwide in the coming weeks through a series of invited speaking engagements hosted by European universities.

Abate will deliver a May 31 presentation at the University of Eastern Piedmont (Italy) during a “Climate Change and the Protection of Future Generations and Biodiversity” panel event (see event poster). Also at the university on June 6, Abate will deliver a lecture on “Standing in Global Climate Litigation in the U.S. and Canada.”

Next Abate will deliver the June 13 lecture “Standing in Global Climate Litigation: Learning from Best Practices” at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law (Denmark). He will follow with a podcast interview on “The Climate Show,” co-hosted by Associate Professor on Environmental and Climate Change Law Beatriz Martinez Romera, who served as a panelist on last year’s Monmouth University Institute for Global Understanding-UCI webinar “Global Perspectives on Adapting Marine Shipping Governance and Maritime Sovereignty to Respond to Climate Change.” Abate will serve as a visiting scholar at the university from June 13-15.

On June 16, Abate will deliver a keynote lecture at a University of Helsinki Law School (Finland) event centered on his book “Climate Change and the Voiceless.” Abate’s talk will be followed by lectures from four legal scholars on topics related to the book: The event will be held in a hybrid format and members of the public may register to view it online.

The League of Women Voters of Southern Monmouth County interviewed Monmouth University Endowed Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf in the May 5 episode of its “Facts & Issues” public access television series. Host Marie Curtis and Adolf discussed the degradation of Monmouth County’s coastal lakes and opportunities for the public to help by monitoring the waters as a volunteer with the Coastal Lakes Observing Network.

Monmouth University’s Riya Ajmera provided a first-ever student perspective on the closing panel of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum, hosted May 5-6 by the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO). The annual event gathers hundreds of professionals and stakeholders representing federal and state agencies, Tribal entities, marine industries, nonprofit research and advocacy organizations, and the public to collaborate on ocean planning issues.

In the video below, Ajmera shared her takeaways from the two-day event’s proceedings in a conversation with fellow panelists Mike Jones, environmental outreach program manager, U. S. Fleet Forces Command/U. S. Navy; Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean Chair Kimberly Cole; MACO Tribal Lead Kelsey Leonard of the Shinnecock Indian Nation; Emily Shumchenia, director of the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind; Jerry Barnes, marine affairs manager for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project; and Healthy Ocean Coalition Executive Director Sarah Winter Whelan.

A rising senior majoring in Chemistry with a Concentration in Biochemistry/Minor in Journalism, Ajmera authored a white paper in the fall that examined the nature and scope of risks to marine environments posed by offshore wind farm development in the Mid-Atlantic and science-based policy options that can mitigate harm to marine species and promote marine biodiversity. Her research was conducted with support from the Urban Coast Institute’s (UCI) Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars Program and guidance from Rechnitz Family/UCI Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate.

Monmouth Presenters at Forum

The Forum panels had several additional Monmouth connections, with presentations by alumna Tatiana Castro, UCI Postdoctoral Researcher Chris Haak and UCI Communications Director Karl Vilacoba. UCI Director Tony MacDonald also served as a facilitator throughout the event.

Castro, who graduated with a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy in 2016, detailed her efforts with the nonprofit Billion Oyster Project to restore oyster reefs in New York Harbor during a poster session highlighting the work of early career professionals and students. Click here to watch a video of her presentation and here to view a PDF of her poster file.

Haak and Vilacoba both served on the Forum’s “Sustainable Ocean Ecosystems” panel (click here for video). Haak provided a presentation on fisheries habitat modeling research he is conducting with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Vilacoba, who serves as project manager for the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal, offered a glimpse of new and upcoming GIS maps on the site that depict marine life distributions and habitats.

For more information on the Forum, including a full list of panel videos and presentation files, click here.