Robert Fowler

Rob Fowler has been involved for over forty years in the field of environmental law, beginning at the Law School at the University of Adelaide in 1975. Whilst there, he co-founded the Australian Centre for Environmental Law (ACEL) and also served as Dean of the Law School from 1995-98. In 2000, he was appointed to a Chair in International Environmental Law at the University of South Australia. Since retiring from this position in 2008, Rob has held an Adjunct Chair in the Law School at UniSA.

He served as a member of the Board of the SA Environment Protection Authority from 2011to 2017 . He has also served in a number of voluntary positions in recent years,  including as Chair of the Governing Board of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (IUCNAEL) (2008-2013); President of the Conservation Council of South Australia (2011-2014); and Vice President and Board member of the Australian Conservation Foundation (2008- 2015). He also has served as Chair of the South Australian Environmental Defender’s Office (2001-9).

Rob became the Convener of the Australian Panel of Experts in Environmental Law (APEEL) in late 2014. The purpose of this Panel of 14 environmental law experts is to design the framework for the next generation of environmental laws in Australia (see www.apeel.org.au). He has also served since 2014 as the IUCNAEL Project Coordinator for the Training the Teachers project being conducted across 14 Asian countries with the support of the Asian Development Bank. This project aims to enhance environmental law teaching capacity in Law Schools within these countries

In November 2011, Rob was recognized by the Law Council of Australia with a special award for his “exceptional contribution to the development of environmental law”.