We welcome Carlos Javier Durá Alemañ, who has come to visit us during the last weeks of summer this year. Javier has practiced as an environmental lawyer for many years. He holds a PhD in Environmental Law from the University of Alcalá in Spain. From 2018 to 2024, he worked as a researcher at the International Center for Studies in Environmental Law (CIEDA-CIEMAT). Since 2024, he has worked as a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Institute for Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC) in Córdoba, Spain. He has dozens of publications in both international and national journals on environmental law issues, and has also participated in the reform of numerous environmental regulations, such as the European Criminal Environmental Directive.
His line of research focuses on environmental problems and conflicts through a multidisciplinary approach combining ecology, law, and sociology. His main topics are the electrocution of birds, environmental crimes, coexistence with large carnivores, international species trade, and the Natura 2000 network.
We had the opportunity to hear insights from his work in our last institute seminar, where he gave a presentation entitled “Stories of coexistence with carnivores from Southern Europe.” During his talk, he shared his results on the coexistence between wolves and humans in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, as well as on the effectiveness of the administration in combating the use of poisoned baits in Spain.
We are currently discussing multiple ideas for collaboration, trying to combine legal and ecological perspectives on the conservation challenges of bears and other large carnivores in Poland, Spain, and the EU as a whole.
Thanks so much, Javier, for coming to visit us with such an open and collaborative attitude, and for sharing your knowledge with us!