Arie Trouwborst

Arie Trouwborst's research focuses on international, European and national environmental law, especially wildlife law. Much of his research employs a multidisciplinary approach, combining law with ecology in particular.

He authored various books and numerous journal articles on a range of topics, including large carnivore conservation, fragmentation and connectivity, transboundary conservation, marine protected areas, wilderness protection, seabird conservation, climate change adaptation, migratory species conservation, marine mammal rescue and release, the precautionary principle, hybridization, the polar regions, fisheries bycatch, conservation conflicts, the ecosystem approach, state responsibility, marine litter, and invasive alien species. Trouwborst's recent research output is slightly biased towards creatures equipped with sharp teeth and/or claws, such as bears, wolves, jackals, hyenas, lions, tigers, killer whales and sharks, but also covers species like sandpipers, elephants and rhinoceroses. Much of Trouwborst's research can be accessed through ResearchGate and the Social Science Research Network.

Trouwborst obtained a PhD with distinction from Utrecht University in 2006, with a thesis on the precautionary principle. In 2009 he was awarded a VENI grant under the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Innovational Research Incentives Scheme, to fund a 3-year research project on international nature conservation law and climate change adaptation. This was followed in 2014 by a VIDI grant under the same scheme, to fund the 5-year project Ius Carnivoris on the conservation and management of European large carnivores (see brief video).

Trouwborst is a member of, inter alia, the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) and the Working Group on Climate Change of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). He regularly carries out commissioned research for (inter)national public bodies and non-gouvernmental organizations. For instance, he is a regular consultant for the Council of Europe's Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.

For his research Trouwborst has been awarded various prizes, and his work has received media coverage in many countries. For an acquaintance with a personal touch, see the interview 'Legal expert comes face to face with brown bear' on the NWO website.

• Associate Professor of Environmental Law, Tilburg University, European and International Public Law Department (2012-)
• Visiting Scholar, Universidad de Granada (Spain), Departamento de Derecho Internacional Público y Relaciones Internacionales (2011-2012)
• Assistant Professor of Environmental Law, Tilburg University, Constitutional and Administrative Law Department (2009-2010) and European and International Public Law Department (2011-2012)
• Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Utrecht University, Department of Public International, Social and Economic Law (2006-2009)
• Research Associate, Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS), Utrecht University (2001-2009)
• PhD Candidate, Utrecht University, Department of Public International, Social and Economic Law (2001-2006)
• Research Assistant with prof.dr. A.H.A. Soons, Utrecht University, Department of Public International, Social and Economic Law (1999)

From October 2014 until October 2019 Arie Trouwborst does little teaching, on account of his NWO Vidi research project (see under 'Research'). He does, however, teach the course Nature Conservation: The Role of International and European Law in Protecting Wildlife and Wild Places, together with Kees Bastmeijer. Previously he was involved (as lecturer and coordinator) in the introductory Bachelor course on international and European law and in the course Administrative Environmental Law (LLM Environmental Law). He also contributed to the courses Nature Conservation Law (LLM Environmental Law), the elective Master courses Climate Law and International and European Environmental Law, and the elective Bachelor course Environmental Law. Trouwborst supervises LLB and LLM theses in the fields of international and European law.

Click here for my courses.

Trouwborst co-supervises (or co-supervised) the following PhD projects:

• C. Zhou, 'The Legal Barriers to Technology Transfer under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: The Example of China' (with prof. J.M. Verschuuren; defence 30 January 2013)
• B. Boele, 'International Law and the Protection of Birds during Migrations' (with prof. C.J. Bastmeijer)
• E. Akpambang, 'Environmental Pollution and Remediation from Oil Exploration in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Lessons from the United States of America and Canada' (with prof. J.M. Verschuuren)
• A. Blackmore, 'The Trusteeship Doctrine and the Conservation of Biodiversity in South Africa' (with prof. C.J. Bastmeijer)
• C.F. Terfassa, 'Making Trade Work for Development: Legal Issues in Relation to Landlocked Developing Countries and Goods in Transit for International Trade (with prof. W.J.M. van Genugten)
• M. Lewis, 'A Critical Appraisal of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement's Contribution to the Conservation and Management of Migratory Birds at the Flyway Level' (with prof. J.M. Verschuuren)
• J.S.V. Dubrulle, 'International and European Law and the Conservation of Large Carnivores in the Alps and Carpathians' (with prof. C.J. Bastmeijer)