II Law＆the Amazon International Conference

Thinking Locally and Beyond the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30)

The Second Edition of The Law and The Amazon Conference is organized by the Max Planck Law Forum Latin America, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in partnership with the Federal University of Pará, the Escola Superior da Advocacia-Geral da União (ESAGU), the Centro Universitário do Estado do Pará (CESUPA), Tilburg University, and Maastricht University.

The Forum Latin America Initiative from the Max Planck Law Network and its partners invite submissions for the Second Law & the Amazon Conference, to be held in Belém, Brazil—the host city of the COP30!

The first edition of The Amazon and The Law Conference focused on the Challenges for a Sustainable Future and took place in October 2024 at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany. Organized by the Forum Latin America of the Max Planck Law network, it brought together over 35 participants from 11 countries, including researchers, academics, and civil society representatives, to discuss the legal, ecological, and social challenges facing the Amazon region. The event helped to consolidate an interdisciplinary research network and promoted a critical Latin American perspective on global legal frameworks (See more details here).

Once again, we aim to bring together legal scholars, sociologists, anthropologists, artists, and leaders from civil society, to discuss ongoing critical legal issues on the Amazon from a global and interdisciplinary approach.

Theme: Thinking Locally and Beyond the COP30

This year’s conference explores how local, Indigenous, and alternative narratives about climate governance challenge and enrich the frameworks advanced at global forums such as the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP). Participants are invited to reflect on the Amazon’s planetary relevance in the context of COP30, examining its ecological, legal, and geopolitical importance and its implications for climate justice and sustainable development. By centring the Amazon as both a site of frontline struggles and a source of transformative knowledge, the conference locates this region not at the margins but at the heart of global climate debates, underscoring its central role in shaping sustainable futures.

While the Amazon offers a unique entry point to cross-cutting issues and perspectives, it also serves as a lens through which to explore broader Latin American legal concerns. In parallel, it provides an appropriate setting to engage with foundational questions from legal theory and political philosophy perspectives. As such, the conference is structured around three clusters of interest:

1. Law and the Amazon in the context of COP30
2. Legal Latin American perspectives in light of COP30
3. Theoretical foundations for thinking about Law & The Amazon

We invite contributions addressing COP30-related themes and outcomes across the following focus areas (but not limited to):

• The recognition of the rights of nature and legal innovations beyond COP frameworks
• Climate legal education, participation, and empowerment, with particular attention to children and youth
• Legal strategies for adaptation, resilience, and community-based responses to climate impacts
• Capacity-building, knowledge exchange, and legal innovation in climate governance
• Critical perspectives on climate finance, technology transfer, and equitable access to resources
• Climate litigation, just transition frameworks, and accountability mechanisms
• Land use, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and territorial governance
• Ocean governance, river basin justice, and the protection of aquatic ecosystems
• Mitigation strategies, including market and non-market approaches
• Gender and intergenerational justice in climate policy and practice
• Local governance, legal pluralism, and the role of subnational actors
• The legacy of pre-2020 commitments and critical perspectives on the Global Stocktake
• Reimagining legal influence: legal transplants from the Global South to the Global North

Conference Objectives

• To critically evaluate COP30-based narratives to frame and address the diverse concerns related to the Amazon territory and Latin America.
• To explore the potential of local narratives and research frameworks to develop critical counterpoints against the unsatisfactory outcomes of the last COPs.
• To develop actionable strategies that prioritize a sustainable governance of the Amazon and other Latin American environmental ecosystems, considering the role that legal frameworks can play in meeting the demands of the climate crisis while fostering a sustainable development of their inhabitants.

Conference Structure

The conference will span three days of intense dialogue and exchange, featuring:
— Keynote Lectures, on communitarian legal reasoning and the legal aftermath of the COP30.
— Thematic Panels, dedicated to presentations aligned with the conference’s themes.
— Mesitas de Trabajo, aimed at fostering dialogue among academia, policymakers, and community members.

Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions through this application form in Portuguese, Spanish, or English, accompanied by a short biography outlining your experience conducting research and/or working in the Amazon or on topics related to the conference. Submissions should be original, self-authored, and clearly state your research interests, key questions, methodology, and relevance to the conference themes.

• Deadline for submissions: 24 August 2025
• Notification of acceptance: 10 September 2025
• Languages (submissions and conference): English, Portuguese and Spanish.

We particularly encourage the participation of academic researchers, social leaders, and community members who have followed and/or participated in COP-related events.

The first direct outcome of the conference will be the publication of an assessment document for a wide audience, which will summarise the main conclusions and discussions. A second stage will involve an academic publication. Selected papers will be considered for inclusion in an edited electronic volume curated and edited by the Max Planck Law Forum Latin America and the conference partners.

Further details, including the full program and speaker list, will be announced accordingly. For inquiries, please contact: latam@law.mpg.de.

Financial Support

Meals will be provided for all selected participants presenting at the conference. Accommodation will be arranged for participants residing outside the host city (Belém and its metropolitan area).

Participants may also request support for travel expenses. Those seeking such assistance should indicate this in the application form and include a short statement explaining their need for financial support.

Please note that travel financial support is limited. Requests will be reviewed by a dedicated committee, which will allocate funds based on equity considerations, including geographic origin, career stage, and gender.

Convener’s Team

André Nunes Chaib
Bruno Rodrigues de Lima
Carolina Bejarano Martínez
Daniel Lima Alves
Germán Oscar Johannsen
Jenny García Ruales
João Carlos Souto
Linus Ensel
Lise Tupiassu Merlin
María Francesca Cavalcanti
Roberto Ramos Obando
Sandro Alex de Souza Simões
Saulo Monteiro Martinho de Matos
Victor Russo Fróes Rodrigues