Name: Anne Rowley

Position: Senior Attorney, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of General Counsel, International Environmental Law Office

Education: B.A., Political Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1985; J.D./M.S. in Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. (accelerated joint degree program), 1990

1. How does your present work involve issues of international environmental law?
   
   I negotiate international environmental agreements and other international agreements with environmental components. My primary areas of practice include the environmental aspects of free trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries and agreements relating to global climate change.
   
   
2. Which aspects of international environmental law practice do you consider the most interesting, and which do you consider the most challenging?
   
   There is a lot of room for finding creative solutions to actual problems through the drafting, negotiation and implementation of international agreements. I find this aspect of international environmental law extremely interesting. On the other hand practicing international environmental law can be challenging because the transboundary nature of many environmental problems increases both the number of issues that must be addressed and the number of different types of law that must be reviewed to resolve a particular problem.
   
   
3. What training and/or previous experience do you consider to have been helpful to your ability to effectively analyze and solve problems in this field?
   
   I think my knowledge of domestic and international politics enables me to apply the law more effectively. While I was in law school I took a number of different international law courses including public international law, private international law, comparative law, and international environmental law. I've used the knowledge gained in each of these courses at one time or another in my practice. A broad general knowledge of the scientific underpinnings of environmental issues is also useful, as is a basic knowledge of international trade and finance.
   
   
4. Within the field, what issue or areas do you expect to pose the most significant challenges for policy makers, industry, and NGOs in the year 2000 and beyond?
   
   I think development and implementation of an international regime (or regimes) to successfully address the issue of global climate change will be very difficult because of the potential economic ramifications of such a regime and the scientific complexity of the issue. Similarly, finding ways to adequately address the potential environmental ramifications of investment liberalization poses a significant challenge.
   
   
5. What words of encouragement or counsel would you offer to students of environmental law or to young environmental law practitioners interested in working in the area of international environmental law?
   
   I would say "volunteer, volunteer, volunteer," to the extend that you can afford to do it. This will bring you into contact with fascinating people and issues and might even lead to a permanent job down the road. If you are still in law school, get to know your professors who teach in the international environmental area and take advantage of summer clerkships where you can work in the international arena. Even after you begin to practice international environmental law become active in bar association committees and with other organizations that have in interest in international environmental law.