Dr Walters Nsoh

Dr Walters Nsoh

Birmingham Law School
Associate Professor in Law
Programme Director, Online LLM in Energy and Environmental Law

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 3106
Email
w.nsoh@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Birmingham Law School
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Walters Nsoh is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Birmingham. His research relates primarily to the intersection between property (land) law and environmental law, the legal and policy challenges to nature conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources. His book The Privatisation of Biodiversity? - New Approaches to Conservation Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2016) explores the use of innovative market-based approaches such as biodiversity offsetting, payment for ecosystem services and conservation covenants in nature conservation. He has published in academic and practitioner sources and has provided written evidence to policy consultations, including contributions to the Law Commission’s report on Conservation Covenants published in June 2014.

Walters Nsoh is part of the Birmingham Plastics Network, an interdisciplinary team of more than 40 academics working together to shape the fate and sustainable future of plastics.  This unique team brings together chemists, environmental scientists, philosophers, linguists, economists, artists, writers, lawyers and experts in many other fields, to holistically address the global plastics problem

Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education) (Anglia Ruskin University)
  • PhD Law (University of Surrey)
  • LLM Environmental Law & Policy (Distinction) (University of Kent)
  • BSc Environmental Science (University of Buea, Cameroon)

Biography

Dr Walters Nsoh joined Birmingham Law School in September 2015. Previously, he was a Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University and a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Dundee. During his doctoral studies, he was also an Associate Lecturer at the University of Surrey and taught property law. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2015.

Dr Nsoh holds a PhD in Law from the University of Surrey and an LLM (with Distinction) in Environmental Law and Policy from the University of Kent. He is a former Commonwealth Scholar (2005-2006) and plays an active part in the environmental law community, including roles as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy.

 

Teaching

  • Land Law (LLB)
  • Environmental Law (LLB)
  • Environmental Energy Law (LLM)

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Nsoh is happy to supervise within the following broad areas:

Innovative approaches such as conservation covenants, payment for ecosystem services and biodiversity offsets in conservation
Biodiversity and nature conservation law
Property (land) rights, land use, land tenure and livelihoods
Forest ownership and sustainability
Regulation of natural resources
Ecosystem services
Indigenous rights

Find out more - our PhD Law  page has information about doctoral research at the University of Birmingham.

Research

Dr Walters Nsoh’s background is interdisciplinary, with research and teaching interests that relate primarily to the intersection between property (land) law and environmental law, and the legal and policy challenges to nature conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources in developed and developing countries. His main current research is examining the use of innovative approaches such as biodiversity offsetting/habitat banking, payment for ecosystem services and conservation covenants in nature conservation. His doctoral research, funded by the University of Surrey Research Scholarship and Universities UK Overseas Research Students Award, looked at the sustainable management of forests, exploring the relationship between forest ownership and sustainability from an indigenous rights perspective.

Other activities

  • Member of the Development Team of the Natural Assets Knowledge-Action Network of Future Earth (2017-2019)
  • Associate Editor of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (2014 – present)
  • Senior Fellow - Food and Agricultural Law with the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Nigeria (2014 - present)
  • Panel Member of the Vitae HR Excellence in Research Award (2014-2015)

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Nsoh, W & Reid, CT 2016, The Privatisation of Biodiversity? New Approaches to Conservation Law. New Horizons in Environmental and Energy Law series, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

Article

Nsoh, W 2022, 'Achieving groundwater governance: Ostrom’s design principles and payments for ecosystem services approaches', Transnational Environmental Law, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 381-406. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102522000164

Nsoh, W & Reid, C 2014, 'The privatisation of biodiversity?' Chartered Forester – Member Magazine for the Institute of Chartered Foresters, pp. 26-27.

Reid, C & Nsoh, W 2014, 'The privatisation of biodiversity? New approaches to nature conservation law', Environmental Liability - Law, Policy and Practice, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 203-206.

Nsoh, W 2014, 'The privatisation of biodiversity?: New approaches to nature conservation law' e-law, vol. 84, pp. 16-21.

Reid, C & Nsoh, W 2014, 'Whose ecosystem is it anyway? Private and public rights under new approaches to biodiversity conservation', Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 112-135. https://doi.org/10.4337/jhre.2014.03.01

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Nsoh, W 2018, The Legal Status of Customary Land Tenure Systems and the Protection of Communal Property in Cameroon. in T Xu & A Clarke (eds), Legal Strategies for the Development and Protection of Communal Property. Proceedings of the British Academy, Oxford University Press, pp. 102-126, Legal Strategies for the Development and Protection of Communal Property, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 23/05/16. <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/legal-strategies-for-the-development-and-protection-of-communal-property-9780197266380?prevSortField=6&sortField=6&start=160&resultsPerPage=20&lang=en&cc=au#>

Nsoh, W 2016, Customary land rights, indigenous rights and land expropriation in Cameroon: Ecosystem services as a possible new approach in valuing compensation. in T Xu & J Alain (eds), Property and human rights in a global context. Human Rights Law in Perspective, vol. 20, Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp. 269-290.

Nsoh, W 2015, Critical linkages between forest ownership and unsustainable forest exploitation in Cameroon. in RT Ako & DS Olawuyi (eds), Food and agricultural law: Readings on sustainable agriculture and the law in Nigeria. Afe Babalola University Press.

Chapter

Nsoh, W & Olawuyi, D 2019, The Water – Energy – Food Nexus. in S Bagg, P Galvao, B Tilleman & A Lucas (eds), Environmental Law and Policy. 4th edn, Emond Publishing.

Conference contribution

Nsoh, W & Reid, C 2013, Biodiversity Offsetting and Conservation Covenants. in Environmental Law and Management. vol. 25, Lawtext Publishing, pp. 93-96, UK Environmental Law Association, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 12/07/13.

Editorial

Basaran, IK, Kirk, E, Morgera, E, Murcott, MJ, Nsoh, W, Paloniitty, T, Smith, DC, Verkuijl, C, Furman, E, Guneratne, C, Lim, M & Young, TR 2020, 'Editorial: Changes', Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 149. https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-200209

Nsoh, W (Guest ed.) 2018, 'Editorial Comment', Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (JSDLP), vol. 9, no. 1, pp. xiii - xvi. <https://www.ogeesinstitute.edu.ng/volume-9-issue-1-2018>

Other report

Nsoh, W & Reid, C 2014, The privatisation of biodiversity?: New approaches to nature conservation law (Summary report of an AHRC-funded project examining the legal issues concerning potential new legal mechanisms for the conservation of biodiversity, prepared for policy makers). University of Dundee. <http://www.dundee.ac.uk/media/dundeewebsite/law2/documents/docdownloads/PolicyBrief5.pdf>

Working paper

Nsoh, W 2016 'Achieving groundwater governance: the Ecosystem approach and the role of market-based instruments' F Sindico and A Manganelli (Eds.), Groundwater Governance: Drawing Connections Between Science, Knowledge and Policy-Making, University of Strathclyde, pp. 58-61. <http://www.strath.ac.uk/scelg/workingpapers/scelgworkingpaper42016/>

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

  • Biodiversity and nature conservation law
  • The use of innovative approaches such as payment for ecosystem services, biodiversity offsetting/habitat banking, and conservation covenants in biodiversity conservation law
  • Property (land) rights, land use, land and resources tenure, and sustainable livelihoods
  • Sustainable management of natural resources, especially in Africa
  • Forest ownership and sustainability in Cameroon
  • Climate change law and policy
  • Governance of ecosystem services
  • Indigenous rights and natural resources exploitation in Cameroon and Africa