PhD Candidates 
Fernando José Quintero Nader
I studied my Bachelor’s degree in Law in Mexico City. Due to my academic performance and the thesis* to obtain the degree, the University agreed to grant me an Honour’s Award.
As part of my professional development, I have been working for the Mexican government. Some of the positive outcomes are reflected in various articles that I wrote while I was working for the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation. Some of these documents were published in two magazines of this organization (Justicia Electoral and the Boletin del Centro de Capacitación Electoral). Additionally, I have participated in different courses and workshops referring to various topics such as: democracy, elections, political parties, electoral and human rights and legal research.
Since I wanted to open my perspective to different topics of universal importance, I decided to further my studies. For this reason, I decided to start the Master of International Environmental Law at Macquarie University** I would like to mention that the Centre for Environmental Law and the support that I have received from my professors Michael Jeffery and Donna Craig have further encouraged me to push myself in order to become a good student.
Consequently, it is possible to mention some great outcomes of this jointly effort: In 2004, I was awarded the Peter Hunt Memorial Prize by the Macquarie University. Later, in August of 2005, I was granted the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for the completion of the Master of International Environmental Law by the same University. Additionally, Macquarie University offered me the IMURS scholarship to be able to study a PhD Degree.
At the moment, I am participating with Professors Jeffery and Craig, in a research project comprising a broad comparative analysis between some of the common mechanisms that are part of current environmental policies in various countries. Although in most developed countries such as United States of America and Australia a vast range of economic instruments are in use, there is still a void of practical data regarding their effectiveness and proper place within an environmental regulatory legal framework.
This circumstance is not exclusive of developed countries. In developing countries such as Mexico, it is possible to see the utilization of different kinds of mechanisms (such as CAC and MBI). However, it can be implied that the environmental degradation is worsening and one of the likely contributing factors is the inadequacy of the environmental regulation currently operating.
Based on this analysis, the purpose of my project is to determine whether is possible to develop an environmental policy tailored for the Mexican needs and circumstances taking into consideration the successful and the unfruitful experiences of the mentioned countries.
* Thesis: ‘The Foreign Investment and its Juridical-Political Implications in the Outset of the Crisis of the Mexican Neo-liberal Economic Model’.
**Thesis: ‘Command-and-Control Mechanisms v Market-Based Incentives; some Legal and Factual Considerations’