Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights

We are pleased to announce that ELAW partner Ahmed El Seidi has launched Egypt’s first public interest environmental law firm, the Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights (EFER).

“This has been my dream since my mentor Mohamed Nagi, founder of the Habi Center for Environmental Rights, died in 2018 and his Center closed,” says Ahmed. In 2023, Ahmed traveled to Eugene for an ELAW Fellowship and consulted with the ELAW Team about launching a new organization.

Egypt has many environmental challenges, “compounded by weak enforcement of existing laws and limited public awareness of personal environmental rights,” says Ahmed.

EFER aims to protect the environment in Egypt by empowering public workers, law students, and communities. Through targeted training programs, EFER will equip public sector employees with skills to monitor environmental violations effectively and enforce environmental laws. EFER will also provide Egyptian law students with the opportunity to engage in legal environmental advocacy.

“We plan to publish accessible Arabic guides on environmental legislation, conduct environmental legal clinics at law schools, and host capacity building workshops for public employees,” says Ahmed.

ELAW has been instrumental in helping partners in many countries launch grassroots environmental advocacy organizations. These include the Lawyers Environmental Action Team (Tanzania), Green Advocates (Liberia), Instituto de Derecho Ambiental de Honduras (IDAMHO), and many more.

Congratulations Ahmed! We look forward to more strong collaboration on your work to protect communities and the environment through law in Egypt.

Bern Johnson
Executive Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide