ELAW Annual Meeting in Thailand

Last week, more than 100 ELAW partners from 45 countries gathered in Bangkok for the 2026 ELAW Annual Meeting. 

“The meeting is a wonderful opportunity for the ELAW network to collaborate and learn from lawyers facing similar issues,” says Sor.Rattanamanee Polkla, Executive Director of the Community Resource Centre (CRC), which co-hosted the meeting. “This year, it feels especially important to host the meeting in Thailand, as we are facing so many difficult challenges in our work to advance justice for communities and protect the environment. Transboundary mining issues have emerged as a particular challenge for many within the network and the region, and we hope to join hands with advocates across borders to ensure that projects fully consider the impacts on human rights and vital ecosystems. Without a healthy environment, we cannot live.” 

The Annual Meeting brings together advocates at all stages of their careers, including seasoned practitioners who have been part of ELAW for more than 30 years, and new partners attending their first meeting. The gathering is enriched by advocates from diverse geographies and backgrounds, each bringing a broad array of skills, knowledge, and lived experience. Alliances built at these meetings help partners stay in touch over the years, sharing inspiration, mutual support, and expertise as they work to advance environmental justice in their communities through law.

Many thanks to CRC for its great work co-organizing the event with ELAW, and for being gracious hosts to our partners joining from around the world.

Participants attended four days of events, collaborating through small working groups, learning in plenary sessions, attending a case fair, and visiting Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park, a forested urban oasis south of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River. 

Core topics covered included:

• Climate, Pollution, and the Just Energy Transition: Climate litigation and adaptation and mitigation measures, oil and gas projects, mining and critical minerals, plastic manufacture and pollution litigation, air pollution, and using recent international Advisory Opinions in national climate cases.
• Rights and Governance: Rights of nature, access rights (public participation, information, justice), Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and regional environmental rights frameworks (e.g., ASEAN Declaration).
• Conservation and Policy: Biodiversity protection (including forests, oceans, and coastal areas), environmental impact assessment litigation and law reform, and the use of economics as a tool.
• Defending Defenders: Addressing shrinking civil society operating space and laws limiting the activities of environmental defenders, strategizing about SLAPP suits, and digital security.
• Narratives, Power, and Public Discourse: Exploring strategies for changing harmful narratives, strengthening public communication, and using storytelling to build broader support for environmental justice.

Regional groups gathered in breakout sessions to share learning and weigh in on emerging issues. These discussions highlighted the importance of cross-regional solidarity, shared strategies, and collective action in advancing environmental justice globally.

Many thanks to the volunteers who supported this year’s ELAW Annual Meeting: Ploynatchaya Srimek, Teerana Kualsawasd, and Martine Coguiec! And special thanks to the CRC team for all their amazing work: Sor.Rattanamee Polkla, Atittaya Ngampradit, Chalermsri Prasertsri, Decha Khambaomueng, Mingkhawan Thuemor, Prashant Singh, Songsit Weerapatrungdech, Tittasat Soodsan, and Weerawat Obo.

Following the ELAW Annual Meeting, many participants contributed to a “Global Dialogue on Environmental Justice, Transboundary Governance, Climate Accountability, and Community Rights,” held at the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University.

This public conference brought together environmental lawyers, scientists, environmental defenders, academics, and civil society leaders from Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, North America, and Latin America to exchange knowledge and strengthen collaboration.

The conference was co-organized by CRC, ELAW, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Rivers and Rights, and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in collaboration with the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University.

We appreciate everyone who joined us, and all the ELAW supporters who make our work possible. We return home with a renewed sense of solidarity and new strategies and allies that will help us take on even greater challenges in the year ahead. 

Sincerely,

Kelly Bauer Bennett
Network Support Associate
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide