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Impact
Biodiversity
Over 1 million species are facing the threat of extinction due to human activities. We collaborate with lawyers working on community-led efforts to challenge unsustainable development projects that threaten wildlife and ecosystems, and strengthen and enforce laws to provide better protection.
Whole Ecosystems Protect Life on Earth
The Autumn 2024 Advocate highlights ELAW’s work with partners in Argentina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Slovakia, Uganda, and Ukraine to protect and restore ecosystems.
Victory for Virunga National Park
The Goma Courthouse issued a landmark decision advancing ACEDH’s case seeking protective measures for Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including stronger actions to counter encroachment and preserve biodiversity.
Protecting Elephants in Sri Lanka
ELAW partners at the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) are celebrating a victory for 48 elephants that were illegally registered and used for commercial purposes.
Climate
The damage that humans are doing to the global climate may be one of the gravest injustices of all time. Many communities that will suffer the most severe impacts of the climate crisis have contributed the least to the damage. Citizens and organizations are turning to the courts to protect the rights of those impacted by the changing climate and implement adaptation measures; require governments to take bolder action to stop harmful emissions; evaluate climate impacts before approving projects; hold governments to their national and international climate commitments; and more.
ELAW is working with grassroots advocates in Chile, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, India, the Maldives, Peru, Uganda, and more to protect the climate.
Open-Pit Coal Mine Suspended in Colombia
The environmental license for an open-pit coal mine covering 1,949 hectares in San Vicente and El Carmen de Chucurí, Santander, was suspended.
ELAW Shares Climate Litigation Strategies
The damage that humans are doing to the global climate may be one of the gravest injustices of all time. Some people are profiting enormously from damaging the climate, while others are bearing the costs.
Defending Defenders
Our lawyer colleagues and their community partners are under increasing attack for defending human rights and the environment. We help improve our partners’ security and respond when they are threatened so they can continue their critical work ensuring communities have a voice at the table and the tools they need to defend their rights and protect ecosystems.
Our lawyer colleagues and their community partners are under increasing attack for defending and advancing the human right to a healthy environment. Public interest lawyers are fighting back against these attempts to stifle local efforts to protect the climate.
Recent ELAW Fellow Olivier Ndoole Named “Human Rights Defender at Risk”
The Award was established in 2005 to honor the work of defenders who courageously promote and protect the human rights of others, often at significant personal risk.
ELAW Helps Launch Coalition to Defend Land, Indigenous, and Environmental Defenders
In response to the increasing frequency and severity of attacks on our partners, ELAW is building skills in our network and fighting back, case by case and country by country.
Fossil Fuels
Around the world, grassroots advocates are stepping forward to challenge short-sighted plans for coal, oil, and gas development. They challenge permits for coal mines, power plants, and infrastructure; fight pipelines and oil exploration both onshore and offshore; and enforce clean air and water laws to help communities chart a sustainable energy future.
Guide to Evaluating EIAs for Oil and Gas Projects
ELAW’s Law and Science Teams distilled decades of experience critiquing project plans with partners around the world in this guidebook. It aims to help level the playing field for citizens challenging powerful oil and gas companies’ short-sighted projects.
Communities Challenge Offshore Gas Drilling
Australia—ELAW partners at the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) are supporting environmental defenders who oppose
a massive offshore natural gas drilling project called Burrup Hub. The project would emit around six billion mt of carbon over its lifetime, impacting dozens of threatened species in marine parks and reefs.
ELAW partner Frank Tumusiime of ANARDE outlines a comprehensive road map for Uganda that links clean energy with economic growth, environmental stewardship, and social justice. The report urges Uganda to leverage its mineral-rich economy to fuel a global clean energy transition while safeguarding citizens’ rights and supporting sustainable development.
Marine & Coastal
The ocean provides food, medicine, energy, jobs, and recreation, and is one of the main repositories of the world’s biodiversity. We need a healthy ocean to stabilize the climate and avoid catastrophic climate damage, but the ocean is threatened by coastal development, pollution, overfishing, unsustainable aquaculture, mining, oil drilling, and more. Learn more about our work with partners around the world to protect marine ecosystems for future generations!
Local Voices at the World Fisheries Congress
Members of ELAW’s Marine Working Group joined scientists from around the world at the World Fisheries Congress in Seattle to share community perspectives on the real impacts of blue economy projects in the Global South.
Maldives: Massive Port Threatens Coral Reefs
The Government of the Maldives proposes to dredge 24.5 million cubic meters of sand from the North Malé Atoll to reclaim Gulhifalhu Lagoon, to create new land for a massive commercial port.
ELAW is working with grassroots advocates and
coastal communities around the world to protect ocean and coastal ecosystems for future generations. We are pleased to share some examples of our work in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe.
Plastic
Adopting laws to reduce plastic pollution is widely recognized as a vital step to rein in the damage plastic pollution is doing to our communities, health, and environment. Over 40% of the plastic produced globally is used only once and then discarded. We are working with local advocates to adopt and strengthen legislation at all stages of the plastic life cycle from production to disposal to address this crisis.
For specific case information, please visit Plastic Law Resources for Advocates.
New Resource to Tackle Plastic Pollution Globally
The Global Plastic Laws database will be the most comprehensive tool to date to research plastic legislation that has been adopted around the world.
Taking on the Plastic Pollution Crisis
ELAW partners are working to draft and strengthen laws at home that tackle the plastic waste problem and hold polluters accountable. They are participating in UN negotiations to adopt a global treaty to rein in plastic waste, advancing legislation to curb plastic waste, encouraging each other, and sharing victories
and model practices.
Mounting Plastic Crisis in Africa – Sharing Lessons Across the Continent to Avert Disaster
ELAW hosted a series of six webinars to help African advocates gain skills and build a strong corps of lawyers to challenge plastic for years to come. The series was a great success, with 60 advocates from 15 countries joining.
Join the movement supporting community-based solutions
Grassroots advocates in more than 80 countries are calling on ELAW for support defending communities and ecosystems. Your gift helps us keep lawyers safe and collaborate closely with them to provide the legal and scientific support they need to win lasting victories.