International Gathering Recharges Global Movement

ELAW Annual Meeting participants enjoyed a stop at Heceta Head Lighthouse Beach during their February 27 field trip to the Oregon Coast. Other stops included the Yachats 804 Trail, Cape Perpetua Visitor Center, Thor’s Well, Devil’s Churn, and Strawberry Hill. Read more in Yachats News. PHOTO: Steve Repicky

More than 100 ELAW partners from 40 countries gathered in Eugene last week for the 2024 ELAW Annual Meeting, followed by the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC).

It was an inspiring gathering!

In lively plenaries and dozens of working groups, grassroots leaders collaborated to learn from each other, share strategies, troubleshoot problems, and hone model practices to help communities speak out for clean air, clean water, and a healthy planet.

Goldman Prize winner Rizwana Hasan writes:

“As I start my journey for Bangladesh and get back to my rushed and busy life, let me thank you all for all the hard work done in arranging the Annual Meeting. I thoroughly enjoyed being there after many years and found it really engaging. It truly gave me a chance to breathe deep. I am so proud to be part of the ELAW family.”

Annual Meeting participants took on a wide range of topics, including defending defenders, environmental impact assessment, climate litigation, plastic law, just energy transition, critical minerals, forest protection, ocean conservation, holding corporations accountable, land rights, air quality, and much more.

Following the Annual Meeting, ELAW partners shared their inspired work on 10 panels at PIELC, focused on Indigenous advocacy, fighting state repression, keeping coal in the ground, preventing SLAPPs, just energy transition in Africa, protecting the human right to water, protecting coastal communities, challenging short-sighted mining, and protecting biodiversity.

Partners who presented at PIELC hailed from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil (see: Sacred Lands and Human Rights in the Eugene Weekly), Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Nepal Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.

Many thanks to everyone who made this year’s gathering a big success, including: the ELAW Team; the ELAW Board; Peggy Dame, Lisa Moeller, and Scott Johnson who secured lots of warm winter clothing for visitors from warmer climates; and Paul Engelmeyer, Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary, who helped the ELAW Team orchestrate the field trip.

Bern Johnson
Executive Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

Many thanks to our local business supporters!