Environmental Rights Africa - ERA

https://www.climatelegaldefense.org/blog-alt/creating-space-for-womens-climate-action-and-safety-in-uganda

Creating Space for Women’s Climate Action and Safety in Uganda — Global Climate Legal Defense Women climate defenders face unique challenges in Ugandan society, where speaking up can be dangerous and taboo.

Environmental Rights Without Borders

From 5–6 December 2025, environmental defenders, civil society leaders, and allies from Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Europe came together in Nairobi, on the sidelines of UNEA-7, for a powerful Global Peer Learning Event.

Convened by a coalition of civil society organizations, the gathering created rare space for honest exchange across regions — sharing lessons, challenges, and strategies to strengthen environmental rights frameworks and protect environmental defenders.

This meeting came at a critical moment. With more than 2,000 environmental defenders killed in the past decade and civic space shrinking worldwide, participants confronted a shared reality: environmental harm crosses borders, and so must our responses.

Over two days, regions reflected on what’s working — from Escazú’s advances in Latin America, to Africa’s push for stronger regional protections, to Southeast Asia’s struggle for meaningful public participation — and why new, context-specific regional solutions are urgently needed.

Above all, the gathering reaffirmed one truth: communities are not victims — they are leaders, and global solidarity is essential to protecting local struggles.

This is what environmental justice looks like when borders don’t divide us.

Building Bridges with the African Commission

On the margins of the 85th ACHPR Session in Banjul, Environmental Rights Africa (ERA) and the African Climate Platform (ACP) hosted an informal acquaintance dinner with ACHPR Commissioners — creating space for open dialogue beyond the formal plenary.

Eight Commissioners, their legal officers, and the Commission’s Executive Director joined the conversation on growing environmental and climate risks across Africa, the protection of environmental defenders, and pathways for stronger collaboration within the African human rights system.

ERA and ACP shared updates on the climate advisory opinion before the African Court and reaffirmed their readiness to support the Commission as technical and resource partners.

The Chairperson of the Commission, Hon. Idrissa Sow, welcomed continued engagement — a strong signal that environmental rights are firmly on the Commission’s agenda.

Sometimes, progress begins at the table.

Environmental Rights = Human Rights

At the ACHPR’s 85th Session in Banjul, Environmental Rights Africa (ERA), together with the ACHPR Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights, convened a powerful side event on Advancing Environmental Rights in Africa.

Activists, defenders, and experts highlighted how environmental degradation, extractive activities, and the climate crisis are fueling displacement, injustice, and insecurity across the continent — while environmental and land defenders face growing risks.

The message was clear: protecting the environment is central to justice, peace, and human dignity. Africa has the tools — now is the moment to strengthen protections, amplify community voices, and advance a continent-wide framework for environmental rights.

African CSOs Rally in Freetown for Environmental Democracy

From 17–21 February, activists, legal experts, and civil society leaders from across Africa gathered in Freetown for a pivotal meeting of the Environmental Rights Africa (ERA) initiative — united around one urgent goal: advancing a binding regional environmental rights treaty.

Despite existing laws, weak enforcement, shrinking civic space, and corporate pressure continue to leave communities unprotected. The message from Freetown was clear: Africa needs stronger, enforceable environmental rights now.

“This is more than policy talk — it’s a movement,” said ERA Lead Campaigner Alfred Brownell. “African communities deserve real legal tools to protect their lands, waters, and livelihoods.”

The week culminated in the adoption of a five-year strategic plan to strengthen environmental democracy, protect land and defenders, and hold governments and corporations accountable — engaging the AU, ECOWAS, ACHPR, and African states.

The energy was powerful. The mandate is clear. The work ahead will shape the future of environmental justice in Africa.

Why Africa Needs a Regional Environmental Rights Agreement

Across Africa, the climate crisis is no longer a distant warning. It’s here. Homes washed away by floods. Crops lost to drought. Entire communities displaced by storms, pollution, and land grabs.
From Derna to the Sahel, these are not isolated tragedies — they are signs that environmental harm is moving faster than the laws meant to protect people.

Africa has a chance to chart a new path through a Regional Environmental Rights Agreement — a continent-wide framework that protects the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, across borders.

This vision is driving Environmental Rights Africa (ERA) — a growing coalition of over 55 civil society groups and frontline defenders across 40+ countries. Since 2021, ERA has carried a simple truth: environmental harm doesn’t stop at borders, so our protections shouldn’t either.

A regional agreement would mean communities have the right to information, a voice in decisions, access to justice, and real protection for defenders who risk everything to speak out. Latin America has Escazú. Europe has Aarhus. Africa — the continent least responsible for climate change — deserves no less.

This is about people. A farmer who needs clean water. A coastal family facing rising seas. A defender who should be protected, not persecuted.

The momentum is here. The vision is clear. The real question now is simple: Will Africa seize this moment?