These case studies are about people as much as they are about policies.
On the first day of July 2026, more than seventy-five African civil society organizations set in motion a continental reckoning — a three-month inquiry across twenty nations asking whether the environmental rights written into law have ever truly reached the people they were meant to protect. The Environmental Rights in Africa Coalition, backed by Open Society Foundations, is not merely cataloguing policy; it is listening for the voices of those who defend rivers and forests at personal risk, and whose testimony may yet shape a regional framework that has never before existed. In a moment when civic space narrows and the climate reshapes livelihoods, this effort places the question of justice at the center of environmental governance.
- Across Africa, the gap between environmental rights enshrined in constitutions and the realities faced by communities on the ground has grown into a crisis that can no longer be papered over with policy language.
- Environmental and land defenders — those who stand between extractive industries and their communities' forests, rivers, and soils — face intimidation, criminalization, and violence with mounting frequency.
- Research teams in twenty countries spanning all five African regions are now conducting participatory assessments, combining legal analysis with direct testimony from women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and other groups historically shut out of environmental decision-making.
- The coalition is actively calling on governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society to engage with the process, signaling that this is meant to be a living dialogue, not a closed study.
- All findings will converge into a single continental report designed to drive policy reform, fuel advocacy, and lay the groundwork for a regional environmental rights framework — something the continent has never possessed.
On July 1, 2026, the Environmental Rights in Africa Coalition — a body of more than seventy-five civil society organizations and grassroots movements — launched an unprecedented research initiative spanning twenty African countries. Over three months, national teams will conduct participatory assessments examining whether constitutional frameworks, governance systems, and access to environmental justice are functioning in practice, not merely on paper.
The geographic reach is deliberate and comprehensive, covering nations across West, East, Central, Southern, and North Africa. Each team will probe the same essential questions: Do laws genuinely protect environmental rights? Can communities access information, participate in decisions, and seek redress when those rights are violated? Special attention will be paid to women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples — groups most often excluded from the processes that determine the fate of the lands they inhabit.
The urgency behind the effort is unmistakable. Environmental degradation accelerates across the continent, climate change disrupts livelihoods, and the civic space needed to organize and speak out continues to contract. Those who defend their communities' natural resources face real and growing danger. Ahmad Abdallah, chair of the ERA Steering Committee, was clear that the research is not an academic exercise: it is a tool for amplifying voices that power too often ignores.
Supported by Open Society Foundations and embedded within ERA's five-year strategic program, the twenty national studies will ultimately be synthesized into a continental report offering regional analysis, promising practices, and concrete recommendations. The ambition is historic — to lay the foundation for a regional environmental rights framework that Africa has never had, and to ensure that the people who bear the greatest cost of environmental harm have the greatest say in shaping its future.
On July 1st, a coalition of more than 75 African civil society organizations and grassroots movements officially set in motion an ambitious research effort that will reshape how the continent approaches environmental protection and justice. The Environmental Rights in Africa coalition launched case studies across twenty countries—a three-month participatory assessment designed to measure how well African nations are actually implementing the environmental rights they have promised on paper.
The scope is continental. Research teams will work in Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, and Guinea across West Africa; Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi in the East; Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of the Congo in Central Africa; Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in the South; and Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia in the North. Each team will examine the same core questions: Do constitutional and legal frameworks actually protect environmental rights? Can communities access information about environmental decisions? Can they participate in those decisions? When their rights are violated, can they seek justice?
The research methodology combines desk reviews of laws and policies with direct conversations—key informant interviews and focus group discussions—ensuring that findings capture not just what governments have written but what communities are actually experiencing. The studies will pay particular attention to the lived realities of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and other groups typically excluded from environmental decision-making. This is deliberate. The coalition recognizes that environmental rights exist in a political and economic context, not in a vacuum. The research will examine the factors that either enable or obstruct the realization of those rights.
The timing reflects urgency. Across Africa, environmental degradation accelerates. Climate change reshapes landscapes and livelihoods. Natural resources are exploited without regard for sustainability or community consent. Civic space—the room for people to organize, speak, and act—continues to shrink. And those who defend their lands, forests, and rivers face real danger. Environmental and land defenders encounter intimidation, criminalization, harassment, and violence with increasing frequency. Ahmad Abdallah, chair of the ERA Steering Committee and a member of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, framed the research not as an academic exercise but as a tool for amplifying voices that are often unheard. "These case studies are about people as much as they are about policies," he said. "By documenting both progress and persistent challenges, this research will amplify local voices, strengthen national advocacy, and contribute to a shared continental vision for environmental rights."
The initiative is supported by the Open Society Foundations and forms part of ERA's five-year strategic program. The ultimate goal extends beyond documentation. The twenty national studies will be synthesized into a continental report that identifies regional trends, highlights promising practices, and offers concrete recommendations. That report will inform advocacy campaigns, guide policy reform, and shape the development of a regional environmental rights framework—something Africa has never had. The coalition is calling on governments, civil society, academia, development partners, Indigenous communities, environmental defenders, and the private sector to engage with the research teams. What emerges from this effort could reshape how African nations protect the environment and the people who depend on it.
Citas Notables
These case studies are about people as much as they are about policies. African communities are defending their lands, forests, rivers, and livelihoods under increasingly difficult circumstances.— Ahmad Abdallah, Chair of ERA Steering Committee and Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a continent need a regional framework for environmental rights? Don't countries already have their own laws?
They do, but they're scattered and uneven. Some countries have strong constitutional protections; others have almost nothing. A regional framework creates a floor—a shared standard that all countries commit to. It also creates accountability. When one country sees another making progress, it creates pressure to do the same.
You mentioned that researchers will talk to communities directly. Why is that so important?
Because laws on paper don't tell you what's actually happening. A country might have a beautiful constitution that guarantees environmental rights, but if a community can't access information about a mining project on their land, or if they speak up and face arrest, the law is meaningless. The lived experience is what matters.
The source mentions environmental defenders facing violence. How common is that?
Common enough that it's a defining feature of the work. People who stand up for their forests or rivers are being criminalized, harassed, sometimes killed. The research will document this systematically across twenty countries. Right now, we have stories and reports. This will give us data.
Three months seems short for twenty countries. How will they manage that?
They're using a common methodology so teams can work in parallel. They've already done months of planning and orientation. The focus is on depth within each country, not breadth across all of them. The real work is synthesis—finding patterns across the continent.
What happens after the continental report is finished?
It becomes evidence for advocacy. Governments will have to answer to their own findings. Civil society will use it to push for policy change. And it informs the development of that regional framework—the thing that could actually shift how Africa approaches environmental protection at scale.