PHOTO: Ahmad Abdallah, Chairman ERA Steering Committee
Monrovia, Liberia- 30 June 2026–The Environmental Rights in Africa (ERA) coalition will officially launch a 20-country Environmental Rights Case Study on 1 July 2026, marking a significant development in efforts to strengthen environmental rights, environmental governance, and environmental justice across Africa, an ERA press release said.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the case studies form part of ERA’s five-year strategic program to advance a continental environmental rights agenda and explore pathways toward the adoption of a regional framework for environmental rights in Africa.
Over the next three months, researchers in twenty African countries will undertake a participatory assessment of the implementation of environmental rights. The studies will examine constitutional and legal frameworks, environmental governance systems, civic space, and the extent to which communities can access environmental information, participate in environmental decision-making, and seek justice when their rights are violated.
Using a common research methodology, the studies will combine desk reviews with key informant interviews and focus group discussions to ensure that the findings reflect not only national laws and policies but also the lived experiences of communities, environmental defenders, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups.
The initiative aims to assess the implementation of environmental rights across participating countries, identify legal, policy, and institutional gaps, document promising practices and innovations, and generate evidence-based recommendations to strengthen environmental governance and inform the development of a regional environmental rights framework.
Speaking ahead of the launch, ERA Steering Committee Chair Ahmad Abdallah of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms emphasized that the initiative extends well beyond academic research.
“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. 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 launch follows months of planning and collaboration among ERA members, the Case Study Working Group, national research partners, and technical experts. An orientation meeting held in June introduced the common research methodology and reaffirmed the importance of conducting participatory, evidence-based research that is responsive to national contexts while enabling meaningful comparison across countries.
The research comes at a critical moment for the continent. Many African countries continue to grapple with environmental degradation, climate change, unsustainable natural resource exploitation, and shrinking civic space. At the same time, environmental and land defenders increasingly face intimidation, criminalization, harassment, and violence for protecting their communities and natural resources.
Recognizing these realities, the case studies will go beyond reviewing legal frameworks to inspect the political, economic, and social factors that influence the realization of environmental rights and shape environmental governance outcomes.
The findings from the twenty national studies will be synthesized into a continental report highlighting regional trends, documenting good practices, and providing practical recommendations to inform advocacy, policy reform, and future regional initiatives on environmental rights.
As the research officially begins, ERA calls upon governments, civil society organizations, academia, development partners, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, environmental defenders, and the private sector to engage constructively with the research teams and support this important effort to generate evidence that advances environmental justice for present and future generations.
The studies will be conducted in Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea in West Africa; Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi in East Africa; Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of the Congo in Central Africa; Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in Southern Africa; and Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia in North Africa.
About ERA
Environmental Rights in Africa (ERA) is a growing Pan-African coalition of more than 75 civil society organizations and grassroots movements working across over 40 African countries to advance and strengthen environmental rights, environmental governance, protect environmental and land defenders, and promote environmental justice and the enjoyment of a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
For further information, please contact:
ERA Secretariat
Monrovia, Liberia
Email: mrucsoplatform@gmail.com Tel: +231 886 529 611