By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Environmental Rights in Africa (ERA) Coalition will on Wednesday, July 1, will officially launch a 20-country Environmental Rights Case Study aimed at strengthening environmental rights, governance and environmental justice across the African continent.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the initiative is part of ERA’s five-year strategic programme to advance a continental environmental rights agenda and explore pathways toward the adoption of a regional framework for environmental rights in Africa.
According to the Coalition, researchers in 20 African countries will, over the next three months, conduct participatory assessments 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 assessments will combine desk reviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions to ensure the findings reflect not only national laws and policies but also the lived experiences of communities, environmental defenders, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and other marginalised groups.
The initiative seeks to identify legal, policy and institutional gaps, document innovative practices and generate evidence-based recommendations to strengthen environmental governance and support the development of a regional environmental rights framework.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Chair of the ERA Steering Committee, Ahmad Abdallah of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, said the initiative goes 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,” he said.
The launch follows months of 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 responds to national realities while enabling meaningful comparisons across countries.
According to the Coalition, the research comes at a critical time as many African countries continue to grapple with environmental degradation, climate change, unsustainable natural resource exploitation and shrinking civic space.
It noted that environmental and land defenders increasingly face intimidation, criminalisation, harassment and violence while protecting their communities and natural resources.
Beyond reviewing legal frameworks, the case studies will also assess the political, economic and social factors influencing the realisation of environmental rights and environmental governance outcomes.
The findings from the 20 national studies will be consolidated into a continental report highlighting regional trends, documenting best practices and providing recommendations to guide advocacy, policy reforms and future regional initiatives on environmental rights.
ERA called on governments, civil society organisations, academia, development partners, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, environmental defenders and the private sector to support the research by engaging constructively with the research teams.
In Nigeria, the study will be conducted by the Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative (Peoples Advocates) in collaboration with the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI).
Other participating countries include 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.
