THE OBJECTIVE
To generate new knowledge on how biosphere defenders use international and regional law and policy in LAC and elucidate the diversity of ways in which law supports or could support biosphere defenders’ actions on NBS
THE MAIN QUESTION
How can biosphere defenders leverage human rights and environmental law to advance just and effective NBS?
FROM THE QUESTION TO THE ANSWER(S): OUR ROADMAP
Through legal and policy analysis, together with interviews and focus groups, we explore how governments in LAC and the EU, as well as international organisations, can better support biosphere defenders. Our focus is on strengthening access to information and public participation to advance enabling laws and policies for just and effective NBS that drive real sustainability transformations.
Case studies on biosphere defenders’ contributions and impacts. By analysing case studies, conducting interviews, and participating in Escazú Agreement forums, we explore how biosphere defenders use regional treaties and the Inter-American Human Rights System to protect the right to a healthy environment and advance NBS, highlighting their impacts, challenges and strategies implemented while, at the same time, addressing threats such as violence, corruption, and weak enforcement in LAC.
The clinic is hosted at RWI and is developed in collaboration with Lund University.
The clinic operates with a vision of environmental justice, recognizing the critical role of biosphere defenders in tackeling environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Through an interdisciplinary, transnational and practical approach, the clinic has three main objectives:
- Catalyse legal empowerment
- Promote active learning among university students
- Generate Awareness raising and transnational accountability
TEAM MEMBERS OF THIS AREA OF WORK
Led by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI)- Lund University, funded by the Swedish Research Council (Formas), the team members of this area of work are
Claudia Ituarte-Lima– PI DEFEND-BIO & PC DEFEND-BIO
Maria Andrea Nardi– Senior Researcher, Lund University
Ana María Vargas– Senior Lecturer, Lund University
Torsten Krause – Senior Lecturer, Lund University
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL LAW WORKS HAND IN HAND WITH
The area of Litigation in Latin America and the Caribbean countries led by the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG)- Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB)
&
The area of Citizen Data led by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR)
DEFEND-BIO 