The Defendbio legal clinic operates with a vision of environmental justice, recognizing the critical role of biosphere defenders in combating environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change and it is hosted at RWI and Lund University.
Through an interdisciplinary, transnational and practical approach, the clinic has three main objectives:
- Catalyse legal empowerment by collaborating with biosphere defenders and their organizations to enact change through the use of law and polices. We develop legal empowerment tools and initiatives that can be useful in the defence of collective rights and ecosystems’ stewardship. This includes tools useful for strategic litigation and administrative processes e.g. access to information and public participation concerning environmental impact assessments.
- Promote active learning among university students and early career professionals who engage in legal research, documenting and analysing environmental regulations, drafting amicus curiae briefs, designing legal strategies that connect human rights with environmental justice. This includes collaboration between students based in Sweden with students, scholars and social organization in the Global South and in Europe.
- Generate Awareness raising and transnational accountability. Using communication tools and creatives means we generate awareness of the contributions of biosphere defenders on Earth stewardship and climate adaptation and mitigation as well as on threats, violations, and risks faced by biosphere defenders. EU and Global South solidarity is promoted to strengthen transnational accountability and legal and political protections for biosphere defenders’ work.
How to participate in the clinic?
- Organisations interested in collaborating with specific projects are welcomed to contact us.
- Students enrolled at master level and early career professionals can apply to conduct an internship at the clinic.
Contacts:
Dr. Claudia Ituarte-Lima, Senior Researcher and Defendbio principal investigator, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law -Lund University. Claudia.ituarte-lima@rwi.lu.se
Dr. Ana María Vargas, Affiliated researcher, Director of first and second cycle studies at Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University. ana_maria.vargas_falla@soclaw.lu.se. Lund, Sweden.
Dr. Maria Andrea Nardi, Senior lecturer in development studies and geography and researcher in geography and development. maria_andrea.nardi@rwi.lu.se
