As more democracies emerge and advance in Africa, they are forced to confront the environmental impacts caused by economic and social forces. The first step in this process is designing and establishing carefully constructed laws and administrative agencies to handle the mounting pressures on natural resources. These authorities can extend from the country’s constitution to the smallest enforcement agency. But, for these efforts to have a real effect, the public must become familiar with the rules and structure and have a legitimate means of enforcing them through the courts. Environmental organizations, local lawyers, and scholars need to understand the laws and, more importantly, how they can use them to advocate for environmental protection and the health and well-being of the country’s people. Judges must be trained in the policies and the science behind them so that they can make intelligent and well-informed decisions. Perhaps most critically, the public should be allowed to participate in the political and enforcement process, including access to learn about the issues and forums to express their opinions, because cooperation and voluntary responsibility can be far more effective than artificial incentives and punishment.
Click on the following links to explore ELI’s work in Governance in Africa:
Development of Laws and Regulations
Strengthening the Framework for Environmental Legislation in Liberia
Improving Environmental Governance through Natural Resource Certification
Aiding Natural Resource Valuation and Damage Assessment in the Niger Delta
Capacity-building and Awareness Raising
Implementing Constitutional Environmental Protections in Africa
Nigerian Study Tour on Environmental Law, Enforcement, and the Petroleum Industry
Facilitating Roundtable Discussion for African Environmental Law Professors
Disseminating African Environmental Law Resources via the Internet
Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice
Promoting Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice in Africa
Helping East African Lawyers Use Legal Tools to Protect the Environment
- Strengthening the Capacity of Uganda’s Judiciary: Symposiums on Environmental Law
- Enhancing the Capacity of Tanzania’s Judiciary: Judicial Symposium on Environmental Law and Policy
- Environmental Litigation Study Tour for Cameroonian Jurists and Magistrates
- Promoting the Ability of African Judiciaries to Implement Constitutional Environmental Protections
- Seminars on Environmental Law
Please also see ELI’s work on Creating a Sustainable Legal Framework for Forestry in Liberia.