The 2020 update on the African Environmental Defenders Fund

The African Environmental Defenders Fund, launched in December 2019 by Natural Justice and the International Land Coalition (ILC), provides emergency support to land and environmental defenders in Africa. Between March and 18 August 2020, the Fund received 15 applications, approving 10 and distributing just over USD 30,000. A significant portion of applications originated from Kenya, where communities such as the Sengwer and Ogiek have faced evictions from indigenous forests. The most frequent threats reported include arrests and arbitrary detention, with the highest demand for funding being for legal representation fees. Natural Justice intends to expand the initiative by securing more funding and developing support mechanisms such as legal empowerment and a network of African lawyers.

• Between March and 18 August 2020, the Fund received 15 applications from across Africa, approving 10 of them and providing a total of just over USD 30,000 in support.
• A high volume of applications came from Kenya, coinciding with human rights violations and evictions of the Ogiek and Sengwer communities from indigenous forests by the Kenya Forest Services.
• The primary threats faced by defenders are physical, specifically arrests and arbitrary detention, while other threats include digital tracking, stalking, and forced evictions. The most common and most funded request for assistance was for legal representation fees.
• Natural Justice plans to expand the Fund's reach by seeking additional funding for both ILC-affiliated and non-affiliated defenders, and by implementing legal empowerment, digital training, and the creation of an African lawyer network.

APA

Martens, C. (2020). The 2020 update on the African Environmental Defenders Fund. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/the-2020-update-on-the-african-environmental-defenders-fund/

Chicago

Martens, Claire. The 2020 update on the African Environmental Defenders Fund. Natural Justice, 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/the-2020-update-on-the-african-environmental-defenders-fund/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martens |first1=Claire |title=The 2020 update on the African Environmental Defenders Fund |publisher=Natural Justice |date=11 September 2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/the-2020-update-on-the-african-environmental-defenders-fund/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martens20202020, author = {Martens, Claire}, title = {{The 2020 update on the African Environmental Defenders Fund}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/the-2020-update-on-the-african-environmental-defenders-fund/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }