African Environmental Defenders Fund Narrative Report: December 2019 - December 2021

The African Environmental Defenders Fund (AED Fund), launched in 2019 by Natural Justice and the International Land Coalition, provides emergency financial assistance to land and environmental defenders across Africa facing imminent threats. Between March 2020 and October 2021, the fund processed 45 applications, approving 27 for support including legal representation, relocation, and medical aid. The report highlights a significant volume of applications from Uganda and a particular vulnerability of female defenders to gender-based violence.

• Between 1 March 2020 and 14 October 2021, the African Environmental Defenders Fund received 45 applications, approving 27 (60%) and declining 11 (24%), with 7 applications remaining pending at the time of analysis.
• Uganda was the primary source of applications for emergency support, accounting for 38% of the total, followed by Kenya (18%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (18%), Somalia (7%), and Nigeria (7%).
• The most frequent threats reported by applicants were death threats, threats of arrest, and threats of attack, totaling 109 incidents. Other prominent threats included eviction (affecting 62 people) and arrest and charging (reported by 60 people).
• Female environmental defenders face specific risks, including gender-based violence (GBV) such as attempted rape, sexual harassment, and sexual violations. In Uganda, a surge of applications from women's rights organisations indicated that women defending land and environment are particularly affected by rising GBV.
• The fund provides various forms of urgent assistance to eligible defenders, including short-term legal representation, temporary relocation costs, medical and psychological support, humanitarian assistance for basic needs, and the purchase of security infrastructure.
• The perpetrators of threats against defenders include both public and private actors, ranging from public authorities and police to militias and extractive companies.
• In a specific case in the DRC, the fund provided financial assistance to the Forest Peoples Programme to secure the release of five Batwa men who had been detained since August 2019 and sentenced to 5 years in prison on 20 March 2020 for activities in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park; they were released on 15 September 2020.

APA

-1, Vermoortel, M., Martens, C., & Okoth, E. M. (2021). African Environmental Defenders Fund Narrative Report: December 2019 - December 2021. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AEDF-Report-2019-2021-FA_MAILER.pdf

Chicago

-1, Maureen Vermoortel, Claire Martens, and Eva Maria Okoth. African Environmental Defenders Fund Narrative Report: December 2019 - December 2021. Natural Justice, 2021. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AEDF-Report-2019-2021-FA_MAILER.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=-1 |last2=Vermoortel |first2=Maureen |last3=Martens |first3=Claire |last4=Okoth |first4=Eva Maria |title=African Environmental Defenders Fund Narrative Report: December 2019 - December 2021 |publisher=Natural Justice |date=2021 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AEDF-Report-2019-2021-FA_MAILER.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{12021african, author = {-1 and Vermoortel, Maureen and Martens, Claire and Okoth, Eva Maria}, title = {{African Environmental Defenders Fund Narrative Report: December 2019 - December 2021}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2021}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AEDF-Report-2019-2021-FA_MAILER.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }