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A statement by Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean (ATALC) condemning a wave of killings of land and environmental defenders in Colombia during early 2017, calling for urgent international protection strategies and government action to end impunity.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the disproportionate negative impacts of large-scale development projects—such as dams and mines—on women's human rights to water, food, and a healthy environment. It highlights the gap between international legal instruments and their practical implementation, particularly in countries with weak governance, and provides recommendations for governments, companies, and civil society to protect women's land rights and ensure their participation in decision-making.

This report by Natural Justice examines the use of community protocols as tools for indigenous peoples and local communities to manage their rights and engage with extractive industries. Based on action research in Argentina, India, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, the document analyzes how these protocols help communities articulate their values, secure free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and address power imbalances with governments and corporations.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the economic, social, and environmental consequences of insecure land rights in rural Brazil, highlighting how these insecurities hinder growth and environmental protection while identifying systemic governance obstacles.

This policy brief examines the legal complexities and risks associated with foreign investment in African farmland, specifically focusing on the often-overlooked issue of water rights. It highlights a systemic imbalance where foreign investors' statutory rights frequently override the customary water rights of local communities, exacerbated by poor state enforcement and restrictive investment contracts.

This case study examines the social and environmental impacts of a coal mining concession awarded to a Chinese company in the Mui Basin of Kitui County, Kenya. It details the threats to the livelihoods of local farmers and pastoralists, the disproportionate risks faced by women, and the legal challenges mounted by the community and civil society organizations against the Kenyan government.

This executive summary evaluates the initial progress made one year after the September 2014 signing of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF). It introduces a monitoring framework to track ten specific objectives aimed at halting natural forest destruction by 2030 and restoring degraded lands. While the report notes new initiatives and commitments, it concludes that overall progress remains slow and requires further intervention.

The Ogiek Bio-Cultural Community Protocol (BCP), published by Natural Justice in 2015, is a community-determined document outlining the rights, traditional knowledge, and resource management priorities of the Ogiek people, an indigenous hunter-gatherer group in Kenya. The protocol serves as a tool to safeguard their ancestral lands in the Mau Forest Complex and Mount Elgon, establishing terms for access to their traditional knowledge and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from their resources.

This report by Friends of the Earth International (ATI) documents violence and human rights violations against environmental defenders between November 2011 and October 2013. It argues that these attacks are a global trend driven by a neoliberal extractivist model and corporate dominance, which often results in the criminalization and physical persecution of activists, indigenous peoples, and local communities.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law provides an overview of cases from 2013 involving the harassment, criminalization, and killing of land and environmental rights defenders globally. It highlights the systemic risks faced by individuals opposing extractive industries, large-scale development projects, and land grabbing, noting that these defenders are often targeted by both state forces and non-state actors, including corporations.

A statement by the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) calling for international solidarity against the political and judicial persecution of its leaders. The organization alleges that the Honduran court system is being used by the DESA corporation and the state to criminalize the Lenca people's defense of their territories and the River Gualcarque against a hydroelectric project.

This report, authored by the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (VIDS), analyzes the legal and institutional frameworks in Suriname regarding Indigenous Peoples' and Local Communities' Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs). It concludes that the state fails to legally recognize indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities or acknowledge their collective rights to traditional lands and resources. This legal vacuum, combined with discriminatory legislation and the prioritization of 'public interest' for state-issued concessions, severely undermines the ability of these communities to govern their territories and conserve biodiversity. The report highlights a significant gap between international human rights standards—including a landmark judgment by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Saramaka case—and national implementation.

This report analyzes the legal, institutional, and legislative frameworks governing Indigenous peoples' conserved territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs) in Australia. It details the pathways to Indigenous land ownership, the mechanisms for joint management of national parks, and the emergence of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs). The document examines the intersection of national laws—such as the Native Title Act 1993—with international human rights standards and provides case studies on specific conservation models.

Friends of the Earth International condemns the violent eviction of fishing families protesting the construction of the El Quimbo hydroelectric dam in Colombia, citing human rights abuses and the denial of legal participation mechanisms.

The 'Protocolos Comunitarios Bioculturales: Kit de Herramientas para Facilitadores Comunitarios' is a comprehensive guide published by Natural Justice in 2012. It provides a framework and a set of participatory tools to help Indigenous Peoples and local communities document their customary laws, values, and governance systems into 'biocultural community protocols'. These protocols are designed to empower communities to manage their territories, protect their collective biocultural heritage, and negotiate on equal terms with external actors such as governments, corporations, and NGOs.

Biocultural Community Protocols: A Toolkit for Community Facilitators is a comprehensive guide published by Natural Justice in 2012. It provides Indigenous peoples and local communities with a framework to document their customary laws, values, and decision-making processes into 'biocultural community protocols'. These instruments are designed to help communities secure their rights and territories, manage interactions with external actors (such as governments, researchers, and companies), and advocate for the stewardship of their collective biocultural heritage.

This report by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) examines how multilateral trade negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO) could negatively impact the rights of Indigenous Peoples, specifically regarding territorial rights, traditional knowledge, and the management of protected areas and natural resources.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law provides an overview of the risks and persecution faced by land and environmental rights defenders in 2013. It details how individuals protecting natural resources and indigenous rights are targeted by state forces and non-state actors, including corporations and organized crime, often in the context of large-scale investment projects and extractive industries.

This fact sheet from Friends of the Earth International critiques biodiversity offsets and biocrédits, arguing that these market-based mechanisms often lead to social and environmental harm rather than effective conservation.

This community FAQ guide by Friends of the Earth International describes carbon markets, offsetting systems, and carbon credits as "false climate solutions" that perpetuate systems of capitalism, neocolonialism, and extractivism to the detriment of local communities and ecosystems.