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Natural Justice expresses concern over incidents at Industries Chimiques du Sénégal (ICS) facilities on January 14-15, 2025, urging the state to stop environmental violations and ICS to ensure future community safety.

The document outlines a framework for the 'auto-renforcement' (self-strengthening) of community-managed territories in Madagascar. It details a process of collective decision-making, self-delimitation, and auto-documentation to enhance local governance and biodiversity conservation. Through case studies in Andranobe, Anja, and Soanavelandrazana, it demonstrates how communities can identify their territories as ICCAs, develop biocultural protocols, and seek voluntary registration in national and international databases to secure recognition and support.

The document outlines the South African legal requirement for companies to obtain Environmental Authorisation (EA) through an EIA or ESIA process before starting oil and gas exploration or production. It explains the stages of the assessment—including scoping and impact assessment—and provides a structured set of questions to help community members articulate concerns regarding livelihoods, health, marine access, biodiversity, cultural practices, and climate change.

Natural Justice assesses South Africa's 2025 draft NDC, acknowledging progress in absolute emissions targets but warning that these are undermined by over-reliance on international conditionality and a lack of concrete implementation plans. The submission argues that the draft fails to meet the 'highest possible ambition' standard set by the ICJ, citing gaps in adaptation financing, the exclusion of natural disturbance emissions from accounting, and the absence of a clear fossil fuel phase-out schedule. It recommends integrating a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA), establishing a grant-based Loss and Damage facility funded partly by a tax on fossil fuel profits, and mandating Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all climate projects.

The Saint-Louis Declaration, issued by the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) Senegal consortium, calls for the integration of climate justice into Senegal's environmental policies. It highlights the extreme vulnerability of the Saint-Louis region and demands simplified access to green funds, the operationalization of the loss and damage fund at COP29, and increased support for climate-resilient agriculture and renewable energy in rural areas.

The report finds that Mozambique lacks a functional, dedicated regulatory framework for protecting traditional knowledge associated with biological resources, though it possesses a fragmented system of biodiversity, forestry, and intellectual property laws. While Decree 19/2007 serves as the primary instrument for access and benefit-sharing (ABS), its implementation has been hindered by resource constraints and a lack of political impetus. The document highlights a current review of this decree and the potential for a new traditional knowledge database to address existing gaps. It also identifies significant barriers to community-led protection, including high poverty levels, weak community institutions, and a widespread lack of legal awareness among local populations.

The assessment finds that SMB's mining operations in the Boké region have caused severe environmental degradation, including deforestation and water pollution, and have negatively impacted local health and livelihoods. The report concludes that SMB has failed to comply with several Guinean laws, including the 2019 Environmental Law and the 2011 Mining Code, particularly regarding community compensation and environmental protection.

A fact sheet detailing the Maputo Floating Thermoelectric Power Plant Project by Karpower in Mozambique, including its technical specifications, partnership with Electricidade de Moçambique, and planned infrastructure.

The document identifies critical targets within the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and themes for UNFCCC COP29 that African environmental defenders should prioritize. For COP16, it emphasizes the need for human rights-based monitoring of the '30X30' target (Target 3), the protection of defenders (Target 22), and gender equality (Target 23). For COP29, it warns against 'Nature-Based Solutions' as 'false solutions' and calls for ambitious, grant-based climate finance and progressive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) based on climate justice.

The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) are seeking a judicial review in the Western Cape High Court to set aside the environmental authorisation granted to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Total) for exploration drilling between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. The legal challenge is based on six grounds, including the failure to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fisheries, the omission of climate change impacts from gas combustion, and the lack of consideration for transboundary effects on Namibia. In July 2024, Total announced its decision to withdraw from Block 567, where it held a 40% commercial interest. Following this, Total applied to the court to join Shell as a party to the proceedings, a move opposed by TGC and NJ on the grounds that the case concerns the environmental authorisation granted to Total, not the exploration right itself.

The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) have filed for judicial review in the Western Cape High Court to overturn the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for offshore drilling. The challenge is based on six grounds, including failures to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers, climate change impacts from gas burning, and transboundary risks to Namibia. Following Total's July 2024 announcement of its withdrawal from block 567, the company filed a joinder application to include Shell as a party in the case, which TGC and NJ oppose on the grounds that the exploration right has lapsed and the challenge concerns the authorisation granted to Total, not the exploration right itself.

The OvaHerero people of Kaokoland, semi-nomadic pastoralists in Namibia and Angola, developed a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) between March 2022 and June 2024. Supported by Natural Justice and International Rivers, the process involved six phases: securing community buy-in, capacity building, research across 34 villages and four museums, iterative community validation, translation into the OtjiHerero language, and official launch. The BCP serves as a tool to safeguard traditional knowledge against threats from climate change and infrastructure development, and to ensure free, prior, and informed consent for external parties engaging in research, tourism, or development on their territories.

The Maputo Floating Thermoelectric Power Plant Project, a partnership between Karpower and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), proposes a 415MW natural gas-powered floating station in the Espírito Santo Estuary. The project includes a 4km transmission line and a 3km gas pipeline. Potential risks include the degradation of mangrove ecosystems, loss of livelihoods for artisanal fishers in Matola, Katembe, and Maputo city, and increased respiratory diseases due to reduced air quality. The document highlights the risk of 'locking-in' to costly fossil fuel agreements that could crowd out renewable energy alternatives. It also notes Karpower's controversial track record in South Africa, Guinea-Bissau, and Brazil, including allegations of environmental racism and human rights violations.

The Wild Coast community and civil society organisations, including Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa, are challenging an SCA order in the Constitutional Court. They argue that the order allowing Shell to seek a decision on renewing its exploration rights is unfair and fails to protect human rights, cultural beliefs, and the environment. The challenge seeks to ensure that any exploration is subject to proper environmental permission and meaningful consultation with local residents.

Natural Justice critiques the South African government's National Biodiversity Economy Strategy, specifically targeting the establishment of 'Mega Living Conservation Landscapes' and the expansion of the game meat and marine fisheries industries. The organization argues that 'fortress conservation' models lead to human rights violations and forced displacement. It advocates for the adoption of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and the implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The document recommends co-management frameworks, secure land tenure, and the removal of harmful subsidies that disadvantage small-scale fishers, aligning national policy with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the African Convention on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Natural Justice submitted a critique of South Africa's Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP2023), arguing that it lacks the necessary foundations for energy planning through 2030. The organization calls for a redraft of the IRP2023 and the urgent development of an Integrated Energy Plan by the DMRE, both of which should be grounded in a people-centered approach and a comprehensive Energy Justice Framework.

Natural Justice argues that the IRP2023 is a regression from previous plans and lacks a proper legal basis, as it functions as a policy instrument rather than an operational plan. The organization contends that the IRP2023 incorrectly prioritizes energy security over other national policy objectives like affordable access and environmental sustainability. It calls for the adoption of an Energy Justice Framework to address the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, particularly regarding land, water, and gender equality, and recommends the development of a comprehensive Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) as mandated by the National Energy Act.

Natural Justice argues that the ICJ should recognize a State's obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on a 'fair share' principle and ensure a just transition from fossil fuels. The document emphasizes that Africa is the most vulnerable continent despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions, facing projected annual loss and damage costs between US$ 290 billion and $440 billion by 2030. It asserts that high-income, high-emitting States owe legal obligations to provide financial support via grants rather than loans and must provide reparations—including compensation and restitution—for internationally wrongful acts that cause climate harm.

The Biocultural Community Protocol (PCB) for Niafrang, Senegal, serves as a guide for the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of traditional knowledge. It details the village's diverse ecosystems—including a critical mineralized dune—and outlines traditional governance structures based on consensus. The document specifically highlights the threat posed by zircon mining projects, which the community opposes due to potential ecological damage to rice fields and water security. It also catalogs local biodiversity and medicinal plants, establishing a framework for 'prior informed consent' for any external access to genetic resources.

The Biocultural Community Protocol for Niafrang serves as a guide for the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of traditional knowledge. It details the village's ecosystem, including its critical dune system, and outlines the socio-economic reliance on palm oil, rice, and forest products. The document highlights severe threats from a proposed zircon mining project, which the community argues would destroy a vital hydraulic barrier and disrupt local agriculture. It establishes a framework for access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources and reaffirms the community's commitment to protecting its environment and customary laws.