The latest developments in the case of a momentous seizure of over 1,000 rare and protected Chilean cacti from a greenhouse in Senigallia, Italy.

Tomorrow, the Court of Ancona will hear the unusual case against two individuals who allegedly poached and smuggled some of the world’s most threatened cacti from Chile’s Atacama Desert. The plants were destined for sale to private ornamental collections around the world.

Conservation-Litigation.org publishes Risk Identification and Mitigation Framework for strategic environmental liability litigation.

The open-source resource will support prospective plaintiffs in the identification and mitigation of the risks that may be encountered when developing environmental liability lawsuits.

The Biodiversity & Environmental Liability Scholars Network is a new and exciting global interdisciplinary group of scholars that aims to bring together leading and emerging researchers to explore new legal solutions to environmental harm.

Led by Rika Fajrini, legal researcher at Conservation-Litigation.org and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, the inaugural meeting explored the participants’ various research interests on the topic of remedy-focused environmental liability .

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), part of the Conservation-Litigation.org network and a leading voice on wildlife and habitat conservation in the country, has held a pioneering workshop for Public Prosecutors in Kochi, Kerala. The workshop aimed to draw the attention of the Public Prosecutors appointed across the biodiversity-rich state of Kerala, in Southern India to specific provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure that have the potential to revolutionise how criminal harm to wildlife is addressed.

Conservation-Litigation.org submits recommendations to the ICC Office of the Prosecutor in response to a new policy initiative to advance accountability for environmental crimes under the Rome Statute, “aiming to ensure that it takes a systematic approach to dealing with crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction committed by means of, or that result in, environmental damage.”

The world-leading, free online curriculum – developed by UNEP, IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law Conservation-Litigation.org and legal experts from across Asia-Pacific – draws on legal analyses and case studies from countries across the region region to further promote the protection of the environment and natural resources through improved implementation, adjudication and enforcement of environmental law.

Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Richie Mehta, the series dramatises the real-life case of WTI’s investigation and enforcement response into one of the most far-reaching wildlife crime cases in India.

In 2024 we will be bringing five precedent-setting lawsuits in countries around the world to demand justice and meaningful remedies for nature.
Here we look back at the work in the last year that has brought us to this point, and look ahead to the future as we continue to pursue our mission: to use law to defend and protect biodiversity.

ICEL – the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, and a key member of the Conservation Litigation network - last month presented at a Forum to mark the launch of the report “Enhancing the Role of Environmental Public Interest Litigation to Advance Environmental Rights in Southeast Asia” published by EarthRights International with support from the UN Environment Programme on environmental litigation and rights in Southeast Asia.

Collaborative learning: The Indonesian Supreme Court meets with Lancaster University conservation and legal researchers to explore legal responses to environmental harm.

CL legal researcher Rika Fajrini participated at a workshop held by the Climate Science and Law Forum to discuss damage-based claims against corporate actors for supply chain links to illegal deforestation.

Conservation Litigation co-founder Maribel Rodriguez shares her experience on remedies with an audience of young lawyers at the monthly knowledge session of Legal Voices for the Future, a collaborative learning forum established by early career practitioners from different fields of law.

CL legal researcher Miaomiao Tian awarded “Best Transdiscipliary Talk” for her presentation on Conservation Litigation at the 14th Annual Student Conference on Conservation Science in New York.

Lawyers, conservationists, scientists and economists from around the world meet in Rydal, UK, to begin five precedent-setting cases and launch a green wave of biodiversity litigation seeking justice for nature

Around the world, nature and people already have considerable existing legal rights – but many of these are never put into practice. These “hidden” rights include the fundamental right to ask for remedies when the environment is harmed. We are pleased to share four new legal analyses that explain these rights to remedies – in Liberia, Thailand, Cameroon and Indonesia.

Georgia’s 2022 Environmental Liability Law, based on the “polluter pays” principle, presents new and important opportunities for biodiversity and habitat conservation. This report, in cooperation with FFI and Caissa Law, explores how it can be used.

Law firm, DLA Piper, highlights how “there’s an increasing risk that companies will face litigation on biodiversity issues.”

The Law Society UK’s new report explores legal action - including liability litigation - to hold corporates accountable for biodiversity loss.

We are thankful for new financial support from the ARCUS Foundation, a philanthropy focused on our shared commitment to the global human rights and conservation movements.

We are proud that Conservation Litigation has been selected as a 2022 Nominee for the EarthShot Prize, whose mission is to repair our planet by 2030. The Prize sets out to identify a diverse range of solutions from across the world. Later this year, 15 Finalists will be selected to catalyse impact around the world.