Environmental Policy

Dossiers

Articles

Myanmar’s Natural Resources: Blessing or Curse?

Published: 11 December 2013

Myanmar’s progress since the 2010 general elections has been astounding, with political transition greatly encouraging citizens and international diplomatic and investment communities. The diplomatic climate for Myanmar has changed dramatically as a result and sanctions have been eased progressively.

By David Allen and Rainer Einzenberger

Seitliche Ansicht eines menschlichen Oberkörpers mit Hemd, Federschmuck und einem Leoparden aus Holz geschmückt. Der Mensch hält ein Mikrophon in einer Hand.

Indigenous Perspectives: The Living Forest

Published: 18 February 2025

Initiative

Rights of nature require intercultural dialogue. Indigenous peoples actively advocate for them, but their worldviews and structures often differ from existing legal systems.

By Jenny García Ruales

Eine Gruppe Menschen protestieren verkleidet und mit Transparenten für das Mar Menor.

Mar Menor: Europe's first ecosystem with legal 'personhood’

Published: 5 February 2025

Case Study

In 2022, the Spanish salt lagoon Mar Menor was recognized as a legal entity – a milestone for the Rights of Nature in Europe. A report on the history of this unique ecosystem and its path to legal subjectivity.

By Eduardo Salazar-Ortuño and María Teresa Vicente Giménez

Eine kleine Gruppe Menschen steht am Flussufer des Darts in Devon, UK.

The UK Rights of Nature Movement

Published: 4 February 2025

Initiative

The Rights of Nature (RoN) movement in the UK has been revitalised over recent years, with much of activists’ work focusing on local initiatives for river rights, networking projects as well as alternative, direct approaches.

By Paul Powlesland and Alex May

Globaler Klimastreik 2019: Menschen halten ein Schild mit der Aufschrift: NO NATURE - NO FUTURE.

Rights of Nature and German civil society

Published: 4 February 2025

Initiative

Rights of Nature are a legal reality in many countries around the world and, since the recognition of the Spanish saltwater lagoon Mar Menor as a legal entity, also in Europe. In light of the ever-worsening ecological crises of our time, the idea of Rights of Nature has been gaining increasing traction in Germany.

By Elena Ewering

Grüne Bäume auf grünem Grasfeld tagsüber.

Introducing Rights of Nature in Europe

Published: 3 February 2025

Initiative

A legal revolution is underway: Natural entities are increasingly recognized as rights-holders, not property. The Rights of Nature movement, strong in South America, is gaining momentum in Europe.

By Cat Haas, Laura Burgers and Alex Putzer

Menschen sitzen und stehen an einem langen Tisch, es sind die Sarakayu, die "Verteidiger:innen des Waldes", in Ecuador.

Empowering Nature's Voice: The Global Impact of the International Rights of Nature Tribunal

Published: 3 February 2025

Initative

The International Tribunal of Rights of Nature (RoN) is a trailblazing citizen-driven initiative. Since 2014 the Tribunal serves as a public forum to address the widespread destruction of the Earth and advocates for a systemic alternative to conventional environmental protection and laws.

By Jess Tyrrell

Ein Plakat, auf dem ein Affe und ein Mensch vor schwarz-rotem Hintergrund zu sehen sind, für das Theaterstück "Anwälte der Natur" des "RambaZamba-Theaters.

Culture Change: Creative Approaches and the Rights of Nature

Published: 3 February 2025

Initiative

The Rights of Nature call for more than just legal change – they demand a cultural shift in how humans relate to their environment. Across Europe, artists and activists are embracing this movement through sound art, theater, exhibitions, publications, and performative gatherings.

By Imke Horstmannshoff

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Publications

A change of course. On the road to a climate-just world

Published: 26 November 2024

Is it utopian to insist on a good life for all in the face of the climate crisis? No more unrealistic than the utopia of endless growth on a finite planet on the backs of the weakest. On the road to a climate-just world” describes ways to create a sustainable world worth living in for everyone - and exposes false hopes and dangerous false solutions.

By Susanne Schwarz, Verena Kern, Linda Schneider , Johanna Sydow, Susann Scherbarth and Anika Schroeder

Limiting environmental damage, human rights abuses and Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations

Published: 23 February 2024

Guidelines

These guidelines address the great concerns with the overall aims of the EU Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMR) of driving greater extraction of primary raw materials and increasing harm to nature and people.

Transformation by design, not by disaster

Published: 18 August 2023

Report

Four areas of application show: Our current consumption of raw materials is globally and socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable. We need a raw material transition towards truly circular and sustainable producttion and consumption patterns.

Downstream due diligence

Published: 20 March 2023

Policy Brief

Together with the Supply Chain Law Initiative, SOMO, Swedwatch and Germanwatch, we show in this short position paper why due diligence in downstream value chains is necessary and how it can be implemented. We also make key recommendations fort he EU supply chain law.

By der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Germanwatch e.V.

Combatting Global Plastic Pollution

Published: 14 March 2023

Infobrief

A critical look at the entire plastics cycle is also of crucial importance from a feminist perspective, because the plastic problem cannot simply be reduced to consumer use patterns or to harmful microplastics in cosmetic products. On the contrary, every stage of the plastics cycle reflects different gender-specific experiences and exposures.

By Birte Rodenberg

What use is the (D-)EITI? The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Germany under scrutiny

Published: 20 May 2022

Report

The paper gives an overview of the structure and functioning of the EITI, the implementation of the EITI in Germany and assesses the content of the EITI reports so far from a civil society perspective.

12 Arguments for a Raw Materials Transition

Published: 8 February 2021

In this paper, eight environmental, human rights, climate and development organisations explain with facts and figures why we need a paradigm shift.

A Societal Transformation Scenario for Staying Below 1.5°C

Published: 9 December 2020

The „Societal Transfomation Scenario“ is a global 1.5°C mitigation scenario, which challenges the notion of perpetual global economic growth and its compatibility with ambitious climate goals like the 1.5°C limit. It shows how through a reduction of production and consumption in the Global North, we can stay below 1.5°C without resorting to high-risk technologies like CCS, geoengineering and nuclear, while also avoiding temperature overshoot.

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