Friends of the Earth’s Rights & Justice Centre
Legal empowerment and environmental justice
Evidence shows that in the UK, just as across the world, the people suffering most from environmental problems are often the poor and vulnerable. For example, factory pollution occurs mostly in deprived wards, and respiratory problems in London are concentrated in the poorest areas and correlate with high traffic levels.
Friends of the Earth’s Rights & Justice team believe that legal empowerment is at the heart of challenging environmental injustice.
Read about: Friends of the Earth: Rights and Justice centre.
Friends of the Earth aim to work with the communities worst affected by environmental problems, but least empowered in terms of funds, legal capability and confidence to make their voices heard in environmental decision-making. Their team of lawyers, planning advisers and empowerment campaigners work together to run a programme of training and ongoing support for communities, building skills to use legal and planning rights, set squarely in the context of wider community empowerment. As well as technical support they offer help on campaign and community engagement strategy. Their lawyers also provide free advice and representation, including bringing a small number of legal challenges and running a free legal advice line.
Powering Up
'Our campaign is community versus big business in the fights to stop Queens Market from being demolished. Many people on low incomes rely on Queen’s Market for affordable fresh food. After Power Up we feel like we have a louder voice - and know how to use it.'
Pauline and Saif (Friends of Queens Market) Newham, London
Power Up is Friends of the Earth's annual residential training event, aimed at empowering communities to confidently use the planning system and legal rights to make a cleaner, healthier, fairer place to live. It’s particularly for people working in disadvantaged areas and with groups whose voices are not usually heard in decision-making. Relationships with community empowerment organisations have helped Friends of the Earth to reach these groups. A short introductory film helps to promote Power Up in a lively and accessible way.
The training event offers practical skills sessions focusing on the legally guaranteed right to play a meaningful role in environmental decision-making that flow from the Aarhus Convention – the right to know (access to information), the right to participate (public participation in decision-making), and the right to challenge (access to justice). A flavour of participating in decision-making is introduced through a mock planning committee, and a guided walk to see how community empowerment can change the places we live, work, learn and play. Facilitated conversation circles encourage participants to share their skills and experiences, forging supportive relationships which last beyond the weekend. The aim is for attendees to leave feeling inspired and energized, ready to apply new skills to their important local issues.
Power Up Conference 2010 takes place between the 7th and 9th May 2010.
Free legal advice line: 0808 801 0405, Wednesdays 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
For more information on FOE's empowerment work contact laura.gyte@foe.co.uk or shilpa.shah@foe.co.uk.
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