Earth Law Center Opens London Office, Expands International Work on Legal Innovations for the Planet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Grant Wilson, Earth Law Center - gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1-510-566-1063

London, United Kingdom – March 11, 2026: Earth Law Center (ELC), an international nonprofit dedicated to giving Nature a voice in the legal system, has opened a London office in tandem with the incorporation of a UK entity, marking a major milestone in the organization’s growth. The office will serve as a hub for ELC’s growing work across the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as offering closer proximity to initiatives in Africa and Asia. ELC has more than 20 staff supporting legal innovation in over 30 countries.

ELC’s team provides guidance to governments, Indigenous leaders, grassroots advocates, and businesses transitioning to Earth-centered governance. The organization has deep expertise in legal frameworks recognizing rivers, forests, animals, and ecosystems as living entities deserving of legal rights, guardianship, and representation in decision-making.

The London office is based in Soho at Kanaloa House, a philanthropic workspace dedicated to planetary health—in particular, ocean health—through unexpected collaborations and accelerated action. ELC will support European initiatives and ocean-focused campaigns to protect coral reefs, cetaceans, and deep-sea ecosystems.

Earth Law Center staff, Board members, and allies at the London office launch

ELC Executive Director Grant Wilson

Quotes from Leadership

“I am incredibly proud that Earth Law Center has opened a London office to represent our growing work in the United Kingdom and Europe, while also serving as a gateway to Africa and Asia, regions where demand for our expertise is rapidly increasing,” said Grant Wilson, Executive Director of Earth Law Center. “Joining Kanaloa House also allows us to collaborate with leading ocean innovators and changemakers, strengthening our ability to secure bold legal protections for marine ecosystems.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Earth Law Center to Kanaloa House,” said Inga Thordar, Chief Catalyst Officer at Kanaloa. “ELC’s pioneering work to advance the Rights of Nature and give the living world a voice in our legal systems is deeply aligned with our mission to protect the ocean and the ecosystems it sustains. We look forward to future collaborations from our shared base dedicated to turning ideas into action for the planet.”

“Europe is experiencing a renaissance in ecocentric legal movements—from the Rights of Nature to legal guardianship of ecosystems to criminalizing ecocide—and we are privileged to help support and expand this community,” said ELC trustee Missy Lahren.

“Our new office signals the continued global expansion of Earth Law Center’s work and positions us to bring legal expertise and a global perspective to law campaigns in the UK and Europe,” said ELC trustee Elina Teboul.

Expanding Legal Innovation Across Europe

ELC’s European initiatives include:

• Nature Governance Initiative: Following the co-creation of the world’s first corporate board seat for Nature at the UK-based company Faith in Nature, ELC supports the development of Nature proxies to represent Nature’s voice and interests in corporate decision-making. ELC also empowers businesses to “Onboard Nature” in organizational governance and culture.

• Una River (Bosnia & Herzegovina; Croatia): The Una River campaign supports processes that could eventually lead to the legal recognition of the river’s rights, with legal guardianship to give it a formal voice in law, and protect it from dam expansion, nuclear waste storage, and illegal development. This initiative is supported by Patagonia and is being carried out with partners including ACT Foundation and Earth Thrive’s Balkan Centre for the Rights of Nature.  

• Lough Neagh (Northern Ireland): Following a scoping report with Queen’s University Belfast, ELC supports community-led efforts exploring how the UK’s largest lake could transition from private ownership to a rights-bearing entity under ecocentric law. 

• Oslo Fjord (Norway): ELC helps local advocates strengthen protections for fragile marine ecosystems through ecocentric law, including the Rights of Nature.

• Drin River (Albania): Legal support under the Bern Convention challenges the proposed Skavica mega-dam, which threatens the last free-flowing stretch of the Black Drin River and thousands of local residents.

• Rights of Nature, Transitional Justice, and Peacebuilding (Europe & Global): At the London office launch, ELC announced a partnership with Queen’s University Belfast School of Law to explore how Rights of Nature can support environmental peacebuilding in Europe and beyond.

The Una, a 212-km border river between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia that drains into the Black Sea.

Advancing Ocean Protection Worldwide

From its new London hub, ELC will also expand its global Ocean Program. Initiatives include:

• West Papua, Indonesia: Partnering with OurConservaSea and Ecoforensic, ELC uses ecocentric legal tools to codify sasi laut—a form of traditional customary governance—combined with frameworks for scientific monitoring. This project seeks to empower Papuan women and youth to act as legal guardians and protectors of coral reefs. 

• Mesoamerican Reef: ELC is developing a bioregional framework to extend Rights of Nature protections across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras for the Mesoamerican Reef, alongside partner Health Reefs Healthy People.

• Indigenous Youth Ocean Congress: This project focuses on mentoring Indigenous youth leaders in Ocean governance, culminating in an Indigenous Youth Ocean Congress (New York City, September 2026) and campaigns advancing the rights of the Ocean.

• Deep-sea species: ELC advocates for legal protections to give a formal voice to deep-sea species and ecosystems within the International Seabed Authority.

Legal Leadership for the Biosphere

Since 2008, ELC has led major ecocentric legal developments in countries around the world. The organization advised Panama on its 2022 Rights of Nature law, helped municipalities in Peru draft the world’s first legislation recognizing the rights of stingless bees, and supported Indigenous Kukama women in securing legal rights for the Marañón River in a 2024 court victory, recognized by the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for community leader Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari.

ELC also supports emerging protections for rivers and ocean ecosystems in Nigeria, Indonesia, Oceania, and beyond. In North America, ELC has advanced legal protections for Southern Resident Orcas; fought to protect rivers in Washington, Colorado, and other states; secured permanent protection for legacy forests in the Elwha River watershed; and, in 2025, launched a New York Program focused on implementation of the right to a healthy environment.

At the international level, ELC participates in forums including the United Nations, IUCN, and the International Seabed Authority, helping shape new legal frameworks for ecosystems and species. Through legal advocacy, research, and education—including a global Earth law course that has trained more than 800 advocates in 80+ countries—ELC equips a new generation of leaders with innovative legal tools to solve the environmental crisis. 

With its new London office, ELC now has the capacity to provide its ecocentric law expertise to an even broader array of governments, grassroots leaders, and businesses across the region.