Communities for Environmental Justice Network
Status: Active
Operational Plan: 2023
Project Duration: 18 months
Start date: April 3, 2023
Since April 2023, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has supported the creation of a trinational network to facilitate the exchange of community-based expertise, lessons learned, and practical guidance between network participants through the Communities for Environmental Justice Network (CEJN) project. The Network aims to strengthen the capacity of North American Indigenous, local, vulnerable, disadvantaged, and/or underserved communities to address environmental justice concerns in the context of climate change.
The initial development of the Communities for Environmental Justice Network is supported by the CEC, with the long-term goal that it will become a self-sustaining, member-driven structure that fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange across North America.
To find out more about this project, here is the complete project description.
The CEJN hosted a trinational workshop from 16–18 November 2023, in Oaxaca, Mexico. The event was attended by representatives from thirteen organizations and communities from across North America that have environmental justice concerns. Workshop participants emphasized that creating a trinational Network to connect members with needed resources, advice for overcoming project barriers, and encouragement from others was vital to help advance environmental justice initiatives across North America.
Trinational workshop participants agreed to continue to work together to create an online story map featuring participant profiles and resources, and hosting knowledge-sharing webinars with the public.
To find out more about the workshop, please view this page and the workshop executive summary
Issues
The project “Communities for Environmental Justice Network” (CEJN), aims to create a network of Indigenous, local vulnerable, disadvantaged, and/or underserved communities that have environmental justice concerns, in order to increase local capacity through the amplification and dissemination of community-based expertise, lessons learned, and guidance in the context of climate change.
Aim
Through the Network, participating members will contribute to the facilitation of learning and knowledge exchange processes, in particular traditional knowledge and practices, and develop a virtual resource library with the goal of strengthening the climate adaptation, mitigation and other capacity building of Indigenous, local, and vulnerable communities in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Deliverables
A Network of environmental justice communities that have actively participated in trinational workshop and identified culturally and contextually relevant strategies, methods and tools for addressing climate adaptation and mitigation in North America.
For more information about this project or to partner with us, contact:
Violaine Pronovost
Lead, Community Grant Programs