Inter-American Program: How and Where We Work

To contribute to the strengthening of a legal and institutional framework for the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources in the Western Hemisphere, ELI’s Inter-American program establishes partnerships with a broad network of key actors, including: legislators; judges; natural resource management officials and environmental regulators; local community leaders; non-governmental, scientific, and academic organizations; and the private sector. With our partners, we work in the following areas:

 

 

Explore our projects in the western hemisphere by region:

 


 

Key:
Bold: Active Project
Unbold: Completed Project

 

The Caribbean

ELI’s experience in the Caribbean includes:

  • Marine Protected Area Enforcement in Haiti
  • Developing Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Protected Areas in the Eastern Caribbean
  • Strengthening Judicial Capacity on Environmental Law in the Caribbean Islands (Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic)
  • Working with the Jamaican Government to Design Strategies to Address Climate Change
  • Assessment of marine spatial planning approaches in Grenada and St. Vincent & the Grenadines 
  • Developing ocean zoning approaches in Antigua and Barbuda through the Barbuda Blue Halo Initiative
  • Research to Strengthen Land Tenure in Haiti
  • Policy Options for Marine Spatial Planning in Bermuda

 

North America

ELI’s experience in North America includes:

  • Mexico Program
    • Development of a legal framework for the implementation of Mexico’s constitutional right to water
    • Strengthening the capacity of the Judicial Branch to protect the environment and implement the human right to a healthy environment
    • Developing the capacity of indigenous ejido communities in the Lacandon Jungle of Chiapas state to adapt to climate change
    • Strengthening institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation in the Yucatan peninsula
    • Development of a legal framework for climate change mitigation
    • Sustainable Mexican Municipalities project: training to three Mexican municipalities on implementing an environmental management system (EMS)
  • Work in the Gulf of Mexico
    • Natural Resource Damage Assessments
    • Gulf Coast Ecosystems Restoration Task Force
    • Deepwater Horizon Litigation
  • Advancing an Agenda for Pollution Prevention: the Inter-American Mining Program
  • Promoting Social Participation in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
  • Workshop on Transboundary Enforcement (held in San Diego) 
  • Strengthening conservation of private lands

 

Central America

ELI’s experience in Central America includes:

  • Legal Avenues for Co-management of Small Scale Fisheries  in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras
  • Case studies on Natural Resource Management in Post-Conflict Settings
  • Strengthening conservation of private lands  
  • Training for Honduran Judges on environmental law
  • Training for Costa Rican Judges on environmental law
  • Judicial capacity building in Guatemala and El Salvador 

 

South America

ELI’s experience in South America includes:

  • Judicial Training in the Andes
  • Case studies of natural resource management in post-conflict settings
  • Training Prosecutors in the Brazilian Amazon on Environmental Law
  • Assessment of laws and policies on the development of aquaculture in Guyana
  • Mining and Communities: A project in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru
  • Judicial Training in Brazil
  • Judicial Training in Chile
  • Capacity-building for mining and forestry officials in Chile
  • Strengthening the extractive reserve system in Brazil
  • U.S./Chile Environmental Cooperation Workshop Exchange Program
  • Collaboration with the government of Peru to draft a general assembly resolution on access to public information (a joint project between ELI and the Center for Human Rights and the Environment)
  • Workshops on Human Rights and the Environment in Peru
  • Promoting Public Participation in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
  • Advancing an Agenda for Pollution Prevention: the Inter-American Mining Program (on the ground work in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador y Peru)
  • Protecting landscapes in Argentina
  • Judicial Training in Paraguay
  • Strengthening conservation of private lands
  • Advancing public participation and human rights in the official documents of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (a joint project between ELI and the Center for Human Rights and the Environment)
  • Mapping Land Use of the Trio Indigenous Peoples of southwestern Suriname 

 

Cross-Regional Projects

Key:
Bold: Active Project
Unbold: Completed Project