Discussion Paper on Biosphere Defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean & Written comments to the Escazu Agreement’s Draft Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters

This Discussion Paper aims to inform the Escazu Agreement’s (EA) Regional Action Plan on human rights defenders in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Regional Action Plan).
While most of the attention on defenders is placed in protecting them due to the risks that they face of being threatened or even assassinated, we argue that it is equally important to a) generate knowledge, b) recognize and c) support defender’s role as agents of change and as central actors in the construction of just sustainability pathways both intra and intergenerationally; d) develop tools to review implementation in these three aspects in terms of defenders as agents of change is also important. The EA Defenders Plan of Action has a unique opportunity to catalyse work in this direction in which both aspects -the risks and their agency- are given equal importance. Through legal interpretation, conceptual and thematic analysis of academic and grey literature, this discussion paper tailors and expands the Defend-Biosphere Framework so it can be used as a knowledge policy-support tool to advance points a), b), c) and d) above-mentioned.