ELA Conferences 2025
8 Oct - 11 Oct SAST (+02:00)
University of Venda
Donations allow us to support students, activists and community members to attend our conference.
Details
A wide range of stakeholders - including environmental activists, community members, environmental assessment practitioners, legal practitioners, judges, academics, scientists, government officials and corporations - are increasingly confronted with accelerated biodiversity and habitat loss, pollution, and climate instability.
Together, these crises form what has been called the “triple planetary crisis,” posing a profound threat to life on Earth. At the heart of this crisis lies a dominant model of development: the intensive extraction and use of environmental resources for economic gain. It is contributing to the deterioration of the health and well-being of humans and the environment on which we depend. As the consequences of this model become increasingly evident, pressing legal questions emerge: “When is development justifiable?” and “what are the limits that the law should place on development in the face of ecological collapse?" Put differently, what are the justifiable limits on development amidst the triple planetary crisis and the justice implications thereof?
In South Africa, answers to questions about environmental protection and development are informed by our supreme law, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which provides in section 24(b) that everyone has the right to have the environment protected, including through reasonable legislative and other measures that “secure ecologically sustainable development and promote justifiable social and economic development”. The Constitution also tells us in section 36 that this right can be limited when such limitation is “justifiable”. Yet, little attention has been paid to how the term “justifiable” is interpreted and applied in developmental and environmental challenges.
The Environmental Law Association of South Africa invites all interested stakeholders to engage with these urgent questions at our Annual Conference from 9 to 11 October 2025 and/or our Student Conference on 8 October 2025, both at the University of Venda, Limpopo.
Please purchase tickets here to attend the Annual Conference on 9 or 10 October, and/or to attend our excursion to Nwanedi on 11 October.
No tickets are needed for our Student Conference on 8 October, but please ensure that you register using our Google form.
Information
There are no age restrictions for this event, though it is aimed at participation by students, professionals, community members and others interested in environmental law and governance issues.
To present at our conference, please submit an abstract following the instructions available here.
Parking details will be provided on our website.
Please adhere to restrictions imposed by the University of Venda.
Organiser
Environmental Law Association of South Africa
Information
There are no age restrictions for this event, though it is aimed at participation by students, professionals, community members and others interested in environmental law and governance issues.
To present at our conference, please submit an abstract following the instructions available here.
Parking details will be provided on our website.
Please adhere to restrictions imposed by the University of Venda.
Organiser
Environmental Law Association of South Africa
Info
A wide range of stakeholders - including environmental activists, community members, environmental assessment practitioners, legal practitioners, judges, academics, scientists, government officials and corporations - are increasingly confronted with accelerated biodiversity and habitat loss, pollution, and climate instability.
Together, these crises form what has been called the “triple planetary crisis,” posing a profound threat to life on Earth. At the heart of this crisis lies a dominant model of development: the intensive extraction and use of environmental resources for economic gain. It is contributing to the deterioration of the health and well-being of humans and the environment on which we depend. As the consequences of this model become increasingly evident, pressing legal questions emerge: “When is development justifiable?” and “what are the limits that the law should place on development in the face of ecological collapse?" Put differently, what are the justifiable limits on development amidst the triple planetary crisis and the justice implications thereof?
In South Africa, answers to questions about environmental protection and development are informed by our supreme law, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which provides in section 24(b) that everyone has the right to have the environment protected, including through reasonable legislative and other measures that “secure ecologically sustainable development and promote justifiable social and economic development”. The Constitution also tells us in section 36 that this right can be limited when such limitation is “justifiable”. Yet, little attention has been paid to how the term “justifiable” is interpreted and applied in developmental and environmental challenges.
The Environmental Law Association of South Africa invites all interested stakeholders to engage with these urgent questions at our Annual Conference from 9 to 11 October 2025 and/or our Student Conference on 8 October 2025, both at the University of Venda, Limpopo.
Please purchase tickets here to attend the Annual Conference on 9 or 10 October, and/or to attend our excursion to Nwanedi on 11 October.
No tickets are needed for our Student Conference on 8 October, but please ensure that you register using our Google form.