EJAtlas (Environmental Justice Atlas)
Tool Description : A global, collaborative database that documents environmental conflicts and environmental justice struggles.
EJAtlas
Quick Overview
What it does
Maps and catalogues environmental conflicts worldwide. Each case includes a summary, location, timeline, stakeholders, impacts, and references to supporting sources.
How to use it
Search by location, country, project name, company, commodity, or conflict type. Open individual case studies to explore maps, timelines, documented impacts, involved organisations, and linked evidence.
Cost
Free.
Account required
No.
Cookies
Google Analytics.
Ownership
Collaborative academic and activist project founded and directed by Joan Martínez-Alier and Leah Temper, and coordinated by Daniela Del Ben.
Use in Reporting
Useful for identifying environmental conflicts, researching historical context, locating affected communities, identifying organisations and companies involved, and discovering sources for further investigation.
What does EJAtlas do?
EJAtlas provides structured case studies compiled by researchers and contributors, covering the causes of disputes, affected communities, environmental and social impacts, legal outcomes, and supporting references. It enables you to analyse patterns in environmental conflicts and identify comparable cases across regions.
The lowdown: It provides structured background information on environmental conflicts, helping analysts understand the historical, political, legal, and environmental context surrounding a case.
How to Use:
1. Search for a country, project, company, commodity, or environmental issue using the search function or browse to a place of interest on the interactive map.
2. You can also filter results by conflict type, environmental impact, commodity, affected population, or geographic region.
Note: The filter tool takes you back to the beginning so can bring up a large set of results:
3. Open an individual case study to review the summary, timeline, stakeholders, impacts, and linked reference material for further verification and reporting.
Cost
Data Processing
Account Required:
Cookies:
The site uses minimal Google Analytics cookies to measure website usage.
Use in Reporting
Typical reporting uses include:
Researching the history of environmental conflicts.
Identifying affected communities, companies, government agencies, and NGOs.
Discovering academic papers, NGO reports, court cases, and official documents.
Providing context for investigations into mining, pollution, infrastructure, conservation, or land rights disputes.
Comparing similar environmental conflicts across countries or regions.
EJAtlas-style mapping and case identification can support investigations into Niger Delta oil pollution, lithium extraction impacts in Chile, and Indigenous land disputes such as the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict.
Capabilities
Limitations
Maps thousands of environmental conflicts worldwide.
Doesn’t provide real-time reporting or live incident updates.
Provides structured case studies with timelines and geographic information.
Coverage depends on contributions from researchers and partner organisations, so some regions or conflicts may be underrepresented.
Identifies key stakeholders, including companies, governments, NGOs, and community groups.
Case studies vary in depth and may not be updated regularly.
Links to academic, NGO, media, and official reference material.
Some information is based on secondary reporting and should be verified using primary sources.
Supports filtering by conflict type, commodity, environmental impact, and location.
Not all referenced links remain active over time.
Summary
EJAtlas sits in the research, contextualisation, and source discovery stages of the OSINT workflow, particularly valuable for identifying stakeholders, locating supporting documentation, and generating investigative leads. As always, findings should be corroborated using primary documents, official records, court filings, satellite imagery, or direct reporting where possible.
Ownership
EJAtlas is a collaborative academic and activist project founded and directed by Joan Martínez-Alier and Leah Temper, and coordinated by Daniela Del Ben.
Ethical Considerations
Recognise that many case studies concern vulnerable or marginalised communities.
Verify significant claims using primary sources before publication.
Consider potential biases or differing perspectives reflected in contributed case studies.
Avoid presenting documented allegations as established facts without corroboration.
Respect the privacy and safety of individuals and communities involved in ongoing disputes.
Related Tools:
Climate TRACE
Resource Watch
ACLED
Sources
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