The Manual of Environmental Justice was developed following a comprehensive needs assessment carried out to identify the key gaps in support for environmental and social justice groups.

The assessment gave unique insight into the needs of NGOs, activists, academics and broader civil society groups, with 78 per cent of respondents citing “lack of accessibility to expertise and/or information” as a main obstacle to carrying out their work.

The Manual is free to use and provides an expert directory for people working in environmental and social justice, an advocacy map which shows locations of environmental and social groups across Ireland and a resources hub which contains a range of expert and journalistic articles, blogs, podcasts and videos.

The toolkit is easy to navigate, with categorisations for each environmental issue, such as, air pollution, anti-mining and more, across the island of Ireland.

Clodagh Daly, CLM’s Centre of Environmental Justice manager, said: “Community Law & Mediation is delighted to be launching the Manual of Environmental Justice with Environmental Justice Network Ireland.

“The Manual is a one-stop informational toolkit which allows anyone to easily access environmental justice resources, connect with environmental organisations and grassroots groups, and contact environmental experts.

“We hope this toolkit will enable more people, communities, and organisations to become engaged and empowered on environmental justice matters.

“We have worked for the past year on developing the Manual of Environmental Justice and want to give Community Foundation Ireland special recognition for funding this project.”

Ciara Brennan, director and academic lead at the EJNI, said: “Environmental Justice Network Ireland are delighted to be collaborating with Community Law & Mediation on the new Manual of Environmental Justice digital toolkit.

“Our needs assessment consultation identified a clear requirement for a hub of information on environmental justice to benefit people living across the island of Ireland.

“The Manual of Environmental Justice has the potential to play a pivotal role in providing essential information to citizens and community organisations engaged in environmental and social justice campaigning, research and advocacy to help confront and overcome shared environmental challenges.”