Coastal Justice Lab – Public Launch

Coastal regions, including public trust lands, are of unique importance to environmental and climate policy, infrastructure development and ecosystem management. They also raise unique challenges for disadvantaged communities, including those who live and work along the “Hidden Coast” – low-lying lands and non-oceanfront tidal and estuarine zones that account for 80% of the national shoreline.

The Coastal Justice Lab is a joint program led by Azul, a Latinx-led and -serving environmental justice organization focused on coastal and marine conservation, and the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources at UCI Law. The Coastal Justice Lab is unique among efforts to advance environmental justice in coastal regions. It focuses on legal and interdisciplinary research to ensure that the work of federal, state, and local agencies, planning and regulatory proceedings, and compliance and enforcement initiatives advance principles of environmental justice and community involvement and ownership. The Coastal Justice Lab’s work includes policy proposals, draft legislation, convening reports, facilitated dialogues and peer-reviewed research to support ongoing community and agency initiatives.

Speakers include:

Emma Cervantes, California Sea Grant Law and Policy Fellow, California State Lands Commission

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Founder and Executive Director, Azul

Gregg Macey, Associate Director for Environmental Justice, Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources, UCI Law

Yessica Ramirez, Environmental Justice Liaison, California State Lands Commission

Sumi Selvaraj, Environmental Justice Manager, California Coastal Commission

Noaki Schwartz, Deputy Director of Communications, Environmental Justice, and Tribal Affairs, California Coastal Commission

REGISTER HERE | Zoom webinar available for remote participation (link sent with registration confirmation).