Environmental Law and Management Association,(ELMA) is an international association of environmental professionals and practitioners including lawyers, scientists, economists, the media, academia, non governmental organizations(NGOs) and other actors and activists in the environmental field. The Association is established; in part to pursue a unified examination of environmental law and management as well environmental issues generally. Partly, it is aimed to protect the environment and ensure that the interests of the environment and socio-economic development do not conflict. It seeks the creation and implementation of legal and management mechanisms that protect the environment as well as promote environmental reform and sound policy. It tries to achieve these through two clearly defined areas, that is, the legal and scientific departments unified to provide:

• a platform to deepen knowledge and informed representation on the environment,
• a springboard from which expertise of these environmental professionals are harnessed and shared with wider audience,
• assistance on the field of environmental management, law, economics and the administrative questions of environmental protection,
• a platform for networking, and
• action.

ELMA because of its focus on environmental problems from a multidisciplinary perspective (science, management, law, and technology), seeks to earn respect and recognition as a neutral leader of the West African Environmental NGO community and as a source of technical and legal expertise and information for all.

Organizational Structure

The organizational entities of ELMA consist of the members, the Board of Directors, the ELMI Board of Trustees and Advisors.

Administratively ELMA is made up of two departments that somehow represent the focus of the Association: the Legal and Scientific Departments.

The Legal Department: The legal branch is headed by a staff Attorney/Coordinator and constituted by the Environmental Law Group (Network of Environmental Lawyers).The purpose of the Environmental Law group is to promote national cooperation in public interest environmental law reform and advocacy, contributing to the protection of the environment and promoting the rule of law. The department will focus on public participation and access to justice and information in environmental matters. ELMI's legal staff, including volunteers, provide expert legal services to the Nigerian public. This includes legal aid for the indigent and other deserving members of the public. ELMI will work with local groups to assist them in formally organizing themselves as grassroots environmental organizations, write studies and draft legislation for governmental bodies ranging from local to national. In all, ELMI will promote the understanding, implementation, and practice of public participation in environmental decision making.

Scientific Department: The Scientific department is led by the Environmental Management Coordinator and consists mainly of members of the Network of Environmental Scientists. This department specializes in environmental impact assessment (EIA), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), systemic procedural changes, scientific analysis and the education of young environmentalists.

Membership of the Association

Membership is open to professional or practising environmentalists, lawyers, environmental scientists, economists,chemists,chemical engineers, academics, the media, activists and others interested in the environment.