The Field

FIELD was founded in 1989 by a group of young lawyers dedicated to promoting international law as a means for protecting the global environment. Climate change, the Antarctic and endangered species were among their priority issues. FIELD's work began with helping organizations such as Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature. FIELD staff also... worked closely for many years with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in the international climate change negotiations, and also other countries. Since then FIELD has worked with many different countries, in particular developing countries, and many organizations, ranging from intergovernmental organizations to campaigning groups. In its early days FIELD was based at Kings College London and then at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. From 2005 - 2011 FIELD was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), while remaining an independent charity. Since then FIELD has been a fully independent organization. At FIELD's 20th anniversary celebrations in 2009 the birthday greetings from supporters and collaborators included this: " I wish there were more organisations that could pull apart the complexities of international law in a way that non-lawyers could understand!" Empowering others by making international law accessible and understandable is still one of FIELD's priorities - and it is increasingly important as international environmental law has grown enormously since FIELD was founded.Read More