Empowering communities to stand up for their right to say no to exploitative mega-projects and demand environmental justice.

Anabela Lemos is a Mozambican environmental activist and Director of Justiça Ambiental! (JA!), an organisation committed to environmental justice in Mozambique. For over 20 years, Lemos and JA! have fought corporate-led projects that displace communities, damage livelihoods and intensify climate change. The organisation’s leadership in the ‘Say No to Gas Campaign’ has brought international attention to the environmental and human rights violations caused by liquid natural gas (LNG) extraction projects in northern Mozambique.

In addition to grassroots activism, JA! is renowned for its effective global advocacy, particularly against Mozambique LNG, a 24-billion-USD gas extraction project in Cabo Delgado backed by TotalEnergies. The organisation has built alliances with civil society in over 23 countries to challenge this project. By providing critical on-the-ground evidence of the project’s harm to local communities, JA! has exposed human rights violations and corporate crimes, successfully delaying Mozambique LNG’s progress.

Despite operating in a politically oppressive space, Lemos and JA! continue to amplify local voices on the world stage, demonstrating that the fight for environmental justice transcends borders. Their work has empowered communities to defend their rights, paving the way for a future where all people’s environmental and human rights are respected.