This Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) report reveals how children in some of the world’s largest cotton-producing countries are serving as underpaid, free or forced labourers to feed the global demand for textiles.

China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Turkey – six of the world’s top seven cotton producers – have been reported to use child labour in their cotton fields. In India, where as much as 70% of the country’s estimated 100 million child labourers work in agriculture, several hundred thousand children – mostly girls – sacrifice their education and health to produce hybrid cottonseed for a thriving industry.

Briefing researched, written and published by the Indonesian organisation JALA (in cooperation with EJF) - the Advocacy Network for North Sumatra Fisherfolk, documenting the social and environmental impacts of illegal trawling in North Sumatra.

'Illegal Driftnetting in the Mediterranean' documents how driftnets, although banned by both the EU and the ICCAT since 2002 and 2003, continue to be used illegally across the region to catch valuable large species, mainly swordfish and tuna. There are estimated to be up to 600 illegal driftnet vessels operating in the Mediterranean, including many EU-flagged vessels. EJF is calling on the European Union, and all States involved, to meet their legal responsibilities with firm and decisive action.

This report report from 2007 documents the link between IUU fishing and the EU through tracking illegally-caught fish from West Africa into the European market.

Alternative report for the 42nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The report documents how illegal fishing activities are facilitated in Guinea by the lack of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance and the widespread use of Flags of Convenience. It makes recommendations to stop the plunder, including regional cooperation and EU leadership.

Mangroves represent far more than just a ‘bio-shield’. Despite being regarded for many years as ‘wastelands’, ripe for development, it is now known that mangroves provide coastal communities with many services and utilizable products, and perform vital ecosystem functions.

This report concludes that the conversion of mangrove habitat into shrimp farms, tourist resorts, agricultural and urban land over the past decades, as well as destruction of coral reefs, contributed significantly to the catastrophic loss of human lives and settlements during the 2004 tsunami. Conserving and restoring coastal mangrove areas is essential if coastal communities are to recover and be protected from future similar events.

This internationally acclaimed report exposes how the billion-dollar cotton industry is causing an environmental catastrophe and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, Central Asia.

White Gold highlights the disastrous demise of the Aral Sea as the rivers that once fed it have been diverted to irrigate cotton fields. The report also draws attention to the endemic use of forced child labour in the annual cotton harvest. Uzbekistan is unique for the scale of forced child labour - hundreds of thousands of children are forced to labour in the fields undergoing arduous work for little or no pay.

Detailed investigations by EJF expose the use of cotton revenues in Uzbekistan to support a corrupt, brutal and coercive dictatorship.

The report explores the global nature of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing: one of the most serious threats to the future of world fisheries. It identifies possible solutions and action that can be taken by governments and the international community to prevent, deter and eliminate this pervasive problem.

'What's the Catch? - Reducing bycatch in EU distant water fisheries' documents EJF's research on the dramatic economic, ecological and developmental impacts of bycatch. It makes practical recommendations to reduce the EU distant water fisheries bycatch through highlighting successful technical and operational methods.

The report summarises the abuses and problems associated with shrimp production in Bangladesh, while defining potential solutions. Researched over an 18-month period, it incorporates over 250 references and, crucially, the personal testimony of Bangladeshi individuals directly affected by the shrimp industry.

This report is one of a series documenting EJF’s international investigations into the social, economic and environmental impacts resulting from shrimp production and consumption.

This report is one of a series documenting EJF’s international investigations into the social, economic and environmental impacts resulting from shrimp production and consumption.