Blue carbon refers to carbon dioxide that is sequestered (stored) by coastal or marine ecosystems such as salt marshes and seagrass meadows. These blue carbon ecosystems draw down and store significant amounts of carbon in their sediments long-term, reducing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere more than terrestrial ecosystems like forests do. In Atlantic Canada, both salt marshes and seagrass meadows are under threat of being degraded and destroyed by industrial activities and coastal development.

For years, we’ve been advocating for the protection of wetlands in Nova Scotia by participating in the annual Wetlands Appreciation Week and developing resources like the Guide to Municipal Wetlands Stewardship in Nova Scotia and  Legal and Policy Tools to Protect Wetlands in Nova Scotia. This year, we’re asking for your support so we can continue to expand our work and develop more resources for communities that are working to protect wetlands across Atlantic Canada. 

On October 16, 2025, the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (“CNSOER”) issued a Call for Information that invites feedback on a number of topics that will inform Atlantic Canada’s first offshore wind licencing process.

Join East Coast Environmental Law staff lawyers, Mike Kofahl and Richelle Martin, in Charlottetown, PEI on October 23rd from 6:00PM - 8:30PM for a free environmental law education workshop about coastal access law and policy.  

We’ve published some new public resources on offshore wind law, policy, and assessments in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia! 

We're looking forward to delivering two environmental law workshops this September in Newfoundland and Labrador! Generously supported by a grant from the Law Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, our upcoming workshops will be free and open to the public. 

Now in its third year in Nova Scotia, Wetlands Appreciation Week will take place from August 9th - 17th, with events taking place every day across the province and online! As part of the week’s activities, East Coast Environmental Law will be co-presenting a lunch-and-learn webinar with Birds Canada on the topic of Private Landowner Wetland Conservation.

For more than a decade, East Coast Environmental Law has been advocating for legal recognition of human rights to a healthy environment in Atlantic Canada. Most recently, we've been working in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to share why legislated rights to a healthy environment are so important. We've been speaking to community gatherings, the press, and government representatives. And today, we've published a series of interviews with community leaders in Nova Scotia who have deep-rooted perspectives on environmental and climate justice and the need for environmental rights recognition.