Our history
About IIDMA
Law at the service of the Environment
The International Institute for Law and the Environment (IIDMA) is an independent organisation, founded in January 1997 with the aim of contributing to sustainable development and the protection of the environment, through the analysis, implementation and enforcement of the law.
It is the only organisation of its kind in Spain, having been a pioneer in addressing environmental protection through law. It specialises in the fight against climate change, energy transition, governance and sustainability, water resources, biodiversity and oceans.
Our approach
Mission
We work to put law at the service of the environment
Our mission is to contribute to the protection of the environment and promote sustainable development through the research, dissemination, study and development of the law, with emphasis on its correct implementation, compliance and enforcement.
Vision
We aim to protect and restore both the environment and natural resources.
This requires that national and international, public and private institutions, as well as citizens, are aware that, by respecting the law, one of the main mechanisms for coexistence and regulation of human conduct, we will be able to transform environmental policies into action and, therefore, into results.
OUR ROOTS
Foundation
IIDMA was founded in 1997 with the conviction that the implementation of the law is of vital importance to respond to the challenge of protecting our planet. In addition to having been pioneers in Europe, today we are still the only organisation of its kind in Spain.
Projects
At IIDMA we design our own projects and, at the same time, we attend to the needs of public and private organisations that require support for the design and implementation of environmental protection mechanisms based on law and policy. IIDMA's work is carried out at international, national and regional levels.
The IIDMA team
IIDMA's team of professionals has specialised training with expertise in international, EU, comparative and national law. It is complemented by an associated team of specialists in social and natural sciences.
Our trajectory
These are just some of the facts that endorse IIDMA’s professional excellence and trajectory. We are proud to be able to add more and more successes every day.
Priority goals
RESEARCH
To research, develop and promote the implementation and enforcement of law as an instrument for environmental protection and sustainable development.
PROMOTE
Development cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development.
SENSITIZE
The many social actors to ecological problems. To disseminate environmental regulations, contributing to their enforcement.
RESPOND
To the legal challenges posed by scientific and technological advances and their effects on people and the environment.
Great milestones in our history
“Local Communities and Fishing Disputes in Saharawi and Moroccan Waters: Opportunities for New Conflict Resolution Mechanisms'” Prepared for the Earth Council.
The National Court forces the government to provide data on mercury contamination in fish sold in Spain.
In 2013, IIDMA began working towards the decarbonisation of the Spanish electricity sector. Since then, it has managed to reduce the authorised emissions of several power plants, has presented studies on the harmful health effects of coal pollution or on how to reconcile the deployment of renewable energies with land and biodiversity, among other projects.
The LIFE-A2J-EARL project aimed to promote the correct implementation and enforcement of EU environmental law through effective access to justice on environmental matters for the public.
The Supreme Court rules that NGOs can be parties to administrative sanctioning proceedings.
Unprecedented judgment by the Supreme Court: it recognises that an environmental organisation is exempt from paying court costs.
Accreditations

UN Environment Assembly

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
