How to enter a case? Step by step

           FIRST, REGISTER HERE

- Your user request will have to be approved by our team. If you are a teacher wishing to teach with the EJAtlas, please refer to this page before your students register.

- Before entering a case, make sure it is not already in the EJAtlas.

- To enter a case, please log in with your account, and then click on "New Case" in the page top menu. 

  1. BASIC DATA TAB

Enter the NAME OF THE CONFLICT in this format - Project Name, Country. 

Here, you will fill in location data under POSITION. An easy way to gather the coordinates of the case is to open Google Maps in another tab and locate the point of conflict. When you have located it, the coordinates will appear on the left column, in this format - 38.624501,-97.65625. Copy them in the corresponding fields above the map and click on Save. You can also manually move the pointer on the small map in the Ejatlas platform itself and place it in the right spot.Coordinates must be in the correct format. If the case is “country-wide”, you will not have to complete this step. 

HEADLINE TEXT is what appears as a short description of the case when listed on the EJAtlas website - a small blurb that briefly describes the project/case.

  1. DESCRIPTION TAB

The DESCRIPTION box is where most of your research text will go. This should be in chronological order of the conflict, where you make information about the conflict and its’ actors visible to people reading about the case. Some guiding points are:

  • A brief description of the conflictive project

  • Briefly, the larger regional,national and historical context in which the conflict happens

  • Who benefits and who gets the impacts from the project? How?

  • Who supports the project (e.g. governments, companies, communities)? With which arguments and actions?

  • Who opposes the project (e.g. NGOs, communities)? With which arguments and actions?

  • How do people organise to resist the project? Which actions do they take?

  • What was the outcome of the conflict, or what is its current state?


ADD SOURCE - all significant statements in the description should be backed up by original sources. Use this feature to add your sources in text. The ‘order’ will be the number that appears in text, the reference data will be saved under this number. Here is example of how this looks intext 


Your references will appear in a list below the description box, as well as in the “SOURCES AND MATERIALS” tab. 


The PROJECT DETAILS box is where you will include specific (often quantitative) figures relating to the case. This can be in list form. Please reference these using the same guidelines stated above. 


  1. PROJECT DETAILS AND ACTORS TAB


The TYPE OF CONFLICT. 1st LEVEL refers to the sector of the conflictive project, not its impacts. For example, if you are documenting a fossil fuel project that is affecting biodiversity, you would select “Fossil Fuels and Climate Justice/Energy”, because it is the fossil fuel project that is causing the conflict.


For the TYPE OF CONFLICT. 2nd LEVEL. you can choose more than one option. Select from the drop-down and click on ADD. The list of types will appear below.


LEVEL OF INVESTMENT FOR THE CONFLICTIVE PROJECT is where you will indicate how much money is invested in the project, please do so in this format and in USD -  “1,000,000,000 USD”. This would indicate $1 billion. 


In RELEVANT GOVERNMENT ACTORS, COMPANY NAMES OR STATE ENTERPRISES and INTERNATIONAL AND FINANCE INSTITUTIONS, please list those involved in the struggle. Before adding a new company or institution, check in the SEARCH IF THE COMPANY ALREADY EXISTS drop down menu. 


The SPECIFIC COMMODITIES check list is where you will indicate all the commodities that are traded in relation to the conflict, not those that may be impacted. Ask yourself - “is this being bought and sold as part of the project?”


  1. CONFLICT & MOBILISATION TAB


This is the section in which you will add details about the conflict - ie who opposes the project, what (if any) actions or protests have occurred, what groups are mobilising against the project, what strategies they are using. Don’t forget to list the environmental organisations involved with links to their websites, social media pages or campaigns, if any. 


  1. IMPACTS TAB


This is where you will indicate environmental impacts, stating whether the selected impacts are “visible” (indicating there is evidence for them) or “potential” (indicating that it is likely they could occur as a result of the project or there are unverifiable concerns that these have occurred).


  1. OUTCOME TAB


Here, you will indicate the most up to date project details of your case. This is in relation to the company/organisations project. 


In the field Proposal and development of alternatives please provide those alternatives proposed by environmental justice organisations, not your personal ones. It is important that you mention who is proposing the alternative and give the original source of the proposal. You can cite by placing a number in square brackets (ie. [2]) in the text, and adding an additional source in the Sources and Materials Tab with a title starting with the same number in square brackets.


  1. SOURCES AND MATERIALS TAB


This is where all your references will appear in list form. Please add photographs, which should not be explicitly protected by copyright and you should clearly indicate the URL source and credits. Please provide any other relevant material like video links or documents if possible. 


  1. META INFORMATION TAB


This tab includes the website ‘back end’ information of your case. Once you have completed your case, click submit to moderation.


You can include your name in the contributor field, or leave it blank if you want to remain anonymous.


  1. LANGUAGES TAB 


Use this tab to translate your case to any relevant languages. These translations options will appear in the case visualisation


  1. HISTORY TAB 


This section includes all of the previous edits made to the case. 


  1. CHAT TAB


This is where you will communicate with moderators.You can ask questions if you are unsure about any aspect of the case or form. Once you have submitted the case for moderation, you will receive feedback and suggested changes. You should get a notification email when a message is sent to you, please check your inbox or the case chat regularly. After you make the appropriate edits, your case will be added to the EJAtlas! 


Thank you.