Legal research and advocacy with communities, rivers and the people who defend them.
Lecturer in International Environmental Law at SOAS University of London and co-coordinator of the SOAS Environmental Justice Clinic, working on Rights of Nature, water governance and access to environmental justice.
PhD thesisSOAS University of London
This thesis develops a non-anthropocentric framework for water governance grounded in the principles of harmony with Nature and offers a pathway toward more equitable, ecologically responsive, and legally coherent approaches to water governance.
AuthorJournal article
Nate Palmer, ‘Biocultural Rights in the Biodiversity Regime: Relationality and the Limits of Instrumentalism’ (2026) 22(1) Law, Environment and Development Journal 1
AuthorJournal article, publication pending
Proposes a framework of pluricentric legal design that grounds legal obligation in the relationship between communities and ecosystems.
The Clinic's year in review: one legal advice clinic and five policy clinic projects with partner organisations, on Rights of Nature, international climate change law, policy and ecological economics.
Report of a May 2026 workshop with students, academics and partner organisations reflecting on the Clinic's work since 2022 and setting priorities for its development, ahead of a new credit-bearing clinical module in 2027/28.
Three reports, April 2026, testing legal routes to a Thames Charter that treats the river as a stakeholder in decisions affecting it. The project was London's first intercollegiate environmental law clinic, with LSE, King's, UCL, SOAS and Birkbeck. Its strands looked at a joint borough arrangement under the Local Government Act 1972, at byelaw powers, and at bringing the Thames into decision-making procedures. I co-supervised the decision-making strand.
Maps and analyses the models through which Nature is represented in law worldwide, for community organisers, lawyers, NGOs and policymakers. Published as more than 500 Rights of Nature initiatives had been recorded globally.
Two reports across two years supporting a river charter intended for endorsement by Lewes District Council. Students reviewed national legislation and biodiversity records to map UK-protected species along the River Ouse in Sussex.
A report for the Wildlife Trust on the legal framework for beaver reintroduction in England, and research for ClientEarth tracking fossil fuel companies' environmental commitments.
An ILA committee developing common principles, guidelines and proposals on Rights of Nature, including its interfaces with sustainable development, Indigenous rights and human rights.
Legal expertise on constitutional, legislative and judicial approaches to Rights of Nature, with projects on operationalising Rights of Nature, rivers and wetlands, global commons, and Indigenous and customary practice.
WATCON's work on sectoral water conflicts, the human right to water and ecological integrity in South Asia, including the case for Rights of Nature, biocultural rights and community-led governance in water law.
Public seminars hosted by the Law, Environment and Development Centre at SOAS, where I am Lead on Experiential Learning and Engagement: 19 events from February 2023 to October 2026, bringing practitioners, communities, barristers and academics to an open audience. I spoke at the February 2025 seminar on Harmony with Nature and river rights, marked “Speaker” in the 2024–25 archive.
SOAS with LRI
Marta Simonetti (SOAS) · Yuhina Sangha (Dhirubhai Ambani University) · Professor Philippe Cullet (SOAS)
Dr Mark West, Landesa
Illari Aragon (Christian Aid) · Zoe Wedderburn-Day (Fish Legal) · Luciano Asinelli (Impact Cubed), all SOAS alumni
Harj Narulla, Doughty Street Chambers
Dr Matthew Gillett, University of Essex
Dr Hamza Hamouchene, Transnational Institute
Dr Iona McEntee, University of Strathclyde
Meghna Abraham, Future Economy Incubator
KMS Tareq · Sharowat Shamin (SOAS) · Chair, Professor Martin Lau
HRH Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, King of Ogale · the community's legal team at Leigh Day
Held the week the High Court in London heard the communities' claim against Shell over pollution in the Niger Delta.
SpeakerNate Palmer · Mohammad Sarwar (SOAS) · Chair, Professor Jérémie Gilbert
Sara Al Mohanadi · Naser Al Sayed (SOAS) · Dr Esmat Zaidan (HBKU)
Dr Viswanathan Venkataraman (King's) · Dr Niranjana R (Queen Mary)
Dr Rebecca Bates, Queen Mary University of London
Dr Andreas Kotsakis, Kent Law School
Professor Irini Papanicolopulu · Dr Megan Wong · Dr Efthymios Papastavridis
Dr Margot Salomon (LSE) · Ashish Kothari (Kalpavriksh) · Professor Sam Adelman (Warwick)
Shrishtee Bajpai, Kalpavriksh and Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature
LeadNew site, under construction
A rebuilt site for the Centre, its degree programmes, seminar series, research and the Clinic's project portfolio.
ManagerOrganisational page
The Centre's LinkedIn presence, sharing Clinic outputs, events and research.