The Earth Defenders graphic novella The Keepers is a series of vignettes telling the stories of environmental defenders. Each vignette depicts brave fictional characters taking action to defend the forest, the water, the land, or the air. The stories span the globe and are drawn from real life situations.

The vignettes describe the danger that environmental defenders face and highlight their contributions towards the realization of the internationally recognized human right to a healthy environment.

The first story, The Keepers depicts the fight of the Sengwer people to keep their land from being confiscated by Kenya under the guise of conservation. The second story, The Song of the Sunderbans, describes the fight against Bangladesh’s decision to build a coal burning power plant in the world’s largest remaining Mangrove forest. The third story is called Patrollers of the prey lang and fourth story is called La cadena de Colombia .

Part 1: The Keepers

Part 2: Song of the Sundarbans

Part 3: Patrollers of the Prey Lang

Part 4: La Cadena de Colombia

BioRebecca Bratspies teaches at CUNY School of Law. She is a scholar of environmental justice, human rights, and environmental law. Her book Naming Gotham won the Association of Public Historians of New York 2023 Award for Excellence in Local History and the 2024 American Legacy Award for US Fiction. The Environmental Justice Chronicles, her graphic novel series won EPA’s 2023 Clean Air Excellence Award. In 2021, ABA-SEER honored her work with its Commitment to Diversity and Justice Award. The Centre for International Sustainability Law named her its 2022 International Human Rights Lawyer.