Laura de Azevedo Viana
Researcher / Immigration Paralegal / Contracts Analyst Brazilian Institute for the Law of the Sea / Manifest Law / Worldpackers
Laura de Azevedo Viana is a Brazilian researcher affiliated with the Brazilian Institute of the Law of the Sea, focusing on ocean governance, environmental racism, and international law. She is currently analyzing the issue of ocean pollution and its consequences for endangered species and coastal communities. Her undergraduate thesis at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) examined predatory fishing within Brazil's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and its impacts on coastal Indigenous groups. Previously, she studied sustainable maritime trade policies at the Naval War College. Laura participated as a youth sustainability activist in the 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum, co-authored an article on the Loss and Damage Fund in partnership with the British University in Egypt, and is a member of LACLIMA, a network of legal professionals promoting environmental policies through advocacy and academic research. Her work consistently returns to the legal and racial dimensions of ocean and coastal water governance: who bears the burden of pollution, whose fishing grounds are protected, and whose are not. Laura brings this legal and environmental-justice lens to the Global Youth Water Envoys Program, connecting ocean and freshwater governance debates ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.