This Summary Brief deals with Sustainable Development Goal 16, the environmental rule of law and the link between human rights and a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Access rights concerning environmental information, public participation and environmental justice are discussed. The brief examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights and the environmental rule of law. There is focus on the role of environmental human rights defenders (EHRDS) in the Asia-Pacific region in promoting avenues for an environmentally sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief canvasses good practices and ongoing challenges, including the legal protections needed for environmental human rights defenders. It sets out key messages and a range of recommendations.