by Dr. David Ganz and Jeffrey Williamson
- We do not need to search too far to find a roadmap for a global New Deal for Nature and People.
- By not viewing environmental issues as human rights issues, gross human rights abuses can occur while weakening humanity’s ability to combat climate change.
- If the global community is to make progress on linking the health of nature with the health of people and the collective future of humankind, then environmental issues like climate change must be framed within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Last month, the Director General of WWF International, Marco Lambertini, issued an urgent call for what
Fortunately, we do not need to search too far to find a roadmap for our globe’s New Deal.
For generations, local communities across the world have been sustainably managing their forests and natural resource reserves in a manner that maintains their livelihoods, promotes biodiversity, and minimizes the destruction of the natural world. In essence, these communities epitomize the intrinsic link found in the aforementioned New Deal for Nature and People.
Alistair Monument of WWF’s Global Forest Practice implicitly noted this connection in his
But how will we accomplish such a task? And when? Time is running short to turn this New Deal into an actionable plan.
One of the most prominent ways to answer these questions happened on Dec. 10, 2018, when the global community celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we are to find the intrinsic connection between nature, people, and the future, then we must begin viewing environmental issues as being inevitably linked to human rights issues. For example, the global community must acknowledge that many
Community members of the Shwe Yoma Community Forest Enterprise collect rattan from their community forests for processing and sale. Photo Credit: Thang Deih Tuang, RECOFTC 2018.
To do this, we should look towards the principles of community forestry as an established framework, and multi-stakeholder forums as the mechanisms to implement this framework.
As noted in a
Community forestry also encompasses these universal rights while pursuing ecological stability. Community forestry provides a framework that acknowledges the rights of local communities to manage the forest they have held customary rights to (right to life and work), while creating livelihoods (right to adequate standard of living), and sustainability (ecological stability) in tandem.
Take, for example, the communities of Gwa Township, Rakhine, Myanmar. For a while, the local communities were unable to benefit from their land due to a lack of tenure rights. But
With clear and strong legal rights, these communities were then able to invest in their forest with life-transforming impacts. Members of the community established the Shwe Yoma Community Forest Enterprise to process rattan found in the forests of Gwa. The financial impact was astonishing. The semi-processed rattan provided an income of nearly 24 million kyat — or roughly $15,000 — while maintaining the integrity of the forest.
In the case of Gwa Township, approaching an environmental issue through the lens of human rights allowed for the fulfillment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights while also providing positive long-term consequences for the environment and humanity’s future.
Approaching environmental issues as human rights issues has allowed local communities in Bokeo Province, Lao PDR to secure tenure rights to their forests, increase revenue from their teak production, and sustainable manage their forests. Photo Credit: Rattep Autra, RECOFTC 2018.
By not viewing environmental issues as human rights issues, gross human rights abuses can occur while weakening humanity’s ability to combat climate change. “When bulldozers or park rangers force Indigenous Peoples from their homes,” writes UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, referencing
In contrast to fortress conservation, indigenous and local communities have repeatedly established systems of natural resource management that preserves their livelihoods, culture, and environment. For instance, as journalist Sonali Prasad reported for Mongabay, the
Overall, these approaches, which are framed as human rights issues alongside environmental issues, have a drastic impact on the globe’s future. In September, The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)
We have a ways to go, but the timing is right. The same RRI report showed that, although “forest area recognized for communities has grown nearly 40 percent since 2002,” this still only equates to a total of 15 percent of forests globally.
Similarly, the October
If the global community is to make progress on linking the health of nature with the health of people and the collective future of humankind, then environmental issues like climate change must be framed within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Community forestry and the 70th Anniversary of the aforementioned Declaration provide us with an ample opportunity to pursue this route and pave a roadmap for the New Deal for Nature and People by 2020.
By addressing environmental issues within a human rights paradigm, the global community can help promote the realization of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and preserve pristine landscapes. Bokeo, Province, Lao PDR. Photo Credit: Rattep Autra, RECOFTC 2018.
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Related to SDG 13: Climate action and SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions