April 7, 2017

 

The United Nations now includes conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services among the foundations of human rights around the world.

 

A groundbreaking new report to the United Nations Human Rights Council details the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human rights and makes recommendations for nations to meet their “human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.”

 

In its official Statement welcoming the Report the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states that the UN report’s recognition of the link between human rights and biodiversity should promote collaboration between the conservation, human rights and development communities to achieve the objectives of sustainable development.

 

The Report makes numerous recommendations for action. These include that States should:

(a) Assess the social and environmental impacts of all proposed projects and policies that may affect biodiversity;

(b) Provide public information about biodiversity, including environmental and social assessments of proposals, and ensure that the relevant information is provided to those affected in a language that they understand;

(c) Provide for and facilitate public participation in biodiversity-related decisions;

(d) Provide access to effective remedies for the loss and degradation of biodiversity.

 

The Report also calls on States to recognize defenders of biodiversity as defenders of human rights. 

 

For more information about biological diversity, native plant conservation and ecosystem services, see the