Human Rights Standards for Conservation (Part II)

A problem faced by conservation actors trying to understand the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities is that they are enshrined in a wide range of international instruments. This paper identifies the relevant body of human rights law, CBD decisions, and IUCN resolutions and recommendations that contain provisions relevant to upholding the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in a conservation context.

Article, 11 November 2014
Flamingos around Lake Bogoria, the ancestral land of the Endorois people, Kenya (Photo: Minority Rights Group International)Lake Bogoria, the ancestral land of the Endorois people, Kenya (Photo: Emma Eastwood/MRG)

Flamingos around Lake Bogoria, the ancestral land of the Endorois people, Kenya (Photo: Minority Rights Group International)Lake Bogoria, the ancestral land of the Endorois people, Kenya (Photo: Emma Eastwood/MRG)

IIED worked with Natural Justice to systematically review and analyse relevant international law to answer the following three questions:

  • Which actors bear human rights obligations and responsibilities in the context of conservation initiatives?
  • What are their obligations and responsibilities? 
  • What are the grievance mechanisms available to peoples and communities in cases of violations of their human rights?

The results were published in the run-up to the World Parks Congress in Australia in November 2014 as a three-part series of discussion papers that served as an empirical basis for developing a set of conservation standards.

The second in the series was "Human Rights Standards for Conservation, Part II: Which international standards apply to conservation initiatives?". It identified more than 30 broad categories of rights that can be affected by conservation interventions, including substantive individual and collective rights (such as human rights, indigenous peoples' rights), land and natural resource rights, and procedural rights (such as free prior and informed consent).

Beyond human rights law, some key international conservation instruments include specific provisions relevant to indigenous peoples and local communities. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the overarching international policy framework for international conservation and it makes explicit reference to the rights and needs of indigenous people and local communities in relation to biodiversity conservation, as do International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) resolutions and recommendations.

Conclusions

  • There is a wide range of international instruments, CBD decisions and IUCN resolutions and recommendations that reference the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities
  • Relevant rights exist across a broad legal landscape that includes instruments, decisions and resolutions which focus on human rights, cultural heritage, biodiversity, forests, climate change and agriculture, and
  • The frequency with which the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities are referenced in international law and policy, particularly in CBD decisions and IUCN resolutions, is increasing markedly each year.

Contact

Harry Jonas (harry@naturaljustice.org) is a lawyer and co-founder of Natural Justice.

Dilys Roe (dilys.roe@iied.org) is a principal researcher in IIED's Natural Resources research group and leader of the biodiversity team.