Global Governance of the Environment, Indigenous Peoples and the Rights of Nature

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Etchart
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Rights Of Nature

Reply to Bridgewater (2021), 'Response to Davies et al., 'Towards a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands"

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1401
Author(s):  
G. T. Davies ◽  
C. M. Finlayson ◽  
E. Okuno ◽  
N. C. Davidson ◽  
R. C. Gardner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Indigenous And Local Knowledge ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Areas Of Concern ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Conservation And Management

We reply to the main concerns raised by Bridgewater (2021) in his response to Davies et al. (2021a), ‘Towards a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands’. We appreciate the contribution of Bridgewater (2021) to this emerging conversation and, although we disagree with some of his assessments and statements, we do not find his points to be incompatible with support for the Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands (ROW). This reply focuses on four areas of concern raised by Bridgewater (2021). First, we describe why a wetlands-specific declaration will add important value to other Rights of Nature declarations. Second, we discuss how the ROW does not detract from, but rather can contribute to and complement, existing conservation and management approaches and mechanisms. Third, we agree on the importance of weaving Indigenous and local knowledge with other knowledges and emphasise that the ROW should not be confused with or misused to undermine the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Finally, we explain how legal rights can and have been granted to non-humans, including elements of Nature, such as wetlands.

scholarly journals Decolonizing Law and expanding Human Rights: Indigenous Conceptions and the Rights of Nature in Ecuador

2019 ◽  
pp. 59-86
Author(s):  
Juan José Guzmán
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Anthropological Theory ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Symbolic Ecology ◽  
Discourse Practice ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

This article critically addresses the crucial aspects for understanding the rights of nature as a resistance platform for indigenous peoples in Ecuador. By basing my arguments in a post-colonial approach to human rights and the concept of coloniality of power, I argue that the lack of inclusion of indigenous knowledge in human rights is a manifestation of neocolonialism. Thus, the introduction of non-Western narratives into the human rights discourse/practice is an attempt to decolonize what has traditionally been a colonialist discourse. Later on, I develop the concept of ‘rights of nature’ arguing that they are a practical example of the inclusion of indigenous narratives in human rights. In the end, the biggest problem is that the dominant Western thought does not challenge the human-nature relationships that are responsible for nature’s degradation. In this regard, I use ethnographic material, post-colonial anthropological theory, and symbolic ecology to argue that Amazonian indigenous nature ontologies —which understand the nature/culture relationship in a very different way— are contained in the rights of nature that the Ecuadorian Constitution enshrines. Therefore, becoming a legal tool with a significant potential for indigenous people’s historical justice.Received: 01 September 2019Accepted: 05 December 2019Published online: 20 December 2019

Rebalancing state and Indigenous sovereignties in international law: An Arctic lens on trajectories for global governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-693
Author(s):  
Sabaa Ahmad Khan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
International System ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Climate Change

AbstractThe environmental and economic realities of Arctic climate change present novel problems for international law. Arctic warming and pollution raise important questions about responsibilities and accountabilities across borders, as they result from anthropogenic activities both within and outside the Arctic region, from the Global North and the Global South. Environmental interdependencies and economic development prospects connect in a nexus of risk and opportunity that raises difficult normative questions pertaining to Arctic governance and sovereignty. This article looks at how the Arctic has been produced in international legal spaces. It addresses the implication of states and Indigenous peoples in processes of Arctic governance. Looking at specific international legal instruments relevant to Arctic climate change and development, the author attempts to tease out the relationship between the concepts of Indigenous rights and state sovereignty that underlie these international legal realms. What do these international legal regimes tell us with respect to the role of Arctic Indigenous peoples and the role of states in governing the ‘global’ Arctic? It is argued that while international law has come a long way in recognizing the special status of Indigenous peoples in the international system, it still hesitates to recognize Indigenous groups as international law makers. Comparing the status of Indigenous peoples under specific international regimes to their role within the Arctic Council, it becomes evident that more participatory forms of global governance are entirely possible and long overdue.

Stop Burying the Lede: The Essential Role of Indigenous Law(s) in Creating Rights of Nature

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin O'Donnell ◽  
Anne Poelina ◽  
Alessandro Pelizzon ◽  
Cristy Clark
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Leadership ◽  
Indigenous Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Scholarly Publications ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Pluralist Approach ◽  
Rapid Emergence

AbstractThe rapid emergence of rights of Nature over the past decade across multiple contexts has fostered increasing awareness, recognition, and, ultimately, acceptance of rights of Nature by the global community. Yet, too often, both scholarly publications and news articles bury the lede – namely, that the most transformative cases of rights of Nature have been consistently influenced and often actually led by Indigenous peoples. In this article we explore the ontologies of rights of Nature and earth jurisprudence, and the intersections of these movements with the leadership of Indigenous peoples in claiming and giving effect to their own rights (while acknowledging that not all Indigenous peoples support rights of Nature). Based on early observations, we discern an emerging trend of increased efficacy, longevity, and transformative potential being linked to a strongly pluralist approach of lawmaking and environmental management. A truly transformative and pluralist ecological jurisprudence can be achieved only by enabling, and empowering, Indigenous leadership.

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