Human rights and the environment

This legal paper reflects on the evolution of international law on the interdependence of human rights and the environment. It illustrates their significance for the development and implementation of national laws on agricultural development and the management of renewable natural resources, ranging from land, water, fisheries, plants, and animals, to food, forestry, wildlife, biodiversity and trade laws. It is also relevant for national laws on climate change, gender equality, agribusiness operations, the right to food, the right to water and the prevention of potential conflicts arising from the competition for natural resources. The paper brings together lessons learned through the mandate of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, John H. Knox, and academic research on international biodiversity law and human rights, by Elisa Morgera. The Paper gives an overview of the increasing cross-fertilization between international environmental law and international human rights law. It looks specifically at nature conservation and the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. It also focuses on other areas of the nexus between human rights and biodiversity that are of particular relevance to national laws on natural resources