IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN recognizes that, without a peaceful, safe, and respectful setting where human lives are valued, and without livelihood security - i.e. security of tenure and access to lands, natural resources, and other basic assets, no conservation commitment can be expected from local people. This concept, which calls for full respect for human rights, is connected with the right to a decent quality of life and to other related rights recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Further, in conditions of political oppression and marginalization, as frequently occurs with indigenous peoples and local communities, their active participation in, and support to, the development and enforcement of environmental laws and policies becomes impossible. The more people live in security and have their rights respected, the more they will be willing to engage in biodiversity conservation and care for their lands and resources.

IUCN, as an organization of member governments who have adhered to the International Bill of Human Rights and other human rights instruments, and of civil society organizations who have championed the cause of human rights worldwide, is fully aware of its commitment to contribute to the full and universal respect of human rights in all their dimensions.

Further, the evolution of the international environmental doctrine in the last decade seems to point to the recognition that environmental issues are founded on, or intimately linked to, the environmental human rights, i.e. the rights of present and future generations to enjoy a healthy life in a healthy environment. Thus, also from this perspective human rights issues are increasingly at the core of the preoccupations of the environmental movement.

It is interesting to note that not less than sixty national constitutions in the world include concepts related to the protection of the environment articulated as a human right, or as a provision by which the state is required to protect the environment and citizens are entitled to demand compliance with it – therefore with a perspective of environmental justice. Practically every national constitution that has undergone reform since 1970 includes this concept, and it is reasonable to expect this pattern to continue and even to be strengthened. Given recent history, it is difficult to imagine any nation from this point forward reforming its constitution without explicitly recognizing the right of its inhabitants to a healthy environment, in one way or another.

With regards to environmental justice, there are three dimensions to be taken into consideration. The first is its connection to the human right to live in a clean and healthy environment, as indicated above; it requires fair and effective enforcement of laws and policies aiming at securing such a right. The second relates more specifically to local communities whose livelihoods depend directly on natural resources and the environment quality of the places where they live; ensuring control by such communities over their natural resources and supporting capacity building to manage these resources in a sustainable way are key components of environmental justice for them. The third dimension second is to ensure that the public at large, and especially disadvantaged communities, fully access relevant information and fully participate in decision-making relevant to the fulfilment of their environmental rights.

Promoting good environmental governance is a commitment of IUCN, particularly of its programmes dealing directly with natural resource management. In the context of environmental governance, matters related to public participation and human rights issues deserve special consideration.

The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation described ‘good’ governance as being “essential for sustainable development”. Governance is the means by which society defines goals and priorities and advances cooperation. It includes policies, laws, decrees, norms, instruments and institutions. Governance is not the province of governments alone, and includes informal institutional arrangements like voluntary codes of conduct for private businesses, professional procedures and partnerships among all sectors. These include numerous and varied arrangements, but an essential element is that they mobilise diverse constituencies to agree on common goals and help realise them.

In order to most effectively achieve conservation and sustainable development, governance at all levels – local, national, regional, and global – should be mutually reinforcing. International governance does not produce results in the absence of effective national governance, and effective national governance is essential for meaningful results at the international level.

At the global level, all states, large and small, should be able to participate effectively, and it is essential to build civil society and the private sector into intergovernmental decision-making and devise new opportunities for innovative partnerships, while at the same maintaining the sovereignty of nation states and recognising the mandate of democratically elected governments.

The importance of effective national governance may, as a result of globalisation, be greater now than it has been at any time in the past. The type of foreign investment that is likely to promote sustainable development flourishes in a stable environment, where rights and obligations are clear and are fairly and uniformly applied.

Most fundamentally, governance is the means to an end, not an end in itself. ‘Good’ environmental governance should be based on the principles of:

• Transparency - openness in decision making
• Access to information and justice - accurate and open communication, and effective exercising of environmental justice
• Public participation - genuine involvement in decision making
• Coherence - a consistent approach within a complex system
• Subsidiarity - decisions taken as closely as possible to the citizen
• Respect for human rights - civil, political, developmental and environmental rights
• Accountability - for economic, social and environmental performance