"Biodiversity as a Human Right and its Implications for the EU’s External Action" proposes the development of a holistic and human rights-based approach to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in external action, including as part of the fight against climate change. The study notes,

"...the expression ‘biodiversity as a human right’ conveys that there are already existing international legally binding obligations at the nexus of international biodiversity and international human rights law. While from a legal perspective States already have international legally binding obligations on the nexus between biodiversity and human rights, these obligations are still not well known to biodiversity experts and advocates, or to human rights experts and advocates. There is as yet no comparable mobilisation around biodiversity as a human right as there is in the case of climate change and human rights."

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, WCEL Member David Boyd, is credited for promoting the international recognition of the human right to a healthy environment. In his 2019 report on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Dr. Boyd notes that a healthy environment comprises "clean air, a safe climate, access to safe water and adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainably produced food, non-toxic environments in which to live, work, study and play and healthy biodiversity and ecosystems."

Within this framework, the study recommends initiatives that can address the human rights dimensions of biodiversity in the context of development, trade and other areas of international cooperation.

The full study can be read here.