Environmental Protection and Human Right II

Definition of Human Rights

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) is the historic document for human rights.

Enforcement mechanism for UNDHR:

(1) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its optional Protocol

(2) the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Definition of Environment Degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Environmental degradation is when habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost, or natural resources are depleted and the extinction of plant and animal species. Environmental degradation is one of the ten threats officially cautioned by the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations. Environmental Conservation for Legal Measures such as the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and Kyoto Protocol - NGO such as Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW).

Definition of Environmental Protection

Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair damage and reverse trends. Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, environmental movements have created more awareness of the various environmental problems. There is no agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity and even scientific dishonesty occurs, so protection measures are occasionally debated.

Approaches with regards to environmental protection

I) International environmental agreements

Many of the earth's resources are especially vulnerable because they are influenced by human impacts across many countries. As a result of this, many attempts are made by countries to develop agreements that are signed by multiple governments to prevent damage or manage the impacts of human activity on natural resources. This can include agreements that impact factors such as climate, oceans, rivers and air pollution. These international environmental agreements are sometimes legally binding documents that have legal implications when they are not followed and, at other times, are more agreements in principle or are for use as codes of conduct. These agreements have a long history with some multinational agreements being in place from as early as 1910 in Europe, America and Africa. Some of the most well-known international agreements include the Kyoto Protocol and others.

II) Voluntary environmental agreements

In industrial countries, voluntary environmental agreements often provide a platform for companies to be recognized for moving beyond the minimum regulatory standards and thus support the development of best environmental practice. For instance, in India, Environment Improvement Trust (EIT) has been working for environmental and forest protection since 1998. A group of Green Volunteers get a goal of Green India Clean India concept. CA Gajendra Kumar Jain a Chartered Accountant is the founder of Environment Improvement Trust in Sojat city a small village of State of Rajasthan in India [3] In developing countries, such as Latin America, these agreements are more commonly used to remedy significant levels of non-compliance with mandatory regulation. The challenges that exist with these agreements lie in establishing baseline data, targets, monitoring and reporting. Due to the difficulties inherent in evaluating effectiveness, their use is often questioned and, indeed, the whole environment may well be adversely affected as a result. The key advantage of their use in developing countries is that their use helps to build environmental management capacity.

What is the interrelationship of the environment with international human rights law?

The linkage of the environment with human rights has been an issue for the international environmental law since 1960s and 1970s. Years by years, there are an increasing recognition between environmental protection and the realisation of human rights, particularly in the face of climate change treats. For example, the UN General Assembly, the 1972 Stockholm Declaration, the 1989 Declaration of the Hague on the Environment, the Rio Declaration and the 1998 Aarhus Convention show how the link between human rights and the environment was very prominent in the early stages of United Nations efforts to address environmental problems.

Besides that, the UN General Assembly in 1968 is the first recognised the relationship between the quality of the human environment and the enjoyment of basic rights. The 1972 Stockholm Declaration proclaimed that man's natural and human-made environment are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights - even the right to life itself. Besides that, the 1989 Declaration of the Hague on the Environment recognised the fundamental duty to preserve the ecosystem and the right to live in dignity in a viable global environment and the consequent duty of the community of nations present and future to do all that can be done to preserve the quality of the environment. While, the Rio Declaration 1992 in principle 1, "Human being are the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature". The 1998 Aarhus Convention in its Preamble, "every person has the right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health or well-being".

Main dimensions of the interrelationship between human rights and environmental protection

I) States should include the duty to ensure the level of environmental protection necessary to allow the full exercise of protected rights

II) Human rights must be implemented in order to ensure environmental protection

III) The right to a safe, healthy and ecologically-balanced environment as a human right in itself

Cases related to Environmental Protection and Human Rights

I. Subhash Kumar V. State of Bihar Case (India)

A short summary case: A case dealing with the discharge of industrial pollution into a river State of Bihar Case (India). India supreme court held that natural sources cannot be utilized if it resulted in irreversible damage to environment and it has been stated in Art 21 Constitute of India stated the right of enjoyment of pollution-free for full enjoyment of life. As result, Subhash Kumar won the case.

II. Guerra and others V. Italy

A short summary: This case dealt with the failure to provide local population with information about risk factors and how to proceed in event of an accident at nearby chemical factory. European Court of Human Rights stated that there was a violation of Art. 8 of ECHR. The respondent State had not fulfilled its obligation to secure the applicants’ right to respect for their private and family life.

Conclusion

Environmental protection and human rights are interconnecting as both of them intended to the well-being of humanity. Safe and healthy environment is the pre-condition for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. The response of human rights law needs to be in global terms, treating the global environment and climate as the common concern of humanity.