The United Nations Environment Programme recently released a report detailing 10 existing human rights standards and how they should be applied to conservation organizations and funders (COFs).

In an effort to address the dramatic loss of global biodiversity and the climate crisis, private conservation organizations, many from the Global North, have stepped in to establish conservation areas, many of which are located in the Global South. But without adequate safeguards for the often marginalized communities living in would-be protected areas, reports of human rights violations abound.

For example, in the DRC, the World Wild Fund for Nature, WWF, which manages the Salonga National Park and appoints its director, learned of allegations of human rights abuses by eco-guards against communities near the park but continued to provide financial and material support. The Frankfurt Zoological Society, which supports conservation and sustainable development in Tanzania’s iconic Serengeti, provided conservation funding and equipment to the Tanzania National Parks Authority, which took part in nonviolent and violent evictions of Maasai people.

“A human rights-based approach to conserving, protecting and restoring the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth is the only ethical, equitable and effective way forward,” said David R. Boyd, a contributor to the report and former United Nations special rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The UNEP report notes that marginalized communities including women, Indigenous peoples and people of African descent are particularly vulnerable to abuse in the name of conservation of the land on which they live.

To address the growing issue, the UNEP report outlines 10 existing human rights principles and explains how they should be implemented by COFs.

1. Respect human rights by committing to a high-level policy to respect established norms for human rights.
2. Respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, including their rights to ancestral lands, and obtain free prior and informed consent to equitably share the benefits of conservation projects.
3. Respect the rights of all groups including women, children, African descendants, human rights defenders and the disabled.
4. Exercise due diligence to support and fund only conservation projects that respect human rights.
5. Engage in good faith consultation with local stakeholders who may be negatively impacted by conservation activities.
6. Prevent human rights abuses and cease any adverse impacts caused by COFs.
7. Provide effective remedies if any negative impacts result from conservation projects and provide a way for local communities to effectively report complaints and concerns.
8. Protect human rights in relationships with local governments and businesses. COFs should restrict or eliminate support for third-party groups that violate human rights.
9. Protect human rights in law enforcement including anti-poaching, eco-guards and local police. COFs should restrict or eliminate support for law enforcement that violates human rights.
10. Report regularly on how the COF is upholding these established standards of human rights.

Banner image  courtesy of Molly Bergen/WCS, WWF, WRI via Flickr