Report on biodiversity and human rights

The report of the Special Rapporteur on biodiversity and human rights is now available. He will present it to the Human Rights Council at its next session, during an interactive dialogue on Tuesday, March 8.  The report explains that the full enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food and water, depends on the services provided by ecosystems, that the provision of ecosystem services depends on the health and sustainability of ecosystems, and that healthy ecosystems, in turn, depend on biodiversity. The full enjoyment of human rights thus depends on biodiversity, and the degradation and loss of biodiversity undermine the ability of human beings to enjoy their human rights. The report outlines the obligations of States to protect biodiversity in order to protect human rights, including the heightened obligations States owe to indigenous peoples and local communities that closely depend on biodiversity for their cultural and material needs.