Environment

In the battle against COVID-19, a neglected but extremely knowledgeable voice is that of Indigenous or indigenising religions. These groups have both biological and spiritual insight that could contribute to the discussion around resiliency, behaviour adaptation and contributory environmental concerns.

‘We don’t call water a resource; we call it a sacred element. … [I]t’s about reciprocity. That’s the only way we are going to learn how to shift our culture from an extraction culture to a balanced and harmonious culture with the land.’ (Xiye Bastida, Mexican climate activist)

The term ‘intergenerational equity’ relates to the rights of ‘future generations’ which is often taken to refer to those ‘yet to be born’. Child/youth climate activists are however demonstrating that present children intersect with future generations, and that intergenerational rights are children’s rights.

Latin America and the Caribbean is the most insecure region for land and environmental defenders. States must be prepared to protect human rights defenders and implement public policies tackling the root causes of violence, including rethinking the extractive matrix.

Developing countries in Asia-Pacific, particularly the Pacific Islands, are at greatest risk from imminent climate change disaster, despite having contributed least to global warming. Industrialised nations must meet their pledges and support crucial mitigation and adaption strategies in the region.

Bolivia, Argentina and Chile have the world’s largest reserves of lithium, a key resource for the energy transition from fossil fuels. However, intensive mining poses a major environmental risk for the region and the rights of indigenous communities.

This poem by laureate Nnimmo Bassey reminds our global community that human rights preparedness also means fostering resilience through poetry, art and other means of expression. Art eases suffering, empowers, and advocates in times of emergency.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the deadliest recent health emergencies, yet the international community failed to act quickly and with equity. This contribution proposes the development of a new convention and a UN agency to face disasters more effectively in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically emphasised the fact that we are facing an existential crisis with multiple emergencies. This contribution highlights some of the core assumptions that have led to an unsustainable lifestyle based on inequality and the destruction of life.

The international community’s awareness of the growing occurrence of pandemics and comparable disasters emerges from instruments like the Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, the soft law nature of such tools leaves their implementation to the inconsistent ‘good faith’ of national actions.