What do you know about conservation and human rights?

 

When is it acceptable to restrict a community’s right to hunt or use natural resources it has traditionally accessed?

Can a protected area be created on community lands without their consent?

Can communities be forcibly displaced for conservation?

What enforcement measures should be taken against communities who break wildlife laws?

 

These are just a few examples of the many areas where the practice of conservation and the respect for human rights can be tricky to navigate.

The risks of not taking these issues seriously are big – not only for the reputation of conservation (as the allegations published earlier this year by Buzzfeed have shown), but also for its effectiveness.

In this short article published in Oryx, FPP Associate Helen Newing and FPP lawyer Anouska Perram provide a brief outline of some of the key commitments of conservation actors, as well as the obligations they have under international human rights law – because the first step towards respecting human rights is understanding them.

• Read the full article here