#1Planet1Right

Overview | Sign the petition | Our supporters | Videos | Latest news 

For nature. For people. We’re demanding that the UN make it a universal human right to live on a healthy planet.

Overview 

So we’re glad you want to learn more about #1planet1right - you’ve come to the right place. Now that you’ve signed the petition (or if you haven’t, do so below), you want to know more….great!

The campaign is supported by well over 100 grassroots and global organisations who share our profound concern for the survival of our planet.

Recognition of a universal human right to a healthy natural environment is just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle assembled to address the existential crises of climate and collapsing biodiversity which threaten life on planet earth as we know it. If the COVID-19 crisis teaches us anything, it is how the reckless way we treat nature threatens our lives, our economies and our very future. A post-COVID recovery must be green and sustainable, and leave business as usual in the past. Our backs are to the wall. Our New Zealand partner, Forest & Bird, offers a powerful local road map for such an approach.

The United Nations is the playing field for universal human rights so we’ll start there. We are advised and guided by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Dr. David Boyd. The democratic, and therefore necessarily lengthy, process to secure this right starts with the UN’s Human Rights Council.  We are part of a global civil society organisations call for the UN to recognise this right.

This is a call for organisations much like our call is for individuals.
We need to penetrate UN consciousness at ALL levels
from all parts of society around the globe to convey the urgency of the need to act.

 

We also urge your organisation or company to support 1planet1right. If you think your organisation would support this call, please click here. 

An example of this type of endorsement for #1Planet1Right which we’ve received is that from the Global Pact for the Environment. Founded both on the right to live in a healthy environment and on the duty to take care of the environment, the Global Pact will give citizens the legal tools to become actors in the protection of the planet. The Global Pact would be complementary with the universal human right, encouraging a global legal framework that better protects our planet, all while filling the gaps in international environmental law. 

Client Earth is another important organisation which has endorsed #1Planet1Right. Their tagline is “A future in which people and planet thrive together isn't just possible: it's essential.” Client Earth forces businesses and governments to deliver on their environmental obligations. They help to draft more robust, ambitious laws and they propose scientifically sound policies and solutions to protect rights and resources in the first place.

Lobbying the UN, its Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, is a function of getting the member state ambassadors and representatives to these bodies to act, and they do so at the direction of their national governments. So the pressure must come nationally, at the member state level, which is why we are so gratified to have over 100 of our partners in different countries around the world support our call.

The demand for this universal human right to a healthy natural environment is, as mentioned above,
part of a broad kaleidoscope of efforts - a battle on many fronts - to save our planet.

We mention some below, although this list is far from comprehensive or complete. We are deeply engaged, in particular, in fighting the catastrophic losses in our planet’s biodiversity and in fighting the devastating impacts of climate change. At BirdLife Europe & Central Asia, we have contributed a blueprint to help the EU address this crisis in its EU Green Deal, Biodiversity, Farm2Fork and CAP reform strategies.  We are collaborating with many partners towards an ambitious and effective Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework being negotiated under the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and will be highlighting, among many issues, the need for the new human right at the UN Summit on Biodiversity being held as part of the 75th UN General Assembly.

We’re also a partner on and will be talking more about the campaign at sessions of the United Nations Development Programme’s Nature for Life Hub, also taking place as part of the myriad events associated with the UN General Assembly. The goal of these meetings is to address and advocate for the essential systemic transformations we must see if we are to put nature on a path to recovery by 2030, and the Nature for Life Hub will also launch a world leaders’ pledge for nature that commits to just that. 

We and BirdLife partners around the world have wholeheartedly endorsed the Global Climate Strike and in the run-up to the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, we are advocating for accelerated action on climate change, with a focus on nature-based solutions to climate change and a just transition to nature-sensitive renewable energy.

 We also support Voice for the Planet, an overarching platform showcasing the growing movement of people around the world calling for a new deal for nature and people.

We know that change comes from being informed, educated and empowered. This is why we believe so strongly with our partners on the ground in educating and involving young people on their environment and the planet. These grass roots efforts are essential in developing the generation of children who will inherit the planet so they can demand the changes needed now and over the coming decade to ensure a healthy future. For example, with the support of the EU, we have been proud to establish the OWL One World Learning coalition.

So this then is just a glimpse of the connections between the myriad efforts and the very broad terrain on which, in which, we and #1planet1right are engaged in this existential fight. If you would like to make a concrete financial effort to help us continue and expand our work, we would be grateful.

The campaign is supported by well over 100 grassroots and global organisations who share our profound concern for the survival of our planet. The following BirdLife Partners have leant their support:

Videos

See our CEO Patricia Zurita’s call to world leaders #ForNature

Watch our side event on “Building Back Better for Nature & People to Achieve the 2030 Agenda, through a transformational green recovery and recognising the right to a healthy environment” at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Latest News

We're calling for a healthy planet to be a human right. Here's why... News 10 July 2020

Our most ambitious campaign ever aims to fundamentally transform humanity’s relationship with nature – for the benefit of all. Act now by signing our petition to the UN

How do we push forward a Green Recovery in a post-COVID world? News 7 July 2020

The first of BirdLife's new Green Recovery Webinar Series convened high-profile speakers for a daring discussion on the future of our planet

CEO speech on International Day of Biodiversity: ‘the realisation’ News 21 May 2020

On International Day of Biodiversity 2020, BirdLife CEO Patricia Zurita explains why a healthy planet should be a new human right.

Our campaign to make a healthy natural environment a human right News 22 April 2020

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the BirdLife Partnership is launching a bold new campaign to add a new article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the right to a healthy natural environment. Find out why this addition is so crucial and read our letter to the UN Secretary-general.