Respecting rights, protecting nature: A path to inclusive conservation
On Human Rights Day, Tuesday, 10th December, we explore the importance of a rights-based approach to conservation. Building on the momentum of our campaign to make a healthy planet a human right, we continually strive to promote justice, equality, and inclusion across the BirdLife Partnership.
By Charlie Malcolm-McKay
In the face of global biodiversity challenges, a human rights-based approach to conservation ensures that biodiversity policies, governance, and management uphold human rights. This approach goes beyond avoiding harm; it proactively integrates measures that support human rights in the design and implementation of conservation initiatives.
We are committed to advancing inclusive conservation actions and strategies at BirdLife International and across our global Partnership. These efforts promote participatory processes, respect local cultures and beliefs, and ensure Indigenous Peoples and local communities take active roles in governance and decision-making.
This commitment is rooted in our broader approach, which emphasises the importance of human rights in all conservation efforts. As our CEO, Martin Harper, states, “Intrinsic to our local presence with our 123 national Partners around the globe is our commitment to a robust embrace of a broad-based human rights approach to conservation. Ethically and practically, furthering human rights in everything we do is an imperative if we are to be successful.”
Key Dimensions of a Human Rights-Based Approach
To implement a truly effective human rights-based approach, we are continuing our work to address several critical dimensions:
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC): Ensuring that communities have the right to give or withhold consent to conservation activities affecting their lands or resources. This includes integrating local and Indigenous knowledge to ensure that conservation planning and actions are inclusive and culturally informed.
Equitable access to financial resources: Conservation funding must be distributed equitably, particularly to communities that bear the brunt of environmental destruction and the pressure to reverse it. Where feasible, Indigenous Peoples and local communities should be granted direct access to funding to lead and sustain their conservation efforts effectively.
Help for resolving conflicts: Providing avenues for communities to raise concerns and seek remedies for any negative impacts they experience. This involves working with BirdLife Partners to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, girls, and youth in conservation decision-making at all levels, from specific projects to broader policy implementation.
Recognition of land tenure: Secure land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is vital. Our advocacy and policy work prioritises recognising and upholding these rights.
Legal compatibility: Our conservation actions align with international human rights law, ensuring accountability and justice for affected populations.
BirdLife recognises that engagement is a step beyond participation. Meaningful engagement depends on the ability of practitioners to build a healthy, lasting, and trustful relationship with stakeholders. Local communities are diverse, with identities shaped by class, caste, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and geography. Acknowledging and valuing this diversity, allows us to design conservation strategies that are not only inclusive but also deeply respectful of human rights and local realities.
Poshendra Satyal, Senior Policy Manager, BirdLife International.
Why a Human Rights-Based Approach Matters
The intersection of human rights and conservation is not just a matter of ethics; it is critical for achieving sustainable and lasting outcomes. When conservation strategies ignore human rights, they risk alienating local communities, undermining trust, and perpetuating injustices. Conversely, integrating human rights into conservation fosters collaboration, enhances the legitimacy of interventions, and ensures that the benefits of conservation are shared equitably.
Conservation organisations play an important role in supporting human rights. While governments have the main responsibility for protecting these rights, conservation organisations must do their part by avoiding actions that cause harm or lead to violations.
A human rights-based approach helps those responsible for protecting rights meet their commitments, while empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities to claim and exercise their rights. For conservation to succeed in the long term, it must be based on trust, fairness, and respect.
A rights-based approach to conservation is a recognition that sustainable solutions must include and empower communities to be at the forefront of environmental stewardship, ensuring that conservation benefits everyone.
Karla Hernandez Aguilar, Programme Officer, Conservation Leadership Programme.
Embedding human rights into conservation is not just ethically essential—it’s a practical necessity for safeguarding biodiversity. By integrating human rights into policies and practices, we create ecologically effective and socially just solutions, enabling both people and nature to flourish together.