Research Area

Human rights and the environment

The research under this theme aims to investigate the points of intersection and tension between environmental law (international, national and regional laws) and human rights. We are particularly interested in the conceptualization and scope of human rights protections in relation to climate change, environmental conflict and security, environmental justice, environmental displacement, and procedural environmental rights, amongst others. We aim to analyse these issues from both empirical and theoretical perspectives.

We are particularly interested in the following:

• The rights of indigenous peoples and local communities as the holders of traditional knowledge and as ecosystem stewards/biocultural rights
• Human rights obligations and climate change
• Procedural environmental rights (access to information, participation in decision-making, etc.)
• Environmental activism
• Notions of justice – environmental justice, climate justice, resilience justice, etc.
• Meeting global commitments in terms of international human rights law and the SDGs