Securing environmental justice<\/p>\n
Kishan Khoday, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As incomes rise so do demands to ensure the rights to clean
\nair, clean water, and the right of future generations to inherit
\na healthy, ecologically balanced environment. In the past decade
\ngovernments around the world have started to recognize the right
\nto a healthy environment as a basic human right. Some two-thirds
\nof the world's nations have constitutions or legislation intended
\nto ensure this right.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the right to a healthy environment is included
\nin the 1997 Environmental Management Act, while Article 33 of the
\nConstitution on social welfare and natural resources has quickly
\nbecome central to the work of Indonesia's new Constitutional
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
A rights based approach is a framework that focuses on human
\nrights and responsibilities. Development programs guided by human
\nrights focus on respecting human dignity, achieving fairness in
\nopportunities and equal treatment for all and strengthening the
\nability of local communities to access resources and services.<\/p>\n
While in many countries the focus is on increasing the quality
\nof life of a rising middle-class, a rights-based approach to
\nenvironmental issues should ensure equal rights for vulnerable
\ncommunities. Tribal communities -- often living in the most
\nglobally critical ecosystems -- in particular remain the most
\nsocially excluded communities. For such communities the right to
\na healthy environment means freedom from extreme forms of toxic
\npollution, freedom from the abuse of customary rights related to
\nland and other resources, and protection of their basic right to
\nlife itself.<\/p>\n
As expressed in the UN Decade for the World's Indigenous
\nPeople (1995-2004) and the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report,
\nindigenous rights are critical for achieving development goals.
\nThe last decade has seen the rise of autonomy regimes for
\nindigenous peoples across the world and Indonesia's 2001 Special
\nAutonomy Act for Papua serves as an important part of this global
\ntrend.<\/p>\n
The Autonomy Act puts indigenous culture central to national
\ndevelopment goals and at the same time highlights the
\ndifficulties of bridging cultural perspectives related to land
\nand resource management which lay at the foundation of poverty
\nreduction and environmental sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n
A rights based approach in the Act is explicit where it states
\nthat \"the management of natural resources in Papua has not yet
\nbeen carried out optimally to raise living standards, resulting
\nin an imbalance between Papua and other regions and a neglect of
\nthe basic rights of indigenous peoples.\"<\/p>\n
The Special Autonomy Act requires that implementation of
\nforeign investment and development schemes are based on
\nmeaningful consultations with local communities, and that
\nindigenous communities play a role in monitoring and evaluation.<\/p>\n
UNDP supports local initiatives aimed at sustainable use of
\nland and natural resources to reduce poverty and protect the
\necosystems of Papua. Unsustainable use of land will lead to
\nincreased poverty while excluding communities from the benefits
\nof development and their right to a healthy environment may
\ntrigger conflict. UNDP supports a rights-based approach focusing
\non:<\/p>\n
o Access to participation: Supports indigenous communities'
\nrole in processes related to planning and execution of land and
\ndevelopment policies.<\/p>\n
o Access to information: Required to understand the risks from
\ndevelopment, for decision-making related to the environment and
\nnatural resource management, and to participate in monitoring
\nsocial and environmental impacts.<\/p>\n
o Access to justice should include improved dispute resolution
\namong government, civil society and business to address issues of
\ncompliance with land use rules and indigenous customs, including
\nthe Special Autonomy Act's call to establish indigenous customary
\ncourts to resolve disputes based on the \"living rights of the
\npeople.\"<\/p>\n
As we mark World Environment Day this year, let us join with
\neach other to recreate the human community, to promote peace and
\njustice and reflect on the mystery that lives in all of us.<\/p>\n
The writer is a Juris Doctor in International Environmental
\nLaw. He served as Focal Point for Environmental Governance with
\nthe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia. The
\nviews expressed in this article are his own and do not
\nnecessarily reflect those of UNDP.<\/p>",
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