Towards a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands

Abstract

The rights of Nature, a concept recognised by several courts, legislatures and international governance institutions, is being promoted by some non-governmental organisations, scientists, attorneys, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and others. In this article we propose a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands, consistent with the 1982 World Charter for Nature. Recognition of these rights supports the provision of ecosystem services essential to human well-being and to other life on Earth. Further, such rights could reinforce efforts to reduce wetland loss and deterioration, thereby slowing climate destabilisation and biodiversity declines. Because world scientists have warned that biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and climate destabilisation, which intensify wetland loss, constitute global emergencies, new approaches are required to ensure that wetlands are protected and their benefits to people sustained. The proposed Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands states that wetlands possess rights to: exist; their ecologically determined location in the landscape; natural, connected and sustainable hydrological regimes; ecologically sustainable climatic conditions; naturally occurring biodiversity; regeneration and restoration; integrity of structure, function and evolutionary processes; fulfil natural ecological roles in the Earth’s processes; and be free from pollution and degradation. Recognition of these rights is seen as an essential step in efforts to stop wetland loss and deterioration.

Managing Water and Wetlands Based on the Tayal’s Interpretation of Utux and Gaga

“…This is important as we try to execute solutions to our current environmental problem, but implementation of governance tools must be consistent and equitable. However, at the international level environmental governance has a long history of biases and imbalances in regional, cultural, ethnic, gender, and linguistic perspectives (Davies et al, 2020). The western science and Tayal communities possess immense spatial and temporal data sets that when combined, could provide new options for future resource management.…”

50 Years on, w(h)ither the Ramsar convention? A case of institutional drift

“…A report for the convention (Oviedo and Ali 2018 ) should help focus attention and it is to be hoped COP XIV (2022) will tackle this issue more effectively and proactively. Debates provoked by suggestions that wetlands should be accorded rights (Davies et al 2020 ; Bridgewater 2021 ) also play into this discussion. Certainly, in this fiftieth year of the convention it is time to accord better recognition of the role IPLCs have had, and continue to have, in wetland management and conservation in the 25% of the earth’s surface under their direct control (IPBES 2019 ).…”

Reframing the human–wetlands relationship through a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands

“…The Declaration proposed by Davies et al (2021a; Box 1) starts by noting some of the court decisions, UN Resolutions and other initiatives that provide a basis for recognising rights of Nature, and expresses the importance of applying this to wetlands. It contains eight specific Rights of Wetlands based on their ecological structure and condition, as well as the right to recovery from adverse actions by people.…”

“…As outlined in Davies et al (2021a), there is increasing acknowledgement that Nature, including wetlands, has rights that are analogous to the rights of people or organisations, with these being equally defensible in law. This has the potential to offer a powerful means for stemming environmental degradation worldwide, including for wetlands that are in dire condition globally, as shown by the Global Wetland Outlook (Ramsar Convention on Wetlands 2018).…”

“…There are also calls to address the effectiveness of Multilateral Environmental Agreements that have so far not stemmed climate change or the degradation and loss of biodiversity (Davidson et al 2020;Finlayson and Gardner 2021). The proposal from Davies et al (2021a) to take a different, rights-based approach provides an untried option that will take time to enter the solutions framework and to be implemented at local to global levels (see Bridgewater 2021;Davies et al 2021b). Further, it could be integrated with other new approaches, such as the reframing of the concept of wetland ecological character (Kumar et al 2021).…”