Environmental justice and the rights of indigenous peoples : international and domestic legal perspectives / Laura Westra.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Westra, Laura.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indigenous peoples--Civil rights.

Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous peoples--Legal status, laws, etc.

Offenses against the environment.

Conservation of natural resources--Law and legislation.

Conservation of natural resources.

Physical Description:

x, 352 pages ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Environmental justice & the rights of indigenous peoples : international and domestic legal perspectives

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan, 2008.

Summary:

More than 300 million people in over 70 countries make up the world's indigenous populations. Yet despite ever-growing pressures on their lands, environment and way of life through outside factors such as climate change and globalization, their rights in these and other respects are still not fully recongized in international law.

In this incisive book, Laura Westra deftly reveals the lethal effects that damage to ecological integrity can have on communities. Using examples in national and international case law, she demonstrates how their lack of sufficient legal rights leaves indigenous peoples defenceless, time and again, in the face of governments and businesses who have little effective incentive to consult with them (let alone gain their consent) in going ahead with relocations, mining plans and more. The historical background and current legal instruments are discussed and, through examples from the Americas, Africa, Oceania and the special case of the Arctic, a picture emerges of how things must change if indigenous communities are to survive. It is a warning to us all from the example of those who live most closely in tune with nature and are the first to feel the impact when environmental damage goes unchecked.

Contents:

Part I Basic Issues, Principles and Historical Background

1 The Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Eco-footprint Crime and the 'Biological/Ecological Integrity Model' to Achieve Environmental Justice 3

2 Cultural Integrity and Ecological Integrity: The Interface and International Law 23

3 Cosmopolitanism and Natural Law for the Recovery of Individual and Community Rights 47

Part II Selected Examples from Domestic and International Case Law

4 Indigenous Peoples and Minorities in International Jurisprudence and the Responsibility of the World Bank 71

5 The United States and Indigenous Peoples: Some Recent ATCA Jurisprudence 103

6 First Nations of Canada and the Legal and Illegal Attacks on their Existence 125

Part III Justifying Genocide: Principles and Reality

7 Genocide and Eco-crime: The Interface 163

8 Aboriginal Rights in Domestic and International Law, and the Special Case of Arctic Peoples 187

Part IV Some Modest Proposals for Global Governance

9 Indigenous Human Rights and the Obligations of State and Non-State Actors 219

10 Governance for Global Integrity: Present Instruments, Trends and Future Goals 241

Appendix 1 The Earth Charter 275

Appendix 2 'Development' and Environmental Racism: The Case of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 281

Appendix 3 Selected Documents 289.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [317]-339) and index.

ISBN:

9781844074853

1844074854

OCLC:

137222789