Local Solutions to Global Problems: Drawing on Indigenous Environmental Stewardship to Inform International Legal Conservation Strategies
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL DISSERTATION
I’m Bryn Evans, a 20 year-old Durham University LLB graduate from Vancouver, Canada. I’m currently back in Vancouver, working in the field of Indigenous law, with the hope of pursuing further studies and work in international human rights and environmental policy. I chose to write my dissertation on biocultural relationships—the special relationships of mutual support between many Indigenous and local communities and their natural environments—in large part because I viewed the topic as a bridge of sorts between Indigenous law and environmental law. These are two areas of law that are not only very meaningful to me, having grown up in the environment-conscious city of Vancouver around a number of close First Nations friends, but that are also of contemporary global importance. Few, if any, states on the international legal stage are able to share accounts of their respect for Indigenous peoples or the natural environment, and the movement to reverse these two trends is gaining momentum at every turn. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my research revealed that there is a significant connection between these historical trends: for example, it has oftentimes been a disregard for Indigenous culture, lands, and livelihoods that has allowed for environmental overexploitation. Ergo, in contemplation of the interrelated character of Indigenous and environmental abuses, the legal recognition, protection, and fortification of biocultural relationships would be a step in tackling both crises. Of course, this solution is unfortunately not as simple as enacting law so as to hit two birds with one stone. Like almost all international legal projects, a multidisciplinary approach is required; in the case of biocultural relationships, this approach involves considering legal norms, but also anthropological studies, political theory, and scientific evidence. Although biocultural relationships remain relatively infantile compared to the orthodoxy of international law, I was heartened to learn of the incredible work that is being done, as has already been done, to support Indigenous and local communities in their environmental stewardship efforts. As I discuss in my dissertation, I believe the stage is set for biocultural relationships to enter the legal mainstream.
- Bryn Evans, Author
Introduction
The legal and anthropological context of this dissertation will be set by Chapter 1. Prefaced by an introductory section which contextualizes biocultural relationships within existing legal systems, Chapter 1 will depict the need for biocultural approaches within international legal conservation strategies. It will be argued that biocultural relationships are implicitly recognized in both international texts and jurisprudence, though are not yet seen as a self-standing basis for rights or environmental claims. This jurisprudential discussion will premise the institution of both a rights and knowledge framework, the details of which will be analyzed in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively.
Chapter 2 will discuss the implications of assigning Indigenous rights on the basis of environmental stewardship, asserting that although stewardship is, and should be, part of the rationale for customary rights, rights should not hinge on duties or else risk undermining the legal status of the very peoples they seek to protect. In lieu of duty-based rights, Indigenous self-determination and the continuation of biocultural relationships are best supported through land rights. Notwithstanding a self-determination doctrine fraught with uncertainties, it will be demonstrated that Indigenous land rights on the basis of traditional occupation—though not specific biocultural rights—have attained CIL status.
Finally, in light of the fact that traditional knowledge has ensured the sustainability of Indigenous cultures for millennia, Chapter 3 will maintain that in order to effect environmental change on a global scale, IEL must draw on this knowledge to inform a revised regulatory framework. It will be demonstrated that a multilateral system of ABS and future codification of biocultural legal norms are necessary for this framework to be fully effective.
