Professor Morgera invited to UN expert consultation on biodiversity and human rights

Elisa Morgera smiling at the camera Professor Elisa Morgera, Co-Director of Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG), has been invited to contribute to the UN expert consultation on biodiversity and human rights in Geneva, Switzerland. The consultation, organised in cooperation with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), is part of the 2016 thematic project studying human rights obligations pertaining to biodiversity and ecosystems of UN Special Rapporteur John Knox.

Aims Prof Knox’s report

Prof Knox’s report aims to clarify how human rights obligations apply to conservation policies and programmes, how conservation can support human rights, and best practices in avoiding any conflicts between the worthwhile goals of conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, on the one hand, and safeguarding human rights, on the other. The consultation will gather approximately 20-25 participants, with a wide range of experience and expertise in human rights and/or conservation, including representatives of international institutions and civil society organizations as well as academics. Discussions, challenges, and lessons learned identified through the consultation will help to inform Prof Knox’s next report to the UN Human Rights Council, to be presented in March 2017.

Findings

Professor Morgera shared the findings of her research (funded by the European Research Council) on fair and equitable benefit-sharing at the intersection of international biodiversity and human rights law, particularly in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to natural resources.

Professor Elisa Morgera

Elisa Morgera explores how biodiversity law evolves to address a variety of global environmental challenges and human rights issues. She's investigating these linkages in international, European and comparative law. She has focused specifically on the links between biodiversity and: