UNB, Dhaka :
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment has urged the governments around the world to fulfill their human rights obligations to protect the world’s irreplaceable plants and animals.
Speaking ahead of World Wildlife Day that falls on Friday (March 3), John Knox said the rapid loss of biological diversity around the world should be setting off alarm bells.
“We’re well on our way to the sixth global extinction of species in the history of the planet, and States are still failing to halt the main drivers of biodiversity loss, including habitat destruction, poaching and climate change,” Knox was quoted as saying in a statement UNB received from Geneva on Wednesday.
“What’s less well understood,” he said adding, “Is that the loss of biodiversity undermines the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including rights to life, health, food and water.”
The appeal by Knox followed publication by him of the first-ever UN report addressing the relationship between human rights and biodiversity. In the report, the Special Rapporteur describes the importance of ecosystem services and biodiversity for the full enjoyment of human rights, and outlines the application of human rights obligations.
“People cannot fully enjoy their human rights without the services that healthy ecosystems provide,” Knox emphasised. “And protecting biodiversity is necessary to ensure that ecosystems remain healthy and resilient.”
Among its many negative effects, the loss of biodiversity decreases the productivity and stability of agriculture and fisheries, undermining the right to food. It destroys potential sources of medicines, increases exposure to certain infectious diseases, and restricts the development of human immune systems, undermining the rights to life and health. It also removes natural filters from the water cycle, undermining the right to water.
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment has urged the governments around the world to fulfill their human rights obligations to protect the world’s irreplaceable plants and animals.
Speaking ahead of World Wildlife Day that falls on Friday (March 3), John Knox said the rapid loss of biological diversity around the world should be setting off alarm bells.
“We’re well on our way to the sixth global extinction of species in the history of the planet, and States are still failing to halt the main drivers of biodiversity loss, including habitat destruction, poaching and climate change,” Knox was quoted as saying in a statement UNB received from Geneva on Wednesday.
“What’s less well understood,” he said adding, “Is that the loss of biodiversity undermines the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including rights to life, health, food and water.”
The appeal by Knox followed publication by him of the first-ever UN report addressing the relationship between human rights and biodiversity. In the report, the Special Rapporteur describes the importance of ecosystem services and biodiversity for the full enjoyment of human rights, and outlines the application of human rights obligations.
“People cannot fully enjoy their human rights without the services that healthy ecosystems provide,” Knox emphasised. “And protecting biodiversity is necessary to ensure that ecosystems remain healthy and resilient.”
Among its many negative effects, the loss of biodiversity decreases the productivity and stability of agriculture and fisheries, undermining the right to food. It destroys potential sources of medicines, increases exposure to certain infectious diseases, and restricts the development of human immune systems, undermining the rights to life and health. It also removes natural filters from the water cycle, undermining the right to water.
