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Coral reef destruction a threat to human rights

Coral reef destruction a threat to human rights

NEWS - A human rights-based approach to coral reef protection can ensure governments are held accountable for protecting marine ecosystems, empowering local and indigenous communities to demand sustainable solutions and climate justice.

An estimated one billion people globally depend on healthy coral reefs for food security, coastal protection, tourism revenues and other services. If coral reefs and ecosystems are lost, the impacts on human health and economic well-being would be catastrophic.

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity to conserve coral reefs is closing, and despite a range of protective measures, coral reefs around the world continue to degrade. Researchers report on the results of a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and The State University of New York and the University of Konstanz.

“2024 marks the fourth global coral bleaching event impacting more than 50% of the world’s coral reefs and other stressors such as pollution. This is an urgent reminder that the loss of coral ecosystems has negative impacts on both humans and non-humans,” said Emma Camp from UTS.

“Applying a human rights-based approach to coral reef conservation would provide a practical pathway to much-needed transformation of local, national and international governance, while also highlighting the human cost of coral reef loss,” Camp said.

In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Globally, human rights are under threat from increasing climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report states with high confidence that even at 1.5C of warming, a sign we may have missed, the majority of coral-dominated systems in the ocean will be virtually non-existent,” said Christian Voolstra of the University of Konstanz.

“We need to think differently about coral reef conservation and how we accelerate efforts to protect these vital ecosystems for current and future generations,” Voolstra said.

Every choice to act or not to act on the ocean has direct and inextricable consequences, not only for the health of marine ecosystems but also for the health of humans, especially those who directly depend on marine habitats, both culturally and economically.

“In other areas, the application of a human rights-based approach to environmental protection has advanced social and environmental conservation,” said UTS’ Genevieve Wilkinson.

“A rights-based approach embeds non-discrimination, empowerment and participation so that litigation is not the only avenue available for participation and empowerment of vulnerable rights holders. States must be held accountable to their obligations to protect human rights and find equitable solutions,” Wilkinson said.

“A human rights-based approach to coral reef protection is an important opportunity to accelerate coral reef protection while advancing climate justice for humans and non-humans alike,” Wilkinson said.

The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution has been described by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as the greatest future challenge facing human rights globally. The researchers highlighted the 2022 case of Billy v. Australia, the first climate litigation to be brought through rights language.

“The case was brought by eight Torres Strait Islander people and their six children. “This case shows how the failure of states to effectively address climate change can threaten the human rights of people who depend on healthy coral reefs to ensure their way of life,” Wilkinson said.

“Coral bleaching and its devastating impacts on crayfish habitats are specifically identified as harmful impacts of climate change by the Human Rights Committee,” Wilkinson said.

“The Committee found that the failure to implement adequate climate change adaptation measures by the Australian Government violated the rights of Torres Strait Islander peoples to culture and private and family life, in contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” he said.

Original research

E. F. Camp, I. Braverman, G. Wilkinson, C. R. Voolstra (2024). Coral reef protection is fundamental to human rights. Global Change Biology, DOI:10.1111/gcb.17512

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