Environmental Justice and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
International and Domestic Legal Perspectives
Laura Westra
Cloth: 978 1 84407 485 3
Price: $127.00  

Publisher: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
December 2007 , 364 pp., 6 3/4" x 9 1/2"
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 recognized 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 defenseless, 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.

Table of Contents:
Foreword—Bradford W. Morse; Preamble; Acknowledgements; 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; 2) Cultural Integrity and Ecological Integrity: The Interface and International Law; 3) Cosmopolitanism and Natural Law for the Recovery of Individual and Community Rights; 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; 5) The United States and Indigenous Peoples: Some Recent ATCA Jurisprudence; 6) First Nations of Canada and the Legal and Illegal Attacks on their Existence; PART III: JUSTIFYING GENOCIDE: PRINCIPLES AND REALITY: 7) Genocide and Eco-crime: The Interface; 8) Aboriginal Rights in Domestic and International Law and the Special Case of Arctic Peoples; PART IV: SOME MODEST PROPOSALS FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: 9) Indigenous Human Rights and the Obligations of State and Non-State Actors; 10) Governance for Global Integrity: Present Instruments, Trends and Future Goals; Appendix 1: The Earth Charter; Appendix 2: ‘Development” and Environmental Racism: The Case of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni; Appendix 3: Selected Documents; List of Acronyms and Abbreviations; List of Cases; List of Documents; Bibliography; Index.


Related titles:
Share
Reviews & Endorsements:
“The timing of Laura Westra’s important work couldn’t be better in furthering the understanding between environmental degradation and the human rights of indigenous peoples. The world can no longer carry on ‘business as usual’ when the basic rights of the vulnerable are being diminished and often destroyed due to a ‘disconnect’ between development and environmental protection. Laura’s work will no doubt help to connect these crucial dots of the disproportionate negative extended ecological footprint of a globalized economy on the Arctic and its people.”
- Sheila Watt-Cloutier, OC, Citizen Advocate on Arctic Climate Change, Former Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Nobel Peace Prize nominee 2007
”Highly readable, informative, passionate. This volume provides an intellectually stimulating contribution to exploring the complex interface between eco-biological integrity and indigenous identity in the era of globalization, while offering critical insights into international and comparative human rights jurisprudence.”
- Gaetano Pentassuglia, Liverpool Law School , University of Liverpool