030201 SE Indigenous Legal Studies: Protecting Mother Earth's rights (2016S)

There is an overlap between recent developments of the rights of indigenous peoples and of environmental law.
On the one hand, the cultures, subsistence economies and the spirituality of indigenous societies depend on their relationship with traditional territories and their environments. Indigenous peoples share a spiritual, cultural, social and economic relationship with their traditional lands. Traditional laws, customs and practices reflect both an attachment to land and a responsibility for preserving traditional lands and territories for use by future generations.
On the other hand, traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples are important for the preservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is widely accepted that biological diversity cannot be conserved without cultural diversity. The seminar will consider, analyse and discuss how the law considers and shapes this link between environment and cultures of indigenous peoples.
The inherent dangers of legal developments that can impose “ecological” limits on the development of indigenous cultures will be discussed, referring to right to self-determination.

Starting from an overview of relevant legal fields and important international instruments, students will be requested to make case studies addressing -
• the interaction of traditional knowledge with other forms of knowledge in the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources;
• the impact of international instruments, intellectual property rights and current laws and
policies on traditional biodiversity-related knowledge;
• the extent to which traditional knowledge and practices have been incorporated into development and resource-management decision-making processes (like in National Park administration);
• the extent in which traditional knowledge is considered in the planning processes of resource extraction projects, by environmental impact assessments and consultation procedures;