Search

The voices, practices and knowledge of first peoples are increasingly being heard in response to the challenges presented by the impacts of climate change. These views tend to be siloed and not integrated into mainstream legal and management frameworks. The need to integrate their views on human-nature connections is based on the premise that first peoples and local communities have needed to constantly adapt throughout history to changing environments. Therefore, through their knowledge and laws, they may have much to contribute in terms of adapting to the changes imposed by global warming. This study travelled back to the origins of legal systems, to determine whether practices of traditional customary law might enhance contemporary adaptive approaches to the impacts of climate change. The South Pacific region, and specifically the Republic of Vanuatu, offered the critical attributes for this study. This region, while being one of the most vulnerable to climate change, has a deep history of adaptation. As customary practices diminish, the need to learn and consider how they may be applied, in contemporary contexts, gains urgency. This empirical and doctrinal study examined the potential contributions of traditional customary law and knowledge in rebuilding sustainable, coupled human - nature systems threatened by the impacts of climate change. The study found that this rebuilding process requires, guiding mechanisms to bridge the gaps between international law, principles, conventions, protocols, and their 'on-ground' application. Two such proposed tools, the Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change and the namele mechanism, have been developed through this study. Both mechanisms integrate the practices and knowledge of first and local peoples, melding contemporary with traditional approaches to environmental management.

Global warming poses serious risks to the environment, communities, and international peace and security. Significant concerns have been raised that, in the case of climate policy failures, the world may enter a Warming War, threatening the future viability of the planet and its life-sustaining ecosystems. While the regime of treaties and agreements governing climate change acknowledges the science and threats posed by global warming, it is not well positioned to constrain the securitization of climate change. A function of international law is to prevent armed conflict by resolving disputes through the judicial application of principles and norms governing relations between States. However, to date, it has been ineffective in addressing the impacts of climate change on armed conflict, because the treaties applicable to climate change fail to provide preventative, enforcement, and dispute resolution mechanisms. It is time for international law to establish judicial bodies with jurisdiction for conflict resolution and response capacities in the pre-phase to a Warming War. The challenge is to develop soft security measures to avoid climate conflict risks turning violent and becoming a hard security issue, attracting the use of force by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The establishment of an International Court for the Environment (ICE) is proposed as an entity that could enforce legally binding norms and resolve climate-induced disputes, opening an avenue for stakeholders to bring climate loss and damage cases to court. Aside from the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) to limit global warming, and the establishment of new legal regimes, alternative actions can be undertaken to protect the environment and communities, by mitigating climate-related risks. There is growing discourse surrounding climate change as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities. In the pre-phase to conflict, there is an urgent need to identify these vulnerabilities and their levels of influence on the compound effects of climate and conflict risks., Goettingen Journal of International Law ; Vol. 10, no. 1, page 307-343, Special Issue: Enhancing the Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts – the Draft Principles of the International Law Commission and Beyond

Fil: Díaz, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Pascual, Unai. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Stenseke, Marie. Fil: Martín-López, Berta. Fil: Watson, Robert T.. Fil: Molnár, Zsolt. Fil: Hill, Rosemary. Fil: Chan, Kai M. A.. Fil: Baste, Ivar A.. Fil: Brauman, Kate A.. Fil: Polasky, Stephen. Fil: Church, Andrew. Fil: Lonsdale, Mark. Fil: Larigauderie, Anne. Fil: Leadley, Paul W.. Fil: Van Oudenhoven, Alexander P. E.. Fil: Van Der Plaat, Felice. Fil: Schröter, Matthias. Fil: Lavorel, Sandra. Fil: Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Yildiz. Fil: Bukvareva, Elena. Fil: Davies, Kirsten. Fil: Demissew, Sebsebe. Fil: Erpul, Gunay. Fil: Failler, Pierre. Fil: Guerra, Carlos A.. Fil: Hewitt, Chad L.. Fil: Keune, Hans. Fil: Lindley, Sarah. Fil: Shirayama, Yoshihisa.