Abstract
The article focuses on the state of environment protection at global and regional levels. It dwells in detail on the definitions, history, causes of climate change and the efforts made by the international community to address this existential threat in a just and efficient manner, as well as the ongoing efforts to salvage the future of humanity by embarking on the road to sustainable development. The article also focuses on explaining the state of environmental degradation from a human rights perspective and suggests requisite measures that ensure the promotion and protection of human rights of the most disadvantageous persons and segments of every society. The special emphasis is placed on the origin of Islamic ecological thought, the dichotomy between Islamic precepts, which are fully in line with the just and sustainable use of natural resources, and the contradictory practices of Muslim countries. Equally important in this regard are the various initiatives, policies and decisions taken by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address the challenge of environment protection at the national, regional and international levels, as part of the global community. In dealing with the state of environment protection in the OIC countries, the article also situates the overall debate within the context of the right to a healthy environment and the concept of climate justice. It accordingly makes a number of recommendations to different stakeholders including the primary target of the article i.e. the OIC countries both from a developmental and human rights perspective.
Highlights
The devastation and havoc wreaked by the catastrophic Australian fires (January 2020) has once again brought the burning issue of climate change on the global agenda
It dwells in detail on the definitions, history, causes of climate change and the efforts made by the international community to address this existential threat in a just and efficient manner, as well as the ongoing efforts to salvage the future of humanity by embarking on the road to sustainable development
The environmental performance of majority of Upper Middle Income (UMIE) countries is low with declining Environmental Performance Index (EPI) scores as a comparison between 2006 and 2018
Summary
The devastation and havoc wreaked by the catastrophic Australian fires (January 2020) has once again brought the burning issue of climate change on the global agenda. There is no denying the fact that majority of the Muslim countries emerged from the colonial rule where the natural resources of these countries were extracted and exploited to fuel the industrial growth of the colonial masters with no regard for environmental balance and harmony. This baggage and legacy of environmental insensitivity continued after these countries gained independence. The environmental issues in the Muslim world are the product of social injustice (Sardar, 1977), lack of awareness of environmental issues (Foltz, 2000) and failing to observe principles from the Quran and the prophetic tradition (Foltz, 2002)
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