The Collective Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Environmental Destruction, and Climate Change

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This chapter outlines the connections between Indigenous peoples and their environments, and how this relationship impacts upon the realization of Indigenous peoples’ collective human rights. It explores the emergence of the notion of collective rights and the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources (PSNR), highlighting the interdependence of the right to self-determination, land rights and cultural rights. It analyses existing international law and uses the example of climate change to examine the impact of environmental damage on Indigenous peoples’ rights. Although the principle of PSNR provides protection for Indigenous peoples’ use and enjoyment of their environments, the chapter concludes that Indigenous collective rights are uniquely vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change. Environmental destruction remains an ever-increasing threat to the enjoyment of these collective rights.