Under the Radar: Fair and Equitable Benefit-Sharing and the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Related to Natural Resources

Abstract

As a result of little-noticed cross-fertilization between international environmental law and international human rights law, fair and equitable sharing of benefits is emerging as an inherent component of the human rights of indigenous peoples and local communities that may be affected by traditional forms of natural resource extraction and by nature conservation measures. While such cross-fertilization is still incipient, exploring the full potential for a mutually supportive interpretation of benefit-sharing in the natural resource sector serves to illuminate the over-looked interplay of benefit-sharing with impact assessment, consent, and compensation, both in terms of States’ due diligence and of business responsibility to respect human rights. A nuanced appreciation of the opportunities and risks of benefit-sharing at the intersection of international biodiversity and human rights law may not only allow for a better appreciation of respective blind spots and missed opportunities for cross-compliance. It may also shed light on the extent to which international law can support a respectful dialogue between different worldviews about nature, development and conservation.