Sustainable Use is a human right

There is an increasing global concern around human and biodiversity crisis, but the reality that sustainable use (SU) is critical for both biodiversity and human wellbeing remains certain. International instruments on the environment have clarified that SU does not threaten species survival. Rather, it encourages species survival by providing economic and social incentives against overexploitation, and depletion of fauna and flora. This thinking forms, for instance, a core part of the three objectives of the CBD – the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources – that are mutually supportive and stand on equal footing.  Sustainable use has implications for the right to subsistence of local populations guaranteed in a number of international human rights instruments. The Ismail Mahomed Centre for Human and Peoples’ Rights partners with organisations and will continue to raise awareness and advance solutions around the sustainable use of natural resources.