A healthy planet means healthy people


A global goal to support the Convention on Biological Diversity’s objective to live in harmony with nature highlights the need for rights and nature to be intertwined. A nature-positive world will be achieved with the realization of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainble environment. The global biodiversity framework is the opportunity we have to enshrine the rights of all people in policy.

It must include goals and targets to protect a rights-based approach and principles whilst reversing nature loss. This includes:

  • The right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
  • The rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to land and resources, customary sustainable use and traditional knowledge and Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC)
  • Intergenerational equity; gender equity and equality
  • The full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, women and girls and youth
  • Support and protect for environmental human rights defenders

WWF’s key asks on rights and approaches

A strong and ambitious global biodiversity framework is essential to secure a nature-positive world

WWF is calling for the strong and consistent integration of a human rights-based approach and operationalization of a whole-of-society approach across of the GBF, by:

  • A rights-based approach should be explicitly referred to in the text of the final decision, together with access to financing for indigenous peoples and local communities, women and other rights holders
    • Including in Goal B, the fulfillment of human rights, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment;
    • Ensuring indigenous peoples and local communities’ rights to land, water and territories and their right to free, prior and informed consent are respected (Targets 1, 2 and 3) and their customary sustainable use is safeguarded (Targets 5 and 9);
    • Ensuring the full, equitable, effective and gender-responsive participation in decision-making and access to justice related to biodiversity of IPLCs and rights-holders (Target 21);
    • Ensuring equitable access to and benefits from biodiversity for women and girls, as well as their informed and effective participation at all levels (new Target 22);
  • A whole of society approach to implementing the post-2020 GBF should include:
    • Setting up or strengthening representative and inclusive multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral processes on biodiversity (new Target 14bis and/or Part I).

further reading



News and updates

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Opinion: The right to a healthy environment for everyone, everywhere

Devex Global Views

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Towards universal recognition of the right to a healthy environment

IUCN Crossroads Blog

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‘Pachamama’ needs all of us to step up and step in sync with the world’s Indigenous peoples

WWF Governance Medium

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