When Rights Embrace Responsibilities: Biocultural Rights and the Conservation of Environment

The book discusses the development of the emerging concept of biocultural rights, which are defined as a basket of group rights. These rights are aimed at protecting the stewardship role that certain indigenous peoples and local communities have towards environment. This work provides an overview of the current ethical debate on different approaches towards the conservation of environment and the problematic definitions of indigenous peoples and local communities. The reader is taken through an intense but easy-to-read journey across the development and challenges of the concept of right and the birth of human rights, necessary to understand the sui generis features of biocultural rights. The book critically assesses the foundations, content, and implications of biocultural rights, and develops new perspectives and ideas concerning their potential applicability for promoting the socio-economic interests of indigenous people and local communities. It further explores the controversial relationship of interdependence and conflict between conservation of environment and protection of human rights.