The Rights of Nature is a new paradigm shift which holds that Nature has fundamental rights. Proponents claim that this new form of ecological governance will create sustainable solutions for...Show moreThe Rights of Nature is a new paradigm shift which holds that Nature has fundamental rights. Proponents claim that this new form of ecological governance will create sustainable solutions for environmental degradation as well as expand the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples. However, there lacks sufficient transparency to what extent these claims are accurate. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the Rights of Nature from a cultural heritage perspective in order to create greater understanding and clarity. The core of the research is to look at the interrelation between the Rights of Nature, landscape protection and heritage studies. In turn, this interrelation can reveal to what extent the Rights of Nature truly expands the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples as well as promotes environmental protection. The research focuses on the parallel cases of Ecuador and New Zealand where the Rights of Nature are legally recognised but approached in different ways. First, the research takes a closer look at the origins, developments and characteristics of the Rights of Nature movement, including the interrelated expansion of the human rights development. Second, the heritage focus reveals that western and indigenous heritage values have a different conception of the human-Nature relationship. Indigenous heritage values reflect an intimate relation with Nature where both humans and the natural world are equally interconnected. In contrast, western heritage values reflect a dualistic perspective on the human-Nature relationship, where human culture is separated from Nature and often in dominion over Nature. These contrasting conceptions, in turn, shape the way cultural landscape protection as well as the Rights of Nature is defined and expressed. From a pure theoretical framework, the Rights of Nature carries both elements of western and indigenous heritage values, however, this is not straightforward and remains ambiguous. The case studies show that Ecuador and New Zealand carry both strong and weak elements in how the implement their Rights of Nature. As a result, the countries have a different outcome in how they protect their cultural landscapes in relation to environmental challenges as well as to what extent they expand the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples. The research presents a variety of conclusions, but the main point is that the Rights of Nature can be regarded as a small step forward in the recognition of Nature’s right, however, it is not the end-solution. So far, the Rights of Nature does not sufficiently expand the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples as well as provides straightforward solutions to environmental degradation. Alternatively, when the western legal system changes its fundamental normative rules that define the principles of rights to a relationship framework, indigenous people’s rights and cultural traditions can be easier embraced. We need a language of law that brings to light the patterns of relationship rather than hides it in structures of hierarchies, boundaries and competing interests. When relationship patterns become the intention within the legal framework, the Rights of Nature can become more effective in bringing about its aim.Show less
The Arctic is often perceived to be a vast empty space, the world’s inhospitable and politically unimportant hinterland. Increasingly at the forefront of the global climate change precipice, the...Show moreThe Arctic is often perceived to be a vast empty space, the world’s inhospitable and politically unimportant hinterland. Increasingly at the forefront of the global climate change precipice, the attention the Arctic receives predominantly reflects a passive region that serves as a dire warning of the environmental degradation to come. In reality however, the Arctic is home to over 500,000 indigenous peoples whose heritages reflect thousands of years of subsistence living and adaption to the region’s environment. The political agency of indigenous peoples in the Arctic is integral to the innovative and collaborative space. As a result, indigenous knowledge is an important component for understanding Arctic international relations and developments. However, the narrow framework of mainstream International Relations is unequipped to sufficiently address this reality. This thesis asks: How do Arctic indigenous peoples’ knowledge and perspectives pose a challenge to prevailing International Relations assumptions? With a focus on the challenges and new perspectives that indigenous knowledge offers to the assumptions of state-centrism, agency, cooperation, territoriality, sovereignty and modernity, this thesis endeavours to include indigenous views in a more inclusive and globally representative International Relations. Is it sufficient to analyse the indigenous political role in environmental protection and sustainable development as one of a non-state influence, pressuring states to make environmentally conscious decisions in their policies? Are indigenous political and social arrangements in the Arctic merely an anomaly formation of significant authority within the regular framework of state interactions? This thesis argues that the variety of indigenous beliefs, worldviews, and knowledge provide more discerning and apt frameworks for International Relations theory to understand indigenous peoples’ involvement in Arctic politics.Show less