UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

The Inescapable Interconnectedness between Human Security and the Security of Nature

Identification

Public canonical key

openalex:w7139526487

Authors

Mary Hope Schwoebel · Lina Meneses Ochoa

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

conference-paper

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.594326+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:05:51.624235+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Nova Southeastern University

Reported affiliation countries

US

Documentary abstract — original language

We propose a two-person presentation on campus to examine the essential interdependence between human security rights and the security rights of nature. The concept of nature’s security transcends the legal frameworks of nature’s rights, embracing peace-building perspectives that prioritize relational and values-based approaches to ensure the security of all life on Earth. Our presentation will address macro-level initiatives, such as the Escazú Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as micro-level initiatives led by indigenous communities across the globe. The Escazú Agreement, for its part, underscores the civic responsibility to uphold the right to information and democratic participation as vital means of protecting livelihoods and environmental defenders (CEPAL; BBVA). As defined by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), human security encompasses seven interrelated dimensions: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security. A threat to any of these can reverberate across all others (Guarnizo & Pardo, 2021). However this paper critiques the paradigm that underpins this approach, because nature is all-encompassing and environmental collapse represents an existential threat to not only these human dimensions as well as the non-human. In the face of this urgent challenge, the need for a paradigmatic shift that embraces interdependence with nature becomes more pronounced: human life cannot be sustained without healthy ecosystems. Therefore, we underscore the pressing need to adopt integrated approaches that acknowledge and address this relationship. We will also highlight exemplary examples, such as the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and local level initiatives in Florida and South America by both environmentalists and indigenous communities. These cases demonstrate how indigenous communities have pioneered sustainable practices, defending whole eco-systems and biodiversity. But it also makes a case for the right of nature to exist for its own sake, apart from its utility for human beings. This can be conceptualized as a values based approach in line with peacebuilding approaches, or as the theologican and philosopher Karen Armstrong refers to “sacred nature”. And it is what Elise Boulding called for in her chapter entitled “Gaia” in which she asserts that the coming challenge for peacebuilding is peace with the non-human. This presentation emphasizes the imperative to transform our relationship with nature from passive dependence to an active, respectful interdependence and from exploitation to stewardship. This shift is not just desirable, but necessary to ensure the survival of all life on earth.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7139526487

Documentary context

Documentary family

Conference paper / proceedings

Source-reported types

conference-paper

Natural entities mentioned

Ecosystem

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1

• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7139526487

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.