Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Furthermore, a set of Voluntary Guidelines drawn up by member states of the FAO
in order to give guidance to states when implementing the ESC-rights, put a particular
emphasis on securing access to productive resources, such as the
Voluntary Guidelines
on the Right to Adequate Food
(FAO 2004). Another important document that should
be mentioned in the framework of the LAR project is the very recent, FAO
Voluntary
Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
(FA0
2012).
Unfortunately, despite the existence of a large number of internationally adopted
declarations, treaties and guidelines, states often fail to effectively implement these
treaties in their domestic legal, institutional and administrative systems in order to
protect these rights. Therefore, a HRBA puts the attention on both the right-holder
and the duty-bearer. It interprets development in the sense of capacity building and
empowerment. Right-holders and their representative organizations should improve
the capacities and possibilities to claim and enjoy their rights. The duty-bearers (states,
institutions) should improve their capacity to meet their obligations towards the right-
holders. According to these development objectives, when making and implementing
laws, policies or programmes, states should follow seven human rights principles:
Participation
,
Accountability
,
Non-discrimination
and special attention to vulnerable
groups,
Transparency
,
HumanDignity
,
Empowerment,
and
Rule of Law
(
PANTHER
)
(FAO 2006).
Within the LAR project, the HRBA contributes to the research activities by docu-
menting and analysing concrete cases of human rights violations. It translates research
findings into capacity building and development activities seeking to improve the situ-
ation of rights-holders and eventually to reduce conflict. We will now briefly describe
the cases focused on by the LAR project, before discussing how the ideas, perspectives
and concepts emerging from green criminology and the HRBA can have an impact on
policy.
6.5 THE COLOMBIAN CAUCA BASIN
In Colombia, LAR is developing different sub-projects in the region of the Cauca
Valley, an area that belongs to the departments of Cauca Valley and Cauca in southwest
Colombia. The local governments' 2008 participative enquiry in the region showed
that the most important factors causing social and environmental conflicts were: air
contamination (burning), water pollution (agro-chemicals), water and soil depletion
(desertification), and forced displacement due to industrial sugar cane cultivation and
transnational mining activities. These conflicts around land-use change and access to
land and resources are being closely followed and documented by LAR's local partners
(CENSAT and PCN 2008; CENSAT 2011; Salcedo Fidalgo et al. 2012).
Since the 1990s, increased national incentives and demand for bio-ethanol
attracted transnational investors. Sugar cane as a monoculture advanced into pro-
tected areas bordering the rivers and human settlements. Along with uncontrolled
deforestation, the current situation threatens access to land, water, food and health,
resulting in economic and forced displacement. According to the local population, the
current situation is the worst in decades. In the department of Guachené, for example,
more than 80% of the arable land is planted with sugar cane.
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