The Progressive Development of International Biodiversity Law From the 1972 Stockholm Conference to the Synergistic Protection of Biodiversity and Human Rights, Including at the Ocean-Climate Nexus

Abstract

The progressive development of international biodiversity law, from the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment to today, is exemplified in the evolving interpretation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) towards the protection of human rights. Realizing its transformative potential in addressing the intertwined global planetary crises (climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution), including at the ocean-climate nexus, requires a significant shift from the sectoral and incremental environmental protection envisaged in the Stockholm Declaration, towards an updated understanding of cosmopolitan cooperation foreshadowed in the Declaration.

Keywords: Stockholm Declaration; international biodiversity law; human rights; climate change; ocean