HUMAN RIGHTS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENT:

The Right to Clean Drinking Water, Air, and Food,

And the Protection from Environmentally Stimulated Illness and Adversity
April Allison1
Introduction
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in response to the human rights
violations observed during World War II, and was adopted in 1948. This was nearly fourteen
years before Rachel Carson would publish, Silent Spring, and several decades before studies on
the connection between pollution and disease would be initiated. The UDHR serves as a basic
outline of human rights, and as a general consensus for the global community; however, the
UDHR is incomplete. It was written before much discourse of environmental issues had evolved,
and before data on the implications of how an environmental element could affect the ability for
individuals to enjoy their basic human rights.
Matters of the environment impact climate change, introduce carcinogens into the food and water
supply, and alter the supply and condition of natural resources, such as water availability and the
fertility of soil. Climate change causes a decrease in agricultural output, and the spread of
diseases, such as cholera. Pollution produces illnesses, such as seizures, chronic headaches,
compromised immune systems, and cancer. These factors have led to an increase in internally
displaced people and refugees, and directly impact the ability of a person to enjoy their
recognized basic human rights.
Human activity has led to environmental degradation, which directly impacts the well being of
people around the world. It is imperative that environmental rights be recognized as human
rights, and for these rights to be codified into international law in order to relieve suffering
worldwide.

B.A. International Studies in Business & Economics, University of North Texas

Progressing international dialogue on the Environmental link to Human Rights

Over the years, awareness of an environmental link to human rights has slowly evolved.
International discourse over the effects of the environment on human rights is an important
precursor to the instigation of a legal framework that protects individuals environmental rights.
The International Conference on Primary Health Care
The International Conference on Primary Health Care was held in 1978 in Alma-Ata, the capital
of the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. This conference produced the Declaration of Alma-Ata.
The principal concern of this declaration was for the establishment of primary health care on the
international level as it identified health as a human right. The first section of the declaration
states that, The Conference strongly reaffirms that health, which is a state of complete physical,
mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental
human right and that the attainment of the highest possible level of health is a most important
world-wide social goal whose realization requires the action of many other social and economic
sectors in addition to the health sector. 2 The following year, the Health and Population
Development Conference expanded upon the idea of health as a human right, and sparked a
global effort to implement primary health care.
Environmental factors have a direct link to ones health status. The establishment of health as a
human right is an important starting point. It offers validation to instilling protective laws against
environmental-illnesses.
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
From 3 to 14 June 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development met
in Rio de Janeiro. In attempt to build upon the Declaration of the United Nation Conference on
the Human Environment, which was adopted in 1972, this UN conference created the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development. The first principle proclaimed that, Human
beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy

2

Declaration of Alma-Ata. In Environmental and Human Rights Advisory. Retrieved from:

http://www.environmentandhumanrights.org/resources/declaration_almaata.pdf

and productive life in harmony with nature. 3 This first principle addresses the key connection
between the environment and a healthy and productive life, and therefore, the need for
sustainable activities. Environmentally degrading acts are harmful in several ways. Negative
externalities, like pollution, lead to contaminated water and air, and the biomagnification of
carcinogens in our food supply. This leads to varying forms of illness, from chronic headaches to
cancer.
Principle 3 states, The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet
developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations. 4 Environmental
degradation impacts food and water security. Additionally, the hardships created by such
degradation impede social development. Women in developing countries, for instance, are
typically tasked with gathering water. If water becomes scarce, these women must travel farther
to gather water. This consumes more of their day, keeping them from going to school, and
putting them in danger of becoming victims of physical and sexual assault.
Draft Principles on Human Rights and the Environment
On 16 May 1994, an international group of experts on human rights and environmental
protection convened at the United Nations in Geneva and drafted the Principles on Human
Rights and the Environment. This draft acted as an international instrument to address the
interconnection between human rights and the environment. It established a connection between
the environment and the human rights specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
such as the rights to life, health, and culture.5
Six elements not considered in the UDHR
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has acknowledged the
importance of the environment as it pertains to human rights. On their website, they have

3

Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. (n.d.). In United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved

from: http://www.environmentandhumanrights.org/resources/Rio%20Declaration.pdf
4

Supra: footnote 3

Draft Principles On Human Rights And The Environment, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/9, Annex I (n.d.). In University of

Minnesotas Human Rights Library. Retrieved from: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/1994-dec.htm

recognized six themes that impact human rights not addressed in the UDHR: dignity & justice,
development, environment, culture, gender, and participation. This recognition highlights the
lack of depth in the original UDHR, and the complexity of the intersectionality of human rights.
The OHCHR admits that the environment is never specifically mentioned in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, yet if you deliberately dump toxic waste in someone's community
or disproportionately exploit their natural resources without adequate consultation and
compensation, clearly you are abusing their rights. Over the past sixty years, as our recognition
of environmental degradation has grown so has our understanding that changes in the
environment can have a significant impact on our ability to enjoy our human rightsbecause
damaging the environment can damage the rights of people, near and far, to a secure and healthy
life.6
This admittance allows an opportunity to argue for the identification of environmental rights as
human rights, and therefore, offers a platform for advocating the institution of environmental
human rights law.
Biomagnification
Bioaccumulation is the increase in the concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the
first organism in a food chain. Biomagnification is the increase in concentration of a pollutant
from one link in a food chain to another.7 When contaminants enter the environment, they
quickly spread through, magnifying in concentration, our food supply. Hydraulic fracturing, for
example, pumps hazardous chemical cocktails into the environment. Apart from the direct
impacts these hazardous chemicals have on human health, these pollutants also enter the food
chain.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (n.d.). In United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner

for Human Rights. Retrieved from: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/CrossCuttingThemes.aspx

7

Bioaccumulation & Biomagnification. (03 April 2002). In Biology department at Marietta College. Retrieved

from: http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/2bioma95.html

When cattle eat the contaminated grass and drink the toxic water, bioaccumulation occurs. Then
these carcinogens are passed on, and magnified, to humans through the consumption of beef or
dairy. Sometimes, the cattle die from disease before they can be shipped off to be butchered. In
this situation, some of these cattle are then fed to their living counterparts.8 This means the toxins
magnified from the grass and water into the initial cow, and then magnified again in the second
that fed on the diseased carcass. This routine also disrupts a natural cycle, converting the
herbivore cattle into carnivores; a reason many attribute to the development of mad cow disease.
The Precautionary Principle
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, was discovered to have insecticidal use in 1939 by
Paul Hermann Mller. It was first used by the military during WWII to control malaria, typhus,
body lice, and bubonic plague by directly applying it to the soldiers. It was then released to the
general public. Farmers used it on a variety of food crops, both in the U.S. and worldwide,
allowing the biomagnification of DDT in the food supply. It was also used as a pest control for
homes and buildings9.
The precautionary principle can be defined as: the precept that an action should not be taken if
the consequences are uncertain and potentially dangerous10. DDT, and its break-down products
DDE and DDD, are persistent, bioacculumative, and toxic (PBT) pollutants11. DDT was not
banned in the U.S. until 1972, enabling thirty-three years of environmental contamination. Had
environmental rights been identified and protected as human rights, the U.S. would have needed
to employ the precautionary principle, testing DDT and its effects first.

Elizabeth Royte. Fracking our Food Supply. (28 November 2012). In The Nation. Retrieved from:

http://www.thenation.com/article/171504/fracking-our-food-supply#
9

DDT General Fact Sheet. (1999). In National Pesticide Information Center. Retrieved from:

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/ddtgen.pdf
10

Precautionary priniciple. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/precautionary+principle
11

DDT, Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) Chemical Program. (18 April 2011). In Environmental

Protection Agency. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pubs/ddt.htm

Climate Change
The Greenhouse effect is a natural cycle that occurs, with increases and decreases in the presence
of carbon dioxide. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, carbon dioxide levels have
continued to break the cycle, rising each year. Current carbon dioxide levels are fourty-four
percent higher today than in the last 400,000 years. The greenhouse effect, as defined by
Ausubel and Sladovich, is as follows: the average temperature of the earth manifests a balance
between the heating effects of solar radiation and the cooling associated with infrared thermal
radiation from the earth. The atmospheres transparency and, therefore, the average global
temperature, depend on the atmospheres absorption characteristics and concentrations of carbon
dioxide and certain trace gases. Some of these gases are produced by natural processes and have
been present in our atmosphere for eons. Because of their presence, the earth is about thirty
degrees Celsius warmer than it otherwise would be. Industrial processes, like the burning of
wood and fossil fuels, create greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. There
is now clear evidence that the concentrations of these gases are steadily increasing. As a result,
the average temperature of the earth must increase to maintain the heat balance between solar
input and infrared output12.
The growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are directly driven by
population size and the increasing intensity of development in its present form. The earth has
experienced an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide of about twenty percent in less than two
centuries. The present rate of increase suggests that the concentration of this greenhouse gas will
double by the second half of the twenty-first century. The warming is buffered and delayed by
the oceans, which absorb both carbon dioxide and heat. As a consequence of this, even if the
production of greenhouse gases could be stopped today, global temperatures would continue to
increase for several decades. These temperature increases will persist because most of the
greenhouse gases have very long lifetimes13. For every one degree Celsius increase that the Earth

12

Ausubel, J. (1989). Technology and Environment. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Engineering.

13

Supra: footnote 12

incurs, a ten percent decline follows in agricultural output14. This leads to food insecurity,
internally displaced people and refugees, and poor health due to malnutrition.
Climate change is an important factor in human rights. Climate change affects agricultural
output, increases water stress, and prompts the spread of disease. On 15 June 2009, the UN
Human Rights Council held a panel discussion in Geneva on the relationship between climate
change and human rights. The topic of the panel was, The implications of climate change for
the full enjoyment of human rights, especially for members of vulnerable population groups, and
the relevance of this for climate change policy15. The main objectives of the panel were:

To improve understanding of the implications of climate change for the full enjoyment of
human rights, especially among vulnerable population groups.

To discuss the implications of this understanding for climate change policy-making. How
can the international community best protect those rights affected by climate changerelated impacts and those affected by climate change response measures?

To better understand the implications of climate change and related environmental

degradation for human rights law and mechanisms16.

Delegates emphasized that climate change was a global problem requiring a global solution and
that the UNFCCC remained the comprehensive global framework to deal with climate-change
issues. Several delegates noted that a lack of resources did not allow the poorest countries to deal
effectively with climate change and its adverse effects on the enjoyment of human rights in the
absence of international assistance and cooperation. In this regard, different views were

14

Dinar, S. (2012). Beyond Resource Wars. In MIT Press. Retrieved from: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/beyond-

resource-wars
15

Human Rights Council panel discussion on human rights and climate change. (n.d.). In UN Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved from:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HRAndClimateChange/Pages/Panel.aspx
16

Supra: footnote 15

expressed as to whether the focus of international human rights law in the context of climate
change should be on national or international obligations of States.17
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has taken many steps to mitigate
climate change. One strategy generated by the UNFCCC was the Kyoto Protocol. Although the
United States was a signatory for the UDHR, the U.S. did not sign the Kyoto Protocol. While the
U.S. agreed upon a basic set of human rights, there is an economic disincentive for the U.S. to
comply with conservation initiatives and regulations for environmental pollution. Although the
long-term economic, environmental, and social costs outweigh the short-term profits, too much
money is currently generated by activities like hydraulic fracturing. This is the underlying reason
the United States has not instilled the precautionary principle in its decision-making. Economic
incentives encourage environmentally degrading activities, and necessitate the need for
international laws to protect ones environmental human rights.
Pennsylvanias Environmental Rights Amendment
On 18 May 1971, Pennsylvania ratified Article I, Section 27 of their state constitution, known as
the Environmental Rights Amendment:
The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural,
scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvanias public natural
resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come.
As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for
the benefit of all the people18.
This amendment offers both the recognition of environmental rights by a governing body, and
the legal precedence for other states within the U.S. to follow suit. Hydraulic fracturing, a
current heated polemic issue, would fall under this category, as well as other environmentally
detrimental activities. Denton, Texas, for instance, recently became the first city in Texas to ban

17

Rights Council Panel Discussion on the Relationship Between Climate Change and Human Rights. Summary of

Discussions. (15 June 2009). In Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved from:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HRAndClimateChange/Pages/Panel.aspx
18

Environmental Rights Amendment. (2014). In Conserve Land, Pynnsylvania Land Trust Association. Retrieved

from: http://conserveland.org/policy/envirorights

fracking. Immediately after, however, the Texas Oil and Gas Association and the states General
Land Office filed a lawsuit against Denton, arguing that the ordinance exceeded the limited
power of home-rule cities and intrudes on the authority of several state agencies, particularly the
Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry.19 The Denton lawsuit
illustrates the need for codified environmental rights protection.
Conclusion
Past and present human activity has led to environmental degradation and the amplification of
the negative effects of greenhouse gases, stimulating climate change.

Mostly driven by

economic incentive, these activities will continue until the establishment of international law
dictates otherwise. Without a legal framework to protect individuals environmental human
rights, these environmentally destructive human activities will continue to adversely and unfairly
impact people around the globe.
The following rights established by the United Nations UDHR are impacted by environmental
degradation:
Article 3.

Everyone has the right life, liberty and security of person

Article 26.

Everyone has the right to education

Article 27.

Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the
community20

Polluting activities can cause financial hardships, such as expensive medical bills, the
depreciation or loss of assets, such as land and cattle, and the inability to work due to health
status. In developing countries, environmental degradation can lead to water stress, causing
women to spend more time retrieving water, making it difficult to obtain an education and
increasing their chances of becoming victims of physical and sexual assault. Women also are
typically responsible for taking care of sick family members, consuming more of their time.

19

Baker, M. (05 November 2014). Energy industry, Texas sues Denton over Fracking ban. In Star-Telegram.

Retrieved from: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/11/05/6263444/texas-energy-industry-sues-denton.html

20

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (1948). In United Nations. Retrieved from:

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

10

Many families in developing countries are dependent upon informal economic activities, such as
subsistence farming and care labor, which are directly impacted by environmental factors.
Decreased agricultural output, due to climate change and pollution, yields food scarcity and
malnutrition. Malnutrition increases infant and maternal mortality rates, and negatively affects
overall health. There is a direct relationship between health and productivity; as a persons health
falls, so does their productivity. Therefore, an environmental component is at the root of wellbeing and social development.
Environmentally degrading and unsustainable activities lead to the biomagnification of toxic
chemicals in the food chain, water stress, internally displaced people and refugees, decreased
agricultural yields, the spread of disease, the creation of pollution-stimulated illness, and
increased hardship and gender inequity. It is therefore pertinent that environmental rights be
included in the global understanding of human rights, and protected and upheld by international
human rights law.