Advancing legal recognition and community-led reparations for indigenous rights in combating climate change and environmental degradation

Abstract

Designing meaningful reparations for Indigenous communities requires grappling with the enduring effects of historical and contemporary injustices. Despite the existence of international legal frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and International Labour Organization Convention 169, Indigenous peoples around the world continue to experience systemic land dispossession, exclusion from decision making, and environmental harm tied to extractive and infrastructure projects. These harms are often compounded by the lack of formal legal recognition of Indigenous land rights and the failure to uphold principles like Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Addressing these realities demands reparative frameworks that go beyond symbolic recognition, offering structural responses grounded in accountability, restitution, and the restoration of Indigenous autonomy over land and resources.