Human rights and the Environment

Choose a case related to human rights and the environment that you find compelling and would like to explore further. A list of approved topics is provided below. You can choose any 1 of these topics. They are organized by course theme to help you choose a topic that most interests you. You can choose your own topic if you wish, but please refer to the provided topic list to ensure your chosen topic meets the criteria. Your case study should focus on a specific environmental issue (e.g., water contamination, deforestation, climate change-induced displacement) in a specific geographic location (i.e., country or region) (e.g., Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Tuvalu, Canada, USA) rather than a broad discussion of global environmental challenges.

In your report, you will need to provide background information on the specific environmental issue (e.g., desertification, habitat destruction, pollution, rising sea levels), the case study location, and how the situation has impacted human rights in that location. You are expected to make connections between your case study and the concepts discussed in this course (e.g., environmental justice, sustainability, resilience, policy responses, and social equity).

Individually, you are to prepare and submit a 1500-word report focusing on your chosen topic. I prefer a report format (i.e., with sections, each with an obvious section heading) in order to cut down on padding. If you insist on adopting an essay format (i.e., with an introduction and conclusion, and better flow between sections, or perhaps even no section headings at all), this is certainly acceptable; however, for this option, you should aim for 2000 words. A minimum of 8 references is required, with a minimum of 6 of these sources being academic, peer-reviewed sources. APA format is required for all references and citations (e.g. Smith, 2012). Graphics, tables and figures are encouraged, but do not contribute to the overall word count. The reports are due Day 3 of Week 12, 11:59pm to the MyLS dropbox. Late submissions penalized 5% per day including weekends to a maximum of 7 days. After 7 days a mark of zero will be given.

General Requirements:

• 11-point (Calibri) font, single space, 1 margins, approximately 1500 words in length (not including title page or works cited).
• Must have enough sources to adequately address the chosen topic
• Sources can be a mix of academic and good quality government/non-government sources. Of these 8 sources, 6 must be peer reviewed sources (e.g., journal articles).
• Grammar, spelling and style are important elements of this assignment.
• Use APA v.7 for all citations and the works cited.
• Use full sentences and paragraphs and paraphrase (no long direct quotes).

I suggest the following format for laying out the report. This is a suggestion, so feel free to stray from this format.

Final Project Report: 3 sections

1. Introduction:
2. Introduce a specific environmental problem that impacts human rights in your chosen area and explain why it is important.
3. Identify your case study. Your case study must be tied to a particular place (e.g., climate migration in Ghana).
4. Case study:
5. Provide an overview of your case study including the location and background information. Provide a map with the location of your study.
6. Keeping in mind that you need to address both the environmental concerns and the impacts these have on human rights, describe and evaluate your case study. What are the key concerns? Why have these issues arisen? Who is responsible and who/what is impacted? What could be/has been undertaken to resolve the issue?
7. Describe your case study relative to the global context. Please explain how your case study is an example of a broader problem or set of circumstances in that part of the world or globally.
8. Concluding thoughts:
9. Looking beyond your case study, what insights could be useful for other places/areas experiencing a similar problem? Any other concluding thoughts.

Fully addresses sections A-B-C20%Citations and works cited5%Grammar, style, spelling5%Total30%

Written Research Report Topics (please only choose one, e.g., 1b).

1. Indigenous and Land Rights

How do environmental threats and development projects violate Indigenous peoples’ rights to land, culture, and self-determination?

1. Deforestation and Indigenous Land Rights in the Amazon (Brazil)
2. Examine the impact of illegal logging and government policies on Indigenous communities rights to land, culture, and self-determination.
3. Climate Change and Pastoralist Displacement in Ethiopia
4. Assess how desertification and climate shocks affect the right to livelihood and food for pastoral communities.
5. Pipeline Development and the Rights of Wetsuweten Nation in Canada
6. Examine how fossil fuel infrastructure intersects with Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice.
7. Climate Change and Drought in Kenyas Turkana Region
8. Investigate the impact on food security, water access, and Indigenous rights.
9. Hydropower Development and Indigenous Rights in the Amazon (Peru)
10. Examine how dam projects displace Indigenous populations and affect ecological and cultural rights.
11. Desertification and Pastoralist Livelihoods in the Sahel (Mali/Niger)
12. Assess how land degradation undermines the right to food, culture, and self-determination among nomadic herders.
13. Palm Oil Plantations and Indigenous Land Rights in Indonesia
14. Explore how deforestation for palm oil production impacts the land, culture, and environmental rights of Indigenous groups.

2. Climate Change and Displacement

How does climate change lead to displacement and threaten rights to life, housing, and self-determination?

1. Climate-Induced Displacement in Tuvalu
2. Explore how rising sea levels threaten the right to self-determination, housing, and life in the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu.
3. Rising Seas and the Right to Housing in Bangladesh
4. Assess climate migration, floods, and the threat to housing and livelihood rights in coastal Bangladesh.
5. Cyclone Idai and Post-Disaster Human Rights in Mozambique
6. Explore how extreme weather events linked to climate change affect the right to life, housing, health, and disaster response equity.
7. Wildfires and Environmental Injustice in California (USA)
8. Investigate how recurring wildfires disproportionately affect low-income, elderly, and undocumented communities in terms of housing, health, and access to services.

3. Water Rights and Pollution

How do water contamination, scarcity, or mismanagement violate the right to health, water, and a clean environment?

1. Water Insecurity and Indigenous Rights in Canada
2. Investigate how contaminated water on Indigenous reserves violates the right to health and a healthy environment.
3. Oil Pollution and Human Rights in Ogoniland, Nigeria
4. Study Shells oil operations and the violation of the right to health, clean water, and a sustainable environment in the Niger Delta.
5. The Right to Water in Flint, Michigan (USA)
6. Assess how policy failures in water safety disproportionately affected low-income and Black residents right to health and clean water.
7. Plastic Pollution and Coastal Community Rights in the Philippines
8. Analyze how plastic waste affects fishing communities right to livelihood, health, and a clean environment.
9. Glacial Retreat and Water Rights in the Andes (Peru/Bolivia)
10. Examine how melting glaciers threaten freshwater supplies for downstream communities, impacting the right to water, food, and livelihood.
11. Sand Mining and River Ecosystem Destruction in India (Tamil Nadu)
12. Explore how illegal sand mining damages river systems and undermines the rights to water, health, and environmental protection for local villagers and farmers.

4. Environmental Racism and Social Inequity

How are low-income and racialized communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm and excluded from decision-making?

1. Environmental Racism in Cancer Alley, Louisiana (USA)
2. Analyze the disproportionate siting of petrochemical plants in Black communities and its impact on the right to health and life.
3. Land Grabs and Food Security in Tanzania
4. Investigate how foreign agricultural investments impact the right to land, food, and self-determination for rural communities.
5. Coal Mining and Environmental Degradation in Appalachia (USA)
6. Analyze mountaintop removal minings impact on the right to health, housing, and a clean environment.
7. Gold Mining and Water Contamination in Papua New Guinea
8. Explore the environmental and human rights consequences of extractive industries on local communities.
9. Deep-Sea Mining and Pacific Island Communities Rights
10. Analyze proposed seabed mining projects potential impacts on marine ecosystems, food security, and the cultural and self-determination rights of small island states.

5. Right to Food, Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods

How does environmental degradation and unsustainable agriculture impact the right to food, work, and health?

1. Toxic Waste Dumping in Cte dIvoire (Probo Koala Boat Case)
2. Explore the dumping of hazardous waste in Abidjan and the resulting violation of environmental and health rights.
3. Air Pollution and the Right to Health in Delhi, India
4. Explore how smog and industrial pollution infringe on the right to a healthy environment in one of the worlds most polluted cities.
5. E-Waste Dumping in Ghana (Agbogbloshie)
6. Explore how the import of hazardous electronic waste affects the health and environmental rights of informal workers.
7. Heatwaves and Social Inequality in Europe
8. Assess how extreme weather disproportionately affects elderly and low-income populations.
9. Pesticide Use and Agricultural Workers Rights in Argentina
10. Investigate how extensive agrochemical spraying in the Pampas region affects the health, housing, and work rights of farm laborers.

6. Ecosystem and Biodiversity Protection

How do environmental harms to ecosystems violate human and intergenerational rights?

1. Climate-Related Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia
2. Study how poor urban planning and rising sea levels impact housing, health, and access to services.
3. Uranium Mining and Radiation Exposure in Kazakhstan
4. Explore the legacy of Soviet-era uranium extraction on local communities right to health, a safe environment, and remediation access (this can also be focused on Northern Canada).
5. Climate Change and Coral Reef Degradation in the Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
6. Analyze how ocean acidification and warming threaten ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal and Indigenous communities relying on marine biodiversity.