Abstract
This article is a discourse on the violation of the right to life of the environment by individuals and governments. Just as there is drug and child abuse, so have we abused and violated the sacred right to life of the environment with little or no feelings of harm done to it. The life of the environment is sacred, and therefore, deserved much more legal provisions on right to life as provided for human rights. This is because, legal provisions to protect human life, referred to as human rights are engraved under the laws for humans to understand that human life is sacred, hence, protected both by municipal and international laws. But the right to life of the natural environment, although loosely protected municipally and internationally by law and instruments, is yet to be given the required legal backings it deserves. Just as it is wrong to harvest human parts or kill human beings for revenue generation, it is equally wrong to take the life of the environment because we want to raise revenue. Failure to recognize this, we have violated the right to life of the environment by means of revenue generation both as individuals and governments, necessitating the accelerated nature observed in climate change and global warming. This, we contributed by over harvesting natural resources especially oil and gas causing high carbon footprint, nuclear energy, indiscriminate dumping of industrial waste at sea and on land, vandalization of oil and gas installations causing environmental pollution, burning of expired tyres to roast cows for consumption, burning of tyres during festive periods, bush burning, and use of herbicides to clear weeds on farms among others. All these human activities put the life of the environment in danger, thereby violating the right to life of the environment upon which human health and life of other living creatures depends
Kemepa Francis Opusigi Esq., PhD, pp 132 – 149
