A/HRC/EMRIP/2019/2 concentrated pollution of freshwater, increased seismic or volcanic activity, storm impacts, erosion and submersion reducing fisheries and productive hunting lands, changing rain patterns, wildfires, coastal erosion and sea level rise and disease all contribute to forcing indigenous peoples to leave their lands.52 43. The disappearance of Lake Poopó in the Plurinational State of Bolivia is an example, where the Uru peoples’ culture was based on the lake53 and, in Alaska, Kivalina Island is falling into the sea. 54 Indigenous peoples have been evacuated from Lake St. Martin in Canada owing to flooding concerns and are being settled on higher ground. A class action from those indigenous peoples resulted in compensation of $90 million (see A/HRC/24/41/Add.4, paras. 47–52). In Papua New Guinea, indigenous peoples relocated from their disappearing Carteret Islands to the mainland of Bougainville Province; in the Arctic, climate change is having an impact on reindeer herding, food security and livelihoods; melting ice is opening up the seas for more traffic and, in Africa, adverse climate conditions are driving pastoralists to seek pastureland in non-traditional areas, entailing permanent moves of herds south from Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin.55 It is reported that, in the Russian Arctic, an indigenous child and more than 2,300 reindeer died in 2016, leading to the evacuation of indigenous peoples, in an outbreak of anthrax believed to have been triggered by climate change. 56 In India, the Adivasis people, who are forest dwellers (almost 2 million in number) were evicted by order of the Supreme Court as part of the efforts of India to protect the environment. 57 In Panama, the people of Gardi Sugdub (approximately 1,000), organized their own relocation under the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement within States to the Panamanian mainland. Rising sea levels and severe climate change-related events were the motivation.58 44. The Declaration provides for indigenous peoples’ right to their land, territories and resources and conservation and protection of their environment (see E/C.19/2018/9 and A/71/229) (arts. 25–27, 29, 30 and 32), obliging States to give legal recognition and protection to those lands, an important factor in preventing migration. 59 It also forbids the forced removal of indigenous peoples irrespective of motive and demands that relocation may only be undertaken with the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned (art. 10). As indicated by the Special Rapporteur, displacement from large-scale development projects violates indigenous people’s rights (see A/HRC/39/17). The United Nations treaty bodies and regional bodies have also elucidated the issue of free, prior and informed consent (see A/HRC/39/62). Thus, efforts by States to remove indigenous peoples from their land without their consent could amount to breaches of the Declaration and, more broadly, international law. Apart from displacement, the negative effects of commercial activities (toxic pollution, water contamination, environmental damage and climate change) which contribute to migration may also undermine indigenous peoples’ right to life with dignity (art. 7 of the Declaration and art. 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Their right to life and other attendant rights may also be directly threatened owing to militarization, conflict and criminalization of human rights defenders. 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Documentation and Information Network for Indigenous Peoples’ Sustainability, Mexico, and Guatemala submissions. www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/bolivias_disappearing_lake/. www.dw.com/en/climate-change-a-village-falls-into-the-sea/a-18717942. United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) study, “Pastoralism and security in West Africa and the Sahel: towards peaceful coexistence” (Dakar, UNOWAS, 2018), pp. 24 and 25. www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/01/anthrax-outbreak-climate-change-arctic-circle-russia. www.thisisplace.org/i/?id=4c301717-3e7f-4dca-95fe02a0441cea74&fbclid=IwAR3ITbUcI9qkz4hkrQwtUG76Lm3mQUAy6McWqjFegqKia5JsmYzfuav gYKo. Displacement Solutions “The Peninsula Principles in action: climate change and displacement in the Autonomous Region of Guyanala, Panama”, mission report (July 2014). The Expert Mechanism’s next study in 2020 will be on the right to land under the Declaration. 11