A/HRC/61/49 56. Gradually, some conservation actors have begun to incorporate and account for alternative models of conservation, as in the TAMAR Project in Brazil. 95 Positive developments can be found in the programme of work on article 8 (j) and other provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity related to Indigenous Peoples and local communities to 2030 and in several resolutions of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Some States have also committed to applying traditional and local knowledge in planning ecological restoration and sustainable development actions, such as Australia, where the Resilient Landscapes Hub of the National Environmental Science Program and the Indigenous Desert Alliance have integrated Indigenous science with modern survey design and new technologies to support the management of threatened species, and El Salvador. 96 F. Strengthening the legal system 57. Cultural rights must be better integrated into the legal, regulatory and policy frameworks governing nature and biodiversity protection at the domestic level.97 Legislation must serve to promote human rights impact assessments, including cultural rights impact assessments, before the start of any conservation project; extensive and detailed participation and consultation processes with individuals and groups whose rights are being encroached upon; independent avenues of recourse through local courts for alleged violations of cultural rights, which are culturally appropriate, accessible and in relevant languages; and redress measures. Importantly, public authorities must ensure that private conservation actors are brought to justice for the alleged violations committed within their jurisdiction. 58. At the international level, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a hopeful initiative, but human rights, biodiversity and environmental systems remain fragmented, and few international standards address the intersections between culture and the environment. 98 The core international environmental treaties account for this relationship poorly. For example, the Paris Agreement recognizes the need to respect and consider humans in climate change action in general terms, but its only reference to culture is in relation to some cultures’ recognition of biodiversity as Mother Earth. 99 Cultural considerations were supposed to have been mainstreamed across all Sustainable Development Goals, but links between conservation and cultural elements have remained implicit. In all these documents, even when elements of culture are protected, cultural rights are not. This is not a semantic difference: States sometimes take measures for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage that clearly violate the cultural rights of local populations. UNESCO has been widely criticized for this but, to date, the change of direction has in practice been insufficient.100 59. Legal documents on nature conservation must be interpreted, and guidance on them provided, in a manner consistent with human rights. 101 All aspects of the Convention on Biological Diversity, for example, must be read in conjunction with States’ human rights obligations, so that any gaps in the protection of cultural rights are safeguarded. Whether traditional knowledge and practices are “relevant” or “compatible” with nature conservation, and whether they should therefore be maintained or discarded, needs to be contextualized through a cultural rights-based approach, taking into consideration how and by whom such practices are identified and according to what criteria. 60. International human rights monitoring bodies also have to engage with conservation cases and insist on respecting cultural rights, with a clear understanding of the scope and 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 GE.26-01310 Submission from International Council on Monuments and Sites. Submissions from Australia and El Salvador. Submissions from Algeria, paras. 12 and 13; Colombia, pp. 6–10; Guatemala; Mali; Mexico; and Uzbekistan, paras. 36, 37 and 68; and submission from Office of the Ombudsperson of the Nation of Argentina. See the separate annex to A/75/298, available from https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/srcultural-rights/annual-reports, para. 31. Paris Agreement, preamble. See International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, The Indigenous World 2025. See A/71/229. 15