LAND, LAW, AND JUSTICE: INDIGENOUS SELF-DETERMINATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

Abstract

This research investigates environmental governance from an Indigenous self-determination perspective, with a focus on land rights, legal frameworks, and environmental justice. This paper investigates the increasing recognition of indigenous peoples' cultural, spiritual, and ecological connections to their ancestral territories by national and international legal systems. This investigation investigates the establishment of legal safeguards for Indigenous land and resource rights. Participatory environmental decision-making, FPIC, and self-determination are prioritized. This paper investigates the ways in which Indigenous rights have been safeguarded by constitutional protections, judicial actions, and international institutions. Land dispossession, extractive development, climate change, and legal enforcement are also addressed in this research. This paper presents a paradigm for sustainable development, biodiversity protection, and equitable environmental governance that is based on justice and rights. The authors assert that this paradigm must recognize Indigenous self-determination. In order to achieve environmental justice and inclusive governance, it is necessary to respect Indigenous knowledge systems, develop legal structures, and effectively engage communities.