A/HRC/31/53 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 19/10, the Human Rights Council decided to appoint an independent expert with a mandate to study the human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and to identify and promote best practices on the use of human rights obligations and commitments to inform, support and strengthen environmental policymaking. 2. In March 2014, the Independent Expert presented a mapping report that reviews the statements of human rights bodies, as well as views gathered in regional consultations with Governments, civil society organizations, international organizations and academics, on the obligations of States under international human rights law relating to the environment (A/HRC/25/53). 3. The diverse sources reviewed indicate a growing level of consensus about how human rights norms apply to environmental issues. There is agreement that environmental degradation can and does interfere with the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights. To protect against such interference, human rights bodies have stated that Governments have: (a) procedural obligations, including to make environmental information publicly available, to facilitate public participation in environmental decision-making and to provide access to legal remedies; (b) substantive obligations to adopt institutional frameworks to protect against environmental harm that may infringe on enjoyment of human rights; and (c) heightened obligations to protect those who are most vulnerable to such harm. 4. Many Governments, international organizations, corporations and civil society organizations are already employing human rights perspectives to address environmental problems. In March 2015, the Independent Expert presented a report to the Human Rights Council in which he identified more than 100 good practices with respect to each of the above obligations, in every region of the world (A/HRC/28/61). In addition to being available on the website of the United Nations, descriptions of the practices are now accessible through a stand-alone dedicated website, www.environmentalrightsdatabase.org, which allows the practices to be easily searched. 5. In its resolution 28/11, the Human Rights Council renewed the mandate and changed the title of the mandate holder to Special Rapporteur. In that same resolution, the Council requested the Special Rapporteur to continue to study human rights obligations relating to the environment and to identify good practices in the use of such obligations, but also to promote and report on the realization of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, to disseminate his findings by continuing to give particular emphasis to practical solutions with regard to their implementation and to work on identifying challenges and obstacles to the full realization of such obligations. The human rights norms relating to the environment continue to develop and evolve and, with a view to further clarifying the applicable obligations, the Special Rapporteur continues to examine thematic issues, including climate change and ecosystem protection. As recognized in resolution 28/11, however, many of the human rights norms relating to environmental protection are clear enough that it is appropriate to examine how they can be better promoted and implemented. 6. To that end, the Human Rights Council requested the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to convene 2