Reframing Environmental Protection as a Core Human Right in National and International Law

Abstract

Recent developments in environmental law demonstrate a clear shift from a purely resource-management approach toward one that is grounded in human rights. A healthy and safe environment is no longer seen merely as an object of government regulation, but as a fundamental right inherent to every human being. This study aims to investigate the role of environmental protection as a component of human rights within both the Indonesian legal system and international law, and to elucidate the normative and philosophical foundations for recognizing the right to a healthy environment as a fundamental human right. It also examines how this right is recognized in Indonesian national law and how the state is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill it. This research adopts a normative juridical method using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. The analysis is based on national legislation, international legal instruments, and relevant academic literature and journal articles. The findings show that the right to a healthy environment has received strong recognition in both international and Indonesian law, particularly through the 1945 Constitution and the Environmental Protection and Management Act. This right is considered a human right because it is closely linked to the right to life, the right to health, and the protection of human dignity. In this context, the state has an obligation to respect the right by avoiding policies that harm the environment, to protect it by regulating and sanctioning actors that cause environmental damage, and to fulfill it by adopting policies and public services that ensure a healthy and sustainable environment for society. Consequently, environmental protection forms an essential part of the human rights protection framework in a modern rule-of-law state.