UN Expert Urges Long-Term Planning to Protect People, Nature and Environmental Rights

Astrid Puentes Riaño, the Special Rapporteur on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, called for decisions grounded in science, local knowledge and human rights.

Governments must put effective planning at the centre of efforts to protect people and the planet, a UN human rights expert has told the General Assembly. Astrid Puentes Riaño, the Special Rapporteur on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, called for decisions grounded in science, local knowledge and human rights. Presenting her report, she said integrated, long-term planning can strengthen environmental protection, improve well-being and help economies and societies thrive.

The interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution require planning that recognises the relationship between people and nature and respects planetary boundaries. Puentes Riaño urged governments to prioritise long-term planetary health and public well-being over short-term economic gains and private interests. That requires ambitious goals to curb unsustainable resource extraction, protect and restore ecosystems and build resilient economies through decisions that serve the public interest.

A persistent gap between environmental commitments and implementation continues to hold back progress, making concrete action essential to securing a healthy environment for all. The expert said governments must translate long-term visions into measurable improvements, including cleaner air and water, faster transitions away from fossil fuels and stronger protection for biodiversity. Her report presents examples of good practice from around the world and stresses that planning must connect environmental promises with decisions that improve people's lives.

Public participation must shape environmental decisions

Effective planning depends on the rule of law, transparency, access to information, public participation and access to justice, according to the report. Planning processes must meaningfully involve women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, children and young people, persons with disabilities, local and rural communities, LGBT persons, civil society, academia and businesses. Puentes Riaño stressed that participation is a human right that improves the quality, legitimacy and effectiveness of decisions affecting people's lives, health and environment.

Coordinated action must turn commitments into results

Governments should manage land, urban areas, natural resources and the ocean in ways that safeguard ecosystems and serve the public interest. Puentes Riaño called for better coordination across sectors and levels of government, nationally and internationally, through integrated planning and governance frameworks supported by reporting. These arrangements should bring policies into alignment and overcome fragmented responsibilities that make it harder to turn shared environmental commitments into effective action.

Failure to plan carries growing human costs

Heatwaves, droughts, catastrophic storms, wildfires, ocean degradation and ecosystem collapse already affect millions of people, increasing deaths and illness, forcing displacement and eroding invaluable cultural and ancestral knowledge. Puentes Riaño said planning is an obligation for states under international law and a duty for institutions and businesses, with consequences extending across generations. She urged governments to meet their obligations through forward-looking planning focused on solutions that protect people, preserve the environment and respond to the needs of present and future generations.