Concerns About The Term
Where rivers or river systems may be labeled 'Wild Rivers' with the intention of protecting them to a Wilderness (IUCN Category 1b) standard, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns:
"Indigenous and traditional peoples have often been unfairly affected by conservation polices and practices, which have failed to fully understand the rights and roles of indigenous peoples in the management, use and conservation of biodiversity"
Most recently, in Australia, following some declarations, and in the lead up to a number of other 'Wild River declarations using Queensland's Wild Rivers legislation, Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission observed:
"The Commission notes that Indigenous peoples of the Archer, Lockhart and Stewart River Basins disagree with the term ‘wild rivers’. They argue that the term is culturally inappropriate and implies that the land and waters in a proposed declaration were uninhabited and predominantly void of human activity. The use of the term ‘wild’ does not equate with Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and their continuing use of the rivers."
Read more about this topic: Wild River
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