ABSTRACT
The field of international law is expanding rapidly. Indigenous peoples – especially in Latin America – have begun to assert norms under this body of law to protect their lands and resources. Yet, it is difficult to find any express protection for water or even natural resources. Thus, indigenous peoples are looking to the established international law of human rights, cultural rights and emerging law regarding environmental protection. International agreements and norms gleaned from them and from the practices of individual nations offer possibilities for arguing that rights to land and natural resources, including water, must be protected as an element of physical and cultural survival, and the failure to do so is a violation of basic human rights.
