68 nature for the members of indigenous and tribal peoples, such as life, dignity, personal integrity, health, property, privacy or information, inter alia. These rights are directly affected whenever there are episodes or situations of pollution, deforestation, contamination of waters, or other types of environmental damages 250 in ancestral territories. State duty to implement the existing environmental standards 236. The rule of law requires that State authorities implement the environmental protection standards that bind them at the national and international levels; this is a positive obligation of States, which expresses the States’ general obligation to implement their own legislation in order to protect the human rights of indigenous or tribal peoples and their members. States must adopt measures to ensure that recognition of indigenous and tribal peoples’ territorial rights in their constitutions and in the international treaties to which they are parties, is incorporated in a cross-cutting manner to their domestic legislation on the different matters that can potentially affect them directly or indirectly, especially to the 251 internal legislation on development projects; but at the same time they have the obligation of securing the effective implementation of the provisions they adopt, and of the international human rights law provisions that bind them. 237. The State duty to apply the environmental provisions in force gains special importance vis-a-vis non-State actors whose conduct is harmful for natural resources and in relation to which the authorities have clear international obligations. This obligation to implement the existing environmental standards is linked to the general State duty of guarantee and protection of human rights from violations or threats by private actors. In practice, States have resorted to different instruments in order to implement their environmental standards and thus comply with their international obligations. Whichever option is taken, the lack of implementation of the environmental protection provisions towards the acts of private parties, in particular of extractive companies and industries, may give rise to a declaration of international responsibility for the State, for violation of the human rights of indigenous or tribal 252 populations affected by activities that are harmful for nature . 250 Hence the integrity of the environment is directly linked to the exercise of the right to life in conditions of dignity; this implies that the State is under a number of international duties of prevention and positive action, aimed at guaranteeing that environmental impacts do not compromise persons’ capacity to exercise their most basic human rights. In this line, the IACHR has explained that the right to life protected by both the American Declaration of the Rigths and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights “is not (…) limited to protection against arbitrary killing. States Parties are required to take certain positive measures to safeguard life and physical integrity. Severe environmental pollution may pose a threat to human life and health, and in the appropriate case give rise to an obligation on the part of a state to take reasonable measures to prevent such risk, or the necessary measures to respond when persons have suffered injury.” [CIDH, Informe sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Ecuador. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.96, Doc. 10 rev.1, 24 de abril de 1997] The link between the protection of the environment and respect for human dignity has also been emphasized by the IACHR: “The American Convention on Human Rights is premised on the principle that rights inhere in the individual simply by virtue of being human. Respect for the inherent dignity of the person is the principle which underlies the fundamental protections of the right to life and to preservation of physical well-being. Conditions of severe environmental pollution, which may cause serious physical illness, impairment and suffering on the part of the local populace, are inconsistent with the right to be respected as a human being.” [CIDH, Informe sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Ecuador. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.96, Doc. 10 rev.1, 24 de abril de 1997] The IACHR has also underlined the direct link between the preservation of environmental integrity and access to livelihood sources, a link which is encompassed by the right to life and other connected rights; citing the World Charter for Nature, it has held that “mankind is a part of nature and life depends on the uninterrupted functioning of natural systems which ensure the supply of energy and nutrients." [CIDH, Informe sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Ecuador. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.96, Doc. 10 rev.1, 24 de abril de 1997] On the other hand, the IACHR has signaled the link between the protection of the environment and the right to health. Since 1983, in its report on the situation of human rights in Cuba, the IACHR recommended the State to adopt specific measures to protect the environment in order to comply with its obligations appurtentant to the right to health, explaining that a healthy environment is essential for a healthy population, and noting that factors such as water provision, basic sanitation and hygiene services and waste management bear an important impact in this regard. [CIDH – La situación de los Derechos Humanos en Cuba, Séptimo Informe. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.61, Doc.29 rev. 1, 4 de octubre de 1983, párs. 1, 2, 41, 60, 61] 251 CIDH, Acceso a la Justicia e Inclusión Social: El camino hacia el fortalecimiento de la Democracia en Bolivia. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 34, 28 de junio de 2007, párrs. 220, 297 – Recomendación 4. 252 CIDH, Informe sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Ecuador. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.96, Doc. 10 rev.1, 24 de abril de 1997. Ver también: CIDH, Resolución No. 12/85, Caso No. 7.615, Pueblo Yanomami v. Brasil, 5 de marzo de 1985.