The environmental rights revolution : a global study of constitutions, human rights, and the environment

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Title:

Author:

Boyd, David R. (David Richard), 1964-

ISBN:

9780774821605

9780774821612

Personal Author:

Boyd, David R. (David Richard), 1964-

Publication Information:

Vancouver, BC : UBC Press, c2012.

Physical Description:

xiii, 443 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Series:

Law and society series,

Law and society series (Vancouver, B.C.)

Contents:

Part 1. The Emergence and Evolution of a New Human Right. -- 1. Constitutions, Human Rights, and the Environment : The Context -- 2. The Right to a Healthy Environment : framing the Issues -- 3. The Prevalence and Enforceability of Environmental Provisions in National Constitutions -- 4. The Influence of International Law -- Part 2. The Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment in Practice -- 5. A Framework for Assessing the Legal Influence of the Right to a Healthy Environment -- 6. Latin America and the Caribbean -- 7. Africa -- 8. Asia -- 9. Eastern Europe -- 10. Western Europe -- Part 3. Evaluating the Impacts of Environmental Provisions in Constitutions. -- 11. Lessons Learned : Practical Experiences with the Right to a Healthy Environment -- 12. Do Environmental Provisions in Constitutions Influence Environmental Performance? -- 13. An Idea Whose Time Has Come.

Subject Term:

Environmental law.

Constitutional law.

Human rights.

Environmental ethics.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025560554	344.046 B789E 2012	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The right to a healthy environment is the subject of extensive philosophical debates that revolve around a key question: Should rights to clean air, water, and soil be entrenched in law?

This pioneering book answers this by moving beyond theoretical debate to measure the practical effects of enshrining the right in constitutions. David Boyd analyzes 193 constitutions and the laws and court decisions of more than 100 nations in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. He reveals that nations with constitutional protections have stronger environmental laws, enhanced enforcement, greater government accountability, and better access to justice, information, and public participation in decision making than nations without such provisions. As a result, they demonstrate superior environmental performance and have smaller ecological footprints.

Boyd not only demonstrates that constitutionalizing environmental protection has the power to make sustainability a priority, he tells inspiring stories about the difference the right to a healthy environment is making in people's lives.