The Search for Environmental Justice (The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law series) - Hardcover

`This book makes a very useful contribution to the literature on environmental justice through a series of varied, diverse and distinct contributions that map different areas of this multi-faceted topic. The diverse positions advocated reflect the difficult challenges ahead towards ensuring environmental protection in an equitable and just manner at the national and international levels.' -- Philippe Cullet , SOAS, University of London, UK `This is an extended and remarkable excursus into the evolving concept of environmental justice. The Editors have woven several nuggets from various scholars and jurisdictions into an impressive mosaic that will resonate for a long time in this nascent literature. The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law is emerging as an important facilitator of conceptual norms of international environmental law and justice. The welcome drift in the direction of "environmental justice" is so compelling that the UNEP Governing Council has recently adopted the first internationally negotiated document to establish the supportive "environmental rule of law." As a player in the important jurisprudence from South Asia on environmental justice, I stand in reverential awe of this tour de force of experiences in other regions toward the promotion of good environmental governance and environmental social justice.' -- Parvez Hassan, Hassan and Hassan (Advocates), Pakistan

This thoughtful book provides an overview of the major developments in the theory and practice of `environmental justice'. It illustrates the direction of the evolution of rights of nature and exposes the diverse meanings and practical uses of the concept of environmental justice in different jurisdictions, and their implications for the law, society and the environment. The term 'environmental justice' has different meanings to different scholars and is applied in many different contexts. For some, the focus is on equal distribution of the earth's benefits, with concern for the interests of the less wealthy, disadvantaged minorities, or indigenous peoples. For others, the focus is on the interests of the earth and nature itself. Additionally, for some, environmental justice is a framework for discourse, whilst for others it connotes specific legal principles and procedures. The application of these interpretations through the law involves diverse approaches and rules. In this timely book, expert contributors identify the meanings and the practical translations of environmental justice, reflecting the perspectives of academic, judicial and indigenous people from many countries. Among the issues considered are the rights of nature and its application through judicial practice, and approaches to respecting the laws, cultures and the rights of Indigenous peoples. This integrated exploration of the topic will provide an excellent resource for scholars, judicial officers and practitioners interested in environmental and social justice issues.