Environmental Rights

'This compendium is a timely, valuable, and insight-filled addition to the blossoming literature on environmental rights. Moving from vague aspirations to concrete standards is a daunting challenge for environmental rights, but urgently needed, and the authors have collectively contributed to a huge advance in our understanding.' David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment and University of British Columbia, Vancouver

'This brilliant collection offers a lasting contribution to our understanding of the issues at the intersection of environmental protection and human rights. The distinguished contributors offer sophisticated analysis of the international, regional and municipal legal frameworks crucial for effective rights-based environmental governance.' Donald K. Anton, Griffith University, Australia

'The emergence of environmental rights in the international legal landscape reflects growing awareness of the serious environmental stresses confronting our planet. The essays in this collection make a valuable contribution to understanding how environmental rights have been translated into standards that set out more specific levels of protection. Ultimately, this process of translation and specification of environmental rights is key to their actual application and relevance.' Marcos A. Orellana, Director of Environment and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, and George Washington University

Stephen J. Turner is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln. Dinah L. Shelton is Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law Emeritus at George Washington University, Washington DC. Jona Razzaque is Professor of Environmental Law at Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, Bristol. Owen McIntyre is Professor and Director of the LL.M. at the University College Cork, School of Law. James R. May is Distinguished Professor of Law at Widener University School of Law, Delaware.

1. Introduction: a brief history of environmental rights and the development of standards Stephen J. Turner; 2. Environmental rights and international human rights covenants: what standards are relevant? Sumudu Attapatu; 3. The ECHR, environment-based human rights claims and the search for standards Karen Morrow; 4. The American Convention on Human Rights and environmental rights standards Evadn Grant; 5. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and environmental rights standards Louis Kotz and Anl du Plessis; 6. The Aarhus Convention: standards for access to justice in environmental matters ine Ryall; 7. The emergence of standards regarding the right of access to water and sanitation Owen McIntyre; 8. Standards in the procedural rights of multilateral environmental agreements Lara Ognibene and Angela Kariuki; 9. A stock-taking of FPIC standards in international environmental law Jona Razzaque; 10. Environmental standards and the right to life in India: regulatory frameworks and judicial enterprise Gitanjali N. Gill; 11. Environmental standards in the Portuguese Constitution Alexandra Arago; 12. The Argentinean Constitution and its relationship with environmental standards Silvia Nonna; 13. The South African Constitution - Standards of Environmental Protection Nathan J. Cooper; 14. The French Charter of the Environment and Standards of Environmental Protection David Marrani and Stephen J. Turner; 15. The Constitution of Bhutan: a quantitative environmental standard Stephen J. Turner; 16. The rights to nature: guiding our responsibilities through standards Craig Kauffman and Linda Sheehan; 17. Standards in sub-national environmental constitutionalism Erin Daly and James R. May; 18. Conclusion: analyzing the development of standards in the field of environmental rights Stephen J. Turner.