The Environmental Rights Revolution

What sets this book evidently apart from all the existing publications in the field is its empirical approachin an earlier endorsement for this books marketing, I declared that it breaks new ground in terms of approach, content, scope, and methodology and is well worth a place on the bookshelves of anyone who takes environmental rights and governance seriously. After this recent reassessment of the book, I can only reiterate these sentiments. -- Louis J Kotz, Professor, North-West University, South Africa * Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, Vol. 4 No. 1 * Boyds book forms an indispensable and influential addition to this literature not only due to the strength and comprehensiveness of its comparative legal analysis, but also because of the important empirical questions it seeks to answer as well as raises for future research. Indeed, by conducting the first serious and systematic empirical study of the environmental implications of the right to a healthy environment, Boyd has moved this field beyond the speculative and abstract arguments typical of earlier scholarship...Boyds meticulous examination of the legal status of the right to a healthy environment in close to a hundred countries provides powerful evidence of its salience to legal systemsaround the world...The Environmental Rights Revolution forms an important, pioneering effort for understanding the legal influence and broader significance of the right to a healthy environment. As a result, the variety of empirical puzzles and questions that it leaves in its wake should continue to influence research in this field for many years to come. -- Sebastien Jodoin * McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Volume 8: Issue 1 *

Dr. David R. Boyd is one of Canadas leading experts in environmental law and policy and an adjunct professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University. He has advised the governments of Canada, Sweden, and Iceland on environmental and constitutional issues and is the co-chair of Vancouvers Greenest City Action Team along with Mayor Gregor Robertson. He is a member of the IUCNs Commission on Environmental Law, the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment, the Forum for Leadership on Water, and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW). David Boyd is the author of several bestselling and award-winning books as well as more than a hundred publications related to environmental law and policy, including Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Environmental Law and Policy. His current research focuses on the effects of enshrining environmental rights and responsibilities in national constitutions.

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 Appendices Appendix 1. Research Methods Appendix 2. Online Database: All Current Environmental Provisions from National Constitutions Notes References Index