Green Governance

Burns H. Weston is the Bessie Dutton Murray Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Senior Scholar of the Center for Human Rights at the University of Iowa. A long-time - now honorary - member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, he has authored and co-authored many books and articles, especially in international human rights and related international law fields. He is known as an 'engaged scholar' and for his activism and scholarship bridging human rights and environmental law, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by Vermont Law School in 2009. David Bollier is an author, activist and independent scholar of the commons. He is co-founder of the Commons Strategies Group; co-founder of Public Knowledge, a Washington DC advocacy group for the public's stake in copyright and Internet policies; and Senior Fellow at the Norman Lear Center. Bollier won the Bosch Prize for Public Policy at the American Academy in Berlin in 2012.

'This book will stimulate wide interest, far larger than the average law work. Academics in the legal profession, particularly those focusing on human rights, the environment, or governance, will find this a welcome addition. Similarly, scholars in other fields, such as political science, environmental studies, or geography will find this book useful … An absence of jargon makes this book accessible to a wide audience, by clearly explaining complex concepts such as commons governance. [Green Governance] is not only a new tactic for legal and political scholars. [It] is an engaging work that suggests a broader way of thinking about and governing the natural environment. The author's combination of human rights, vernacular law, and commons governance are a stark contrast to the traditional state and market-based approaches that dominate traditional discussions … these suggestions … represent new ideas at a time when there is a desperate need for change.' Scott McKenzie, Global Policy

• 1. Trends that point toward a new synthesis; 2. The human right to a clean and healthy environment; 3. The quest for a new rights-based pathway; 4. Making the conceptual transition to the new paradigm; 5. The commons as a model for ecological governance; 6. The rise of the commons movement globally; 7. Imagining a new architecture of law and policy to support the ecological commons; 8. Catalytic strategies for achieving green governance.