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2 J. Hum. Rts. & Env't. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/jhre2 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, Vol. 2 No. 1, March 2011, pp. 1-4 Editorial Ontological vulnerability: a viable alternative lens through which to view human/environmental relations With customary acuity the American anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that: 'We won't have a society if we destroy the environment'1 and in this deceptively sim- ple statement she effectively encapsulates the indivisibility of the lot (indeed the now almost foreseeable future fate) of humanity and the environment of which, we now recognise, we form part. This sense of continuity or shared predicament (if that is the right word) between ourselves and the environment leads us neatly into the topic selected for this edition of the Journal: 'ontological vulnerability'. What, many readers may well ask, exactly is it? As the authors' contributions make clear, attempting an answer garners both simple and complex levels of response. In basic terms ontology is the branch of metaphysics that considers the nature of existence/ being. Vulnerability is variously defined herein: as being concerned with the suscept- ibility of an individual or a system to risk (Kirby); the exposure of individuals and communities to environmental insecurity as the provisioning capacity of the environ- ment is impaired (Rajan); as the manifestation of presence: 'as soon as one is present, one is vulnerable' (Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos); and as the quintessential 'affect- ability' - or the 'openness' of corporeality itself (Grear). While the notion of the 'ontological' may seem a somewhat unusual concern for a primarily legal journal, the notion of 'vulnerability' has gained much currency in law and policy in recent years and is now arguably part of mainstream legal culture. For present purposes the conjunction between these ideas presented by the term 'ontolo- gical vulnerability' focally invites consideration of the ability (or otherwise) of indi- vidual humans, communities and the ecosystems/environment of which they form part to respond to risk and/or impairments to sustenance (Rajan). Furthermore it invites reflection on our nature and the nature of the environment as beings and systems possessing a fundamental openness or porosity - as being always exposed to the 'draughts of the world' (Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos). These themes, on even the most cursory examination, reveal profound concerns relevant to human rights and environmental law, and to the commonalities between them. The concept of vulnerability has been much discussed in a number of academic disciplines, particularly in the fields of disaster management and food security, and increasingly in relation to climate change adaptation. It has moreover begun to be theorised in more general terms as a critical normative thesis addressing the perceived shortcomings of the operative traditional assumptions of mainstream liberal political and legal theory. The concept has also been much used in an arguably growing 1. At <http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/quotes/a/qu-margaretmead_3.htm> (last accessed 02/11/10). 0 2011 The Author Journal compilation 0 2011 Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Lypiatts, 15 Lansdown Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 2JA, UK and The William Pratt House, 9 Dewey Court, Northampton MA 01060-3815, USA

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