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10 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 309 (1997-1998)
From Environmental to Ecological Human Rights: A New Dynamic in International Law

handle is hein.journals/gintenlr10 and id is 317 raw text is: From Environmental to Ecological Human Rights: A New Dynamic in International Law?* PRUDENCE E. TAYLOR** I. INTRODUCTION One of the most interesting developments in international environmental law in recent years has been the attempt to create links between the ethics debate and law reform. These attempts began with the recognition that philosophical discussions concerning the relationship between humanity and nature, and the moral worth of nature, were not only relevant to understanding the limitations inherent within current law, they were also fundamental to creating new legal obligations. As a consequence the language of philosophers began to emerge in the context of legal discourse. Phrases such as the intrinsic value of nature, respect for nature, responsibility for nature, and future generational equity have often found a place in dialogue and writings concerning traditional and new environmental legal obligations. At the municipal level this trend can be traced back to the late 1970s, while developments at the international level occurred more slowly. Nevertheless, by 1991 one of the first texts on interna- tional environmental law acknowledged that ethical and philosophical concepts are crucial in understanding the actual nature of environmental law and the challenge it poses to international law. 1 The task of this article is to consider a link between environmental ethics and human rights law in the form of ecological rights. The phrase ecological rights is used here to describe human rights which are subject to certain limitations. These limitations recognize that individual freedoms are exercised in an ecological context, in addition to a social context. In comparison, environ- mental rights refers to the traditional rights approach of granting rights and creating duties and obligations to the environment, at a level sufficient to ensure the continued survival of present and future generations of humanity. The issue of ecological rights encompasses the philosophical theme of the relationship between humanity and nature, which has been the subject of * This article is based on a contribution to a research project on ecological human rights, covering human rights theory, German human rights law, European Union law and international law. This project was funded by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (Deutsche Stiftung Umwelt); project leader Associate Professor Klaus Bosselmann, University of Auckland, New Zealand. ** Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Auckland, New Zealand, LL.B., LL.M. (Honours), LL.M. (Environmental and Energy). Author of AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE (1998). 1. ALEXANDRE C. Kiss & DiNAH SHELTON, INTERNATIONAL ENVIROMENTAL LAw 13 (1991).

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