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Law Environmental

Human Rights

The Commons and the Collective

by (author) Laura Westra

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2011
Category
Environmental, Environmental Conservation & Protection
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774821179
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $92.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774821186
    Publish Date
    Jul 2012
    List Price
    $34.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774821193
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $34.95

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Description

International law evolved to protect human rights. But what are human rights? Does the term have the same meaning in a world being transformed by climate change and globalized trade? Are existing laws sufficient to ensure humanity’s survival? Westra argues that international law privileges individual over collective rights, permitting multinational corporations to overlook the collective and the environment in their quest for wealth. Unless policy makers redefine human rights and reformulate environmental law to protect the preconditions for life itself – water, food, clean air, and biodiversity – humankind faces the complete loss of the ecological commons, one of our most basic human rights.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Laura Westra holds doctorates in both philosophy and jurisprudence, and has taught in the fields of philosophy, ethics, and environmental law at several US, Canadian, and Italian universities.