Abstract

In this chapter, we provide a concise cartography of environmental human rights, with a view to illustrating and critiquing the current and potential contribution of human rights in augmenting global environmental protection and justice. We do so, first in Part 2, by examining the link between human rights and environmental protection. With reference to the international, regional and domestic regulatory domains, the chapter briefly explains the historical development and rise of environmental human rights in Part 3. Part 4 maps the different manifestations of the rights-based approach (political, socio-economic, procedural, right to a healthy environment, and rights of nature) and highlights specific examples in international, regional and domestic law where these forms of the rights-based approach occur. Part 5 of the chapter provides a critique of the potential of the rights-based approach to environmental protection, including views on how this approach could be augmented where deficiencies are apparent. Part 6 concludes the discussion.