ABSTRACT
For several decades civil society has mobilized to secure accountability in cases where individuals and groups suffer from pollution or extraction of natural resources. Often the actual experience of local communities at the center of such struggles does not distinguish human rights and the environment as separate systems. Instead, from the standpoint of people who defend their lives, health, and communities, these two fields of law are intertwined in a continuum. It is therefore not surprising that legal approaches in search of effective protection of the ecosystems spaces that enable life, culture, and self-determination have looked at how human rights and environment come together. This chapter explores the evolution of the environment and human rights field since the seminal UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972. It then surveys and analyzes key instruments and developments in the field, before exploring current issues and future directions.
