ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to discuss the emergence of sustainable development jurisprudence in South Asia. The courts in South Asia have been instrumental in expanding the concept of rights in South Asia by interpreting existing rights in a very expansive manner. This chapter discusses some of the seminal cases in South Asia and evaluates to what extent the cases have contributed to the development of a sustainable development jurisprudence in the region. The far-reaching nature of environmental jurisprudence in South Asia has prompted some scholars to advance the critique that judges are engaged in judicial activism usurping the functions of the legislature particularly in India. The Court has been receptive to the use of international environmental law principles in adjudicating national cases. The Court reiterated the importance of the precautionary principle, sustainable development and the polluter pays principle as well as the public trust doctrine.
