International environmental law and human rights

Abstract

The problems of environmental degradation have become major challenges in the efforts to secure the effective protection of the human person. This entry first examines the contribution of international environmental law to the protection of human rights. In this respect, it identifies major rules and principles of international environmental law and assesses their role in protecting the dignity of the human person. It then addresses how procedural environmental rights may constitute an effective response strategy for the protection of human rights in the face of environmental decline. It will focus largely on the said rights embodied in the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention). Furthermore, the entry considers the possible redress of communitarian rights, including intergenerational interests ( intergenerational equity), to secure environmental protection. The entry concludes that currently the best option offered by international environmental law, to ensure that effective protection is accorded to the human person, is through the application and enforcement of procedural environmental rights.