Sometimes an event pings in that signals a defining moment. On the 13th of October some of the worlds most progressive ecological lawyers and legal academics met in Siena for the launch of the newly formed Ecological Law and Governance Association (ELGA).
Chaired by Dr. Klaus Bosselmann, Professor of Law and Founding Director of the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law at the University of Auckland and Kathryn Gwiazdon, founder of Center for Environmental Ethics and Law USA, ELGA heralded in a new era of ecological law.
Law inevitably progresses; it is a reflection of our deepening understanding of what is missing and what is required. Recent events in Siena reflect the growing momentum surrounding the evolution of ecological law.
ELGA builds on the Oslo Manifesto “From Environmental Law to Ecological Law” which has been endorsed by more than one hundred environmental law scholars. If you wish to endorse the Oslo Manifesto, you can do so here. (You will also stay informed about ELGA and its events, partners and projects)
At the same time the book launch of “Ecological Approaches to Environmental Law” was celebrated – a compilation of 36 published articles that have been selected based on the importance and impact that each brings to the expansion of environmental law as a legal discipline.
It’s an invaluable body of text, shining a light on contemporary legal literature to elicit the key values and principles of ecological law that are expressed in eco-centric jurisprudence (e.g., rights of nature, ‘Mother Earth’ rights, Earth jurisprudence, eco-feminism, ecological legal theory, ‘environmental law methodology’) and which are also present in constitutional and international theory (e.g., ecological human rights, ‘eco-constitutional state’, ‘Pachamama’ constitutions, ecological sustainability and integrity, ecocide law, commons movement, global commons theory, eco-constitutionalism and global environmental constitutionalism). While different in their approaches and emphasis, all articles include din this tome share common ground, complimenting and reinforcing the progression of ecological law. You can order a copy (or request your law library order a copy) here.