Understanding the rights of nature : a critical introduction / Mihnea Tanasescu.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-165)

1. Introduction -- 2. Rights meet nature -- 3. From theory to practice -- 4. Diversity of practice -- 5. The perils of totality -- 6. From practice to theory -- 7. Conclusions.

Rivers, landscapes, whole territories: these are the latest entities environmental activists have fought hard to include in the relentless expansion of rights in our world. But what does it mean for a landscape to have rights? Why would anyone want to create such rights, and to what end? Is it a good idea, and does it come with risks? This book presents the logic behind giving nature rights and discusses the most important cases in which this has happened, ranging from constitutional rights of nature in Ecuador to rights for rivers in New Zealand, Colombia, and India. Mihnea Tanasescu offers clear answers to the thorny questions that the intrusion of nature into law is sure to raise.