Please join us for the virtual launch of Professor Lynda Collins’ new book, The Ecological Constitution: Reframing Environmental Law, on 8 June 2021 at 9am PDT/12noon EDT/5pm BST/6pm CAT &CEST. You can register in advance for the launch here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the launch.
About the Book:
The Ecological Constitution integrates the insights of environmental constitutionalism and ecological law in a concise, engaging and accessible manner.
This book sets out the necessary components of any constitution that could be considered “ecological” in nature. In particular, it argues that an ecological constitution is one that codifies the following key principles, at a minimum: the principle of sustainability; intergenerational equity and the public trust doctrine; environmental human rights; rights of nature; the precautionary principle and non-regression; and rights and obligations relating to a healthy climate. In the context of the global environmental crisis that characterises the current Anthropocene era, these principles are important tools for changing consciousness and driving pragmatic policy reforms around the world. Re-imagining constitutions along these lines could play a vital role in the collective project of building a sustainable future for humans, animals, ecosystems and the biosphere we all share.
About the Author:
Lynda M. Collins is a Full Professor in the Centre for Environmental Law & Global Sustainability at the University of Ottawa Faculty Law. Professor Collins is an expert in environmental human rights at the domestic and international levels including constitutional environmental rights, Indigenous environmental rights, rights of nature, and environmental rights in private law. She is the author of The Ecological Constitution.
Professor Collins has advised multiple national and international organizations including the United Nations Association in Canada, the European Parliament, and Friends of the Earth. She has similarly participated in expert gatherings and participatory processes with the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations Environment Program, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment. She co-Chaired Ontario’s Toxic Reduction Scientific Expert Panel by Ministerial appointment and,along with Heather McLeod-Kilmurray, is co-author of The Canadian Law of Toxic Torts. Professor Collins is a member of the bars of Ontario and California. She has published extensively in Canada, the US, the UK, France and Australia and has presented throughout Canada and in the US, the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, India and South Africa.