RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT: TRENDS AND APPROACHES

Abstract

It is an undeniable truth that the right to a healthy environment, referred to by some as a third generation right has gained prominence since the second half of the 20th century. This is despite the fact that after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, where it was declared that man has a right to the environment; the UN failed to consolidate on the rights approach to environmental protection in subsequent conventions. This paper considers environmental rights and the diverse approaches suggested by its proponents. Its objectives are to analyse the content of a healthy environment as it relates to environmental rights and to examine the diverse approaches adopted and proposed by the proponents of environmental rights over the years, as well as determine the responsibility of the present generation, with regard to inter-generational equity. It adopts the doctrinal research method and concludes that whatever the approach, the right to a healthy environment has metamorphosed into an inalienable right. It recommends a more robust public interest litigation as well as judicial radicalism to promote environmental rights and inter-generational equity.