Environmental Justice and the Rights of Ecological Refugees

Laura Westra is Professor Emerita (Philosophy) at University of Windsor, PhD in Law at Osgoode Hall Law School and Adjunct Professor of Social Science at York University, Canada. She is the author of 20 books, including Environmental Justice and the Rights of Unborn and Future Generations (Earthscan, 2006) and Environmental Justice and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Earthscan, 2007), and has contributed articles and chapters to over 80 journals and books.

• ProloguePart I: Present Refugee Law: Political and Legal Issues and Problems1: The Question of Environmental Refugees2: International Assistance and the Refugee Convention's Five Grounds of Persecution3: State Protection and State Responsibility to Ecological RefugeesPart II: Ecological Refugees and Refugee Law: The Interface4: The Five Grounds Revisited: Who are the Vulnerable?5: Ecological Refugees: Protection and Rights in International LawPart III: The Way Forward: Existing Legal Instruments and New Provisions6: International Law Beyond the Convention on the Status of Refugees7: Towards a Comprehensive Approach to Protecting Refugees and the Internally Displaced

'International law relating to refugees and internally displaced persons is in need of a complete overhaul � The present study, with its thorough survey of refugee problems and the shortcomings of legal instruments, provides an important basis for such a reconsideration of this branch of the law.' John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur on Diplomatic Protection'Laura Westra has performed a valuable function in expanding our understanding of law with regard to this grand-scale and largely unprecedented phenomenon.' Norman Myers, Fellow of the James Martin 21st Century School, University of Oxford'This book is essential reading for every professional working in the fields of environmental law, philosophy and ethics today, as well as every person who is seriously concerned for a just and sustainable future for humanity on planet Earth.' J. Ronald Engel, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Social Ethics, Meadville/Lombard Theological School 'A vibrant plea for a convention on behalf of all environmentally displaced persons - voluntary or forced, national or foreign - recognizing their right to life and dignity, intrinsically tied to their right to an ecologically and humanly viable environment.' Michel Prieur, Emeritus Professor of Law, Vice-President of the Commission on Environmental Rights, IUCN'Westra supports proposals for an overhaul of the system, principally the creation of a new instrument: a Framework Covention for Global Health and a new international body: a World Agency for Environmentally-Displaced Persons [...] this book is surely a significant academic contribution to steps in that direction.' James Corbet Burcher, Environmental Law Foundation