According legal identity to natural resources: approach towards environment protection

Abstract

Protection of the environment is an issue upon which every stakeholder agrees, it is however the issue of ascertaining the effective approach towards the same that has beleaguered policy makers and academicians alike. Tremendous progress has been made in terms of developing principles like polluter pays, sustainable development, precautionary principles, and with the development of the public participation principle it seems that the next logical step would be a democratization of the means of protecting the environment. The approach in designating legal status to natural resources can be a major breakthrough in furthering that objective. The Indian High Court of Uttarakhand has ushered in that reform with parallels from the jurisdictions of New Zealand, and Ecuador also leading the way. The approach entails bestowing rights on natural resources and thereby allows people to initiate actions on its behalf and seek redressal. While the practical modalities and the substantive impact of this approach remains to be seen, what is pivotal is that currently the move may make the deviant corporations and governments more responsive towards their actions on account of the improved access to the Courts due to the ease of the rules for establishing locus standi.