In April 2018, the Wake Forest Law Review held a symposium on human rights and the environment. Although rights-based approaches to environmental protection have been recognized for fifty years, in the last decade they have moved from the periphery to the center of environmental policy in many countries. Speakers addressed issues ranging from recognition of a human right to a healthy environment, to the threats facing environmental defenders around the world, to the effects of climate change and coal ash ponds on communities in North Carolina.
This issue features some of the papers presented in April as well as other articles and student notes on these critical topics. To provide context, this introduction gives an overview of our past, present, and possible future understanding of the relationship between human rights and the environment.
