From cover: "Wild law is a groundbreaking approach to law that stresses human interconnectedness and dependence on nature. It critiques existing law for promoting environmental harm and seeks to establish a mutually enhancing human-Earth relationship. For the first time, this volume brings together voices fromt he leading proponents of wild law around the world. It introduces readers to the idea of wild law and considers its relationship to environmental law, the rights of nature, science, religion, property law and international governance."

Wild Law - In Practice aims to facilitate the transition of Earth Jurisprudence from theory into practice. Earth Jurisprudence is an emerging philosophy of law, coined by cultural historian and geologian Thomas Berry. It seeks to analyse the contribution of law in constructing, maintaining and perpetuating anthropocentrism and addresses the ways in which this orientation can be undermined and ultimately eliminated. In place of anthropocentrism, Earth Jurisprudence advocates an interpretation of law based on the ecocentric concept of an Earth community that includes both human and nonhuman entities. Addressing topics that include a critique of the effectiveness of environmental law in protecting the environment, developments in domestic/constitutional law recognising the rights of nature, and the regulation of sustainability, Wild Law - In Practice is the first book to focus specifically on the practical legal implications of Earth Jurisprudence.

In this visionary book, Cormac Cullinan explains how, if the community of life on Earth is to survive, a new understanding of nature and a new concept of legal systems are needed. Cullinan proposes a new approach or "e;Earth Jurisprudence"e; and gives practical guidance on how to begin moving towards it. He shows that this philosophy could help develop new legal systems that would foster human connections to nature. It would encourage personal and social practices that ensure our planet remains liveable.Wild Law is an inspiring and stimulating book, which fuses politics, legal theory, ancient wisdom and personal experiences into a fascinating and eminently readable story.

Exploring how the law can be used to influence the lives of the billions of individual animals we call wildlife, the approach that Wildlife Law & Ethics takes is first to present the law as a solid background and then provide social context regarding the circumstances facing the global community. Therefore, it is framed around specific issues rather than laws. Organizing the chapters around these focused areas of influence makes the related legal complexities understandable to attorneys as well as others involved with or concerned about animal welfare and survival and avoids being too focused on specific animals or the acts of certain industries or individuals. Chapters are framed around specific issues, including protecting species from extinction, illegal wildlife trade, exploitation and neglect of the world's oceans, and evolving perceptions of captive wild animals, and include one or more case studies. Once the issues are laid out, each chapter includes one or more case studies that demonstrate the tensions arising in this area and how the law has been applied, or manipulated, to serve desired ends. While these include references for further legal research, these cases are clearly presented in a manner that is easy to comprehend for the lay reader. The facts and relevant laws in each case speak volumes about the threats to wildlife, such as the competition for habitat, the pollution of the oceans, climate change, and the exploitation of species themselves. Finally, the book's contributors, each a well-known authority in their area, provide meaningful insights into the moral dilemmas and conflicts that accompany legal decisions that greatly affect the lives of wild animals. Wildlife advocates often hear the questions: "What can I do personally to help animals in the wild? What actions can I take that will truly make a difference?" Wild animals, unlike companion animals, are usually in distant lands or public parks rather than in our own backyards, making our ability to help seem beyond the reach of an individual or local lawyer. The reality is much different, and after reading this book, no one should see his or her role in wildlife protection as limited or nonexistent. By understanding the issues and the laws, it is clear how the products we buy, the entertainment we choose, and the votes we cast have a direct impact on wildlife and the environment.

Essays that address the question: how can people and class agency change this destructive course of history? Capitalism’s addiction to fossil fuels is heating our planet at a pace and scale never before experienced. Extreme weather patterns, rising sea levels and accelerating feedback loops are a commonplace feature of our lives. The number of environmental refugees is increasing and several island states and low-lying countries are becoming vulnerable. Corporate-induced climate change has set us on an ecocidal path of species extinction. Governments and their international platforms such as the Paris Climate Agreement deliver too little, too late. Most states, including South Africa, continue on their carbon-intensive energy paths, with devastating results. Political leaders across the world are failing to provide systemic solutions to the climate crisis. This is the context in which we must ask ourselves: how can people and class agency change this destructive course of history? Volume three in the Democratic Marxism series, The Climate Crisis investigates eco-socialist alternatives that are emerging. It presents the thinking of leading climate justice activists, campaigners and social movements advancing systemic alternatives and developing bottom-up, just transitions to sustain life. Through a combination of theoretical and empirical work, the authors collectively examine the challenges and opportunities inherent in the current moment. This volume builds on the class-struggle focus of Volume 2 by placing ecological issues at the centre of democratic Marxism. Most importantly, it explores ways to renew historical socialism with democratic, eco-socialist alternatives to meet current challenges in South Africa and the world.

This book systematically explores the emerging legal discipline of Earth System Law (ESL), challenging the closed system of law and marking a new era in law and society scholarship. Law has historically provided stability, certainty, and predictability in the ordering of social relations (predominantly between humans). However, in recent decades the Earth’s relationship in law has changed with increasing recognition of the standing of Mother Earth, inherent rights of the environment (such as flora and fauna, rivers), and now recognition of the multiple relations of the Anthropocene. This book questions the fundamental assumption that ‘the law’ only applies to humans, and that the earth, as a system, has intrinsic rights and responsibilities. In the last ten years the planet has experienced its hottest period since human evolution, and by the year 2100, unless substantive action is taken, many species will be lost, and planetary conditions will be intolerable for human civilisation as it currently exists. Relationships between humans, the biosphere, and all planetary systems must change. The authors address these challenging topics, setting the groundwork of ESL to ensure sustainable development of the coupled socio-ecological system that the Earth has become. Earth System Law is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research project, and, as such, this book will be of great interest to researchers and stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, anthropology, economics, law, ethics, sociology, and psychology.