Overview of Environmental Jurisprudence within Environmental Ethics

Environmental Jurisprudence’s highest achievement is its codification of a change in ethics, and a legal recognition that both individual and governmental agency responsibility extend to the natural world. This article provides an overview of Environmental Jurisprudence as it relates to environmental ethics. It examines both the foundation of Environmental Jurisprudence as well as the concept of human rights. The article also critically discusses international environmental law from the perspective of human rights. This research concludes by arguing that despite the attempt made in the international regime for adding eco-centric values in environmental law, environmental jurisprudence to date has continued with anthropocentric ideas with all concerns for safeguarding the means of human survival.

Environmental Jurisprudence in India (Is People’s Attitude Under Its Purview?)

It is environmental laws that regulate the environmental protection bodies and make them effective. With this view in mind, the article intends to examine the environmental jurisprudence in India in terms of evolution, pattern of delivery of environmental justice and place of people’s attitude in the process. It was found that the superior judicial bodies including National Green Tribunal have set certain norms to deal with environmental cases against the polluters (mainly government bodies and private firms), but not for day-to-day activities of the people which pollute the environment sizeably. Besides, the article, on the basis of empirical studies, finds that despite having been aware of the menace of the environmental degradation and its gravity, people are less intended to be sensitive towards the problem owing to three-pronged reasons: First, they perceive environmental protection as the sole responsibility of state; second, sizeable of them have no spare time out of their livelihood engagements; and third, lack of leadership or community action at local level for the cause. The article prima facie finds that environmental jurisprudence in India has inadequately addressed the issue of people’s say and environmentally hostile people’s attitude towards environmental protection in the process.

More than Birds: Developing a New Environmental Jurisprudence Through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

This year marks the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the oldest environmental regulatory statutes in the United States. It is illegal to “take” or “kill” any migratory bird covered by the Act. But many of the economic and industrial assumptions that undergirded the Act in 1918 have changed dramatically. Although it is undisputed that hunting protected birds is prohibited, circuit courts split on whether so-called “incidental takings” fall within the scope of the Act. The uncertainty inherent in this disagreement harms public and private interests alike—not to mention migratory birds. Many of the most important environmental statutes are also aging and may soon face similar interpretive issues. This Note argues that, to address inherent problems with aging environmental statutes, courts should adopt a jurisprudential preference for fidelity to each statute’s purpose.

ECO-LITERACY FIQH AL-BÎ’AH DALAM HUKUM NASIONAL

The environmental crisis is a contemporary issue that draws the public attention. In Islam, protecting environment is an important aspect in preserving the existence of the macro life for all God’s creatures without dwarfing one another. That is why in the environmental Islamic jurisprudence, protecting environment (hifz al-bî’ah) is equal as keeping religion (hifz al-dîn), protecting soul (hifz al-nafs), maintaining intellect (hifz al-aql), maintaining descent (hifz al-nasl), and maintaining property (hifz al-mâl). The reason is that if the aspects of religion, life, intellect, lineage and property damaged, then the existence of humans on the environment becomes stained. Thus, al-Qaradawi made hifz al-bî’ah as an Islamic axiological study. From here, the effort to develop the epistemological basis of Islamic environmental jurisprudence becomes a necessity. Therefore, in this context, maqâshid al-syarî’ah (hifz al-bî’ah) is the main purpose of Islamic law. It can also be an “approach” in reformulating the “anthropological and cosmological-based Islamic environmental jurisprudence”.Keywords: Fiqh al-bî’ah, hifz al-bî’ah, eco-literacy, national law. Abstrak: Krisis lingkungan merupakan isu kontemporer yang menyita perhatian publik. Dalam Islam, menjaga lingkungan merupakan aspek penting dalam upaya melestarikan eksistensi kehidupan makro bagi seluruh makhluk ciptaan Tuhan tanpa mengerdilkan satu sama lain. Itu sebabnya, doktrin Islam tentang fikih ramah lingkungan menyatakan bahwa menjaga lingkungan (hifz al-bî’ah) sama dengan menjaga agama (dîn), jiwa (nafs), akal (aql), keturunan (nasl), dan harta (mâl). Rasionalitasnya adalah bahwa jika aspek-aspek agama, jiwa, akal, keturunan dan harta rusak, maka eksistensi manusia di dalam lingkungan menjadi ternoda. Dengan demikian, al-Qardâwî menjadikan hifz al-bî’ah sebagai kajian aksiologi ilmu-ilmu keislaman. Dari sini, maka upaya pengembangan basis epistemology fikih lingkungan menjadi suatu keniscayaan. Maqâshid syarî’ah (hifz al-bî’ah) sebagai tujuan utama agama dapat menjadi “pisau analisis” dalam mereformulasikan fikih lingkungan yang berbasis antropokosmis.Kata Kunci: Fiqh al-bî’ah, hifz al-bî’ah, eco-literacy, hukum nasional.