"Observing that social movements often play an important role as fore-runners for commonly accepted principles of justice, this boundary breaking book asks the difficult question of how to engender responsibility in society and in law to live sustainably and well on our shared planet.

Drawing on legal jurisprudence and philosophy from indigenous and western traditions, the book explores new concepts such as instilling legal rights and personality to rivers or other entities of nature. The book recognizes the imperative role that the private sector holds as the primary generator of economic activity, thus driving jobs, poverty reduction and government income streams, but notes that given its heavy environmental footprint, a "duty of care" emerges for the private sector. The book explores how to reconcile and combine the health of our economies with societal and planetary health.

As a species, humans have reached the point where our actions are impacting the very sustainability of the planet - -our one and only home. IUCN has long championed the concept of the rights of nature. This book explores this notion and further expands that with such rights comes a human responsibility of caring for the earth. The book concludes that by challenging the existing set of social practices and the rules that those practices reflect, social movements, almost by definition are engaged in a form of law making. For the sustainability of the planet as we know it, informed social engagement is therefore critical."

Inger Anderson, Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Switzerland

"As the state of the Earth gets more dire, many are grappling for new ideas and approaches in the quest for fresh solutions. This volume is one trove of such alternatives. Take 'responsibility' for example. If you try and google it you will most probably get no hit. Or at best an error message directing you to