Introduction

The rights of nature discourse does not take place in a vacuum. It is often a perceived imbalance in the human-nature relationship and resulting environmental problems that give rise to calls for innovative legal solutions such as rights of nature. Liberalism in particular has been criticized for its strong focus on the freedom of the human individual, which has arguably facilitated the exploitation and destruction of nature. Against this background, the introduction places rights of nature in the context of the Anthropocene and its environmental crises and asks about the role of liberalism and law in causing and overcoming these crises. Subsequently, it clarifies terminology fundamental to the study, delineates the topic and explains the object and outline of the book.