Constitutional environmental citizenship with African characteristics

Environmental constitutionalism encompasses constitutional rights, as well as duties of the state and individuals/citizens. This paper examines constitutional environmental duties, as included in the national constitutions of Kenya and Nigeria to (i) identify the internal and external factors that led to their inclusion; (ii) to assess the influence of courts on their development; and (iii) to analyse the implications for environmental/climate citizenship. The significance of domestic factors and regional developments for the process and the outcome emphasises the importance of context-specific engagement with seemingly universal concepts such as rights, duties, and environmental principles. 

Dr Lovleen Bhullar is an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham. Her research and teaching interests include international and domestic environmental law and policy, environmental constitutionalism, and enforcement of environmental rights. She has co-edited Right to Sanitation in India: Critical Perspectives (Oxford, 2019) and contributed to India Environmental Law: Key Concepts and Principles (Orient Blackswan, 2019)