Introduction

How do we – and how should we – engage with the natural environment through the concepts of rights and responsibilities? In this book, Michael Cox develops the theory and practice of environmental property rights, moving beyond simplistic assumptions that do not reflect the diversity of arrangements we see in the world. Recognizing this diversity will help us craft better responses to environmental problems in the future with an interdisciplinary foundation in what has worked, or not worked, in the past. Synthesizing a variety of methods and disciplines, Cox explores rights-based environmental policies as well as different cultural approaches to environmental ownership. The result is a book that helps the reader understand the full range of possibilities when it comes to environmental ownership.