Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

 11.1.3.  Law and environmental ethics
Regulating social relations, the law as such is silent on ethical 
issues. Is it acceptable to degrade the natural environ ment and to 
consume a large part of the planet’s natural resources during one 
generation? What kinds of actions in relation to nature should be 
regarded as good or bad? What is the moral value of nature? Answers 
to these questions should be sought in environ mental ethics. 
Environ mental law is based on two main conceptions of environ-
mental ethics – anthropocentrism and ecocentrism. According to the 
anthropocentric approach, the environ ment should be protected in 
the interests of human welfare – today’s environ mental protection 
conserves environ mental resources for future consumption. The 
ecocentric approach, in turn, implies that the environ ment (nature) 
has an intrinsic value in itself; therefore, the human responsibility is 
to protect it without regard to the benefits humans could obtain from 

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ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
it, and to provide for the possibility to exist not only for humans 
but also for other living beings. Contemporary environ mental law is 
primarily anthropocentric.
In the legal system, animals or nature in general are usually 
regarded as legal objects, which can be equated to things. Usually, 
neither nature nor animals are recognised as legal entities which 
may have rights. Only humans possess rights. Hence, the law, being 
for the most part anthropocentric, guarantees the priority and 
protection of rights and interests just to one species – humans.