Wednesday 12 November 2025
This is a ready by the Autumn Reader, Master Matthew Weait, to celebrate his time in office.
In 1661, John Evelyn, a member of this Inn, published Fumifugium – arguably the first English critique of urban air pollution, linking smoke, sickness, and civic responsibility. Today, that same connection between environmental degradation and human health underpins the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to recognise ecosystems as rights-bearers rather than objects of exploitation.
This lecture explores whether such legal recognition could become an effective tool for minimising the risk of zoonotic disease. It will suggest, building on my academic research into law and HIV, that while rights frameworks have transformative potential, they will only ever be aspirational without effective enforcement. Framed through the lens of One Health, an interdisciplinary movement that recognises the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health, and consideration of international constitutional, legislative and judicial case law developments, I assess the promise and limits of this radical legal innovation for tackling the ecological determinants of pandemic risk.