Eco-literature and Environmental Imagination

Eco-literature, a literary domain concerned with ecological awareness and human–nature relationships, has emerged as a critical space for reimagining environmental futures. Rooted in the tradition of nature writing but evolving through diverse genres, eco-literature transcends aesthetic appreciation of the natural world to interrogate the socio-political and cultural conditions underlying ecological crises. The concept of environmental imagination—how individuals and societies envision nature and their place within it—plays a pivotal role in shaping environmental ethics, activism, and sustainable futures. Drawing upon ecocriticism, deep ecology, postcolonial environmentalism, and eco-feminism, this paper examines eco-literature as a site of transformative imagination. Through a critical review of global and regional eco-literary works, the study explores how literature functions as a medium of ecological consciousness and resistance to environmental degradation. The paper also addresses the scope, methodology, and scholarly perspectives within the field, and offers findings on how environmental imagination can foster sustainability narratives in a climate-challenged era.