- Considering that we are part of the Earth, the law – made by humans – needs to recognize that the Earth also has rights, as do people. Many constitutions still follow an anthropocentric paradigm, treating everything that is not human as an object. These changes in the law are necessary, to recognize nature as a subject with rights of protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration, guaranteeing laws to protect nature in harmony with the protection of the rights of those who inhabit it and of future generations. Some examples of countries that already confer a legal right to nature are:
- Colombia
Since 2018, the Colombian Amazon has legal rights - India
Since 2017, rights to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers as legal entities. - Bolivia
Since 2010, recognizes rights of Pachamama. - New Zealand
Right of the Whanganui River (Te Awa Tupua, in Maori) as a legal entity. - Ecuador
Since 2008, Pachamama has the right as a legal entity.
Learn more:
2018 – “The Amazon has the same rights as a person, decides the Supreme Court of Colombia” – The ECO: https://bit.ly/37lSGaW
2017 – “Indian justice declares the Ganges and Yamuna rivers ‘living beings’ with rights” – G1: https://glo.bo/3rVH8oo
2017 – “New Zealand grants ‘legal personality’ to the river revered by the Maori” – G1: https://glo.bo/2VjWW8R
2008 – “Nature as a subject of law in the Constitution of Ecuador: considerations from the Vilacamba case” – IFPR. Felipe Klein: https://bit.ly/3AhSiqn
Rights of Nature: Timeline –https://celdf.org/rights-of-nature/timeline/
