August 21st, 2008
Ecuadorian Assembly Approves Constitutional Rights for Nature
Josh Brandon
Way to go Ecuador! Most of us would assume that nature has a natural right to exist. Now in Ecuador, this right could finally be codified in law. The articles listed below, were passed on July 7 of this year by the 130 member Ecuador Constitutional Assembly elected nation wide to review the constitution and will be voted on by public referendum next month. If only Canada could be so bold. If we had such a constitution, people could sue Monsanto for contaminating our fields and GE would be banned for “altering our genetic patrimony”.
Ecuador: Nature Has Rights
Art. 1. Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution. Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the Constitution.
Art. 2. Nature has the right to an integral restoration.
This integral restoration is independent of the obligation on natural and juridical persons or the State to indemnify the people and the collectives that depend on the natural systems.
In the cases of severe or permanent environmental impact, including the ones caused by the exploitation on non-renewable natural resources, the State will establish the most efficient mechanisms for the restoration, and will adopt the adequate measures to eliminate or mitigate the harmful environmental consequences.Art. 3. The State will motivate natural and juridical persons as well as collectives to protect nature; it will promote respect towards all the elements that form an ecosystem.
Art. 4. The State will apply precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles.
The introduction of organisms and organic and inorganic material that can alter in a definitive way the national genetic patrimony is prohibited.
Art. 5. The persons, people, communities and nationalities will have the right to benefit from the environment and form natural wealth that will allow well-being.
The environmental services cannot be appropriated; its production, provision, use and exploitation, will be regulated by the State.
‘Public organisms’ in Article 1 means the courts and government agencies, i.e., the people of Ecuador would be able to take action to enforce nature rights if the government did not do so.’
Ecuadorian Assembly Approves Constitutional Rights for Nature
Categories: Agriculture, Forests, GMO, Oceans
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September 7th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
How can we let the people of Equador and it’s governing body know how much we honor them for this gigantic step in our evolution as a collective of the human race? Problems? of course, just as there are challeges in taking away a child from a cruel parent. We will think of you now as a brave people with a simple idea garnered in genius. It will set us all to thinking.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:49 am
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November 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
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December 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I find this overbroad; does Article 4, for example, mean that antibiotics will now be illegal in Ecuador? Obviously, bacteria (and viruses) are important in ecosystems; and there have been significant efforts (by WHO and others) to cause the extinction, for example, of the polio virus.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I would like to congratulate Ecuador for the courage and the intelligence to allow Mother Nature the protection she needs. I have visited this small Democratic country, spent a week in her jungle, climbed a volcano, watched wild horses, howler monkeys, listened to the sound of a thousand insect voices. The Galapagos, already protected in so many ways, the constant eratication of livestock non endemic to the islands, the Darwin Centre, etc. This small country has a huge understanding of whats necessary to keep their land safe and thriving. We are so immersed in the $$$ profits, keeping up with jones, the designer everythings…Canada NEEDS to stop ignoring the very obvious signs of her own destrustion and doing.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Shauna, I am pretty certain the world could do without the polio virus. There many more important things regarding species diversity and preservation that we need to really work on.
I am trying to persuade some local politicians and the community to support a natural heritage centre that would be a model for conservation efforts of threatened and endangered species.