21 / 208
[
] 21
E
nvironment
:
legal
and
ethical
issues
The precedent set by the Ecuadorian Constitution led to the adop-
tion, spearheaded by Bolivia, of an international Universal Declaration
of the Rights of Mother Earth in April 2010.
16
Following the failure
of the United Nations Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen to
gain meaningful progress in combating climate change, the Bolivian
Government organized an alternative conference for communities,
NGOs, lawyers, academics, scientists, the public and governments
from around the world. Held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the confer-
ence was attended by tens of thousands of people and concluded
with the adoption of the Universal Declaration.
The Declaration recognizes that ‘Mother Earth and all beings’ have
numerous rights including the right to exist, the right to water as a
source of life, the right to integral health, and the right to full and
prompt restoration for violations of these rights. Bolivian President
Morales formally presented the Universal Declaration to the United
Nations immediately after the conference.
17
Further, Member
States and experts addressed the Universal Declaration at an April
2011 General Assembly Interactive Dialogue
18
on implementation
of the Rio Principle of life in harmony with nature. The report of
the Secretary-General that supported this Dialogue recommended
a ‘declaration recognizing nature’s intrinsic value’
19
that is apart
from its value to humans. The Universal Declaration provides an
important structure for establishing governance systems that lead to
healthy, sustainable communities, both human and environmental.
Recognition of the rights of nature increasingly occurs at commu-
nity level as well, particularly in those communities threatened by
outside attempts to injure local waterways and lands. Faced by
corporate demands to drill locally for natural gas using a partic-
ularly destructive technique known as hydrofracking, the City of
Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania took action to protect its drinking water
and local rivers from the projected contamination that would have
occurred. The city passed a local law not only prohibiting fracking,
but also recognizing that ‘natural communities and ecosystems…
possess inalienable and fundamental rights to exist and flourish
within the City of Pittsburgh’ and granting City residents ‘legal
standing to enforce those rights on behalf of those
natural communities and ecosystems.’
20
The actions
undertaken by this major US city with over 305,000
inhabitants are a model for other communities around
the globe.
The challenge now is to take up and expand these
efforts, broadly working to create Earth-based govern-
ance that recognizes the inherent rights of the natural
world, and are consistent with modern scientific
awareness of our integrated relationships. New laws
and economic systems are essential elements of this
transformation and can be spearheaded by practi-
cal actions on the ground, particularly those at local
level. One example of community-based action is the
Transition Network,
21
, which fosters worldwide ‘transi-
tion towns’. Community members within these towns
work to rebuild local resilience in key areas such as
food, water, housing and energy, as well as regularly
take direct action to reduce local greenhouse gas emis-
sions. Community initiatives geared towards resiliency
and biodiversity will build a culture of connectedness
with the Earth, which in turn will advance the govern-
ance changes needed to establish a broader evolution of
law and economic policy for the long term.
Our current governance systems arose from an era in
which society mistakenly believed humans could, and
therefore should, control the environment. The current
path of endless growth and monetization of the Earth’s
systems will only repeat these past mistakes, to the
detriment of all. Instead, modern science and ethics are
calling out for an Earth-based governance system that
will embed and guide the implementation of mutual,
respectful rights of coexistence for all Earth’s inhabit-
ants, to our collective benefit. Our future depends on
the path we choose now.
Pittsburgh, PA adopted a ‘rights of nature’ ordinance, importantly giving clean water to the city
Image: Filipe Fortesk