FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2020
Contacts:
Constanza Prieto Figelist (cpfigelist@earthlaw.org, 202-621-3877)
Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, 510-566-1063)
New York, NY: Last week, a coalition of organizations submitted an amicus brief to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, the highest court in Ecuador, calling for a robust application of the Rights of Nature in order to save the Los Cedros Protected Forest, an immensely biodiverse Andean cloud forest in Ecuador. Los Cedros is under threat from recent mining concessions to state mining company ENAMI that cover two-thirds of the reserve. Several species are at risk of extinction due from mining operations.
In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize the “Rights of Nature,” granting basic rights to Nature, just as humans possess rights. The case of Los Cedros Rainforest will be the first case specific to the Rights of Nature that reaches the Constitutional Court.
“Ecuador has inspired a global movement to recognize Nature’s rights, but now it must become effective in practice to protect and restore ecosystems,” said Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin American Legal Lead at Earth Law Center. “Our amicus brief offers a blueprint for the strong and practical enforcement of the Rights of Nature.”
The amicus brief makes several requests. First, it calls for fully upholding the rights of the Los Cedros Rainforest with an emphasis on its right to restoration to repair the damages Los Cedros already suffered from ENAMI. Second, it calls for the application of rights specific to certain ecosystems—e.g., rivers flowing within Los Cedros have river rights, forests have forest rights, and so forth, each with their own standards. Third, it calls for the appointment of independent legal guardians for Nature. Finally, it calls for upholding human environmental rights and rights of future generations.
Globally, Rights of Nature is now recognized to some extent in over a dozen countries. This includes the United States, where a handful of Native American tribes and many local communities have passed Rights of Nature laws, declarations, and resolutions. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 global biodiversity framework also recently promoted the Rights of Nature in its updated draft, which is up for adoption in 2021.
The amicus brief was submitted jointly by Earth Law Center, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, and the Center for Biological Diversity in collaboration with International Rivers and the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. A network of law school professors sign the amicus brief in support, as well.
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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501c3 organization that works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. They recently released the first-ever law school coursebook on “Earth law,” which is an emerging body of ecocentric law, including the Rights of Nature.