Kukama Women Say Their Marañón River is a Living Being: Groundbreaking Lawsuit Filed in Peru

Huaynakana Kamatahuara kana, a Kukama women’s federation in the lower Marañón Valley, has filed a groundbreaking legal action demanding that the Peruvian government recognize their river as a legal person, or “Ser Vivo” (Living Being)). A coalition of national and international organizations including the Institute for Legal Defense, International Rivers, and the Earth Law Center are providing legal aid and support. A coalition of Canadian lawyers and academics have presented an amicus curiae in defense of the petition. 

For many Indigenous people like the Kukamas, their rivers are living beings with rights that should be recognized and protected. The Marañón River is the source of food, water, and transportation for the Kukama people; it is also the center of their spiritual universe. After watching their river suffer contamination over decades, especially from systemic oil spills that have destroyed its fragile ecosystem and fisheries, the Kukama women decided to take legal action. 

On September 8th the women’s federation and their lawyers from IDL filed a legal action in a Peruvian court to have their river recognized as a legal person. The petition accuses various government entities of violating the fundamental rights of the Marañón River, including Petroperú, the state-run oil company, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Energy and Mining.

Huaynakana was founded in 2001 to promote the rights of Kukama-Kukamiria women and protect their environment and culture. The federation represents women from 28 indigenous communities in the district of Parinari on the Marañón River in Peru’s northern Amazon region.      

Canadian lawyers and academics from three universities filed an amicus curiae in the Peruvian court on September 29th to support Huayanakana’s lawsuit. The document shows how various provincial governments have recognized the right of Indigenous people to manage their own resources. The amicus describes the growing importance of Indigenous law within the environmental impact assessment process in Canada.

Details of Huaynakana’s Legal Action

The Kukama women are asking for recognition of specific rights for the Marañón River including: the right to exist, to flow, to live free from contamination, to feed and be fed by its tributaries, and to be protected, preserved, and restored.

These rights are in accordance with the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers. Growing comparative jurisprudence worldwide, such as Colombia’s Atrato River,[1] New Zealand’s Whanganui[2]  River and Canada’s Magpie River, is providing rights for rivers. Huaynakana’s members say their river must also be protected because of its cultural and spiritual value.

 Peru’s Constitution protects the cultural values of its Indigenous people, and the country is a signatory to Convention 169 of the OIT as well as the American Declaration of Indigenous People.

 The lawsuit also calls on Petroperú to carry out maintenance and repairs on its leaky North Peruvian Pipeline, and for the establishment of local river basin management committees to ensure the participation of Indigenous people in the administration and conservation of their water resources.

 The Kukama women are demanding that the Peruvian government recognize Indigenous organizations as guardians, defenders, and representatives of the Marañón River and its tributaries. They call for the creation of the “Guardians of the Marañón River”, an institution that would represent the river and its interests in coordination with government agencies. This institution would give the Marañón River a seat at the table during high-level meetings and potentially allow the river to influence public and private decisions over its Being and Tributaries. 

 The IUCN World Conservation Congress has expressed concern about the threats facing Peru’s river basins and advised that the Marañón River be considered a special subject of protection due to its important role in the Amazon ecosystem.[3]

“We do not live on money. We live from what we grow on our land and our fishing. We can not live without fish.” Isabel adds that the women filed their legal action to protect the river for their children and grandchildren. ”

— Isabel Murayari
Board Member, Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana

Huaynakana Videos

The Marañón river is a living being

A Kukama journalist speaks: the Marañón River is a Living Being

A Healer speaks: our medicinal plants need the rivers

A fisherman and a Mother speak about their river

 Contacts

Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari, Huaynakana President. +51 925 764 188

Carmen Rosa Arévalo, Huaynakana Advisor. + 51 938 853 259

Juan Carlos Ruiz, IDL Lawyer. +51 997 521 685, jruiz@idl.org.pe

Maritza Quispe, IDL Lawyer. +51 997 598 906, mquispe@idl.org.pe

Charis Kamphuis, JCAP Lawyer. (+1) 250 572 2625 ckamphuis@tru.ca

https://proyecto-justicia.org/

Monti Aguirre, International Rivers, monti@internationalrivers.org

https://www.internationalrivers.org/

Constanza Prieto Figelist, Earth Law Center, cpfigelist@gmail.com, https://www.earthlawcenter.org/

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[1] Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Sexta de Revisión, Acción de tutela del Rio Atrato, T-622 de 2016, 10 de noviembre, 2016

[2] Nueva Zelanda, Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017.

[3] Ver. https://www.iucncongress2020.org/motion/013

Advocates at IUCN Congress Highlight a Wave of New Support for the Rights of Rivers

Contacts:    

1. Monti Aguirre, International Rivers (707-591-1220; monti@internationalrivers.org) 

2. Grant Wilson, Earth Law Center (510-566-1063; gwilson@earthlaw.org) 

 For immediate release: September 8, 2021

 Marseille, France—Today, advocates from across the globe gathered at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (both in person and remotely) to highlight the precipitous growth of the movement to recognize the rights of rivers and watersheds. The press conference also marked the approximate one year anniversary of the formal launch of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers (“Declaration”), a civil society initiative to define the basic rights to which all rivers are entitled. According to its proponents, the Declaration intends to build awareness and serve as a customizable legal model for governments wishing to join the rights of rivers movement.

Over the past year, rights have been recognized or declared for (at minimum) Boulder Creek and the Boulder Creek Watershed (Nederland, USA, mirroring some language from the Declaration), the Magpie River (Canada), waterways in Orange County, Florida (USA), the Alpayacu River (Ecuador), and the Paraná River and Wetlands (Rosario, Argentina). In contrast to traditional environmental laws that recognize Nature as mere human property, this legal precedent acknowledges that rivers, watersheds, and other natural entities are living entities with rights.

With regards to the Declaration, it now has support from close to 1,700 individuals and 211 organizations from over forty countries. Numerous ‘rights of rivers’ campaigns also incorporate parts of the Declaration, including in El Salvador (rights of the Lempa River), France (rights of the Tavignanu River), Mexico (rights of all rivers in Oaxaca), Nigeria (rights of the River Ethiope), Pakistan (rights of the Indus Delta and River), Serbia, and the UK (rights of the River Frome). Additionally, last week, 16 IUCN members co-sponsored an emergency motion calling upon IUCN members to endorse the Declaration, although it did not pass. 

Advocates have also submitted a multitude of amici curiae briefs in defense of the ‘rights of rivers’ that specifically reference the rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, including briefs seeking to protect the rights of the Dulcepamba River, Piatúa River and Nangaritza River in a series of cases currently before the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. Another amicus brief seeks to protect the Marañon River in Peru based in part on the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers. In one instance, an administrative body in Ecuador upheld the rights of the Dulcepamba River and ordered protection of its flows.

The momentum towards the rights of rivers is growing as a response to mounting global threats to rivers and freshwater ecosystems. According to the 2020 Living Planet Index, 944 monitored freshwater species declined by an average of 84% between 1970 and 2016. Due to an onslaught of dams and other infrastructure, only 37 percent of rivers longer than 1,000km still flow freely.  

 The notion of recognizing the personhood or rights of rivers gained global attention in 2017. That year, a treaty agreement between the Whanganui Iwi (a Māori tribe) and the Crown Government recognized the Whanganui River as a legal person, a Constitutional Court decision in Colombia recognized the rights of the Atrato River, and a court in Uttarakhand, India, recognized the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers as legal persons with rights (later stayed). In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize the Rights of  Nature. 

Quotes: 

“It is obvious that effective river management works best at the basin scale, and ‘river rights’, as described in the Declaration, is a very important way of achieving this and ensuring protection of ecosystem integrity.” 

-Angela Andrade, Chair of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management

“Globally, rivers have enormous social, cultural, environmental, and economic value, but are becoming progressively more threatened. The Rights of Rivers approach is becoming increasingly important for ensuring that they can continue to provide these essentials to benefit nature and the people who rely on them.” 

Kristen Walker, Chair of IUCN’s Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy.

“Western law and culture often treat rivers as a human resource instead of recognizing the reality that they are living systems. An important step towards correcting this falsehood is for rivers and other natural entities to be recognised in law as legal entities with intrinsic rights.” 

-Jessica Sweidan, CoFounder & Trustee of Synchronicity Earth; IUCN Patron of Nature.  

“The playbook for protecting rivers and watersheds must evolve beyond the traditional environmental law approaches we’ve been using since the 1960s, as such laws are helpful but grossly inadequate. The Declaration is a useful legislative starting point for those wishing to promote new, Earth-centered legal protections for fresh waters.”

-Grant Wilson, Executive Director of Earth Law Center.

“This movement towards recognizing the rights of rivers will be extremely helpful for protecting the freshwater biodiversity present in these ecologically important rivers.” 

-Dr. Topiltzin Contreras Macbeath, Head of the Conservation Biology Research Group at the University of Morelos, México and Co-Chair of the Freshwater Conservation Committee of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.

“Rivers are the veins of the Earth. They hold so much life and provide the conditions for life to evolve, flourish, and regenerate. This declaration is essential in the process of legally recognizing the inherent rights of rivers worldwide, as a way to protect their integrity, health, and role in Earth’s web of life.” 

-Hana Begovic, Director of Earth Advocacy Youth.

“A global study of river protections that I recently led shows the growing importance of the Rights of Rivers movement, relative to some of the other protection systems we discussed. We concluded that Rights of Rivers is a powerful tool for recognizing Indigenous cultural plurality in legal systems, and for bringing about transformative change in the protection of nature.”

-Dr. Denielle Perry, Director of the Free-flowing Rivers Lab in Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth and Sustainability, and Co-Chair of the Durable River Protection Coalition.

"Rivers across the planet are ribbons of biodiversity that are facing unprecedented threats due to climate change and dam building. Rights of Nature for Rivers offers a path forward that combats these threats and gives rivers their rightful protection as the planet's life-saving arteries.” 

-Gary Wockner, Co-Founder of Save The Colorado and Founder of Save The World's Rivers.

“Our current laws are not rising to address the climate and biodiversity crises. Freshwater ecosystems need permanent protections to sustain water quality, food security, and human rights. A Rights of Nature approach offers transformative change at a time where it could not be needed more.”

Monti Aguirre, Latin America Manager at International Rivers.

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 Find more on the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, visit www.RightsOfRivers.org

Rights of Nature a focus at the IUCN Congress

‘Energizing Rights of Nature’ IUCN hybrid workshop

Contact:

Michelle Bender, Earth Law Center, mbender@earthlaw.org (+1 509 218 9338)

Natalia Greene, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, natalia@garn.org (+593 99944 3724)

Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), osprey@wecaninternational.org (+1 415 722 2104)

September 8th, 2021: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) started in Marseille, France on September 3rd. As the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, the IUCN is a global authority on the status of Nature and the measures needed to safeguard the planet. Intended to meet every four years, the IUCN Congress 2020 is now being held as a hybrid format in light of the pandemic.

At the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2012, Members of the Union passed Resolution 100: “Incorporation of the Rights of Nature as the organizational focal point in IUCN’s decision making.” Within this resolution, the IUCN called for Nature’s rights to be a “fundamental and absolute key element in all IUCN decisions” and work towards the creation of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature. However, implementation has been slow. “This is about much more than recognizing rights. We must work to shift our baselines, adopt new principles and standards for decision making, and transform the ethics and values that underlie our legal, economic and governance systems. We still have a long way to go to reconstruct our relationship with the natural world and achieve the vision of living in harmony with Nature,” says Michelle Bender, Ocean Campaigns Director at the Earth Law Center.

Earlier this year, at the IUCN’s Global Youth Summit, Earth Law Center and the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) Youth Hub held a joint workshop and co-created a declaration with over 200 participants on the Rights of Nature and Future Generations. They comprise: formally adopting the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth; creating an IUCN Commission (or working group within each Commission) for the Rights of Nature to be mainstreamed through cross-cutting and joint initiatives, events, discussions or projects; and creating best-guidelines documents to provide guidance to IUCN members on best practices and challenges to implementation and enforcement of Earth-centered governance. The Declaration and recommendations are included in the IUCN’s Draft Outcome Statement produced August 11, 2021 and is expected to be presented at the Marseille Congress.

Civil society groups are pushing Rights of Nature at the Marseille Congress to ensure it remains at the top of the agenda, and the IUCN works towards implementing its commitments under Resolution 100, its Action Programmes and the IUCN World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law. Within this advocacy effort, Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) stated, “In order for IUCN to truly uplift Resolution 100, there must be a primary understanding by governments and financial institutions that humans must urgently reorient themselves from an exploitative and ultimately self-destructive relationship with nature, to one that honors the deep interrelation of all life and contributes to the health and integrity of the natural world. An essential step in achieving this goal is to create a system of jurisprudence that sees and treats nature as a fundamental, rights-bearing entity and not as mere property to be exploited or used in market-based schemes. This is a worldview change, and one that Indigenous Peoples have been demonstrating for generations.”

Almost 13 years have passed since Ecuador became the first country in the world to recognize that Nature is a subject of Rights in its Constitution. Now, 37 countries recognize the Rights of Nature, either at a national level, in subnational legislation or by recognizing the rights of an ecosystem. The time has come for the Rights of Nature. As Natalia Greene, member of GARN’s Executive Committee, said in her opening speech for the ‘From Glaciers to Oceans’ event in Marseille, “We do not defend nature, we are nature that defends itself. We are an integral part of this incredible living community, the ecosystem-Earth, and we are all subjects of rights.”

Graphic created by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature

Rights of Nature activities at the Congress included:

• On September 4th, GARN’s European Hub presented the day event called “From Glaciers to Ocean: Forum for the rights of European aquatic ecosystems”, at Coco Velten in Marseille. This event included a press conference, four interesting panels about the philosophy of the Rights of Nature and the rights of aquatic ecosystems, a movie and a debate, and the awaited launch of the verdicts of the five cases heard by the European Tribunal in Defense of Aquatic Ecosystems, which took place from January to May 2021.

• Sept 5th: Ecocide Presentation Red Mud Case “Ecocide and red mud, a canyon’s autopsy” - Espaces Générations Nature

• Sept. 5th: Conference: Rights of Nature and Future Generations : a common destiny, Conference at Espace Generations Nature

• A joint workshop held on September 5th ‘Energizing the Rights of Nature’ in partnership with Comité National de l'UICN, France; IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL); Earth Law Center; Consejo Internacional de Derecho Ambiental (ICEL); Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN); and Odyssey.

• Sept. 6th: Conference: European movement for the rights of nature! Espace Generations Nature

• Sept. 6th: Conference: “Does Nature have rights?” Valérie Cabanes, Sarah Vanuxem and Marine Calmet at the Mucem Museum.

• ELC and GARN sent a letter to IUCN President Zhang and IUCN Members on September 7th, highlighting ways in which the IUCN can implement Resolution 100.

• A symposium September 6th and 7th by ICEL, IUCN WCEL and Pace University on “Environmental Law Confronts Earth’s Ecocrises”

• September 8th press conference on the global rights of rivers movement and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers in specific, in addition to an emergency motion submitted on the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers (outcome pending).

• September 9th session on “Rights of Nature: legal perspectives from America, and its implications in International Environmental Law” by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Ecologic Institute

The IUCN has a unique opportunity to progress with the guarantee of the Rights of Nature in this Congress, especially through the advancement of Resolution 100. The Rights of Nature is present during this world gathering, through its various organizations and representatives, to advocate for transformative, systemic change, so necessary during this urgent time for the people and the planet.

About the organizations:

Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org): ELC champions Earth-centered laws and community-led movements that respect and protect all life on the planet. 

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (https://www.therightsofnature.org/): GARN is a global network of organizations and individuals committed to the universal adoption and implementation of legal systems that recognize, respect and enforce “Rights of Nature”.  

Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network ( https://www.wecaninternational.org/): WECAN is a solutions-based organization established to engage women worldwide in policy advocacy, on-the-ground projects, trainings, and movement building for global climate justice.

EARTH LAW CENTER TO PARTNER ON “INVISIBLE HAND” YOUTH INTERNATIONAL SCREENING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Media Contacts:

Michelle Bender, Ocean Campaigns Director, Earth Law Center, mbender@earthlaw.org, 509-218-9338

Joshua Pribanic (Co-director INVISIBLE HAND), joshua@publicherald.org, 419-202-8503

Melissa Troutman (Co-director INVISIBLE HAND), melissa@publicherald.org, 724-388-0464

The Screening Will Include A Panel Discussion With Youth Activists

BOULDER, Colo. (February 12, 2021) - Earth Law Center is pleased to partner with Mark Ruffalo, PublicHerald, Pearl Remote Democratic High School and youth organizations for a Youth International Screening of INVISIBLE HAND, a documentary film covering the Rights of Nature movement. This special event, taking place Saturday, March 13 from 1 - 4 p.m. ET, will include a discussion with environmental youth activists and other influential voices following the film screening.

“INVISIBLE HAND offers an alternative, a paradigm shift occurring across the world that’s healing, not just symptoms of environmental disaster, but the actual disease,” said Ruffalo. “This movement changes everything. It honors indigenous wisdom and shifts our priorities. It restores balance by placing Nature at the center of our decision making processes and gives the power that corporations stole back to our communities. It enshrines the long-ignored laws of Nature inside of our legal system.”

Produced by Ruffalo, INVISIBLE HAND takes viewers behind the scenes of four defining legal battles related to the Rights of Nature movement, a subset of Earth Law. The documentary follows legal challenges that address local communities’ rights to self-governance, Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and the rights of natural communities and ecosystems. In one such effort, award-winning directors Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman followed the Pennsylvania community of Grant Township on a journey to protect itself against the disposal of toxic fracking waste threatening their water supply. To do so, the community passed a Home Rule Charter that recognized the community’s right to a clean and healthy environment, as well as the rights of natural communities and ecosystems to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve.

“Our legal system is rigged to commodify Nature, to favor private property above Life,” says co-director Melissa Troutman. “It’s a system that makes it perfectly legal to harm innocent people without their consent and threaten the survival of the planet.”

“The climate emergency is now and the science is clear,” added Joshua Pribanic, Co-Director of INVISIBLE HAND. “We have less than eight years to change everything we know about our economy, our government, and our laws. This film is about the first step on that path to a livable future. Rights of Nature is the next stage in the evolution of our democracy.”

Elizabeth Dunne, who now serves as Earth Law Center’s Director of Legal Advocacy, was honored to provide counsel to the community of Grant Township throughout the multi-year legal battle followed in the film and to be part of the litigation team that helped secure the Lake Erie Bill of Rights a place on the ballot.

“The film does a tremendous job of depicting the courage and determination it takes to protect water from corporate power and advance systemic change,” Dunne said. “Protecting water is protecting ecosystems, and protecting ecosystems is protecting human health and well-being. At its core the Rights of Nature movement reminds us that if we do not live in the right relationship with the Earth, we will neither thrive, nor ultimately, survive. Making Rights of Nature a reality demands multi-faceted and dynamic approaches that evolve depending on the time, place and circumstances.”

Participants of the panel discussion include Michelle Bender, Earth Law Center’s Ocean Campaigns Director.  “I am honored to be invited to participate in the screening, and thank the producers for focusing on youth engagement and involvement in the movement,” said Bender. “Environmental activists of all ages must be given more platforms to have their voices heard. We are the ones that are inheriting the Earth (along with the future generations of all species and ecosystems), and therefore should have an equal opportunity to lend our voices to the decisions and processes that are altering our future, such as climate change policy.”

Anyone wishing to attend should reserve their tickets at: https://invisiblehandfilm.com/yis (tickets will be free for anyone but adults are encouraged to donate). The film starts at 1:00 p.m. EDT on the day of the screening, with the youth panel beginning at 2:45. Audiences will have the opportunity to discuss the latest Rights of Nature ideas with Mark Ruffalo, youth leaders, The Pearl School, and filmmakers.

In order to reverse the global environmental crisis, we need transformational change in not only our society and legal systems, but our values and ethics that underlie these systems. Legal rights for nature is one way to do so,” added Bender. “I encourage you to not only watch this film, but to learn more about Earth law and the Rights of Nature movement and how you can be involved. We cannot change the status quo if we continue to work within the system that has led to and fueled the growing environmental crisis. Our lives, health and well-being depends on the health of the larger Earth community.”

Other partners of this event include:  Earth Advocacy Youth, GARN Youth Hub, OtherWise Wageningen, Great Plains Action Society, We R Native, Center for Native American Youth, Polluters Out, Youth Vs. Apocalypse, Greenpeace, Mark Ruffalo. You can also visit the website for a full list of quotes from the participants. : https://www.invisiblehandfilm.com/international-youth-organizations-join-mark-ruffalo-to-screen-rights-of-nature-documentary/.

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ABOUT EARTH LAW CENTER

Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental law organization working around the world to advance Earth-centered laws and community-led movements that respect and protect all life on the planet.  ELC partners with frontline Indigenous people and communities to challenge the overarching legal and economic systems that reward environmental harm, and advance governance systems that maximize social and ecological well-being.

EARTH LAW CENTER APPOINTS TWO NEW BOARD DIRECTORS

The New Directors Bring 20 Years of Experience to ELC’s Board and Reflect the Organization’s Commitment to Social Responsibility and Global Expansion.

February 8, 2021

Today, Earth Law Center (ELC) announces the appointment of Felipe Clavijo-Ospina and Brandon Hubbard to the organization’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. 

“We are excited to welcome Felipe and Brandon to the ELC Board,” said Grant Wilson, Executive Director of the Earth Law Center. “They each bring valuable perspectives that not only complement our leadership team but will also help drive our organization forward during this pivotal time in the Earth Law movement. We look forward to their contributions.”

Clavijo-Ospina brings more than 15 years of experience practicing constitutional law in Colombia. As a clerk on the country’s Constitutional Court, he wrote the landmark 2017 decision that granted legal rights to the Atranto River, a 416-mile waterway that encompasses one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Today, Clavijo-Ospina serves as a Senior Constitutional Advisor in the Office of the Inspector-Attorney General of Colombia. 

“I am excited to add more Latin American and Indigenous perspective to ELC’s important work,” said Clavijo-Ospina. “I have been a longtime supporter of the Earth Law movement and am thrilled to have the opportunity to help shape it and propel it forward.”

Hubbard is one of the youngest Directors to serve on ELC’s Board and a longtime sales manager at Comscore, a company that offers media and marketing measurement resources. He has been active in Comscore’s social responsibility programs and co-founded Comscore REAL (Representation and Equity at All Levels), a company-wide resource group for minority employees.

“I look forward to using my sales experience to bring more funding to ELC,” Hubbard said. “This work takes time, requires talented lawyers and demands an incredible amount of partner outreach, so we need our donations to keep up with these needs.”

Ceremony and Solidarity on 50th anniversary of orca's captivity

September 24, 2020

Lummi tribal members have traveled across the country to hold ceremony in Miami for the orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) on the 50th anniversary of her captivity at the Seaquarium. On September 24, a  live-streamed virtual event brought global Indigenous voices together with those from the worlds of education, Western science, and law, all standing in solidarity with Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut.

“There’s a lot of hurt in the world right now,” said Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley), one of the Lummi contingent. “Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is a symbol of hurt in the past, and hope for healing in the future. She’s showing us how ancestral teachings guide us to healing actions.  Upholding our Indigenous rights is good for everybody, because protecting the earth is good for everybody.”

 The event featured ceremonies held by Lummi and Seminole members for Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, as well as ceremonies from Lake Baikal; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; a shaman from Okhon Island; a guardian of the Kanykei bulagy sacred spring, the head of the shaman's union of Mongolia; a guardian of the sacred Irbistuu mountain; Thura children in Nepal; and a shaman in Tuva. A  Statement of Solidarity from International Indigenous Leaders was launched, and leaders of Tribes, First Nation, and Indigenous organizations were invited to sign on.  It has already gathered signatures from Maori in New Zealand, Cowichan in British Columbia, Nez Perce in Idaho, Protectors of the Salish Sea, and Ponca Nation in Oklahoma.

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenuat is part of our Salish Sea family. Our Lummi Nation passed a motion in 2017 to support work to bring her home. The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians then passed a Resolution to confirm the same. Tah-Mahs and I are simply carrying on the work we have been called to do. Estitem-sen (we’re trying our best). It is our Xa xalh Xechning (sacred obligation),” said Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris).

The Lummi term for orca is qwe’lhol’mechen, which means “our relations under the water.” Squil-le-he-le  and Tah-Mahs  are invoking their legal rights, as well as their spiritual, cultural, and kinship rights, in their call to bring their relation, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, home to the Salish Sea. They are supported in their work by the Earth Law Center, the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Northwest Indian College.  Florida International University's Global Indigenous Forum and  Samuel Tommie of the Seminole Tribe of Florida joined Tah-Mahs and Squil-le-he-le in Miami for the event.

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenuat is a sacred family member to the Lummi people, and so the Miami Seaquarium’s failure to return her to the Salish Sea runs afoul of their Indigenous rights,” said Grant Wilson, Executive Director & Directing Attorney of Earth Law Center, which represents Tah-Mahs and Squil-le-he-le. “This campaign seeks justice for both endangered Southern Resident orcas and neglected Indigenous voices.”

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is an amazing whale,” said Jeff Foster, of the Whale Sanctuary Project, who has helped to end the captivity of a number of cetaceans internationally. “We are providing our technical expertise to help the Lummi bring her home. The Lummi ancestral knowledge of what is best for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, her family, and the Salish Sea, can be supported by science so that this effort is done in the most responsible way possible.”

The general public was invited to sign on to a petition as well as to hold and share their own ceremonies for Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut.

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Media contact: Julie Trimingham, 360-305-5880

Michelle Bender, Earth Law Center, mbender@earthlaw.org

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut is held captive at Miami Seaquarium, which is owned by Palace Entertainment, Parques Reunidos, and EQT.

The event was recorded and is viewable at : https://www.facebook.com/OurSacredSea

Coalition Submits Amicus Brief Urging Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to Make Landmark Rights of Nature Ruling in Los Cedros Case

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.

Convention on Biodiversity Advances the Rights of Nature in Proposed Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 2, 2020

Contacts:      
Grant Wilson, Earth Law Center (gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1-510-566-1063)
Pella Thiel, Rights of Nature Sweden (pella.thiel@endecocide.se, +46-73-658 98 84)
Doris Ragettli, Rights of Mother Earth (doris@rightsofmotherEarth.com, +41-79-775-7059
Hana Begovic, Earth Advocacy Youth (hanabegovic1@gmail.com)

Montreal, Canada—The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has become the first international environmental treaty proposing to advance the Rights of Nature. This milestone occurred in the updated “zero draft” for a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will be up for adoption during the 15th meeting of the “Conference of the Parties” (COP) to the CBD in 2021 in Kunming, China. 

Specifically, the zero draft added the following approach to implement the framework: "Consider and recognize, where appropriate, the rights of nature.”

“We hope this important milestone will inspire State parties to join the growing number of governments worldwide that recognize and enforce the Rights of Nature, while also giving Nature a stronger voice within the Convention on Biological Diversity,” said Ilana Platkiewicz, an Environmental Law Associate at Earth Law Center.

“Recognizing the Rights of Nature makes a respectful relationship between humans and Nature possible. This is the transformative policy action the post-2020 framework needs to fulfill its goals and protect biodiversity,” said Pella Thiel, Coordinator of Rights of Nature Sweden.

Parties to the CBD established open-ended working groups on the post-2020 biodiversity framework in November 2018 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with the goal of creating an ambitious plan to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity and to ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled.  

On January 13, 2020, the CBD Secretariat published a “zero draft” of the post-2020 global biodiversity that did not make reference to the Rights of Nature. In the months that followed, a coalition of organizations—led by Rights of Mother Earth, Earth Law Center, Rights of Nature Sweden, and Earth Advocacy Youth—made submissions advocating for Rights of Nature to be included. On August 17, 2020, the Secretariat released an updated zero draft highlighting the Rights of Nature as a new “enabling condition” of the post-2020 framework.

“Recognizing the Rights of Nature in the biodiversity convention is a very important component and a milestone for the protection of the natural environment. We hope it will support our endeavor for Nature to be seen and treated as a rights-bearing entity in all national legal systems, with intrinsic rights to exist and flourish, irrespective of its use and value to humans,” said Doris Ragettli, co-founder of Rights of Mother Earth. 

“Youth from all around the world are at the forefront of advancing counter norms such as the Rights of Nature, as they realize that ‘business as usual’ is not an option for them nor the Earth system as a whole. We are very happy to be a part of this important work for the inclusion of Rights of Nature into the Post-2020 framework,” said Hana Begovic, Director and Coordinator of Earth Advocacy Youth.

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize the “Rights of Nature,” thereby granting basic rights to Nature, just as humans possess rights. Globally, Rights of Nature is now recognized to some extent in over a dozen countries, including nationally in Bolivia, in several Mexican states, and at the local and tribal level in the United States.

A growing number of unique ecosystems are also being recognized as subjects of rights. These include the Whanganui River in New Zealand per a treaty agreement and eight rivers or river basins in Colombia after a series of landmark court decisions. Many environmental advocates believe the Rights of Nature movement could be the turning point in the global effort to restore Nature to health, which they argue is impossible so long as Nature is treated as mere human property under the law instead of having its own voice and rights in governance.

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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501(c)(3) organization that works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive, and evolve. This includes advancing the inherent rights of rivers through initiatives with local partners to secure rights recognition.

Rights of Nature Sweden (www.naturensrattigheter.se) is working with Rights of Nature and Earth jurisprudence as systemic tools for the transition to a society in harmony with nature. We arrange the Earth Rights Conference as a platform for these ideas.

Rights of Mother Earth is a global movement campaign for the adoption of a Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth by the United Nations, to complement the Human Rights Declaration. You can sign and share the petition at: www.RightsofMotherEarth.com

Earth Advocacy Youth (https://www.earthadvocacy-youth.org) is a coalition of creative, daring, and skilled young professionals working to identify and apply bold ecocentric solutions and practices through youth-led policy, education and legal action.

Read the joint brief advocating for the Rights of Nature and submitted to the CBD by the above parties here: https://www.earthlawcenter.org/s/CBD-Rights-of-Nature.pdf

Earth Law Center joins the fight to free orca from 50 year captivity and bring her home.

Lummi tribal members Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris) and Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley) announce partnership with Earth Law Center for legal representation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2020

Contact for Squil-le-he-le and Tah-Mahs: Julie Trimingham at  360-305-5880, info@sacredsea.org; Contact for Earth Law Center: Michelle Bender at 509-218-9338, mbender@earthlaw.org 

Earth Law Center joins the fight to free orca from 50 year captivity and bring her home.

The two Lummi Nation tribal members working for the release and return of the captive orca Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut (also known as Tokitae or her stage name, Lolita) announced today that they will be legally represented by Earth Law Center. The virtual press conference will be live streamed, and available at http://facebook.com/pg/OurSacredSea. 

"Our Lummi term for orca is qwe'lhol'mechen, which means our relations under the water," explained Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris), one of the Lummi women involved. "Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut is part of our community, our family. It's our Xa xalh Xechnging (sacred obligation) to bring our relation out of captivity at Miami Seaquarium, to bring her safely home to Xw'ullemy (the Salish Sea)."

Last July, Squil-le-he-le and Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley) announced their intent to sue Miami Seaquarium. Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut is a member of Sk'aliCh'elh, which is the Lummi family name for the Southern Resident Killer Whale population. The Lummi people are bound by culture and kinship ties to Sk'aliCh'elh, and have been in a reciprocal relationship with them since time immemorial.

"She was taken from her family and her culture when she was just a child, like so many of our children were taken from us and placed in Indian boarding schools. Reuniting her with her family, reuniting her with us, helps make us all whole," explained Tah-Mahs.

“We are humbled with the trust that's been placed in us.” said Michelle Bender, Ocean Rights Manager at the Earth Law Center. “At the foundation of Earth law and the Rights of Nature movement is the Indigenous worldview that we are a part of, not separate from, Nature and all of its species and elements. By legally representing our sisters and brothers, we hope to shed light on this truth that has been lost from Western society."

Dr. Kurt Russo, who has spent decades working to Indigenize policy frameworks, said, "This is a game changer. We're meeting Miami Seaquarium where they are, in the Western legal sphere. Earth Law Center is perfectly positioned to represent Tah-Mahs and Squil-le-he-le in their efforts to repatriate their relation."

"We're at a time when we all need healing," Tah-Mas added. "We're all family, qwe'lhol'mechen and Lummi people. What happens to them, happens to us."

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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental law organization working around the world to transform the law to recognize, honor and protect nature's inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. ELC partners with frontline indigenous people and communities to challenge the overarching legal and economic systems that reward environmental harm, and advance governance systems that maximize social and ecological well-being.

For more information on Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, go to www.sacredsea.org

River Defenders Win Major Victory for California Waterways

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPT 9, 2019

Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, 510-566-1063)
Matt O'Malley (matt@sdcoastkeeper.org, 619-758-7743)
Lindsey Jurca (lindsey@lawaterkepeer.org, 310-490-6887)

Sacramento, CA (Sept 9, 2019)—A coalition of river and coastal defenders have won a major victory against the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), securing an order that requires the Water Board to meet the statutory deadlines for its list of impaired waterways in California. The lawsuit focused on the Water Board’s violations of the Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the latter being California’s guiding clean water law that protects the health of the state’s inland and coastal waters.

"This victory will ensure that the State Water Board upholds its basic legal duty to identify and restore impaired waterways in a timely manner," said Grant Wilson, Directing Attorney of Earth Law Center. "This is an important step towards reversing the historic decline of aquatic ecosystems across California."

Earth Law Center, Los Angeles Waterkeeper (LAW), and San Diego Coastkeeper filed suit in November 2017, challenging the Water Board’s Integrated Report process. The Integrated Report contains the previously mentioned list of impaired waterways, along with a broader report on overall water quality.

For nearly two decades, California has submitted its biennial Integrated Report years late, resulting in water quality decisions that are based on severely outdated information. For example, California's 2014 Integrated Report was submitted to the U.S. EPA more than 3 years and 6 months late. As a result of this ruling, the Water Board must submit reports on time.

“It was clear that the State Water Board was not taking the impaired waters lists as seriously as they should be or allocating the staff resources necessary for such an important program,” said Arthur Pugsley, Senior Attorney at LAW. “The Integrated Reports are foundational. Considering the necessity of these reports to inform the public of possible health threats and to trigger the adoption of restoration plans, this ruling is a victory not only for our waterways, but for the people and wildlife of California.”

“This victory should result in a more up-to-date and complete understanding of the challenges our waterways are facing, ensuring increased efficacy of restoration and recovery plans,” noted Matt O’Malley, Executive Director and Managing Attorney at San Diego Coastkeeper.

“We are pleased with the ruling, but it is unfortunate that watchdog groups have to bring suit in order to get the Water Board to abide by what the Clean Water Act requires of it,” said Bruce Reznik, Executive Director of LAW.

“While we prevailed in ensuring the Water Board fulfills its obligations under the Clean Water Act, we are disappointed by the dismissal of our plea to consider hydromodification (i.e., channelization) as an impairment itself when compiling its list of impaired waterways,” noted Grant Wilson, Directing Attorney at Earth Law Center. “Drained and fragmented waterways challenge species that are critical to our ecosystem, and those challenges will only intensify with the impacts of climate change. Our groups will continue working to ensure that the concretization that has devastated so many of our river systems in California is recognized for the negative impact it has on our environment and our communities and will work to restore them to healthy ecosystems.“

About California’s Integrated Report Process

California's Integrated Report process combines two reporting requirements, pursuant to sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. These requirements are also directly adopted into state law by the California Water Code. Section 303(d) requires states to undertake a process every two years to list waterways that are “impaired” if pollutants impact water uses, such as for drinking, swimming, fishing, and habitat. Such listings then trigger the development of clean-up plans. Currently, more than 40,000 miles (or about 20 percent) of California’s rivers and streams are classified as impaired by a variety of pollutants. Inclusion on the 303(d) list is often the first step towards development and implementation of remedial water quality plans. Section 305(b) includes a broader reporting requirement on the overall health of the state’s waterways, and is an important planning document, typically combined with the 303(d) list into an Integrated Report.

About the Plaintiffs

Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. This includes advancing the inherent rights of rivers.

San Diego Coastkeeper (www.sdcoastkeeper.org) protects the region’s bays, beaches, watersheds and ocean for the people and wildlife that depend on them. Coastkeeper uses community outreach, education, and advocacy to promote stewardship of clean water and healthy coastal ecosystems.

Los Angeles Waterkeeper (www.lawaterkeeper.org) safeguards LA’s inland and coastal waters by enforcing laws and empowering communities.

Pronunciamiento en El Salvador considera que los bosques son entidades vivientes

PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA: 5 de junio de 2019

Contactos: Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos (eneaswilfredo@gmail.com, +503 70841322) Roberto Carlos Olivares Martínez (rcolivares@gmail.com, +503 77962043)
Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1 510-566-1063)

Ahuachapán, El Salvador: Hoy, en el Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente, la Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador aprobó un pronunciamiento que considera que "los bosques son entidades vivientes", junto con otras declaraciones en apoyo a un ambiente saludable. El Pronunciamiento también afirma que los seres humanos deben comprometerse a cuidar, preservar y respetar los bosques, y promover acciones concretas para su expansión en El Salvador.

"Reconocer a los bosques como entidades vivientes sienta las bases para un nuevo paradigma en El Salvador en el que los seres humanos vivan en armonía con los bosques y los respeten como algo más que una propiedad", dijo el abogado salvadoreño Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos. "Sin los bosques naturales prósperos, nuestro planeta no puede mantener a los seres humanos ni a millones de otras especies que dependen de ecosistemas saludables".

Durante el último año, una coalición de líderes ambientales y sociales, incluidos abogados, ingenieros y estudiantes universitarios, han pedido el reconocimiento de los Derechos de la Naturaleza en El Salvador. En los últimos meses, la coalición, Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza, se ha centrado en una campaña para reconocer a los bosques como entidades vivientes.

El Salvador ha perdido aproximadamente el 85 por ciento de sus bosques nativos desde la década de 1960, y el planeta en su conjunto ha perdido alrededor del 80 por ciento. Pero en los últimos años, El Salvador se ha comprometido firmemente a restaurar sus paisajes.

"El pronunciamiento de hoy muestra el compromiso de El Salvador con nuevas formas de gobierno que tienen en cuenta las necesidades de los ecosistemas", dijo Grant Wilson, Abogado Director del Earth Law Center. "Esperamos que El Salvador pueda inspirar a muchos otros países a tomar acciones similares".

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Sí para los Derechos de la Naturaleza está dedicado a establecer los Derechos de la Naturaleza en El Salvador.

Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) trabaja para transformar la ley para reconocer y proteger los derechos inherentes de la Naturaleza a existir, prosperar y evolucionar.

Pronouncement in El Salvador Deems Forests to be Living Entities

Bosque Conchagua in El Salvador (via Wikipedia)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 5, 2019

Contacts:

• Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos (eneaswilfredo@gmail.com, +503 70841322)

• Roberto Carlos Olivares Martínez (rocolivares@gmail.com, +503 77962043)

• Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1 510-566-1063)

Ahuachapán, El Salvador: Today, on World Environment Day, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a pronouncement deeming that “forests are living entities.” The pronouncement also states that each person must commit to caring for, preserving, and respecting forests, and to promoting concrete actions that expand forests in El Salvador. This historic recognition was part of a larger pronouncement in support of a healthy environment.

“Recognizing forests as living entities sets the stage for a new paradigm in El Salvador in which humans live in harmony with forests and respect them as more than just property,” said El Salvadorian lawyer Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos. “Without thriving natural forests, our planet cannot support humans nor millions of other species that rely upon healthy ecosystems.”

Over the last year, a coalition of environmental and social leaders—including lawyers, engineers, and university students—have called for recognition of the Rights of Nature in El Salvador. In recent months, the coalition, Yes for the Rights of Nature (“Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza”), has focused on a campaign to recognize forests as living entities.

El Salvador has lost about 85 percent of its native forests since the 1960s, and the planet as a whole has lost about 80 percent of its native forests. But in recent years, El Salvador has made a strong commitment to restoring its native landscapes.

“Today’s pronouncement shows El Salvador’s commitment to new forms of governance that consider the needs of ecosystems,” said Grant Wilson, Directing Attorney at Earth Law Center, which has provided legal support on the Rights of Nature in El Salvador. “We hope that El Salvador can inspire many other countries to take similar actions.”

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Yes for the Rights of Nature (“Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza”) is dedicated to establishing Rights of Nature in El Salvador. Visit https://www.facebook.com/siporlanaturaleza.

Earth Law Center works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. Visit www.earthlawcenter.org.

Publisher Confirmed for First Earth Law Legal Textbook

NASA.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2019

Contact: Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org), 510-566-1063 Tony Zelle (tzelle@earthlaw.org), 617-388-4782

New York NY – Today, Earth Law Center finalized a contract with Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, U.S., of the famed “red and black” Aspen Casebook Series, to publish the first ever law school textbook on Earth Law, including the Rights of Nature movement, entitled Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law.

Specific textbook subject matters include an overview of the Rights of Nature movement, human environmental rights, animal rights, the public trust doctrine, Earth Jurisprudence, guardianship of nature, and more. The textbook will feature over twenty leading academics and practitioners in these and other fields.

“Through the textbook, students will understand the dynamic nature of law and develop tools to practice in cutting-edge areas of environmental law and governance,” said Grant Wilson, Directing Attorney of Earth Law Center. “We are thrilled to partner with one of the world’s leading textbook publishers to educate the next generation of environmental lawyers.”

The textbook will be published in 2020 and will be available in the U.S. and internationally. While targeted at law schools, the textbook is also being made available to undergraduate and graduate programs.

“Earth Law can help solve the environmental crisis that threatens the integrity of ecosystems across the globe,” said Tony Zelle, who co-leads the project and serves on Earth Law Center’s Board of Directors. “Ecocentric laws are developing at an increasing pace as courts and legislatures reflect societies’ increasing moral commitment to future generations,” he continued. “This textbook will enable students and professionals to become practitioners in this movement.”

Environmental Leaders in El Salvador Announce Campaign to Give Legal Rights to Natural Forests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2019

Contacts: Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos (eneaswilfredo@gmail.com, +503 70841322)

Roberto Carlos Olivares Martínez (rocolivares@gmail.com, +503 77962043)

Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1 510-566-1063)

Ahuachapán, El Salvador: Today, a coalition of environmental and social leaders—including lawyers, engineers, and university students—announced the formation of a group called Yes for the Rights of Nature (“Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza”). The group’s first campaign is to recognize El Salvador’s natural forests as living entities possessing fundamental rights.

Towards this objective, the group released a “Declaration of the Rights of Natural Forests in El Salvador,” which calls upon the national government to adopt a strong commitment to Nature, “beginning with the recognition of natural forests as subjects of rights.” Rights of Nature organization Earth Law Center assisted with the legal drafting.

Recognition of the Rights of Nature is increasing worldwide. In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize Nature’s rights. More recently, a 2017 treaty agreement in New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as “an indivisible and living whole” and “a legal person.” Last year, the Supreme Court of Colombia ruled that the entire Colombian Amazon is a subject of rights.

The proposed Declaration would acknowledge that natural forests are living entities with certain inalienable rights, including rights to life, to integral health, to support native biodiversity, and to independent legal guardianship, amongst others. The proposed amendment also recognizes related human rights, including the right to a healthy and sustainable climate.

“Giving legal rights to El Salvador’s natural forests is a gift, not only to ecosystems and species, but to all of El Salvador, particularly its future generations,” said lawyer Eneas Wilfredo Martínez Santos, one of the proponents of the project. “Without thriving natural forests, our planet cannot support humans nor millions of other species.”

El Salvador has lost about 85 percent of its native forests since the 1960s,[1] and the planet as a whole has lost about 80 percent of its native forests, resulting in the extinction of countless species. Forests support about 80 percent of the world’s land-based species and play a key role in the water cycle, carbon cycle, nutrient cycle, and other key processes that act as the very foundation of life on our planet. 

Yes for the Rights of Nature (“Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza”) expressed optimism that governmental authorities in El Salvador will support the proposal considering their recent support of ecosystem restoration. For example, in 2011, El Salvador committed to restoring one million hectares of degraded land by 2020 through the Bonn Challenge global restoration goal. El Salvador is also a leader within Initiative 20x20, which aims to restore and protect deforested and degraded lands across Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Yes for the Rights of Nature (“Sí por los Derechos de la Naturaleza”) is dedicated to establishing Rights of Nature in El Salvador.

Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve.

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[1] Michal Nachmany et al., "Climate Change Legislation in El Salvador," (2015) (citing World Bank statistics).

Earth Law Center Launches Community Toolkit for Rights of Nature

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, 510-566-1063)

New York, NY (March 26, 2019)—Today, Earth Law Center (ELC) announces the launch of a Community Toolkit for Rights of Nature as a free tool for local communities wishing to strengthen their protection of Nature. 

Municipalities across the U.S. have passed ordinances and resolutions that recognize Nature as a legal entity possessing rights, including in Santa Monica, CA and Crestone, CO. These local laws bolster existing ecosystem protections and guide a community towards a stronger, more meaningful relationship with Nature.

As with the abolition of slavery, granting women the right to vote, and the civil rights movement, local governments have been at the forefront of enshrining our expanded ethical considerations into law. So too is true with the Rights of Nature movement, with dozens of communities having recognized that Nature is a subject of rights. By contrast, our current legal and economic paradigms generally treat ecosystems and species as mere property.

“Our Toolkit is designed for communities that wish to take bold action in the face of global environmental degradation,” remarked Grant Wilson, Directing Attorney at Earth Law Center. “The effort to save our planet really begins inside town halls and city council meetings.”

The Rights of Nature movement is rapidly growing both in the U.S. and globally. In addition to Ecuador and Bolivia recognizing Rights of Nature nationally, at least three rivers, a national park, and a sacred mountain have also exercised their fundamental rights (the Whanganui in New Zealand, the Atrato in Colombia, the Vilcabamba in Ecuador, and the Te Urewera protected area and Mt. Taranaki in New Zealand). Last year, a judge in Colombia also declared the entire Colombian Amazon to be a subject of rights. 

The Toolkit was developed with significant input from Marsha Moutrie (former Santa Monica City Attorney) and Myra Jackson (Senior Advisor on Whole Earth Civics and Focal Point on Harmony with Nature with Geoversiv Foundation), who are leading experts in the field.

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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) works to transform the law to recognize and protect Nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. This includes advancing the inherent rights of rivers through initiatives with local partners to secure rights recognition.