Rights of nature

This term refers to the recognition of the rights of nature as independent from human rights, which questions the anthropocentric paradigm. The concept originated in neo-constitutionalism, and it is included in the legal frameworks of Ecuador and Bolivia. It is closely related to the cosmovision of the indigenous and tribal peoples.

This is not synonymous with the right to the environment as this is a human right. n the right to the environment, people are the subjects of rights. In the rights of nature, nature is the subject of rights.

Article 71 of the Constitution of Ecuador states, ‘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. Any person, community, peoples, or nationality will be able to demand the recognition of the rights of nature before public organisms.’ It also includes the right to the restoration of nature and the State assumes a development regime that is ecologically balanced, free from pollution and in harmony with nature, that conserves biodiversity, and the ability for natural regeneration of ecosystems within the biophysical limits, and preserves ancestral knowledge associated to nature.

Bolivia does not have a constitutional declaration that considers nature as a subject of rights (Campaña, 2013). However, experts agree that the State has given Mother Earth the characteristic of collective subject of public interest by approving the Law on the Rights of Mother Earth (#71). This law recognizes the rights of Mother Earth and the obligations and duties of the Plurinational State and society in ensuring the respect for these rights.