Chile is in the process of granting rights to nature in its constitution and could become the second such country in the world besides Ecuador.
- In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to formally recognize and implement the Rights of Nature, which Ecuadorians refer to as the Rights of Pachamama (Mother Earth).
- On March 25, 2022, the plenary body of Chile’s Constitutional Convention formally approved the Rights of Nature within its proposed constitutional text.
What constitutes in the “Rights of Nature” doctrine?
- An ecosystem is entitled to legal personhood status and as such, has the right to defend itself in a court of law against harms, including environmental degradation caused by a specific development project or even by climate change.
- It recognizes that an ecosystem has the right to exist, flourish, regenerate its vital cycles, and naturally evolve without human-caused disruption.
- When an ecosystem is declared a “subject of rights,” it has the right to legal representation by a guardian — much like a charitable trust designates a trustee — who will act on their behalf and in their best interest. The guardian can be an individual or a group of individuals well versed in the care and management of said ecosystem.
- The right to nature pursues a biocentric balance, centered on the Whole and not only on human beings.
- Catching some fish is not a violation of the Rights of Nature, but intensive fishing that kills all the fish, corals and aquaculture, effectively destroying their ability to regenerate is a violation of the rights of all those fish and the ecosystem in that river.
- The Rights of Nature forces us to think in terms of the non-human from a broader view of systemic interrelations and not just a narrow perspective of humans need not care for the non-human.
References
- https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/04/22/rights-of-nature-lawsuits/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20%E2%80%9CRights%20of,or%20even%20by%20climate%20change.
- https://systemicalternatives.org/2022/03/17/%EF%BF%BCchile-approves-the-rights-of-nature/
- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/chile-poised-to-grant-rights-to-nature-could-become-2nd-such-country-besides-ecuador-82168
GS TIMES UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED BASICS DAILY ONLINE TEST CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ FOR STATE CIVIL SERVICES
