The South American republic of Ecuador will consider what many countries in the world would say is unthinkable.
Next week people will be asked to vote on a new Constitution that would give Ecuador’s tropical forests, islands, rivers and air similar legal rights to those normally granted to humans.
The proposed Bill states: “Natural communities and ecosystems possess the unalienable right to exist, flourish and evolve within Ecuador. Those rights shall be self-executing and it shall be the duty and right of all Ecuadorian governments, communities and individuals to enforce those rights.”
Thomas Linzey, a United States lawyer who has helped to develop the legal framework for nature, says: “The new system is, in essence, an attempt to codify sustainable development. The new laws would grant people the right to sue on behalf of an ecosystem, even if not actually injured themselves.”
Until now all legal frameworks have been anthropocentric, or people-based. To file an environmental lawsuit requires a person to provide evidence of personal injury. This can be extremely difficult. To provide a conclusive link, say, between a cancer and polluted drinking water is, legally speaking, virtually impossible.
The origins of this apparent legal tidal shift lie in Ecuador’s growing disillusionment with foreign multinationals. Many, from banana companies to natural gas extractors, have exploited Ecuador’s natural resources and left little but pollution and poverty in their wake.
“The hope is that the new laws will give us unprecedented legal muscle to protect areas like this where there are competing interests,” says Linda Siegele, a lawyer for the United Kingdom-based Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development. —