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Ecuadorians Follow Lead of U.S. Communities, California charges ahead

Today, the people of Ecuador voted to recognize the
inalienable rights belonging to ecosystems in their new constitution. A
set of groundbreaking articles that transform the status of nature from
mere property to a rights-bearing entity are now incorporated into the
national charter. Ecuador, one of the world’s most biodiverse places,
has set a precedent for other nations who have struggled against
multinational corporations’ exploitation, which has turned ecosystems
and whole communities into sacrifice zones. The world watches as Ecuador
takes its first step into what many people believe is the legal unknown.

The inspiration for today’s remarkable achievement comes from
municipalities across the United States where rural communities have
already developed and adopted Rights of Nature ordinances, first
developed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF).
Ecuador’s Constitutional Assembly asked CELDF to suggest Rights of
Nature language for their draft constitution, based on the
municipalities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Hampshire that have
taken the lead nationally and globally.

Global Exchange rights-based organizer, Shannon Biggs, who partners with
CELDF to assist communities in passing these new laws, is blazing new
ground in California: “Ecuador and U.S. communities=97from Santa Cruz,
California to rural Pennsylvania=97are passing laws that assert the rights
of nature to be wild, and boldly changing the way we protect the
environment.” Biggs is organizing with Monterey, Nevada City and Santa
Cruz, which are among the first California communities working to pass
local laws to change not only nature’s legal status nature, but also its
culture.

Local Nevada City, California concerned resident Debra Weistar: “For 150
years, the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range has been exploited for
profit. There is still a “gold rush” mentality here that implies that
there are riches in these hills for the taking. Ecuador is leading the
way on a national level, and it has created momentum that may evolve
into a movement. I can follow and emulate that model to help my own
community.”

Local Monterey organizer Elsa Dooling: “In our community on the Central
Coast of California we have enormous, highly valuable natural resources
that are supposedly being protected under current regulations. The
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary says our coastal waters are
protected, yet not only are large commercial farms pouring hundreds of
millions of pounds of toxic pesticides into our air, water and soil, but
so are our cities and counties. If our community was able to stand up
and say the natural habitat of the Bay has rights=97true and recognized
rights=97we’d be able to legally go after the polluters for violations and
stop the assault that is killing our fragile coastal ecosystem.”

States Biggs: “Slaves were once also considered property under the law.
We needed to write new law in order to change the cultural
understanding, the cultural climate. This is the kind of change
represented by these local efforts, and now Ecuador. We need many more
communities to stand up for the environment in the places where they
live.” Across the U.S., communities are making demands for a new system
that prioritizes environmental health over corporate profits.

For more information visit: Rights-based Organizing