Challenges for the Implementation of the Rights of Nature: Ecuador and Bolivia as the First Instances of an Expanding Movement

Abstract

The recognition of the rights of nature is currently being debated in the juridical, sociological, and ethical fields. In Ecuador and Bolivia the recognition of the rights of Pachamama (Mother Earth) began in the context of constitutional and legal amendments more than a decade ago. This process was articulated with proposals presented as alternatives to global capitalism related to the indigenous worldviews known as buen vivir or vivir bien. An exploration of these processes identifies a number of challenges to socio-legal research and points to the increasing acknowledgment of the rights of nature in various countries in Latin America and other parts of the world. Actualmente se debate el reconocimiento de los derechos de la naturaleza en los ámbitos jurídico, sociológico y ético. En Ecuador y Bolivia el reconocimiento de los derechos de la Pachamama (Madre Tierra) comenzó en el contexto de las enmiendas constitucionales y legales hace más de una década. Este proceso se articuló con propuestas presentadas como alternativas al capitalismo global y relacionadas con las cosmovisiones indígenas conocidas como buen vivir o vivir bien. Una exploración de estos procesos identifica una serie de desafíos a la investigación socio-legal y apunta al creciente reconocimiento de los derechos de la naturaleza en varios países de América Latina, así como otras partes del mundo.

Plurinational state and ecological conscience in Bolivia: The case of the 2019 forest fires

“…Thus the MAS government turned out to be, on the one hand, an enabler of formal guarantees for Mother Earth that are unique in the region and an international example (Berros, 2021;Villavicencio Calzadilla & Kotzé, 2018). At the same time, it resulted a blocking force, by reducing them to their minimum expression and even rendering them ineffective in practice (Garcés, 2011;Sousa Santos & Exeni Rodríguez, 2013).…”

“…The discourse in defence of the Pachamama was also directed to international public opinion to position itself in a broad group of countries that question the rules of the game of the global economy. Bolivian diplomacy in this context achieved a long series of international milestones, among them the declaration of April 22 as International Mother Earth Day (2009), the naming of Evo Morales as "World Hero for the Defence of Mother Earth" (2009) and the incorporation of the issue in a whole series of international declarations and resolutions, most recently that of Glasgow (Berros, 2021;The Glasgow Climate Pact, Annotated, 11.13.2021). Mother Earth gradually became thus a substantial ingredient of a state symbolism, whether for domestic or international use.…”

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“…Source: compiled by the authors An example of modern rights to a healthy environment is the so-called Mother Earth rights, recognised by the courts of Ecuador and Bolivia, which, although they do not interpret a person as the addressee of these rights, simultaneously serve as a tool for ensuring the human right to clean air, water, soil and a method of combating climate change (Berros, 2021). In turn, the functioning of digital (virtual) rights, for example, the right to digital self-determination or security in cyberspace, is a consequence of the continuous spread of information-communication technologies and offences committed through their application.…”

The environment has rights: Eco-spiritual social work through ubuntu philosophy and Pachamama: A commentary

“…Calls for the Rights of Nature (RoN) have proliferated in the global discourse, especially at conferences countering climate change (Rawson and Mansfield, 2018). Currently, the Rights of Nature are being debated in the juridical, sociological and ethical fields (Berros, 2021). Some sub-federal public authorities in the United States and governments of Ecuador and Bolivia recognise the RoN (Humphreys, 2017; Tola, 2018).…”