Rights of Nature

Establishing a Legal Basis for Protecting Our Planet

Rights of Nature recognize the Earth and all its ecosystems as a living being with inalienable rights: to exist, to live free of cruel treatment, to maintain vital processes necessary for the harmonious balance that supports all life.

Such laws also recognize the authority of people, communities, and governments to defend those rights.

Innovative Legal Structures for a Thriving Future

When the rights of ecosystems are recognized, we can more effectively balance the needs and wellbeing of all life within the context of existing legal systems – just as we currently do between individuals, corporations, and other rights-bearing entities.

Fundación Pachamama brings their experience and allies in Ecuador to global conversations about sustainable democracy and community self-determination, including:

• Supporting the inclusion of Rights of Nature in the 2008 Ecuadorean Constitution, making Ecuador the first country in history to do so, and ensuring the enforcement at a local level
• Formation, along with The Pachamama Alliance and other partners, of the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature, a group of internationally recognized experts and leaders working for the universal adoption and implementation of Rights of Nature.