As nature knows no political, social, racial, demographic, or religious boundaries, perhaps it can serve to unite us, rather than divide us—bridging our differences where so few other aspects of our lives can.

In 2008, Ecuador took the extraordinary step of enshrining the legal rights of nature—or Pachamama—in its national constitution. It was the first country to do so. And in so doing, it established the highest legal protections for nature that exist in Western law. As a person privileged to have participated in that process, I continue to marvel that the nation took that step. It’s never easy to go first.

Will the virus known as SARS-Cov-2 be the tipping point for humanity – the point at which we realize that our incessant bulldozing of the natural environment must end because we are destroying ourselves along with it?

The recording of our most recent webinar — Rights of Nature in Australia — is available to watch on YouTube now, featuring Western Australia Member of Parliament Diane Evers, and Michelle Maloney of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.

The mis-named “Clean Waterways Act,” (SB 712) preempts Floridians from protecting their lagoons, streams, rivers, and bays by prohibiting localities from adopting more stringent environmental protections.

The constitutional right of Floridians to set higher standards for their quality of life, their health and safety, and their natural environment, when the state fails to protect them, simply cannot be reconciled with the state’s assertion of power to override those standards.

Orange County, FL: It was business as usual today, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis elevating the interests of polluters over protections for the people and waterways of his state. Today, DeSantis signed the mis-named “Clean Waterways Act.”

On June 18, CDER and the Florida Rights of Nature Network hosted a one-hour introductory webinar on the Rights of Nature and advancing Rights of Nature laws in the State of Florida.

What if San Antonio had a bill of rights? What might it look like? Could it have rights of nature in it, that ecosystems within the city of San Antonio have certain rights? Absolutely. Are you gonna run up against a system of law that says you can’t do it? Yes, you are. It’s a fact.

The right to vote is at the core of any healthy, functioning democracy. Yet, our democratic rights do not begin and end on Election Day. In the United States, as in a number of other countries, “direct democracy” is increasingly recognized as an important way to make change.

The Environment and Climate Crisis Council of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has recommended including the Rights of Nature in the 2020 Democratic Party Platform.

This month, the Council forwarded recommendations for policies to be included in the platform. The new platform will be adopted at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Our June 2020 webinar focused on Ecuador, with an excellent presentation by Attorney Hugo Echeverria, who is based in Quito and who works with CDER. He spoke about the Rights of Nature constitutional provisions in Ecuador, recent court cases on Rights of Nature, and future steps for implementation.

As Seminole County Commissioner Bob Dallari canoed on the Wekiva River recently, he noticed a growing amount of algae – more than in previous years – on the water’s surface and along the shorelines….

Dallari said his outing on the river led to a question more and more local governments are beginning to ask: Should rivers, lakes, forests and other natural areas have certain legal rights just like people do?

We are pleased to announce upcoming dates and speakers for our Rights of Nature Update webinars. Our June webinar will focus on Ecuador, and our July webinar will focus on developments in Australia.

On May 7, we held our first monthly webinar on the Rights of Nature. Presenters Mari Margil and Thomas Linzey discussed the origins of Rights of Nature laws and how the movement to recognize rights of the natural world is building through lawmaking and court decisions in countries across the globe.

On the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, is it time to consider rights for nature?

We are hosting free monthly webinars on the most recent developments in the Rights of Nature field, which will provide an opportunity to delve deeper into the concept. Join us to hear from activists who are advancing Rights of Nature law and policy, discuss key concepts, and more.

The first rights of nature initiative in Massachusetts has qualified for a town-wide vote in Sheffield, in western Massachusetts.The initiative would recognize the rights of the Housatonic River to “exist, flourish, regenerate, evolve, and be restored.”

“Tune in” online and listen live! Thomas Linzey, CDER senior legal counsel, will be doing a live radio interview tomorrow (Tuesday, April 7) on the Thom Hartmann program.

I first traveled to Nepal in 2012 to meet with members of the Constituent Assembly drafting the country’s new constitution. The central question we discussed was how to tackle global warming from a Rights of Nature perspective.