Legislation granting similar natural rights to humans is becoming more popular around the world, with several countries and regions passing natural rights laws and others considering similar legislation.
Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia have all moved to recognize the rights of nature with national legislation, a movement that has gained traction around the world and in the United States, with 10 states having some form of legal protection for nature, according to a report by CBS News.
The latest country to join the movement is Panama, where the new law was used to shut down one of the world’s largest copper mines.
Behind the effort in that country is Callie Veelenturf, a 31-year-old American marine biologist from Massachusetts who has spent most of her career studying and advocating for sea turtle protection.
But the legal battle to protect himself from sexual harassment in 2018 was a turning point for Veelenturf, who realized nature does not have the same legal recourse as humans.
Callie Veelenturf is in a legal battle to protect herself from sexual harassment in 2018 but realizes nature does not have the same legal recourse as humans. Callie Veelenturf
“I realize that we can’t stand up for the rights of nature as I just stood up for my rights, because nature largely has no rights in our legal system,” Veelenturf told CBS News.
The marine biologist said a book, “The Rights of Nature: A Legal Revolution That Could Save the World,” helped cement the idea in his mind, leading him to make it a “mission” to advance the concept around the world.
“It prioritizes ecosystem needs and not human needs,” Veelenturf said.
“I realize that we can’t stand up for nature’s rights as I just stood up for mine, because nature has largely no rights in our legal system,” said Callie Veelenturf. Callie Veelenturf
Marine biologists brought the idea to Panama’s first lady and parliament, where it gained widespread support and eventually became law.
The law was used by the country’s Supreme Court to shut down a $10 billion copper mine that opponents claimed would threaten tropical forests and water supplies.
In the US, Seattle recently recognized the right of salmon to pass through the city’s dam, according to a CBS News report, while North Carolina has begun considering granting rights to the Haw River ecosystem.
This trend has encouraged Veelenturf, who thinks humans need “a different way to interact with nature.”
“It’s just exciting every time. It never gets old,” Veelenturf said. “What we’re doing now obviously doesn’t work, so this provides a different way to interact with nature. I think we’re now at a point where it’s worth a shot.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
