Ecuador Wants To Give The Environment Human Rights
Next week Ecuadorian citizens will vote on giving the rainforests, islands and rivers the same legal rights that humans have. As of right now, 56% of Ecuador’s citizens are for the bill and 23% are against it. The proposed bill states, “Natural communities and ecosystems possess the unalienable right to exist, flourish and evolve within Ecuador. Those rights shall be self-executing, and it shall be the duty and right of all Ecuadorian governments, communities, and individuals to enforce those rights.” Tomas Linzey, a lawyer who focuses on laws regarding nature says, “The dominant form of environmental protection in industrialized countries is based on the regulatory system. Governments permit and legalize the discharge of certain amounts of toxins into the environment. As a form of environmental protection, it’s not working." In the same way, compensation is measured in terms of that injury to a person or people. Under the new system, it will be measured according to damage to the ecosystem. The new system is, in essence, an attempt to codify sustainable development. The new laws would grant people the right to sue on behalf of an ecosystem, even if not actually injured themselves.
Do you think voting to give the environment “human rights” is a good idea or too extreme?
To read more environment-related news, please visit http://www.causecast.org/environment
For the full story, please visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/24/equador.conservation
Photo / C0Nfu5I0N on flickr
- Posted by CauseNews
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- 09.25.08
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- Go to original article
Related causes: Environment
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