South America Earth Law Map
This map highlights initiatives which are reviving and practising Earth Jurisprudence/Earth Law, including organisations and alliances, legal precedents and community governance systems. This is an evolving map so please do share additional initiatives to: info@gaianet.org.
In 2010 the Chief Justice of the Court ruled that the Reef is not property but a Living Being which is part of Belize's national patrimony and cannot be sacrificed to commercial interests.
See Earth Law Precedents for more information.
In 2010 Bolivia endorsed a new law which recognises the Rights of Mother Nature to life, diversity and balance.
See Earth Law Precedents for more information.
In 2010, the Colombian Ministry of Culture approved an application by the Association of Traditional Authorities of the Pira Para (ACAIPI), with support of Gaia Amazonas, to include the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities of the Pirá Paraná River, in the Amazon, as part of the nation's Intangible Cultural Heritage.
For more information see Earth Law Precedent.
In 2001 an Ecuadorian Court fined U.S. oil giant Chevron $8.6 billion for dumping 18.5 billion gallons of toxic materials into the Amazon rainforest and rivers.
See Earth Precedents for more information
Media coverage
In 2008, Ecuador was the first country in the world to recognise the Rights of Nature, or 'Pachamama', in its Constitution.
See Earth Law Precedents for more information.
On 26th November 2010 an international alliance of environmental activists filed a case against British Petroleum (BP) in the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court, defending the Rights of Nature which are recognised under the 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution.
See Earth Law Precedents for more information.
On 30 March 2011 the Provincial Court of Loja granted an injunction against the Provincial Government of Loja to stop violating the Constitutional rights of the Vilcabama River to exist and maintain its vital cycles, structure, functions, and evolutionary processes.
See Earth Law Precedents for more information.
A campaign for the adoption and implementation of the Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights at the Rio Summit in 2012.
Website
The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, adopted in 2010 at the World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia, recognizes Mother Earth as a Living Being with rights to life, to exist and to continue her vital cycles and processes free from human disruptions.
See Pioneering Precedents for more information.
Website
The Global Alliance for Rights of Nature is 'a worldwide movement creating human communities that respect and defend the rights of Nature'. The Global Alliance for Rights of Nature is campaigning for the endorsement of the Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth by the United Nations, and supporting a letter-writing campaign for Governments to implement the Declaration.
