An April 10th article in The Guardian reveals that Bolivia is set to pass the world’s first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country’s rich mineral deposits as “blessings” and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry. It will establish 11 new rights for nature, including: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; the right not to have cellular structure modified or genetically altered; and the right not to be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities. The law, which is part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system following a change of constitution in 2009, has been heavily influenced by a resurgent indigenous Andean spiritual world view which places the environment and the earth deity known as the Pachamama at the centre of all life. As Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera says, “It makes world history… It establishes a new relationship between man and nature, the harmony of which must be preserved as a guarantee of its regeneration.”
Thanks to Elsa from the TK Bulletin for the link!
