Earth Laws draw inspiration from many spiritualities, customs & beliefs: Grant Wilson

Earth Law Center (ELC), a New York based Civil Society Organisation (CSO) is working to ensure legal rights for the nature equivalent to the human rights provided to the humans. ELC is engaged in various activities - writes newsletters, blogs, white papers, and e-books; speaks at conferences; and have launched two dozen initiatives in the past two years. Read the Full Interview.

Grant Wilson is the Directing Attorney at the Earth Law Center based in New York, United States. The Earth Law Center or ELC is engaged in the process of creating and building an international grassroots movement which is specifically dedicated to the mother nature. Securing the rights of the ‘Earth’ is what this non-profit organization works for. In an Exclusive Interview with Mrunmayi Sapatnekar, Associate Sub Editor, Devdiscourse, Wilson said, “We recognize that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home and that the 'Mother Earth' is a common expression in a number of countries and regions, and we note that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development.” He also claimed that Earth Law Center is writing the world’s first Earth Law casebook for law schools, to be published by Wolters Kluwer. The Edited Excerpts:

 

Mrunmayi Sapatnekar: What is the whole idea of Earth Law Center?

Grant Wilson: Earth Law Center is building an international grassroots movement from the ground up, one that speaks to the responsibility humans have to the world around us. We believe that the ecosystems that make up our world have rights just as people do. We work with local communities around the world to defend the Rights of Nature and permanently protect the environment.

Sapatnekar: How do you think that the Earth Law will ensure economic development and at the same time as ecological development?

Wilson: Despite the common rhetoric that environmental protections result in economic loss, Earth Law will help rather than hurt the economy by ensuring we all have a thriving life support system to rely upon. In sum, Earth Law Center believes that we can reimagine our economy to serve our planet, rather than exploiting the planet to serve the economy.

Sapatnekar: Is it possible to bring the whole world together through Earth Law?

Wilson: Yes. Earth Law takes a holistic, systemic view of protecting Nature and species. And it encompasses a broad range of ecocentric legal movements: the Rights of Nature, human environmental rights, and other initiatives. The ultimate goal is thriving communities of people and ecosystems that live together in harmony. As the United Nations Harmony with Nature initiative notes, we must create a new paradigm based on a non-anthropocentric relationship with Nature. A step in this direction was reaffirmed in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (2012), entitled "The future we want":

 "We recognize that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home and that "Mother Earth" is a common expression in a number of countries and regions, and we note that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development."

Sapatnekar: People, today, are unaware of what Earth Law means. How do you plan to create awareness among people that such laws are put in place to protect Mother Nature?

Wilson: To the contrary, I would suggest that Earth Law is actually growing in familiarity and awareness. Ecuador and Bolivia have recognized the Rights of Nature nationally. Rivers in New Zealand (the Whanganui) and Colombia (the Atrato and four others), as well as mountains (Te Urewera in New Zealand), are recognized as subjects are rights. In El Salvador, forests are “living entities” under the law.

Dozens of other governments have also enacted the Rights of Nature laws. These include an ordinance in Santa Monica, a resolution in Crestone, and a state constitutional amendment in Colima, Mexico. Earth Law Center helped with all three of these efforts.

Education in the movement is also quickly growing. Earth Law Center is writing the world’s first Earth Law casebook for law schools, to be published by Wolters Kluwer—publisher of the iconic Aspen Red & Black series. This will help train the next generation of environmental lawyers.

Additionally, Earth Law Center writes newsletters, blogs, white papers, and e-books; speaks at conferences; and launched two dozen initiatives in the past two years alone. Through these efforts, Earth Law is becoming a mainstream movement.

Sapatnekar: It's true that all natural resources should be protected. In this case, how could you define Nature’s Rights?

Wilson: Nature is not a resource, property, or an object. Nature is the foundation for all life on the planet—much of which we don’t even really fully understand yet. Through its very existence, Nature has rights just as humans do. Only now are governments beginning to recognize this.

Nature’s rights typically include rights to exist, thrive, and evolve. Different ecosystems have their own unique sets of rights, as well. Rivers have river rights and oceans have ocean rights. Recognizing and enforcing these rights can restore these ecosystems to health.

Rights of Nature is one of many rights-based movements in our planet’s history. Many groups of people throughout the world once lacked rights and then earned them, always resulting in a better world. In the U.S., a few notable rights movements are the abolishment of slavery, women’s suffrage, and gay rights.

Sapatnekar: What initiatives are you taking in this direction? Do you have the support of the United Nations on Earth Law?

Wilson: We have over 20 initiatives across the US and around the world to secure rights recognition for rivers, forests, and marine ecosystems, amongst others. Many of these initiatives are supported by our partners at the U.N. Harmony with Nature Initiative.

Sapatnekar: How do determine where there has been a violation of Nature’s Rights? What are the criteria?

Wilson: As with human rights, determining if there is a Rights of Nature violation is fact-specific and typically is determined by the courts. For example, Ecuador’s constitution establishes that nature has rights “to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution,” as well as a right to restoration. Nature is fighting for these rights in the courts, and many decisions have already upheld the Rights of Nature.  

In support of Nature’s rights, Earth Law Center submits amicus briefs to courts throughout the world. In particular, we argue for the rights of rivers in places such as Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico. The cases we choose often include destructive dam projects and chronic river pollution.

Another approach is for governments to apply the Rights of Nature through local laws, policies, and programs. This is the approach being taken by Santa Monica, for example. Earth Law Center helps define these approaches through policy papers and advocacy.

Sapatnekar: 'Right to Life and Dignity'. How can you define this from Nature’s perspective?

Wilson: Depending on the context, a “right to life and dignity” for Nature could mean that we must ensure the integrity of fundamental ecosystem processes. For example, rivers must be allowed to flow, to be free from pollution, to support native biodiversity, and so forth. However, we typically do not use the frameworks of “Right to Life” nor “Dignity.” Instead, we typically speak of upholding Nature’s rights to exist, thrive, and evolve.

Sapatnekar: Ecuador’s new constitution gave nature the rights. Do you think that such an important amendment to the constitution should be made by every country?

Wilson: Yes. We believe that eventually, Rights of Nature will be recognized universally by all societies. This is necessary in order to not only protect but also restore our ecosystems to health. We have lost over 80 percent of natural forests and over 1 million species face extinction. But it’s not too late. We can reverse course, Rights of Nature and other ecocentric movements serving as society’s blueprint.

Sapatnekar: Can you explain in detail how many community partners ELC has?

Wilson: We have over 50 organizational partners that we work with regularly.

Sapatnekar: What initiatives have been launched under ELC, so far?

Wilson: Some of our initiatives include:

• Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers. 
• Rights for Rivers in Mexico (Magdalena River), Nigeria (River Ethiope), Pakistan (Indus River), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Doljanka River), the United States (Boulder Creek Watershed), Canada, and elsewhere. 
• Rights of Nature Community Toolkit and application in Crestone, Santa Monica, and elsewhere in the United States. 
• Amicus Briefs. 
• Earth Law Course, Earth Law Textbook, mock trial workshops, and other legal training. 
• Rights of Forests in El Salvador.
• Ocean rights, including in the high seas.
• Framework for rights for marine protected areas.
• Rights for southern resident orcas.
• Uruguay whale and dolphin sanctuary.
• Rights of Nature in Angoon, Alaska.
• Rights of Nature in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago.
• Clean Water Act accountability in the United States.

Sapatnekar: What parameters does ELC follow to describe the rights of oceans, rivers, and forests?

Wilson: There are frameworks for rights of oceans, rivers, and forests —all available for download from ELC’s website. Some, we provide individual requests. 

Sapatnekar: What are your future plans at ELC?

Wilson: ELC is active in many countries around the world; its projects fall into three broad categories: 1) Creating new law; 2) Building Earth Law as a practice; 3) Raising awareness and support for recognizing Earth Law. We believe that durable social change comes from successful shifts in all of the three core areas - 

• Law and Policy: The adoption of laws and policies that redress past injustices, regulate harmful practices, and create incentives to behaviour that advance the common good.
• Social Institutions: The perspective of influential institutions that are able and willing to effectuate laws and policies, can provide support to or improve their adoption and implementation, or impact public perception in ways that facilitate a given social change.
• Attitudes: Commonly held beliefs and values, manifested in individual and collective behaviour, that support a given change and create a public expectation that it will become and remain the status quo.

Sapatnekar: How are you planning to make more and more people aware of the concept of 'Earth Law'?

Wilson: More initiatives; new marketing campaigns; the Earth Law textbook; a greater number of partnerships; and ongoing speaking opportunities at schools, governmental hearings, and elsewhere. We want the movement to become mainstream all over the world.

Sapatnekar: The idea of ELC seems to be revolving around three SDGs - SDG 13 (Climate Change), SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) – out of 17 Global Goals set up by the United Nations for the year 2030. How do you see ELC in comparison to the SDGs?

Wilson: Earth Law Center supports the achievement of the SDGs. The three SDGs you have noted are certainly important to us, as are many others. At the same time, we want the focus of the global community to be on thriving communities of humans and nature, rather than “development” per se—even if sustainable. That being said, it is our hope that the Rights of Nature and other movements are embraced as necessary approaches to achieving the SDGs.

Sapatnekar: Do you think the activities of ELC would help the world in achieving the SDGs? If yes, how?

Wilson: We must achieve system change in order to address our greatest environmental challenges. The SDGs cannot be achieved until society grapples with root causes of environmental declines: the global exploitation of nature for profit, the elevation of corporate interests above the rights of humans and nature, and a disconnect between humans and the natural world, to name a few. ELC’s work to recognize Nature’s rights and promote other ecocentric legal paradigms will help ensure that environmental protections are enforced as a right.

Sapatnekar: How do you see the role of social and psychological aspects of the language in spreading the message of natural conservation?

Wilson: Language is critical to the shifting of perspective from an anthropocentric worldview to one that places Nature on equal footing with ourselves. Here are a few words to avoid when describing Nature: resource, property, fish stock. All of these treats Nature as a human object, instead of a subject with its own rights. Instead, try talking about the specific natural entity: a forest, mountain, or ocean, for example.

Also, consider capitalizing Nature in your writing as you would a human title. Nature was commonly capitalized before the convention changed some generations ago, but now there is a trend to change back.

Sapatnekar: How do you look at the role of spirituality in the conservation of nature? 

Wilson: Earth Law draws inspiration from the many spiritualities, indigenous customs and beliefs, and other traditions. It is as much a legal movement as it is a spiritual and philosophical one. We recommend the work of Thomas Berry as an introductory point, particularly his work discussing for the transformation of law and governance systems in support of the larger Earth Community, of which humans are just one part.

Thank you.