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Bolivia passes law recognizing Mother Nature's rights!

Sarah Cunningham's picture

I saw this on Facebook and thought y'all would be interested. Can't figure out how to share the link (except on Fb) but here's the text:

BOLIVIA PASSES THE LAW WHICH DECLARES MOTHER EARTH HAS RIGHTS



The law defines Mother Earth as "...the dynamic living system formed by the indivisible community of all life systems and living beings whom are interrelated, interdependent, and complementary, which share a common destiny; adding that "Mother Earth is considered sacred in the worldview of Indigenous peoples and nations. In this approach human beings and their communities are considered a part of mother earth, by being integrated in "Life systems" defined as complex and dynamic communities of plants, animals, micro-organisms and other beings in their environment, in which human communities and the rest of nature interact as a functional unit, under the influence of climatic, physiographic and geologic factors, as well as the productive practices and cultural diversity of Bolivians of both genders, and the cosmovisions of Indigenous nations and peoples, intercultural communities and the Afro-Bolivians.

This definition can be seen as a more inclusive definition of ecosystems because it explicitly includes the social, cultural and economic dimensions of human communities.
The law also establishes the juridical character of Mother Earth as "collective subject of public interest", to ensure the exercise and protection of her rights. By giving Mother Earth a legal personality, it can, through its representatives (humans), bring an action to defend its rights.

Additionally, to say that Mother Earth is of public interest represents a major shift from a anthropocentric perspective to a more Earth community based perspective.

The URL is Truebook.org.

Happy New Year! xx Sarah

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Comments

Shengjia-Ashley's picture

Okay I failed to upload a

Okay I failed to upload a link as well.

Thank you for sharing Sarah. It is a very useful piece of information for the shale gas fracking paper I am working on.

Shengjia-Ashley's picture

http://www.sciencechatforum.c

http://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=23309

Shengjia-Ashley's picture

http://www.sciencechatforum.c

http://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=23309