The Earth Law Center Blog

Vanuatu, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the South Pacific Ocean, has recently spearheaded two major developments on the international level concerning the Rights of Nature and climate justice.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution requesting an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify the legal obligations of States concerning climate change. In addition, Vanuatu, along with Fiji and Samoa, have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider ecocide an international crime. 

This blog post details these important developments and their significance for the international community.

Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Earth Law Center (ELC), two organizations deeply committed to protecting the planet and upholding the rights and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples, are collaboratively developing a long-term project on Inherent Relationships Jurisprudence. The collaboration seeks to explore the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge-based legal frameworks and the Rights of Mother Earth (or “Rights of Nature”), with a focus on legal applications by Indigenous Peoples and Nations.

While urban environmentalism is a core tenet of the ecological movement, my metropolitan notion of land protection was based on pictures and imaginings of distant imperiled landscapes. Earth Law Center is headquartered in Durango, Colorado, a town nestled under the shadow of the La Plata Mountains, mere minutes from the desert, with the Animas River flowing through the heart of downtown. Just days after arriving in Durango, I find myself in conversation for the first time with my long-time pen pal, Nature.

As the world begins to reckon with the unsustainability of industrial agriculture, we are seeing growing interest in the possibility that the ecocentric farming breakthroughs the world needs are here now in the form of traditional Indigenous agricultural methods and their modern adaptations. Indeed, Indigenous communities have a more ecocentric approach to food sovereignty and agriculture than the dominant Western approach, which focuses on production volume rather than the long-term health of the land. 

This post examines the history of the concepts “Sustainable Development” and “Harmony with Nature” at the United Nations, and argues that it is time to embrace the latter as a non-anthropocentric environmental ideal.

Earth Law Center’s Latin America team drafts amicus curiae briefs on the Rights of Nature as a tool to cross-pollinate Latin American courts with the ecocentric perspectives of comparative law and supranational courts, an important step toward legal recognition of Nature’s intrinsic value.

Since the entrance of the Balkans into the EU Energy Community in 2006, the EU has propelled nationalized incentives that have led to an incredible expansion of small hydroelectric power into the Balkans, and this birth of hydropower in the so-called “Blue Heart of Europe” has done immeasurable damage to some of the region’s last intact riparian ecosystems.

Spain’s Mar Menor, the first ecosystem in Europe to receive legal personhood, has become involved in several court cases and faces challenges to the constitutionality of its standing.

In March 2024, Indigenous leaders from across Polynesia including Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tonga, Tahiti, Hawai’i, and the Cook Islands signed He Whakaputanga Moana (Declaration for the Ocean), recognizing whales as legal persons with inherent rights. Whale populations have suffered significant decline globally due to human activities. Whilst not a binding international treaty, the Polynesian call to grant personhood to whales is sparking conversations around utilizing Indigenous knowledge to protect whales and combat anthropogenic climate change.

ELC’s Latin America Legal Program has developed 4 pillars of our work: 1) Environmental justice initiatives, 2) Nature defenders and human rights initiatives , 3) Legislative and policy initiatives, 4) Global advocacy and movement building initiatives. Together with our partners, we currently have active projects in 5 countries in South and Central America. We have shared our expert insights in more than 20 environmental lawsuits, contributed to the formulation of 15 environmental bills, and successfully passed 4 laws recognizing the Rights of Nature.

Most authors to date view ecocide as a helpful extension of Rights of Nature theory into criminal law. Of course, there would be limitations in the ICC’s enforcement against ecocide, but the move to include ecocide as an international crime against peace nonetheless advances the global narrative on the Rights of Nature. Already, laws against ecocide in France, Belgium, and other countries around the world provide deeply imperfect but useful frameworks for implementing ecocide into national and international law.

In this blog post, we break down key terms and concepts related to rights of future generations, Summit of the Future, and Pact for the Future. We also explore the actions of countries with established protection and representation of the rights of future generations and share our suggestions on language for the Pact for the Future.

Progress updates on implementation of the Escazú Agreement, which is the first international treaty in history to enshrine rights for those considered defenders of Nature, in order to reinforce the protection of human rights in environmental matters. Likewise, it promotes the implementation of management and governance mechanisms in environmental matters, involving vulnerable groups such as youth, women, and Indigenous peoples in the process.