Earth Law Center Partners with The Leatherback Project to Support Sea Turtle Conservation Efforts in Panama
By Emma Hynek
Panama Introduces New Conservation Law to Protect Endangered Sea Turtles
Of the five species of sea turtles in Panama’s waters, three are globally considered vulnerable to extinction, one is endangered with extinction, and another is critically endangered with extinction. Sea turtles are a vital component of the marine ecosystem as they provide support for the subsistence of the reef ecosystem and food transport throughout the world’s oceans. However, both the species and its habitat need urgent protection.
Over 60 percent of the world's 356 turtle species are threatened or extinct, making them one of the most vulnerable species on the planet. Sea turtles are threatened by human actions including harvesting turtles and their eggs, irresponsible tourism and development practices, pollution and debris, bycatch, climate change and vessel strikes. The Panama Wildlife Conservation’s Sea Turtle Project states that coastal overdevelopment, fisheries bycatch, pathogens, and climate change are all substantial threats to the survival of sea turtles.
However, lawmakers are working to change that. In 2021, Congressman Gabriel Silva introduced a law designed to preserve Panama’s sea turtles through a multi-part conservation plan that guarantees the restoration, prevention of contamination, and severe degradation of sea turtles’ habitats.
Adult female green sea turtle photographed returning to the ocean after laying eggs during the first scientific study conducted on El Playon, Isla del Rey, Pearl Islands Archipelago, Panama. Photo credit: Michael Ryan Clark
Granting Sea Turtles Rights of Nature
Following the law’s introduction, Earth Law Center (ELC) partnered with The Leatherback Project (TLP) to campaign for even more protection of sea turtles in Panama. The Leatherback Project is an organization dedicated to the conservation of the massive leatherback sea turtle throughout its global range through research, education, and advocacy initiatives aimed at mitigating fisheries bycatch, reducing plastic pollution, and combating climate change.
The two organizations have submitted a formal request that Rights of Nature be added to Panama’s law. You can read more about Rights of Nature in this ELC report.
By recognizing nonhuman species’ rights, we are taking a crucial step towards ensuring conservation is proactive rather than reactive. For example, many policies (such as the Endangered Species Act in the United States) are only enacted once a species is already endangered, at which point it can often be too late to restore the population's health. By taking an ecocentric approach rather than a human-centric approach to conservation, we are considering the sea turtle’s inherent right to exist, thrive, and evolve. This means that when humans make decisions affecting sea turtles, they need to also consider their well-being.
Olive ridley sea turtle hatchling racing towards the sea, documented for the first time on Playa Atajo, Isla del Rey, Pearl Islands Archipelago, Panama. Photo credit: Callie Veelenturf
In our society, increased legal rights means increased protection. This is seen in human rights and corporate rights, and the same would apply to animals that receive rights. Adding Rights of Nature for sea turtles would allow the conservation of the species to take a forefront in relevant decisions and would emphasize the interdependence between humans and animals. According to ELC’s Community Toolkit for Rights of Nature, adding Rights of Nature would mean:
“Recognizing Nature as an independent stakeholder in decision-making and creating a guardianship system,
Enabling representation through the standing of any person or community.”
Next Steps
Rights for non-human beings are not new! International and local recognition of non-human being’s rights to exist and flourish include:
Both San Francisco and Malibu passed resolutions protecting the rights of whales and dolphins in their coastal waters.
The ʔEsdilagh First Nation in what is now Canada (one of the six that comprises the Tsilhqot’in Nation) enacted the Sturgeon River Law (also known as the Fraser River) that states the people, animals, fish, plants, the nen (“lands”), and the tu (“waters”) have rights.
The New Zealand Government legally recognizes animals as 'sentient' beings; the Uttarakhand High Court of India ruled that “the entire animal kingdom, including avian and aquatic, are legal entities with rights; and the United Kingdom now recognizes lobsters, crabs, and octopus as sentient beings.
Ecuador has recognized the Rights of Nature on the national level.
Rivers in Colombia and New Zealand have obtained legal rights.
Panama’s proposed bill is currently in the seventh round of debates. If enacted, this would be the first time that the specific rights of a species group would be recognized in a Rights of Nature law. This bill could set a precedent for protecting the inherent rights and intrinsic value of marine species, a precedent that can encourage other nations to proactively protect sea turtles and other species.
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