House of Representatives of Rhode Island supports recognizing the rights of natural communities and ecosystems in the Ocean State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16th, 2023

Contacts: Michelle Bender (mbender@earthlaw.org, +1 509 218 9338)

Johan Strid (Johan.strid@theoceanrace.com, + 46 708 85 36 46)

Providence, RI (May 16th, 2023)— Last week, on May 9th, the House of Representatives of Rhode Island approved a resolution welcoming The Ocean Race, recognizing the rights of their communities to live in a healthy and clean environment, and recognizing the rights of natural communities and ecosystems within Rhode Island to exist, flourish, evolve, regenerate, recover, and be restored in the state of Rhode Island.

“Once again, Newport is thrilled to welcome the Ocean Race to our City by the Sea. Additionally, the wellbeing of Rhode Islanders is inextricably linked with the health and integrity of the Ocean, including the physical systems, ecosystems, and species. Rhode Islanders recognize that our natural environment is one of our most valuable cultural and economic assets not just locally, but nationally and globally; bringing more than 12 million annual visitors, our blue economy alone generates approximately $5 billion and 36,500 jobs,” said Newport Representative Lauren Carson. Carson and Representative Terri Cortvriend, (Portsmouth and Middletown) introduced the House resolution.

“Rhode Island once again has the honor of hosting the 2023 Ocean Race which is on a six-month journey to circumnavigate the globe, making stops in only eight cities worldwide and a fly by at one additional city, and we were chosen for the start of Leg 5 of the race,” said Representative Terri Cortvriend. “This event also reminds us once again that Rhode Island must regularly evaluate whether its plans, laws, and programs are sufficient to meet the growing environmental crisis, including climate change and biodiversity loss, and we must explore all means of addressing them.”

With over 400 miles of coastline, Rhode Island is known as ‘the Ocean State.’ The resolution recognizes the importance of Rhode Island's blue economy and the steps the State must take to protect its biodiversity. In the last fifty years, national and state governments have made efforts to address the crisis by adopting specific environmental protection laws, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. While these laws set limits on pollution and consumption, there remains a pressing need to ensure the long-term protection of our right to clean air, water, and soil, sustainable food systems, and the rights of natural ecosystems.

“The support by Representatives Carson and Cortvriend is honestly a dream come true. The Rights of Nature movement actually began in the United States in 2006 and has really exploded at the local level, with dozens of resolutions and ordinances now being enforced,” says Michelle Bender, Ocean Campaigns Director at the Earth Law Center. “We hope this is just the first step for not only Rhode Island, but other States and the U.S. as a whole to protect and restore ocean health. We have one Ocean, regardless of the imaginary boundaries that are drawn between states or countries, she ebbs and flows beyond them and is therefore the shared responsibility and common heritage of all humankind. This is why it is necessary to gain support by governments worldwide to recognize the Ocean’s unique rights and characteristics and break down the jurisdictional hurdles with a shared vision and ethical foundation for how we value and interact with the Ocean.”

“The Ocean Race is a race for the ocean. Together with teams, sponsors and policy makers all over the world, we race to safeguard the ocean. As sports people, we like fair rules and fair play, but there is no fair play with the ocean, as our sailors witness as they sail across the planet in The Ocean Race. So we need fair rules and sharper governance to allow the ocean to thrive. Together with policy makers all around the world we work for a universal recognition of the inherent rights of nature, and of the ocean. The decision made at the State House here in Rhode Island today is one significant step on this route.” Richard Brisius, Chairman The Ocean Race

The first Newport stopover in The Ocean Race was hosted by Sail Newport during the 2014–15 edition and the fleet returned again for the 2017–18 race, making the 2022–23 Newport stop the city’s third consecutive participation in the around-the-world race. The Ocean Race event had a wide-ranging economic and tourism impact on the community. The 2015 stopover generated an estimated $47.7 million to the Ocean State’s economy. Both previous visits of The Ocean Race to Sail Newport drew large visitor numbers, with over 137,000 people in the race village at Fort Adams in 2015 and over 100,000 in 2018.