Law of Mother Earth expected to prompt radical new conservation and social measures in South American nation
By John Vidal in La Paz, for The Guardian UK
Bolivia is set to pass the world’s first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country’s rich mineral deposits as “blessings” and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.
The country, which has been pilloried by the US and Britain in the UN climate talks for demanding steep carbon emission cuts, will establish 11 new rights for nature. They include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered.
Controversially, it will also enshrine the right of nature “to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities”.
“It makes world history. Earth is the mother of all”, said Vice-President Alvaro García Linera. “It establishes a new relationship between man and nature, the harmony of which must be preserved as a guarantee of its regeneration.”
The law, which is part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system following a change of constitution in 2009, has been heavily influenced by a resurgent indigenous Andean spiritual world view which places the environment and the earth deity known as the Pachamama at the centre of all life. Humans are considered equal to all other entities.
But the abstract new laws are not expected to stop industry in its tracks. While it is not clear yet what actual protection the new rights will give in court to bugs, insects and ecosystems, the government is expected to establish a ministry of mother earth and to appoint an ombudsman. It is also committed to giving communities new legal powers to monitor and control polluting industries.
Burning River,
let’s pack our bags and get the hell down there!!I’m with ya.
it’s probably cooler (pun intended) than where I live now,
has myriads of awesome butterflies and beneficial insects,
and obviously their philosophies are looking wonderful.
I don’t take up a lot of room, in fact, all I need is a tree.
I’ll live in a treehouse! no keys required!
(snakes can do that)
peace.
s l iiii t h e rrrrrrrrrrrrrr………
Well, thank you for that, GG. Doesn’t the timing of this fit nicely into Eric’s calling forth of the Varuna/Eris square timeframe!?!
“I am developing the idea that this square, which spans from 2008 to 2012, is one of the aspects that describes the theme of the war on women we’re seeing dramatized in national and some local politics. Varuna has a theme of ‘the equalizer’ and Eris includes the theme of ‘the castaway woman’, and cast-off womanhood in general.”
Wonder how the date of Equador’s Constitution relates to the actual timing of that square aspect?
In any case, here is a clear depiction of the “war on women” relating to the war on Woman/Earth and the equalizing movement toward addressing that. I’m sure everyone can see the connections here…. Neat!
It’s great, but it’s not correct!
Bolivia is not the first country to pass such laws.
Ecuador was the first country to pass laws recognizing the rights of Mother Nature — they did so when they drafted their new Constitution in 2008.
http://www.rightsofmotherearth.com/ecuador-rights-nature/
River, that was my first thought too, I wanna move there! 🙂
I read stuff like this and want to move there tomorrow. Thanks to Len’s article today,I will wait at least until May 11. Thanks for the post. Radical? I call it Fundamental. Hugs to all Earth Mother lovers.
I look forward to that.
Kyla:
I plan to cover this tomorrow in the next Fe-911.
Hmmmmm.. Well, “radical” means “root”, I always understood……. but I get your point, Fe. This is the standard and basis, and everything else is a departure from it or in opposition to it.
The consciousness that intimately KNOWS Pachamama is prior and senior to the need for legislation of “rights”, anyway. But since we seem to have those going on, this is pretty darn cool.
I love this article, and its subject, though I do object to identifying Pachamama as “radical” when its the oldest religion on the planet. It worships the mother earth.
Its everything else that used the traditions of worship of the feminine to fit their religious agenda – especially the Catholic religion of the colonizers of which the 15th century was a particularly virulent and obnoxious brand to females and all natural life. That’s what is radical. Look at the results.
YES!! I posted this to my Facebook and to a couple of Yahoo! groups I belong to. Let’s step up like Bolivia has done and get this far and wide – it is crucial. Indigenous cultures all over the world hold the medicine we need and it’s high time we took it.
Wow. Thanks for posting that. Imagine how our world would be different if all nations had this understanding. Nice to see this point of view at least gaining a foothold in the world, somewhere. Not sure, anymore than anyone is, how it might play out, but very nice to see and be aware of.