PART I: CONCEPTS AND OVERVIEWS
INTRODUCTION: RIGHTS OF NATURE, SACRED LANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE WESTERN TRADITION by Cameron La Follette
RIGHTS OF NATURE: BEGINNINGS
RIGHTS OF NATURE AND SACRED LANDS TRADITION IN WESTERN CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS IN THE UNITED STATES
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
DEFENDING THE TREE OF LIFE: THE ETHICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RIGHTS OF NATURE IN A THEORY OF JUSTICE by Kathryn Anne Gwiazdon
INTRODUCTION
EXTENDING THE ETHICAL ROOTS OF JUSTICE TO THE ROOTS THEMSELVES
A WORLDVIEW: LIVING ETHICS FOR A LIVING EARTH
A METHODOLOGY: A ROOTED COSMOPOLITANISM APPROACH TO LAW AND LIFE
THE MOTIVATIONS: LOVE MATTERS
FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES: HEALING THROUGH UBUNTU AND RECONCILIATION ECOLOGY
Rights of Nature is a Natural Evolution of Justice
Sapere aude!: An Eternal Inquiry Toward Perpetual Peace
Wrath and Reason are Just Responses to Grave Injustices
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
RIGHTS OF NATURE: MYTH, FILM, LAWS AND THE FUTURE by
Eugen Cadaru
NATURE'S INTELLIGENCE: A CONTINUOUS PRESENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE
NATURE'S INTELLIGENCE PORTRAYED IN CINEMA
First Stop: Animation
Next Station: Commercial Films Designed for Older Children
Further On: Commercial Films Intended for Adults
Last Stop: Auteur Cinema
THE IMPACT OF ANIMISM ON THE CURRENT COLLECTIVE MENTALITY
Animism in Law
Frontiers of Tomorrow
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
NATURE'S RIGHTS IN PERMACULTURE by Scott Pittman
PERMACULTURE: THE BEGINNINGS
PERMACULTURE ETHICS
Care of the Earth
Care of People
Set Limits to Consumption and Reproduction and Redistribute Surplus
PRINCIPLES OF NATURE
Observe and Interact
Catch and Store Energy
Obtain a Yield
Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback
Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
Produce No Waste
DESIGN FROM PATTERN TO DETAILS
Integrate Rather Than Segregate
Use Small and Slow Solutions
Use and Value Diversity
Use Edges and Value the Marginal
Creatively Use and Respond to Change
PERMACULTURE AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
PART II: THE STRUGGLE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE
RIGHTS OF NATURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN KIRIBATI by His Eminence Anote Tong
THE ISLAND NATION OF KIRIBATI
THE CRISIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Kiribati's Response to Climate Change
Future Uncertainties for National Sovereignty
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
"WHEN GOD PUT DAYLIGHT ON EARTH WE HAD ONE VOICE"—KWAKWAKA'WAKW:
PERSPECTIVES ON SUSTAINABILITY AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE
by Douglas Deur,
  Kim Recalma-Clutesi, and Kwaxsistalla Clan Chief Adam Dick
INTRODUCTION
SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE: AN INTRODUCTION TO KWAKWAKA'WAKW
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE NATURAL WORLD
THE WOLVES AND THE MOUNTAINS: SPECIAL OBLIGATIONS TO PLACES AND BEINGS
SALMON, EULACHON, CLAMS, AND PLANTS: RELATIONSHIPS AND OBLIGATIONS TO GAME SPECIES
ORCA AND CEDAR: RELATIONSHIPS AND OBLIGATIONS TO OTHER SPECIES
HAVING ONE VOICE: A CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
APPENDIX: COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE CASE OF BHUTAN by Dechen Lham
COUNTRY BACKGROUND
BHUTAN AND ITS BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION HISTORY: PROTECTED AREA SYSTEM
LEGACY OF THE MONARCHS IN SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
The Philosophy of Gross National Happiness
Stewardship and the Rights of Nature: Conservation Policies and Laws
BHUTAN'S INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS AND NATIONAL POLICIES
NATIONAL PLANNING AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS
CONSERVATION MILESTONES IN BHUTAN
Bhutan for Life
Buddhism and its Role in the Rights of Nature
Conservation Awards Received in Bhutan
Coping with Challenges to Sustainable Conservation
Human-Wildlife Conflict
The Problem of the Medical Fungus
Waste Management and the Sustainable Landscape
DESUUNG —'GUARDIANS OF PEACE AND HARMONY'
OTHER CONSERVATION CHALLENGES
The Shingkhar-Gorgan Road
The Green Bench: The Environment in Court
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
THE RESTORATION OF THE CALEDONIAN FOREST AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE by Alan Featherstone
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION: CALEDONIAN FOREST
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
INITIAL STEPS IN FOREST RESTORATION
The Founding of Trees for Life
Reweaving the Web of Life
Deepening the Restoration Process
Reconnecting People with Nature
LOOKING AHEAD: IF THE RIGHTS OF NATURE BECOME PARAMOUNT
ENDNOTES
APPENDIX: COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STEWARDSHIP ETHIC OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF NIGERIA'S NIGER DELTA REGION ON BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION by Ngozi F. Unuigbe
BACKGROUND
THE NIGER DELTA ECOSYSTEM
Waste Water
Gas Flaring
Seismic Surveys and the Construction of Roads and Pipelines
Dredging
Inadequate Clean-Up
THE NIGER DELTA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR SACRED SITES
Adibe and Esiribi Lakes
Boupere Lake
Okpagha and Ogriki Trees
Ovughere Shrine
Obi Pond
Usede Pond
Ode Evil Forest
Umuaja Shrine
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON INDIGENOUS SITES
INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION CULTURE AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE
INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION LAWS VERSUS STATUTORY CONSERVATION LAWS IN THE NIGER
DELTA REGION
PRESERVING THE STEWARDSHIP ETHIC OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: WIN-WIN FOR CULTURE
AND NATURE
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
GERMAN ENERGIEWENDE: A WAY TO SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES? by Michael W. Schröter
and Dani Fössl
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GERMAN ENERGIEWENDE
OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS
POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
SEASONALLY FLOODED SAVANNAS OF SOUTH AMERICA: SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CATTLE-WILDLIFE MOSAIC by Almira Hoogesteijn, José Luis Febles, and Rafael Hoogesteijn
INTRODUCTION
TWO PRINCIPAL SOUTH AMERICAN SAVANNA ECOSYSTEMS
The Llanos
Climatic Factors
Soils
Fire
Fauna
Savanna Formation Theories
Pantanal
Climatic Factors
Soils
Fire
Biology and Fauna
Quaternary Extinctions
THE EUROPEAN CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD
Here to Stay: The Explosive Dissemination of Cattle
Native Grass versus Non-Native Grass
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE LLANOS AND PANTANAL: ECOLOGICAL PROMISE
Water
Grazing and Overgrazing
Introduced grasses
Cattle
The Human Factor
SOLUTIONS TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE SAVANNAS
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
APPENDIX: COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
OCEAN RIGHTS: THE BALTIC SEA AND WORLD OCEAN HEALTH by Michelle Bender
WORLD OCEAN HEALTH
EUROPEAN UNION WATERS AND THE BALTIC SEA
LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE BALTIC SEA REGION
OCEAN RIGHTS: A SYSTEMIC SOLUTION
What if Fisheries Policies Evolved to Include the Rights of the Ocean?
How Would Rights of Nature Affect the Criteria for Decisionmaking?
THE MOVEMENT IS GROWING
SHIFTING OUT OF THE DATED GOVERNANCE PARADIGM
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
PART III: RIGHTS OF NATURE IN THE LAW
A RIVER IS BORN: NEW ZEALAND CONFERS LEGAL PERSONHOOD ON THE WHANGANUI
RIVER TO PROTECT IT AND ITS NATIVE PEOPLE by Chris Finlayson
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
TREATY OF WAITANGI
Article the First
Article the Second
Article the Third
THE WAITANGI TRIBUNAL
THE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT PROCESS
COMPONENTS OF A SETTLEMENT
THE WHANGANUI RIVER SETTLEMENT
THE SOLUTION
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
THE RIGHTS OF NATURE IN ECUADOR: AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL
PARADIGM by Hugo Echeverria and Francisco Bustamante
THE RIGHTS OF NATURE: ORIGINS
THE RIGHTS OF NATURE: CONTENT
CONSTITUTIONAL CASE LAW RELATING TO RIGHTS OF NATURE IN ECUADOR
Selection Criteria
RIGHTS OF NATURE CASE LAW: AN ONGOING EFFORT
Selected Cases
The Case of the Biodigesters
Mangroves Case
Unauthorized Mining Case
Vilcabamba River Case
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
THE GODAVARI MARBLE CASE AND RIGHTS OF NATURE IN NEPAL by Jony Mainaly
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN NEPAL
THE PRE-FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGIME IN NEPAL
ENVIRONMENTAL FEDERALISM IN NEPAL
LEGACY OF THE GODAVARI MARBLE 1 CASE
GODAVARI MARBLE 2 CASE
Facts of the Case
Issues
Holding
Underpinnings of Rights of Nature in the case
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
NATURE'S RIGHTS: WHY THE EUROPEAN UNION NEEDS A PARADIGM SHIFT IN LAW TO
ACHIEVE ITS 2050 VISION by Mumta Ito
WHY IS THE EUROPEAN UNION ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY FAILING?
THE NEED FOR A SYSTEMIC APPROACH
CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF EUROPEAN UNION ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
NEOLIBERALISM, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF LAW THAT WORKS TO SUPPORT IT
Green Economy
How Law Created these Conditions
THE WAY FORWARD
Wholeness
Universal principles
Duty of Care
Nature's Rights
Mutual Enhancement
Resilience
ENDNOTES
NATURE'S RIGHTS THROUGH LAWMAKING IN THE UNITED STATES by Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin and Michelle Newman
FROM PROPERTY TO PERSON: WHAT RIGHTS OF NATURE MEANS IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
GRASSROOTS SYSTEM CHANGE: LOCAL DEMOCRACY VERSUS THE CORPORATE STATE
The Courts and System Change
How Courts Prohibit Lawmaking Today
Corporate Constitutional Rights
Dormant Commerce Clause
Contracts Clause
Dillon's Rule
Preemption as a Ceiling on Rights Protections
Nature as Property
Recognizing Rights of Nature Requires System Change
PROTECTING WATERSHEDS THROUGH ECOSYSTEM RIGHTS BY LOCAL LAWMAKING
A Bill of Rights for Lake Erie
The Highland Township Ordinance and Home Rule Charter
Lincoln County, Oregon, Ordinance Against Aerial Spraying
Rights for the Salish Sea, Washington State and British Columbia
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
APPENDIX: NATURE'S RIGHTS THROUGH LAWMAKING IN THE UNITED STATES
THE EXPERIMENT WITH RIGHTS OF NATURE IN INDIA by Kelly D. Alley and Tarini Mehta
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
STANDING FOR NATURE: THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PROVISIONS CLOSE TO RIGHTS OF NATURE
STANDING AND OTHER PROCEDURAL MATTERS
GANGA AND YAMUNA RIVERS AS PERSONS
THE PROBLEM OF GUARDIANSHIP
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES OF PERSONHOOD
OVERLAPPING INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICS IN "GUARDIANSHIP"
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
CARING FOR COUNTRY AND RIGHTS OF NATURE IN AUSTRALIA: A CONVERSATION
BETWEEN EARTH JURISPRUDENCE AND ABORIGINAL LAW AND ETHICS by Mary Graham and Michelle Maloney
INTRODUCTION
PART I: EARTH JURISPRUDENCE AND THE RIGHTS OF NATURE
PART II: ABORIGINAL LAW AND ETHICS
"The Land is the source of the Law"
"You are not alone in the world"
1. Custodial Ethic
2. Locality
3. Autonomy
4. Balance
PART III: EARTH JURISPRUDENCE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ABORIGINAL LAW
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
CONCLUSION: NATURE'S LAWS OF RECIPROCITY by Chis Maser
NATURE'S LAWS OF RECIPROCITY
Law 1—Everything Is a Relationship
Law 2—All Relationships Are All Inclusive and Productive of an Outcome
Law 3—The Only True Investment in Our Global Ecosystem Is Energy from Sunlight
Law 4—All Systems Are Defined by Their Function
Law 5—All Relationships Result in a Transfer of Energy
Law 6—All Relationships Are Self-Reinforcing Feedback Loops
Law 7—All Relationships Have One or More Trade-offs
Law 8—Change Is a Process of Eternal Becoming
Law 9—All Relationships Are Irreversible
Law 10—All Systems Are Based on Composition, Structure, and Function
Law 11—All Systems Have Cumulative Effects, Lag Periods, and Thresholds
Law 12—All Systems Are Cyclical, but None Are Perfect Circles
Law 13—All Systems Have Cumulative Effects, Lag Periods, and Thresholds
Law 14—Systemic Change Is Based on Self-Organized Criticality
Law 15—Dynamic Disequilibrium Rules All Systems
Law 16—This Present Moment, the Here and Now, Is All We Ever Have
ENDNOTES
(Return to Top of Page)