{"id":9821,"date":"2023-03-07T21:12:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T20:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/?p=9821"},"modified":"2023-03-07T21:12:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T20:12:56","slug":"cormac-cullinan-a-hnuti-za-prava-prirody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/cormac-cullinan-a-hnuti-za-prava-prirody\/","title":{"rendered":"Cormac Cullinan and the Nature Rights Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cormac Cullinan is the director of South Africa\u2019s oldest environmental law firm, Cullinan & Associates Inc., and the founder of EnAct International, a London-based environmental law and policy consultancy. He has litigated, negotiated settlements, advised clients ranging from local businesses to national governments to international organisations; drafted environmental legislation, policies and strategies and advised on institutional reforms in over twenty countries. Yet he has a fundamental problem with current environmental law \u2013 its basic premise that people and corporations are rights holders and all other living beings are \u201cproperty\u201d. In his words, environmental law actually \u201clegitimises the perpetual extinction of species and a profound disrespect for and abuse of the Earth \u2013 which sustains and nourishes us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by a meeting with ecophilosopher Thomas Berry and his call to create a new jurisprudence (jurisdiction) of the Earth, Cormac Cullinan wrote a seminal work in 2002 Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice<\/em>, in which he advocates a groundbreaking new legal philosophy, Earth jurisprudence, a renewed ecological perspective on systems of law and governance that has inspired the growing global movement for the rights of nature. This book is the first to use the terms \u201cEarth Jurisprudence,\u201d \u201cGreat Jurisprudence,\u201d and \u201cWild Law.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cormac Cullinan is a leading voice in the global nature rights movement today. In 2010, he led the development of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cochabamba, Bolivia; he was a founder of the Global Alliance for Nature Rights, where he plays an active role on the executive committee; and he is also a judge and president of the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature (drafting the People\u2019s Convention and Statute that established the Tribunal). Cullinan is the Director of the Wild Law Institute; he has given keynote speeches and led lectures and courses on Earth law and nature rights in many countries, and was a speaker at the first ever UN General Assembly Interactive Dialogue on Living in Harmony with Nature (2016). His book <\/strong>Wild Law<\/strong><\/em> was published in a second edition in 2010. In 2012, Cormac Cullinan won the Nick Steele Award for South African Ecologist of the Year. This interview was published under the title "Expert Q&A: Cormac Cullinan<\/a>" in the quarterly magazine of the ecological platform Biohabitats <\/strong>Leaf Litter (<\/strong><\/em>Fall Equinox 2015, Vol XIII, edition 3). Translated by Ji\u0159\u00ed Zem\u00e1nek.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a director of an environmental law firm, you must work within the existing system of environmental law while simultaneously trying to fundamentally change it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began my career in environmental law believing that we can solve environmental problems by designing and implementing better laws. I now believe that while we may win some important battles, we cannot achieve environmental sustainability under our current systems of governance because they were designed to facilitate the exploitation of the Earth. In some ways, I would prefer to come to a different conclusion, because this is an enormous task! However, the fact is that we were born into this earthly community. As in any community, you have to live by the rules or you will eventually be excluded. Right now, it seems that many human beings are working quite hard to be excluded from the community of life on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You studied law in South Africa during the apartheid era. How did that affect your ability to objectively examine legal systems and what did it teach you about the concept of \u201crestorative justice\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the benefits of studying law in South Africa during apartheid was that I became acutely aware that the legal system was not neutral; it was based on a specific worldview. The prevailing premise in South Africa was that people were not equal and that some races were superior to others. When you translate that into law, you can have a perfectly logical legal system that is also very unjust. My experience studying law in South Africa during apartheid made me acutely aware that legal systems are shaped by powerful individuals, organizations, and lobby groups. This later helped me understand that our legal systems are also based on a specific worldview: a view in which only people and legal entities such as corporations are legal entities capable of having rights. Within this worldview, nature is a set of resources to be exploited by people. We have created rules of the game that place the interests of property owners above the interests of the earthly community and of life itself. Property owners are allowed to do all sorts of things that harm the common good. For example, most activities that cause climate change are perfectly legal.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pil\u00ed\u0159
The Pillar of Reconciliation at the entrance to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In many indigenous legal systems, there is a concept of \u201crestorative justice.\u201d Indigenous people understand the world as made up of relationships between members of a community. When a problem occurs or someone does something that the community considers wrong, it is understood as something that has damaged the relationship and the most important thing is to restore the quality of that relationship. There is far less emphasis on punishment and much more on healing the relationship in order to restore the health and integrity of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restorative justice was demonstrated during the transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa, when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established under the leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It was recognised that apartheid had deeply divided, wounded and damaged the South African community. One way to seek justice was to find and prosecute all those who had committed crimes during the apartheid regime. While this might be consistent with the conventional understanding of criminal justice, it was agreed that the most important priority at this time in South African history was to repair the damage to human relationships caused by apartheid and to restore the health of South African society. It was therefore announced that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would grant amnesty to those who came before it, gave full and truthful accounts of the crimes they had committed (so that the relatives of the victims could learn what had happened to their loved ones), and convinced the commission that their crimes were politically motivated. People who had committed terrible things \u2013 including torture and murder \u2013 were indeed released if they confessed. It was a very difficult process, as the families of the victims had to hear the details of the atrocities committed and then knew that if the perpetrator could convince the Commission that he was telling the truth and acting for political reasons, he would be freed. It was by no means an easy process, but it is an example of putting the common good first so that society could heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process has produced some incredible stories of reconciliation that you would never have believed possible. For example, a young American student named Amy Biehl, who was working in South Africa to register voters for the country\u2019s first free elections in 1994, was murdered simply because she was white. Amy Biehl\u2019s parents later founded the Amy Biehl Foundation (which now offers youth empowerment programs) in South Africa. The perpetrators were later released under this amnesty provision, and some of them actually ended up working for the Amy Biehl Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restorative justice is an incredibly powerful concept that is especially important in the environmental context. If someone pollutes a river and you send them to prison, it may deter others from polluting, but it won't help the river. The most important thing is to restore the quality of the river and the respectful relationship between people and rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Photo
Photo by Lou Niznik, Courtesy of the Thomas Berry Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Father Thomas Berry (priest, cultural historian, \u201cgeologist\u201d and writer) seems to have played a significant role in your involvement and enthusiasm for the natural rights movement. Can you tell our readers a little about Thomas Berry and his influence on you and the movement?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Thomas Berry played a very important role in my intellectual development in relation to these questions. I was aware that there was something fundamentally wrong with the basic philosophy of law and the worldview on which it was based, but I was not sure how to begin the process of correction. I had been introduced to Thomas Berry's work through the Gaia Foundation in London. And when I finally got to meet him, it was as if he had given me the end of the string and I could then begin to unravel the whole problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first heard him say, \u201cThe world is not a collection of objects, it is a community of subjects, and everything has its rights,\u201d I was shocked. I thought, \u201cDo you realize the implications of what you are saying? That is impossible. It is too complicated to implement.\u201d But as I read and learned more, I realized that I was making a mistake when I said something was wrong just because it was difficult to implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a sense, Berry was using the term \u201crights\u201d in an analogous way. He meant that we are all part of a whole. All of us\u2014whether we are a tree, a rock, a river, or a human\u2014are products of the same evolutionary story of our planet, and each of us can contribute to the integrity, functioning, and health of the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Berry can be considered the father of the natural rights movement. Berry pointed out that the current state of civilization is transitory. He called the time we live in \u201cthe oil interval.\u201d While it may seem to those of us born in the last few centuries that our societies have always been like this, when we look at the entire span of human history, this period is an anomaly. During this time, human life has changed immensely, largely because we have been able to draw energy from fossil fuels to increase our power and because we have changed our philosophy from reverence for Mother Earth to exploitation of her. Today, we see that this project of exploitation and domination of the Earth is doomed to failure. Although it will take some time to manifest, we are entering a new era in which humans will either become extinct or enter what Thomas Berry calls the \u201cecozoic era\u201d\u2014an era in which we will realize that our role is to live in a way that allows us to adapt to the already existing laws of the universe and cooperate with nature, rather than trying to control it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, man did not disregard the laws of nature. When do you think the situation changed for the worse and what caused this change in worldview that is so destructive to the planet?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment when this change occurred. It was more of a process with milestones along the way. Some people point to the beginning of agriculture, but I think one of the major milestones was the Age of Enlightenment in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was the time of thinkers like Ren\u00e9 Descartes and Francis Bacon, and the emergence of the scientific method, coupled with the belief that humans were fundamentally different from everything else on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, there was a shift from seeing the Earth as a mother who feeds, nourishes, and nurtures her children to using the metaphor of a machine to explain the universe. People began to understand the Earth and our solar system as something that worked like complex clocks, and the goal of science was to learn how to dissect nature to understand how it worked and how to control it to benefit humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man began to be seen as the master of the universe and the task of science was to achieve domination over nature. Everything non-human was considered soulless and was viewed purely mechanically. For example, references from this time date back to the time when it was said that the cries of animals being experimented on were "like the creaking of a rusty hinge".<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important milestone was the Industrial Revolution, when we discovered that we could use coal, oil, and gas as sources of energy. This drastically increased our ability to change the world and was like a steroid boost for our egos. Gaining access to this energy further separated us from the natural world and fueled our fantasies of our own superiority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think that a change in your worldview will occur during your lifetime?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This change is already happening. Since 2008, when Ecuador adopted a new constitution that recognizes the rights of nature, and since the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth in 2010, there has been a huge increase in interest in these ideas. I have no doubt that the worldview of more and more people is changing. However, it takes much longer to truly change the structure of society. I do not expect this process to be completed in my lifetime, but it is very encouraging to know that it has begun in my lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does the creation of a new legal system require a change in worldview? Must one precede the other? Does the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth promote both?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is both. Sometimes changes in the law change people's view of the world, other times people's view of the world must first change before the law can be changed. For example, in South Africa, on the day a new constitution came into force that prohibits racial discrimination, there were still as many racists as there were the day before. But because the law no longer favors racists, it is gradually helping to eradicate racism. But this constitution would never have been put into force without a movement of people who fought for many years to ensure that it reflected their view of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ritu\u00e1l
Ritual of worship of Pacha Mama \u2013 Mother Earth \u2013 by Bolivian Indians.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can define and describe the difference between \u201cbig law,\u201d \u201cEarth law,\u201d and \u201cwild law,\u201d and explain why these distinctions are important in the search for legal systems that recognize the rights of nature.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cjurisprudence\u201d means the philosophy that makes law. Thomas Berry pointed out the need for a new jurisprudence because existing philosophies of law view the earth as property that can be bought and sold just as slaves could once be bought and sold. It is easy to see that when there is a slave owner who has all the legal rights, and a slave who is property and therefore incapable of having legal rights, the owner will always exploit the slave. This is precisely the same exploitative relationship that law has created between people and societies on the one hand as holders of rights and all of nature on the other as property that cannot have rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To distinguish the kind of jurisprudence that Thomas Berry called for from conventional jurisdiction, I use the term \u201cEarth jurisprudence.\u201d This term is intended to denote a philosophy of law that is based on a recognition of the importance of the earthly community as a whole, not just the human community. Laws are usually made to promote harmony and stability within the human community. The goal of Earth jurisprudence is to achieve harmony within the larger community of all life on Earth. According to the philosophy of this jurisdiction, human laws should therefore ensure that people act as responsible members of the earthly community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are born into the universe with pre-existing systems of order. Gravitational forces, for example, keep the Earth moving around the Sun. There is a logic to the workings of the universe that we refer to when we use terms like natural laws, physics, or chemistry. They are somewhat similar to laws that predate humans. I use the term \u201cGreat Law\u201d to describe them. It is the wisdom that is embedded in the principles of nature. Different cultures may have different earthly jurisdictions, but they should all be in accordance with the Great Law, and they should all be based on a recognition of the importance of working in harmony with nature. This is something you find in all indigenous cultures \u2013 the first duty is to teach young people how nature works in a given place and the importance of respecting natural laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Law is the foundation for the creation of Earth's jurisprudence. I call the laws that reflect this terrestrial jurisdiction "wild law." It is a term that seems like an oxymoron to conventional legal thinking, because "law" as we know it is designed to limit, control, and regulate, and "wild" means the exact opposite. But there is an extraordinary creative force at work in the universe. It is the force that created this planet from gaseous matter and stardust and then diversified it into redwoods, blue whales, insects, and humans. It is the force that has driven and controlled the explosion of diversity, and it cannot be controlled mechanically. It is essentially wild<\/em>. Wild laws enhance this creative quality of the universe. They should be designed to allow us to reach our full potential while leaving room for all other beings to fulfill their potential. Wild laws stand in opposition to laws that impose homogeneity and the \u201cmonocultures of the mind\u201d that Dr. Vandana Shiva warns against. Wild law is based on the jurisprudence of the Earth, which is based on the Great Law.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cormac
Cormac Cullinan, Wild Law<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In your recent article \u201cA Tribunal for Earth: why it matters,\u201d you ask a serious question: \u201cMust the present civilization burn to provide the ashes from which a completely new civilization can be born? Or is it possible that amidst the decay of current systems, the shoots of a fundamentally new system of governance can grow?\u201d Are there any embers in the ashes of our decaying legal systems worth keeping alive and building upon?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many good elements in the current legal system. The concept of human rights has changed legal systems for the better. For example, the current South African constitution states that you cannot discriminate against people on the basis of race, gender or sexual preference. That is a recognition of human rights, but it is also a recognition of the importance of diversity. Diversity is one of the principles on which the universe operates. I see it as part of the Big Law. The important thing is to get people to embed the idea in the law that diversity is something that needs to be celebrated and not eliminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main thing that needs to be changed in our legal system is its purpose. The fundamental purpose of most current legal systems is to facilitate and legitimize the domination and exploitation of all that is not human (and in some cases, some human beings). If that purpose were to become \u201cto enable us to live in harmony with our fellow earthlings in a way that is mutually beneficial,\u201d we could completely change our legal systems for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What common themes emerge when you examine the systems of law and governance that exist among indigenous cultures and fall within the framework of Big Law?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many indigenous cultures, the concept of the rights of nature is actually foreign, as they don\u2019t even have the word \u201cright\u201d in their languages. An integral worldview\u2014the view that humans are part of a larger community and that our health and well-being are derived from the health and well-being of the entire community\u2014is the foundation of every indigenous culture I\u2019ve ever encountered. Indigenous communities spend a tremendous amount of time, through stories, rituals, and practices, instilling in all their members the principles of reciprocity and respect for other beings. The rules of indigenous cultures vary from place to place, but they are largely based on the wisdom of the place. If you\u2019re in a dryland, you\u2019ll have complex laws about water allocation and water rights that probably wouldn\u2019t have evolved in a rainforest. In indigenous cultures, people have adapted to be good neighbors in the community of the place, and they\u2019ve adapted their customs and laws to that. And that\u2019s exactly the approach that the indigenous rights movement is promoting. You don't start with a blank slate and try to impose your views on the place; you need to pay attention to the community you're a part of and work on being a good and responsible member of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the failure of COP 15 (the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), which failed to make significant progress in reducing global emissions in 2009, Bolivian President Evo Morales organized the World Peoples' Conference on Climate Change in 2010, which brought together more than 30,000 people from over 100 countries. During this event, the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth was created. What is happening with this declaration today? Is it being discussed at other international conferences?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sv\u011btov\u00e1
World Conference of Nations on Climate Change and Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia 2010.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

President Morales originally called for the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth to be linked to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He pointed out that if we only recognize human rights, we create an imbalance. Human rights need to be seen in the context of a world where other beings also have rights. As I understand it, he originally envisaged that the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth would be adopted by the United Nations in the same way that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted after World War II. But he ended up calling a conference of nations that anyone in the world could attend, and about 35,000 people attended. Different working groups came up with recommendations on different areas, and at the end of the conference, these recommendations were presented to many governments that also attended the conference. So instead of governments telling the people after the conference what they had decided (as is the case with the UN climate talks), here it was the other way around. The people said to the governments, \u201cThis is how we think we should address these problems.\u201d At the conclusion of the World Conference of Nations, the conference as a whole adopted the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth as a \u201cpeople\u2019s document.\u201d The people said, \u201cThis is our document. We do not need a government to issue this declaration. We call on the governments of the United Nations to join it, but whether they do so or not, the declaration has the status of a people\u2019s document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN has indeed set up a website dedicated to living in harmony with nature and convenes expert discussions on the subject at least once a year. Countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela support the UN adopting a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, but they are in the minority. It is unlikely that the UN will adopt the declaration in the near future. However, organizations such as the Global Alliance for Nature Rights and La Via Campesia (an organization representing millions of small farmers) and others who participated in the people's conference support the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and are committed to its implementation, regardless of whether the UN adopts it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear that the major challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change, cannot be adequately addressed within the system of governance that created them. The power of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth is that it is a people\u2019s document that more and more people around the world find meaningful and supportive. The Declaration is a way to unite a global movement. If a community in India is fighting against a planned mine on a sacred mountain and another community on the other side of the world is also trying to defend itself against mining, when their cases are brought before a tribunal, it becomes clear that both are examples of violations of the same universal rights. It also shows that even very local impacts are universal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to do this is to establish an International Tribunal on the Rights of Nature, a body created by people, not governments. The tribunal aims to show how different the results would be if we decided the big issues of today with reference to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth instead of conventional international law based on property and the sovereign rights of states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Satirick\u00e1
A satirical drawing on the case "REDD and Forests", documenting the destruction of the Amazon, which was presented on behalf of the forests for hearing at the 2nd International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature in December 2014 in Lima.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature has met twice now, and a third session is scheduled for December this year in Paris. You served as a judge on the tribunal, issuing a preliminary ruling in a case concerning the impact of industrial development and coal port expansion on the Great Barrier Reef. (The case then went to a full hearing before a second tribunal.) What was it like to hear a case brought on behalf of the Great Barrier Reef, which cannot speak for itself?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's very moving to hear a case presented from the perspective of the Great Barrier Reef. The way that environmental cases like this are usually handled in our court is that some fisherman comes in and says, "I used to make $20,000 a year, and now I'm only making $10,000 because there are fewer fish because of pollution." The discussion is almost always about the impact on people, especially in terms of money. But when you see the cases presented in terms of what it must be like to be a reef or a creature on a reef that is suffering huge impacts and to see your world, your culture, your relatives destroyed, it makes people empathize - perhaps for the first time ever - with other members of the community of life. It can be extremely powerful. Einstein talked about the importance of "widening our circle of compassion." If you're sitting in one of these sessions and listening to these cases, it can be quite jarring. But it also opens the heart and widens the circle of our compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do parties accused of violating the rights of nature ever attempt to defend themselves in tribunals?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have invited them, but none of them have shown up yet. Since the tribunal is not something set up by the government, we have no authority to force people to appear. Unfortunately, the tribunal suffers from the limitation that the accused usually choose not to attend the hearings. Nevertheless, it works well enough to show how to apply the rights and obligations in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature currently the strongest potential replacement for what you refer to in your recent article, \u201cThe Earth Tribunal: Why It Matters,\u201d as our \u201coutdated\u201d international mechanisms?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zased\u00e1n\u00ed
Session of the 4th International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature in Bonn in December 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I definitely think it is one of those substitutes. People are starting to realize that climate change is not just a scientific problem, but that it is also a human rights violation on a huge scale. I think these discussions will expand beyond human rights to recognize that climate change is not just about people's rights. From what I have seen in international meetings, I think that these forums are not going to produce the kind of agreements that we need to deal with issues like climate change. There are just too many countries, and many of them are acting in their own self-interest or are very heavily influenced by corporate lobbyists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international system was supposed to address these issues, but if it doesn't, and if it flows year after year without any real progress, it's like damming a river. The pressure builds until eventually the river cuts a new path that bypasses the obstacles in the system. That's what we see with initiatives like the Tribunal. People are saying, "You know what? If our government doesn't figure out a way to a viable future, we'll do it ourselves."<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Wild Law, you wrote: \u201cEven if the legal system recognized that other species are beings, we still have to overcome difficulties in how their potential \u2018rights\u2019 would be protected and enforced.\u201d How has the inclusion of the rights of nature in the Ecuadorian constitution been reflected in practice?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Ecuadorian constitution speaks very strongly about the rights of nature, the current government has largely retreated from some of these provisions. Several examples of effective action on the ground emerged before this field meeting. One of them was the case of the Vilcabamba River. The provincial government was widening a road along the river. They were cutting into the mountain and dumping rocks and soil into the river, causing flooding and erosion downstream. A case was brought to court on behalf of the river. The Vilcabamba River did indeed sue the provincial government and won. The court concluded that the river had the right to flow freely because that was its natural ecological function and that the road could be widened without infringing on the rights of the river. The human interest in widening the road could not outweigh the fundamental rights of the river to flow and be a river. It was an extraordinary decision. If such a case were to be resolved under ordinary legal systems, it would likely be a highly technical dispute about whether or not the road builders and the government complied with the procedural requirements of the environmental impact assessment process. It would be a discussion about procedures and processes that has nothing to do with addressing the fundamental question of how to balance what people want with what is good for the planet as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Odlehl\u00e1
The remote Santa Lucia Nature Reserve in Ecuador.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you think that despite the Ecuadorian government's retreat, we will see an increase in precedent cases like the Vilcabamba River case?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I think it's going to be a long, slow process, but we're going to see small outbreaks popping up all over the world. For example, dozens of municipalities in the US have passed local ordinances that recognize the rights of nature. The natural rights movement is starting to create alternatives to the current system, and that's important. Many people are unhappy with the way our legal, political, and economic systems work, but because they don't know what else to do, they stick with them. But once you offer them an alternative, they start moving toward it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What role does academia play in this movement? Are law students starting to take an interest in the rights of nature?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the students I have met who have discovered the concept of the rights of nature seem to have been searching for it unconsciously. Many young people are aware that we need to work with nature. It seems that most academics did not take the rights of nature seriously until some text appeared on the subject. Now that we have a constitution in Ecuador, laws in Bolivia, community ordinances in the US, and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, and as the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature begins to issue judgments, people will have more and more texts to discuss. For academics, this is a very exciting opportunity to re-evaluate everything from a new perspective \u2013 to take a law or a judgment and think, \u201cHow else would it have been written if it had been from the perspective of supporting people living as good citizens of the Earth in harmony with nature?\u201d It is challenging, but immensely rewarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any recommendations or advice for conservation and ecological restoration workers, many of whom are involved in projects to mitigate the impacts of current environmental laws?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are engaged in ecological restoration, you are engaged in restorative justice. As a species, we must do everything we can to heal the Earth and ensure that no further harm is done. The ideas that underlie the natural rights movement are everywhere. In agriculture, you have permaculture. In architecture, you have green architecture. This way of thinking asks, \u201cHow can we begin to work with nature in a way that promotes human well-being and the well-being of the community?\u201d We are all involved in our various fields in creating a world in which the role of humans is to be good citizens of the Earth, not slaves who govern the community of life. I very much hope that people who work in these various fields will begin to realize their common interests and recognize that if the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth were to be universally adopted, a large portion of society\u2019s resources would be directed toward restoring healthy ecological systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Inuitsk\u00e1
Inuit poet Rita Mestokosho sings a healing song for the Mutehekau Shipu (Magpie) River, which was granted subjectivity and rights in 2021 by the residents of the town of Ekuanitshit (Canada, Quebec) and the local regional government.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is the first step people can take to support the nature rights movement?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Berry once told me, "We consider ourselves separate from nature, when in reality we are an integral part of it, or rather, an 'aspect' of the Earth." Our bodies are made of minerals and water. We breathe air. We are already part of the Earth, in essence. That is the most important criterion we must hold to. If we are able to accept the incredible happiness of being born into the most beautiful community of life that we have ever discovered in the entire universe and celebrate it, then all kinds of things become possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second thing that's very important is solidarity. A group of people who share a common vision and work together is incredibly powerful. Almost every major social movement in history was based on rights: the anti-apartheid movement, the abolitionists, the suffragettes. This movement is a continuation of that, except now it's not just about people. It's an idea whose time has come. Look for ways to collaborate and remember that you're part of a global movement. You're not alone. The more we can collaborate with other members of this movement around the world and collaborate with nature, the stronger this movement will be.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cormac Cullinan is a director of South Africa\u2019s oldest environmental law firm, Cullinan & Associates Inc, and founder of EnAct International, a London-based environmental law and policy consultancy. He has litigated, negotiated and advised clients ranging from local businesses to national governments and international organisations; he has drafted legislation, policies and strategies\u2026 Continue reading Cormac Cullinan and the Nature Rights Movement<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[80,79,44],"class_list":["post-9821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nezarazene","tag-cormac-cullinan","tag-prava-prirody","tag-thomas-berry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9821"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9886,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9821\/revisions\/9886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potulnauniverzita.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}