Ecuador has amended its constitution to include the Rights of Nature

I was watching the "Nature of Things' by David Suzuki over the weekend. It was fascinating to find out that both Ecuador (in 2008) and Bolivia (in 2010) passed laws which included the rights of nature. Ecuador has made a constitutional amendment to include the Rights of Nature.  It sounds like a great idea. I believe other nations should do the same to protect nature and hence the environment. Read the amendment below.

Ecuador is the first nation to include the rights of nature in its constitution:

Rights of nature

Article 71. Nature, or Pacha Mama, where life is reproduced and occurs, has the right to integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes.

All persons, communities, peoples and nations can call upon public authorities to enforce the rights of nature. To enforce and interpret these rights, the principles set forth in the Constitution shall be observed, as appropriate.

The State shall give incentives to natural persons and legal entities and to communities to protect nature and to promote respect for all the elements comprising an ecosystem.

Article 72. Nature has the right to be restored. This restoration shall be apart from the obligation of the State and natural persons or legal entities to compensate individuals and communities that depend on affected natural systems.

In those cases of severe or permanent environmental impact, including those caused by the exploitation of nonrenewable natural resources, the State shall establish the most effective mechanisms to achieve the restoration and shall adopt adequate measures to eliminate or mitigate harmful environmental consequences.” Read more here.

Read about David Suzuki's Andean Adventure here.

A video worth watching: The importance of Rights of Nature in Preserving Ecuador’s Rainforest.



Read more about David Tucker, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature  here.

If you have time then you can watch David Suzuki's full episode  here.

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Oil Companies: A threat to our planet

All oil companies care about is profit. The environment, the health and safety of people, is not a priority of theirs. Only profits, no matter who is hurt in the process. Oil companies are psychopathic, dangerously addicted to money at the expense of all else, and like drug dealers they are trying to keep the world hooked on oil, regardless of the environmental or social consequences.

Tribal people in Ecuador - in the Amazon rain forest - are pitched in a "David versus Goliath" battle against the oil companies which threaten to destroy their way of life along with delicate ecosystems. They're facing off against the bull-dozers and modern equipment of the oil companies with spears and darts. The exploitation of native people and the stealing of their land continues in our day and age.

Elsewhere in the world, there are similar situations, where oil companies care only about profit, not people's lives or the environment, and are causing untold destruction in the name of profit.

From NBC: "Wauroni tribesmen, who live in the rainforest of Ecuador, are getting ready to challenge the Ecuadorian government’s plan to auction as much as 8 million acres of rainforest for oil drilling, saying they are prepared to fight to the death to protect the land. NBC’s Ann Curry reports."

Check out the video below, for NBC's report on the oil companies' exploitation of Ecuador's rainforests.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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