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Agriculture 10 months ago dirt.asla.org
In its Year of Ideas issue, The New York Times Magazine highlighted a new trend in environmental protection: rights for nature.
According to the magazine, Ecuador became the first country to extend constitutional rights to nature. The constitution grants nature "the right to the maintenance and regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes." The measure was approved by 70 percent of Ecuador's voters.
The Pennsylvania-based environmental organization, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, worked with Ecuadorian legislators to draft the new protections. Some observers are expecting to see lawsuits against oil and gas companies for infractions against these rights.
Apparently, Spain and Switzerland also have strengthened the rights of nature this year, with new protections for animals and plants. Swiss researchers must apply for approval before conducting research on any flora.
Some governments, which have previously sanctioned the use (and abuse) of natural resources, are moving toward the protection of biodiversity through legal channels.
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