David King, Wikimedia Commons
The IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 "Planet at the Crossroads" took place September 1-10 in Hawaii.
ELC's Linda Sheehan conducted a joint workshop September 4, 2016 from 8:30am-10:30am. The Workshop "Earth-Centered Law and Regulation for Safeguarding Nature" explored the latest developments on the rights of nature and our responsibilities towards nature, and reparations for ecological damage.
Objectives:
1. A shared understanding of the latest developments in law, policy and jurisprudence on:
a. nature's rights and our responsibilities towards nature, in recognition of our interdependence, and
b. reparations for ecological damage.
2. A list of actions and best practices to move Earth-focused law and policy forward.
Read more about the workshop here.
Read more about the Congress here.
Wikimedia Commons
We urged the IUCN to implement its 2012 Resolution on nature’s rights. WCC-2012-Res-100, “Incorporation of the Rights of Nature as the organizational focal point in IUCN’s decision making,” calls on the IUCN to adopt a Declaration of the Rights of Nature and incorporate nature’s rights into all its initiatives. With the support of many IUCN members, ELC recommended amendments to the IUCN 2017-2020 Work Programme that included rights of nature, which were adopted. More to come once the final program is published.
Important Update: The U.N. has just released a new report from global experts on Earth Jurisprudence: http://bit.ly/UNHwN. ELC was the Global Facilitator for the Earth-Centered Law analysis and recommendations in the report, and ELC’s Earth Law course at Vermont Law School was featured. Among other findings and recommendations, the experts found we must “include the rights of Nature in our governance systems.”
Press release at the IUCN.