Sueddeutsche Zeitung: speaks on Florida waterway enforcement-5/17/2021

On May 3rd, Sueddeutsche Zeitung published an article “In the name of the river” (English translation of “Im Namen des Flusse”) on the streams and lakes in Florida that are suing to prevent their own destruction and disappearance. Hubert Wetzel wrote about the fact that in many legal systems, natural objects or nature-based cannot be seen as legally capable of reporting on behalf of themselves. Under a rights of nature based system, however, we are all empowered to speak up and report environmental harm.

Mr. Wetzel spends time sharing the journey of Wilde Cypress Branch et al. v. Beachline South Residential, LLC and Noah Valenstein, Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In November of 2020, the election in Orange County, Florida saw the cities’ residents vote overwhelmingly on a referendum to provide the local waters with “the right to exist, to flow, to be protected from pollution, and to maintain a healthy ecosystem." This new lawsuit is the first obstacle to this referendum, but also the first step towards strengthening it. With a filing in the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, this enforcement case argues that construction would lead to ecological and hydrological damage, and as Mr. Wetzel points out, an Orlando court is likely to halt the plans. This case and its journey are important legal and political statements about the inherent value of the natural world around us.