Ecuador Begins Legislative Reform to Strengthen Rights of Nature-3/15/2021
CDER appeared before national legislature supporting law reform
MEDIA RELEASE
March 15, 2021
Contact:
Hugo Echeverria, Attorney
echejur@yahoo.ca
Mari Margil, Executive Director
mmargil@centerforenvironmentalrights.org
Ecuador Begins Legislative Reform to Strengthen Rights of Nature
CDER appeared before national legislature supporting law reform
Quito, Ecuador: In a plenary session held on March 9, 2021, the National Assembly – the national legislature of Ecuador – addressed a proposal to reform the country’s environmental law, to strengthen the rights of nature.
Ecuador is the first country in the world to enshrine the rights of nature – Pachamama – in a national constitution. The founders of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) were involved in the development of the constitutional provisions in 2008.
The reform proposal was presented by the Biodiversity Commission of the National Assembly before the legislature’s full body, known as the Plenary.
Upon request, CDER was authorized to appear before the Plenary on March 9. CDER’s external attorney, Hugo Echeverría, presented. He emphasized the constitutional relevance of this reform to the rights of nature. Echeverría’s appearance was covered by the legislative media and can be watched in this link.
Last year, CDER submitted legal inputs to the Biodiversity Commission on reforming the main environmental law in Ecuador, the Organic Code of the Environment. In November, the Biodiversity Commission issued its report to the National Assembly on suggested changes to the law. The report included a number of proposals submitted by CDER.
The Biodiversity Commission report is the draft of the legislation that is being considered by the National Assembly. The reform proposal will undergo two debates of the National Assembly. Tuesday’s Plenary opened the first debate. First debate will continue in the following weeks at the National Assembly.
Summary of CDER’s Proposed Legislative Reforms Included in the Commission Report
The Biodiversity Commission has been reviewing the major environmental laws of Ecuador, and seeking public input. CDER’s inputs were submitted in accordance to Ecuadorian legal requirements on public participation on legislative debate, and included recommendations of Ecuadorian academics.
Inputs from CDER to the Biodiversity Commission focused on ensuring that the actions and decisions of the government are consistent and upholding of the rights of nature, particularly regarding environmental impact assessments for projects categorized as having medium and high environmental impact. The inputs may be found on Page 11 of the Commission report, which may be found here.
A summary of CDER’s inputs includes:
- Recognizing that it is the duty of the State to guarantee the rights of nature, independently from the human right to a healthy environment.
- That industrial, corporate, and other projects proposed in protected areas must meet additional requirements, in order to be approved, such that the projects do not violate the rights of nature.
- That in order to uphold the rights of nature, industrial, corporate, and other activities in mangrove areas are restricted.
- In order to uphold the rights of nature, specific measures to protect endangered species and fragile ecosystems must be identified and addressed in environmental studies and management plans.
“The rights of nature constitutional provisions strengthen environmental protections. We identified places within the existing law that we believe need to be strengthened in order to meet this constitutional standard. We are very pleased to have our inputs included in the draft legislation being presented to the full National Assembly,” said CDER’s Mari Margil.
Hugo Echeverria added that CDER’s inputs focused, in part, on the role of environmental impact assessments in meeting constitutional standards on rights of nature. Echeverria explained, “Our inputs included the addition of clauses for environmental impact studies and management plans, for example, to better address endangered species to uphold the rights of nature constitutional protections.”
The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights partners with communities, tribal nations, governments, and people around the world to secure democratic rights and the rights of nature in law, including in the Philippines, Australia, Ecuador, Sweden, and the United States.
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